2023 Holi Edition

यह अंक हिंदी में पढ़े

Philosophy

Bhakti Lasts Forever

Exploring the 5th and last criteria to choose the right path of attaining everlasting bliss.

Kripalu Leelamritam

Stop growing your worldly attachments

Shri Maharaj Ji's quick-witted profound response to a childless couple.

Kids Story

Happy Holi

Philosophy

Bhakti Lasts Forever

यह अर्टिक्ल हिन्दी में पढ़ें

In the Vedas and the Shastra, three paths to attaining the aim of life have been mentioned – Karma, Gyan and Bhakti. In order to prove the exclusive supremacy of any principle, five criteria have been prescribed in Nyay Darshan, namely - 1) Anvaya or goal achievability [1], 2) Vyatireka or indispensability , 3) Anya-nirapekshata or independence 4) Sarvatrikta or universality[2] , and 5) Sadatanatva (eternality). In the past three articles, we put the three paths to test on the first four criteria, and based on various evidences from the Vedas and the scriptures, we concluded that only the path of bhakti fulfills these criteria. In this edition, we will test these paths on the fifth and last criterion, that is, eternality (sadatanatva).

Let's take up Karma first. Once karma grants the fruits of the actions, it ceases to exist. For example, let's consider a laborer who worked at some place for the whole day, and in the evening he got his wages.

Now, the next day that laborer went back and said, "I worked at your place yesterday." "Yes you did. So?" Then the laborer says, "So please give me my wages again today." “Hey, we had settled it yesterday itself. We paid you your wages yesterday.” In other words, the entire day's hard work got absorbed in that daily wage.

Similarly, a virtuous karma gets absorbed in 'punya' (virtue) for which one is granted luxuries of swarg. Once the soul completes enjoying those fruits, the virtue also ends. That is, by following the Vedic rituals to the letter, one will get luxuries of swarg, for a finite period of time, but not 'divine bliss'. And after enjoyment, both the karma and the results of that action are finished.

A laborer asking for wages again for the work he did the previous day.

Now, if you want to enjoy more material luxuries, then you will have to do more karma as prescribed in Vedas. In other words, there is no eternality in the path of karma.

Is there eternality in the path of gyan? Let us explore.

Since eternity we have turned away from God, due to which we are bound by Maya. So naturally, all the vices of Maya are there in us. The main defect in this is agyan (ignorance) [3], which is, forgetting our original form ('I am the soul') and considering oneself to be the body. Gyan ends this ignorance and in doing so the gyan also dies. The happiness that one gets in this state is huge. It is so potent that one goes into samadhi. Every living being has a limited capability to bear happiness and sorrow. When sorrow or happiness exceeds that limit, the mind cannot stand it and falls unconscious. This state of unconsciousness is called samadhi.

The happiness attained by thinking of oneself as a soul is so great that in comparison, even the happiness experienced in the Brahmalok [4] is insignificant. And this is logical, since jeev is a part of infinite bliss, brahm, and hence a glimpse of that bliss is also really big. But the happiness attained by atmagyan is satvik [5], not divine. The ignorance stays away only as long as the jivanmukt paramhams remains in the state of samadhi. Only while he is in samadhi, he is not tormented by the vices of Maya. But as soon as he comes out of samadhi, Maya catches hold of him because he did not do bhakti of Shri Krishna. Since he committed this transgression, Maya punishes him [6].

You must have heard the story in which Jad Bharat got attached to a fawn. At the time of his death, he repeatedly thought of the fawn because of which a jivanmukt paramahams like him had to become a deer after death.

Atmagyan is born out of the sattva guna of Maya. When one has atmagyan, the rajas guna and tamas guna get suppressed. Please note - they don't leave the jeev, they only get suppressed. And as soon as they get an opportunity, they dominate the jeev again like they dominated Jad Bharat. In essence, atmagyan is the most that the path of gyan can offer but this is an intermediate stage in the path of spirituality, and without doing bhakti, the jeev is vulnerable to downfall even after attaining atmagyan.

Thus there is no eternality in the path of Gyan either.

Now let us discuss the eternality in the path of Bhakti. Bhakti is found in all yugas, all ages of human life, before, during and after creation. Let us delve a little deeper into this topic.

1) Pralayavastha, in the state of dissolution - Bhakti remains at the time of all the four kinds of pralaya or dissolution (nitya, naimittik, mahapralay and atyantik pralay)

क उपासीरन् क उ स्विदनुशेरते (भा. 3.7.37)

ka upāsīran ka u svidanuśerate (Bhagavatam 3.7.37)

Vidur Ji had asked Maitreya as to when God falls asleep in Mahayog nidra, which are the elements that serve Him? Maitreya has enumerated some elements in his answer and said that such and such elements continue to do devotion to Shri Krishna.

2) Prior to creation - Bhakti remains even at the time prior to creation.

मयादौ ब्रह्मणो प्रोक्ता धर्मो यस्यां मदात्मक: (भा.)

mayādau brahmaṇo proktā dharmo yasyāṃ madātmaka: (Bhagavatam)

In other words, as soon as the creation began, Shri Krishna advised Creator Brahma through the Vedas, to do bhakti.

3) In the four yugas -
Shri Krishna bhakti remains in all the yugas -

कृते यद्ध्यायतो विष्णुं त्रेतायां यजतो मखै:
द्वापरे परिचर्यायां कलौ तद्धरिकीर्तनात् (भा.)

kṛte yaddhyāyato viṣṇuṃ tretāyāṃ yajato makhai:
dvāpare paricaryāyāṃ kalau taddharikīrtanāt (Bhagavatam)

Tulsidas Ji says in the same vein in Ramayana -

कृतयुग सब योगी विज्ञानी, करि हरिध्यान तरहिं भव प्रानी ।
त्रेता विविध यज्ञ नर करहीं, प्रभुहिं समर्पि कर्म भव तरहीं ।
द्वापर करि रघुपति पद पूजा, तर भवतरिय उपाय न दूजा ।
कलियुग केवल हरि गुन गाहा, गावत नर पावत भव याहा ।

kṛtayuga saba yogī vijñānī, kari haridhyāna tarahiṃ bhava prānī
tretā vividha yajña nara karahīṃ, prabhuhiṃ samarpi karma bhava tarahīṃ ।
dvāpara kari raghupati pada pūjā, tara bhavatariya upāya na dūjā ।
kaliyuga kevala hari guna gāhā, gāvata nara pāvata bhava yāhā ।

In other words, even after performing karma and gyan in all the yugas, ultimately one can cross the ocean of maya only by doing bhakti. Also, in Kaliyuga, bhakti is the only way to be freed from the clutches of maya.

सा हानिस्तन्महच्छिंद्र स मोह: स विभ्रम:
यन्मुहूर्तं क्षणं वापि वासुदेवं न चिंतयेत् (वि. पु.)

sā hānistanmahacchiṃdra sa moha: sa vibhrama:
yanmuhūrtaṃ kṣaṇaṃ vāpi vāsudevaṃ na ciṃtayet
(Vishnu Purana.)

In other words, any auspicious time or any moment of a human being that is spent without the loving remembrance of Shri Krishna, is a great loss and a great defect of a human being, and is a moment of great delusion and passion.

4) In the different stages of human life - Shri Krishna’s bhakti can be seen in all the different stages of human life.

(a) Narad ji bestowed devotion on Prahlad when he was in the womb.[7]
(b) Dhruv did devotion to Shri Krishna in his childhood.
(c) Ambarish and others did devotion to Shri Krishna in their youth.[8]
(d) Dhritarashtra did Shri Krishna bhakti in his old age.
(e) Ajamil worshiped God at the time of his death.[9]

And the biggest example is that of the Braj Gopis who did bhakti in all stages of life. [10]

Braj Gopis did bhakti in all stages of life

To sum it up, devotion is always present everywhere. Devotion always remains at the time of dissolution, at the beginning of the creation, during creation, in all ages, in all stages of life and even in different realms such as swarg. Devotion does not hesitate going to anyone, anywhere. Devotion is the only principle that never ends. Even the eternal parshad always do bhakti.

Now there is one more thing to consider. There are three types of Bhakti; Sadhana Bhakti, Bhav Bhakti and Siddha Bhakti.

Sadhana Bhakti - Practicing to focus the mind on God, this is called Sadhana Bhakti.
Bhav Bhakti - When the mind starts getting engaged in remembrance of God, then that state of sadhana bhakti is called Bhav Bhakti. When this state reaches its apex that is the end of sadhana bhakti. After reaching the extreme limit, the mind is cleansed of all material attachments.
Siddha Bhakti - When the mind is purified, then Guru graces the jeev and makes its mind divine and bestows divine love in it - this is Siddha Bhakti. This perfect devotion lasts from this moment till eternity, it never ends. That's why Narad ji has called Bhakti as 'Amritaswarupa' in his Narad Bhakti Sutra. This is made of 2 words amrit and swaroopa. Amrit literally means no-death. Swaroopa means “inherent nature”.

What is meant by Amritaswarupa ? Let's think about it.

In Ayurveda it is called “payo amritam” which means milk is amrit. There is a liquid called amrit in swarg too. By drinking that liquid the diseases of the body end. That's why old age, diseases, excreta do not happen in the bodies of devi-devata (Demi-gods). But effect of this amrit also ends one day. That is, it is not truly 'a-mrit', i.e. it is not something that can prevent death.

So what kind of amrit is devotion?

An epithet of God is Amrit - Bhakti is that Amrit i.e. it is a form of God. As God is eternal and infinite, similarly Siddha Bhakti is also eternal and infinite. Once that Siddha Bhakti is received by a jeev, it lasts for eternity. Maya can never gain authority over that jeev. That jeev is automatically liberated from the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, the jeev who attains Siddha Bhakti always remains blissful. That's why devotion is called a form of amrit.

Dhanvantri appeared from the milk ocean with a pot of amrit

The summary is that the fruit of bhakti is also bhakti and bhakti remains forever. Bhakti does not end even after attaining God [11]. Be it Saint Narad, Lord Shiva, seers like the 4 Kumars. They all do bhakti.

To what extent we can say - even Shri Krishna Himself does bhakti. Whose bhakti does Shri Krishna do? The word bhakti means service. Shri Krishna worships His soul Shri Radha anyway. In addition to Her, Shri Krishna becomes a bonded slave of those jeev who take refuge in Him.

Shri Krishna worships His soul Shri Radha

ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् |
मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्या: पार्थ सर्वश: || गीता 4.11

ye yatha mam prapadyante, tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
mama vartmanuvartante, manusyah partha sarvasah - Gita 4.11

“The soul who worships Me in whatever way to whichever extent, I also worship that soul in the same way to the same extent.”

Thus, the path of Bhakti alone has eternality.[12]

By putting the three paths to test on the five criteria, we found that Bhakti alone stands the test of all five criteria. The other paths give material pleasures for a certain amount of time, but are not capable of bestowing infinite, immeasurable divine bliss. For attaining that bliss, Bhakti is the only means.

In the upcoming publications, we will delve deeper and deeper into tattva gyan [13][14] pertaining to bhakti, which is essential for an aspirant of bhakti marg . It is God’s immense grace that the crest jewel of all Rasik saints Shri Maharaj Ji is our Guru, who has made such esoteric knowledge so simple for common people like us.

Top

If you enjoyed this one, you might also like

[1] Bhakti Alone Unites With God

[2] Bhakti Is For All

[3] Avidya

(4) Swar Lok

[5] How Does Gyani know Divine Atma?

[6] How Can Maya Dominate Jeev?

(7) Selfless Devotion as Taught by Prahlad

[8] Bhakt - Vatsal Shri Krishna

(9) Is Reciting Names of God Sufficient?

[10] What is so special about His Divine Form?

[11] Bhakti is everlasting

[12] What Will We Do In Golok?

[13] Beware! Gyan can cause downfall

[14] Bhakti Bestows Knowledge

Kripalu Leelamritam

Stop growing your worldly attachments

यह अर्टिक्ल हिन्दी में पढ़ें

Once a childless couple approached Maharaj ji and asked him,"Maharaj Ji we have tried a lot, yet we don't have a child. Should we adopt one?".

Maharaj Ji replied,"what is the need to adopt. Make me your father, Shri Krishna your son and bring Radha Rani as His bride. She will cook roti for you and also serve you as you will be Her in-laws."

In such a simple sentence Maharaj Ji communicated so many aspects of devotion. Some of those that I can gather are -

Quit wasting precious human life [15] in making, then pursuing frivolous goals: For if you do, then you will have to work on removing those attachments first. Then you can move forward on the path of devotion. For example, you had to go from Mangarh to Lucknow(west) instead you went 10 miles towards Allahabad(east). Now you will have to come back those 10 miles then you can go towards Lucknow. Thus you have wasted time going and coming another 20 miles! Human life is short and uncertain and the goal is far. Be wise! Spend every moment of this human life in pursuit of your eternal aim of life [16].

Human body is extremely valuable but short lived. In this body you have been given the power of discrimination (free-will) [17], right to perform actions (karm-yoni) and knowledge (tattva-gyan). Devatas have a lot of knowledge, but haven't been given the right to perform karma. Other life forms work on instinct, they don't have the power to decide what is right and what is wrong. Human body has both of those and Maharaj Ji has imparted the required tattvagyan. Now use that to defend yourself from the ills of material mind and intellect by surrendering it to Hari-Guru.

Accept Guru as your father, guardian, coach.

Establish an intimate relationship [18] with God.

Even though God is almighty, yet per His rule He will reciprocate your devotional sentiment [19].

Be exclusively devoted to Radha-Krishna and Guru [20].

Also, follow the path of Raganuga Bhakti.

Top

If you enjoyed this one, you might also like

[15] Human Form: Boon or Bane?

[16] Why Hurry up to Attain God?

[17] Does God Know What I'll do Next?

[18] Bhav

[19] Akaran-karun Shri Krishna

[20] The Greatest Personality

Kid's Story

Valor Meets Humility

यह अर्टिक्ल हिन्दी में पढ़ें

King Raghu was the ancestor of Lord Ram. It was due to certain exceptional qualities of Raghu that Shri Ram’s lineage was called Raghu-kul (Clan of Raghu).

Earlier we have narrated the incidents where Raghu demonstrated exceptional detachment and exceptional humility [21]. Those are not the only qualities of Raghu. He was also an exceptional warrior and yet he led the life of a recluse and was humble. So without further ado here is the story.

Shri Ram’s great-great-great-grandfather was King Dilip. The lineage was Dilip -> Raghu -> Aja -> Dashrath -> Rama. Dilip had undertaken performance of 100 Ashwamedh Yagna (अश्वमेध यज्ञ).

In the Treta Yuga people used to perform yagya to fulfill their wish. One of those yagya is Ashwamedha yagya. ashwa = horse and medh = associated. This yagya was done to declare victory over other kings and it might be without a war. Upon the successful completion of the yagya, the ceremonial horse used to be set free and the king’s army used to follow it. The kingdoms, through which the horse wandered, had the option to fight the king’s army or accept the rule of that king. If no one fought and defeated the king, then that king would have dominion over all the lands where the horse had wandered.

If one were to successfully complete 100 Ashwamedh Yagya then one is entitled to become the King of Swarg.

After successfully completing 99 yagnas, Dilip began the 100th. Dilip entrusted the task of protecting the ceremonial horse to Raghu the crown prince. When the horse was released Raghu was a 9 year-old boy. Indra, the king of gods, suspected that Dilip is performing this yagya to usurp his seat. But, he knew about the valor of Dilip and Raghu. So instead of choosing to fight and defeat Dilip Indra, the king of swarg came down to earth in a saintly attire. Then he stooped down to the abominable level of stealthily making the horse disappear. Raghu and the army were amazed.

Kamdhenu is a celestial cow. She can fulfill her owners' every material wish. Her daughter is Nandini. Nandini was right there when this drama was unfolding. Raghu applied a drop of her milk to his eyes and could see Indra with the abducted horse.

At that time, though Raghu was only 9-years old, he was a valiant warrior. He challenged Indra and defeated him. Then he tied up Indra, took him to Dilip’s court, threw Indra at his father’s feet and said, "Here is the thief”. Dilip saw the king of heavens, and stepped down from his throne. He told Raghu to release him. Raghu protested, saying “but he is the thief”. Dilip said, “no he is the king of swarg and thus needs to be revered”. As an obedient son Raghu released Indra.

Moral:
See the humility of Dilip!! Also, Raghu was so valiant and yet so respectful and obedient. These are oxymorons. How can one have both of these qualities? One cannot attain these divine virtues on one's own accord, through any amount of practice and will-power[22] . These virtues are a by-product of doing Bhakti of the source of all divinity which is God, and also His saints. When one mentally stays in their company, then those divine virtues automatically start manifesting themselves in the devotee. One does not need to expend any more effort to attain these virtues.

Top

If you enjoyed this one, you might also like

[21] Example of Detachment

[22] How to Inculcate Divine Virtues