Narada bhakthi suthra -Adhyaya1

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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 path

of 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.