LOVE-DIVINE NARADA BHAKTI SUTRA The Highest Art of MAKING-LOVE to the Lord of the Heart SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA CENTRAL CHINMAYA MISSION TRUST© All Rights reserved 1982 Edition 5000 copies Published by CENTRAL CHINMAYA MISSION TRUST Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai. Park Drive. Bombay - 400 072. Printed by M. K. Kulkarni at Displaycraft, 17 & 18 Block G, Ansa Industrial Estate, Saki Vihar Road, Bombay 400 072.THE ART OF LOVE NARADA- BHAKTI SUTRA Introduction The declarations of the Upanishads are called Mantras; they are “statements that are to be reflected upon, whereby the individual comes to feel inspired and uplifted.”* All our philosophical text-books are written out by the great seers and thinkers in the form of Sutras. The term, ‘Sutra’, means ‘string’ — the string on which the arguments and thoughts are strung together to become an enchanting garland of ideas. Sutras are explanatory statements, and in their depths, they are also exploratory in their functions. The philosopher's job is not only to explain things but also to explore the possibilities of wiser ways of living and to bring to the recognition of the student the greater wisdom, equipped with which he can become more efficient in his life. All the Six Schools of Philosophy (Darshanas) in India are given out in the form of Sutras. Besides we have the Brahma Sutras expounding the Advaita philosophy, and the Jaimini Sutras explaining the ritualistic portion of the Vedas, and thus propounding the Karma philosophy. The Sutras are terse sayings pregnant with deep significances and ample suggestions. Here we have an authoritative text-book upon the Philosophy of Devotion, in eighty-four Sutras, and we read it in the Bhagavat ! This philosophy of love for God stands today attributed to the famous Devarishi Narada whose personality is very familiar throughout the Puranas. He Works everywhere as friend, philosopher and guide, to all devotees. Evenif he is not specially invoked, it is his to propagate the Path of Love, and, therefore, he appears of his own accord to guide devotees of the Lord. He helps Dhruva; protects Prahlada’s Mother, advises kamsa to kill the children of Devaki; persuades Ravana to get himself entangled on Bali’s tail !! * Mananath Trayathe Ithi Mantrah— © Bhagavat I 4’ & 5.Narada-Bhakti Sutra He plays upon the weaknesses of the devotees and miakes them suffer, and in the resultant effect of catharsis, the students become free form all their weaknesses and march more deliberately towards their spiritual goal. The very name, Narada, indicate that he is “one who gives knowledge of the Supreme Brahman”* Narada is described in the Vedas as one of the sons of the Creator, who Himself taught the spiritual Truth to his four sons, the Sanatkumaras, and the young boy had his initiation into Vedanta at the very hands of his brothers. However, Narada instinctively took to the Love of Vishnu; he tefused to marry and took to himself a perpetual vow of Brahmacharya. He was ‘born’, naturally, in the various realms according to his Vasanas. He became a Gandharva— a Celestial Being devoted to music—and yet, he could not escape from the sensual desires, and he wandered through the Universe in perennial youth and beauty, devoted to the soul of music. Time and again he fell for the infatuations. of the senses. Yet, he pursued diligently his devotional music and made all his listeners feel its divine ecstasy and joy. It is said that it was Narada who invented the most perfect musical instrument, Veena. While once watching the dance of Rambha he was filled with passion and his Father ordered him to be born as a Sudra in the world. Since he had thus to come into the world and live, he gathered therein experiences, which made him all the more fit for his work, for, he could always fully sympathise with the passions and weaknesses of other human beings. When Narada was bom in the world, his Father was Kashyapa, son of Mareechi, according to the Vishnu Purana; but according to the Rig Veda, his Father was Kanva, the Sage who brought up Shakuntala in the forest; but in both cases his mother was a Sudra, a servant girl. This devoted lady was working in a family where Rishis used to visit frequently. Once for the “four-months-Vrata” (Chaturmasya), a team of great Rishis stayed in the family, and the boy became their pet. He served them with all devotion and ate the food that they gave him. He thus became purified, and the Seers blessed him. This young devotee lost his Mother soon after and thus became free to move about in the world singing the Glory of the Lord and spreading. the message of Narayana everywhere. We find Narada skipping across the din and roar of the Ramayana as well as across the ecstatic music of the Bhagavata. To this great advocate of love and devotion is attributed these aphorisms upon the philosophy of Devotion, the Bhakti Sutras. There is no evidence to prove that Narada actually wrote out these Sutras; whoever be the author of these eighty-four Sutras, they are rightly dedicated to this Champion of Devotion, Devarishi Narada. The Western method of investigation into the authorship of a book is not workable in the ancient Hindu Scriptural textbooks. In practical philosophy the importance is not on who wrote it, but the emphasis is * Naaram-Dadati-Iti, Narada—(Sabhakalpadruma) 2Introduction whether the philosophy does work. If these aphorisms plan out a sure way for the evolution of man, it is immaterial who exactly was the author of this philosophical work. Traditionally they have been attributed to Narada, and eter these Aphorisms on Love, stand today entitled, ‘ Narada Bhakti yutra’. An extremely fallacious criticism which we find generally leveiled against Vedanta by its hasty students from the West, is that there is no Personal-God in Hinduism. In this we cannot blame the Western Scholars, because, in India, during and after Sri Sankara’s time, there has been an over-emphasis upon the Vedantic thoughts. Vedanta indicates the Transcendental Reality which is experienced through logical reasoning and subtle meditation. In this Path of Knowledge there is no insistence of a Personal-God and our devotion to Him. Thereby, to decry that Hinduism recognizes no Personal God would be extremely wrong. The Path of Devotion runs through the entire spiritual traditions of the Aryans as a glimmering stream of golden effulgence, panting in esctasy singing in joy and weeping with satisfaction. The entire Puranic literature is ever aglow with the emotion of love for the Lord. In the Geeta* we have a beautiful recoanciliation of devotion (bhakti) to the Personal-God and contemplation (Gyana) upon the transcendental Truth; the Geeta Acharya concludes that whichever Path a devotee may follow, ultimately he will reach Me; only let him bring his entire personality to Me. We have a traditional story where Narada meets Vyasa on the banks of Saraswati, when Narada makes Vyasa accept the idea that to pursue the Path of Knowledge, alone, is dry and sapless, and that without Devotion for the Lord and His Glories, spiritual seeking is joyless. Vyasa accepts the idea and undertakes to write the great Bhagavatam. In the light of this information upon the personality of Narada it becomes evidently clear that even though he might not have personally taken up his pen to write these aphorisms, it is only right that to Narada alone must these Sutras be dedicated by us. As the greatest Champion of the Path of Devotion, again, this etemal devotee of Narayana, Devarishi Narada, alone can be the best Teacher to instruct us in the Philosophy of Love. May we discover this Love Divine in ourselves. May we find the courage in ourselves to live this Divine Love. May we come to explore the fulfilment of this Love Divine. 1 must acknowledge the help given by Brahmacharini Kanta Devi (Concha Hughes of Honolulu) in preparing the manuscripts and the English-versification of the Sutras have been done by Brahmacharini Sarada Devi. They both deserve our gratitude. Hari Om! Hari Om! Hari Om! Sandeepani Sadhanalaya, Powat Park-Drive, CHINMAYANANDA Bombay 4000072. Ist January, 1968. * Geeta Chapter XIII. 3NARADA’S APHORISMS ON LOVE-DIVINE CHAPTER I — SECTION 1 Bhakti — Love Divine Of Love Divine (1 to 6) Now shall we, therefore, speak of the Love Divine — Its, in Him, of the form of supreme love, Immortal and nectarine; Gaining which, one becomes tranquil, Contented and perfect, Attaining which, one desires naught, And sorrows no more, Not despises. nor rejoices. Nor, by any, gets ever fascinated, Knowing which, one becomes a reveller in the Self, Silent in the Self, Delighted in the Self.CHAPTER I SECTION 1 ee arardt afes sareureura: 0 ft sa— Now, a@:— Therefore; sftsthe Doctrine of Devotion; sneer: —we shall explain 1. Now, therefore, the doctrine of devotion we shall expound. Now, therefore (athato)— this is the usual style of the Acharyas when they open a Sutra-textbook. In Brahmasutra and Jaiminisutra we find the same idiom used, ‘“Athato Brahma Jignasa” is the first Sutra of Badarayana : and Jaimini starts his Sutras employing the same idiom.* After having developed all the qualifications necessary for the pra- ctice of Devotion (Atha), the student feels no spiritual satisfaction and therefore, (Ataha), he must now diligently walk the Path of Devotion. According to Ramanuja, the teacher of Visishtadvaita, there are seven qualifications necessary in a seeker who plans to pursue Devotion. They are: (1)Discrimination in food ? (Viveka), (2) Freedom from desire (Vimukha), (3) Practice (Abhyas),(4) Habit of doing good to others (Kriya), (5) Purity in thought, word and deed, non-violence, charity, and such other virtues(Kalyan), (6) Cheerfulness (Anavasada), and (7) Absenbce of excessive hilariousness (Anuddharasa). In the Geeta while discussing Bhakti Yoga, Krishna enumerates in five waves what are the perfections unavoidable for a true devotee of the Lord. Thus, here, the term “thereafter” (Ataha) should be taken to mean “‘after having developed at least to an extent, all the virtues enumerated by Lord Krishna in the Geeta”, + A mere ethical and moral life, however perfect it may be, cannot by itself bring about the spiritual solace and intense personal experience which are the demands of all spiritual seekers. No doubt, moral and ethical life, following the positive virtues of a creative life, in themselves have a measure of peace and tranquality to give. But a true spiritual aspirant’s demand is much more than a relative life of peaceful contentment and inner quietude. He demands a perfect and full experience of the Infinite Beatitude. He wants to explore the universe in himself and finally arrive at the Immutable Reality behind the world-of-perceptions. ““Therefore” (Ataha) the student must necessarily practise devotion. ** Athato Karma Jignasa” + Geeta XII—13-20Narada-Bhakti Sutra Here Narada promises, “we shall expound” (Vyakhyasyamah) “the doctrine of Devotion” (Bhaktim). By this it is evidently clear that devotion was practised even before these Sutras were given out, But the philosophy of Devotion was not so precisely crystalised for the guidance of the students ever before. Again, when Narada uses the first-person plural “we”, it need not necessarily mean, as usual a mark of respect, but very often in the scriptural textbooks, in all such usages, we find that the Acharyas, in their uncompromising truthfulness, confess their indebtedness to the earlier Acharyas, Therefore, here “we” only means “all the great teachers of Devotion who had defined Devotion and given elaborate indications of its nature and contents.” It is interesting to note that in Brahmasutra, in its very opening aphorism, Badarayana declares, ““Thereafter therefore, the enquiry into the Brahman”. It is essentially an intellectual pursuit to enquire and determine the existence and the nature of the Immutable Ground (Brahman). While, here, Narada declares that we shall give a commentary (Vyakhsyamah) on Devotion. This suggests that here is an explanation of divine love from his own personal experience, Sutra 2 er cahtag TORTS Qu jh—That (Devotion ) ; {+ indeed; qatwEu— ofthe nature of supreme Devotion; aftrIn that. 2. That (Devotion) is indeed of the nature of Supreme Love in (directed towards) God. Devotion is defined in various ways by various teachers but to Devarishi Narada it is indeed “‘the supreme love for God.” It depends upon nothing else. A mind totally turned towards God in love, demanding nothing, not even liberation, is a mind filled with devotion. Thoughts constantly flowing in love towards the Supreme is devotion. Nobody else; nothing else; no one else, but Narayana - this attitude of the heart is love. This state is called exclusive love ( Ananya Prem), and this total love for the Lord is devotion. An Ordinary man’s heart also knows love for the beings and things outside, and thus in our everyday language we often use the word ‘love’. Narada wants to make a distinction between this ordinary love and the pure devotion divine, and heance, he employs the term “indeed” (Tu. In this lower love the lover expects a return. Devotion, according to the author of this Sutra is the exclusive love for God. In That (Asmtin)—Instead of specifying God by any of the usual terms, Brahman, Atman, Iswara or Rama, Krishna, Shiva, etc., Narada deliber- ately uses the word “Asmin" in order to avoid all sectarianism. The divine 8Sutra 3 * pronoun “That” indicates all concepts of God, and it includes both the manifest and the unmanifest, the immanent and the transcendent, both the concepts of God, with form and without form. Love is the relationship that grows in joy and ecstasy between the lover and the beloved. Thereafter it becomes a bond that holds them together into a permanent intimacy in joyous abandon. Love is a link that connects, a force that attracts, a fascination that seizes, and a clasp that grasps. Therefore, when one establishes himself in the relationship of devotion with the Divine, he steps up into a realm of his own, having his own enchantments and personal experiences. Sutra 3 AAAS TUR RAST A ~—Also of the nature of Immortality. 3. The Supreme Love for the Lord, called Devotion Divine, is of the nature of Immortality also. Having described the devotion as “Divine Love for the Lord”, the teacher here adds that “it is ‘also of the nature of Immortality.” At this moment, in our identifications with the ever-changing instrument-of- experiences, we live but a mere superficial life-of-change. The “equipments” of experiences and the objects that constitute the “fields” of experiences are both finite, and in their constant flux the “individuality” in us, as the experiencer of this change, is itself constantly changing. These disturbances constitute the real pain of mortality, the source of all sorrow and agony in life. In utter devotion when an individual lifts all his identifications from ‘the realm of change into the contemplation of the Changeless, Immutable, Lord, the constant agitations cease, and therefore, all sense of mortality too’ vanishes. This constant experience of the Changeless Infinitude and the consequent equipoise lived by a true devotee is the State-of-Immortality. Man is constantly seeking his share of peace and happiness and, since he does not know the real source of these, he seeks them in the midst of sense-objects.But when he, in his devotion, comes to:tum his entire attention towards the Higher and the Nobler, when he, in his supreme devotion, comes to tum completely towards the Self, he experiences the Immortal, the Infinte, as intimately as he experienced before, the world and its changes. Bhagawan Himself says in Bhagavat: “The mind that 9Narada-Bhakti Sutra constantly contemplates upon the sense-objects irresistably comes to revel in their finite joys, and the mind that learns to constantly remember Me, Comes to dissolve into Me and revel in Me.* Through the divinely passionate love for the Lord, when the devotee turns his entire attention towards the Supreme, he comes to live no more in the realm of the finite changes but comes to experience the Immortal Nature of the Infinite Bliss, the Lord. Hence this Sutra. This reminds us of the Upanishadic declaration that “the knower of the Brahman becomes Brahman.”*2 Here the “knowing” is the state of fully awakening to the divine nature of Pure Consciousness, the Aatman. Sues aeertar garg feat water 1 arg wafer qatt vate ue 0 aq—That which (Bhakti ) ; @e— having gained; gamq_— man; Reg— perfect; aafi—becomes; syt:— Immortal; aaft— becomes; FaA:— satisfied; safa— becomes. 4. Having gained this Supreme Devotion, the devotee attains perfection and immortality and becomes extremely satisfied. One who has discovered in himself the Supreme Devotion for the Lord, he has gained in fact all that is to be gained. Narada’s statement that such an individual becomes a Siddha, is not to be construed to mean a devotee will discover in himself the experssions of cheap psychic powers, or to suggest even that such a true devotee will start exhibiting his powers over the phenomena, These are not the famous eight-Siddhis, described in the Yogasastra, that are meant here. Toa true devotee of the Lord all these powers and gains are of no value at all. He rejects them as insignificant. In fact the great Puranas often describe that the Eight Mighty Powers (Ashta Siddhis) await upon a true devotee, and they always follow at his heels devotedly begging him to make use of them. Here the attainment (Siddhi) is only the highest Devotion for the Supreme. The Lord describes a true devotee: “‘ One, who has given away his heart to Me, thereafter claims nothing other than Me—neither the + Rroag sara Pret Reedy Reset ee ‘wea sfaehtae *2 ae mite wait 10Sutra 5 state of Brahmahood nor the throne of Indra nor the emperorship, nor the kingdom, nor the cheap Siddhis—nay, not even Moksha does he come to demand.” Love is its own fulfilment, A devotee after having gained this subtle wealth of Supreme Devotion, discovers an infinite satisfaction in itself, by itself, for itself, He lacks thereafter nothing. Rich in his love, he steadily lives on, and experiences no change. No more is he conscious of the usual thraldom of existence. He comes to gain and live “Immortality” here among us, even while apparently living the worldly life of daily joys and sorrows. Since his mind is constantly resting at His feet in Devotion, he lives the Infinitude which is the nature of the Lord. There is an exhilarating satisfaction in the subjective bosom of a true devotee. Even though he may be living in utter starvation and penury, misery and sorrow, as Sudhama of yore did, he lives inwardly full and rich, happy and joyous. Sutra 5 i ware + fascasute a arate a afte a ore ated waft nyu ‘aaa —having attained that which is true devotion ot the Lord; fefaq— anything, 4—not; aeft— desires; Tnot; Graft— grives; A—not; 3fte— feels enemity, 4—not, t%— rejoices, @—not, sant— one who is enthusiastic through self-interest, afa—becomes. 5. Having attained which (Devotion) he cares for nothing, never grieves, never hates, never delights in anything and he finds no urge or enthusiasm for sense enjoyment. When an individual gains the Supreme Joy of Full Devotion to the Lord, he comes to live in a sense of utter fulfilment, and he has, therefore, no moreé any desire for the things-of-the-world. He has thereby come to live and experience a new order of existence and, to him the objects, emotions and thoughts, which constitute the only fields of relaxation and entertainment for us, are ,to no avail. A great master of Devotion has exclaimed, “How can there be any attraction for the foul-smelling ditch-water of sensuality to ‘one who is swimming in the ocean of Hari-Bhakti”. Thus, a true devotee has nothing to gain, not even the joys of the heaven or even the thrills of liberation, He has no fear of losing anything he has already got. In the arrival and departure of sense enjoyments he observes but the infinite play of the benevolent Lord. To a devotee who is enjoying in himself this steady Love Supreme, even the delay for his final experience is not a sorrow. Such a lover has only one desire—*be he in heaven or hell, his only demand is that his Love for his Lord must ever increase. He cares for nothiong else.* * Na Kinchit Vanchati. 11Narada Bhakti Sutra Grief is the feeling that comes in the human mind when the already acquired objects of one’s attachment perish or decay in his possesion. Since to a true devotee there is no attachment for anything in the world around, and his entire attachment is only for the Imperishable Truth, in the midst of the ever-drying, ever-perishing world of beings and objects, the lover’s heart knows no grief.*1 When situations or things approach us, which are contrary to our nature, we feel an impatience with them, and this irksome attitude towards others around us is called ‘hatredness’.A trtue devotee in his supreme Love recogrtises everything as the play of the “Lord of his heart” and,therefore, he knows no hatredness. Everything is to him sacred and divine. In his vision there is nothis ugly or filthy. Therefore, he hates none*. On the contrary when things that are conducive to our nature gather around us we come to feel an expansion of joy within our own bosom, and thus we delight in such environments. The heart of a 'over is ever dwelling in the thoughts of his beloved, and so a true devotee discovers no situation in life wherein he can particularly discover a great delight because of a certain set of things or circumstances around him. Even when the situations are bad the devotee is in supreme ecstasy because his heart is constantly dwelling in His Presnece*s, Tn our self interest, seeking gratifications, we become enthusiastic in searching for, discovering, acquiring, possessing and ultimately enjoying the sense-objects of the world outside. Together in these activities we pour ourselves enthusiastically, in the delusory expectation that we shall dis- cover through them a glimpse of happiness, or a stray beam of peace or tranquility." This enthusiasm or interest in the life of sense-gratifications cannot be there with a true devotee as he is always full of the drunken joy of His Presence within and around him at all times. Therefore he lives a full life—sans interest, sans enthusiasm.*4 This reminds us of the declaration in Geeta* To a true devotee all happenings are unimportant and extremely insignificant. He cares not for them. Things may come and things may go; joys may visit him. or sorrows may peep in his heart—but he ever lives in the maddening joy of Hari-devotion. His mind never goes anywhere—it has no place to go; wherever it goes he has no other experience other than the *1 Na Sochati. #2 Na-dveshti, #3 Na-ramate. *4 Na Utsahi Bhavati. *5 Yona hrsyati na dveshti. ‘Na sochati na Kankshati Subhasubheparityagi Bhaktiman yah sa me Pyiyah (Geeta XII (17) ) 12Sutra 6 Beloved of his own heart. The Gopies once said to Uddhav “Our minds never remain, even for a moment, even with us,—how can they go then to our neighbours or others?” Once a lover, the Lord fascinates him so much that in the language of the Bhaktas the Lord is the thief of the hearts (Chitta Chor). In the great glory of the Lord the Love-heart of the devotee melts to become one with Him. Thereafter there can never be any anxiety over anything, or ever can, there be at least a distant chance for even a whiff of remembrance of the sense-objects and their enjoyments. The immortal devotees, the Gopies of Vraja openly confess, “When we can’t shift our mind even for a moment from our beloved Krishna, how can we strive for getting any worldly objects, or weep over things that we have failed to psocure? Our minds know nothing other than Krishna.” The mind of the devotee comes to be so jealously occupied by the Lord that there is 10 accommodation in it thereafter for anything else. Waren weit Hale Set Hale | Sutra 6 SAT FAA WGA ‘aq @eat— having known that which is the true Devotion toGod (gew:— man ) #4: Aaft— becomes intoxicated #3 mad ) ; Red: Aaft— becomes peaceful (silent ) ; sucnrrat wafa— becomes united in the Self. 6. Having known which (Devotion) one becomes intoxicated, silent, and enjoys in the Self. One who has gained this all-consuming Devotion becomes in- toxicated, and therefore, “mad” with bis own Love Divine. He cannot behave as all others do in the world; and due to his incapacity to conform to the usual mode and attitude of the worldly people, the members of the society brand him as ‘mad’. He sings the glory of the Lord always. He cries in ecstatic joy. He laughs in his own floods of inner peace. He smiles and weeps, dances and rolls in ecstasy, ever living in a private world of bliss, all of his own. Others around him have no entry into his private domain of endless joy and suffocating peace. The palace of fulfilment is built on the top-most peaks of satisfaction-no one can scale them and visit him there, where he lives in divine luxury of infinite peace. ‘Srimad Bhagvat describes the mind of such a great devotee: “Hearing again from other Bhaktas the stories of the Lord’s incarnations and His leelas, the devotee’s mind becomes overwhelmed with love and Devotion for Him, and he, with no sense of shame or reserve, bursts out chanting and singing His glorious names, and his mind becomes merged with the Lord-of- his Love. Overpowered by the rising tides of his surging Love the devotee weeps and laughs, sings and dances like a mad man (Matho-Bhavati). 13Narada-Bhakti Sutra Thus having sung and danced, wept and laughed, he, in his own inner crisis of mounting Love, becomes silent and quiet both within and without (Stabdha-Bhavati). The devotee at this stage becomes unconsciously lifted into the states of deepest meditation, when the Divine Form of the Lord alone has ‘the exclusive chance to be in his heart. When thus the devotee’s mind and body become as a result of continuous singing and dancing, he discovers within himself the meditative poise indicated in the Sutra here as “quiet” (Stabdha). During such moments of utter meditation without the help of any other sadhana, a true devotee comes to plunge deeper and deeper into his own inner quietude to reach ultimately the realm of the Self, the Aatman. Thus he comes to “‘revel in the Self’ (Aatmaramo Bhavati). These opening six Sutras give us a general picture of Divine Devotion. The following eight Sutras bring out clearly the exclusive nature of the Love Divine.NARADA’S APHORISMS ON LOVE-DIVINE CHAPTER I - SECTION 2 Bhakti—Love Divine Uniqueness of Love Divine (7 to 14) Love by nature is sacrifice and 50 It is never desirous - ‘A Relinquishment thet renounces All actions worldly or religious, A relinquishment that feels Oneness with Him and neglects contrary things. A relinguishment that performs Actions worldly or religious, if congenial And neglects those, to Him. When uncongenial, May protection of scriptures be ours To guide Till the strengthening of convictions, may protection of scriptures be our duty. To lead When once conviction is gained, Or else there is a fear of fall. So long only, our worldly duties, Save eating and such others, They remain till the body remains.CHAPTER I SECTION 2 er a areaaren fartrerereand uo am — That Love- Devotion; Frrreqrarbeing of the nature of renunication; iranrel 4 — there is no element of desire in it. 7. Because it is of the nature of renunciation there is no element of desire in that Love Divine. Sutra 7 Love is its own fulfilment. To a devotee there is no desire; not even the desire for his own liberation. Love justifies itself. His only desire is for the Love of his heart’s Beloved, the Lord. Love is a reward in itself. To love the Lord for the fulfilment of a desire is not true Love; it is a desire-prompted devotion (Kamana-Bhakti.) Such commercialism in religion cannot bring about any sense of fulfilment to the seekers’ bosom. A true devotee never comes to demand anything from the Lord except more and more Love for Him, and that this Love in his heart should ever remain steady and grow in its dimension. In short, desire departs from the heart in which Devotion has entered. The very essence of Devotion lies in the spirit of renunciation of all other infatuations and seekings. To a lover there is nothing more sacred than the beloved; all his urges and demands in life are to acquire, possess, and enjoy his beloved. The individuality in such a devotee, who has turned totally towards the Lord, comes to tur away more and more from the usual anxieties and efforts in earning, procuring, enjoying and saving the material objects of the world, cheap emotions, and disturbing thoughts. He renounces them all, in the name of the Lord, Who alone is the one coveted possession for him to seek. A lover can express his lovaonly in the language of his ready sacrifices. Everywhere we find that all lovers are always ready to make sacrifices, each for the sake of the other. In fact, the spirit of happy renunciation is the very heart of love. What exactly then is the nature of this renunciation in a devotee? This is being described in the following two Sutras. Sura $ Retrereg GREATER: Ne fata: g— This renunication indeed; stesecular, 4%— religious; @Ie— activities; -aRI— renunication ( Sannyas. )Narada- Bhakti Sutra 8. This renunciation, indeed, is in the total giving up of all secularand religious activities. When devotion to the Lord increases, all secular(Loka) and ritualistic (Veda) pre-occupations (Vyapara) leave the devotee. To function in any field the individual must have his heart thrilled by a desire to gain his end in that particular field. When one’s mind has become drowned in the fullness of the Bliss of Hari-Bhakti, how can such a lover entertain any other desire other than maintaining the Love-play with the Lord-of-Love in his own heart? His mind comes to dwell constantly upon his Lord. The entire mind of the devotee throbs with the single thought of the Lord-of-the-Universe.”* A divine lover’s mind can never wander away into any other obejct of fascination. To him everything reminds but the All-pervading Narayana. This kind of an all-consuming sweet Love for the Lord is nowhere so completely exemplified as in the love of the Gopies for the Blue-Boy of Brindavan. In the Bhagavat +, the Gopies say to Lord Krishna: “Oh! darling, our hearts, happily attached to our homes, have been stolen away by you; our hands, ever engaged in domestic work, have become as though paralysed; and our feet refuse to take even a single step to anywhere else but wo you. How shall we return home and, even if we return, what else shall we there?” To such a true and ardent devotee, rituals ( Vedic or Puranic ) are of no significance. They are of no avail to him. They leave, a matured devotee, of their own accord, In the constant remembrance of the Lord, such a glorious devotee has indeed gone beyond the needs of pursuing the rituals. When once the worldward flow of the mind has completely ended, to such a devotee, performance of rituals becomes totally impossible. Every moment of his existence, in every thought of his heart, he is constantly at His feet. To an individual who is thus living in unbroken memory of the Lord-of-his- heart, even without any situation, his very existence is a constant oblation of Love at the Altar of the Lord. Continuing the explanation of the nature of Renunciation that is Love, Devarshi Narada says: aferarua aeatarggrda a ug aférq— In that Lord; saeaat— Single minded, whole-hearted devotion; + — and; afgafrg— in those that are opposite toit (devotion ) ; aqrétaat— indifference... ( This is renunication ) ; Sutra 9 * Suddha Jagadiswara-Akara-Vriti +, Bhagavat —34 18Sutra 10 9. In the Lord whole-hearted, single-minded devotion, and in all else that are contrary to it (devotion), complete indifference—this is the nature of Renunciation. (NIRODHA) Continuing the description of ‘renunciation’ (Nirodha) hinted at in the previous Sutra, here Narada emphasises what exactly is Nirodha. Single- hearted, complete identification with the Lord-of-the-Heart. and conse- quently to have nothing but an attitude of utter indifference to everything else that snatches away the mind from this sense of oneness-with-the- Lord, is truly the real remunciation, As devotion for the Lord increases in an individual, his mind crowds round the Lord more and more. His activities in the world outside and his attachments to the things and beings of the world drop off by themselves from him. His attention and his entire life come to exist only to play and serve around the Lord-of-his-heart. Like darkness that must roll away at dawn, the worldly ties and activities roll away from the heart of one in whom the devotion for the Lord arises. The world outside can never hold on to us nor can it enchant and molest man. The objects have a fascination only when man’s mind lends its own fancied charm to the objects. Toys can have no charm for a father nor any fancy for the mother, but the child is irresistably enchanted by them. Sarees are irresistable to the mother, both father and son are unaffcted. A splendid tie is charming and covertable only to the father and not to the mother or son. Inthe above the father and mother are indifferent to the toys, as mother and son are indifferent to the tie, or as father and son are indifferent to the lush splendour of the saree. Evidently, the objects by themselves have no charm; it is made charming by the on-looker by his own choice and mental projection. A true devotee has no charm in the objects of the world, as his entire attention is engaged in the pursuit of the eternal Enchanter Sri Narayana. Thus he becomes indifferent to everything else other than the contemplation of Him and His Glories. A true devotee comes to discard all his worldly and ritualistic preoccupations to plunge to his ecstatic meditations. Now, what exactly this exclusive devotion or this wholehearted Love Divine (Ananyatha), is explained in the following Sutra. Sutra 10 ceqpraTTt CARA SARIAT i Ro. ‘aearsrarm —all other supports: *@t:— renunication; #araT- (is ) single- heartedness. 19Narada-Bhakti Sutra 10. Renunciation of ali other supports is whole-heartedness (in Devotion). Here in this Sutra the term ‘single-pointedness’ (ananyatha), employed in the previous Sutra, is being clearly explained. When a mind is exclusively single-pointed in the contemplation of the Lord, that mind seeks no shelter—from dissatisfaction— in any other object of the world. Whena true devotee, in his great devotion finds his heart entirely occupied by the Lord of his devotion, he finds therein no accommodation to enterain anything else. He comes to depend, for all his inner satisfaction and outer comforts, upon none other than the Lord of his heart. A sincere devotee sees the whole universe as the very form of his Beloved. The Gopie saw the Lord everywhere; even in the chirping of the birds in Brindavan, they heard but the chanting of His glories. To be in Him, thus, with all one’s mind so that even the sense-organs cannot land upon anything without bringing the association of the Lord to one’s experience is called ‘whole-heartedness’ (Ananyatha). Such a mind in this state sees in the Lord all things; and in ail things they see but the “play” of the Lord. To have this experience of “the all-in-all” is Ananyatha : the “whole- heartedness.” ‘When once the devotee has recognised that everything springs from Him, and, He alone, in the form of the world is playing as things and beings around the devotee at every moment..how can such a total devotion ever seek, or even recognise, anything other than Him and His play— everywhere at all times in all places......always? A heart, thus ablaze with God-Love, even while experiencing the world of objects-emotions-and thoughts, through the vehicles of one’s own body-mind-intellect, it can never be away from the joyous Love Divine. To such a devotee His Lord is never far away. Every experience to a true devotee is but a reaffirmation of His beauty and play. The eternal hide-and-seek, which He plays with His devotees in their love-hearts, is the miracle-world of unique experience that they live, in all their day-to-day life. In an earlier Sutra* Devarishi Naradha had used a term “indifference” (Udaseenatha) which, he had not explained, To all those who demand a clarification of this term we have the needed expanation here in the following Sutra, What then is this “indifference” that is to be maintained in order to cultivate the whole-hearted devotion (Ananyatha)? * Sutra. 20Sutra 12 Sutra 11 BRgy taggers aiaforgqgreira uz aaeagY— in all secular and retigious acts, qy_erNT actions that are congenial to Him; afgeftrqgrftaat — indifference to all actions that are hostiel to Him. 11. To perform all secular and religious functions that are congenial to Him and (to have) total indifference to all actions that are hostile to Him....(that is “indifference”). To one who has intense whole-hearted devotion to the Lord, total rejection of all activities hostile to this, all-consuming Love, is not only easy but is certainly natural. It becomes almost impossible for a devotee to undertake any activity which is detrimental to his Love Divine. Evenifsuch an act were prescribed by the Vedas, or by the secular laws of the country, he will not obey them ifit is contrary to his Prema-Bhakti. A devotee rejects them all even if they be prescribed and insisted upon by the Vedas and Puranas. Such acts of a devotee cannot be classified as disobedience, because there is no such intention in his heart. Thus, Prahlada rejected the strict commands of his father Hiranyakasipu. Vibhishana discarded his brther Ravana, Bharata sacrificed his mother. The Gopies of Brindavan ignored the various objections of their husbands. And yet, none of them have been accused in the world for any of their such Bhakti. prompted trespasses. In fact, they had grown to be, in their very disobedience and rejection. lighthouses guiding generations of men to a life of greater grandeur and nobler sacrifices at the Altar of their real devotion. To act without ego and ego-centric desires, in a spirit of dedication unto the Lord of one’s own heart, is the way to develop devotion, according to Shrimad Bhagavat Geeta. By so acting, we are in fact rejecting all activities prompted by selfishness and selfish desires. Till the Love for the Lord grows toa pitch of wholeheartedness, when it comes to take hold of us completely, such dedicated activities must be undertaken and pursued sincerely. Thereby, the devotee escapes doing, even unconsciously, acts which are hostile to the birth and development of Love-Divine in his heart. Does the plea of devotion sanction disobedience to the Scriptural teachings? Does the plea of devotion sanction disobedience to the Scriptures? Sri. Narada explains: Si ima wag frecragreaige’ aresrrarere u2au wag—let there be; eaagieaigud— after the commitment to live the life of whole-hearted devotion; srazavi— protection of the scriptural teachings. 21Narada-Bhakti Sutra 12. After having thus decided to live the life of whole-hearted devotion, let there. be protection of the Scriptural teachings. After committing to live a dedicated life of total devotion unto the Lord the devotee should not give up the rules of conduct laid down, and the practices of devotion prescribed by the Scriptures. The exceptions pointed out in our commentary of the previous Sutra are only for those who in their supreme devotion have become temporarily ‘mad’ with their God-Love, re they have become incapable of following strictly the injections of the jastras. Just as in the secular wOrld disobedience to the laws of a country in a state of temporary mental imbalance is legally over-looked and largely forgiven, in such exceptional cases, the rules of conduct laid down by the Scriptures can also be disobeyed, of course, only during such rare occasions when a devotee has become Divinely ‘mad’ in his whole-hearted ecstasy of Love-divine. In such a fully blossomed devotee self-conscious acts wither away all by their own accord. This is a state wherein.the devotee is so fully merged in the Higher and the Divine-Consciousness that he is no longer aware of either his body or his bodily acts. So long as a devotee is in this state of ecstasy, and, therefore, in a condition of blissful self-forgetfulness, he need not, and in fact he cannot, strive to follow the strict injections of the Sastras. Whatever such a devotee, in that state of his God-madness, does, they themselves are the very foundation of all Sastras ! The great Scriptures can only copy such a Bhakta’s behaviour and hold it up for other seekers as the most rewarding paths and ideal to follow. But as long as the devotee is fully conscious of his physical body and entirely aware of its conditions, he must obey faithfully, the strict injunctions of the Sastras. This implicit obedience to the prescribed rules of conduct, as laid down in the Sastras, will help him to grow in his inner devotion and total dedication to the Lord. Geeta* also insists upon this in clear precise terms. The Sastra protects only those who followthe Sastra in the same way as the law protects only those who protect the laws with their implicit obedience. So long as a devotee has not come to the stage of total surrender to the Lord, the Protector of All, he needs the protection of the Sastr, and the Sastra protects only those who faithfully follow the rules laid down by the Sastra. * Geetha Chapter XVI-24 TEU ered TaTet & srataret saafeact | ret qreafrarites aa agfreréfe 22Sutra 13 The commitment (Nischaya) can be at two stages— (a) Committed to live a life of devotion and (b) Committed to the Experience Divine, when the Devotion is fulfilled in the perfect. The former are Sadhakas (practitioners) and the latter are Siddhas (perfected). The Sadhakas should implicitly obey the injunctions of the Scriptures, as they would h&lp them to grow in their spiritual life. But the latter, the Perfected, also should associate themselves with the Sastras, as they alone can protect (Rakshanam) the Sastras. Perfected masters by their.discourses and by the chaste purity of their life, must elucidate, spread and make easy the sastra-declarations. True missionary work can be successfully undertaken only by such devotees who had their inner experiences of the Divine Lord. Therefore, Narada commands that after the confirmation in experience, let the fulfilled devotee commit himself to the protection of the Sastra (Sastra-rakshanam). But why should we obey the Sastra ? Why can’t a devotee, who has surrendered himself to the Lord, live freely obeying none other than the promptings that rise in his own heart ? Such a doubt is possible in the heart of a student, and therefore, Devarshi Narada gives the following Sutra. Sutra 13 srerar anfarcarenecaat 23.10 wera —or else; wfaragrgerszat— there is the fear of a fall. 13. Or else, there is the fear of a fail (from the Spiritual path). There is always a continuous pull of the mind and the senses, upon the devotee, to bring him down into his old habit of living, a life of the sénse enjoyments, prompted entirely by his ego and ego-centric desires. To live in obedience to the dictates of the Sastra is a mode of life wherein becomes completely insured against all such chances of a relapse of his old mental disease, and the consequent false evaluations of life. ““He who ignores the injunctions of the Sastras and follows the urges of the desire, can neither attain perfection nor happiness nor the supreme state.”* By merely posing to be‘mad’ with Love Divine, and then to disobey the instructions of right conduct as laid down in the Sastra, will ultimately end only in an unprofitable self-deception. In the end such a false devotee falls from his own grace and poise, peace and sense of fulfilment, which, true devotion always brings into the heart of a sincere seeker. It has been laid down that so long as there is the consciousness of the world experienc-ed by the seeker, he should implicitly follow the strict codes of life as laid down by the ancient teachers. *Geetha Chapter XIV-23 23Narada-Bhakti Sutra To leave them is to allow the lower and the animal passions in the devotee to overwhelm him in paroxysms of sensuality. The animal nature, to an extent inherent in the heart of man, finds a conducive climate to flourish, when the seeker lives disobeying the healthy injuctions of the Sastra. These can, in the end, push him down into the lower levels of existence to suffer therein the destinies of those states. The instructions so carefully enumerated by the great Seers of old are the only barricade that can save a sincere devotee from all such tragic pitfalls on the path of his Divine progress. Therefore, so long as we are conscious of the outer world of objects and the equipments of experiences, let us implicitly follow the moral codes and spiritual exercies, as laid down by the ever-loving Rishis for the guidance of the Sadhaks. If the Sastras are to be followed only so long as we are conscious of the outer.world, are there any duties that we must do even after the Highest Experience ? Devarshi Narada indicates: Sutra 14 Grashr wate Raeg vierenie- SATATRTTOC TTS Ue ‘@wS Fe the social practices also; a%a— only to theextent; ateafgeaae :— activities such as eating; g— indeed; anerécarmaftas long as the body exists. 14. The worldly duties in the various social contacts are also to be performed only to that extent (so king as the consciousness of the external world continues with us), but activities such as eating, etc.,indeed will continue as long as the body exists. Weare told in the previous Sutra that the outer worldly behaviour is to be guided by the rules laid down in the Sastra, till the body-conscious-ness leaves the seeker completely. However, eating, drinking, sleeping, etc. will continue so long as the body exists with us. As a seeker, till the dawn of total forgetfulness in Love, brought about by his whole-hearted devotion, one should follow implicitly the codes of moral behaviour and all the prescribed spiritual exercises, so that one may avoid any possible fall in one’s march to progress. All the selfless dedicated exercises precribed in the text books of devotion encourage, improve and cultivate, more and more the devotion in the seeker. And yet, taking food, sleeping, exercises, etc., will continue in him even after he has achieved the Supreme Devotion— these are me: =!y the prarabdha of his body. He is not in any sense involved in such acts. To 24