Naradabhakthisuthra-16 to 20

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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.