bhakti sandarbha

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Due to rebelliousness the souls do not want to surrender to god, or guru. Yet they expect to be happy and fulfilled. The highest blessing is bhakti, there is a methodology to it. The giver of bhakti is God, but not directly, you have to receive mercy from the saint. All this is discussed in Bhakti Sandarbha of Sri Jiva.

He says it’s a method which brings awareness through worship on Bhagavan. It is very rare, the rarest fruit attained. And what causes it? King Muchukunda says “when the living being wanders in birth and death he gets the association of one established in truth. (truthfulness is part of god BTW) then bhakti is awakened in that being.” SB 10 51.53.

When the material life of a jiva is coming to the end, he meets that ‘sat’ person or better said when he meets that ‘sat’ personality, his material life ends. Krishna told Nalakuvera and Manigriva that just seeing the sages devoted to Me, there is no bondage for humans.” SB 10. 10. 41. As soon as that association is recieved the mind is fixed on the Lord (SB 10.51.53.) Previously the souls are daivat and irreligious. Whatever they were doing before that did not contribute to bhakti. But the moment they meets that sage, bhakti is awakened. Now this seems a very bad thing because it means a people are wasting time independently preparing to meet with god.

Mati (devotion) is awakened by sad gatau – mental vision of the Lord. But see the case of Pingala, she did not change after meeting devotee. But Goswamipad means that sometimes they don’t do so immediately but it happens after – even in the next life.

But the association of devotee changes you if offences are not there, even if a person is absent minded, it still works. Those who relate to the beauty of the Lord’s feet are devotees, but offence disqualifies people from getting their mercy. People who are fulfilling sensual pursuits are not disqualified. (See SB 3.5.3) Their minds will still turn towards god through association.

A devotee may choose to willingly bless an offensive person and they will get bhakti but not otherwise, like Nalakuvera was offensive and blessed by Narada. Devotee presence apparently helps to remove sins as well. Because “unless many lives of sins are removed, one’s mind cannot turn towards Krishna.” But you cannot also bless the whole world, or pray for them, it has to be individual, even Prahlad prayed for the world but Nrshimhadev said “no, they will only become free from bondage if they recite the prayers that you sang and remember you and Me.” So we cannot help the world by praying or chanting for them.

All paths of religion are apparently a waste because within the heart of the realized soul, all dharmas reside, according to the book, unless you bathe in the dust of their feet, your minds cannot be attracted to Krishna’s lotus feet. Carrying out duties is another waste.

ANU 180-185
So the Lord does not help here because souls are averse to him. Moreover He only relishes supreme bliss, and cannot relate to miserable people, he does not feel compassion. This point is to stress that only the devotee alone is responsible for the soul’s salvation.

Sometimes these devotees who lived in this world may recall their own previous suffering, like a person woken up from a dream and they relate and show grace to worldly people. But humility is required like when the Gajendra elephant cried out to the Lord for mercy ‘you are my only shelter.’ Those who do not pray for the Lord’s mercy do not receive it like those denizens from hell.

Bhakti is a potency. When it enters a devotee’s heart, the Lord’s heart melts. There is a merging of hearts, maybe that’s why he likes melting butter. When His bhakti touches that humility it becomes enhanced even more, and such a devotee can grant mercy.

This is how the Lords mercy descends through the medium of that holy person, not from Him directly. The method of crossing the ocean of life is considered to be a boat that they leave behind on the shore for future aspirants. So why doesn’t the Lord give the mercy himself? The gateway, sad anugraha is the devotees - they are the His mercy. They have cleansed their sins by bathing in holy places like the Ganga, they are compassionate and simple. Even moksha dharma is achieved after taking that ‘sat sanga.’

Mercy is distributed by the devotees’ will, and the lord helps that devotee to distribute it, you can’t take from him by force. Things take time - we have seen a lot of impatience. Sometimes one becomes favorable to the lord at a certain time and devotion manifests later on.
Devotees are moved to see distress, and help the souls while gods only bequeath things when they are supplicated. (SB 11.2.26)

Satsanga is purifying, you need nothing more. Sacred waters and deities only purify after a long time, they are secondary causes of it, even the Lord is a secondary cause. Only sat sanga makes one inclined to Him. What is reality Shridhar Swami asks? It is not knowledge gained by sensory perception, this are based on ignorance. It is a pure awareness known by the name Bhagavan with his six qualities like opulence, beauty etc. You cannot get it without serving one situated in truth.

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I thought before I die out, I should continue to pound into people's skull and my own what is really bhakti. Apparently heads get harder or the substance inside, and it needs castor oil to soften it. This is another illumination from the Bhakti Sandarbha I read today. You can decide if you ever saw a bhakta from this. I never saw one in the mirror, but I'm kinda conscious of the idea.

Annuchedha 187 -198

King Nimi wanted to know what exactly is a bhakta of God. SB 11.2.44. He wants to know about the categories of bhaktas
----Shri Havi said: The best (uttama) one has many visions of god - he sees all beings within his Lord and expresses it in weeping, singing and dancing totally disregarding social customs, he laughs, cries and bows down to everything SB 11.2.40. He also sees the Lord in his heart and in the hearts of all sentient beings. This is the first vision.
Next he envisions other forms of God when his heart gets calmer. SB 11.2.45. He also sees the living beings present in his Ishta who resides in him, and that they have taken shelter of that God. The Brajabasis saw the creepers this way SB.10. 35.9 They saw the creepers manifested as Krishna, but this vision is a result of their own bhav. The highest bhakt think that the others are loving the Lord with his same attitude and sees them as devotees and bows down to them. SB 10.21.15, such as the Queens talking to the Kurrari birds.

We are not referring to brahma jnana mahabhagawata, why, because they do not see distinction between the Lord and the entities and devotion cannot exist. They do not fit the highest description of mahabhagwata.

----The second (madhyama) kind of devotee is compassionate to all, friendly, innocent ignores those who are envious of God, sometimes he is also compassionate to them like Prahlad was to Hiranyakashipu. The thing is that the highest devotee loves all and he does not distinguish those who are friend and enemy of God.
Sometimes a high devotee like Suka says “Kamsa is the disgrace of the Bhoja dynasty,” SB 10.1. 35, only because his love is very intense. But he still does not lose sight of the Lord's presence dwelling in these envious souls, the Vasudeva within the heart, SB 4.3 23 prayers of Shiva. So a devotee like Uddhava bows down to an enemy of the Lord for this reason, to people like Dhartarastra, Bheeshma, Drona, Duryodhana etc. He may also see his own devotional sentiments within the enemies of God, that is one of the qualities of a superlative devotee.

----The neophyte (lowest of the three) devotees is like this: He worship the deity of Hari but does not serve devotees or other beings because he doesn't understand God's presence in them, he has no scripture knowledge, he cannot see beyond the physical dimension, he does not have divine love as yet.

More about the highest devotee: He uses worldly things, but he is unattached to them, he doesn't think he owns anything but he knows that the world is God's potency. He is not affected by bodily fear, desire or sensuality because he always remembers Hari. Gita 7.28. Expectation, striving and desire never arise in him. He never identifies with body, lineage, caste, status, birth, race, sex, none of these, he doesn't think he owns anything and therefore is generous Sb 11.2.52. There is no personal ownership feelings .

But the best is the one who's remembrance of Hari’s feet is not obstructed even in exchange for the world, he is the best. SB 11.2. 53 Hari’s feet are sought by Brahma and other agitatma. This best devotee is not swayed by worldly desires due to the luster of the gem like toenails of God which remove the heat of desires.

Sakha chandrika - cooling gem-like toenails. So why does God's feet not leave the devotee heart ? it is tied with the rope of love of Shri Hari, and there is no more material desires there. Sins are removed if a person unintentionally calls Him so what to speak of his feet is fix in someone's heart. Such a devotee is always chanting the Names as well.
It is remembrance of him that causes non-perturbation from material existence, it is that love which frees one. Now we will describe evolution of devotees starting from the lowest, All worshippers of Hari.
One who only serves the deity, no one else.
One who has given up distinction based on body.
One who makes no distinction in himself and others
One who regard the world as God’s external potency
One who is not bewildered by material existence. There may be small inactive desires but no bewilderment.
One who is free from expectations, striving and desire.
Naistika bhakti constant meditation on God is there. A spout of love of God has manifested, desires are gone and the spout of love have grown a little.

The highest devotee has no desire and is overflowing with love of God. God is fixed in him.
Now we will discuss worship. The maha-bhagawata we are discussing now is a brahmana who has undergone nine rituals, penance, he knows nine subjects, this is in Padma Purana. all the subjects are connected with Vishnu, the tattwa of the material nature and the soul, and he is initiated as a vaishnava etc. this maha-bhagawata has not yet obtained love, he is a neophyte bhakta.

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Next section of Bhakti Sandarbha

Annuchedha 202 -213
We will talk about guru. Guru here means the person you learn absolute knowledge from. We are not talking about initiating guru yet. Association with guru is the cause, means and progression. You study, deliberate on the six criterias, and fix faith. This is for guru in analytical path, not bhakti path. It is not the best.
The bhakti path is best. By associating with bhakta guru you begin to like the Lord’s pastimes, hear and immerse yourself in His worship. SB 3.25.25. The wise do not analyse scripture but worship in Him in six ways. This sravana guru is siksha, you may have many of them. The mantra guru you are only allowed to have one. Whether Vedic, tantric or mix worship the same rule applies. A sravana guru is “well versed in Vedas, realized the Absolute and is peaceful.” He is nisthama – fixed in sound (Veda) and transcendence (god)
BVP says there are greedy guru, that do not test the student, it leads to destruction. But the main thing with the sravana guru is he is eloquent, poignant and knows scripture, you must not consider his family, actions and so on to learn from him. Narada heard the sages chanting, and Brahma heard the Vedas fom God, and after it set in, they developed faith.
The faith should be in yagna-pati, so how to prove this yagna-pati? Prithu says there is no way to account for the beauty and manifestation in the world unless there is a supreme controller. By using the four processes of knowledge you can detect that He is the only reason that makes the world work. It also works though karma, because the same opulence is not spread everywhere, it is uneven. Above the gods is a supreme independent ruler. (Brahma Sutra)
If something was done by realized souls it was only because of Him acting in their hearts, Prthu calls the names of Bali, Prahlad, Anga, those souls for example. The supreme soul is Gadabrhta – the wielder of the club. According to Prthu, He gives heaven and liberation too, he controls the forces of karma. Prthu says the person who has faith in worshipping one manifestation of god is no longer subject to birth and death. SB 4. 21 31.
This is due to 1. Contact with the Lord’s feet. 2. Asanga, detachment. This brings about vijnan vishesh, concentration on one form. But you have to hear the principles of devotion from a guru.
The guru point is stressed over and over because wayward Nyaya and Vaisiseka were rampant. Vishesha means particularity, it has seven padarthas : substance (dravya), quality (guna), and karma or movement (three objective existences.) Then generality (samanya), particularity (vishesha) and samavayi (inherence) three existences that need logic. Then the last - non-existence, shunya. Real headache !
Back to bhakti, once you get a proper mantra guru he should not be abandoned, or changed, but you can have various sravana guru. One should not take mantra from a non-vaishnava also (people practicing the above things for eg.)
There is a churning process going on as you learn from the guru : the top rod is the student, the middle is the pravachanam and the bottom is the guru, the result is knowledge. Again Sr Jiva keeps emphasizing the sravana guru – the one who convinces you about devotion with his speaking, because the mind is unstable like wild unbridled horses, and you need wisdom to make it stable. The same way one has devotion for the Lord one must have for that guru.
A mantra guru must deliver the disciple from birth and death – or not become one at all. One should not be a relative, mother, father, deity or husband if he cannot deliver his dependents. Very high standards that no one follows, but if they can deliver them they are real gurus. “The guru embodies all the gods and should be treated so.” SB 11. 17.27.
Even the jnana guru should be treated as manifestation of the Lord, and not viewed as an ordinary human. Some people see the guru and Shiva as one, like when Shridhar Swami says “By associating with Shiva, we have attained you.” SB 4. 30. 38.

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The sravana guru teaches what he learns from his gurus who is versed in sastra. Research and gut feeling outside of sastra is not recommended to be taught to the world as knowledge. ( it’s analytical and not the final word ) The guru should see all angles, know them, but only declare whatever sastra determine to be final and rest there.