chapter IV - sutra 51
anirvacaniyam prema-svarupam
The nature of Divine Love is indescribable.
How do we describe any object in the world? By comparing and contrasting it with some other object. A thing or an experience is described by comparing it to something else or some other experience with which we are familiar. To what shall we compare Divine Love? There is no feeling, emotion, or experience in the world that can come up to this Divine Love.
As the next sutra declares, those who have experienced Divine Love, have found themselves in the position of a dumb man who has tasted the sweetness of sugar- candy.
Yet, those who have tasted Divine Love could not contain themselves. They had to proclaim to the world the glory of Divine Love. Therefore, we find the strange paradox: we are told that Divine Love is indescribable, and yet we find that countless saints and sages have ceaselessly spoken about Divine Love and sung its glories.
They have tried to draw near-parallels. And, they have been misinterpreted. They found that the ordinary man-of-the-world could understand the nature of human love. The highest degree of love was that of union of husband and wife. Therefore, they said, "The union of the devotee with God is something like that". The impure human mind has clung to the comparison and refused to rise to the ideal. When a comparison is given, when an illustration is cited, it is intended only to indicate the truth; both can never be identical. Where is the base lustful union; and where is Divine Love?
In order to guard against this perversion have other sages adopted the negative definition of Neti-Neti - not this, not this.
The next sutra tellingly describes this state.
chapter IV - sutra 52
mukasvadana-vat
like the dumb man's experience of taste.
The dumb man cats a delicious dish. He is full of happy feeling. He wants to tell you how wonderfully sweet it is, in order to make you share it with him. But he is dumb. He is unable to express himself.
Similar is the state of the sage of Self-realisation. He experiences absolute Bliss. But that Bliss is inexpressible. Language can only express relative things or ideas, experiences within the limited range of relativity. Language is powerless when confronted with the transcendental experience. The snake cannot swallow its head. Hence, ashamed, 'speech and mind return from it, unable to grasp it or express it.'
The language of advaita - non-dualism - is silence. The language of the Absolute is silence. When you even open your month, there is dwaita or duality already.
The devotee who has become one with Him knows no such duality - the parting of the two lips. Therefore that Supreme Love and the divine experience of God- realisation - which are identical - are indescribable.
Look at the dumb man when he tastes the delicacy. You see the joy, the light, and the delight in his eyes, on his face. What the appearance of the face is, cannot be explained either! But, you know he is happy. You know that he has tasted something which has made him very happy. And then you also partake of the dish and experience the same joy. Similarly, when you see a sage of God-realisation, you discover that he has had an experience which enables him to be unruffled and cheerful in all conditions. That experience itself, he cannot describe nor communicate to you. But he indicates the path. "Practise devotion to the Lord," he says. If you do that - and the exalted stage of the sage inspires you to do so, then you will experience that state of supreme bliss yourself.
chapter IV - sutra 53
prakasyate kvapi patre
It shines in some vessel.
Once we clearly grasp the truth that this ineffable experience of supreme devotion or communion with God is beyond the intellect and speech, we immediately understand why it is that 'one in thousands strives to attain perfection, and even among those who strive, one in thousands attains it'. The struggle is arduous. The path is thorny. The pitfalls are many. One has to proceed blind-fold, in a strange domain, guided by one who himself cannot describe the way but can only lead us by the hand. If the aspirant does total unreserved self-surrender to the Lord, the path becomes smooth and easy to tread. But such self-surrender is very difficult of achievement. If one has perfect faith in and devotion to the Guru, the path becomes smooth and easy to tread. But the imperfect human mind refuses to do that.
Therefore it is that this light of supreme devotion shines in 'some rare vessel', somewhere, at some time. The upanishadic utterance 'yamaivaisha vrunute tena labhyah' sounds arbitrary! 'The Atman chooses Its knower!' We cannot discover the Atman by reason; nor can we, therefore, reason out the 'behaviour' of the Atman or God. The divine laws are not arbitrary, unreasonable or unjust. Only, we do not understand them. Therefore, they appear to be strange and mysterious to us.
'Prakashate' is a significant word. Devotion illumines the vessel - the heart in which it is found. The devotee need not wear an external mark to advertise his devotion. Devotion itself will shine in and through him. We can recognise it. It will express itself through his inspiring and noble words and deeds. This sutra guards us against some charlatans who profess to be 'devotees of the Lord, at heart' who 'do not show-off their inner nature'. 'Prakashate' - it shines. And they cannot help the light shining through them. If it does not, reject him; if he is undivine in his words and deeds, reject him.
chapter IV - sutra 54
guna-rahitam kamana-rahitam pratikshana-vardhamanam avicchinnam sukshma-taram anubhava-rupam
Because it is devoid of all attributes, devoid of desires, growing every moment, unbroken, extremely subtle and of the nature of direct, immediate experience.
Pure devotion or para-bhakti is beyond the three gunas - satwa, rajas and tamas. We are all conditioned by these three gunas. The path lies through satwa; but unless even satwa is transcended, one cannot experience para-bhakti. Satwa earns His Grace for us. His Grace alone can lift us above satwa. The man of satwa alone can do total self-surrender and then wait for the Grace to liberate him. Nature is extremely economical in producing Gunatitas - they who have gone beyond gunas! They are found 'somewhere, at some time'.
Again and again, we are told that bhakti is diametrically opposed to kamana or desire. It is based on the recognition of Fullness, Infinitude and Perfection in God, and is the very opposite of desire. The seeker realises that in God attained through para bhakti, all his desires are automatically fulfilled, in the sense that all of them vanish. Desires are thinned out when the senses are 'starved' by the mind refusing to feed them with gratification - on account of spiritual awakening; and they vanish when the Supreme Being is seen, or para -bhakti is attained. Hence, the extreme rarity of one who has attained this state.
The insincerity of persons who proclaim that they have been devotees of the Lord for a long time, but that God has not blessed them, is exposed by the expression 'pratikshana vardhamanam' in this sutra. Devotion grows in intensity every moment. Is that the case with those people? In fact, their very grumbling reveals that they have never had any real devotion to the Lord, and that even if they had a ray of devotion, it had faded out! True love does not ask for anything; and it grows in intensity every moment. It is, therefore, bound to shine through the vessel into which it has descended.
Nor does grow it by fits and starts! Hence it is opposed to the symptoms of hysteria often mistaken for devotion. There is not one moment in the devotee's life when devotion is absent. Let us beware of the devotee who leads an undivine life, till he is called upon by expediency to demonstrate his devotion, for public entertainment, and who 'grows every day' in this art! Devotion has an unbroken, constant growth in the sadhana.
'Sukshma-taram' underlines this still further. Devotion is an extremely subtle state of the inner being of the bhakta. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the external marks that the devotee may or may not have on his person. It is not demonstrable in itself; though, as we have already been told, we cannot mistake a devotee of the Lord when we meet one.
The next definition is a stern warning to the sadhaka himself. We, the devotees of the Lord, should not deceive ourselves or attempt to deceive others, by showing- off our 'devotion'. True devotion is of the nature of anubhava. It is an inner experience. We have the inspiring examples of great devotees of the Lord that this experience, too, is two-fold. When they are conscious that they are apart
from the Lord, when they have the individual-consciousness, they are burnt by viraha! They cry out that they are full of defects, ignorant, and miserable. This intense yearning to commune with the Lord burns up the ego, and enables them to have the anubhava or inner experience of the Presence of God. Since the ego is virtually absent now, the experience is one of Divinity as It is; now they know that God is Truth, He is Perfect, Omniscient and All-Blissful. He is Perfect, not I!
When the 'I' is present, viraha is experienced. When the 'I' vanishes, well, He and He alone exists. "His Perfection is not my virtue!" When he returns to normal worldly consciousness, he is once again in viraha. He has not a single moment in his life when he could rest on his ears. If he does, he is not a devotee but a religious pedlar.
chapter IV - sutra 55
tat prapya tad evavalokayati tad eva srinoti tad eva bhashayati tad eva cintayati
Attaining it, one sees it alone, hears that alone, speaks of that alone, and thinks of that alone.
This is the characteristic of nishtha - total dedication. This is the pre-requisite for God-realisation. It is the sign of a purified heart, sublimated emotions, controlled mind and subdued senses. For, only in such a state of our inner being will we with all our heart and soul, wish only for God and for nothing else. Love of God is all-consuming divine passion; if it has truly entered the heart, it will burn up all other desires in the heart. As we have seen earlier, it is this Love itself, by a process of annihilation of the little lower self, that shines as God-realisation. Hence the insistence upon nishtha.
We delight to see what we love, and we turn our eyes away from that which we do not love. The devotee loves to see God always. He practises the different modes of bhakti. And, he practises the vibhuti yoga. He ignores the names and forms, and perceives the hidden Divinity in all beings. The devotee's supreme passion for seeing Him alone and naught else is beautifully illustrated in the story of Bilwamangal; after he had a vision of the Lord, he pulled his fleshy eyes away so that they might not see wordly objects. This is not insanity, but insurance against a downfall. Patriots have cut off their tongues to prevent themselves from revealing their country's secrets to the enemy, even under extreme torture.
He hears that alone. He loves to. He avoids gossip and wordly topics. He runs to where the Lord's leelas are sung, where devotees gather to talk of Divine Love.
He himself constantly speaks of That. He thinks of That alone. For, he has realised that That alone is the reality and that all else is unreal. Why waste breath on illusory phenomena? Why let the mind run after the shadow? With all his being he loves God. With all his being, he yearns to attain Him. He cares for naught else, even as an extremely greedy miser cares for naught other than wealth; only the spiritual yearning is far deepe and blissful door to liberation.
chapter IV - sutra 56
gauni tridha guna-bhedad artadi-bhedad va
The secondary devotion is of three types, based on differences in gunas or on differences of aartha etc. - i.e., aartha, jignasu, artharthi, jnani.
Para bhakti or supreme devotion has been elaborately described and dealt with. The para bhakta is the jnani, the greatest yogi, who does not exist as an individual, but as God on earth. That is the goal or perfection.
But there is a secondary bhakti or devotion which is within the realm of the three gunas - satwa, rajas and tamas. This bhakti is of three types - satwic, rajasic and tamasic - and there are distinct differences between them. Briefly,
A tamasic bhakta performs upasana or practises bhakti of this secondary type, for bringing harm to others. He is the devil's disciple; he is brought in to exemplify the lowest category of bhakta, only because he resorts to upasana - and not to physical violence or criminal ways - to achieve his nefarious object.
A rajasic bhakta's sole aim in resorting to upasana is to gain something for himself. He has desires, as distinct from the para bhakta who has none; but he seeks to fulfil those desires, not by resorting to foul means, but by praying to the Lord to fulfil thoise desires. In due time, there is a chance that this bhakti will be turned satvic. When his desires are granted by the Lord, he will discover that their fulfilment cannot give him his permanent happiness, which can be had only in the annihilation of desires and attainment of God-realisation.
A satvic bhakta's love of God is completely motiveless. He can't help loving God! It is his nature. Therefore, there is no veil of selfishness or impurity in his devotion. He is a paroksha jnani, one who is firmly, convinced of the existence of God as one's own Self, on account of his study of scriptures, Guru's upadesha, etc. This, in good time, leads to para bhakti or aparoksha jnana, or direct immediate experience.
The other classification of bhaktas - aartha, gnasu, artharthi and jnani. Aartha wants relief from suffering. Artharthi wards wealth. But they seek it from God. Jignasu wants knowledge from God. The jnani is one who knows, and he is, therefore, of the superior type among these four, and his bhakti is para-bhakti.
chapter IV - sutra 57
uttarasmad uttarasmat purva-purvo sreyaya bhavati
Each previous one is better than the succeeding one.
Among the satwic, rajasic and tamasic modes of devotion, the satwic is better than the rajasic, and the rajasic is better than the tamasic type.
Progressive purification of the heart and mind leads progressive ennoblement of the character of bhakti itself.
When we adopt the other classification, we have first to re-arrange the four, to suit the meaning of the sutra to the Lord's own exaltation of the jnani bhakta. In which case the jnani will come first, then the jignasu, then artharthi and then the aartha. One who prays for relief from pain completely misses the meaning of pain. "Pain is God's own messenger", says Gurudev Sivananda. "Pain is a blessing in disguise. It makes you think of God. It instils mercy in your heart. It turns your mind away from God." No one who has understood this clearly will run away from pain. The artharthi is superior in that he asks for something positive; and, since he gets that wealth from God Himself, through prayer, there is a chance that he will utilise it for dharmic - righteous - purposes. 'Dhanaad-dharmah tatah sukham.' A Jignasu or a seeker after real knowledge obviously excels them; and, the jnani, according to the Lord Himself, is the best among them.
chapter IV - sutra 58
anyasmat saulabhyam bhaktau
Bhakti is easier than the others.
Love is more natural to all beings than the other aspects. Therefore, God is approached more readily, easily and rapidly by the path of Love than the path of metaphysical speculation - jnana yoga, mystic experience - raja yoga, etc.
Jnana yoga demands a mighty, keen and powerful intellect, which can split a hair a thousand-fold and yet regret that the one-thousandth part is gross. For the five koshas - annamaya kosha, pranamaya kosha, manomaya kosha, vijnanamaya kosha, and anandamaya kosha, have to be actually 'seen' if they are to be pierced through and the Atman realised. An intellectual understanding of them will only remain a dead-weight.
Success in the practice of raja yoga depends upon the preparedness of the seeker. It may take us several births to get established in yama-niyama. But, till we are perfect in yama-niyama, we may get sleep when we attempt to meditate, not samadhi!
We have to beware of obstacles in yoga. Even the psychic experiences in yoga are regarded as obstacles to the attainment of perfection. But, in bhakti, on account of the very nature of love, there are no obstacles. It is common knowledge that a lover regards all obstacles as challenges to his own sincerity and ardent love, and they only augment his love. Moreover, at every stage, the bhakta receives God's Grace in abundance, which removes all obstacles.
chapter IV - sutra 59
pramanantarasyanapekshatvat svayam pramanatvat
Because, being seld-evident, it does not require a proof.
God exists. This is boldly and unequivocally declared by all sages and saints. Just as we do not ask for proof of our own existence, just as our hunger does not depend upon another's confirmation or denial, God exists, and His existence is self-evident.
In the same way, when bhakti or supreme love exists in our heart, we shall experience its presence; no other proof will be needed.
Thus, the goal and the path in bhakti yoga are self-evident, and their comprehension presents no difficulty at all. Whereas, in the other paths, such difficulties do arise. One has clearly to grasp the distinction between jnana, ajnana and vipareeta-jnana, paroksha jnana and aparoksha jnana. One should know the distinction between jada samadhi and chaitanva samadhi. One should know what is reality and what is false appearance.
Therefore, it is easier than, the other paths.
chapter IV - sutra 60
santi-rupat paramananda-rupac ca
Because it is of its nature of peace and supreme bliss.
Once again we get a definition that covers both the path and the goal. 'It' refers both to bhakti and its Goal, God.
God is peace. God Bliss. Therefore, we want to commune with God in all. Hence, we look into the eyes of our dear and near ones, when we talk to them. We want to commune with their souls; and the eyes are the windows of the soul. The next higher stage, when we experience intense happiness, we close our eyes; obviously the happiness, misunderstood to be in an external object, is recognised to be within ourselves. To commune with the Self is peace and bliss.
The devotee gazes at the Lord, the image he worships. He feels the divine presence. It fills him with inexpressible peace and bliss. He closes his eyes and experiences that peace and that bliss within himself. God is experienced within. Once enthroned there, realised there, and experienced there, God does not vanish. He takes complete possession of the devotee.
Thus, at every step during the devotee's progress towards the destination, he experiences peace and bliss. He does not ask for further external proof. He is satisfied that he is on the right path, and that the goal is near at hand. He reaches the goal in due time - kalena-atmani vindati.
The peace and bliss are uninterrupted. For, when the devotee surrenders himself to the Lord, the Lord takes over his entire being as His property. God Himself then ensures that His property is safe, and does not slip away from His Hands, from the right path. This thread that binds the devotee to the Lord is also made of His 'material' - viz., Bliss, and thus bound to the Feet of the Lord, the devotee constantly enjoys supreme bliss and peace.
chapter IV - sutra 61
loka-hanau cinta na karya niveditatma-loka-vedatvat
No worry need be entertained about the miseries of the world; because of total surrender of the self, the world, and the vedas, at the feet of the Lord.
'Chinta' is worry. The devotee does not worry at all. For, he has surrendered himself, the entire world, and the Vedas - representing injunctions and prohibitions, righteousness and unrighteousness - at the feet of the Lord.
"I am Thine, all is Thine, my Lord. Thy will be done", is his prayer.
The world's miseries do not touch him. No one can harm him; he is indifferent to people who try to harm him. He bears insults and injuries cheerfully. He endures his destiny wrought by his own past action, and welcomes the suffering it may entail as much as we welcome the return of money loaned to our friends.
What about the miseries of others? Even they do not worry him. He knows 'God knows best'. But then he does not lean back on his arm-chair and look on unconcernedly when people suffer around him. He is not worried. But, the God in him, Who is of the nature of Love, flows out in the form of selfless service and charity. He does not act or do anything; God does through him ! Therefore, he joins the band of His foremost devotees who are sarva-bhuta-hite-ratah - deeply interested in the welfare of all beings. He does not worry, but he works for the welfare of all beings. Nay, he does not work, either, but worships the Omnipresent Being, considering himself as a humble instrument in His Hands.
chapter IV - sutra 62
na tatsiddhau loka-vyavaharo heyah kintu phala-tyagas tat-sadhanam ca karyam eva
For its attainment, worldly duties are not to be abandoned; but one should abandon fruits of actions and do the sadhana.
So long as we live in this world and 'receive' some benefits from 'our neighbours', and, until, by virtue of our spiritual attainments, we are enabled to give our neighbours the blessings of the Spirit, we shall not abandon our duties by those neighbours, and shall be diligent in our service of the community or society. This is the unalterable rule, stressed and emphasised by Gurudev Sivananda in His own life. He is emphatic that, at everystage of our life, every day of it, our balance sheet should always show an increase of our spiritual assets, and we have 'given' more than we have 'received' from people around us.
'Abandonment of the fruits of actions' includes performance of all our duties in a spirit of worship, without attachment without expectation of any worldly rewards.
At the same time, we should dilligently carry on our bhakti sadhana.
This attitude towards the world, and this sadhana, enable us to 'pay off' our debts, instead of accumulating them, to wipe out our past karma also, without accumulating new ones, to do dynamic sadhana, which alone can enable us to introspect and find out our inner defects and weakness to be able to guard against, and eradicate them, and at the same time to grow in devotion, day by day.
chapter IV - sutra 63
stri-dhana-nastika-caritram na sravaniyam
Accounts relating to women, wealth, atheists, and enemies should not be listened to.
'Women' represents 'lust'. The meaning will not change if a lady-devotee reads it as 'men'. From time immemorial, lust has been regarded as one of the most powerful enemies of spiritual life. All over the world, great saints and mystics have exalted celibacy as an indispensable virtue for the seeker. The duties of the grihasthasrama - the house-hold life - are heavy enough to demand four shoulders; hence, the need for a partner-ship of man and woman. The narrow spiritual path of the soul alone into the alone, cannot allow two to walk abreast. Hence the warning that the seeker should do the journey alone; a companion would most certainly retard progress, if not make it impossible. It is only to emphasise that what is meant is 'lust' that we are asked not to listen to accounts relating to women; they will engender lust in the heart of the seeker, and lead him to his spiritual ruin.
'Wealth' is another great temptation; for, it is the source for the satisfaction of the instinct of self-preservation, it is a symbol of status or vanity, a passport to pleasure, and hence to hell. In the modern world, wealth itself has been made to do duty for God! With disastrous consequences. When everyone reaches out his hand to grab this limited commodity, there is disharmony, tension, hatred, and warfare. Wealth has been created by man to serve him. Nature's universal blessings are converted by him in to personal property, for the sake of convenience. When this convenient, man-made servant ascends to the master's seat, man, the master, is enslaved! Narada warns us, to prevent this. We know the wealthy people are not happy. Wealth shall not lure us away from the path of love. We shall not lend our ears to the false stories of the blessings of wealth.
artham anartham bhavaya nityam nasti tatah sukhalesa satyam putradapi dhanabhaajaam bheetih sarvatrisha vihita reetih
Regard wealth as the source of misfortune. The wealthy dread their own children, and this is the universal rule.
The Nasthikas - atheists - are often more dangerous to the spiritual aspirant than women and wealth. They destroy the very roots of spiritual aspiration. Especially in the early stages, when our own faith has not struck deep roots, we should avoid atheists from a very great distance. It is not our business to 'reform' them. It is God's Task. He knows how best to do it. We should keep ourselves away, and pray for them. We are like fire, and they like water. When these two come together, the result is always unpredictable. It depends upon the relative strength. If the fire is stronger than the water, the water is evaporated. If the fire is weaker than the water, then it will be put out. We should first augment the spiritual fire in us and that is our sole business. If it is God's Will, the atheist will be converted by our own example, without our having to persuade him by argument.
'Accounts of our enemies'. We have no enemies. We shall have none. That is the condition prerequisite if we are to grow in devotion. What is meant here is only those people who regard themselves as our enemies. Why does Narada want the aspirant to avoid listening to stories about them? To avoid gossip. If people around us know that we like to hear stories about 'our enemies', then they will visit us often, with stories - often concocted - about them. They will invent, for their own entertainment, false accounts of what those enemies told about us. Our peace of mind is thus disturbed. In our heart there is no malice. We have no ill- will towards anyone. Why need we bother what others think of us? Let us pray for all, and mind our own business. Let us not lend our ears to gossip. That will save a lot of our time, preserve our peace mind, and prevent malice entering our heart.
chapter IV - sutra 64
abhimana-dambhadikam tyajyam
Pride, vanity and other vices must be given up.
When we turn to the sayings and writings of the great devotees of all nations, we are immediately wonderstruck at the humility which characterises them. The Alwars and Nayanmars of the South, the Dasas of Kannada Desa, Tukaram, Mira, Tulasidas, Kabirdas and the Christian saints and mystics - all of them express extreme humility in their hymns in praise of God. As I have already pointed out, when they thought and wrote as individual seekers, aspiring for God - in other words, when they were not in mystic union with God, but were conscious of their physical and mental being, they recognised that, on the human level, they were weak, ignorant, miserable, and worthless.
If we constantly evolve this idea in our mind, we shall be truly humble. The individual is naught, God is everything. The individual minus the individuality is God. We shall then not be fatalistic or pessimistic, but we shall be truly humble, without losing our divine prerogative to serve as channels for His Light, Power, and Wisdom, to flow through.
chapter IV - sutra 65
tad arpitakhilacarah san kama-krodhabhimanadikam tasminn eva karaniyam
Because all our activities have been surrendered to Him, kama, krodha and abrimana, desire, anger and vanity, also are to be directed towards him.
Let us take vanity first. Real humility is difficult to understand. We have to guard ourselves against back-bonelessness. Else, we might fall a prey to any evil force that may assail us. If we make a fetish of our humility, then our vanity will masquerade as humility; we willbe proud of our humility. Therefore, Narada asks us to direct our abhimana - vanity - towards God. "I have surrendered to God. I am proud of Him. He is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent. There is nothing He will not do for me." Also, "I am a devotee of the Lord. He will not like my telling lies or entertaining evil thoughts. It is unworthy of a devotee like me." It is vanity, all right! But a necessary sublimation of the evil. In course of time, when the Grace of God descends, this, too, will go, without exposing us to the attacks of evil forces.
'Kama' sublimated becomes passion for liberation or union with God. This one all-consuming desire annihilates all base desires and elevates us to Godhead. Directing it God-wards means saying often to ourselves with intense feeling in the heart, "I desire God, naught else is worth loving. I passionately wish to see Him, and naught else." Gurudev Sivananda's own inspiring example is unequalled. He says, "When I left Malaya and arrived in India in 1923, the one thought I had was 'I must realise god now".
The aggressive instinct in man, too, ought to find its outlet and channel of sublimation. It might get suppressed and wage guerilla warfare. So, it is directed towards God. We have this demonstrated in the utterances of our great saints and bhaktas, who have occasionally 'taunted' the Lord, and even 'quarrelled' with him. Gurudev Sivananda's 'Song of Grievance' is a parallel. "Why have you neglected me?", He demands of God. "This is not Thy real nature. Give me Thy explanation." Though a devotee is asked to be patient and wait for His Grace to descend, it is not wrong now and then, when the pain of separation becomes intense on his part, to 'chide' the Lord for 'cruelty'.
Thus sublimated, all our natura qualities will find their fulfilment in God.
chapter IV - sutra 66
tri-rupa-bhanga-purvakam nitya-dasya-nitya-kanta-bhajanatmakam prema karyam premaiva karyam
Transcending the three forms, one should practise devotion of the nature of eternal service of God and eternal love. This love alone is to be practised.
All the triplicities should be abandoned. What are they?
1. Satwa, rajas, and tamas - sutra 56;
2. Aartha, jignasu, and artharthi - sutra 56;
3. Kama, krodha, and lobha - desire anger and greed even directed Godward.
The previous sutra gave us the clue to the sublimation of the forces that always operate deep within the nature of man. We shall be fools to ignore them. Puranic stories illustrate the truth that they are extremely powerful, by portraying their power even over celestial beings and great sages and tapasvins. It is the bhakta's privilege to change the direction of these un-divine forces; they are directed towards God and, a most mysterious manner, divinised!
But that a concession, not a licence! It does not mean that, even if we don't feel anger within ourselves, we should cultivate 'anger towards God'! Their Godward direction is the most intelligent way of eradicating them. But eradication of these vices is the absolutely necessary pre-requisite. Let us not forget that. God-love alone does it. It enables us to eradicate lust, anger, and greed.
In the second class of triplicity, even the jijnasa or thirst for knowledge is included. Intellectual understanding of the goal, of the path, and of the inner mechanism that makes God-love possible, is definitely necessary. But it is only to enable us to practise this God-love, without encountering the intellect as a barrier. But the development of the intellect without laying the foundation of faith is a danger. Intellect must grow in the soil of faith; then it will yield the luscious fruits of devotion and God-realisation. Let us have a theoretical, intellectual understanding of bhakti yoga; but, let us, then, quickly take up the practice an go Godward.
The nature of the bhakti sadhana is also described paradoxically. It is a dual- relationship of the devotee to God. He loves God, all right. He regards himself as the Lord's consort, and loves Him with all his heart and soul. But, this Love is not to be idle love. We are not allowed to think: "Well, my Lord is the Ruler of the whole universe. I am His consort, entitled to lounge and let myself be served by His servants." In fact, our puranas once again awaken us here, and remind us that Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Narayana, is ever-keen on serving Him. Bu, lest we should miss this great lesson. Narada specifically mentions that we should be eternal slaves of the Lord, ever eager to do His Will, to serve all humanity, feeling that thus shall we be His best instrument, His best servant and, therefore, His beloved.
Once again, the devotee's privilege is to entertain the triple-attitude simultaneously! Lord Hanuman addresses this sloka to Lord Rama,
dehabudhyatu dasoham jeeva buddhva-twadamsakah atma-buddhya tvamevaham, iti me nischaya matih
When I am body-conscious, I am Your slave. When I regard myself as a Jiva, enveloped by ignorance and the five sheaths, I am a spark of the Divine Fire You are. When I transcend these and realise I am the Atman, I am one with you.This verse, incidentally, reconciles the different view-points of dwaita, visishtadvaita and advaita philosophers.
Most of the time, we only identify ourselves with the body. And, therefore, most of the time, we should serve Him, His Omnipresent Being - humanity, nay the entire universe - as His instrument, without egoism, without kartritwa- bhoktritwa abhimana, feelings 'I am the doer', and 'I am the enjoyer'.
We are His beloved, and therefore, we are His servants. We are His servants, and therefore, we are His beloved.
Another truth has to be clearly grasped here. Kanta bhava or madhurya bhava - or the relation of the lover and the beloved has nothing whatsoever to do with 'sex'. The bhakti-teachers, who were of a much nobler mind than the modern man, had an entirely different and sublime idea of what kanta-bhav implied.
Since the modern man associates sex with lover-beloved relationship, it is better to use the analogy of the wave and the ocean in this context. It is the state of union which is analogous to the inseparability of the wave and the ocean. We are the waves - God is the ocean.
chapter IV - sutra 67
bhakta ekantino mukhyah
The foremost among bhaktas - those who practise the primary type of devotion or para bhakti - have one-pointed devotion to the Lord.
The sadhana - practice - enables the sadhaka aspirant to attain siddhi - perfection. It is naishkarmya siddhi. It is an indescribable state of union with God. It is mukhya bhakti, para bhakti or jnana. One cannot attain this prematurely. It is really a gift of the Grace of the Lord. It is the fruit of our sadhana, only in an indirect way. From the top-rung of preparedness, the devotee is lifted to the Lord's Lap, by the Lord Himself,
This is a very rare state. Nature is extremely economical in throwing up specimens of this type. It is no good, therefore, to imitate or deceive ourselves. It is also good to realise that in God's scheme of things, all types of bhaktas have their parts to play. True devotion does not question the role allotted to it, but humbly and joyously plays it.
These God-intoxicated devotees who are unconscious of their body, of their surroundings of anything but God, are charged with self-centredness by the self- styled benefactors of mankind. Are they selfish? Do they confer no benefits on mankind? Are they parasites on society?
Far from it. They are the greatest benefactors of mankind. They ask for nothing from us. They have no desires. They are above wants. It is we who regard it as a great blessing and privilege to serve them. For the little care that we may bestow on their physical existence, they shower great blessings upon us.
In fact, even that price is not demanded by them. Their blessings are showered upon all equally. They themselves are the radiant lamps of Divine Light. Unasked, they give us that Light. Unsolicited, they illumine our path to salvation. They are the greatest benefactors of humanity. They serve even those who do not deserve. Their service is of the highest type. Their gifts are of permanent value.
chapter IV - sutra 68
kanthavarodha-romasrubhih parasparam lapamanah pavayanti kulani prithivim ca
They talk to each other with chocked voice, with hairs standing on end, and with tears in their eyes; they purify their families and also the earth.
You find these great para bhaktas constantly speaking of God and His Lilas. And you notice some unmistakable signs of inner enjoyment, of ecstasy. Some of them are mentioned here. Chocked voice, hairs standing on end, tears in eyes - classic bhakti literature elaborates these further. They indicate that the talk is not idle gossip or lip-homage to love or intellectual pastime. The words spring from the heart. When they speak of God, it is not as though they are talking of a possible existence of a Yeti in the Himalayas. At that time, the Lord is with them. They actually experience and express His Love. They recognise and admit the Limitless Grace that is Divine. They are thrilled by the thought of His Infinite Nature. Their voices are chocked when they refer to His Love. The hairs stand on end when they dwell upon His Power. The thought of His Grace brings tears to their eyes. When they begin to talk among themselves - these ekanta bhaktas, who have no other concern in life - they loose all sense of time or place. They are dead to the world, which, nevertheless is purified by their very presence.
They are like a giant neem tree or sandal tree. The poisonous air we exhale is neutralised by the tree, which in turn gives us the life-giving oxygen we need and also other health-giving elements in the air we breathe. All this is silently done. Even if we don't recognise our benefactors, we are benefited, in any case! The very presence of the great bhaktas similarly purifies the atmosphere, neutralises the evil thoughts that constantly emerge from the impure hearts of worldly men. The families that have given birth to such bhaktas are specially blessed. The members refer to the devotee with pride. "He belongs to our family." Thus, dwelling upon the glory of the devotees, they unconsciously begin to emulate their example and profit by their lives.
Even the devotee's ancestors get the benefit of his saintliness. An invisible thread connects us with our forefathers. We may not be attached to them; but they are attached to us. The offerings - pindas, etc - are made through this invisible but very real channel. When a descendent shines with the Light of God, as a great devotee, or a sage of Self-realisation, the ancestors, too, receive this Divine Light, merely by virtue of their connection with this divine descendent. They, too, are enlightened in accordance with their receptivity. The saint becomes his own ancestors' Guru! And, Saviour, too.
chapter IV - sutra 69
tirthi-kurvanti tirthani su-karmi-kurvanti karmani sac-chastri-kurvanti sastrani
They impart sanctity to places of pilgrimage, they bestow auspiciousness on karmas - actions or rites, the scriptures derive their authority from them.
This easily understandable. I have witnessed it. Rishikesh reminds people all over the world of 'Swami Sivananda's place'. I remember, even thirty years ago, South Indians went out on pilgrimage to only Banaras, and those who dared went up to Hardwar. Hardwar was the pilgrim's limit. Rishikesh was practically unknown.
Its present glory is derived from Gurudev Sivananda. People, who go round take the dust of the kutir in which He lived His early life of austerities. Now, there are thousands who go straight to Rishikesh; that is to them the only place of pilgrimage. Gurudev Sivananda has made it so.
Yad tad acharati sreshtah tad tadeva itaro janah, said Lord Krishna. We always look to our spiritual leaders for their sanction of our activities. What they sanction by their precept and practice is adopted by us. I have described in 'Gurudev Sivananda' how by His own soul-force Gurudev Sivananda awakened even advaita vedantins to the glory of the Divine Name, and sankirtan, which was considered unworthy of a Swami! This and several other spiritual practices derive their sanction from Gurudev Sivananda.
We have scriptures galore, especially in India. A seeker without a guide is often bewildered which way to go. It is the Saint Who makes the choice and the scripture He had adopted as His own becomes doubly sacred.
chapter IV - sutra 70
tan-mayah
They are of the nature of that, God or devotion.
We are told that once in seven years we are completely renewed. It takes seven years for all the cells that constitute our being to be replaced. A complete transformation takes place during that period. It extends to the mental and psychic spheres also. That is why all important vows and austerities are counted in periods of seven years. If we practise intense devotion for a period of seven years, therefore, our entire nature is transformed into one of God-Love. We become embodiments of God-Love.
There are stages even here. First we express our swabhava - our own nature. By cultivation of virtues, by the practise of sadhana, etc., we elevate ourselves to sat- bhava. Our nature is purified. It is full of satva. Even this is transcended by His Grace, and we enter into mat-bhava, in the words of the Bhagavad Gita: "My bhava". It is God's own Bhava or nature or attitude. Here even the dualities of good and evil, dharma and adharma, right and wrong, vanish, and the entire universe takes on the Virat Swarupa - Cosmic Form - of the Lord Himself. This is not to be simulated, but attained.
A similar three-runged ladder is this. First we do swa-karma. We do what our nature impels us to do. Then we tread the path of righteousness and do sat-karma - only good actions. It is the sadhaka's stage. Then we get established in mat- karma. It is the state of perfection when we no longer exist as individual personalities, but we are He and do His Will. Karma and dharma are synonymous here.
When we reach the third stage of mat-bhava or mat-karma, we become 'tanmayah' or filled with That. That is the goal. Even when we walk the path of goodness, when we are in the sat-bhava stage doing sat-karma - sat-dharma, we are not entirely safe. The separatist ego sense is still there and we are liable to fall into evil. Till the ego-sense vanishes and we become tanmayah, should persist in our sadhana. 'I' can only be a sadhaka.
chapter IV - sutra 71
modante pitaro nrityanti devatah sa-natha ceyam bhur bhavati
The forefathers rejoice, the celestials dance, the world has a saviour.
When a sadhaka thus becomes tanmayah, the forefathers rejoice. I have already explained how they benefit by their descendent's spiritual attainments.
We are often told that the austerities of great Rishis etc., are disturbed by the celestials sent by Indra, the Lord of the Devas. Here, in this sutra, we are told, on the contrary, that the celestials rejoice when the bhakta attains the goal. The man of austerities is the celestials' rival; his austerities might even elevate him to the status of Indra. Hence, the fright of the Lord of the Celestials. But, on the contrary, the devotional practices of the bhakta help even the Devas. For, whenever their position becomes insecure, the Devas run to the Lord for help. The Lord has to manifest Himself here to restore the balance of dharma. When a bhakta realises God, this is exactly what happens. In answer to his prayer, the Nameless and Formless Being manifests Itself here, and His Grace flows into our world, sweeping it clean of evil. As we have already seen, the bhakta, by becoming an embodiment of His Light, becomes automatically the greatest promoter of dharma, and, thereby the greatest benefactor of humanity. He relieves the celestials of their fear of demoniacal beings. Therefere, they rejoice when a bhakta attains God-realisation.
Mankind, groping in the darkness of atheism, materialism, and sensual hell, gets a Light, a Blessing and a Saviour, in the God-realised bhakta.
chapter IV - sutra 72
nasti teshu jati-vidya-rupa-kula-dhana-kriyadi-bhedah
Among them there is no dictinction of caste, learning, physical form, race, wealth or profession, etc
Bhakti or love is universal. It transcends all sorts of distinctions. Only the performance of vedic rites was limited to the dwija - the twice-born. But very early in our study of these Sutras, we learnt to give a secondary place or even to renounce vedic rituals, preferring the practice of Divine Love.
But the Param Gati - the Supreme Goal of God-realisation - is open to all, as Lord Sri Krishna says,
striyo vaishyastatha shudras te-api yati param gatim.
Women, vaishyas, and even shudras, attain the Supreme Goal.
We have any number of instances of great devotees of the Lord, who belonged to the 'lower' castes. Incidentally, does it not also prove that these caste distinctions are expedient divisions of society without suggestion of superiority or inferiority among them? Unlettered men have realised the Truths of Vedanta, have translated unread scriptures into actual life. As has already been pointed out, scriptures derive their authority from them.
There have been saints among the rich and the poor. Devotion tilts the scales. The rich bhakta feels that he a mendicant in this world; all wealth belongs only to the Lord. The poor man, on the other hand, feels that all the wealth of the world belongs to him, as he has enthroned the Lord of the universe in his heart. Neither of them has a thought for material wealth.
Devotees have come from all professions; often professions that are not normally associated with spiritual life, e.g., a butcher's. But, that did not prevent them from loving God. The butcher-saint regarded it was his duty, his worship of the Lord, to carry on his ancestral trade. No sin accrued to him. "Sahajam karma kaunteya, sa doshamapi na tyajet", says the Lord. "Do not give up your duties, even if they are superficially defective." The devotee regards all his actions as flowers of worship of the Lord. He is un-attached, unaffected.
chapter IV - sutra 73
yatas tadiyah
Because they belong to Him.
The devotees, to whatever caste, creed, nationality, sex, or social status, they belong, belong to the Lord. The sense of belonging to a particular religion, caste, or nation, can be compared to a small pond on the bank of the Holy Ganga. When the water-level in the Ganga is low, the tank also exists, independently. But when there is a flood the Ganga, the holy waters of the Ganga sweep away all the waters of the tanks that exist on her bank. All distinctions vanish.
All of us belong to Him! No doubt. But, though we are part and parcel of His Omnipresent Being, we lead an egoistic life, deludedly separating ourselves from Him, and from the rest of the universe. The waters of the tanks on the Ganges- bank are all waters of the Ganga. When the Ganges-level went down, they assumed independent existence. They will continue to be 'independent' till another flood sweeps them into the main current. Even so, all of us are in reality of Him. He is the Reality in us. But, when the flood of Divine Light receded from us, we were enveloped by darkness, and we arrogantly assumed egoistic independence. Now we must pray and wait. We should shed tears of viraha, which will make the Ganga of Divinity swell! Then we shall get merged in Him once again.
That is the state of the bhaktas who have attained God-realisation. They are one with Him. They belong to Him, not to any caste, creed, religion, sex, or nationality. They transcend these distinctions and limitations.
One cannot fail to notice the other implication: the true devotee of the Lord will not make such distinctions in his dealings with others, be they devotees or worldly men. They will look upon all as children of the Lord, equally entitled to their love and service.