Thursday, April 19, 2018

Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 73



Sutra 68. Kanthaavarodharomaanchaasrubhih parasparam lapamaanaah Paavayanti kulaani prithiveem cha.

[Conversing with one another with a choking voice, with hairs standing on end, with tears flowing from their eyes, they purify their families as well as the earth (the land which gave birth to them).]

Kanthaa-varodha- romaanchaasrubhih: with choking of voice, hairs standing on end and tears (flowing from the eyes);
Parasparam: with one another; amongst themselves
Lapamaanaah: conversing 
Kulaani: families; clans
Prithiveem: the earth
Cha: and
paava- yanti: purifying .

In Gita, X-9 Lord Krishna says "Having their minds fixed
upon Me and their life directed to Me, enlightening one another, and constantly talking about Me, My devotees become satisfied and delighted."

Talking of Bhakti to one another in faltering tone attended with thrill and tears of joy, they sanctify their race and the wide earth.

The spirits of the ancestors of the devotees feel gratified and purified by the devotion of their descendents.

When there is a congregational prayer, when devotees meet together and do Kirtan and common meditation, they generate a spiritual current or force which inspires and purifies the hearts of many. The whole atmosphere of that place gets purified and is surcharged with currents of Divine Love.

The scriptures say, “Holy is the family and blessed the mother, nay, the earth itself is fortunate through him whose mind is absorbed in the Supreme Brahman, the ocean of infinite knowledge and bliss.”

Lord Hari said, “I do not dwell exclusively in Vaikunth nor in the hearts of Yogis, but, O Narada, I am verily present in my full splendour, where my devotees sing of Me.”

Choking of voice, hairs standing on end and tears flowing from the eyes are external marks of the internal emotion. They express intensity of feeling. This feeling is Prem or divine love. He who has such a Prem can have direct communion with the Lord.

The above state was described in an earlier post with visualising a situation when a devotee has a close darshan / sparshan / sambhashan with / of Sai or when a devotee comes out of the interview room after being with Swami.

All these choking of voice, tears flowing from the eyes - when one really experiences such things in his devotion, then only one can experience and know from his experience that all these things happen when the devotee has transcended, for that moments / few moments, his individual ego, his individual identity, all thoughts about himself, his family and in fact the whole world.

So, in those few moments, he has, in fact, merged with Lord and existing as pure as Lord. When such extraordinary thing happens, the body spontaneously reposed to such extraordinary state of the devotee and all these things happen to his body about which the devotee is neither aware, nor can he normally explain as to why such things happened!!!!

The greater the Bhakti is, the greater the orbit of the spiritual influence. The greatest of them are the light of whole universe. Even if they live in caves, the spiritual waves generated by their devotion will spread over the entire universe and find an echo in all pure hearts ready to receive them.

“Paavayanti”. The devotees purify. Kulaani, their families, Prithiveem cha, also the world. Wherever they go, they radiate love and joy, they dispel fear and ignorance, they give new life and fresh life to the despondent; they inspire and elevate those who come to them. It is in this way that they purify.

The same truth is echoed by Sankara in Vivekachudamani where, the Guru, on being satisfied that his disciple has realized SELF, showers his blessings on his disciple who has now crossed the duality of Guru and Shishya and says,

श्रीगुरुवाच
धन्योऽसि कृतकृत्योऽसि पावित ते कुलं त्वया ।
यदविद्याबन्धमुक्त्या ब्रह्मीभवितुमिच्छसि ॥ ५0 ॥ 
śrīguruvāca
dhanyo'si kṛtakṛtyo'si pāvita te kulaṃ tvayā |
yadavidyābandhamuktyā brahmībhavitumicchasi 
The Guru replied: Blessed art thou! Thou hast achieved thy life’s end and hast sanctified thy family that thou wishest to attain Brahmanhood by getting free from the bondage of Ignorance! 
( Verse 50)

In the company of such a devotee / God / Self realized being,
in his existence as pure, divine SELF, his family, his village, his state, his country and in fact the whole world stands blessed!!!!

The Aura of such purified soul envelops a huge area and purifies all those beings who come within/ who are enveloped by that Aura.

Love.