Brahma Sutras (Govinda Bhashya)
by Kusakratha das Brahmacari | 2010 | 343,161 words | ISBN-10: 8175050063
This is the English translation of the Brahma-sutras including the Govinda Bhashya commentary of Baladeva Vidyabhushana—an Indian spiritual teacher (Acharya) of the Gaudiya branch of Vaishnavam from the 18th century. This Govinda Bhasya aims to apply Vedantic principles to address universal human concerns, such as suffering and death, rather than m...
Adhikarana 14: The Methods of Devotional Service
Adhyāya 3: Devotional Service;
Pāda 3: Worshiping the Lord’s Attributes;
Viṣaya [thesis or statement]: Now the author of the sūtras shows that there are two kinds of devotional service, one kind having a single part, and another kind having many parts.
In the first chapter of the Atharva Veda’s Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad the eighteen-syllable mantra is described.
There it is said [1.6]:
यो ध्यायति रसयति भजति सो ‘मृतो भवति
yo dhyāyati rasayati bhajati so ‘mṛto bhavati
“One who meditates on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, glorifies Him, and worships Him, becomes liberated.”
Saṃśaya [doubt]: Can one attain liberation by performing only one of these three, or must one perform them all?
Pūrvapakṣa [the opponent speaks]: The Upaniṣad names all three of them, and, after naming them, says that then one becomes liberated. Therefore one must perform all three in order to become liberated.
Siddhānta [conclusion]: in the following words the author of the sūtras gives His conclusion.