bhakti swatantra sakala sukha khani....

[Guest guest]

"so swatantra avalambana aanaa<br>tehi aadheena

gyaana vigyaanaa"<br><br>-Sant Sri Tulasidaas, Sri Rama

Carita Maanas<br><br>Namaste all.<br><br>More teachings

on Pure Selfless Divine Love, Prema Bhakti :-

<br><br>We CANNOT COMPREHEND the PURE DIVINELOVE, PREMA

BHAKTI that is ATTAINED through GOD'S GRACE because IT

IS DIVINE, and therfore it is <br>AN INDEFINABLE

POWER OF LORD. <br><br>First examine the word 'Bhakti'.

<br>One origin is <br>'bhajanaM bhaktiH' <br>this is

meant to say about 'PERFECT DEVOTION' or 'siddha

bhakti', <br>and the other origin is, <br>'bhajayate

bhaktiH', this is preliminary or <br>PREPARATORY DEVOTION'

or 'sadhana bhakti'. <br><br>Let us understand the

characterstics of 'Preliminary Devotion'. <br><br>"anyAbhilASitA

zUnyaM jnAna karmAdyanAvRtam, <br>AnukUlyEna kRSNAnu

zIlanaM bhaktir uttamA" <br><br>(Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu)

<br><br>"guNarahitaM kAmanArahitaM <br>pratikSaNa vardhamAnam"

<br><br>(Narada Bhakti Sutra- 54) <br><br>"sarvopAdhi virirmuktaM

<br>tat paratvena nirmalam, <br>hRSikeNa hRSikeza sevanaM

<br>bhaktir ucyate" <br><br>(Narada Panca Ratram)

<br><br>"ahaituky avyavahitA yA <br>bhaktiH puruSottame"

<br><br>(Bhagavatam 3.29.12) <br><br>There are THREE main points to

be grasped. <br><br>Firstly, <br>one should be

DEVOID of ALL DESIRES. <br><br>Secondly, <br>'Bhakti'

should NOT be DILUTED by KARMA(ritualistic and

obligatory actions), JNANA (doctrines of subtle knowedge and

philosophies), tapa (penance, austerity), etc. <br><br>Thirdly,

<br>one should ACTIVELY LOVE and SERVE Lord (Krishna)in a

PLEASING WAY, through RELATIONSHIPS of SANTA(peaceful

neutral tranquility), DASYA (humble eternal servitude),

SAKHYA (eternal friendship), VATSALYA (eternal

parent-hood) and MADHURYA (passionate amorous-love of eternal

bride). <br><br>Let us discuss the first REQUIREMENT in

detail, because in my opinion, it is the REASON for the

individual soul's FAILURE to practise SADHANA, and is the

GREATEST IMPEDIMENT that BLOCKS our PROGRESS in Devotional

Practice. <br>Once this condition is GRASPED, the PATH of

Bhakti will be SMOOTH, and we will speedily progress

towards OUR GOAL. <br><br>Devotion is POSSIBLE ONLY when

ALL kinds of DESIRES are ABANDONED. <br>In reality,

it is the MIND that has to be ENGAGED in Devotion

because the MIND is the CAUSE of the BONDAGE and

LIBERATION. <br><br>If the MIND is PREOCCUPIED with worldly

or celestial DESIRES, then HOW CAN WE USE IT IN

DEVOTION? <br>You have ONLY ONE MIND. <br>You can FILL it

with DESIRES for MATERIAL ATTAINMENTS, or with the

DESIRE for DIVINE ATTAINMENT. <br>It is totally

IMPOSSIBLE to have BOTH KINDS OF DESIRES IN ONE MIND.

<br><br>Most people WHO believe in GOD NEVER seriously

CONTEMPLATE this fact, though it definitely NEEDS DEEP

REFLECTION. <br><br>The first condition of Preparatory

Devotion is to ABANDON ALL kinds of DESIRES. <br>What do

we mean by ALL kinds of desires? <br><br>The

simplest and most SATISFACTORY answer to this question is

that ANY DESIRE APART FROM THE DESIRE FOR THE LORD IS

TO BE RENOUNCED. <br>The desires that HAVE TO BE

RENOUNCED are of FOUR KINDS: <br>Dharma(pious conduct and

righteousness), <br>Artha(material wealth), <br>Kama(sensual

pleasures), and <br>Moksha(liberation). <br><br>First THREE,

viz. dharma, artha, and kama together are also

referred as 'BHUKTI' because they RELATE TO MATERIAL

REALM. <br>In short it amounts to RENUNCIATION of TWO

KINDS of DESIRES, <br>'BHUKTI' and 'MUKTI'(liberation).

<br><br>Some may find the RENUNCIATION of the second kind of

DESIRE, MUKTI, to be puzzling. <br>To renounce ALL

MATERIAL desires upto the Heavenly Abode of Lord Brahma is

COMPREHENSIBLE, but to RENOUNCE MUKTI or LIBERATION seems QUITE a

STRANGE CONDITION. <br><br>(Continued)