NBS-2

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saa tasmin.h parama premaruupaa || 2 ||

The bhakti should be in the form of ultimate love (Universal).

 

(A straight translation would be 'Bakti is intense love for god', phrases

'should be' & ' in the form of' are not in the sutra).

 

First the sutra eliminates the laymen's idea that 'to bargain or trade with

god' is bakti.

 

naasthaa dharme na vasunichaye naiva kaamopabhoge

yadyad bhavya.m bhavatu bhagavan purvakarmaanuruupam .

etat praarthya.m mama bahumata.m janmajanmaantare.api

tvatpaadaambhoruhayugagataa nishchalaa bhaktirastu .. (mukunda mAlA)

 

O Lord I neither seek 'dharma' or 'artha'. I don't even need moksha. What is

deemed to be obtained by my previous deeds, let me get that. I seek only one

thing, bless me with 'nischalaa bakthi' birth after birth.

 

Bakti is of two types, gauNi bakti and parA bakti. First one practices gauNi

bakti. This serves as the way and leads him to parA bakti. As parAbakti is

the ultimate one, the word 'prema' indicates parA bakti. NaradA explains

GauNi bakti in his later aphorisms.

 

Let's see how one gets from gauNi to para bakti. One follows spiritual

disciplines prescribed in scripture and leads a clean life with devotion to

god. As he follows these disciplines there comes a real conviction of the

presence of the almighty. In other words he experiences it tangibly.

 

He does not get the vision of god but a sort of sweetness, a joy, a thrill

is felt within. He becomes convinced that the almighty knows our innermost

thoughts.

 

By and by as this goes the vision opens up, through his grace to the man who

has felt him as the truly existing, He reveals his innermost nature. One who

gets to such a state is at times in unitary consciousness, at times gains

the senses of duality experiencing bliss both in unity and duality.

 

PrahlAda charitram housed in Srimad bhAgavatam explains in detail the

nuances of this parA bakthi through the experiences of PrahlAda. Aware of

my impotency in taking up the magnum opus bAgavatam, I present the parA

bakti chapter of krishNa bakti rasodayam. Carved in simple Sanskrit this

work has an irresistible appeal to baktas in general and krishNa bakthas in

particular. (To go by the non-sectarian approach I interpret all personal

names mentioned as general names like almighty, god etc.)

 

pravakshhyaami paraa.m bhakti.m anirvachyaa.m prayatnataH.

yaa.m labdhvaa pUrNakAmashcha nityatupto bhavetpumAn ..1..

 

After obtaining what men gets completely satisfied, that parA bakti, I

endeavor to explain, though it is impossible to express in words its acute

nature.

 

anuraktiH paraa kR^ishhNe bhaktirityabhidhIyate.

shuddharUpaa cha rahitaa niyamairlokavedayoH ..2..

 

Boundless love towards the almighty is termed as parA bakti, pure and apart

from the normal conventions of this world and scriptures.

The word anurakti or anurAga explains what bakti is; ThyagarAja swami's

krithi in raga saraswati 'anuraagamule', states anurAga as the basic

prerequisite to know the intricacies of bakti.

 

kaamasvarUpaH samsaare duHkhado raagaa ucyate .

premasvarUpaH shrI kR^ishhNa sukhado raagaa uchyate ..3..

 

Addiction to worldly objects due to 'kAmA' gets one to grief, but attachment

or 'pemA' to the almighty gets one to the ultimate bliss.

 

To get attached to things is a common nature of humanity, it basically gives

one a feeling of security and comfort. But if the object of attachment is

shifted from perishable to the imperishable almighty it gets him to

immortality.

 

In Sri Ramanuja's words 'Bakti is such a precious knowledge that it ceases

everything else of interest.'

 

Sri Ramakrishna paramahamsa said 'This world is a huge lunatic asylum where

all men are mad, some after money, some after name or fame, and a few after

god. God is the philosopher's stone that turns us to gold in an instance,

the form remains, but no more can we do harm to commit a sin.'

 

 

aprakrute.aya.m raagastu chinmayo.achintya eva hi .

ima.m sa.mpraapya govinde guNatiito bhavetpumaan ..4..

 

This 'raaga' or desire is not to be misunderstood with the common desires of

men, desire to worldly objects is a result of illusion or 'mAyA', but

'anurAga' towards the almighty is 'chinmayA' or the true knowledge of bliss.

 

eshhaanuraktirgovinde paraa.a.anandapradaayinii .

anuraktistu sa.msaare hyaparaa duHkhadaayinii ..5..

 

This 'anurAga' towards the almighty leads to 'Ananda' or bliss, but desire

towards worldly objects lead to suffering and pain.

 

paramapremarUpA sA bhatirAnandarUpiNI .

kR^ishhNaprasAdAjjAnAti tasyA bhaktistu vaibhavam .6.

 

Bakti leads to the state of ultimate bliss, and is obtained only through the

grace of the almighty alone.

 

bhakti.m labdhvA parA.m kR^ishhNe na punarmR^ityumApnuyAt .

tasmAdamR^itarUpA sA madhurA doshhavarjitA ..7..

 

After obtaining this parA-bakti which is 'parama Ananda' one does not get to

samsAra again (he breaks the cycle of birth and death). Void of the three

guNas (satva, rajo and tamo) it bestows moksha.

 

turIyAtIta nishhThA sA chaitanyarasarUpiNi .

ya.m prApya bhakte hR^idaye hari.m pashyati sarvadA ..8..

 

After obtaining what, the almighty always shines in ones heart that; 'bakti'

in the form of 'rasA' is even beyond 'tureyA' state.

 

uttamA samkhyayogAbhyA.m sevitA muktisiddhibhiH .

ya.m sA prapnoti sAnanda.m kR^ishhNastamanudhavati ..9..

 

Served by mukti and siddhi, bakti is superior to karma and GYana yogas.

 

 

ananyabhaktirgovinde purushharthottamottmA .

yA.m prApya bhavukA loke na hi vaJNchhanti kiJNchana ..10..

 

After obtaining what men does not seek any thing, that 'prema bakti' is

superior to all the four pursuits.

 

 

na bhajetkR^ishhNpAdAbja.m duHkhanAshAya bhAvukaH .

samaduHkhasukho bhakto dehadharma.m na chintayet ..11....

 

A bakta does not get to the almighty to get rid of duHkha, as he views sukha

and duHkha in the same plane and has little sense of his deha dharmA.

 

 

na cha jiGYAsayA bhakto bhajetkR^ishhNapadAmbujam .

nirmalaGYAnalAbhAnte parA bhaktirhi jAyate ..12..

 

Nor he wishes GYana as this bakti is a result of immaculate knowledge

(GYana).

 

Here its worth to note that bakti is defined as a product of knowledge.

Debate on saguNa nirguNa to differentiate knowledge and bakti becomes fully

out of context, as bakti itself is a product of the supreme knowledge or

GYana.

 

Para bakti works in more or less the same way as atma vivhara does. All

objects known to mind are eliminated as being unreal and only the almighty

is seen. Instead of getting it through the process of elimination, one gets

there by extreme anurAga.

 

This intense love 'anurAga' is a transcendental experience of inexpressible

bliss in which the ego is completely lost. Normally saguNopasanA is

misunderstood as a deed up taken to achieve some thing through action. But

as there is nothing to be obtained through bakti it can not be equated to a

normal karma. Even liberation is not the goal. He loves the supreme for

love sake. Though he does not even seek liberation he becomes liberated.

 

pacchai mA malai pOl mEni pavaza vAi kamala cheN^kaN

AchutA amarar ErE Ayartam kozundE enum .

icchuvai tavira yanpOi indira lOkamALum

acchuvai perinum vEndEn araN^gamA nagaruLAnE ..

 

 

 

 

 

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