The Essence

Sunahu Sadhak Pyare - Part 9

साधना ही बस एक ही, भक्ति हरि की प्यारे ।

saadhanaa h bas ek hI, bhakti hari kI pyaare

What is Sadhana? Sadhana means performing devotion to God.

There are several ways of performing devotion, but primarily there are 9 ways.

श्रवणं कीर्तनं विष्णो: स्मरणं पादसेवनम् ।
अर्चनं वन्दनं दास्यं सख्यमात्मनिवेदनम् ॥
भा. 7.5.23

"śravaṇaṃ kīrtanaṃ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṃ pādasevanam,
arcanaṃ vandanaṃ dāsyaṃ sakhyamātmanivedanam"
Bhāgvatam, 7.5.23

This is called navadha bhakti which means the 9-fold path. Within this, there are 3 main forms. Pareekshit asked Shukdev Paramhans -

यच्छ्रोतव्यमथो जप्यं यत्कर्तव्यं नृभि: प्रभो ।
स्मर्तव्यं भजनीयं वा ब्रूहि यद्वा विपर्ययम् ॥
भा 1.19.38

yacchrotavyamatho japyaṃ yatkartavyaṃ nṛbhi: prabho ।
smartavyaṃ bhajanīyaṃ vā brūhi yadvā viparyayam ॥
Bha 1.19.38

What should a human being listen to?
Whose name should he chant and what should he do?
Who should he remember?
Who should he worship?

Shukdev Paramhans told Pareekshit to follow 3 forms of devotion - remembrance, chanting and listening.

You are listening right now. That is important. One must not be negligent in acquiring the knowledge for self improvement. Otherwise you may fall off the path of devotion. You need to know who is God, who is jiva, who is Maya, what are mind and intellect. The knowledge of philosophy helps in progressing smoothly and steadily on the path of devotion.

It is commonly observed that material beings are victims of anger, passion greed etc. If someone uses ill words, it is understood that he must be angry. The birth of a child appears to be the result of lust only. This however is not the case in the divine world. The highest class devotees, the maidens of Braj were illiterate married women. Still, they were adored by Lord Brahma and Lord Shankar. They had children and they used to be perform in their household chores all day.

Arjun killed so many Kauravas in the battle of Mahabharat, yet he is counted as a foremost devotee of Lord Krishna, since his mind was completely attached to Shri Krishna all the time. Lord Hanuman, who beholds the divine vision of Sita-Ram at all places at all times, killed so many Brahmins and burned the entire city of Lanka!

The actions of all great saints are incomprehensible, seeing which one can very easily get confused and fall down from the path of devotion. Through the knowledge of philosophy, one must understand that the actions of divine personalities are not a result of their attachment to someone or something. Saints are endowed with a miraculous power of Yogmaya, through which they are capable of performing actions, not performing actions and performing strange actions. That is why they remain unaffected in both favorable and unfavorable situations. This awakening is possible only with the help of philosophy.

So, Shukdev Paramhansa propagated the 3-fold devotion

श्रवणं कीर्तनं ध्यानं हरेरद्भ‍ुतकर्मण: ।
जन्मकर्मगुणानां च तदर्थेऽखिलचेष्टितम् ॥
भा 11.3.27

śravaṇaṃ kīrtanaṃ dhyānaṃ hareradbha‍utakarmaṇa: ।
janmakarmaguṇānāṃ ca tadarthe'khilaceṣṭitam ॥
bhā 11.3.27

Within these 3 also, the one that is most essential is remembrance, meditation, thinking, roopdhyan. This is the essence of devotion.