Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 60

Sutra 54. Gunarahitam kaamanaarahitam pratikashana vardhamaanam avichchinnam Sookshmamataram anubhavaroopam.

[It (divine love) is devoid of all attributes, devoid of all desires, expanding every moment, continuous, most subtle and of the nature of inner experience.]

Gunarahitam: devoid of all attributes

Kaamanaarahitam: bereft of desire

Pratikshana-vardhamaanam: expanding every moment

Avichchinnam: of ceaseless flow

Sookshmataram: extremely subtle

Anubhavaroopam: of the form of feeling, of the nature of inner experiences.

Let us now focus on each of the above descriptions / highlights on divine love, given by Devarishi in this sutra.

Attribute-less

Attributes reside in matter and describe one or other aspect of relativity, while divine love is beyond matter and relativity. 

We can grasp with the mind and describe in language an object only through its properties. 

Whereas, Devotion is devoid of these and so it cannot be described in words .

Desire-less

Bhakti practiced in order to get away from ills or to attain certain desire is not genuine Bhakti. 

It is impossible for the ordinary human mind to have any conception of this exalted divine love. It is different from the grosser love for things of this world.

All of us go to Parthi and whether it used be the time when Swami was there in form or it is now, after 2011, invariably we end up (most of us), praying for some or the other material fulfillments, whether it is marriage / career / health or any other such thing related to this material world.

God waits for those few devotees who would seek nothing else but the God Himself.  Seeking God in true sense is again not only limiting to physical proximity / interview etc. only but real seeking is real craving to find God within oneself, for such presence of God within us that He would come, Install Himself within us and will never ever leave thereafter!!!

Expanding every moment

Divine love is infinite. Worldly love is often cut short. It is broken. It decreases or wanes or declines like the waning moon. 

Divine love is not dependent on youth, beauty, wealth or virtue. It is not tainted by self-interest. There is no thought of personal gain here. It is very subtle, very soft, very slender, very remote. It is the fountain of all sweetness. It is unvaried in sweetness. It is constant. It is the hardest of all. It is brimful or full. It is unwavering and sublime. It unites the devotee with the Lord and makes him an embodiment of bliss. 

The divine current of love begins to flow only when one goes beyond the influence of the three Gunas. 

At first there is a glimpse of the Lord. Gradually the devotee becomes identified with the Lord. 

Like the smaller streams rushing towards the ocean, with every inner experience in his love for God, the love for God expands each and every moment to the extent that ultimately, it expands beyond the limitations of this creation and has the entire creation within it.

Ceaseless flow 

The divine love grows in volume and intensity at every moment. It has a ceaseless flow. It is of the form of subtler feeling.

Even Satvic Bhakti is far below the true Bhakti when one loves God for love’s sake . 

Ceaseless flow is explained by Sankara with an example of continuous flow of Oil from one pot to another, in full, without break, not in drops but in whole. 

Extremely Subtle

It is very, very subtle. So the term ‘Sukshmataram’ is used. It always grows and increases. There is always waxing. The play of gunas has no place here. Sensual desires cannot exist when this unbroken love operates. Whatever the mind wants can be had in God. His one attribute ananta (infinite) embraces everything.

Divine Love seeks no return, grows from more to more every moment, knows no break, is subtler than the subtlest and is of the nature pure, inner experience. It is a spontaneous outpouring of the heart.

The last of the subtler thing to leave  a human being is his subtlest identity as a Jiva, which is termed as Avidya or Ignorance in vedantha. 

Once this last subtler identity leaves a man, only then is he able to experience the subtler than the subtlest experience of divine love.

Inner experience

“Anu” is a prefix expressing nearness, participation, conformity. Love or Ananda exists. It is bhava. The individual soul participates in it. His nearness to it, his conforming himself to its nature, his participation of it is indicated by the prefix “Anu”.

There is God’s love. The individual soul participates this love. That is the Anubhava. So divine love is Anubhavarupam.

Ordinary emotions depend on certain external causes and objects and are therefore transitory. The emotion vanishes when the cause or object is removed. One also becomes satisfied in a short time by sense enjoyments. One can never become satiated with devotion or divine love. It can be experienced for all times. Devotion is independent of causes, exactly in the same way our srutis describe Brahman as cause less.

Its content is a perennial fountain of eternal bliss. Therefore it becomes more and more enjoyable as it deepens, strengthens in course of time. 

Love.

Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 59

Sutra 53. Prakaasate kvaapi paatre.

[But (that love or devotion) manifests itself in a fit receptacle (in a qualified person only) at some place or time.]

Kvaapi: some; at any place and time, where everything is favorable to its (That love) appearance, fit

Paatre: receptacle in a fit recipient

Prakaasate: is manifested, is revealed.

What then association with the saints will avail, if the devotion or love is inexpressible in words and consequently incommunicable from person to person? To this the answer is that the operation of devotion or love is telepathic and not through any grosser medium.

To some who are deserving, it can be revealed. Rays of divine love radiate through the eyes of a saint at every pore of his body.

“Kwapi”: somewhere, at some time. The extreme rarity of such individuals is here indicated. Out of many millions one will be fit to receive the Lord’s grace.

The current of Prem or spiritual aura passes by itself from the teacher to the fit disciple. There is telepathic transference or communication between the teacher and disciple. The disciple should be a fit subject to receive the light. The seed will sprout only in a well prepared ground. 

Swami Rama elaborates on the subject Guru's grace (which is most befitting to this Sutra) and writes:-

The guru is a tradition, a stream of knowledge.

Guru is not a person, but Guru can be represented in a person. One who has developed his or her own spiritual awareness to a very high level can guide others, and is considered to be Guru. 

Only one who is finely attuned to the inner guide can inspire the awakening of the inner guide in another. Guru is not a physical being. If a Guru begins thinking this power is her or his own, then they are no longer a guide. The Guru is a tradition, a stream of knowledge.

Guru is that force moving  a soul toward enlightenment.

To be on a spiritual path with a Guru is not an easy thing. It is not pleasant. The Guru tests the disciples, puts them in the most difficult situations, and creates obstacles for them. All the tests, difficulties and obstacles are meant to train and expand the consciousness of the disciple.

That is the sole work of the Guru. The Guru wants nothing from the disciple. Guru is that force moving a soul toward enlightenment. The guru's actions are from pure compassion. As the sun shines and lives far above, the Guru gives spiritual love and remains unattached.

Grace is the impulse or the impetus of  the energy to dispel darkness.

Grace is the impulse or the impetus of the energy to dispel darkness. There is the grace of the scriptures, from the wisdom that has passed down from others. 

There is the grace of the teacher, who imparts that wisdom and helps bring it to life in the student. There is the grace of God, or pure consciousness, that is alive and ever present in everyone's life. 

Integral to these three graces is the grace of oneself, having the will to undertake a purposeful journey in life, to do the spiritual work of life, and to prepare oneself.

How do we get this grace? It comes of its own when a seeker has made maximum effort. When all efforts have been made, and all efforts have been exhausted, then grace comes.

A Sanskrit word for grace is shaktipata. Shakti means energy and pata means bestowing. Shaktipata means "bestowing the energy" or lighting the lamp. 

Sometimes shaktipata is translated as "descent of power." A power comes from above, of its own, to a vessel that is cleaned, purified and is prepared to receive it. 

When the instructions from the Guru have been completed, the seeker has become strong in selflessness and surrender, and the samskaras have been burned, grace comes.

In my own life, since I was a small child I was raised and guided by my Master. I had done all that He asked of me. Grace had not come and I grew frustrated. So one day I went to my Master and said, "You have not done shaktipata for me. That means either You don't have shakti or You don't intend to do it."

I told him, "For so long now I have been closing my eyes in meditation and I end up with nothing but a headache. My time has been wasted and I find little joy in life."

He didn't say anything, so in my exasperation I continued talking.

"I worked hard and sincerely," I said to him. "You said it would take fourteen years, but this is my seventeenth year of practice. Whatever You have asked me to do I have done. But today You give me shaktipata or I will commit suicide."

Finally he said to me, "Are you sure? Are you really following all the practices I have taught you? Is this the fruit of my teaching, that you are committing suicide?"

Then he waited a moment and said, "When do you want to commit suicide?"

"Right now," I said. "I am talking to You before I commit suicide. You are no longer my master now. I have given up everything. I am of no use to the world, I am of no use to You."

I got up to go to the Ganges, which was near, and was prepared to drown myself.

My Master said, "You know how to swim, so when you jump in the Ganges, naturally you will start swimming. You'd better find some way so that you will start drowning and not come up. Perhaps you should tie some weight to yourself."

"What has happened to You?" I asked him. "You used to love me so much."

I went to the Ganges and with a rope I tied some big rocks to myself. When I was ready to jump, my Master came and called, "Wait. Sit here for one minute. I will give you what you want."

I did not know if he meant it, but I thought I could wait at least a minute. I sat in my meditation posture and my Master came and touched me on the forehead. I remained in that position for nine hours and did not have a single worldly thought. The experience was indescribable. When I returned to normal consciousness I thought no time had passed.

"Sir," I said to my Master, "please forgive me."

With that touch my life was transformed. I lost fear and selfishness. I started understanding life properly. I wondered if this experience came about because of my effort or my Master's.

His answer was simply, "Grace."

"A human being," he explained, "should make all possible sincere efforts. When he has become exhausted and cries out in despair, in the highest state of devotional emotion, he will attain ecstasy. That is the grace of God. Grace is the fruit that you receive from your faithful and sincere efforts."

Grace is only possible with a disciple who has gone through a long period of discipline, austerity and spiritual practices. 

When a student has done these practices and followed the teacher's instructions with all faithfulness, truthfulness and sincerity, then the subtlest obstacle is removed by the Master. 

The experience of enlightenment comes from the sincere effort of both Master and disciple. When you have done your duties skillfully and wholeheartedly, you reap the fruits gracefully. Grace dawns when action ends. Shaktipata is the grace of God transmitted through the Master.

Guru is the disciple's guide through life, through the mysterious terrain of the spiritual heart and into and beyond the realm of death.

Love.