Essence of the Ambrosial Ocean of Devotion - Part 3

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Essence of the Ambrosial Ocean of Devotion

(Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu Sar)

by Victor D Dicara

(Vraja Kishor das)

 

Part 3 - Definition of Uttama Bhakti.

 

Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu is about bhakti-rasa, the pleasurable essence of

bhakti. But one cannot talk about "the pleasurable essence of bhakti"

without first knowing what "bhakti" is. Rupa Goswami therefore dedicates all

four waves of the First Division to defining bhakti. He begins by saying

(1.1.11):

 

anyAbhilASitA shunyaM...

 

In this shloka, Rupa Goswami defines Uttama-Bhakti, the "topmost devotion"

(English readers may be more familiar with this term rendered as "Pure

Devotion.") The second half of the shloka defines the essential

characteristics ("svarupa-lakshana") of bhakti, while the first half defines

additional characteristics ("tatastha-lakshana") that combine with the

essential characteristics to refine the definition of bhakti ("devotion")

into the definition of uttama-bhakti ("pure devotion").

 

The first essential characteristic is that bhakti is an activity

("silanam"). Activity can be either physical, mental, or vocal (or, in

higher levels of bhakti, purely emotional), and may either be in pursuit of

something ("pravritti"), or in avoidance of something ("nivritti"). For

example, one may endeavor to do something, or may endeavor not to do

something; One may try to contemplate something, or may try not to complate

something; one may try to say something, or may try not to say something,

etc.

 

But, who and what are all these varieties of action for? They are for

pleasing Krishna ("krsnanu-silana").

 

"Krishna" includes his plenary expansions (visnu-tattva), his seperated

expansions (siva and jiva-tattva) and the energies that compose the

spiritual and material worlds. Thus the way we interact with other

individuals, objects, and forms of Godhead is also a part of uttama-bhakti -

when these ultimate aim of these interactions is to please Krishna.

 

If bhakti is simply an action that pleases Krishna, then demons like Kamsa

who inadvertantly pleased Krishna by their actions would also be considered

devotees. Rupa Goswami therefore specifies that such actions are not bhakti

unless the intention is favorable ("anukula"). An action that inadvertantly

pleases Krishna is not bhakti, only an action intended to please Krishna is.

 

Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur's comments indicate that the intention is even

more important than the outcome, citing the example of Krishna's mother

Yashoda. Though she sometimes caused her child tears of unhappiness, her

actions are considered bhakti because her intention was favorable.

 

These are the essential characteristics of bhakti: Bhakti is an action

intended to please Krishna. Now, we will look at the additional

characteristics.

 

The first of the additional characteristics of uttama-bhakti is

"anya-abhilashita-shunyam." This indicates that bhakti is "pure" when done

by a person who has no ulterior motive. To illustrate: Someone may worship

God with the intention to please him, but with the motive of getting

something in return for it. This may be a type of bhakti, but it is not

uttama-bhakti. In uttama- bhakti one acts with the intention to please

Krishna, and with no motive except the desire to please him.

 

The second characteristic of uttama-bhakti joins closely with the first:

"Jnana-karma-adi-anavrittam." Here "jnana" indicates pursuit of knowledge

with the objective of liberation from temporal existence ("mukti"). "Karma"

indicates pursuit of enjoyable rewards ("bhukti"). "Adi" indicates other

similar pursuits with similar objectives.

 

A varying proportion of such pursuits inevitably is a part of everyone's

life in the temporal world, and therefore may exist even in a person with

pure devotion - but not to the extent that they overshadow or hide

("avritta") one's main pursuit, which is simply the pursuit of pleasing God.

 

In conclusion, Rupa Goswami defines uttama-bhakti as "action intended to

please Krishna, performed as the main pursuit of one without ulterior

motive."

 

Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu is about the flavor of the pleasurable essence

(rasa) of this uttama-bhakti. Still, before directly discussing this topic

Rupa Goswami will continue to describe uttama-bhakti and its three stages

(sadhana, bhava, and prema). We will have a look at these topics in the

upcoming articles of this series:

 

Part Four - Six Hallmarks of Uttama Bhakti

Part Five - Sadhana Bhakti

Part Six - Vaidhi Sadhana Bhakti

Part Seven - Raganuga Sadhana Bhakti

Part Eight - Bhava Bhakti

Part Nine - Prema Bhakti

Part Ten - An Overview of Rasa

Part Eleven - The Primary Rasas

Part Twelve - The Associated Rasas