Naradabhakthisuthra-chapter4-premanirvachanam

In this chapter Narada describes the characteristics of devotion.

51. anirvachaneeyam premasvaroopam

The nature of devotion is incapable of being described precisely.

Bhakthi being an inner experience cannot be described and cannot be understood unless experienced. Actually any verbal description has its own limitations. The joy of one getting his first born child cannot be described nor can it be understood by one who is a bachelor. The taste of sugar cannot be described unless one eats it and understands himself. If this is so in respect of even the worldly experiences how could  bhakthi which is beyond the senses. In Tamil there is a saying, ‘kandavar vindilar vindavar kandilar.’ This means that those who speak about the bliss of  God realization have not experienced it and those who experience it do not speak. Same idea is expressed in Kenopanishad , yasya amatham thasya matham matham yasya na vedha saH.’ One who thinks he knows , knows it not nd one who thinks he knows it not , knows.

52.mookaasvaadhanavath

It is like the experience of a dumb man when he tastes something sweet.

When a dumb man tastes a sweet he cannot express it. Similarly a devotee can be compared to a dumb man. He experiences the ecstasy but could not express it or make  others understand which leads them to think that he is mad. He is dumb in respect of the worldly talk also because the world of sensual experience is absent to him. Nothing except that which pertains to the devotion of the Lord interests him. He is dumb mentally also as his mind is lost to the Lord and he could not think of anything else.

53. prakaaSathe kvaapi paathre

It is manifested in some place and time in some individuals.

If bhakthi cannot be expressed how could the devotees lead others towards the path of bhakthi and how could it spread to others so that many will be benefited by following bhakthimarga? For this  purpose The Lord makes the bhakthi manifest in chosen few who show the path to others. People who see them get inspired and become their followers . The association of the saints and devotees , that is sathsang invokes bhakthi in those who listen to them and follow them. Prahlada was a born bhaktha and he also led others to bhakthi. Devotees are easily spotted but only the experience of them in enjoying the ecstasy of love towards the Lord has to be understood only by own experience. But the bhakthi and the joy manifest in a devotee  surely will inspire others also to try for it.

54.guNarahitham kaamanaarahitham prathikshaNavarDhamaanam avicChinnam sookshmatharam anubhavaroopam

Real devotion is free of the three attributes, devoid of desire motivated action, increases every moment, uninterrupted and subtler and of the nature of inner experience.

1. gunarahitham- Bhakthi transcends the three gunas which are pertaining to the worldly objects only. The gunas contacting the outside world react to the experience because all things in the world are made up of three gunas. But the divine is gunaatheetha , transcends the gunas and hence love towards the divine must naturally be devoid of gunas.

2. kaamanaarahitham- It is not a desire because a desire arises only towards something outside . Devotion means identification with the divine and there is no duality in devotion. Love towards the Lord is loving your own inner self. There is no attainment as in the case of an object of desire because devotion surges of its own accord and no one says to oneself  “I am going to have devotion towards a particular deity.” It is a natural feeling like that of the child towards its mother.

3.prathikshaNa varDhamaanam-This differentiates bhakthi from other emotions. Joy or sorrow from external objects depend on the object concerned and it vanishes the moment the object disappears. Hence they are fleeting and vanish but never grows. Even if it does it may be reduced owing to some adverse circumstances. The thing of joy often turns into one of sorrow. But the devotion to the divine never goes away once it is established in the heart and it only grows continuously till the union with the divine.

4.avicChinnam- Thus it is continuous uninterrupted flow like the stream of oil, thailaDhaaraa. If it is interrupted or comes and goes it is not devotion at all.

5.sookshmatharam- subtler than everything else. Even the happiness experienced by the worldly objects cannot be described but can only be felt. How much more should be the devotion which transcends the body, mind and intellect? Hence it is subtler than the subtlest.

6. anubhavaroopma- Therefore it can only be experienced.

55. thath praapya thadheva avalokayathi thdheva SrNothi, thahdeva bhaashaythi thadheva chinthayathi

Attaining that one sees, hears, talks and thinks only that.

v Thath , that means paraabhakthi, the supreme devotion which has been described so far. The devotees in that state sees only the Lord, hears only about His kathaa or glory, talks only about Him and think about Him only constantly.

Krishna says in Gita,

macchitthaaH madhbathapraaNaah boDhyantahH parasparam

kaThayanthaScha maam nithyam thushyanthi cha ramanthi cha(BG10.9)

which illustrates ananya bhakthi.

With their mind absorbed in Me, their very life depending on Me , they exchange the knowledge to one another and talking about Me take pleasure and enjoy it always.

The perfect example of this description of devotion is that of the gopis towards Krishna. They were all the time engrossed in Him, always talked about him and exchanged their experiences with Him and sang and danced around Him and about Him. In fact their whole existence was nothing but Him. There is a sloka in Krishna karnamrtha which beautifully illustrates this.

. There is a sloka in Krishna karnamrtha which beautifully illustrates this.

vikretukaamA kila gopakanyA

 muraari paadhaarpita chittha vrtthi:

dhaDhyaadhikam mohavaSaath avochath

 govindha dhaamodhara maaDhaveti

 

A gopi who wished to sell curd etc., enchanted, with her mind absorbed in the feet of KrishNa, called out ‘govinda, dhaamodra and maadhava’, instead of saying curd, ,butter etc. her mind was full of Krishna and no other words came out of her mouth except His namas even when she was selling curds etc. on the streets.

The lives of several devotees are the explanation of this. The azvars and Nayanmars display this. That is because they see only the Lord everywhere as Nammazvar says that the water , the betel leaves everything is nothing but the Lord.

56.gouNee thriDhaa guNabhedhaath aarthaadhibhedhaath cha

Secondary devotion is of three kinds , according to the three gunas and the difference in the motives.

Secondary bhakthi is different from Mukhyabhakthi which is the devotion devoid of attributes or desire. Which is outlined in sutra 54. But the gounabhakthi culminates in mukhya bhakthi. It is classified in two ways, namely on the basis of gunas and also motives.

1. Based on the three gunas.

Devotion can be saathvik, raajasik or thaamasik. The devotion for the sake of mukthi is sathvik. This is the bhakthi of real devotees and sages which culminates in paraabhakthi.

 Bhakthi for the sake of acquiring power etc. is rajasik like that of the asuras. Ravana was a great devotee of Siva who pleased him by samagana but he used his power acquired through bhakthi and thapas to harass the world. So was Hiranyakasipu and others like him. Even in this world the bhakthi which is ostentatious and exhibits pride is raajasik.

 Thaamasik bhakthi is that towards deities for the sake of revenge or evil deeds which harm other beings like that of kaabaalikas.

The devotees are classified into three categories according to their motives  also. This is made clear  the gita sloka

chathurviDhaa bajanthe maam janaaH sukrithino arjuna

aarthee jijnaasuH arThaarThee  jaanee cha bhartharshabha(BG7.16)

 

'Four types of devotees of noble deeds worship Me, Arjuna,the seeker after worldly possessions, arTHArTHee the afflicted, Arthee, seeker for knowledge, jijnAsu and the man of wisdom,jnAnee., O best of Bharathas'

The first kind of devotee who seeks God as his sole refuge when in distress like Droupadi or Gajendra are Arthees with staunch faith that He alone is their saviour, They do not seek Him for worldly pleasures but remain ardent devotees through out their life which alone will make them call out to Him in earnest. In normal life we do not have that faith in God even though we have belief in Him and therefore we suffer in consequence

A man who believes in God prays for the fulfilment of his cherished objects of the world, wealth or child and so on. When he gets them as a result of his prayer his devotion is strengthened and develops into faith. If he has not already acquired faith he will lose belief if his desire is not fulfilled. This is why we often hear the cry 'I no more believe in God,' from those who face disappointments in life. Sugreeva and Dhruva can be cited as examples of arTHArTHee type of devotees, the former developed faith after the fulfillment of his desire while Dhruva had both faith and belief and became a jnani later, elevated to the status of dhruva star.

JijnaaAsu is one who has pure devotion and does not seek the pleasures of life nor is he worried about distress because the only thing that could cause pain to him is being away from the Lord. Uddhava and to a certain extent Paikshit are the examples of this kind of Bhakthi. A jijnAsu loves the Lord for his own sake and seeks to acquire the jnana which the Lord Himself gives as in the case of Udhdhava or through someone as He did for Parikshit.

The last but not least is the jnani who has realised the truth about the Lord like Prahlada, Narada and other sages who were both bhakthas and jnanis. But this type is not mentioned in the sutra as it denotes paraabhakthi and not gouna bhakthi.

57.uttharasmaath uttharasmaath poorvapoorvaa Sreyaaya bhavathi

Each type is conducive to paraabhakthi more than the succeeding one.

The secondary devotion is classified from the lowest cadre to the highest, thamasik, raajasika and saathvik, similarly from aarthee arThaarThee jinjaasu, in that order. Of these saathvik or the jnjnaasu type is nearer to paraabhakthi and the lower ones are nearer to that immediately succeeding.

This can be explained as follows. Thaamasik nature will have to rise up to raajasik before it becomes saathvik. Devotion will elevate the devotee from one rung of the ladder to the higher so that the thaamasik bhaktha will become raajasik and the raajasik will become saathvik ,if not in the present janma , at least in the next because devotion if sincere will purge the devotee of all impurities that stand in the way of attaining perfection.

Regarding the three types of devotees mentioned in the Gita, namely, aarthee arThaarThee and jijnaasu, the last is nearer to paraabhakthi than the preceding one who is nearer than the first. That is , aarthee will graduate into the state of arTaharThee who is his turn will become jijnaasu the stage before jnaani, who is the devotee denoted by paraabhakthi. Let us see how this happens.

Every one, thinks of the Lord, only when in trouble. So he becomes aarthee. He wants only to be free from his suffering. When this happens his faith is strengthened and he starts worshipping the Lord for his well being , now that he has understood that God alone can save him.  So he becomes arThaarThee , praying for happiness in this life. After worshipping Him for a long time the  time comes when he wants to know more about God when his devotion becomes more intense. This makes him a jijnaasu and the devotion which might have started with blind faith or desperation has now become rational. He acquires knowledge and becomes steadfast in his devotion. Till now there would have been the possibility of his devotion becoming less or extinct because he could not always get he desired . But now nothing can turn him away from God. The next stage when he has acquired knowledge and certainty of the supremacy of the Lord and His vathsalya towards His devotees the devotion turns into mukhyabhakthi, loving Lord for His sake and not for any other motive, from gouna bhakthi, which culminates in paraabhakthi or identification with the Lord.

58. anyasmaath soulabhyam bhakthou

This devotion is more easily attained and recognized than any other.

The devotion mentioned here is the mukhya bhakthi. That is, loving Lord for His sake and not with any other motive. This is easily attained , soulabhyam. In kaliyuga, thapas, yajna, Dhyana etc are not easy. These require strong mid control which is not possible in kaliyuga as there are numerous distractions and restrictions to indulge in Dhyana etc. as one has to look after the daily chores and also the need to earn living and maintain a family etc. Hence one does not have strength of mind or time to pursue these disciplines. The bhakthi is the only easy way in kaliyuga as the namasankeerthana alone could secure the grace of the Lord. Nama sankeerthana means chanting the names not necessarily aloud but in the mind. As this can be done even while doing the worldly duties this is mentioned as being easy for attainment of the grace of the Lord. Since bakthi produce more bhakthi it will eventually lead to parabhakthi.

59.pramaaNaantharasya anapekshathvaath svayam pramaaNathvaath

It is easily recognizable because it does not require any proof and it is self evident.

Even in the case of worldly love there is no proof required because one know it when it happens. Similarly with bhakthi you know when you have it . hence it is self evident. Nor is it necessary to prove it to others as the bhaktha does not proclaim his bhakthi to anyone. If he does, then it is not bhakthi. It is not seasonal like the feeling exhibited in a particular month like Margazi and forgotten during other months. If it is so it is only  a fashion and not bhakthi. Usually we find people citing certain individual as  a great devotee because they see him going to the temple , doing pooja etc. regularly. But he only knows how deep or true his bhakthi is. One may be very religious but it does not ensure that he is a great bhaktha and on the other hand, one may not be very religious but may be a great bhaktha because bhakthi is a function of the mind and not of the body.

60.Santhiroopaath paramaanandha roopaath cha

Because it is of the form of complete peace of mind and of great joy.

Only through devotion one can get complete peace because the devotee wants nothing except the ecstasy of remembering and talking of the Lord as Krishna says in Gita, macchitthaa madhgathapraaNaah boDhayanthaH parasparam kaThayanthaScha maam nithyam thushyanthi cha ramanthi cha (BG 10.9)

With their mind absorbed in Me, their very life depending on Me , they exchange the knowledge to one another and talking about Me take pleasure and enjoy it always.

When all the desires and attachment are turned off from the worldly pleasures and the only attachment is to the Lord and the only desire is to attain Him, all the thoughts are centered only on the Lord. Nothing pleases or provide enjoyment to the devotees more than  these activities. They offer all they do and experience, to the Lord alone. They live as an instrument  of the divine, through whom His glories are manifested.

This is the greatest joy paramanandha.

61.lokahaanou chinthaa na kaaryaa nivedhithaathmaloka vedhathvaath

Since a devotee has surrendered himself, the world and the Vedas to the Lord, he has  no cause  to worry about the worldly woes.

A devotee who has surrendered himself to the Lord places all the responsibilities of protection on Him, bhara samarpanam as it is called. It is because he has great faith , mahaaviSvaasam in Him which makes him act as an instrument of the Lord, who is he Seshi, the one for whose kainkarya he, the sesha, exists.

The Lord has said in the Gita ‘ananyaaH chinthayantho maam ye janaaH paryupaasathe theshaam nithyaabhiyukthaanaam yogakshemam vahaamyaham.’ “I look after  the welfare of those who think of Me all the time with no other thought and worship me persistently and consistently.” Hence the devotee has no worry about the worldly affairs.

62.na thathsidDhou lokavyavahaaro heyaH kimthu phalathyaagaH thath saaDhanam cha

The worldly duties need not be given up for the attainment of devotion or on attainment of it . Only giving up the fruits of action must be done which is the means of attaining bhakthi.

But it does not mean from the previous sutra that one should given up the worldly affairs but that he should do it as a service to God. When he discharges his worldly duties as an instrument of God he does not worry about the fruit of his action as a servant devoted to his master does his work with full dedication but the fruits of his action belong to his master.

In the Gita the Lord says that one can never remain without doing any action and should not try to do so. Do your work but give up the desire for the fruit. This is done by the devotee by offering all his actions to the Lord. There were devotees  like Kuchela, Vidhura and others who performed their duties towards their family and jnanis like Janaka who ruled the kingdom with perfect detachment.

But there may come a time when the devotee leaves the world and society and goes on singing the glory of the Lord , his whole heart and thoughts absorbed in Him but that should happen of its own accord and not depends on the decision of the devotee. Just as the ripe fruit leaves the tree the devotee will leave the world when the time comes though it is not an essential requisite to attain the Lord. Whether  it happens or not is His will.

63.sthree Dhana naasthikacharithram na SravaNeeyam

One should not even hear about women, wealth and atheists.

This does not mean that one should shun all talk of women and wealth because there were women like Meera , Andal who were devotees  and wise women like Gargi, and pious ones like Savitri etc.,whose stories will only elevate us. What is meant here is the lustful thoughts of women which may be kindled by such worldly kind of stories. It is an evident fact nowadays that the episodes and news that are dished out by the media help only to kindle base thoughts and that should be avoided.

Similarly wealth should be sought after for good purposes but not with avarice  and accumulating wealth as we see in modern days will only increase the desire foe more. WE should remember that we do not own anything in this world. Even our body and soul belong to the Lord and so are all the things in the world. So the concept  of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are pure delusion.

The society and stories about atheists are to be avoided in the sense that if one continuously hear about negative  thoughts it will confuse the mind of a devotee who is not yet ripe in his devotion. Some atheists may be very clever and they may even try to convince the believer that there is no God. We have instances of such clever men even from the puranas and epics like Jabali in Ramayana down to the modern days.

Hence Narada says that these three must be avoided.

 64.abhimaanadhambhaadhikam thyaajyam

Pride . vanity and other vices are to be given up. Pride and vanity need not necessarily be due to wealth or other worldly possessions but it may even arise from the notion that one has given up these or even with respect to worship. One may be proud that he has conquered his senses which will make him succumb to them at the earliest opportunity. It means that one can never be too sure of his  inner control and take pride in it. Even in doing worship one may have pride that he alone is the great devotee and may have vanity in showing off his devotion. Hence pride and vanity must be avoided in the practice of devotion.

65.thadharpitha akhila aachaaraH san kaamakroDhaabhimaanaadhikam thasmin eva karaNeeyam

When one has dedicated all activities towards the Lord , even desire, anger and other emotions should be only with reference to Him or to be used in devotion only.

Desire, anger and pride etc,. before they are eradicated , must be directed towards the Lord. We see the examples of devotees like Thyagaraja  and Bhaktha Ramadas expressing anger towards the Lord in not showing mercy on them.  They express pride in the qualities of the Lord who is alive and close to them. They have desire only to see, enjoy and serve Him.

66.thriroopabhangapoorvakam nithyadhaasya nithyakaanthaa bhajanaathmakam prema kaaryam premaivakaaryam

Bhakthi which is love and love alone similar to that of a devoted servant or wife must be followed which transcends the three gunas.

In suthra 56 the three types of Bhakthi , namely saathvik, raajasik and thaamasik were described. But real bhakthi must transcend these three and it should be of the form love for love’s sake. Just as a devoted servant would be a servant all the time and a devoted wife would be having no other thought than the service of her husband the devotee should also have dhaasya and kaanthaa bhaava. Hanuman . garuda and Adhisesha are the examples of the first and the gopis. Andal and also the azvars who have sung about the Lord in the kaanthaabhava are the examples of the second.

Thus the chapter on the nature of true devotion ends