- What is the definition of bhakti?
Answer: See this article. - Why does Bhagavan create the world?
Answer: To give bhaktas a chance to perfect their bhakti. - What is the relation between Bhagavan and His saktis?
Answer: acintya bheda-abheda - What is acintya bheda-abheda?
Answer: See this article. - What is the definition of śakti?
Answer: śakti is the specific quality that is present in the cause, which has the ability to generate the effect. The quality is of the nature of causality characterized by the absence of obstacles [to the manifestation of the effect]. - Is varṇāśrama needed for bhakti?
Answer: No. - Is brāhmaṇa dīkṣā needed for advancing in bhakti?
Answer: There is no such thing as brāhmaṇa dīkṣā. So no. - What is vaiduṣa pratyakṣa?
Answer: It is the pratyakṣa of Bhagavān, His associates and the pratyakṣa of siddhas in the state of samādhi. - Do people born in varṇāśrama have a right to take brāhmaṇa dīkṣā?
Answer: There is no such thing as brāhmaṇa dīkṣā. So no. - Does the jīva fall from Vaikuṇṭha?
Answer: No - Does the jīva fall from Brahman?
Answer: No - Does the jīva fall from the taṭastha region?
Answer: No because there is no such thing as the taṭastha region. - Is the jiva a constituent of Sri Radha?
Answer: No. It is a constituent of Paramatma. - Doesn’t the jiva oscillate between cit and acit?
Answer: No. - Doesn’t tatastha mean sometimes in cit and sometimes in acit?
Answer: No. - Does the ātmā have dormant prema inside it?
Answer: No - Does the ātmā have knowledge inside it?
Answer: No - Does the ātmā have Vedic knowledge inside it?
Answer: No - Is there desire inside the ātmā?
Answer: No - What is the proof that there is no dormant prema in the ātmā?
Answer: Śrīdhara Svāmī comments: “ Hlādinī bestows delight, sandhinī is existence, and saṁvit is the cognitive potency. Ekā (one) means predominant, undeviating and intrinsic to the Lord’s essential nature. This energy is present in You only, the support of everything ( sarva-saṁsthiti ), or in other words, the one from whom all things come into being. This potency, however, is not present in the living beings. Moreover, the samvit energy consisting of the three material guṇas is not in You.” - Is preaching a limb of sādhana bhakti?
Answer: No, Śrī Rūpa Goswami does not include it in the 64 limbs of bhakti. - Do we have envy for Krsna?
Answer: No - Are the mortal costumes of maya a punishment for wanting to lord it over maya?
Answer: No. - Does the ātmā have an original form?
Answer: No - Did we make a choice to leave Vaikuṇṭha?
Answer: No - Like a drop of water and the ocean, the ātmā has the same qualities as Bhagavān – it is sac-cid-ānanda. Is this correct?
Answer: No - Is the siddha deha inside the ātmā?
Answer: No. - Can we choose what our relation should be with Bhagavān?
Answer: No - What is ajñāta-sukṛti?
Answer: It is a made up concept. There is no such thing. - What does the word ‘dāsa’ mean in dāsabhuto harer eva?
Answer: It means that the ātmā is not independent of Hari. - Does the word ‘anādi’ mean time immemorial?
Answer: No. It means beginningless. - Does Bhagavān want those who do not love Him to love Him?
Answer: No. - Does the ātmā have free will?
Answer: No. - Does performing karma yoga lead to bhakti?
Answer: No. - What is false ego?
Answer: There is no such thing as false ego. - Should prasāda be given to everyone?
Answer: No. - Is praying for others effective?
Answer: No. - Is it recommended?
Answer: No. - Does śāstra prescribe 16 rounds of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahāmantra?
Answer: No. - Does the guru take the karma of the disciple?
Answer: No. - Does the guru suffer from disease etc. because of the disciple’s misdeeds?
Answer: No. - What are the three stages of chanting: namābhāsa, nāmāparādha and śuddha-nāma?
Answer: There are no such stages. So don’t worry about them. - Does vaidhī bhakti lead to rāganugā bhakti?
Answer: No. - Does Kṛṣṇa wish to save lost souls?
Answer: No. - Is renunciation of family, wealth etc. required to advance on the bhakti path?
Answer: No. It is required on the path of jñāna. - Is Bhagavān the supreme enjoyer?
Answer: No. - Is the material world a perverted reflection of the spiritual world?
Answer: No. - Isn’t the universe but a dream spun by Kṛṣṇa to entertain the minds of those
who are envious of Him; everyone is in reality in Vaikuṇṭha?
Answer: No. - Is Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇavism different from Hinduism?
Answer: No. It is part of Hinduism. - Is the śikṣā guru different from diksa guru?
Answer: No. - Are women less intelligent than men?
Answer: No. - Are scientists rascals?
Answer: No. - Is theory of evolution invented by scientists to reject God?
Answer: No. - Does life come from life?
Answer: No. - Did scientists lie about the moon landings?
Answer: No.
The definition of bhakti link is not accessible.
Pranams,
Regarding question 30,I see in Sri Baladeva Vidya bhushan’s comment (pls check the comment whether my understanding is proper)on sa vai pumsam sloka(1.2.6),it says agnihotradi karma manifests as pure Bhakti..How to understand this?
I will have to check but this does not agree with Sri Jiva nor with Sri Visvanatha
baladevaḥ : puṁsām aikāntikaṁ śreyo brūhīti prathama-praśnasyottaram āha—sa iti | puṁsāṁ svasva-vihito’gnihotrādi-lakṣaṇo dharmaḥ paraḥ śreṣṭhaḥ, yato’dhokṣaje harau bhaktis tat-kathāsu rucir bhavet | svargādi-phalakas tv apara ity arthaḥ | kīdṛśī bhaktiḥ? ahaitukī phalecchāśūnyā yasyā bhakter bhajanīyādanyat phalaṁ na syāt sāhaitukī | apratihatā prābalyād vighnair anabhibhūtā ||6||
No he uses the word vidya not bhakti.
Sri Baldeva Vidyabhushan nowhere say anything that contradict srila jiva goswami
Sorry,I don’t see any ‘vidya’ word here
Yes you are correct. There is no ‘vidya’ here. Sri Baladeva suggests that the dharma characterized by agnihotra etc prescribed for oneself, is the srestha dharma by which bhakti to Hari comes into being.
Sri Jiva explains this verse as stating the following:
“The dharma performed exclusively for the satisfaction of Bhagavan is para, superseding all of the forms of dharma. This indicates that merely renouncing the fruit of one’s actions, or even action itself, is not the supreme dharma, since it is indistinguishable from vaimukhya”.
The principle is that sadhana bhakti (Para dharma) alone leads to bhakti (sadhya bhakti characterized as ahaituki and apratihatA in the verse). So the para dharma here refers to sadhana bhakti.
Now, if by association of a bhakta, one gets the idea that the rituals of the Vedas should be performed only for the satisfaction of Hari etc., then that will lead one to the activities of sadhya bhakti eventually. To have such a frame of mind, one must have gotten the association of a bhakta. Otherwise, the general sequence is that karma leads to jnana (sarvam karma akhilam partha jnane pari samapyate).
This is why Sri Visvanatha is categorical in the Bhagavad Gita – he rejects the notion that anything but bhakti can result in bhakti. My point 30 is talking about karma yoga of the Bhagavad Gita commonly understood to culminate in jnana and ultimately Brahma sayujya mukti.
“Now, if by association of a bhakta, one gets the idea that the rituals of the Vedas should be performed only for the satisfaction of Hari etc., then that will lead one to the activities of sadhya bhakti eventually.”
If I don’t mistake..Sri Jiva goswami says karma offered to Krishna(aropa siddha) is in sattva guna then how can it be cause to nirguna bhakti.
Secondly Baladev didn’t bring any concept of association in b/w..he directly says so that these activities manifests as ruci in Hari Katha.(Unclear about his comment)
Rest of your reply is clear.
Yes, Sri Baladeva did not mention it here. But he mentions it elsewhere. If we take his commentary on face value alone, we can be misled- which is why I reacted the way I did previously. So we have to be careful ourselves in interpreting commentaries so that the overall framework is not disturbed.
I have found Sri Visvanatha to be the most crystal clear on this subject. See this:
https://bhaktitattva.com/2020/05/04/avoiding-yoga-khica%e1%b8%8di/
ALso his commentary on SB1.2.6 states: sa vai puṁsāṁ puṁ-mātrāṇām eva dharmaḥ paraḥ paramaḥ śrava-kīrtanādi-lakṣaṇaḥ
and
kiṁ ca, dāna-vrata-tapo-homādi-niṣkāma-karma-yogaś ca jñānāṅga-bhūtāyāḥ sāttvikyā eva bhakteḥ kathañcid dhetur bhavati, na tu nirguṇāyāḥ |
Sri Jiva in the section on aropa siddha bhakti states that once one gets association of a bhakta, one may perform aropa siddha bhakti *purely* for the satisfaction of Hari with the goal of bhakti. In that case, one could get the sadhya of bhakti. Else, one may do it for jnana due to the association of a jnani.
So mere offering of results to Bhagavan is not sufficient either. One has to have the goal as bhakti. That is the reconciliation I can think of
In other words, bhakti is not so much about ‘what’ is done, but ‘for what purpose’ it is done.
Actually, Sri Jiva gives a reconciliation alone the lines of my previous reply in Anuccheda 224 of the Bhakti Sandarbha:
There are three motives behind the offering of karma – to fulfill a material desire (kamana), to become free from bondage to conditional action (naiskarmya) and to attain pure bhakti (bhakti-matra). Offering without desire is not strictly possible..
So both the offering of karma with desire and the offering with the motivation to become free from karma generally amount to giving up the fruits of karma. In these two cases, there is a mere abhasa of acting for the pleasure of BHagavan because both actions are self-serving. In the offering of karma with a desire for bhakti, however, the action is exclusively for the pleasure of Bhagavan, because this is the very life breath of devotion.
[This reconciles everything I think 🙂 ]
Good to go through these things,but 1.In short can I conclude that karma offere to Bhagavan with the intention to pls him can manifest the sadhya bhakti?
i.e karma yoga offered to Krishna with the sole intention to pls him will lead to bhakti yoga?
(I was stressing on this part..since he gives direct cause and effect relationship in response to saunakadi rishis to what is ultimate sreyas?)
2.In 2.51 commentary on Bhagavad Gita Baladeva comments performing karma yoga leads to Vaikuntha,but does viswanath seems to deny so(can clarify?)
1. Karma offered with the sole intention to get Bhakti alone can give sadhya.
2. All statements of offering results of karma leading to Vaikuntha can now be understood as indicating offering karma of the third type in Sri Jiva’s list.
The thing is that the Gaudiya understanding of Bhakti rests on the anyabhilashita sunyam verse. There Sri Jiva and Sri Visvanatha explain that sraddha in uttama bhakti means an absence of sraddha in jnana (sannyaas and Brahma sayujya as goal) and karma – nitya, naimittik and kamya- that is varnasrama duties. So if someone does not have sraddha in other paths, then even if they perform angas of those paths, say because they are embedded in a varnasrama society, they still will be considered uttama bhaktas. The main criterion is their inner disposition.
Thank you for your time,I thought karma can never lead to bhakti by reading this article.
https://www.jiva.org/the-role-of-varnashrama-duties-in-bhakti/?fbclid=IwAR2UKk4XnTCQ892ghHHFIB4kwLAhS_DRMh7LD9Cp8FRt3YStzYxNpFh2Wz8
But the main thing is intention of action(karma)
yes that is correct. So the person who wants only bhakti is a bhakta by definition, no? Then his or her actions will bring bhakti. Bhakti is not only sravana and kirtana. It includes all 2000 dhatus in the dhatupath.
Ofcourse,Sri Baladev Vidyabhusan talks about association,but it doesn’t fit here as per his comments on 1.2.6
Then the follow up question seems to be
Even after association of bhakta is it proper to say karma offer to Krishna (sattva guna ) leads to nirguna bhakti?
Thanks for this enlightening article in the form of Q/A.
I have little bit difficulty in understanding reply for questions 32,33,34 and 40.
Could you please elaborate on the reply?
Pranam🙏
For question 32: https://bhaktitattva.com/2023/07/10/q-a-should-prasada-be-offered-to-everyone/
For question 40: https://bhaktitattva.com/2021/07/05/sri-k%e1%b9%9b%e1%b9%a3%e1%b9%87a-does-not-wish-to-save-lost-souls/
Question 33, 34: 1) Bhagavan does not need to be told that someone needs help. He already knows. 2) Each person has his or her karma to live and no prayer will change that. 3) A devotee does not chant for any other reason than to please Bhagavan. So one should not use chanting to request Bhagavan to cure somebody’s Covid or other malaise.
Thanks for your reply. Pranam🙏
Hare Krishna,
Would it be possible for you & your team to provide relevant explanations with evidences to the FAQ? Some answers are straight forward while others are quite complex that demands further explanation.
Which points?
Basically, all the questions which are responded with No. If it’s practical and feasible.
They are all addressed in various articles on this site. If I find time I will try to link them
Is there any evidence that the pure spiritual atma is not the one atma but separate innumerable ones: you, me, etc.?
Study Anuchheda 32 of Paramatma Sandarbha and Babaji’s commentary
What’s your opinion on Samasthi/Samasti Guru as explained by Sri Jiva Goswami in the sandarbhas?
Please provide the reference.