Naradabhakthisuthram suthras 1to12 : Gospel of Divine Love

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Narada bhakthi suthra

- Gospel of Divine Love

 

The sage Narada , known as Devarshi is the mAnasaputhra of Brahma and his story

is told in detail in Bhagavatha. Bhakthi is extolled by Krishna in the Gita and

also in Bhagavatha. So Narada bhakthi suthra should be studied along with the

two works.While the Brahma suthra of Vyasa pertains to knowledge and the

Dharmasuthra of Jaimini is about karmamarga this work is about bhakthi without

which jnana becomes dry

and karma causes bondage.

 

 

Gita advocates jnanayoga, karmayoga and bhakthiyoga, which purifies the

intellect , will and emotion respectively and the blend of all the three is a

sure means of speedy achievement of the goal, namely moksha. Narada bhakthi

suthra , is a synthesis of all the three, the other two being made possible by

bhakthi.

 

Ramakrishna has stressed the path of devotion as the best and easiest in

kaliyuga and this work is the guide book for sincere seekers that leads them by

hand from the start to finish. This is not an intellectually systematized

thought process but an exposition that came out of experience. To follow the

path of bhakthi one need not be well versed in sasthras or belong to high caste

etc. The only requisite is sraddha and bhakthi.

 

What is bhakthi? Love of God, which is the ultimate stage of all other love

commonly felt in the world, which are only a semblance of that

love, whcih is bhakthi.You do not see him or speak to him but you feel

that he is very close to you and he can see you and hear you and knows

your innermost thoughts.Narada bhakthi suthra elucidates the concept of bhakthi,

the supreme divine love and outlines the steps leading to it.

 

Naradabhakthisuthra-adhyaya-1-Parabhakthisvarupam

suthra-1

 

aTHAtho bhakthim vyAkyAsyAmah

 

Now,aTha, therefore, athah, we shall expound vyAkyAsyamah,the divine

love, bhakthim. Suthras are aphorisms which tell the truths in short form like a

formula. Brahma suthra by Vyasa serves the purpose of establishing the real

purport of the upanishads while Dharmasuthra by Jaimini relates to the

karamamarga or ritualistic discipline and the Pathanjali yoga suthra outlines

the yoga discipline.

 

 

Narada extolled the path of bhakthi to Vyasa to pursuade him to write

Bhagavathapurana. He begins with the words 'then therefore' as in the other

works on the suthras. The word 'aTHa, then ,' denotes the Anantharya or the

sequential action to something that precedes the knowledge of bhakthi. It refers

to the necessary qualification of one who desires to follow the path of

Bhakthimarga.Devotion cannot be instilled in any one at random but the person

should already have the inclination for it.The arTHithva, intense desire to

learn, the capacity shakthathva,to understand and exposure free from obstacles

aparyudhasthathva should be present to make the study of any subject

effective.

 

 

The path of bhakthi is open to all irrespective of caste,creed etc.who have

belief in the grace of the Lord and faith in the path of devotion

as an effective means of freeing one from the cycle of birth and death

which causes the suffering in samsara.This fact is confirmed by Lord

Krishna in Gita by saying that even those who have been born in lowliest of

birth will attain the highest goal by taking refuge in Him.

 

Ramanuja mentions in sribhashya seven requisites for pursuing the path

of devotion.They are:

 

1.vivEka, discrimination,

 

2.vimOka ,freedom from desires,

 

3.abhyAsa , practice,

 

4.kriya , doing good to others,

 

5.kalyaNa- auspicious qualities like nonviolence, straight forwardness, mercy

etc.

 

6.anavasAdha, cheerfulness and

 

7. anuddharsha- absence of excessive hilarity.

 

 

These are explained exhaustively in sribhshya of Ramanuja.

 

The next word in the suthra athah,therefore gives the reason for explaining the

bhakthi suthra by Naradha. Bhakthi is the easiest means of attaining salvation

.. it is easily followed. it is the only path available to all. It is necessary

even to those who acquire jnana for the simple reason that it softens heart of

even a stoic vedantin without which he will dry up.Narada who has experienced

it, wishes to share the joy of it with the world.

 

Then he says 'bhakthim vyAkhyAsyAmaha, we shall explain the pathof devotion.'

Here the word 'we' is not used in the sense of reverence but it means that he is

going to explain something which has been expounded and experienced by others

before him and hence it is used in the plural sense only.By this it is implied

that this is not a discourse on principles based on reason but an exposition

based on actual experience.

 

 

suthra-2

 

sAthvasmin paramaprEma rupA

 

sA- that(devotion); thu-indeed; paramaprEmarupa- of the nature of

supreme devotion asmin- in that.

 

Bhakthi is of two kinds aparA and parAbhakthi. The devotion of an aspirant is

the former and the same when fructified into realization of the goal it is parA

bhakthi. The particle thu differentiates this parAbhakthi from the ordinary

sense of the term commonly understood as bhakthi. the real devotion of saints

like Meera, Andal and azvars is not the one which goes by the name of pooja, or

observing rituals either for fulfillment of desired object or out of

fear.Normally on the world people call one bhakthiman merely by his outward

manifestations such as regularly going to the temples, doing ritualistic

worship, observing vratas like ekadasi etc. But it is possible for one to do all

this yet not to have real devotion at heart. Bhakthi is an attitude of the heart

with or without external manifestations.

 

Then what is bhakthi? Ramanuja gives the answer in Sribhashya. It is

Dhruvasmrthi, constant remembrance of the Lord, like thailadhaArA, the

dripping of oil. It has been declared by PrahlAda, Uddhava and Narada

that bhakthi is the feeling that the Lord is one's own. In

gopAlapoorvathApini upanishad bhakthi is defined as 'bhakthirasya

bhajanam; EthadhihAmuthrOpADHinairASyEna amushmin manahkalpanam,'

Bhakthi is the adoring service with mind fixed on Him, without any

expectation in this world or the next. The same idea is expressed by

Thondaradippodi Azvar in ThirumAlai 'icchuvai thavira yAn pOy

indhiralOkam ALum acchuvai perinum vEnden arangamAnagaruLAnE.' " I do

not wish for anything else including the rulership of heaven, except

singing your names and stay here. "

 

 

Affection for one's Chosen Ideal matures into extreme love and when it

is absorbed totally in the object of love it is called bhakthi. Sankara says in

Vivekachaadamani 'svasvarupanusanDHAnam

bhakthirithybhidheeyathe;svAthmathathvAnusanDHAnam bhakthirithi aparE

jaguh.' Devotion is defined by some as an enquiry into oneself and by

others it is said to be an enquiry into the truth of one's own nature.

 

As the supreme being is the inner self of all, this is also true.

ChandhOgya upanishad says that Brahman is to be worshipped and realised, is the

same as the Atman in the heart. Thus love of God is nothing but the love of the

Reality or the higher self, the indwelling self of man.

 

 

The word in the suthra paramaprEmAkhyA defines bhakthi in order to

distinguish it from the common view of bhakthi. It is not fevered

imagination or emotional excitement. It is not also hallucination which defies

all scientific explanations but it is real and the

transcendental experience of bliss. It is also a far cry from fanaticism or

blind faith that often leads to sectarian fights. It is not selfish or egoistic

and removes any other love of the world or desire for worldly gains and is

accompanied with complete self-effacing forgetfulness and the love that lacks

all these qualities is not bhakthi.

 

 

In srimadbhagavatham we find Krishna telling Uddhava about the gopis-

thA nAvidhan mayyanushangabaddhaDHiyah

svamAthmAnam adhasthaTHEdham

yaTHA samAdhOU munayO abDHithOyE

nadhyah pravishtA iva namarupE (Bh.11.12)

 

 

With their thoughts firmly fixed on Me they were not aware of their body or what

was far or near, just like sages in samadhi or the rivers losing their name and

form on merging with the sea.

 

Suka describing the state of the gopis says, 'thadhmanaskAh thadhAlApAh

thadhvichEshtAh thadhAthmikAh; thadhguNAnEva gAyanthyah nAthmAgArANi

sasmaruh.'(Bh.10.30.44)

 

With their hearts absorbed in Krishna they talked only about him, acted like

him, thought of themselves not different from him, singing only about his

qualities,they forgot even their own homes.

 

The word asmin in this suthra is significant as it does not denote any

metaphysical or theological designation.In the initial stages the divine spirit

is conceived as something different from oneself and the mind is investing that

spirit with all divine qualities which the individual gradually acquires himself

in course of devotion until there is no separation from his ideal and realises

that as his own self.

 

This is expressed in the famous lines presumably spoken by Hanuman,

 

'dhEha budDHyA thu dAsOham jeevabuDHya thvadhamSakah;AthmabudDHyA

thvamEvAham ithi mE nischithA mathih.'

 

" when I identify myself with my body I am your servant.When I consider myself

as a soul I am a part of you. But when I think of myself as the Athman I am one

with you. "

 

In srimadbhagavatham it is said that the sages , though they have become one

with the supreme self, wilfully retain their identity in order to enjoy the

bliss of the company of the supreme self because they want to remain separate

and taste the sugar rather than merging wirh it.

 

But there are another kind of bhakthas who never bother about retaining or

giving up their individuality but surrender themselves to God and let Him do

whatever He likes with them. But the individuality of those, changes irrevocably

and they remain divine in all their thoughts words and deed.

 

Thus the supreme divine love indicated by Narada is different from the term

bhakthi used normally in everyday life. It is the culmination of all yogas,

ending in the complete selfless love for the sake of love

alone.

 

 

 

suthra-3-amrthasvarupA cha

 

Also of the nature of immortality.

SA-that bhakthi is, amrtha svarupA-having the essential form of amrtha,

 

cha- also.

 

 

This suthra gives a description of the nature of bhakthi. In its own

essential nature bhakthi is no less than mukthi, a state of immortal

bliss and hence is called amrtha.

 

The joy experienced in this world or the next, that is, heaven , is not

permanent. The sukha in this world is always mixed with or followed by sorrow

and that in the other world is also temporary as Krishna says, 'ksheenE puNyE

marthya lokam viSanthi, when the merit, puNya is exhausted the soul riverts back

to the mortal world,' in Bhagavtgita.

 

Hence the immortal bliss ,amrtha is possible only in the state of mukthi. Amrtha

translated as nectar is also relevant because the joy experienced through

bhakthi is like nectar to the devotee, an extremely blissful experience of the

Lord who is termed by NammazvAr as ArAvamudhan, ceaseless nectar.

 

Narayanabhattadhri says in Narayaneeyam that the devotion to the Lord is sweet

in the beginning, in the middle and in the end. All the saints in all countries,

regions and in all languages have expressed the experience of devotion as

nectar-like.

 

Bhakthi is not losing individualtiy but delving deep into the divine,

transcending the individuality and regaining the natural self of infinite

joy.Sri Ramakrishna describes God as a liquid sweet. He asked

Vivekanandha that, suppose he was a fly and there is a vessel full of

syrup of sugar where will he sit and drink it and Vivekanandha replied

that he will sit at the rim lest he will be drowned. Sri Ramakrishna

said that diving into the divine sea called sacchidhAnandha one does not drown

but gets immortality.

 

The state of bhakthi attainable in this life itself is parAbhakthi which is akin

to mukthi. So Narada accepts immortality in this life itself through bhakthi,

which means not the continuation of this embodiment but freedom from misery and

experience of eternal bliss. In Katopanishad it is said, 'aTha marthyO amrthO

bhavathi athra Brahma samaSnuthE (Kata.6-14) then the mortal becomes immortal

and attains Brahman here.' In Purushasuktha we have the statement, 'thamEvam

vidhvAn amrtha iha bhavathi, realising Him thus one becomes immortal here.'

 

The word amrtha, according to AmarakoSa, the sanskrit lexicon compiled by

Amarasimha, has also other meanings besides nectar and immortal. It means alms

unasked 'dhve yAchatha ayAchithayOh yaTHA sankhya mrtha amrthE, mrtha and amrtha

mean asked and unasked respectively. So bhakthi is amrtha because the devotee is

not interested in anything else except to enjoy the Lord's presence and His

service.But the Lord gives mukthi unasked. The supreme cannot be attained

through knowledge, meritorious acts like charity, austerity etc. but can be

obtained by Divine grace alone which bhakthi secures for the

devotee.'YamaivEshavrNuthE thEna labhyah, It(mukthi) is attained by him alone

whom God chooses.'

 

 

Another meaning of amrtha is yajnaSesha, the remains of an offering.

This implies that sacrifice which gives the result is through self

effort. Hence the word amrtha with respect to bhakthi means that even

though supreme devotion is the grace of God resulting in mukthi it

requires self effort. Unless one wishes for it and takes effort, the

grace will not descend on him. This is what has been denoted by Krishna in the

Gita by 'mA thE sangOsthu akarmaNi' which means that one should not abstain

from performing work,' though the result is not in his hands.

 

In short,immortality, bliss and freedom form the end while the grace of God and

self effort form the means.

 

 

 

Suthra-4-

yallabDHvA pumAn siddhObhavthi amrthObhavathi thrupthObhavathi

 

yath=that which(bhakthi); labDhvA=having gained;pumAn=man;

bhavathi=becomes siddhah=perfect;amrthah=eternal;thrupthah= contented

 

Attaining bhakthi a devotee becomes perfect being, becomes immortal and

contented.

 

Bhakthi is the only thing a devotee asks for, but the Lord gives him mukthi as

well, which is denoted by the word amrtha.Bhakthi alone gives full satifaction

to the devotee and hence he become thruptha, contented.The word siddha does not

mean the ashtamAsiddhis, the occult powers which are eight in number, but it

means that the devotee becomes perfect in all respects. When one is an aspirant

he is a sadhaka and when he attains the goal he is siddha.It is in this sense

the word siddha is used here. He feels a krthkrthya, one who has accomplished

what has to be accomplished.

 

Shankara in his sivanandhalahari says in a beautiful sloka,

narathvam dhevathvam nagavanamrgathvam maSakathA

paSuthvam keetathvam bhavathu vihagathvAdhijananam

sadhA thvadpAdhAbjasmaraNparamAnandhalaharee

vihArAsaktham cheth hrdhayamiha kimthEna vapushA.

 

'Let me be born as a man or god, animal or a tree, a mosquito, a worm, a bird.

If my heart is immersed in the waves of bliss of remembering your lotus feet

what do I care for the kind of body I have?'

 

Kulasekhara in Mukundamala expresses the same idea in praying for bhakthi

alone, irrespective of where he is , in heaven or in hell or on earth.'avismrtih

tvaccharaNAravindhE bhavE bhavE mE asthu thava prasadhAth,may I have the

remembrance of your lotus feet by Your grace, in all my lives to come.' And

'dhivi vA bhivi va mamAsthu vaso narakE vA, whether I am in heaven, earth or

hell.'

 

In srimadbhagavatham Krishna tells Uddhava that the one who has surrendered his

heart to the Lord will not desire either the post of Brahma, Indra or to become

a ruler on earth or in netherworld,nor will

he desire yoga siddhi or moksha, except the Lord Himself.

 

The word pumAn is significant in as much as the qualification for

attaining devotion is being a pumAn or a man, which includes woman, as

the word denotes a human being in general. It eliminates the necessity

of being a brahmin or kshathriya or a srothriya, wellversed in vedas, to be a

devotee and includes all who have faith in, and love for, the

Lord.

 

Krishna says in Bhagavatgita, 'mAmhi pArTha vyapAsrithya yepi syuh

papayOnyah; sthriyO vaisyAh thaTHASudhAh thEpi yAnthi parAm gathim.'

This means, those who resort to the Lord will attain salvationmay they

be of low birth or women or visya , implying that they need not be

brahmins or kshathriyas for whom alone the learning of the vedas is

prescribed. Many saints and women like Meera and Andal are examples of

this.

 

Thruptha means one who is perfectly sarisfied and a devotee is so, with his

devotion alone and does not seek anything else except the smaraNam, kirthanam

and padhasevanam as the Azvar in Thirumalai puts it,

pacchaimamalai pol Eni pavazavAi kamalacchengaN

achuthA amarar ErE Ayar tham kozundhE ennum

icchuvai thavir yAn pOy indhirlokam ALum

acchuvaiperinum vEnDEn rangamAnagaruLAne

 

I do not want even the rulership of heaven except singing your glory,

your form like the green mountain, coral lips, lotus like eyes, and your names

Achyutha, Lord of devas, and the child of yadhavas, Oh the Lord of Srirangam.

 

suthra-5-yath prApya na kinchith vAncchathi,na SOchathi,na dhvEshti, na ramathE

,nOthsAhee bhavathi

 

Attaining that one is not desirous of anything more, does not grieve, has no

hatred towards nor rejoices over anything and does not exert himself on self

interest.

 

This description is that of the sThithaprjna, the one who is established in the

Self, outlined in the second chapter of Gita.(BG-II-55 to76) He is duhkhEshu

anudhvighna manAh, not perturbed in sorrow, sukhEshu vigathasprhaH, nor jubilant

over happiness because he is veetharAgabhayakrOdhaH, devoid of attachment, fear

and anger.

 

This state of realisation is shown to be achieved through bhakthi in

the twelfth chapter of the Gita in the sloka, 'adhvEshtA sarvabhoothAnAm

maithrah karuNa Eva cha nirmamO nirahankAraH samaduhkh sukha kshamee;

santhushtassathatham yOgee yathAtmA dhrDanischyah mayyarpithamano buddhiH,'(BG

XII-13,14) One who is always thinking of the Lord, with his mind engrossed in

Him,is always contented,devoid of ego and sense of possessions,

equanimous,patient forgiving, full of mercy, being friendly towards all with

hatred towards none and has self control and discrimination.

 

In the previous suthra the word labDHvA is used while in this it is prApya and

they look synonymous but actually not so.The former word is used in the sense of

gaining as the devotion is to be gained through divine grace only. In this

suthra he word prapya is used to mean 'attaining.' to attain something one has

to make effort.When the bhakthi dawns in the heart the ego disappears and the

perfection is attained through the exercise of devotion. a devotee is not

desirous of anything above devotion itself, even moksha. they are immersd in th

joy of experiencing the lord in their heart and as Sankara says in bajagovindam

such a devotee is all the time elated , 'nandhathi nandhathi nandhathi Eva.'

That is why it is said here that he does not desire anything else except

bhakthi.'na kinchith vAnchathi.'

 

na Sochathi, he does not grieve because he has no worldly desire. Sorrow arise

only as a cause of desire which when fulfilled brings joy but it is short lived

as everything in this world is transitory. So all wolrdly happiness brings

sporrow in its wake. Hence a devotee has no grief apart from being separated

from the Lord, which predicament is ruled out when his heart is united with the

Lord through bhakthi.

 

He has no hatred , na dhvEshti, because he sees the Lord everywhere.Hatred is

born out of anger when something goes against our

wish, which is the result of kAma, desire. So when desire is absent there could

be no anger and no hatred.The attitude of a bhaktha is vasudhaiva kutumbakam.

After havibg transcended the notion of 'I' and 'mine,' he has samadhrshti

towards everything and has neither hatred nor rejoices towards any happenings of

the world, na ramathE. Sankara says on who sees the divine self inside is always

has the same bliss whether he is enjoying the worldly pleasures or engaged in

spiritual practice, 'yogaratho vA bhogarathO va,' whether heis in the midst of

the world or away from the society, 'sangaratho va sangaviheenaH.'

 

na uthsAhee bhavathi, a devotee does not take up any action for his self

interest. This is described in the Gita by the word

sarvArambhaparithyAgee, used to denote a bhaktha. (BG XII-25) this does not mean

that the devoteehas given up all actions because Krishna

Himself says in the third chapter of Gita that one cannot desist from

performing karma that are prompted by his gunas. 'na hi kaschit

kshaNamapi jAthu thishTathyakarmakrth.' But the bhaktha does not think

that he is the agent of his action and functions as the instrument of

the Lord. Hence he is not affected by the result of his karma and

therefore whatever he does becomes the worship of the Lord.

 

 

Suthra-6-yath jnAthva mattho bhavathi, sthabdhO bhavathi AthmAramo

bhavathi

 

Knowing the Self one becomes like an intoxicated or madman, and like a

numb or fascinated man , enjoying the bliss of the self continuously.

 

 

The picture of the man of realisation, sThithaptajna, through bhakthiyoga

continues. One who is completly immersed in devotion has no ego and functions

only as an instrument of God. He may look normal outwardly and may do all his

duties as expected but his attitude differs from that of an ordinary person

actng with a selfish motive. Sometimes he acts like a madman not conforming to

the social standards because he is intoxicated with devotional fervour and acts

like a lunatic. Most of the devotee-saints were considered as lunatics by their

family and society.He can be described as mattha-madhupa, a bee intoxicated with

honey of the Lord.This is because his actions cannot be understood by others He

is under the influence of a higher power, the ways of which is inscrutable for

the ordinary mind.sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa said that all are mad but while

some are mad after money, power and other worldly things a devotee is mad after

God.

 

Sthabdha on the other hand means inactivity due to enchantment. A devotee at the

height of ecstacy may appear completely stupefied. Nammazvar while composing

pasuram on the Lord being bound to the mortar said one word 'etthiram' meaning

'what a wonder' and became unconscious for six months. He sat motionless for

many years under the tamarind tree deeply engrossed in the joy of the Lord.

 

AthmarAmA means immersed in the self, That is, the real Self of all, Brahman

which arises from the jnana. This denotes that realisation of

the Self is not attainment but knowing the reality.The upanishad says

that the Self is inside the individual self, 'ya athmanaH antharah,'

whom the individual self did not know,' yam AthmA na vEdha,' and to

whom the individual self is the body,'yasya AthmA Sareeram,' that is

the inner self of all. the immortal.

 

The suthra has a subtle suggestion that there is no real difference

between jnana and bhakthi.They differ only in the method of approach and in

their expression.In the Gita Krishna says,'thEshAm jnAnee nithyayukthaH

EkabhakthirviSishyathE,'(BG.7.17) that the jnani, man of

wisdom is always with the Lord, and devoted to Him only through yoga and he is

the first and foremost among those who seek Him. the description of a bhaktha

in the 12th chapter and of jnani in the 13th chapter of the Gita are similar and

reiterated again in the 18th chapter ,'bhakthyA mAm abhijAnAthi yavAn yaschasmi

thathvathaH thathO mAm thatthvathO jnAthvA viSathE thadhanantharam, through

devotion he comes to know Me fully, who and what I am in reality; knowing Me

thus in truth he forthwith enters into Me,'

 

When Sankara and Ramanuja speak of bhakthi and jnana being subservient

to one another respectively it should be understood that they refer to

the jnana and bhakthi at the level of sadhana, a means of attainment

whereas in the final stage both are the same.Besides bhakthi has a

special merit in as much as it can be achieved by anyone while jnana

cannot be without the necessary discipline.

 

 

 

Suthra7- sA na kamayamAnA nirOdharoopathvAth

It is not desire because it is a form of renunciation.

 

Bhakthi is love for the Lord. The term love in modern times has come to denote

only physical love which is kama. There are different kinds of love even in the

worldly sense, such as that between, mother and child,between friends, between

sister and brother, between guru and sishya etc. But the word denotes the love

between man and woman because it is the most absorbing and more lasting if it is

based on real affection and self sacrifice.That is why the kind of bhakthi known

as madhura bhakthi is extolled by the saints and devotees in literature and

music. The songs of Meera, and the pasurams of Andal and the azvars are

examples of this.

 

Meera seemed to have told the disciples of Roopgoswami, her guru, when

she was prevented from seeing him in Brindavan, because he would not see

women,that in Brindavan only Krishna is the man and all the rest are women only.

Same idea is expressed by the scriptures . In this world of beings the Lord is

the Supreme purusha and all the jivas are like His wives, because He is the

bharthA of all. A devotee has the same outlook towards the Lord and hence the

expressions of madhura bhakthi like that of gopis to Krishna has no eroticism

but is only beautiful.

 

In Hinduism even physical love is not considered as taboo unlike in

other religions but is considered as something natural and instinctive. But the

great saints and acharyas try to elevate us from the carnal level by

transforming our physical love to the love of the Lord thus sublimating it.Hence

To depict the Lord as a lover is the most beautiful and in fact the chapters

describing the rasakreeda in Bhagavatha are supposed to be the soul of the

epic. The one who narrated it was a realised soul, Suka and those who heard it

were rshis, who have renounced the world and it was told for the sake of a man

approaching his death who wished to concentrate his mind on the Lord during his

last days.

 

This is the explanation of the first part of the suthra, 'sa na

kAmayamAnA.' Now to come to the second part,bhakthi is said to be a

form of renunciation.This is because the devotee renounces everything

else except his love for the Lord, which is self- effacing, and pursued for its

own sake.

 

Some may argue that to attain the Lord is also a desire. It may start

with that because you cannot give up one without attaching yourself to

something else.Thiruvalluvar says,'patrugapatratrAn patrinai appatrai

patruga patru vidarku.' This , means, one should give up all desires

except that about God which has to be pursued in order to detach from

all other desires. But his desire matures in course of time into

desirelessness because the devotee gets infinite bliss by his devotion

alone when the Lord becomes part and parcel of himself and there is no

desire even to attain him. The state is called by Thyagaraja as 'smaraNE

sukham.'

 

 

Now is it wrong to pray to God for the fulfilment of one's desires and

the one who does so is not a bhaktha? Krishna says in Gita, 'chathurvidDHA

bajanthe mAm,' there are four kinds of devotees, the one who is suffering and

wishes to be free from it (Artha), the one who is desirous of getting what he

wants (arTHArTHee) , the one who thirsts for knowledge(jijnAsu) and lastly the

wise man(jnAnee) The bhaktha described above belongs to the last class. " All of

them are dear to Me, " says Krishna , " but the jnani is my very self. "

 

Now let us examine why man turns to God under normal corcumstances, not

considering those who were born jnanis among devotees like Prahlada. A man

thinks of God only when he is in trouble. This is the first stage of Artha.Then

once free from his suffering he starts praying for this and that and it is the

stage of arTHArTHEE. When he finds that he cannot get everything he wants or

when he realises that no worldly thing can give him permanent happiness he turns

towards spirituality and becames a jijnAsu.Finally he acquires the wisdom that

the Lord is the only reality(vAsudevassarvam ithi) with whom he is in an

inseparable relationship because He is the inner self of all. This is the

utmost limit of bhakthi(parA kAshTA). Then nothing else matters except his love

for the Lord which itself is the goal attaining which nothing more is desired.

So this stage is called renunciation.

 

 

suthra8-

nirodhasthu lokavedavyApAranyasah

 

This renunciation is the consecration of all activities vedic and

secular. The word nirodha mentioned in the last suthra is explained here.

Nirodha is not the cessation iof all activities, spiritual and secular. As

Krishna says in Gita,'na hi kachith kshaNamapi jAthu thishTathi

akarmakrth,'(BG-3.5) no one can desist from action even for a moment. Even when

physical action seems to have ceased, mind and

intellect continues to act.So the renunciation of action means only nyAsa,

consecration.

 

All sages and saints who had renounced the world continued to do the vedic karma

like yaga etc., not for their own sake but for the welfare of humanity.

Adisankara caused a shower of gold to help a poor couple and so did vedanta

Desika to help a brahmachari who wanted to become a

grhastha. Krishna says in the Gita that He Himself works incessantly as the

world would come to a standstill if he does not do so.(BG-3.24)

 

So what is renunciation? It means dedicating all activities for the

purpose of God-realisation and divine service, which implies complete

consecration of body, mind and intellect to the Lord as made out in the Gita,

'yatlkaroshi yadhaSnAsi yajjohOshi dhadhAsi yath; yath apaSyasi kountheya thath

kurushva madharpaNam.'(BG-9.27), which means that one should make whatever he

does, eats, offers, gives or sees, an offering to the Lord.

 

The devotee is free from the desire for fruit and the sense of agency.

He does everything to please the Lord and as His service and acts only

as an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Hence he has no ego which is the

cause of bondage.So what is renounced is not the action but the

ego. All activities secular or spiritual are done as the worship of the Lord

Bhakthi yoga results in jnana that all beings are part and parcel of the Lord,

which is Brahmabhavana and the actions of such a devotee is nothing but

karmayoga. Thus jnana, bhakthi and karma combine for a devotee.

 

 

 

Suthra9- thasmin ananyathA thadvirOdhishu udhAseenathA cha

 

The renunciation outlined in the previous suthra means a single-minded devotion

to the chosen form of God,and exclusion of everything contrary to it with

indifference.

 

A true devotee has no attraction for the outside world because his whole world

consists of the Lord of his heart and everything he does is the service to the

Lord as given in the the sloka 'kAyEna vAchA manasEndhriyairvA buddhyathmanA va

prakrthersvabhAvath karothi yath yath sakalam parasmai nArAyanAyethi

samarpayami, I offer to the Lord Narayana whatever I do with my body, mind,

intellect and the self ( means ego here) and by natural instincts,'

 

Thus he is neither influenced by joy nor by sorrow because he considers

everything as the prasadha, blessing. Joy and sorrow pertain only to the body,

mind and intellect and all the three are engrossed in the devotion of the Lord.

This furher explained in the next two suthras.

 

 

Suthra10-anyASrayANAM thyAgaH ananyathA

 

Renunciation of all other support(except that of the Lord) is whole-heartedness,

ananyatha

 

In Ramayana, Visbheeshana says, 'thyakthvA puthrAmscha dhArAmascha rAhavam

SaraNama gathah,' that he has surrendered to Rama leaving behind his wife and

sons. Sankara says in his HaricharaNashtakam,

na sodharO janakO janani na jAyA naivaAthmajo na kulam vipulam balam vA

samdhrSyathE na kila kOpi sahAyakO me thasmAth thvamEva SaraNam mama shankapANE

 

The meaning of the sloka is as follows:

There is no one helpful to one who wishes to attain the Lord, may it be his

brother, father, mother , wife or son or any other relative. So the only refuge

is the Lord.No one or nothing pertaining to the world is conducive to spitiual

welfare. Hence the devotee considers that the Lord is everything for him. This

is ananyabhakthi.in which all the love ordinarily shown towards one's close

relatives is directed towards the Lord alone. This comes out of the knlowledge

that God is the only supporter, the only friend and closest to the heart than

any other relative of the world.

 

 

Suthra11-lokavedeshu thadhanukolAcharaNam thadvirOdhishu udhAseenathA

 

The term in the 9th suthra , indifference towards all that is contrary

to devotion means performance of such secular and vedic actions only

which are conducive to devotion.

 

When the devotee engages himself in the service of the Lord and his

duties according to the varna and asrama, also done as a worship to the Lord,

all the other activities secular as well as vedic naturally cease to be

important to him without any conscious effort on his part to avoid them. All

the desire- motivated activities not only secular, but also vedic, such as doing

rituals for the fulfilment of desire, even to go to heaven, are given up by the

devotee since they cease to attract him.

 

 

Suthra12-bhavathu niSchayadhArDyath oorDhvam SasthralakshaNam

 

Even after the realization one should take care of the spiritual

teachings.

 

A jnani has no need of sasthras as Krishna says in the Gita

`thraiguNyavishayA vedAh nisthraiguNyo bhava arjuna,' (BG-2-45)

 

This can be construed in two ways .To an enlightened one the karmakanda of the

veda which is the ritualistic portion that secures enjoyment in this world

and is like water in the well when the whole area is flooded as given in the

subsequent sloka. But if we take veda to mean the entire scripture including

wisdom of Upanishads it may be interpreted thus: Even when the entire land is

flooded the well can contain only as much water as it can hold .So too one can

comprehend only as much as his intellect can grasp, which fact has been proved

by the controversies in interpreting the vedantic passages

 

But Krishna also says `yadhyadhAcharathi Sreshrah thath thath eva

itharo janAh. Sa yath pramANam kuruthe lokasthadanuvat rthathe(BG-3-21) That is,

the masses always tend to follow the footsteps of those whom they consider as

leaders. So it is the duty of the wise to preserve the wisdom of the scriptures

in order to guide others. The truth of the scriptures must be re-lived before

our eyes and their usefulness demonstrated to all to induce the common man to

adopt it for his enlightenment. The wise alone can give out the values. That

are relevant to the particular age and time sifting the grain from the chaff.

This is the real meaning of the Gita slokas. The protection of the sasthras

mentioned in this suthra includes making the scriptural texts understandable to

the ordinary man to cultivate a liking for them.

 

We have seen in the recent past that the scripture has been neglected as

something irrelevant or meaningless even by the educated , not to mention the

illiterate. This is due to the reluctance of those who are well versed in the

scriptures to part with their knowledge either due to mistaken idea of its being

secret to be guarded or because they fear that it may not be appreciated. The

spiritual knowledge is said to be guhya, secret in the sense that it is

difficult to be understood and not because it should be told to anyone.

 

It is true Krishna says in the Gita `idham the nAthapaskAya nAbhakthAya

kadhachana na chASuSrooshavE vAchyam na cha mAm yO abhyasooyathi,' (BG.18-67)

meaning that this knowledge should not be disclosed to one who lacks the

discipline nor to one who is either without faith or devotion and atheistic. But

it is difficult nowadays for the one who has the quest for knowledge to learn

the scriptures by himself because the real implications will be lost unless

guided by a guru. So it is the duty of the knowledgeable persons to make it

easy for all. Some of the acharyas have been doing the good work in the recent

years and many are being benefited all over the globe.

 

Most important fact to be remembered is that neither the sruti, ie.vedas nor the

smrthi, namely Bhagavtgita has restricted the spiritual knowledge to any

particular sect of religion. It is common to the whole humanity.