Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 5

Dear All,

The first verse contained the following 4 expressions:

Atha: now

Athah: therefore

Bhaktim: (the doctrine of) devotion,

Vyakhyasyaamah: (we) shall expound.

About the 1st verse, we covered the initial 2 words- Atha & Ahah in previous verse.

Now to the next 2 words- Bhaktim and Vyakhyasyaamah

The term BHAKTI comes from the root ‘Bhaj’, which means “to be attached to God.” Bhajan, worship, bhakti, anurag, prem, preethi are synonymous terms. Bhakti is love for love’s sake. The devotee wants God and God alone. There is no selfish expectation here.

As long as we are in material existence, we lament for the losses in our life and hanker for that which we do not have. A self-realized person is joyful because he is free from material lamentation and hankering.

Bhakti is so sublime that only through bhakti can one understand the constitutional position of the Lord. That is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.55): bhaktyä mäm abhijänäti. "One can understand the Supreme Lord through devotional service, and by no other process." 

It is for this reason that the Närada-bhakti-sütra begins, "Now, therefore, I shall try to explain the process of Bhakti." 

The word "therefore" indicates that this process of devotional service is for the self-realized soul, one who is already liberated. Similarly, the Vedänta-sütra (The Brahma Sutra) begins athäto brahma jigyasa. 

The word Brahma Jigyasa  refers to inquiry into the Supreme Absolute Truth, and it is recommended for those who have been elevated from the lower stage of addiction to the karma-kända portion of the Vedas to the position of interest in the Jnana-kända portion. 

Only when a person is perfectly situated in the realization that he is not the body but a spirit soul can he begin the process of bhakti, or devotional service. 

Vyakhyasyaamah: This means literally 'shall comment upon’. The posts on this theme not a commentary in the usual sense of the term. It is a commentary on the actual experiences of the devotees.  It is not a mere speculative philosophical exposition, based on reason. Nor is it a second-hand knowledge based on other’s experiences. It is the exposition based on the author’s own personal experiences, supported by scriptures.


We will move on to the 2nd verse in next post.

Love.

Ramakrishna

God cannot be realized through mere scholarly reasoning. One is able to realize God just through love. Ecstasy of feeling, devotion, love, and faith – these are the means.

The bliss of worship and communion with God is the true wine, the wine of ecstatic love. The goal of human life is to love God, Bhakti is the one essential thing.

What is needed is absorption in God – loving Him intensely. The 'Nectar Lake' is the Lake of Immortality. A man sinking in It does not die, but becomes immortal. Some people believe that by thinking of God too much the mind becomes deranged; but that is not true. God is the Lake of Nectar, the Ocean of Immortality. He is called the 'Immortal' in the Vedas. Sinking in It, one does not die, but verily transcends death.

- Sri Ramakrishna

Mata Amritanandamayi

“The common expression is ‘I love you.’ But instead of ‘I love you,’ it would be better to say, ‘I am love — I am the embodiment of pure love.’ Remove the I and you, and you will find that there is only love. It is as if love is imprisoned between the I and you. Remove the I and you, for they are unreal; they are self-imposed walls that don’t exist. The gulf between I and you is the ego. When the ego is removed the distance disappears and the I and you also disappear. They merge to become one — and that is love. You lend the I and you their reality. Withdraw your support and they will disappear. Then you will realise, not that ‘I love you,’ but that ‘I am that all-embracing love.’

- Mata Amritanandamayi