Narada bhakthi suthras-16 to20

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Suthra16-poojAdhishu anuragah ithi PArA Saryah

 

Vyasa, the son of Parasara is of the opinion that bhakthi is expressed through worship and other acts of love.

 

The three views on bhakthi given in the three suthras that follow are the expressions of bhakthi through act, word and thought. The first view is that of Vyasa according to which all physical acts such as worship, and service to the Lord are denoted as bhakthi provided it is accompanied with love. This means involving all our senses in the act of worship such as the devotion described in Mukundamala by Kulasekhara Azvar.

 

.. jihve kirthaya kesavam muraripum chetho bhaja SreeDharam

pANidhvandhva tham archaya achutha kaThAh Srothradhvaya thvam Srunu

krshNam lokaya lochanadhvaya hareh gacchAnghriyugma Alayam

jighra ghrANa mukundha pAdhathulaseem moorDhan nam aDhokshajam

 

Azvar gives injunction to his senses to become engaged in the worship of the Lord.

 

Oh tongue, sing about Kesava., the slayer of Mura. Oh mind, think of SreeDhara. Two hands, you worship Him , Two ears, you hear the stories about Achyutha. Oh eyes, look at Krishna. Pair of feet, you go to the temple of Hari. Oh nose, you smell the tulsi leaves from the feet of Mukundha. Oh head, bow down to ADhokshaja.

 

When all the senses are thus engaged in the service of the Lord they will cease to be attracted by the worldly sensual pleasures. This reminds one, of the KuraL of the famous Tamil sage Thiruvalluvar, who has given to the world maxims with deep meaning in short sentences.

Pattruga pattrattrAn pattrinai appattrai

pattruga pattru vidarku.

 

It means that in order to relinquish the attachment of the world one has to develop attachment towards the Lord. If we want to give up something it is easier to do so by shifting our attachment to something else which is more desirable.

 

Suthra 17. kaTha Adhishu ithi gargah

 

The sage Garga thinks that devotion is hearing and telling others about the Lord and the stories of Him. This refers to all verbal expressions such as chants, prayers, study, and exposition of divine qualities and stories, Harikatha, namasankirthana etc. In the Gita the Lord says about His devotees, `macchitthA madhgathaprANAh boDhayanthah parasparam kaThayanthi cha mAm nithyam thushyanthi cha ramanthi cha,' they minds are engrossed in the Lord, their lives dedicated to Him, talk to each other about he Lord and exchange the stories of Him revel and rejoice in Him. In Srimadbhagavatham Parikshith, asking Suka to tell him the story of Krishna in detail, says that none else but a butcher will be reluctant to listen again and again to the recital of the glorious attributes of the Lord.

 

Narada himself was the illustration of this as he always goes around singing the glory of the Lord. So were Valmiki, Vyasa and Tulsidas who composed epics of Bhakthi and Meer, Andal, and the azvars and Jayadeva who composed lyrics about the Lord. Bhishma said at the end of Mahabharatha war that to sing the name of the Lord is the best of the dharmas. The Lord Himself in Gita, `yajnAnAm japayajno asmi.'(BG.10-25)

 

Suthra18-Athmarathi aviroDhena ithi sAndilyah

 

Sage Sandilya holds that reveling in the self without any thoughts to the contrary is bhakthi.

 

The expression of bhakthi must be accompanied with incessant thought of the Lord. Physical and verbal manifestations if not accompanied by spiritual background that give rise to the joy of experiencing the Lord within as the inner self , and the self of all, will result in blind devotion which results in fanaticism and bigotry. In Srimadbhagavatham the Lord says that He does not accept the worship of one who has no feeling towards his fellow creatures and other than Himself because all are the creations of the Lord. So without prejudice to other religions or sects one should love all as the Lord is in all beings.

 

 

 

 

Suthra 19-nAradhasthu thadharpitha akhilAchArathA thadhvismaraNe paramvyAkulatha ithi

 

But Narada is of the opinion that bhakthi consists in all these activities with complete surrender to Him and extreme anguish in not remembering Him. Complete self surrender is the prime characteristic of bhakthi and every action done in this spirit is the expression of bhakthi. Worship, chants and singing His glory and constant remembrance of Him are the expressions of deep seated ardour and sincerity. All this done with the attitude of surrender constitute bhakthi. All activities secular or sacred should be offered at His feet and any lapse of memory of Him creates extreme anguish in the mind of the devotee. there are several verses and slokas of Azvars and the saints to show this. The illustration of this is best seen in the love of the gopis for Krishna which is elaborated in the subsequent suthras.

 

Suthra20-asthu evam evam

 

Narada establishes his view saying that let this be exactly as described above. This is in-keeping with the literary style of suthras where the author arrives at the conclusion after discussing the acceptability or otherwise of the views stated. This suthra clinches the argument by validating the views said above that the cardinal essence of devotion is the deep sincerity combined with ardent faith as claimed in the upanishats and the Gita.