Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 84

Sutra 80. Sa keertyamaanah seeghramevaavirbha- vatyanubhaavayati bhaktaan.

[Being thus invoked or glorified. He (the Lord) manifests Himself, and blesses His devotees with realization.]

Sa: Me

Keertyjimaanah: being invoked, being glorified

seeghram: speedily

eva: surely

aavirbhavati Bhaktaan: reveals himself (to the) devotees

anubhavayati: makes realize.

Lord Hari came out of the pillar in the form of Narasimha when Prahlada prayed with his full heart, Prahlada said to his father: “My Narayan is in your heart. He is in my heart. He is in this straw. He is in this pillar also”.

Prahlada pointed out four places. But why did Lord Narayan come out of the pillar?

Because Prahlada had his full concentration with full feeling, “Sarva-bhavena”, in the pillar alone. He wished the Lord Hari should come out of the pillar. This was his sat-sankalpa.

When one worships the Lord, invoking Him with our whole personality, our mind is turned towards the Higher, through our earnest identification with His glories, the TRUTH (GOD) within unveils itself and reveals itself.

The Lord then, out of His compassion, makes the devotee experience HIM.

He indeed reveals Himself

We find proof of this in our Puranas. Dhruva stands on one leg doing tapas. Sree Narayana comes and stands in front of him but Dhruva refuses to open his eyes.

The Lord blows His conch and tells Dhruva, “I have come”.

Still, Dhruva refuses to open His eyes and says, “Many times, You have come and when I have opened my eyes, You have deceived me and I am distracting to something else. O Lord, Though art within and without. So, You Yourself come within and reveal Yourself in my very heart”.

It is said that a saint named Saint Teresa existed in west once upon a time and once she sees a vision of Jesus and in that vision, Jesus asks her, “Who are you”. The Saint replies, “I am Teresa of Jesus”.

Jesus replies and says, “I am Jesus of Teresa”!! This is what God does to a sincere devotee!!!

That is how Lord reveals Himself to those who seek Him sincerely.

Love.

Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 83

Sutra 79. Sarvadaa Sarvabhaavena Nischintaih Bhagavaaneva bhajaneeya.

[The Lord alone should always be worshipped by one whole-heartedly free from all cares and anxieties.]

Sarvadaa: always

Sarva Bhaavena: with the whole heart, through every aspect of life

Nischintaih: by those free from all cares and anxieties

Bhagavaan eva:  the Lord alone

Bhajaneeya: should be worshipped.

Chinta means ‘thinking’, ‘reflecting’, ‘being anxious about’.

Sarvabhaavena: Bhaava is mode of existence; in all their modes of existence, and in all their moods. In every aspect of life, the devotee must have only God-consciousness. In his attitude to the members of his family, to his friends who do good to him, to those who do evil, to his superiors and to his inferiors, in every relation that subsists between him and others he has only God-consciousness.

Bhagavan: He who has all glory, all power and all wisdom, i.e., the Lord.

Bhajanam: worshipping. ‘Bhaj’ literally means to ‘share in’ to obtain for oneself, to partake of. Bhakta is one who shares all the glory, power and knowledge with the Lord.

To share also means that a true Bhakta is the one who gives, who shares, who does any thing and everything for the God and the God alone. Thus, all our thoughts, words and actions must hence forth be aligned only and only with the God.

‘Nischinta Bhajana’ is complete concentration of the mind on God without a break at any time.

Dear Bhaktas,

Let us get a little more deeper to the most powerful expressions given in in thus sutra.

Sarvadaa: always

Sarva Bhaavena: with the whole heart, through every aspect of life

Nischintaih: by those free from all cares and anxieties

Bhagavaan eva:  the Lord alone

In the path of Jnana, there are these 4 pre-requisite qualifications such as Viveka, Vairagya, Shad Sampath and Mumukshatva.

With all these qualifications acquired, a proper Guru sought and intense meditation and absorption undertaken, when the God comes to such a sadhaka (Coming of God here means, the sadhaka getting the experience of SELF / Atman which is the core of Jnana path), the God comes like a King for whom you have to clean up your entire house (cleaning here means, you have made all the preparations of 4 qualifications, sravanam, mananam, nidhidhyasanam etc.). So, the God, like KING, JUST COMES AND OCCUPIES YOUR HOME (HEART).

Whereas, in the path of Bhakti, the God comes like a maid servant in the sense that you have to only invite the lord and He Himself comes and undertakes the ordeal of cleaning your home (cleansing of all your impurities within your heart), decorate your heart (with purity) and makes your home pure and perfect!!!!

We have, in our  life,  so many wants, so many desires. We say, "I want a good wife, I want a good education, good career, good bank balance, good power, good name, good fame, good pleasures etc..So, we want, want and want!!!!"

In the path of Jnana, you have to really go inward to annihilate all these passions by exercising dispassion, detachment etc.

In the bhaki, what we have to do???

Talking of Sarvabhavena mentioned in this Sutra, when a devotee went  and submitted to Sri Rama Krishna and said, “Thakur ji, I have lots of lust, I just don’t know how to overcome this lust, greed, desires”, to which, Sri Rama Krishna asks back- “Who asked you to get rid of all your desires, all your greed??”

The devotee who is shocked to receive such an answer, Sri Ramakrishna clarifies and says, "Just do one thing, divert all those desires, all that greed, all your wants intensely to GOD, rest, God will take care".

When and only when we are able to follow this simple practice, then like the maid servant example explained before, the God Himself will work through us and all the dispassion, detachment etc. will automatically happen. 

No meditation, no nidhidhyasana, no intense practice of vairagya etc., Just Love God. God will occupy your heart in such a way that there is no scope, no room, no chance of any passion, attachment, greed, lust any more for the external objects. It is all then Love, Love and only Love for and Love of God.

So, the actual problem is not our restlessness, our ignorance, our desire, our sufferings, our pain, our ego etc.

THE ACTUAL PROBLEM IS THAT WE DO NOT LOVE GOD WHOLLY, AS EXPLAINED IN THIS SUTRA WHICH SAYS,

“THE LORD ALONE SHOULD ALWAYS BE WORSHIPPED BY ONE, WHOLE-HEARTEDLY, FREE FROM ALL CARES AND ANXIETIES”.

Love.

Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 82

Sutra 78. Ahimsaasatyasouchadayaastikyaadi chaaritryaani paripaalaneeyaani.

[Virtues like non-violence, truth, purity, compassion, faith in the existence of God and Vedas and other excellences of character should be strictly cultivated and protected.]

Ahimsaa-satya-soucha-dayaa-aastikya-aadi chaaritryaani: virtues like non-violence, truthfulness, purity, compassion, faith in the existence of God

Paripaalaneeyaani: should be strictly cultivated and protected. 

Just as a plant in a garden is protected from insects, pests, etc., and is given sufficient manure for its growth, so also those virtues have to be protected and nourished. 

Ahimsa, Satyam, etc., are the Yamas (restraints). Soucha, Santosha etc., are the Niyamas (observances). All these are the disciplines, without which no spiritual progress is possible.

Daya is active benevolence. It is the positive expression of love. Ahimsa is the negative expression of love.

In Sutra 76 Narada advises to perform actions which help the growth of devotion. In the present Sutra the devotee is asked to practise five special items of conduct.

In the practice of truth, one must speak exactly what has been seen, heard or understood about a person or a thing. There should not be the least exaggeration or twisting. The speech should be truthful and sweet. Truth which leads to another’s injury is not a desirable thing.

‘Aadi’ - etc. Narada intends to point to the other Divine qualities such as courage, charity, control of senses, austerity, straightforwardness, humility, self-abnegation, tranquility, freedom from wrath, tenderness of heart, sobriety, forgiveness, fortitude etc.

The principles of Yama and Niyama of Patanjali Maharishi’s Raja Yoga philosophy are embodied here.These are the very foundations of Yoga . 

Practice of these virtues purifies the heart and prepares the Antahkarana for the reception of divine light. Compassion softens the hard heart. Satyam purifies the heart. 

God is an embodiment of truth and He can be reached through practice of truthfulness alone. 

Truth alone triumphs. If one is well-established in the practice of Ahimsa in thought, word, and deed, all other virtues will cling to him. Most of the vicious actions are done when one loses his temper. 

Virtues of non-violence, compassion, faith in the lord and in the existence of a higher truth - the righteousness behavior and a virtuous mind must be observed and cultivated.  A perfect life of inner, clean administration, Rama Rajya, must be promulgated in the bosom, if the heart is to be transformed into a tranquil seat of peace and harmony- Ayodhya!!

Love.