Articles for Saadhana

I was presenting some thoughts which all of you should know about Sreemad Bhagavatam, the most authoritative and reasoned text on devotion, dispassion and God realization. After the 10th skandha where Krishna’s birth, growth, exploits and excellences are covered, Vedavyasa steps into the 11th skandha. This 11th skandha is called mukti skandha. The word mukti means liberation, means freedom, freedom from theshackles of the mind and the intelligence, and then the untying the knot of ego or extinction of the ego. Sometimes it is referred to as ego effacement, ego sublimation or ego extinction. Now these are spiritually the great gains that we have to have. The whole mind should become clear and no doubt, inhibition, or otherwise should hinder our life and activity. So far as the intelligence is concerned, all kinds of doubt relating to the secular world and also spiritual world, everything should be completely redressed and the ego should not stand in the way of your doing anything. On the other hand, it should go on expanding and helping you infinitely.

In the eleventh skandha, the whole subject is this and there in 24 chapters, Shri Krishna has a dialogue with Uddhava, the most chosen devotee, a sample, an exemplary devotee for all times. Now before this dialogue between Krishna and Uddhava commenced, Vedavayasa brings in another dialogue between Nimi Chakravarty, the emperor Nimi and the nine yogis who happened to visit him, while he was performing a huge sacrifice. The entire purpose of Sreemad Bhagavatam is to present Krishna giving instructions to the devotee because the devotion is revolving around the devotee, and the devotee should know what is devotion, how to go ahead with it, how to enrich it, empower it, and lead it to where it should go. So that devotional discussion takes place and that is the most important section of Sreemad Bhagavatam with a lot of devotion, fondness, adoration etc. developed for Krishna. Vedavyasa makes that Krishna speak to Uddhava as a result of Uddhava seeking him that instruction. Uddhava was not able to do what he was supposed to do. That obstruction he wants Krishna to remove from his mind and intelligence and this removal can be had only by a process of enlightenment. Now if Vedvyasa has preceded this most sublime and important dialogue with another dialogue, that means the other one also has a great importance.

Nimi Chakravarty was performing a huge sacrifice I said. Unexpectedly nine yogis happened to arrive there. The moment he saw, being a king, he understood how great they were. He welcomed them, seated them, gave them water and other things and after they were comfortable he sat before them. When the yajamana of the sacrifice withdrew from the sacrifice to receive the nine yogis, welcomed them, seat them and he himself sat before them. By then all the priests who were supposed to officiate over the yaga, all of them also came and many other important people, they all sat behind the King and the King was asking the nine yogis one important question. "Please tell me what are the ways and methods, particularly characteral, behavioral and interactional ways, by virtue of which the supreme Lord Hari, who is supreme intelligence, will be pleased and being so pleased he will give his own self to the devotee." Please remember and mark what I say; as a result of which the supreme Lord will give his own self to the devotee. It is a devotional way of expressing the fruition.

The yogis were very pleased. Nobody asked them generally like this so they started speaking one after the other, and one yogi was mentioning about the different stages of devotion. He said, “Devotional practice and devotees belong primarily to three levels, cadres – the lowest, higher and the highest. The lowest is

अर्चायामेव हरये पूजां यः श्रद्धयेहते ।

arcāyāmeva haraye pūjāṁ yaḥ śraddhayehate |

na tadbhakteṣu cānyeṣu sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ||

(Sreemad Bhagavatam 11.2.47)

He who worships the idol and idol alone. In other words, the literal translation will be “The worship meant for the Universal Lord Hari, he offers only in the idol.” That ‘only’ is important. Take some flowers and place them at the feet of the idol.

na tadbhakteṣu cānyeṣu – At the same time he does not have a friendly, a receptive ordevotional attitude towards the devotees of the Lord who are the people to speak about the Lord and help you in your search, he has no regard. I and my idol, my worship. I will not care for anybody. So he does not care for the devotees. 

na tadbhakteṣu cānyeṣu. Similarly so many other people are there in this world. In everyone his Lord dwells but he is not prepared to recognize it. “Oh! he is wrong, he is not right, he is good for nothing, useless.” He has no regard for anybody and he does not understand that the Lord whom he worships in the form of the idol is really a universal Lord, all pervading Lord.

Normally you are supposed to keep company with lofty devotees, mahatmas or knowers of truth so that they will tell you whatever you want and you can give them whatever they need. So that kind of an attitude is not there. Nevertheless he worships with a lot of attention and application, so we cannot say that he is not a devotee, all that we can say is that he is an uncultured, rough devotee. 

prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ - prākṛtaḥ means unrefined, uncultured, does not know how to live and move with the people. Now this is the lower state. Now what is the next higher state?

ईश्वरे तदधीनेषु बालिशेषु द्विषत्सु च ।

प्रेममैत्रीकृपोपेक्षा यः करोति स मध्यमः ।।

īsvare tadadhīneṣu bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca

premamaitrīkṛpopekṣā yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ

(Sreemad Bhagavatam 11.2.46)

He does not use any flower at all. He does not use any idol at all. His interaction with God is primarily mental. He thinks about the Lord, not only that he extends to the Lord that guileless fondness. He is fond of the Lord. Fondness can spring only from the heart and mind. So towards God he has fondness and towards the devotees of the Lord who move about in this world, singing the praises of the Lord, explaining, reading Bhagavatam, explaining texts, he has friendship. So he welcomes them, gives them food, plays host to them, whatever their needs are he tries to fulfill them, and he also asks them, “Please tell us something, please tell us something.” So he seeks satsang from them and he gives them their physical needs. So there is an interaction - prema maitrī kṛpā. There are some people who are balishas, who do not know anything. They will mock at devotion, God, devotees etc. Now such people don’t get angry or irritated, have kṛpā, mercy and compassion for them. And those people who dislike you, and are unfriendly and even enemical, abandon them mentally. upekṣā means sannyāsā, leave them from the mind. Now these four attitudes parallely you can run in your mind, without any reference to time, place, different materials etc. Always you can cherish them, pursue them, intensify them, so the devotion becomes more longstanding and interwoven with your daily activity. Now this is the second stage.

What is the third state? That is a very important stage. There are so many descriptions, one description is that when you interact with the world, the sense and the sense objects, when they interact, automatically, likes and dislikes will come. Love and hatred will emerge. Now do not have them. Consider everything to be the maya of Vishnu.

विष्णोर्मायामिदं पश्यन् स वै भागवतोत्तमः ।।

viṣṇormāyāmidaṁ paśyansa vai bhāgavatottamaḥ

(Sreemad Bhagavatam 11.2.48)

There are two three descriptions, one verse I will say and stop.

विसृजति हृदयं न यस्यसाक्षाद्धरिरवशाभिहितोSप्यघौघनाशः ।

visṛjati hṛdayaṁ na yasya sākṣāddhariravaśābhihito'pyaghaughanāśaḥ

praṇayarasanayā dhṛtāṅghripadmaḥ sa bhavati bhāgavatapradhāna uktaḥ

(Sreemad Bhagavatam 11.2.55)