Bhagavān Can Only Be Realized Through Bhakti

Being forced to work on one task to the exclusion of allowing my brain to free range is the kind of painful discipline that has been absent from my life. It is in all likelihood the reason for my relative lack of accomplishments. My entire being seems to fight the thing that _MUST_ be done with more energy than could possibly make any sense at all.

My work should be the grace of angels. Indeed, in the proper setting, without distractions, I can surround myself with books -- different editions of the books, a Krama Sandarbha here, Babaji's Sandarbha translations, a Gaudiya Vaishnava Abhidhana. I look at each verse, at the commentaries, read ten times before examining Babaji's translation. Then chip and chop away.

But I still allow something else to come into my mind other than this!! The nectar that is promised still eludes me, except in moments of exceptional grace.

Bhakti Sandarbha 145


Bhakti is the exclusive cause for Bhagavān realization, as Kuntīdevi told Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa:

śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanty abhīkṣṇaśaḥ
smaranti nandanti tavehitaṁ janāḥ
ta eva paśyanty acireṇa tāvakaṁ
bhava-pravāhoparamaṁ padāmbujam

Those who continuously hear Your pastimes, sing about them, describe them to others, remember them, or who delight in the recitation of those pastimes by others, soon behold Your lotus feet, which put an end to the flow of material existence. (SB 1.8.36)

Commentary

The indeclinable eva is important in this verse. It is used in the sense of exclusiveness, anya-yoga-vyavaccheda. It implies that only devotees see the lotus feet of Bhagavān, not others.

Vishvanath Chakravarti however says that in order to bring out the beauty of this verse, eva, which we usually translate as "certainly", "only" or "alone," should be applied to the other elements in the second half of the verse, of which there are six. These are then, six things that require emphatic confirmation to the exclusion of all other things. Each direct assertion (anvaya) implies an accompanying emphatic negation, vyatireka. Thus,
  • Those people alone [who continuously hear Your pastimes, sing about them, describe them to others, remember them, or who delight in the recitation of those pastimes by others] and no other person,
  • certainly soon, and not with any delay,
  • certainly behold, and it is not that they will not behold and see,
  • Yours alone, and not any of any other of Your infinite partial manifestations,
  • lotus feet, meaning Your beautiful personal form only, and not Your attributeless form of Brahman,
  • which certainly put an end to the flow of material existence, not that those lotus feet do not grant liberation.
It implies certainty about all of these things, i.e., the devotees will see Bhagavān without delay not that they will have to wait a long time; they will exclusively see the feet of Bhagavān and not of some other partial manifestation of the Lord; and their material existence will certainly come to an end, not that they will still remain bound.



As a postscript, I thought I would mention that this verse is one of the first Bhagavata verses I ever learned. Anyone who sings this verse will find it a very delightful and melodious composition. .

Comments

Anonymous said…

Whilst reading the Mandala-brahmana Upanishad (Mandalabrahmanopanisad) this morning, my person came across verse II.ii.1:

tadā paścimābhi-mukha-prakāśaḥ sphaṭika-dhūmra-bindu-nāda-kalā-nakṣatra-khadyota-dīpa-netra-suvarṇa-navaratnādi-prabhā dṛśyante. tadeva praṇavarūpam

And in its reading thought of your words written on this blog posting.

Again, superficial obfuscation of the simple truth that is the word Bhagavān.

Yours in the love of that same truth,

M.N.
Anonymous said…

Jagadananda Das said: "My work should be the grace of angels. Indeed, in the proper setting, without distractions, I can surround myself with books -- different editions of the books, a Krama Sandarbha here, Babaji's Sandarbha translations, a Gaudiya Vaishnava Abhidhana. I look at each verse, at the commentaries, read ten times before examining Babaji's translation. Then chip and chop away."

Śrīmaccidānandanātha replied: My dearest brother, truly; put away the prison of books and "use only your own mind".

Dictionaries only brother, one wishes to hear what "you" have worked out.
Anonymous said…

My sincere apology for not including this on the list, do not forget to also research the word "ga" (see Monier-Williams page 341):

http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0341-khoTi.pdf


Notes

ga falls within ag and av
Anonymous said…

As well as the word "an", also research and add the word "aná" (Monier-Williams page 24):

http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0024-adhva.pdf

Notes

aná falls between an and vāna (vāna, from the √ word "ve" - see Monier-Williams page 1013)
Anonymous said…

These will be of some help:

Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries:

http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/index.html

Spoken Sanskrit:

http://spokensanskrit.de/

Monier-Williams Mobile:

http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier1/mobile1/index.php

Wiktionary, the free dictionary
5,116,400 entries with English definitions from over 3,200 languages

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page
My respects, and dandavat pranams to you Jagadananda Prabhu.
I cannot remember our last contact.. but gladly I have come to see your blog today.
One girl is reading your blog with pleasure and she has read some of my writing too which I feel has some similarities.
First... I feel the same way you do regarding the feeling of disparity in the lack of production in my own life. But you have done so much, so much in your life towards sharing your wisdom. I just want to say.
Also that this verse is relevant to my conversation with the said friend who was saying... 'but it takes so long to see Krishna doesn't it'. 'What is time?' I told her. Krishna gave me darshan in this life in a few short years. Usually you are recommended to conceal such things less you lose them... but that is just to stop people lying who are afraid. In fact once this happens there is no fear at all. There is no trying to succeed anymore and thus you may enter a closer proximity in your internal and external stories.
Excuse the overflow.
You are living with Satyanarayan Babaji now... I was there a couple of years years ago. I hope we can meet..... Ah.. did we meet in Sadhu Mahraja's abode. Remind me/// I am short of memory being drained of power by this technological age.
Your servant and everyone else's
Premananda Das *aka Pitambara
Anonymous said…

"Mon fils, prenez courage, fuivez moi" (My son, take courage, follow me)

Candide, ou l'Optimisme - Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) 1759.


Notes

Courage

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/courage

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