TEXT 6
Exclusive and unmotivated devotional service, known as aikāntikī-ahaitukī-bhakti, is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.14):
tasmād ekena manasā
bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
dhyeyaḥ pūjyaś ca nityadāWith an attentive mind, one should constantly hear about, glorify, meditate upon and worship Bhagavān, who is loving towards His devotees (bhakta-vatsala). All the while, one should endeavour to remove his anarthas. Then his creeper of devotion will very quickly bestow its fruit in the form of prema.
ananya-bhāvete kara śravaṇa-kīrtana
nāma-rūpa-guṇa-dhyāna-kṛṣṇa-ārādhana
saṅge saṅge anartha-nāśera yatna kara
bhakti-latā phala-dāna karibe satvara
BHAJANA-RAHASYA-VṚTTI
All religious duties are observed for the pleasure of Śrī Hari. Therefore the living entity’s only duty is to single-mindedly engage in kṛṣṇa-bhajana while giving up the desire for karma and jñāna. For the pleasure of Śrī Hari, he should reside in the dhāma with a resolute mind and hear narrations about Hari from śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas. The method of cultivating pure bhajana is that after hearing hari-kathā, one should perform kīrtana and smaraṇa of those narrations. By this method anarthas are nullified and pure bhajana arises. This is the essence of all instruction for sādhakas.
TEXT 7
One should not be disturbed by the loss of acquired assets. In this regard Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.114) quotes the Padma Purāṇa:
alabdhe vā vinaṣṭe vā
bhakṣyācchādana-sādhane
aviklava-matir bhūtvā
harim eva dhiyā smaretOne who is devoted to hari-bhakti should remain undisturbed and continue remembering Hari, even if he is unsuccessful in obtaining food and clothing, or if what he has obtained is lost.
bhakṣya-ācchādana yadi sahaje nā pāya
athavā pāiyā kona gatike hārāya
nāmāśrita bhakta aviklava-mati haiyā
govinda śaraṇa laya āsakti chāḍiyā
BHAJANA-RAHASYA-VṚTTI
When the living entity attains taste (ruci) for śrī-bhagavat-kathā and harināma, he no longer has an attachment to worldly things. He is satisfied with only the cloth and food necessary to protect and sustain the body. If he gains or loses anything, his mind remains steady. His mood is that whatever is obtained or lost is the Lord’s desire. He knows that gain, loss and so forth come according to one’s previous karma. Detached from worldly matters, he remembers Śrī Bhagavān’s name with a steady mind.
TEXT 8
Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.113), quoting from the Padma Purāṇa, mentions the necessity of giving up distress:
śokāmarṣādibhir bhāvair
ākrāntaṁ yasya mānasam
kathaṁ tatra mukundasya
sphūrtiḥ sambhāvanā bhavetHow can Mukunda manifest in the heart of a person who is filled with lamentation, anger and so forth?
putra kalatrera śoka, krodha, abhimāna
ye hṛdaye tāhe kṛṣṇa sphūrti nāhi pāna
BHAJANA-RAHASYA-VṚTTI
Mukunda never manifests in a heart that becomes agitated by pleasure upon obtaining something temporary or distressed upon losing it. In this way the living entity remains oblivious to Bhagavān. One should follow the character of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s devotees and, guided by their mood, remain peaceful and steady in every situation. In this regard one should follow the example of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita. Once Śrīman Mahāprabhu and His devotees were performing kīrtana in Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita’s home when, inside the house, Śrīvāsa’s son left his body. Śrīvāsa remained calm and strictly forbade the ladies and other persons in the house to cry, to ensure that Mahāprabhu’s kīrtana would not be disturbed. He did not even relate the news of his son’s death to Mahāprabhu. With such a fixed and peaceful mind one should remember and meditate upon Bhagavān. This is the purport of śāstra.
TEXT 9
One should accept only as much wealth as is necessary to maintain his life. The Nāradīya Purāṇa states:
yāvatā syāt sva-nirvāhaḥ
svīkuryāt tāvad arthavit
ādhikye nyūnatāyāṁ ca
cyavate paramārthataḥA sādhaka who needs to maintain himself will collect only as much wealth and other material necessities as are required to maintain his bhakti; to accept too much or too little will surely make him deviate from his goal.
sahaje jīvana-yātrā-nirvāhopayogī
dravyādi svīkāra kare bhakta nahe bhogī
BHAJANA-RAHASYA-VṚTTI
A person qualified for vaidhī-bhakti should earn money to maintain his life through prescribed virtuous means; that is, according to varṇāśrama-dharma. It is auspicious to accept assets only according to one’s needs. Craving to accept more than necessary creates attachment, which will gradually destroy one’s bhajana. Accepting less than necessary is also harmful, as this will create an insufficiency, which in turn will weaken one’s bhajana. Therefore as long as a person is not indifferent to material things, he should cultivate pure bhakti and accept only those assets that are required to maintain his life.
TEXT 10
The symptoms of advancement in unmotivated devotional service are given in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.42):
bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir
anyatra caiṣa trika eka-kālaḥ
prapadyamānasya yathāśnataḥ syus
tuṣṭiḥ puṣṭiḥ kṣud-apāyo ’nu-ghāsamWith each morsel of food that a hungry person eats, he simultaneously experiences satisfaction, nourishment and relief from hunger. Similarly a surrendered devotee, who is engaged in the performance of bhakti, simultaneously realises his worshipful deity, strengthens his relationship with that deity and becomes detached from this temporary world and material relationships.
bhakta-jane samamāne yugapad udaya
bhakti, jñāna, virakti, tina jānaha niścaya
cid-acid-īśvara sambandha-jñāne jñāna
kṛṣṇetare anāsakti virakti-pramāṇa
ye rūpa bhajane tuṣṭi puṣṭi pratigrāse
kṣudhāra nivṛtti ei tina anāyāse
BHAJANA-RAHASYA-VṚTTI
The symptoms observed in a sādhaka who has directly experienced the sweetness of Bhagavān are described in this Text. In such devotees, three symptoms are simultaneously visible: attainment of service to the Lord, realisation of all knowledge related to bhakti and detachment from matters unrelated to Kṛṣṇa. The sādhaka develops detachment from those items of enjoyment that are not useful in the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but he does not develop detachment from that which can be used in His service. Because he does not consider using such objects for his own pleasure, there is no need for him to renounce them.
When, due to humility, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī resolved to give up his life by throwing his body under the wheel of Lord Jagannātha’s chariot, Śrī Gaurasundara, who resides in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, told him that a person cannot attain Kṛṣṇa merely by giving up his body. Kṛṣṇa is only attained through bhajana; that is, through fulfilling the inner desire of one’s guru (manobhīṣṭa-sevā).
When the sādhaka surrenders to śrī guru’s lotus feet, the guru becomes the owner of the sādhaka’s body. Therefore, when one acknowledges his body to be his guru’s property, it is necessary to take care of it. In the same mood, the vraja-devīs decorate their bodies with clothes, ornaments, cosmetics and so forth – only for service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Indifference to material objects develops according to the extent of one’s realisation of Bhagavān. This indifference gives one the qualification to attain the direct service of Bhagavān. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī states in Vilāpa-kusumāñjali (6):
vairāgya-yug bhakti-rasaṁ prayatnair
apāyayan mām anabhīpsum andham
kṛpāmbudhir yaḥ para-duḥkha-duḥkhī
sanātanaṁ taṁ prabhum āśrayāmiI surrender to the lotus feet of my master, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, who is the bestower of sambandha-jñāna. He is an ocean of mercy and his heart always becomes distressed upon seeing the suffering of others. Although due to the darkness of ignorance I had no desire to taste bhakti-rasa imbued with renunciation, he forced me to taste it and thereby gave me knowledge of my relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
Ignorant people honour artificial renunciation and praise those who accumulate dry knowledge. Such knowledge and renunciation, being devoid of the inclination to serve, simply result in mundane talk and deception of the public. There is no pure bhakti in them.
[CC-by-ND GVP]