Narada bhakthisuthra -Adhyaya1-suthras 2 and 3

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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 realisation 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 fulfilment 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 wih 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 uinfinite 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.