I What Bhakti is
1. Now, therefore, we shall expound Bhakti.*
* (Now, therefore): Their two words generally form a sort of introductory formula to announce the title of Sutra works in Sanskrit. The special implication here is perhaps that realisation of Truth is not of the head but of the heart, and therefore this work is under-taken to provide a practical guide to those who wish to approach God through Bhakti, the most natural path of all.
2. It is of the nature of the highest love for This One.*
* I prefer (for This One) to the two other readings (for Him), and (for that Unknown Being), for we are thus reminded of the profound truth that God being in our very heart, is nearest to us.
3. And of the nature of immortal bliss.*
* The Sanskrit word 'Amrita' means both nectar and immortal. Bhakti is here described as a divine nectar the wholesome effects of tasting which are set forth in the three subsequent Sutras.
4. On attaining which, a man becomes perfect, immortal, satisfied for ever.
5. On gaining which one wants nothing, laments over nothing, hates nothing, delights in nothing, and is never enthusiastic over anything earthly.
6. Experiencing which one becomes exhilarated beyond self-control, stands perfectly still, and revels in the Self.*
* The true lover of God grows into His likeness and therefore shares with Him His perfections and partakes of His infinite joy.
II Bhakti no worldly desire
7. It is no worldly desire, for it is of the nature of suppression.*
* Thirst for divine life cannot be classed among the various desires for worldly objects, for the moment Bhakti dawns all desires vanish. The true lover of God looks to no reward even from God, but loves Him for love's sake.
8. Suppression means abandoning all worldly and Vedic activities.*
* The 'suppression' of desires referred to in the previous aphorism does not imply active fight with desires, for the more you fight desires the keener they become. We have only to stop adding fuel to the fire of desires. As further activities and undertakings cease, desires lose very much of their force.
9. And exclusive devotion to Him and indifference to all things that are obstacles to it.
10. 'Exclusive devotion' is abandonment of all other supports.*
* Until the aspirant has abandoned all so-called resources, he cannot learn to live in the consciousness of the one never-failing and never-exhausting source, namely God. Desires continue to worry him till then.
11. Indifference to obstacles consists in undertaking only such activities— whether of ordinary life or those enjoined in the Vedas —as are favourable to it.*
* This Sutra serves a double purpose. In the first place, it aims at restricting the activities which are recommended (in Sutra 8) to be given up. Only selfish activities are to be abandoned in order to get rid of desires. In the second place, it explains the indifference to obstacles of Bhakti referred to in Sutra 9. It is not a life of supine unconcern that is meant, but an active co-operation with divine plan. All works in a line with Bhakti are to be regularly performed.
III Lite before and after the realisation of Bhakti
12. Even after firm establishment in divine resolve, the Scriptures are to be respected.*
* This and the two subsequent Sutras apply to the aspirant to Bhakti as well as to one who is already rooted in Bhakti. The Scriptures being the Word of God, are for ever the lamp of life to a true Bhakta. Walking in the light of the Shastras is for him synonymous with harmony with Divine Order. To swerve even an inch from this path is to him a trip and fall. Having entered a larger and wider life, he has now no obligations to fulfil, though apparently he continues the ordinary round of life just like others.
13. Otherwise there is apprehension of a fall.
14. Even ordinary life is only up till then, though physical activities such as taking food, continue as long as one wears this body.
IV The essence of Bhakti
15. Definitions of this Bhakti will now be stated in accordance with different views.
16. 'It is love of worship and other similar acts'-says Vyasa, the son of Parasara.
17. 'Fondness for spiritual conversation and the like'- says Garga.
18. 'These are Bhakti in so far as they do not clash with the contemplation of the: Self'-says Sandilya.
19. But Narada says "It is the offering of all acts to Him and feeling the highest pang of separation on occasions of losing remembrance of him.*
* These definitions or rather desctiptions of Bhakti are not mutually exclusive, but more and more comprehensive as we proceed. Sutra 16 refers to devotion in works, 17 to devotion in speech, while 18 lays stress on devotion in mind. Devotion to God in thought, word and deed is of course necessary for a truly spiritual life. But Narada goes to the very root of the matter when he says that there cannot be real Bhakti unless there is complete self-surrender in every aspect of our life and unless we so attune ourselves to God that any separation from Him becomes utterly unthinkable.
20. So it is, so it is.
21. As, for instance, in the case of the cowherdesses of Vraja (Gokula).
22. It cannot be said that even there, is a blemish, the absence of recognition of divine glory.
23. Lacking in such appreciation is the love, for instance, of adulterers.
24. In that sort of love, there is no idea at all of one's feeling happy in the happiness of the other.*
* Complete effacement of the self and at-one-ment with God is the crucial test of genuine Bhakti. A Bhakta is never prompted to love God by any profit-seeking motive. Puranas like the Mahabhagavata and Vishnupurana, have given a very vivid picture of selfless love for God in their account of the Gopies and Sri Krishna. Of course,the relation of Gopies with Sri Krishna is liable to be misunderstood as something physical by the sensually-minded. The author of the sutras here warns Students of Bhakti against mistaking the highest form of God-love for anything so grotesque.
V Bhakti the best of spiritual paths
25. Now this Bhakti is greater than Kama (performance of religious works), Jnana (knowledge) and Yoga (mystic control of the mind).*
* Karma, Jnana, and Yoga are the names of different spiritual paths. These are not really three distinct and idependent paths, but are interrelated at one or more points on the way to realisation. The goal being the same in each case, namely attainment of God, it follows that the path of Bhakti which keeps this view from the start, is more direct and natural than tha other paths which must sooner or later revert to it.
26. For it is of the nature of the fruit of all these.
27. And because God hates egotism and loves humility.*
* The wording of this Sutra must not mislead the reader to suppose that God is Himself subject to feelings of love and hatred. It simply means that egotism is the greatest impediment to the realisation of God-love. The more one empties oneself of the ego, the more is he filled with God.
VI Bhakti its own fruit
28. Some think that knowledge is the one means to it.
29. Others are of opinion that there is mutual dependence between the two.
30. It is its own fruit, sayeth Narada, the son of Brahma.
31. For it is seen to be just so in the case of the palace, a dinner, and the like.
32. The King is not pleased by that knowledge, nor is hunger appeased by mere knowledge of food.*
* The illustrations are intended to warn students against supposing that mere intellectual knowledge is quite sufficient.
33. Hence this Bhakti alone should be chosen by those who seek liberation.
VII Accessary means to Bhakti
34. Teachers have recommended various means to this Bhakti.*
* The means here described are only accessory, for Bhakti is its own means as has been shown already.
35. It results from the renunciation of the objects of the senses and renunciation of attachment.*
* The consciousness of me and mine in everything we do and deal with, is what is called 'attachment' here.
36. From unremitting adoration.
37. From listening to narration of various blessed qualities of the Lord and proclaiming them aloud even while attending to affairs of ordinary life.*
* Spiritual life and ordinary life should not be separated. All our activities may be turned into worship if only we do not forget the constant remembrance of Divine qualities.
38. In the main, however, it results through the grace of the great ones, through even a little of the grace of the Lord.*
* Self-effort is certainly needed, but before long the aspirant will know that of himself he can do nothing; the quickening influence of Bhaktas will soon convince him that everything is due to the invisible support of God Himself.
VIII Company of the Spiritually great
39. Now, association with the great, is hard to get, difficult to realise, though most invaluable.
40. Nevertheless, it is attainable, and that through His grace only.
41. For there is no distinction between Him and His devotees.*
* This is very important for the aspirant to note, because it is only these Bhaktas, the highest manifestations of God, that are first accessible to him and lead him on to a realisation of God as He is.
42. That alone should be sought out, that alone should be sought out.
IX Dangers of evil association
43. Evil association should be shunned by all manner of means.*
* Those who are not yet blessed with the company of Bhaktas, should take the initial step of overcoming attachment to objects of sense by holding thoughts of Bhakti in their mind by sustained effort. In good time, when we are ready for it, a real Bhakta will arrive and impart the kind of teaching that is best suited for us.
44. For it is the cause of desire, anger, delusion, loss of memory, loss of intellect and utter ruin.*
* 'Memory and intellect' spoken of in this Sutra refer to spiritual meditation and spiritual reason respectively.
45. These are in themselves like little waves, but through association become a veritable sea.
X How to cross Maya
46. Who crosses, who crosses this Maya* (illusory glamour of the world )? He who gives up attachments, he who waits upon a spiritually magnanimous soul, he who becomes free from the idea of possession.
* The world of the senses in which the unenlightened live is called Maya (illusory appearance) because from the highest standpoint of Reality it does not exist. But in so far as it affects people wbo react to it, it is by no means negligible; it is therefore like a boundless sea humanly impossible to cross.
47. He who habitually resorts to a solitary place,* he who cuts asunder all worldly bondage, he who transcends the three fundamental Gunas of nature,* he who gives up the idea of acquisition and preservation.
* 'The solitary place' need not necessarily be a cave in a. retired place or anything like that; the one condition needed is that it must be free from evil influences. For advanced seekers their own heart is the most secret Place for meditation.
* The three Gunas- Sattva (the enlightening), Rajas (the inflaming), and Tamas (the enveloping and obscuring)- are described at length in the Gita.
48. He who gives up all desire for the fruit of his actions, renounces all activities and thus passes beyond all pairs of opposites.
49. He who renounces even the Vedas, who has only incessant love for the Lord.*
* Rites and ceremonies are but the symbols of the experiences of the soul while the Vedas or Scriptures are but partial expressions of the Reality which can be known only by direct intuition. Hence the Bhakta lays hold of the key to this direct approach, namely love of God, and transcends the limits of Vedas and Vedic ceremonies. 'The pairs of opposites' spoken of in Sutra 48 are subjective ones such as happiness and misery.
50. He crosses, he crosses this Maya, and he takes other people also across it.
XI Nature of God-love
51. The nature of Love is inexpressible in words.*
* The word 'anirvachaniyam' in the original should not be associated in any manner with the significance attached to it by Post-Sankara Vedantins. It only means that Bhakti is a realisation so profound that it is impossible to find words exactly describing it.
52. It is like a dainty dish tasted by a mute person.
53. It finds expression very rarely in some worthy soul.
54. Beyond the fundamental Gunas, above all desires, growing intense moment by moment, incessant, most subtle, and fathomable only by intuition.*
* The significance of the epithets should be noted:
(a) 'Beyond the Gunas.' Bhakti influenced by the Gunas is not pure; even Sattwic Bhakti inspired with the ambition of knowing God is far below this true Bhakti when one loves God for love's sake.
(b) 'Free from desires.' This follows from the previous statement, but it is specifically stated here for the guidance of less advanced souls. Bhakti practised with a view to get away from ills or to attain certain unfulfilled desires is not pure Bhakti.
(c) 'Growing intense every moment.' This God-love grows as we advance in our understanding and realisation of Truth. Progressive attainment and progressive love go hand in hand till both reach their one goal when the aspirant has achieved perfect union with his Beloved.
(d) 'incessant.' It is a continuous flow of loving remembrance, for no break can possibly occur when one has tasted its incomparable sweetness.
(e) 'most subtle.' It is impossible for the ordinary human mind to have any conception of this exalted love; so different it is from the grosser love for things of this world.
(f) 'Fathomable by intuition alone.' Though beyond speech and intellect, Bhakti is not a chimerical something, for it can be directly intuited when we make contact with God in our inmost being.
55. When one has reached it, one sees that alone, hears about that alone, talks of that alone, thinks of that alone.*
* Just as a river loses its individuality when it has emptied itself into the ocean, the Bhakta loses his egoity completely when he has attained union with his beloved Bhagavan. Then he sees himself and all the rest of the universe as an inseparable part of that Universal Love which exhibits itself in every experience of his life.
XII Secondary Bhakti
56. Secondary Bhakti is of three kinds, to be classified either according to the difference of Gunas, or according to the difference of the afflicted and other aspirants to whom it belongs.
57. In either case each preceding one is more conducive to beatitude than the one succeeding it.*
* Rajasic Bhakti exercised with a view to obtain the goods of life is better than Tamasic Bhakti which invokes divine help to do harm to others. Sattwic love is still higher, for it only aspires to know God. According to the second classification 'aathr' (Bhakti of affliction) is the highest. Here affliction does not refer to any misery due to worldly evil, but to distress due to a conscious separation from God.
XIII Special features of the Path of Bhakti
58. Bhakti is easier!* than any other way of approach to God.
* Karma (good works), Yoga (mind-control), Jnana (knowledge) are three other paths recommended. These paths are by no means quite distinct and we shall all have necessarily to tread each of them to a greater or lesser extent. Bhakti is said to be easier than the other paths not because it offers a life of luxury and softness- for there is discipline enough here- but because it is the direct approach to the Ideal through the heart. Love is so natural to us all, that it is recognized the moment we contact it, and from that moment onward a life of peace and joy is ours evermore.
59. For it needs no external proof, being its own proof.
60. And because it is of the nature of peace and of the nature of perfect bliss-
XIV Life of a Seeker
61. One need not worry if one's affairs go wrong, for the self, worldly affairs and even the Vedas have been surrendered to the Lord.*
* This mean, a complete trust in God even when things go the wrong way apparently; really, however, neither loss nor evil can touch him, for he is under the care of a loving and omnipotent God.
62. So long as this Bhakti is not achieved, the ordinary way of life should not be given up, but renunciation of the desire for reward of actions and discipline preparatory to it, should be persistently practised.*
* Before the carefree state of complete self-surrender is attained, conscious efforts must be made steadfastly in the shape of selfless work and discipline of the soul.
63. Accounts of women, wealth and of unbelievers should not be listened to.
64. Pride, vanity and other vices should be eschewed.
65. All acts should be offered up to Him and even feelings like desire and pride should be entertained with reference to Him only.*
* This refers to the process of sublimating everyone of our emotions and directing it towards God. All our activities outward and inward, must become a holy offering to Him and then they will be transmuted and welded into pure Bhakti.
66. The three-dimensional form of love should be destroyed, and love and love alone should be entertained-devoted love of the eternal servant and of the eternal wife.*
* Bhakti which seeks to serve and love without any motive whatsoever, which has risen above the triad of lover, love and the loved, should always be the ideal of an aspirant.
XV The Glory of Master-Bhaktas
67. Bhaktas exclusively attached to the Lord are the best of His devotees.
68. Talking of Bhakti to one another in faltering tones attended with thrill and tears of joy, they sanctify their race and the wide earth.
69. They turn ordinary bathing places into sacred places of purification, ordinary acts into pious deeds, and words of instruction into holy texts.
70. They are full of Him.*
* They have emptied themselves so completely that they wholly live in God. The lives of God-intoxicated Bhaktas like Prahlada bear witness to this.
71. The Pitris (manes) are delighted in them, the gods dance with joy, and this earth is happy in their care.
72. Among them there is no distinction due to birth, education, colour, race, wealth, occupation and the like.*
* However widely they may differ in other respects, they are all alike in their pure and unmixed love for God.
73. For they are all His own.
XVI Advice to a would-be Bhakta
74. The aspirant should not take to disputation.
75. For it leads to endless arguments and leads to no certain conclusion.
76. Works on Bhakti should be studied and acts calculated to rouse this Bhakti should be performed.*
* Earnest seekers receive, when they are in a fit mental condition, revelations of divine love through texts and passages of scriptures. In order that the mind may be lifted up to that condition, it is necessary that acts like worship, prayer and meditation should be steadily resorted to.
77. Time free from the sway of pleasure, pain, desire, profit or other worldly considerations, is what every one seeks ; so even half a second should not be trifled away.*
* Every one wants to live a life without strain, but this is not possible unless one turns every odd moment to account and steadily applies his mind to God.
78. Non-violence, truthfulness, purity, compassion, piety and other essentials of good life, should be maintained.
79. Free from all care, ye shall always adore Bhagavan (the Lord) alone with all your heart and soul.*
* God provides for all our needs; those who dedicate their lives to God are able to verify this. 'Bhagavan' stands for all blessed qualities that the human mind can ever assign to God.
80. If steadily praised, the Lord reveals Himself soon and blesses the Bhaktas with realisatior.*
* The original word refers perhaps to singing God's glory with intense divine feeling. This mode of waiting upon God is in time followed by what is known as 'Bhavesamadhi' the ectasy of divine feeling) which in its turn leads on to realisation of the highest Reality.
XVII Types of Bhakti-manifestations
81. For all the three divisions of time-past, present and future-Bhakti alone is preferable to other paths, Bhakti alone is preferable.
82. Though in itself one, this Bhakti manifests itself in eleven different forms: (1) attachment to the glorification of the blessed qualities of God, (2) attachment to His beautiful form, (3) attachment to His worship, (4) attachment to His remembrance, (5) attachment to His service, (6)attachment to His friendship, (7) attachment to filial love for Him, (8) attachment to wifelike love for Him, (9) attachment to self-surrender, (10) attachment to being filled with Him, and (II) attachment to an intense feeling of excruciating pain of separation from Him.*
* The Puranas are full of narratives of Bhaktas who have manifested these various types of Bhakti. One or more of these types may be seen to show themselves in one and the same Bhakta on different occasions. Witness the life of Sri Ramakrisna Paramahainsa in very recent times.
XVIII Teachers of Bhakti, Conclusion
83. So declare the teachers of Bhakti with one accord in defiance of public criticism, teachers like, (1) Sanatkumara, (2) Vyasa, (3) Suka, (4) Sandilya, (5) Garga, (6) Visnu, (7) Kaundinya, (8) Sesha, (9) Uddhava, (10) Aruni, (11) Bali, (12) Hanuman, and (13) Vibhishanaa.*
* This concluding section is meant to show (I) that Bhakti is a practical method of approaching God, which has been adopted with success by a good many aspirants placed in different stations in life, (2) that this treatise is a compendium of their views written by one who himself has practised what he preaches, and (3) that it is worth one's while to follow and profit by the teachings of these disinterested Masters of Bhakti.
84. Whoever in this world believes and has faith in this gracious instruction offered by Narada, he becomes endowed with Bhakti, he attains the highest beatitude, aye, he attains the highest beatitude.*
* The Sanskrit word means dearest, or the most cherished end; it is here used as a synonym for the highest goal of human life.
http://www.estudantedavedanta.net/Narada-Bhakti-Sutra-Sanskrit-text-with-English-translation.pdf
1. Now, therefore, we shall expound Bhakti.*
* (Now, therefore): Their two words generally form a sort of introductory formula to announce the title of Sutra works in Sanskrit. The special implication here is perhaps that realisation of Truth is not of the head but of the heart, and therefore this work is under-taken to provide a practical guide to those who wish to approach God through Bhakti, the most natural path of all.
2. It is of the nature of the highest love for This One.*
* I prefer (for This One) to the two other readings (for Him), and (for that Unknown Being), for we are thus reminded of the profound truth that God being in our very heart, is nearest to us.
3. And of the nature of immortal bliss.*
* The Sanskrit word 'Amrita' means both nectar and immortal. Bhakti is here described as a divine nectar the wholesome effects of tasting which are set forth in the three subsequent Sutras.
4. On attaining which, a man becomes perfect, immortal, satisfied for ever.
5. On gaining which one wants nothing, laments over nothing, hates nothing, delights in nothing, and is never enthusiastic over anything earthly.
6. Experiencing which one becomes exhilarated beyond self-control, stands perfectly still, and revels in the Self.*
* The true lover of God grows into His likeness and therefore shares with Him His perfections and partakes of His infinite joy.
II Bhakti no worldly desire
7. It is no worldly desire, for it is of the nature of suppression.*
* Thirst for divine life cannot be classed among the various desires for worldly objects, for the moment Bhakti dawns all desires vanish. The true lover of God looks to no reward even from God, but loves Him for love's sake.
8. Suppression means abandoning all worldly and Vedic activities.*
* The 'suppression' of desires referred to in the previous aphorism does not imply active fight with desires, for the more you fight desires the keener they become. We have only to stop adding fuel to the fire of desires. As further activities and undertakings cease, desires lose very much of their force.
9. And exclusive devotion to Him and indifference to all things that are obstacles to it.
10. 'Exclusive devotion' is abandonment of all other supports.*
* Until the aspirant has abandoned all so-called resources, he cannot learn to live in the consciousness of the one never-failing and never-exhausting source, namely God. Desires continue to worry him till then.
11. Indifference to obstacles consists in undertaking only such activities— whether of ordinary life or those enjoined in the Vedas —as are favourable to it.*
* This Sutra serves a double purpose. In the first place, it aims at restricting the activities which are recommended (in Sutra 8) to be given up. Only selfish activities are to be abandoned in order to get rid of desires. In the second place, it explains the indifference to obstacles of Bhakti referred to in Sutra 9. It is not a life of supine unconcern that is meant, but an active co-operation with divine plan. All works in a line with Bhakti are to be regularly performed.
III Lite before and after the realisation of Bhakti
12. Even after firm establishment in divine resolve, the Scriptures are to be respected.*
* This and the two subsequent Sutras apply to the aspirant to Bhakti as well as to one who is already rooted in Bhakti. The Scriptures being the Word of God, are for ever the lamp of life to a true Bhakta. Walking in the light of the Shastras is for him synonymous with harmony with Divine Order. To swerve even an inch from this path is to him a trip and fall. Having entered a larger and wider life, he has now no obligations to fulfil, though apparently he continues the ordinary round of life just like others.
13. Otherwise there is apprehension of a fall.
14. Even ordinary life is only up till then, though physical activities such as taking food, continue as long as one wears this body.
IV The essence of Bhakti
15. Definitions of this Bhakti will now be stated in accordance with different views.
16. 'It is love of worship and other similar acts'-says Vyasa, the son of Parasara.
17. 'Fondness for spiritual conversation and the like'- says Garga.
18. 'These are Bhakti in so far as they do not clash with the contemplation of the: Self'-says Sandilya.
19. But Narada says "It is the offering of all acts to Him and feeling the highest pang of separation on occasions of losing remembrance of him.*
* These definitions or rather desctiptions of Bhakti are not mutually exclusive, but more and more comprehensive as we proceed. Sutra 16 refers to devotion in works, 17 to devotion in speech, while 18 lays stress on devotion in mind. Devotion to God in thought, word and deed is of course necessary for a truly spiritual life. But Narada goes to the very root of the matter when he says that there cannot be real Bhakti unless there is complete self-surrender in every aspect of our life and unless we so attune ourselves to God that any separation from Him becomes utterly unthinkable.
20. So it is, so it is.
21. As, for instance, in the case of the cowherdesses of Vraja (Gokula).
22. It cannot be said that even there, is a blemish, the absence of recognition of divine glory.
23. Lacking in such appreciation is the love, for instance, of adulterers.
24. In that sort of love, there is no idea at all of one's feeling happy in the happiness of the other.*
* Complete effacement of the self and at-one-ment with God is the crucial test of genuine Bhakti. A Bhakta is never prompted to love God by any profit-seeking motive. Puranas like the Mahabhagavata and Vishnupurana, have given a very vivid picture of selfless love for God in their account of the Gopies and Sri Krishna. Of course,the relation of Gopies with Sri Krishna is liable to be misunderstood as something physical by the sensually-minded. The author of the sutras here warns Students of Bhakti against mistaking the highest form of God-love for anything so grotesque.
V Bhakti the best of spiritual paths
25. Now this Bhakti is greater than Kama (performance of religious works), Jnana (knowledge) and Yoga (mystic control of the mind).*
* Karma, Jnana, and Yoga are the names of different spiritual paths. These are not really three distinct and idependent paths, but are interrelated at one or more points on the way to realisation. The goal being the same in each case, namely attainment of God, it follows that the path of Bhakti which keeps this view from the start, is more direct and natural than tha other paths which must sooner or later revert to it.
26. For it is of the nature of the fruit of all these.
27. And because God hates egotism and loves humility.*
* The wording of this Sutra must not mislead the reader to suppose that God is Himself subject to feelings of love and hatred. It simply means that egotism is the greatest impediment to the realisation of God-love. The more one empties oneself of the ego, the more is he filled with God.
VI Bhakti its own fruit
28. Some think that knowledge is the one means to it.
29. Others are of opinion that there is mutual dependence between the two.
30. It is its own fruit, sayeth Narada, the son of Brahma.
31. For it is seen to be just so in the case of the palace, a dinner, and the like.
32. The King is not pleased by that knowledge, nor is hunger appeased by mere knowledge of food.*
* The illustrations are intended to warn students against supposing that mere intellectual knowledge is quite sufficient.
33. Hence this Bhakti alone should be chosen by those who seek liberation.
VII Accessary means to Bhakti
34. Teachers have recommended various means to this Bhakti.*
* The means here described are only accessory, for Bhakti is its own means as has been shown already.
35. It results from the renunciation of the objects of the senses and renunciation of attachment.*
* The consciousness of me and mine in everything we do and deal with, is what is called 'attachment' here.
36. From unremitting adoration.
37. From listening to narration of various blessed qualities of the Lord and proclaiming them aloud even while attending to affairs of ordinary life.*
* Spiritual life and ordinary life should not be separated. All our activities may be turned into worship if only we do not forget the constant remembrance of Divine qualities.
38. In the main, however, it results through the grace of the great ones, through even a little of the grace of the Lord.*
* Self-effort is certainly needed, but before long the aspirant will know that of himself he can do nothing; the quickening influence of Bhaktas will soon convince him that everything is due to the invisible support of God Himself.
VIII Company of the Spiritually great
39. Now, association with the great, is hard to get, difficult to realise, though most invaluable.
40. Nevertheless, it is attainable, and that through His grace only.
41. For there is no distinction between Him and His devotees.*
* This is very important for the aspirant to note, because it is only these Bhaktas, the highest manifestations of God, that are first accessible to him and lead him on to a realisation of God as He is.
42. That alone should be sought out, that alone should be sought out.
IX Dangers of evil association
43. Evil association should be shunned by all manner of means.*
* Those who are not yet blessed with the company of Bhaktas, should take the initial step of overcoming attachment to objects of sense by holding thoughts of Bhakti in their mind by sustained effort. In good time, when we are ready for it, a real Bhakta will arrive and impart the kind of teaching that is best suited for us.
44. For it is the cause of desire, anger, delusion, loss of memory, loss of intellect and utter ruin.*
* 'Memory and intellect' spoken of in this Sutra refer to spiritual meditation and spiritual reason respectively.
45. These are in themselves like little waves, but through association become a veritable sea.
X How to cross Maya
46. Who crosses, who crosses this Maya* (illusory glamour of the world )? He who gives up attachments, he who waits upon a spiritually magnanimous soul, he who becomes free from the idea of possession.
* The world of the senses in which the unenlightened live is called Maya (illusory appearance) because from the highest standpoint of Reality it does not exist. But in so far as it affects people wbo react to it, it is by no means negligible; it is therefore like a boundless sea humanly impossible to cross.
47. He who habitually resorts to a solitary place,* he who cuts asunder all worldly bondage, he who transcends the three fundamental Gunas of nature,* he who gives up the idea of acquisition and preservation.
* 'The solitary place' need not necessarily be a cave in a. retired place or anything like that; the one condition needed is that it must be free from evil influences. For advanced seekers their own heart is the most secret Place for meditation.
* The three Gunas- Sattva (the enlightening), Rajas (the inflaming), and Tamas (the enveloping and obscuring)- are described at length in the Gita.
48. He who gives up all desire for the fruit of his actions, renounces all activities and thus passes beyond all pairs of opposites.
49. He who renounces even the Vedas, who has only incessant love for the Lord.*
* Rites and ceremonies are but the symbols of the experiences of the soul while the Vedas or Scriptures are but partial expressions of the Reality which can be known only by direct intuition. Hence the Bhakta lays hold of the key to this direct approach, namely love of God, and transcends the limits of Vedas and Vedic ceremonies. 'The pairs of opposites' spoken of in Sutra 48 are subjective ones such as happiness and misery.
50. He crosses, he crosses this Maya, and he takes other people also across it.
XI Nature of God-love
51. The nature of Love is inexpressible in words.*
* The word 'anirvachaniyam' in the original should not be associated in any manner with the significance attached to it by Post-Sankara Vedantins. It only means that Bhakti is a realisation so profound that it is impossible to find words exactly describing it.
52. It is like a dainty dish tasted by a mute person.
53. It finds expression very rarely in some worthy soul.
54. Beyond the fundamental Gunas, above all desires, growing intense moment by moment, incessant, most subtle, and fathomable only by intuition.*
* The significance of the epithets should be noted:
(a) 'Beyond the Gunas.' Bhakti influenced by the Gunas is not pure; even Sattwic Bhakti inspired with the ambition of knowing God is far below this true Bhakti when one loves God for love's sake.
(b) 'Free from desires.' This follows from the previous statement, but it is specifically stated here for the guidance of less advanced souls. Bhakti practised with a view to get away from ills or to attain certain unfulfilled desires is not pure Bhakti.
(c) 'Growing intense every moment.' This God-love grows as we advance in our understanding and realisation of Truth. Progressive attainment and progressive love go hand in hand till both reach their one goal when the aspirant has achieved perfect union with his Beloved.
(d) 'incessant.' It is a continuous flow of loving remembrance, for no break can possibly occur when one has tasted its incomparable sweetness.
(e) 'most subtle.' It is impossible for the ordinary human mind to have any conception of this exalted love; so different it is from the grosser love for things of this world.
(f) 'Fathomable by intuition alone.' Though beyond speech and intellect, Bhakti is not a chimerical something, for it can be directly intuited when we make contact with God in our inmost being.
55. When one has reached it, one sees that alone, hears about that alone, talks of that alone, thinks of that alone.*
* Just as a river loses its individuality when it has emptied itself into the ocean, the Bhakta loses his egoity completely when he has attained union with his beloved Bhagavan. Then he sees himself and all the rest of the universe as an inseparable part of that Universal Love which exhibits itself in every experience of his life.
XII Secondary Bhakti
56. Secondary Bhakti is of three kinds, to be classified either according to the difference of Gunas, or according to the difference of the afflicted and other aspirants to whom it belongs.
57. In either case each preceding one is more conducive to beatitude than the one succeeding it.*
* Rajasic Bhakti exercised with a view to obtain the goods of life is better than Tamasic Bhakti which invokes divine help to do harm to others. Sattwic love is still higher, for it only aspires to know God. According to the second classification 'aathr' (Bhakti of affliction) is the highest. Here affliction does not refer to any misery due to worldly evil, but to distress due to a conscious separation from God.
XIII Special features of the Path of Bhakti
58. Bhakti is easier!* than any other way of approach to God.
* Karma (good works), Yoga (mind-control), Jnana (knowledge) are three other paths recommended. These paths are by no means quite distinct and we shall all have necessarily to tread each of them to a greater or lesser extent. Bhakti is said to be easier than the other paths not because it offers a life of luxury and softness- for there is discipline enough here- but because it is the direct approach to the Ideal through the heart. Love is so natural to us all, that it is recognized the moment we contact it, and from that moment onward a life of peace and joy is ours evermore.
59. For it needs no external proof, being its own proof.
60. And because it is of the nature of peace and of the nature of perfect bliss-
XIV Life of a Seeker
61. One need not worry if one's affairs go wrong, for the self, worldly affairs and even the Vedas have been surrendered to the Lord.*
* This mean, a complete trust in God even when things go the wrong way apparently; really, however, neither loss nor evil can touch him, for he is under the care of a loving and omnipotent God.
62. So long as this Bhakti is not achieved, the ordinary way of life should not be given up, but renunciation of the desire for reward of actions and discipline preparatory to it, should be persistently practised.*
* Before the carefree state of complete self-surrender is attained, conscious efforts must be made steadfastly in the shape of selfless work and discipline of the soul.
63. Accounts of women, wealth and of unbelievers should not be listened to.
64. Pride, vanity and other vices should be eschewed.
65. All acts should be offered up to Him and even feelings like desire and pride should be entertained with reference to Him only.*
* This refers to the process of sublimating everyone of our emotions and directing it towards God. All our activities outward and inward, must become a holy offering to Him and then they will be transmuted and welded into pure Bhakti.
66. The three-dimensional form of love should be destroyed, and love and love alone should be entertained-devoted love of the eternal servant and of the eternal wife.*
* Bhakti which seeks to serve and love without any motive whatsoever, which has risen above the triad of lover, love and the loved, should always be the ideal of an aspirant.
XV The Glory of Master-Bhaktas
67. Bhaktas exclusively attached to the Lord are the best of His devotees.
68. Talking of Bhakti to one another in faltering tones attended with thrill and tears of joy, they sanctify their race and the wide earth.
69. They turn ordinary bathing places into sacred places of purification, ordinary acts into pious deeds, and words of instruction into holy texts.
70. They are full of Him.*
* They have emptied themselves so completely that they wholly live in God. The lives of God-intoxicated Bhaktas like Prahlada bear witness to this.
71. The Pitris (manes) are delighted in them, the gods dance with joy, and this earth is happy in their care.
72. Among them there is no distinction due to birth, education, colour, race, wealth, occupation and the like.*
* However widely they may differ in other respects, they are all alike in their pure and unmixed love for God.
73. For they are all His own.
XVI Advice to a would-be Bhakta
74. The aspirant should not take to disputation.
75. For it leads to endless arguments and leads to no certain conclusion.
76. Works on Bhakti should be studied and acts calculated to rouse this Bhakti should be performed.*
* Earnest seekers receive, when they are in a fit mental condition, revelations of divine love through texts and passages of scriptures. In order that the mind may be lifted up to that condition, it is necessary that acts like worship, prayer and meditation should be steadily resorted to.
77. Time free from the sway of pleasure, pain, desire, profit or other worldly considerations, is what every one seeks ; so even half a second should not be trifled away.*
* Every one wants to live a life without strain, but this is not possible unless one turns every odd moment to account and steadily applies his mind to God.
78. Non-violence, truthfulness, purity, compassion, piety and other essentials of good life, should be maintained.
79. Free from all care, ye shall always adore Bhagavan (the Lord) alone with all your heart and soul.*
* God provides for all our needs; those who dedicate their lives to God are able to verify this. 'Bhagavan' stands for all blessed qualities that the human mind can ever assign to God.
80. If steadily praised, the Lord reveals Himself soon and blesses the Bhaktas with realisatior.*
* The original word refers perhaps to singing God's glory with intense divine feeling. This mode of waiting upon God is in time followed by what is known as 'Bhavesamadhi' the ectasy of divine feeling) which in its turn leads on to realisation of the highest Reality.
XVII Types of Bhakti-manifestations
81. For all the three divisions of time-past, present and future-Bhakti alone is preferable to other paths, Bhakti alone is preferable.
82. Though in itself one, this Bhakti manifests itself in eleven different forms: (1) attachment to the glorification of the blessed qualities of God, (2) attachment to His beautiful form, (3) attachment to His worship, (4) attachment to His remembrance, (5) attachment to His service, (6)attachment to His friendship, (7) attachment to filial love for Him, (8) attachment to wifelike love for Him, (9) attachment to self-surrender, (10) attachment to being filled with Him, and (II) attachment to an intense feeling of excruciating pain of separation from Him.*
* The Puranas are full of narratives of Bhaktas who have manifested these various types of Bhakti. One or more of these types may be seen to show themselves in one and the same Bhakta on different occasions. Witness the life of Sri Ramakrisna Paramahainsa in very recent times.
XVIII Teachers of Bhakti, Conclusion
83. So declare the teachers of Bhakti with one accord in defiance of public criticism, teachers like, (1) Sanatkumara, (2) Vyasa, (3) Suka, (4) Sandilya, (5) Garga, (6) Visnu, (7) Kaundinya, (8) Sesha, (9) Uddhava, (10) Aruni, (11) Bali, (12) Hanuman, and (13) Vibhishanaa.*
* This concluding section is meant to show (I) that Bhakti is a practical method of approaching God, which has been adopted with success by a good many aspirants placed in different stations in life, (2) that this treatise is a compendium of their views written by one who himself has practised what he preaches, and (3) that it is worth one's while to follow and profit by the teachings of these disinterested Masters of Bhakti.
84. Whoever in this world believes and has faith in this gracious instruction offered by Narada, he becomes endowed with Bhakti, he attains the highest beatitude, aye, he attains the highest beatitude.*
* The Sanskrit word means dearest, or the most cherished end; it is here used as a synonym for the highest goal of human life.
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