The Glory of Bhakti

Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Śrīmad-bhāgavatam (11.14.20):

न साधयति मां योगो न साङ्ख्यं धर्म उद्धव
न स्वाध्यायस् तपस् त्यागो यथा भक्तिर् ममोर्जिता

na sādhayati māṃ yogo na sāṅkhyaṃ dharma uddhava
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo yathā bhaktir mamorjitā

My dear Uddhava, I cannot be controlled by those who study Sāṅkhya philosophy or śāstra, or who perform mystic yoga, pious acts austerity or renunciation. I am controlled only by the bhakti rendered by My pure-hearted devotees.

The meaning of this verse is that bhagavad-bhakti is the only means by which one can attain their ultimate spiritual benefit. The path of bhakti or devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the highest welfare for every living being. This highest welfare constitutes our real dharma or constitutional duty.

Feeding people, constructing hospitals and building godless educational centres cannot bring permanent welfare to the world.

It is also mentioned in the Śrīmad-bhāgavatam (6.3.22),

एतावान् एव लोके ‘स्मिन् पुंसां निःश्रेयसोदयः
तीव्रेण भक्ति-योगेन मनो मय्य् अर्पितं स्थिरम्

etāvān eva loke ‘smin puṃsāṃ niḥśreyasodayaḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena mano mayy arpitaṃ sthiram

Only loving devotional service to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, which begins with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is called bhakti-yoga. This alone is the supreme dharma, the paramount religious principle for the living beings in this material world.

যথেষ্ট বিহরি’ কৃষ্ণ করে অন্তর্ধান
অন্তর্ধান করি’ মনে করে অনুমান

yatheṣṭa vihari’ kṛṣṇa kare antardhāna
antardhāna kari’ mane kare anumāna

Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā 3.13

Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoys for as long as He wants and then winds up His transcendental pastimes disappearing from our sight. After that, however, He thinks this:

চির-কাল নাহি করি প্রেম-ভক্তি দান
ভক্তি বিনা জগতের নাহি অবস্থান

cira-kāla nāhi kari prema-bhakti dāna
bhakti vinā jagatera nāhi avasthāna

Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā 3.14

For a long time I have not awarded unalloyed loving devotional service unto Me to the inhabitants of the material world. Without such loving attachment for Me, the existence of the material world is of no use.

This material world would not exist without bhakti. The whole purpose of the material creation is to bring the living entities to the spiritual world to enjoy their natural loving relationships there. This is among the main reasons why Kṛṣṇa comes Himself and sends his pure devotees. There is no meaning to life without bhakti.

If there is no pure devotee to give us bhakti, there is no purpose to this material world. Without the association of pure devotees there is no possibility to come out of the material realm. The whole material world was created to give an opportunity for the conditioned souls to come to their true natural state of unalloyed loving service to the Lord.

Without sādhu-saṅga, this world would become devastated; there is no reason for the existence of the material world without it. As the Lord Himself states, “bhakti vinā jagatera nāhi avasthānā—without such loving attachment to Me, the existence of this material world is of no use .” Therefore the Lord personally comes, sa vai puṃśama paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje.

He establishes real eternal dharma, the supreme religion that teaches us how to give our love—bhaktir adhoksaje—to Lord Adhokṣaja (the transcendental Lord who cannot be understood by any means of the material mind and senses).

भक्तिर् एवैनं नयति भक्तिर् एवैनं दर्शयति
भक्ति-वशः पुरुषो भक्तिर् एव भूयसी

bhaktir evainaṃ nayati bhaktir evainaṃ darśayati
bhakti-vaśaḥ puruṣo bhaktir eva bhūyasī

Māṭhara-śruti

It is only unalloyed bhagavad-bhakti that carries the jīvas close to Bhagavān, brings about an audience with Him, and bestows eternal engagement in His sevā. Bhagavān is controlled only by pure bhakti and nothing else. Certainly such bhakti is most powerful and attractive.

This is the speciality of Śrīlaa Gurudeva. He is giving this unalloyed bhakti which is the parā-upakara, the highest benefit for everyone. Without the help of the pure devotee and the paramparā system (which is set up and preserved by the Lord), no one can get out of this material world.

Without Śrī Guru’s personal guidence, any other ritualistic ceremonies or forms of religious practice will not deliver us from material existence and the endless cycle of birth and death. Therefore it is essential to hear from and follow the instructions of the pure devotee. His first and foremost instruction is to chant the holy names of the Lord.

The Vedic scriptures prescribe—especially in this age of Kālī which is the age of conflict and quarrel—that the chanting of the holy names of the Lord, harināma saṅkīrtana, is the only dharma and welfare for humanity.

Śrīla Gurudeva strongly reinforces this point. “If there is just one true performer of this nitya-dharma (eternal dharma) who keeps the fire of hari-saṅkīrtana ablaze, then his nation, caste and society can never be ruined… This saṅkīrtana makes possible the eternal welfare of the world and of one’s country, society, caste and self.” (BVNM, 1964 lecture, Delhi)

This is the undisputed power of bhakti to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. It gives true happiness, situates one in their constitutional position and prevents illusion from covering the consciousness.

The seed of such bhakti can only be given by Śrī Guru and Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

ব্রহ্মাণ্ড ভ্রমিতে কোন ভাগ্যবান্ জীব
গুরু-কৃষ্ণ-প্রসাদে পায ভক্তি-লতা-বীজ
মালী হঞা করে সেই বীজ আরোপণ
শ্রবণ-কীর্তন-জলে করযে সেচন
প্রেম ফল পাকি পডে মালী আস্বাদয
লতা অবলম্বি মালী কল্পবৃক্ষ পায
তাহাঙ্ সেই কল্পবৃক্সের করযে সেচন
সুখে প্রেমফল-রস করে আস্বাদন
এই ত পরম ফল-পরম পুরুষার্থ
জাঙ্র আগে তৃণতুল্য চারি পুরুষার্থ

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
mālī hañā kare sei bīja āropaṇa
śravaṇa-kīrtana-jale karaye secana
prema phala pāki paḍe mālī āsvādaya
latā avalambi mālī kalpavṛkṣa pāya
tāhāṅ sei kalpavṛksera karaye secana
sukhe premaphala-rasa kare āsvādana
ei ta parama phala-parama puruṣārtha
jāṅra āge tṛṇatulya cāri puruṣārtha

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19)

While wandering on and on in this material existence, some fortunate jīva, by the mercy of guru and Kṛṣṇa, attains the bhakti-latābīja, the seed of the creeper of devotion, in the form of Kṛṣṇa sevāvāsanā (the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa). He becomes a gardener and waters that seed with the water of śravaṇa and kīrtana. At first it begins to sprout, and then it becomes a creeper. It pierces the coverings of the universe, and one after another, traverses the virajā, Brahmaloka and the paravyoma. Finally, it climbs up to the desire-tree of Vrajendranandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet in Goloka Vṛndāvana. There it bears fruits in the form of prema. When the fruit becomes ripe, it falls here in this world, and the gardener tastes it. Taking support from that bhakti-latā he takes shelter of the desire-tree of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet and always tastes the rasa of the prema fruit. This very prema is the crest-jewel of all achievements for the jīva.”

People are mad after material happiness but it all ends in misery. None of their material possessions can be taken with them at the time of death. It all vanishes at that time and according to their particular karma, they begin a new chapter in a new body. It may be in the body of a demigod, a brāhmaṇa or a bird. According to their accumulated karma from previous lives and this life, they are forced to wander through any one of the 8,400,000 species in an endless cycle of birth and death. It could be an insect, an animal or a tree, etc. But one who gets the seed of devotion and sows it in his heart, watering it by hearing, chanting, remembering and loyally serving the bona fide Guru and Vaiṣṇavas will certainly get the fruit of Love of God.

That seed of devotion one can only get from Śrī Guru, the bona fide representative of the Lord. Śrī Guru, out of his causless mercy gives this seed of devotion in the form of spiritual instructions, through hari-kathā and dīkṣā mantras.

Śrī Guru gives us the process and it is up to us to seriously follow it and not be distracted by false ideologies. Only pure bhakti, which is eternal, gives bliss to Bhagavān. That divine service which allows you to enter that transcendental world is given by Śrī Gurudeva.

Only by his grace can we make advancement and proceed to that world.

यस्य देवे परा भक्तिर् यथा देवे तथा गुरौ
तस्यैते कथिता ह्य् अर्थाह् प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनह्

yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāh prakāśante mahātmanah

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23

The conclusive essence of the scriptures is revealed only to those great souls who have transcendental devotion (parā-bhakti) unto Śrī Bhagavān and equal devotion for Śrī Gurudeva.

Here is an open secret. Without any guru-niṣṭhā, many may say that they love and are worshiping Kṛṣṇa, but where is their “equal devotion for Śrī Gurudeva” as described in this verse which is the conclusive essence of the scriptures. You cannot jump to a previous Ācārya or straight to Kṛṣṇa. The paramparā principles are set forth and followed by the Lord Himself, who also accepted a Guru. We follow whatever guru, sādhu and śāstra are advising, as long as they are in line with one another. If someone steps outside this discipline, they will become confused and bewildered. If one genuinely wants to achieve the goal, one has to surrender to Śrī Guru. Outside of this there is no other way of fulfilling the purpose and meaning of life, and become fully God conscious.

In the Śrīmad-bhāgavatam (1.5.12) it is mentioned,

नैष्कर्म्यम् अप्य् अच्युत-भाव-वर्जितं न शोभते ज्ञानम् अलं निरञ्जनम्
कुतः पुनः शश्वद् अभद्रम् ईश्वरे न चार्पितं कर्म यद् अप्य् अकारणम्

naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṃ na śobhate jñānam alaṃ nirañjanam
kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvare na cārpitaṃ karma yad apy akāraṇam

Even pure knowledge (jñāna), which is the direct sādhana to obtain liberation, has no beauty if it is devoid of bhakti to the infallible Lord. How then can selfless action (niṣkāma-karma), which is not offered to Bhagavān and fruītive action (kamyakarma), which is always inauspicious both in its practice stage and at perfection, be beautiful or beneficial?

So here in the Bhāgavatam also, it is teaching that even when one receives the results of good fruītive karma, one’s comfortable position is transient and ultimately painful.

In still another place in the Śrīmadbhāgavatam (10.14.3), our ādi-guru, the four-headed Brahmā, explained,

ज्ञाने प्रयासम् उदपास्य नमन्त एव जीवन्ति सन्-मुखरितां भवदीय-वार्ताम्
स्थाने स्थिताः श्रुति-गतां तनु-वाङ्-मनोभिर् ये प्रायशो ‘जित जितो ‘प्य् असि तैस् त्रि-लोक्याम्

jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva jīvanti san-mukharitāṃ bhavadīya-vārtām
sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṃ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir ye prāyaśo ‘jita jito ‘py asi tais tri-lokyām

My dear Lord, those great devotees that have put aside all impersonal conceptions of the Absolute Truth, and who have therefore abandoned the process of speculative knowledge, should hear the narrations of Your personality and activities from selfrealized devotees. Although You are Ajita, unconquerable by anyone in all the three worlds, You are conquered by such persons who offer all respects to those narrations and who give their body, mind and words for Your service, even though they remain in their established social positions.

Ācāryas like Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī in his Vaiṣṇava-toṣani, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī in his Laghu-toṣani, and Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura in his Dig-Darśani Ṭīkā, have explained this verse more elaborately and with very deep meanings.

Śrīla Gurudeva gives the essence of those explanations as follows:

ज्ञाने प्रयासम् उदपास्य नमन्त एव

jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva

There are two kinds of knowledge: one is the conception of mixing in brahma, and its followers chant, “Āham brahmāsmi,—I am brahma, the supreme spirit, the impersonal God, and all are brahma.” The goal of their meditation is impersonal, to mix into brahma and to become brahma.

The second type of knowledge is called tattva-jñāna, and it is the conception that we are all parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa and that He is the Supreme Lord. He is sarva-śaktimān, the possessor of all powers, and He is full with all opulence. He can create millions of universes in a moment, and again, in a moment, He can also destroy those universes.

There are many kinds of jñāna, like tat-padārtha-jñāna (the knowledge regarding Kṛṣṇa’s Bhāgavata or Godhood), tvampadārtha-jñāna (the knowledge of the jīva’s infinitesimal nature and his relationship with Bhagavān), and jīva-brahma-aikya jñāna (the misconception that the jīva and the Supreme Brahma are one in all respects); they have all been explained in great detail in śāstra.

Impersonal knowledge is not complete and it is therefore not appreciated in the Śrīmad-bhāgavatam. Śrīla Vyāsadeva and Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī have both refuted the speculations and misconceptions of the impersonalist jñānīs and yogīs, over and over again. What to speak of “tat-tvam asi” jñāna and “āham brahmāsmi” jñāna, even the tattva-jñāna that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord and creator, [not that He Himself creates, but that He gives the order to His subordinates and they then create and destroy millions of universes in a moment], even that mood of awe and reverence (aiśvarya), must ultimately be discarded. As four-headed Brahmājī says—jñane prayasam udapasya—don’t endeavor for that [kind of jñāna]. (BVNM)

So, in the ordinary sense, jñāna is only in relation to brahma. Those who are jñānīs think themselves brahma. If you want to serve Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhikā in vraja-bhāva, you will have to leave jñānā. You will have to try to hear only the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, to remember them, and to chant the names of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhikā. Otherwise, if you are not ekāntika, one pointed, you cannot approach Vraja. However, if jñāna is tattva-jñāna, that is, realization of Bhagavān, then one can go to Vaikuṇṭha. Nevertheless, such jñānīs cannot reach the topmost abode, Vṛndāvana.

It is only when somebody gets rāgānuga-bhāva-bhakti, that gradually one is granted the ability to enter Vraja. When that bhāva-bhakti turns to prema, then only can someone serve the Divine Couple in Vṛndāvana. That bhakti is without awe and reverence as Śrīla Gurudeva explains: Although it is possible for Kṛṣṇa, the conceptions of aiśvarya and mādhurya cannot exist simultaneously for devotees. When Kṛṣṇa showed Ārjuna His universal form on the battlefield during the Mahābhārata war, Ārjuna became perplexed and began to pray with folded hands, “I have made many mistakes. I have done wrong. I have called You ‘sakhā,’ friend, and You are also personally driving my chariot. Prabhu, excuse me for this. Now I know that You are the creator of this universe. You are the Supreme Lord.” Ārjuna now forgot his friendship with Kṛṣṇa, and he repented his previous actions and mentality.

On the other hand, when Mother Yaśodā saw the universal form in Kṛṣṇa’s mouth, she was puzzled and thought, “Why is my boy like this? A ghost may have come.” Overwhelmed by vātsalya-prema, she called for the brāhmaṇas and also for Nanda Bābā. The brāhmaṇas told her, “We will quickly purify Him.” Then, after fetching black cows for a yajña, the brāhmaṇas procured urine and cow dung, mixed them together, and applied it on the body of Kṛṣṇa.

Yaśodā Mā never thought that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. In fact, if anyone would say that He was, she would not take it seriously; she would take it as a joke. No Vrajavāsī will ever believe that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme. Prema cannot manifest unless one has a relationship with Kṛṣṇa with the realization that “Kṛṣṇa is my most beloved” or that “He is my son.” Vrajaprema can never come if one thinks, “My son is the Supreme Lord.” If you want to have Vraja-prema one day, then, like the Vrajavāsīs, you will have to forget that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. The Mathuravasis can say that He is the Supreme Lord because they saw His four-handed form, but the Vrajavāsīs can never say that.

jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva—For those of you who are somewhat advanced, don’t endeavor to practice in this way -to know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. You should go to the assembly of pure Vaiṣṇavas like Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, where hari-kathā is flowing automatically, like a stream, or a fountain, or a waterfall.

In summary, we have presented and discussed two ślokas from the Bhāgavatam to show that naiṣkarma (fruitive karma) and jñāna (speculative knowledge) are in the ultimate sense not good for the living soul. So, Śrīla Gurudeva did not come in this world to give karma or jñāna; he only came to give pure bhakti. In this way, Śrīla Gurudeva is indisputably fulfilling the desire of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya.

Moreover, it is told by Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, our previous ācārya, in his Prema Bhakti Candrika,

कर्म-काण्ड, ज्ञान-काण्ड, केवल विषेर भाण्ड, अमृत बलिया येबा खाय
नाना योनि सदा फिरे, कदर्य भक्षण करे, तार जन्म अधः-पाते याय

karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa, kevala viṣera bhāṇḍa, amṛta baliyā yebā khāya
nānā yoni sadā phire, kadarya bhakṣaṇa kare, tāra janma adhaḥ-pāte yāya

Both karma-kāṇḍa (fruītive activities with reward seeking desires) and jñāna-kāṇḍa (speculative knowledge with a desire for impersonal liberation) are simply two pots of poison. If one drinks these two poisons, thinking that they are both as sweet as nectar, he will fall from the human realm and spend a long time wandering in many species of life, eating many abominable things, and enjoying many horrible so-called pleasures.

For example, as it is described in scripture, the sinful living entity will have to take bodies as a dog and a hog, and then eat the stool of human beings, along with so many other nonsense things. In other words, this present human life, unless we take to bhakti, will be completely ruined and our fortunate human birth will go completely in vain. What good would it be if one becomes even the President or Prime Minister of the Nation, if in their next life they become a dog?

So, Śrīla Gurudeva came into this world to distribute pure bhakti, not mundane karma or jñāna. Śrīla Gurudeva is mercifully distributing this bhakti, this love. Kṛṣṇa is controlled by bhakti and nothing else.

Furthermore, in the Nārada-bhakti-sūtra 1.3 it is said, oṃ amṛtarūpā ca—that bhakti is nectar. The next verse states,

ओं यल् लब्ध्वा पुमान् सिद्धो
भवत्य् अमृतो भवति तृप्तो भवति

oṃ yal labdhvā pumān siddho
bhavaty amṛto bhavati tṛpto bhavati

Nārada-bhakti-sūtra 1.4

Only upon receiving that bhakti can the jīva be perfect, and having received that nectar he will obtain liberation from this material world, and will be self-satisfied.

To become liberated from the material world means that one attains the service of Bhagavān. Then it also is mentioned,

ओं यत् प्राप्य न किञ्चिद् वाञ्छति
न शोचति न द्वेष्टि न रमते नोत्साही भवति

oṃ yat prāpya na kiñcid vāñchati
na śocati na dveṣṭi na ramate notsāhī bhavati

Nārada-bhakti-sūtra 1.5

When someone obtains bhakti, then he is freed from his material desires, his envy, and any possible opposition to Bhagavān.

So this is the glory of bhakti.