Acting as a Way of Salvation - A Study of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana

Acting as a Way of Salvation is a profound and sensitive study of rāgānugā bhakti — the intimate, spontaneous path of devotional practice taught in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition.
In this work, renowned scholar David L. Haberman explores how advanced practitioners of bhakti do not merely worship externally, but internally cultivate the identity, emotions, and service mood of Kṛṣṇa’s eternal associates. Through disciplined meditation, imaginative participation, and scriptural guidance, the sādhaka “acts” in alignment with the spiritual world — and in doing so, gradually awakens their eternal devotional identity.
The book draws deeply from classical Gauḍiya texts, especially the writings of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī, and Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, while also incorporating ethnographic observations of contemporary practitioners in Vṛndāvana. Haberman presents rāgānugā bhakti not as theatrical imitation, but as a serious and transformative sādhanā, where disciplined imagination becomes a sacred instrument for self-realization.
By David L. Haberman
Hardcover - English