kleSaghnI shubhadA mokSalaghutAkRt sudurlabhA |
sandrAnanda-visheSAtmA Shri-kRSNAkarSiNI ca sA ||17||
UttamA Bhakti removes suffering, bestows auspiciousness, makes light of liberation, is very rare, is composed of condense bliss, and attracts Shri Krishna.
tatrAsyAH kleshaghnatvam —
kleshAstu pApaM tad vIjam avidyA ceti te tridhA ||18||
Removing Suffering –
Suffering has three stages: wrong acts, wrong desires, and wrong
understanding.
A wrong understanding of self (avidya or “ignorance”) causes desires that are not in consonance with the self. These dissonant desires (vija or “seeds”) cause one to act in ways not consonant with the self. The reactions from these dissonant actions (papam or “sin”) cause suffering (klesha).
tatra pApam —
aprArabdhaM bhavet pApaM prArabdhaM ceti tad dvidhA ||19||
Wrongful Acts –
Wrongful Action has two stages: manifest and unmanifest.
Papam (“wrong action” or “sin”) refers to both the act of sin, and the results of sin, which are twofold: manifest (prarabdha papam) results directly felt by the performer of sin, and unmanifest (aprarabdha papam) results not yet directly felt by the performer.
This and the previous sloka together identify that suffering comes from sin, which is of four distinct stages: (1) vijam – desire, (2) avidya – ignorance, (3) prarabdha papam – manifest sin, and (4) aprarabdha papam – unmanifest sin.
tatra aprArabdha-haratvam yathA ekaDaze –
yathAgniH susamRddhArciH karotyedhANsi bhasmasAt |
tathA mad-viSayA-bhaktir uddhavainANsi kRtsnashaH ||20||
In the Eleventh Canto…
“A blazing fire consumes wood to ashes, so does devotion to Me consume
sins, Uddhava.”
The unmanifest potential for fire is in wood. The sins compared to here to wood are unmanifest sins (aprarabdha papam). Bhakti consumes this stage of suffering.
prArabdha-haratvam yathA tRtIye –
yan-nAmadheya shravaN-AnukIrtanAd yat-prahvaNad yat-smaraNAd api kvacit |
shvAdo’pi sadyaH savanAya kalpate kutaH punaste bhagavannu darshannAt ||21||
In the Third Canto…
”Hearing or saying your name, offering you obeisance, or even once
remembering you turns even a dog-eater into a priest of ritual. Then what of
those who receive your direct audience?”
Rupa Goswami explains this sloka in the next.
durjAtir eva savanAyogyatve kAraNam matam |
durjAty ArambhakaM pApaM yat syAt prArabdham eva tat ||22||
Poor birth is considered the cause of being ineligible to perform priestly ritual. Poor birth is the manifestation of previous sin, known as “prarabdham.”
The previous sloka said that even a slight connection with Uttama Bhakti turns a person considered by Vedic standards to be of the poorest birth (a dog eater) into a person considered to be of purest birth (a priest). The condition of ones birth is supposed to be the result of his previous actions, and is therefore a manifest reaction (prarabdha karma). Saying that Uttama Bhakti nullifies the effects of a poor birth is thus equivalent to saying that it removes the suffering felt from manifest sinful reactions (prarabdha papam).
padma purAne ca –
aprArabdha phalaM pApaM kUTaM vIjaM phalonmukham |
krameNaiva pralIyeta viSNu-bhaktir atAtmanAm ||23||
And in Padma PurAna –
”All stages of sin – unmanifest, internal, seed, or manifest – are
destroyed in turn by Vishnu-Bhakti.”
The Padma Purana here identifies four stages of sin, (1) aprarabdha phalam – sin whose fruit has not yet manifest, (2) kutam – sin which is silent within the heart, (3) vijam – sin voiced as desire, and (4) phalonmukham – sin whose fruit manifests as suffering.
These four stages are identical with the four stages identified by Rupa Goswami in slokas 18 and 19. (1) Padma Purana’s aprarabdha phalam is identical with Rupa Goswami’s aprarabdha papam, (2) Padma Purana’s kutam is synonymous with Rupa Goswami’s avidya as they both define latent conditions of the heart which give rise to unnatural desire, (3) Padma Purana’s vijam is identical with Rupa Goswami’s vijam, and (4) Padma Purana’s phalonmukham is synonymous with Rupa Goswami’s prarabdha papam as they both define the state of sin that produces the fruit of suffering.
By characterizing unmanifest sin (aprarabdha papam) as “kutam-unmukham” this sloka indicates that unmanifest sin nourishes ignorance (kutam /avidya). This reveals sin to be a self-perpetuating cycle that begins with a grain of willful ignorance (avidya or kuto papam). This ignorance, which is essentially an unnatural conception of self, produces unnatural desires, which in turn impel unnatural actions (“sin”). These actions generate manifest (prarabdha) as well as unmanifest (aprarabdha) reactions. These unmanifest reactions produce ignorance (kutam /avidya) and thus restart the cycle of sin with increased velocity.
This sloka contends that the cycle can be broken by Vishnu-Bhakti, which eradicates all stages of sin in the following order: first aprarabdha, then avidya/kutam, then vijam, and finally prarabdha.
vIja-haratvam yathA SaSThe –
tais tAny aghAni pUyaNte tapo-dAna-vratAdibhiH |
nAdharmajaM tad hRdayaM tad apIshANghri-sevayA ||24||
In the Sixth Canto…
”Sins can be purified by austerity, charity, vows, and other religious
observances, but only Service to the feet of the Lord can purify the heart and
the birth place of irreligiousity.”
This sloka admits that there are other means to remove suffering, but establishes that besides Uttama Bhakti no means can permanently remove suffering. The “birth place of irreligious action” (adharma-ja) is irreligious desire (vijam).
avidyA-haratvam yathA caturthe –
yat-pAda-paNkaja-palAsha-vilAsa-bhaktyA karmAshayaM grathitam udgrathayaNti
santaH |
tad van na rikta-matayo yatayo 'pi ruddha sroto-gaNAs tam araNaM bhaja vAsudevam
||25||
In the Fourth Canto…
”By devotion to His pleasant lotus-petal-like toes, saints untie the
hard knot binding them to desire and action. But those without such a mood
cannot stop the flow of the senses, though they try and try. Therefore be
devoted to the most worthy Vasudeva.”
As denoted in slokas 23 and 18, ignorance (avidya or kutam) is the knot binding one to desire (vijam or, in this sloka, asa), which in turn binds one to sinful action (papam, or in this sloka, karma). This sloka indicates that only Uttama Bhakti can untie this knot of Ignorance.
pAdme ca –
kRtAnuyAtrA-vidyAbhir-hari-bhaktir-anuttamA |
avidyAM nidarhatyAshu dAvajvAleva pannagIM ||26||
In Padma Purana –
”Knowledge follows naturally from the practice of devotional service to
Hari, and destroys ignorance like a forest fire destroys snakes.”
Rupa Goswami’s discussion of the first quality of Uttama Bhakti, the Removal of Suffering, concludes with this sloka. He contends herein that Uttama Bhakti is the best means of obtaining relief from distress, for it removes all stages of suffering, and is the only means to eradicate the root cause, ignorance.
shubhadatvam -
shubhAni prINanaM sarva jagatAm-anuraktatA |
sadguNAH sukham ity-AdIny AkhyAtAni manISibhiH ||27||
Bestowing Auspiciousness –
The wise describe the main characteristics of “auspiciousness” as that which (1) is universally endearing and beneficial, (2) generates saintly character, and (3) bestows happiness.
tatra jagat-prINanAdidvaya-pradatvam yathA pAdme –
yenArcito haristena tarpitAni jagaNty api |
rajyaNti janta-vastatra jangamAH sthAvarA api ||28||
Now, regarding the bestowal of “Universal Endearment and Benefit” –
In the Padma Purana:
”One who worships Hari satisfies the entire universe. Thus everyone,
even the immobile entities, hold him dear.”
The auspicious person holds everyone dear, and everyone holds him dear. He therefore acts for the benefit of everyone, and everyone wishes to benefit him.
sadguNAdipradatvam yathA païcame –
yasyAsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiïcanA sarvair guNais tatra samAsate surAH |
harAv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guNA manorathenAsati dhAvato bahiH ||29||
Now, regarding the bestowal of “Saintly Character” –
In the Fifth Canto,
”All saintly qualities and the gods themselves are found in one with
pure devotion to God. But what good quality can exist in those devoid of
devotion, whose minds race to externals?”
sukhapradatvam
sukhaM vaiSayikaM brAhmam aishvaraM ceti tat-tridhA ||30||
Regarding the bestowal of “Happiness” –
Happiness is of three types: happiness (1) from objects, (2) from the soul, and (3) from God.
yathA taNtre
siddhayaH paramAshcaryA bhukti-muktish ca shAshvatI |
nityaM ca paramAnando bhaved govinda-bhaktitaH ||31||
In the Tantra –
”Wondrous mystic perfections, everlasting sensory pleasure and
liberation, and eternal, supreme bliss manifest from devotion to Govinda.”
Mystic perfections (siddhi) and sensory pleaure (bhukti) are both in the category of Happiness from Objects (vaisaya sukha – see sloka 30). Liberation (mukti) is in the category of Happiness from the Soul (brahmana sukha). Supreme eternal bliss (paramananda) is in the category of Happiness from God (aisvara sukha).
yathA hari-bhakti-sudhodaye ca
bhUyo 'pi yAce devesha tvayi bhaktir-dRDhAstu me |
yA mokSANta-caturvarga phaladA sukhadA latA ||32||
And, in
Hari-Bhakti-Sudhodaya –
”Repeatedly I ask, O Master of the gods; Grant me steadfast devotion to
you, for that devotion is a vine whose fruits are the four human goals, up to
final liberation, and all the happiness thereof.”
Thus sloka confirms that Uttama-Bhakti bestows all categories of happiness. Rupa Goswami has demonstrated that Uttama Bhakti bestows auspiciousness for it makes the Bhakta universally endeared and beneficial (sloka 28), develops his or her saintly character (sloka 29), and bestows all categories of happiness (slokas 30-32).
mokSa-laghutAkRt –
manAgeva praruDhayaM hRdaye bhagavAd-ratau |
puruSArthAstu catvArAs tRNayAnte saman-tataH ||33||
Making even liberation
seem trivial –
When affection for God slightly awakens in the heart, the four goals of
human life seem equal to straw.
yathA Shri nArada-pAïcarAtre –
hari-bhakti mahA-devyAH sarva muktyAdi-siddhayaH |
bhuktyash-cAdbhutas tasya cetika-vAdanu-vrahA ||34||
In this regard, in the
Narada Pancaratra –
“Hari Bhakti is the Supreme Goddess, and all other accomplishments –
including liberation, perfection, and wondrous pleasures – are hand-maids
attending her attentively.”
Rupa Goswami says that all other goals of life seem trivial when compared to achieving pure affection for God. This Sloka, quoted from Narada Pancaratra, illustrates the point by comparing Uttama Bhakti to the Supreme Goddess and all other achievements to her servants.
sudurlabhA –
sAdhanAughair-anAsangair alabhya sucirAd-api |
hariNA cAshvadeyeti vidhA sA syAt sudurlabhA ||35||
Very Rare –
There are two reasons Uttama Bhakti is very rare: (1) One cannot obtain
it by diligently and prolongedly performing sadhana without attachment, and (2)
Hari is reluctant to bestow it.
Explaining this sloka requires referencing two other slokas yet to come in Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu. First, in sloka 1.1.46, Rupa Goswami explains that Uttama Bhakti’s hallmark of being “very rarely achieved” (sudurlabha) refers to the achievement of Uttama Bhakti at the stage of Bhava.
Second, in sloka 1.3.6, Rupa Goswami explains that Bhava-Bhakti is attainable by two means, through practice or by Krishna’s blessing.
This being said, the current sloka means, “Bhava Bhakti is very rarely attained because (1) although it can be attained by practice, even diligent and prolonged practice will not achieve bhava-bhakti if that practice is without deep and sincere attachement to Krishna, and (2) although it can be attained by Krishna’s blessing, he is reluctant to bestow such blessings.”
tatra Adya yathA tAntre –
gyAnataH sulabhA muktir bhuktir yagyAdi-puNyatAH |
seyaM sAdhana-sahasrair hari-bhaktiH sudurlabhA ||36||
About the first
In the Tantra –
“Liberation comes easily by jnana-yoga. Sense gratification comes easily by
performing sacrifice, but Hari Bhakti remains very difficult to attain even
after practicing it thousands of times.”
In the previous sloka, Rupa Goswami clarified that sadhana (practice), even if diligent and prolonged, cannot attain bhava-bhakti as long as it is “without attachement.” Ahead, in sloka 1.4.15-16, Rupa Goswami will clarify that sadhana must progress through various stages of purification until it eventually comes to the stage of “attachment” (asakti). Only when Sadhana is executed with intense and sincere attachment to Krishna can it awaken Bhava-Bhakti.
The stages Sadhana must pass through are: anartha-nivrtti (“removal of impurities”), nishtha (“fixedness”), ruci (“taste for Bhakti”), and finally asakti (“attachment to Krishna”).
dvitIya yathA pAïcamA-skAndhe –
rAjAn patIr gurur alaM bhavataM yaduNaM daivaM priyaH kula-patiH kva ca
kiNkaro vAH |
Astv evaM aNga bhajatAM bhagavAn mukundo muktiM dadAti karhicit sma na
bhakti-yogaM ||37||
About the second
In the Fifth Canto–
“O King! Lord Mukunda became the protector of your family, your teacher,
god, friend, family-head, and even your servant because of the strong affection
you have for him. Thus, he may grant one liberation but not easily bhakti.”
As said in sloka 35, Bhava-bhakti can be attained by Krishna’s blessing, but he is reluctant to bestow such blessings. This sloka explains why. When fully developed, affection for God attracts the Supreme and places him subordinate, as illustrated in this sloka from the Fifth Canto of Bhagavat Purana. Krishna is very reserved about granting such a powerful blessing.
sAndrAnanda-visheSAtmA –
brahmAnando bhavedeSa cet prarARddha guNIkRtaH |
naiti bhakti-sukhAmbhodheH paramANu-tulAm api ||38||
Composed of Condensed
Bliss –
The infinite bliss that arises from attaining self-realization is an
infinitesimal drop in the ocean of bhakti’s happiness.
yathA hari-bhakti-sudhodaye –
tvat sAkSAt karaNAhlAda vishuddhAbdhi sthitasya me |
sukhAni goSoadAyante brAhmANy api jagad-guro ||39||
In the Hari Bhakti
Sudhodaya –
“Being in your direct company generates the ocean of pure bliss in which
I am now plunged. In comparison, even the happiness self-realization seems as
small as a puddle in a cow’s hoof-print, O teacher of the world.”
tathA bhAvArthadIpikAyAM ca –
tvat-kathAmRta pAthoghau viharanto mahAmudaH |
kurvanti kRtinaH kecit catur-vargaM tRNopamam ||40||
In the BhAvArtha DIpikA –
“Those who enjoy hearing of your ambrosial pastimes alone truly consider
the four goals of life to be like straw.”
Shri-kRSNAkarSiNI –
kRtvA hariM premabhAjaM priya varga samanvitam |
bhaktir vashI karotIti Shri-kRSNAkarSiNI matA ||41||
Attracting Shri Krishna –
Worshipping Hari with pure love makes him equally enchanted with the
worshipper. Thus we consider that one with Bhakti can attract Shri Krishna.
yathaikAdashe –
na sAdhyati mAm yogo na sAnkhyaM dharma uddhava |
na svAdhyAyas tapas tyAgo yathA bhaktir mamorjitA ||42||
In the Eleventh Canto–
“I cannot be attained by yoga, nor study, nor religion, O Uddhava; nor
by recitation of scripture, by austerity, or by renunciation. Thus only love (Bhakti)
can conquer me.”
saptame ca nAraoktau –
yUyM nRloke bata bhUribhAgA lokaM punAnA munayo’bhiyanti |
yeSaM gRhAnAvasatIti sAkSAd guDhaM paraM brahma manuSya lingam ||43||
And in the Seventh Canto,
NArada says–
“You are the most fortunate persons in this world. Even the saints who
purify the world desire to live in your home, for there the Supreme directly
manifests in the most secret human form.”
agrato vakSyamANAyAs tridhA bhakter anukramAt |
dvizaH SaDbhiH padairetan mAhAtyaM parikIrtitam ||44||
In the beginning, I mentioned that Uttama Bhakti has three stages of development. Each stage has two of these six glorious and famous qualities.
The first and second qualities, relief from distress and bestowal of auspiciousness, begin to be felt in the initial stage of Uttama Bhakti, called “Sadhana”. The third and fourth qualities, making even liberation seem trivial and being very rarely achieved, are characteristics of Uttama Bhakti’s second stage, “bhava.” The final two qualities, being composed of condensed bliss and attracting Sri Krishna, are manifest in Uttama Bhakti’s final stage, “prema.”
Each of the three stages of Uttama Bhakti contain the qualities of the stages before it. Thus sadhana has qualities one and two, while bhava has these two, plus the third and fourth quality, and prema has all four previous qualities, plus the fifth and six.
Each quality manifests sequentially (anukramat). Thus each quality becomes fully mature only at the stage of prema. It may be inferred that the qualities continue to expand through the various substages of prema, up to and including the highest stage of prema, “mahabhava.”
kiMca –
svalpApi rucir eva syAd bhakti tatvAvabodhikA |
yuktistu kevalA naiva yadasyA apratiSThatA ||45||
Also –
Just a little attraction will make the truth of bhakti understandable, not
intelligence alone, which is unstable.
tatra prAcInair apy uktam –
yatenApAdito ‘py arthaH kushalair anumAtRbhiH |
abhiyukta tarair anyair anyathaivopapAdyate ||46||
Thus the elders say –
“The conclusion established by the intellectual and soon replaced by the
conclusion of one with subtler intellect.”
iti Shri Shri bhakti-rasAmRta-sindhau pUrva-bhAge bhakti-sAmAnya laharI prathamA
The first wave (concerning bhakti in general) of the eastern division of the Ambrosial Ocean of Devotion thus ends.