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CHAPTER SIX. Bhagavatha-Bhakti
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CHAPTER SIX
Bhagavatha-Bhakti
For the attainment of Moksha, the ultimate goal of human life, our seers had laid down three distinct paths, viz., the path of knowledge, the path of action and the path of devotion. Of these the path of knowledge can be followed only by the Yogins with mature minds. Even the path of action is not quite easy. It is complicated by an endless variety of duties enjoined by the Shrutis, Smritis and Puranas, according to caste, age, sex and stage of life, it is not possible for everyone to discharge all these duties systematically and selflessly. But the path of Bhakti can easily be followed by men and women alike, young or old, learned or lay. That is why even His Holiness Shankaracharya declared, “Bhakti alone excels all other means of Moksha. ” Even though the Bhagavatha does not decry the Jnana and Karma paths, it gives great importance to the path of Bhakti. The ultimate aim of every story and episode in the Bhagavatha is to stress the importance of Bhakti. This is substantiated by the request made to Suta by Shaunaka and others at the beginning of the Bhagavatha:
“There is no other means to cross the ocean of life except the boat of devotion to Lord Vishnu. Therefore, Oh wise Suta, tell us about the glory of Vishnu. ”
While prompting Vyasa to compose the Bhagavatha, Narada told him that Lord Vishnu will be pleased by the glorification of His qualities but not by the enumeration of the rules of conduct, and that the mind, though controlled by Yama Niyama and other means of Yoga, does not attain Peace except by devotion to Vishnu. In the second skandha, while enlightening Parikshit on the path of Mukti, Shuka remarks as follows:
To one who is entangled in Life there are many paths of Moksha like Tapas, Yoga, etc. Of them none is caster than Bhakti...... Once Brahma examined the Vedas critically in the light of Dharma and Niti and realising that no other path except that of Bhakti leads to Moksha, contemplated Vishnu with a quiet mind.
In the third skandha, after explaining the various types of Bhakti and the mode of Atyantika Bhakti to Devahuti, Sage Kapila drew her attention to the following words of Vishnu:
If any man foolishly indulges in showy worship of my idols and does not resort to me in sincere devotion, that man surely be one who has incessantly thrown the sacrificial offerings into a pit full of ashes.
On numerous other occasions also the Bhagavatha made it amply clear that Bhakti alone is the easiest path of Moksha.
“The highest love for God”, “It is of the form of the highest love for Him” — these are the definitions given to Bhakti by Narada and others. These definitions mean that feeling intense love for the Lord is Bhakti. Human hearts have abundant capacity to love. We generally find this capacity being directed towards mundane objects and close relations like wives, children and friends. The reason for this is the involvement of human beings in worldly affairs. If, however, this love is directed towards God, it is called Bhakti. It is only another name for the relation that exists between the Lord and his devotees.
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Writers on poetics have expressed diverse opinions on the status of Bhakti. Some hold that Bhakti is only an emotion or feeling incapable of being delineated as Rasa. Others state that it can be included in Santa. Yet others maintain that it can be developed fully into an independent Rasa. In his work entitled Bhakti Rasayana Madhusudana Sarasvati has clearly shown the Vibhava, Anubhavas, Sthayibhava and Sanchartbhavas of Bhakti and conclusively proved that it can be developed into Rasa. A mental state assuming the form of the Lord is the basic emotion of Bhakti. The Lord is the cause of its arousal. Tulasi, sandal paste, etc. are the exciting causes. Movement of the eyes and eyebrows, etc., are the effects, self-resignation, etc. are the transient emotions. The above mentioned Vibhava, Anubhavas, and Sancharibhavas sustain and nourish the basic emotion which is a mental state assuming the form of the Lord and develop it into the Bhakti Rasa which results in the manifestation of the highest bliss. Madhusudana Sarasvati has defined Bhakti as a state of mind which, on listening to the description of the beauty and qualities, of the Supreme Lord, melts and constantly flows towards Him.
In the seventh skandha, Hiranyakashipu fondles his son Prahlada and asks him to tell him what he had learnt from his teachers. Prahlada unhesitatingly tells his father that he had learnt the essence of all learning which according to him is this: the safest thing for any man is to place implicit faith in the Lord and serve Him according to the nine types of Bhakti, viz., befriending Him in thought, word and deed, listening to his glories, serving Him, saluting Him, worshipping Him, loving, Him, knowing Him, praising Him and contemplating Him. Prahlada also said that the lives of those who are devoid of devotion to Hari are void and worthless. A scholar who has no devotion to Hari is no scholar but a two-legged animal. Here Pothana seems to be using Prahlada as a mouthpiece to express his own views about the true significance of the Bhagavatha.
In their worship of God, the devotees adopt various mental attitudes. Of them the tranquil, the servile, the friendly, the affectionate and the sweet are the most important. Bhakti which follows any of these attitudes is capable of securing Moksha. The Bhakti of Narada, Ambarisha, etc. is of the tranquil type. Narada is a Maharshi, free from all desires. Though Ambarisha was a king he had no attachment to his horses or elephants, riches or pleasure gardens, sons or friends and even his wife. Kubja, Hanuman, etc., are examples of the Bhakti of the servile type. Kubja met Shri Krishna on the streets of Mathura and compelled him to go to her house and accept her services. Krishna was so immensely pleased with her service that he at once transformed the ugly Kubja into a beautiful women. In devotees like Prahlada and Bhishma we find a blending of the tranquil and the servile types. Arjuna, Kuchela and some others adopted a friendly attitude towards Lord Krishna and the Lord in turn adopted the same attitude to them and granted their desires.
Bhakti of the affectionate (vatsalya) type is found in very rare cases. The supreme Lord was born as a son to Aditi and Kashyapa, to Kaushalya and Dasharatha and to Devaki and Vasudeva. Though the Lord was not actually born to Nanda and Yashoda, they brought him up as if He was their own son. In the course of his account of the Krishnavatara, Pothana depicted the affectionate type of Bhakti of Devaki and Vasudeva very impressively. The same type of Bhakti was manifest in the words of Yashoda when she saw the entire universe in the mouth of Krishna and exclaimed: “This one appears to be a child but indeed he is Adi Vishnu. ” To be able to worship God with parental affection is indeed a rare good fortune. That is why Parikshit who heard this episode questioned Sage Shuka in astonishment, as follows: “What acts of merit did Yashoda do to be able to feed the Lord of the Universe with the milk of her breasts? What could Nanda have done to be His father and bring him up as his own son? ”
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Devotion to God as the Lord of life is called Madhura Bhakti. The sweetness of this type is usually mingled with the erotic sentiment. Hence it is also known as Ujjvala Shringara or the sublime eros. The Bhakti of Chaitanya and others is mingled with sweetness. The Shringara of this type is not the low, earthly, sensual eros but pertains to Moksha. This erotic devotion generally appears to be more pure and pious in men than in women. In women it is sometimes likely to be mistaken as physical lust. In his Natyashastra, Bharata mentions four types of Kama: “What is regarded as Kama is the desire of man and woman for physical union. But there are other desires like Artha Kama, Dharma Kama and even Moksha Kama. ”
Thus Kama is of four types and the fourth and highest is Moksha Kama. It is this Moksha Kama that is at the root of Madhura Bhakti. This Moksha Shringara is as different from the worldly Shringara as the soul is from the body. In the tenth skandha Pothana described the Madhura Bhakti of the Gopis with great interest. In fact, this Madhura Bhakti was as subjective to him as it was to the Gopis. Displaying occasional touches of subjectivity, this Madhura Bhakti of Pothana lends a lyrical charm to the entire tenth skandha.
In his Bhakti Rasayana, Madhusudana Sarasvati has shown eleven levels or stages in the development of Bhakti. This classification of levels is based on the Upayas explained by Narada in the first skandha of the Bhagavatha. Serving the great, deserving the kindness of the great, attention to the qualities of the great, listening to the attributes of Hari, germination of the seed of love, contemplating the image of Hari, development of love, manifestation of love, concentration on the qualities of God, cultivating His qualities and the height of love are the eleven stages of Bhakti. These are to be cultivated progressively one after the other. The last of these is the height of love for God. At this level, the devotees cannot bear separation from God even for a moment. Through this sufferance of separation, love in the form of devotion to God reaches the highest peak of brilliance. The Gopis who were possessed of the love of God, passed through the ten stages mentioned above and reached the eleventh stage marked by the height of devotional love. At this stage, it is natural that the pangs of separation from the Lord experienced by them should be intense and intolerable. Their experience of separation should be regarded as the experience of separation of the Jivatma from the Paramatma. That is why out of intense suffering from separation from Krishna, one Gopika wails:
Minutes become millennia to us as we are not able to see heartily your face adorned with curly locks while you wander in the forest. Why then, O Lord of Lakshmi, did the cruel fate place these lids against our eyes, disabling us from having a full view of the beauty at least during nights?
The Gopi thus scolds fate for its cruelty having provided her eyes with lids which obstruct her from seeing Shri Krishna to her heart’s content. Another Gopi jealously asks Bhudevi what merit she had performed in her former births to have the good fortune of being embraced by the Lord as Varaha, of being measured (served) by Him as Vamana and of being trodden upon now as Krishna. Intending to put an end to Krishna and Balarama, Kamsa sent Akrura, a great devotee of the Lord, to invite them to Mathura on the pretext of the Dhanuryaga. Krishna and Balarama accept Akrura’s invitation and leave for Mathura. At that moment the Gopis wail bitterly, saying:
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Bearing the name Akrura this fellow has come here to take our beloved Krishna away from us. What kind of Akrura is this ‘Krura’ (cruel fellow)? If indeed he is ‘Akrura’ (kind-hearted), he should, with clear heart, leave Krishna here and go his way.
After killing Kamsa, Krishna sends Uddhava to Gokula to enquire about the well-being of his parents and the Gopis. The words spoken by the grief-stricken Gopis to Uddhava reveal not only the intensity of their suffering in separation but also the purity of their love for Krishna. The following message, sent by Krishna through Uddhava, also shows the nobility of the love of the Gopis which is of the form of constant contemplation of Krishna who is no other than Shri Hari.
Do not be worried at my separation because I have chosen to be away from you so that you might be constantly thinking of me. Engrossed in incessant contemplation on me you shall certainly join me soon.
While going through the portions of the Bhagavatha, which describe the pranks of the Gopis and Krishna, one comes across expressions like suffering from the arrows of Cupid, cohabitation, embracing, kissing and so forth. These expressions create an illusion that the love being described is base, physical lust. Indeed it looks so outwardly. Its purity cannot be realised until one looks deep into it. The feelings with which the Gopis regarded the feet of Krishna described in the following verse reveal the true nature of their love for him:
These are the feet which appear to Sanaka and others during the course of their Yoga. These are the feet which adorn the hair-parting line of the lady called Veda. These are the feet which are the resort of Lakshmi, the daughter of the lord of the ocean of milk. These are the feet which fascinate the mind of the lady called Deliverance. These are the feet whose dust Brahma, Shiva and other gods place on their heads. Thus saying, some Gopis see and describe the footprints of Krishna but do not find Him.
Every line in the above verse proclaims that the Gopis regarded the feet of Krishna not with a mundane view but with a highly philosophical view. In mixing the mutually contradictory emotions of devotion and Just so as to evolve a fine blend of sublime love, and in thus transforming the tenth skandha into a veritable stream of Rasa, Pothana displayed brilliant imagination and supreme skill.
At the end of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna taught Arjuna the secret of ‘Sharanagati’, saying: “Abandon all Dharmas and surrender thyself to me alone”. Offering everything to the Lord and surrendering one’s self of him whole-heartedly is called ‘Sharanagati’. This is offering the self. This philosophy can be seen in a greater or smaller degree in Prahlada, Dhruva, Gajendra, Ambarisha, Akrura and others. That God saves those that adopt self-surrender is beyond doubt. Some might ask why Lord Vishnu did not protect the lord of elephants as soon as he appealed for help, and why Prahlada had to undergo so much suffering in spite of being a great devotee. It is true that Gajendra prayed to Vishnu, but there is a lurking doubt in his mind about the very existence of God as is shown in the following words! ‘‘Does he, who is repeatedly stated to exist, really exist or not? ” “O ocean of kindness, I doubt the statement that you attend on every being that supplicates you. ”? As long as such doubt exists in the mind of the supplicant, God will not be inclined to protect him. As soon as Gajendra gave up this doubt and with unshakable faith exclaimed, ““I know none else but Thee. Kindly pardon this poor creature’, the Lord came running and saved him. Therefore, it is to be noted that unshakable faith is the chief characteristic of ‘Sharanagati’, Prahlada had such faith from the beginning. He firmly believed that Lord Vishnu was all pervading. Yet he was put to innumerable sufferings by his father, because of his own initial sin (Prarabdha Karma). The Lord appeared before him the moment that sin disappeared.
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Not only those that contemplated God with feelings like Santa, etc. mentioned above, but also those who constantly thought of Him with antagonistic feelings like fear and hate, have attained Moksha. Narada said to Dharmaja:
The Gopis through lustful yearning, Kamsa through fear, Shishupala and other kings through activity of complete enmity, the Vrishnis through relationship, you (Dharmaja) through love and we through devotion could see Lord Vishnu. O King, somehow or other, if one is engrossed in irrepressible thought of God, one can surely win Him.
The true nature of the lustful yearning of the Gopis has already been explained. Tormented with fear, Kamsa always thought of Shri Hari. Prompted by enmity Shishupala and others set their minds constantly on Him. The Vrishnis with a sense of kinship, Dharmaja with a feeling of love and Narada with a spirit of devotion constantly fixed their minds on Krishna und attained emancipation. There is no doubt that Mukti can be attained through whole-hearted contemplation of Shri Hari, whatever the feeling or attitude might be.
Though Hiranyakashipu and others adopted an attitude of enmity towards Vishnu, they were not totally devoid of belief in God. They did severe penance. The sacred books declare that if one has realised the existence of Brahman, then he should be regarded as a virtuous man. About Hiranyakashipu, Lord himself said, “On account of contact with my body today in the battle, this one becomes pure in body, acquires new power and getting rid of all sins, goes to heaven. ” King Vena, on the other hand, had no faith in the existence of God, and this very atheism brought about his doom.
There is no difference between the Vaishnavism of the Bhagavatha and the one preached by Ramanuja. Both were based on the principles of the Pancharatragama. Shuka told Parikshit that repeating the name of Hari even for a moment would give Moksha. The story of Ajamila teaches that repetition of Hari’s name at the time of death gives immediate Moksha. According to Vaishnavism, the repetition of Hari’s name is most essential for securing Moksha. Non-violence, doing one’s duty, etc. may be observed as accessories to it. Devotion to Vasudeva produces non-attachment and true knowledge. Prahlada declared that Brahminhood, or godhood or even tranquil nature cannot please Hari as Bhakti can. To have deep devotion towards Vasudeva is the fundamental characteristic of ‘Bhagavatha Vaishnavites’. We find two traits, passionate yearning and constant contemplation, in Rukmini and the Gopis. They could attain emancipation, by dedicating all their indriyas and actions to Vasudeva. Thus, in the various stories in the Bhagavatha, the characteristics of Bhagavatha Vaishnavism are clearly expressed. It was these features only that Acharya Ramanuja preached and popularised afterwards.
Shri Krishna was the son of Devaki and Vasudeva. He was the jewel of the Vrishni family. In the Bhagavad Gita, Hi said, “Among the Vrishnis, I am Vasudeva. ” The term ‘Vasudeva’ is found not only in the grammar of Panini but also in the Mahabharatha and the Ramayana, We may, therefore, conclude that the Vasudeva cult is quite an ancient one. The term is derived from the root is meaning to shine and denotes one who shines. One who shines everywhere is ‘Vasudeva’. Since the roots vas and div are synonymous and the latter has multiple meanings like sporting, triumphing, functioning, flowing (melting), praising, exulting, intoxicating, sleeping, dreaming, shining, etc. it is clear that the term ‘Vasudeva’ denotes the Supreme Being that pervades everything and does everything indicated by the root div. Vasudeva and Pancharatragama are closely related. That Agama owes its very Origin to the concept of Vasudeva.
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Like the Pancharatragama, the Bhagavatha also gives importance only to the worship of Vasudeva. It Is also stated in the Bhagavatha that the state (pada) of Vasudeva can only be attained through loving contemplation, that worshipping the divine and glorious form of Vasudeva is higher than Moksha and that the devotees of the Lord do not desire even Moksha as they visualise the divine incarnations of Vasudeva through their mystic powers, praise Him alone and enjoy the sight of His divine and glorious form. Lord Vasudeva, who is capable of creating, sustaining and dissolving the universe, when the will to do these things arises in Him, assumes four different forms by the power of the same will. These forms are called Vyuhas. These fourfold Vyuhas are known is Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Anirudha. There is some difference between the Vyuhas and Avataras. The voluntary births of the Lord are called Avataras. The Supreme Being takes birth in the form of Matsya, Kurma, etc. only at His sweet will and pleasure. On the other hand, when the Supreme Being manifests Himself in a particular form that form is called a Vyuha. The Vyuhas are manifestations of the Supreme Being and represent an orderly evolution from Vasudeva to Aniruddha. Among themselves the Vyuhas differ slightly in quality, form and substance. The origin of these four Vyuhas is Para Vasudeva, called Sukshma. The Pancharatragama says that by worshipping the Avataras known as Vibh vas with devotion and faith the devotee gradually natures-in mind and reaches a stage when he can propitiate the Vyuhas through worship and contemplation and finally attain the Sukshma. That Pothana also believed that the Supreme Being is to be worshipped only through this process becomes clear from his statement: “The acts of worship of Hari laid down by the wise Pancharatra. ”
The term Avatara means coming down or descending. When good suffers defeat and evil triumphs, the Supreme Being comes down to the earth from His glory of eternals bliss in order to remove the burden of the earth and establish Dharma. Removing the burden of the earth means destroying the evil-doers and the oppressors of mankind. He does so out of his fondness for the selfless act of kindness. The dull-witted, short-lived, unfortunate, disease-ridden, petty mortals of the Kali Age are incapable of performing any acts of virtue. The Supreme Lord descends from his state of eternal glory to a state of passing glory so that the petty human beings might attain emancipation by adoring Him through listening, salutation, worship, praising, contemplating, self-surrender, etc. This passing glory of the Lord is Avatara. The Bhagavatha describes the story of these Avataras. Pothana himself has said that from the Bhagavatha “one can know that thing which is and is not everything and which, dispelling all worries, becomes the sole end of life and the source of Supreme happiness”. And to know that thing, Bhakti alone is the best means:
O wise man, except by a downpour of the torrential rain of nectar called the story of Lord Govinda, by indulging in what other means can it be possible to extinguish the raging jungle-fire of boundless bundle of fierce sins committed during an endless course of long, irrepressible and intolerable lives.
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