re:bhakthi and bhakthaas

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri vaishnava perunthagaiyeer,

 

Sri Sampath kumar, Sri Krishna kanumalla and Sri Murlidhar Rangaswamy have

shared their thoughts on this topic of Bhakti and bhakthaas. Here is my

points worth two paise (in India we do not have cents please).

 

What is bakthi? - The realisation of divinity through devotion to a personal

God and intense loving that personal God (ishta devathai) is bhakthi. To

look at another angle, it is an enduring state of mind and abiding state of

mind that dedicates all the activities in the Lord (ishta devathai).

 

To look at one more angle, I get attached to my ishta devathai (may be

NaaraayaNan or others). Through this act of getting attached, I get a

companionship in all my acts, a shoulder or bench to unload, when it is felt

heavy, and take rest. A sense of satisfaction develops, that He is always

there with me, shows me the correct path, leads me, takes care of me, helps

me in all my endeavor and what not. I serve him and he guides me. So a love

and mutuality is attained in each and every act and aspect. As the

attachment gets stronger and stronger, the satisfaction grows in every act

done and that is bhakthi.

 

To look at what is bakthi from another angle, it is the love towards the

object of bakthi. The real meaning of this bakthi is not fully understood

even by the so called realised. So, there is always a little wonder, a

little more pudumai, a little more naveenam. Also at the unexpected moment,

bhakthi shows the real substance of faith in a flash, called realisation and

then suddenly disappears. This disappearance creates much more eagerness to

do the bhakthi in greater proportion and with more rigour, at times leading

to a disappointment (really?) but leaving a taste of that flashy realisation

(ruchi) -thus giving an unending quest towards the object of bakthi -the

shraddha to do bakthi - the subtle touch of this shradhdha developes

(negizhchchi).This leads to the reverence for life, and that is bakthi.

 

The net effect is a sense of relaxed attitude to outer worldly life and an

inner intense life for and as a baktha.

 

Man is bound to have emotions as long as he exists in this world. Hence

bhakthi is fully dependent on his emotions levels of the emotions and

attachment to his personal God. It is not bhakthi if it is mixed with a

desire to have this object that wealth that particular girl as wife or some

other. That is neither a barter- I give you this you give me that.

 

It is not bhakthi if the man worships becomes a devotee of a personal god

with the desire of being saved from the tortures of hell or the greediness

of attaining mOksha for himself.

 

Bhakthi is "let me born again and again any number of times I don't care,

because I am engaged in your service Oh Lord".

 

Sri Muralidhar Rangaswami has covered three types of bhakthi. But I read

somewhere there are 5 types.

1. Shantha bhakthi-

2. Dhaasya bhakthi

3. Sakhya bhakthi

4. Vaathsalya bhakthi

5. Madhura bhakthi

 

1. Shantha bhakthi- When a man worships God with the fire of love in him,

but without the madness in his brain, when his love is just and calm, a

little higher than mere forms ceremonies and symbols but not charecterised

by the madness of intensely active love it is shatha bhakthi. Best example

is Bhishma.

 

2. Dhaasya bhakthi- When a man thinks he is the true servant of the Lord-

then that kind of bhakthi is Dhaasya bhakthi. The relationship is between

the master and a faithful servant. This is the type advocated by our

aachaaryaas. That is why we have names... dhaasan.

 

Other three are very nicely dealt by Murali. I will add only examples-

sakhya bhakthi- kuchEla and krishna. Vaathsalya bhakthi- periyaazhvaar,

subramaniya bharathi (of course I am not equating both, but names only).

Madhura bhakthi- gopees and krishna.

 

On the emotion aspect, I have the following to add. The vehement stirring up

of the feelings, and or emotions result in the acts of singing dancing

flowing of tears from eyes head reeling as though under intoxication. These

are all good. As the mass of feeling is aroused so also it recedes. The

higher the waves the lower it falls and with equal force. It is difficult at

that stage to stand up against the shock of reaction. So proper

discrimination has to be applied in every stage to avoid succumbing to lower

propensities of lust.

 

There is bhakthi in every body, only a veil of lust covers it. As soon as

this is removed it will manifest itself. Bhakthi's great disadvantage is it

degenerates into hideous fanaticism. Bhakthi tempered with jnana- proper

discrimination- without caring for results- "What if, if I go to hell while

doing bhakthi and working on good for others" should be the correct attitude

for a true bhakthaa. That is better than winning heaven only for self.

 

Dasan

 

Vasudevan M.G.

[Guest guest]

>L&T-ECCG-Buildings & Factories <BAF-ECC

>re:bhakthi and bhakthaas

>Fri, 28 Jan 2000 14:52:39 +0530

>bhakti

>

>Dear Sri vaishnava perunthagaiyeer,

>

>Sri Sampath kumar, Sri Krishna kanumalla and Sri Murlidhar Rangaswamy have

>shared their thoughts on this topic of Bhakti and bhakthaas. Here is my

>points worth two paise (in India we do not have cents please).

>

Further to the most inforamtive postings

from the Four BhakthAs including Sri M.G.Vasudevan,

I would like to recommend the Interested readers

to "Naarada Bhakthi SoothrAs" . Written in

the aphoristic SoothrA style , these soothrAs

cover in detail the subject matter of Bhakthi .

Commentaries on these SoothrAs are avialable

from scholars from MaharAshtrA and elsewhere.

V.Sadagopan

[Guest guest]

--- Sadagopan <sgopan wrote:

> >

> Further to the most inforamtive postings

> from the Four BhakthAs including Sri M.G.Vasudevan,

> I would like to recommend the Interested readers

> to "Naarada Bhakthi SoothrAs" . Written in

> the aphoristic SoothrA style , these soothrAs

> cover in detail the subject matter of Bhakthi .

> Commentaries on these SoothrAs are avialable

> from scholars from MaharAshtrA and elsewhere.

> V.Sadagopan

>

 

For the information of members, Sriman.Sadagopan

himself has posted some very interesting things on the

Narada bhakti sutras. Please access them on the

Bhakti-list archives.

 

dAsan,

Sampathkumaran

 

 

Talk to your friends online with Messenger.

http://im.