Guest guest Posted November 29, 1999 Report Share Posted November 29, 1999 || AUM shrImAtre namaH || naarada bhakti suutraa-s ======================== CHAPTER I - FORM OF INTENSE DEVOTION ===================================== athaato bhaktiM vyaakhyaasyaamaH || 1 || 1. Therefore now I will explain in detail about devotion. --- I request the members to contribute their comments and understanding. As a first step, let us discuss how we conceptualize/understand bhakti. Q: What is bhakti ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 30, 1999 Report Share Posted November 30, 1999 I dont know whether I am qualified to even express on this List members please forgive my ignoranace on this subject but this what I feel from my bottom of my heart to me 'Bhakti' is the unconditionaly love expressed towards Ambal the Divine Mother and the very mentioning of Her name gives the ecstasy to ones heart. Every sadhakan or bhaktan goes through this. And it is also the one pointed devotion towards the deity. And there is no need to learn a method or a scripture to qualify for bhakti all that one need to do is to open ones heart fully towards his or her Ishta Devata and there is so many ways of doing it just like the way we love our father and mother,brother or friend or our lover. And the sadhakan express his love or longing through singing,dancing or just repeating the name of his or her ishta devata. This is how I approach and express my bhakti towards Ambal no conditioning of mind or method just love Her ,Think about Her and sing Her Glory Om ShriMate Namah Ganesh Deivasikhamani ____ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 30, 1999 Report Share Posted November 30, 1999 Dear Bhaktas, I think the discussion can proceed along several different lines! One may even start with the word Narada, before we come to atha and atah!! They will never be mutually exclusive, and a collage of such thoughts will never go waste. Since Ravi's question came prior to others, I shall address it . I shall rely on a great commentary in Marathi, by a scholar devotee D. Deglurkar. He quotes in the introduction, a definition given by Shrii Madhusudan Sarasvati: drutasya bhagavaddharmaat.h dhaaravaahikataa.n gataa . sarveshe manaso vR^ittirbhaktirityabhidhiiyate .. [ Guided in one's conduct by the Bhagavata Dharma ( i.e. chiefly the study of the Divine attributes and play/leela), resulting in the mind's constant flow, like a stream, towards the Divine, is known as Bhakti. ] Regards, Sunder ----Original Message Follows---- "Madhava K. Turumella" <madhava "Ravisankar S. Mayavaram" <msr, shriimaataa Re: NBS - 1 Tue, 30 Nov 1999 17:19:38 +0300 > > Ravisankar S. Mayavaram [sMTP:msr] > Monday, November 29, 1999 8:16 PM > shriimaataa > NBS - 1 > > || AUM shrImAtre namaH || > > naarada bhakti suutraa-s > ======================== > > CHAPTER I - FORM OF INTENSE DEVOTION > ===================================== > > athaato bhaktiM vyaakhyaasyaamaH || 1 || > > 1. Therefore now I will explain in detail about devotion. > > > --- > I request the members to contribute their comments and > understanding. As a first step, let us discuss how we > conceptualize/understand bhakti. > > Q: What is bhakti ? [Madhava Replies:] IMHO, even before discussing on "What is Bhakti", we need to discuss the word "atha" --- "Therefore". What does it mean by saying "Therefore"? Does it mean "Bhakti is very important to ???? therefore now I will explain about devotion...", or does it mean something else!... I would really like to know your views on this "therefore" (i.e. what it means to you) Yes! Let us start the real discussion. Om! Regards, Madhava ------ AUM shrImAtre namaH Archives : / : http://www.geocities.com/kaamaakshi/ Contact : miinalochanii & lotus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 30, 1999 Report Share Posted November 30, 1999 > > Ravisankar S. Mayavaram [sMTP:msr] > Monday, November 29, 1999 8:16 PM > shriimaataa > NBS - 1 > > || AUM shrImAtre namaH || > > naarada bhakti suutraa-s > ======================== > > CHAPTER I - FORM OF INTENSE DEVOTION > ===================================== > > athaato bhaktiM vyaakhyaasyaamaH || 1 || > > 1. Therefore now I will explain in detail about devotion. > > > --- > I request the members to contribute their comments and > understanding. As a first step, let us discuss how we > conceptualize/understand bhakti. > > Q: What is bhakti ? [Madhava Replies:] IMHO, even before discussing on "What is Bhakti", we need to discuss the word "atha" --- "Therefore". What does it mean by saying "Therefore"? Does it mean "Bhakti is very important to ???? therefore now I will explain about devotion...", or does it mean something else!... I would really like to know your views on this "therefore" (i.e. what it means to you) Yes! Let us start the real discussion. Om! Regards, Madhava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 30, 1999 Report Share Posted November 30, 1999 On Tue, 30 Nov 1999, Madhava K. Turumella wrote: > IMHO, even before discussing on "What is Bhakti", we need to discuss > the word "atha" --- "Therefore". > > What does it mean by saying "Therefore"? Does it mean "Bhakti is > very important to ???? therefore now I will explain about devotion...", or > does it mean something else!... I would really like to know your views on > this "therefore" (i.e. what it means to you) > In the first place I welcome Madhava to this list. I request to readers to read the beautiful mystic experiences of Madhava which you can find in the archives of Advaitin (http://www.escribe.com/culture/advaitin), they are so profound and moving. -- "Therefore" could mean that other methods were explored before and found not as effective, efficient, simple, and direct as bhakti. Hence, it could mean something of importance is going to be discussed. There is good discussion of "athaH" in vyAsa's bhAShyam on yoga suutra-s for the first suutra, but I do not remember the details now. Ravi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 1, 1999 Report Share Posted December 1, 1999 On Tue, 30 Nov 1999, Sunder Hattangadi wrote: > > He quotes in the introduction, a definition given by Shrii > Madhusudan Sarasvati: > > drutasya bhagavaddharmaat.h dhaaravaahikataa.n gataa . > sarveshe manaso vR^ittirbhaktirityabhidhiiyate .. > > [ Guided in one's conduct by the Bhagavata Dharma ( i.e. chiefly the study > of the Divine attributes and play/leela), resulting in the mind's constant > flow, like a stream, towards the Divine, is known as Bhakti. ] > One of the very nice definitions of bhakti is the verse ankolam nija biija ... in shivaanandalaharii. Few years back in Advaita-l one of our friends wrote that he asked Acharya of kAnchi to define bhakti and in response AcharyA asked his disciple to read out this verse "ankolam ... " to him. In general, one can say shivAnandalaharI is a great bhakti shAstra, and each verse is a gem and a delight to hear. Then what can one say the joy it will give if one contemplates on them. I have some notes on this verse contributed by Dr. M. Giridhar, I will post it soon. Ravi Save me or slay me but why indifference Save me O mother and slay my ignorance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 1, 1999 Report Share Posted December 1, 1999 Here is the verse from shivaanandalaharii: aN^kolaM nija biija santatiH ayaskaantopalaM suuchikaa saadhvii naijavibhuM lataa kshitiruhaM sindhuH saridvallabham.h | praapnotiiha yathaa tathaa pashupateH paadaaravindadvayaM chetovR^ittirupetya tishhThati sadaa saa bhaktirityuchyate || 61|| Like the seeds of the ankola tree moving towards the tree itself; Like the iron filings clinging to a magnet; like the love, attention, and thoughts of a chaste woman flowing towards her husband; like a creeper tightly entwining and embracing the supporting tree and like the river rushing towards her beloved Ocean, the constant flow thoughts towards the lotus feet of Ishwara is called as bhakti. Notes from Dr. M. Giridhar ========================== ---FWD MESSAGE from Giridhar Madras----- Please post as appropriate. In fact, the explanation of that verse alone can run to several pages. There are several meanings and subtle concepts in the verse. I can not do justice in explaining but here is one meanings.. For example, the verse 61 shows the various stages of bhakti succintly: For example, the verse 61 shows the various stages of bhakti succintly: 1. seeds of the ankola tree.. Moves in darkness. Only in Trouble we think of God. Till then, we are happy with the sense pleasure. Consuming the poison of sense pleasure, we think we are taking amrit...and when the pleasure turns into pain, we think of God. This is the first stage of bhakti. 2. Like the iron filings clinging to a magnet Even the remembarance of God in the first stage, followed by the convinction that there is a Higher power which is responsible for the fruits of the actions, leads to God's grace. Thus, like iron filings, the magnet (God) attracts the devotee and showers His grace 3. like the thoughts of a chaste woman The thoughts of the chaste woman is always towards to her husband. Similarly, whenever the devotee has free time or has some time off work, he thinks of God. His thoughts on God are not continuous, but he does his duty with desirelessness and thinks of God the rest of the time. Also, there are thoughts of separation, just like the woman may miss the presence of her husband. This is the third stage of bhakti 4. like a creeper entwining the tree In the fourth stage, the thoughts are completely centered on God, like a creeper and tree. Without the tree, the creeper can not survive. There is no separation or thoughts of separation since there is complete entwining. However, there is still the duality that God is the tree, I am the creeper .. 5. River flowing into the ocean In the final stage, even this duality disappears as one understands that Ishvara and the individual differ on empirical existence but not the underlying essence, Atman. And it becomes like the river that have mixed with the ocean. There is only ocean now, the river water can not be separated out. This the final stage of bhakti wherein one realizes the non-duality that is true always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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