How bhakti arises through sat-saṅga

Uttamā bhakti is attained only through the association of devotees and not in any other way. This is because Bhagavān does not become moved to give His grace to those who are vimukha, or turned away from Him (as discussed here). Śrī Jīva Goswami goes to great pains to establish these points in the Bhakti Sandarbha Anucchedas 179 and 180.

How is devotion attained from another devotee? Śrī Jīva Goswami examines this in some detail in Anuchheda 179. Bhakti is attained through sat-saṅga, which means the association of the ‘sat’ or devotees. However, not everyone who gets the association of devotees takes to uttamā-bhakti. For example, the devas regularly meet Nārada muni, but they are not utttama bhaktas. How to account for this?

Sat-saṅga is the cause of sāmmukhya

The answer to the above question is that sat-saṅga is the cause of sāmmukhya, or turning of awareness toward Bhagavān. However, there is another factor – the nature and attitude of the recipient that also influences the ultimate outcome. That sat-saṅga is the cause of sāmmukhya is shown in the following statement:

bhavāpavargo bhramato yadā bhavej janasya tarhy acyuta sat-samāgamaḥ |
sat-saṅgamo yarhi tadaiva sad-gatau parāvareśe tvayi jāyate matiḥ || [bhā.pu. 10.51.53]

Bhagavān Acyuta, when the time of release from material existence (bhavāpavarga) comes about for a living being who has been wandering in the cycle of birth and death, he obtains the association of those established in authentic being (satsamāgama). From the moment he obtains such association, a devotional regard (mati) is awakened toward You, who are the supreme goal of attainment for the saintly (sad-gatau) and the orchestrator of cause and effect (parāvareśe). (sb 10.51.53

A cause is, by definition, present prior to its effect. In the above statement, however, the end of material existence is stated to precede sat-saṅga or association of a devotee. Śrī Jīva points out that this is an example of an atiśayokti alankāra, meaning the poetic ornament of hyperbole, in which the effect is stated prior to the cause in order to show how quicky the cause brings about the effect. That is, the real sequence is:

When he obtains the association of those established in authentic being, only then does his material existence come to an end.

Why does material existence for such people come to an end? Śrī Jīva Goswami explains that the reason for it is also explained in the verse —

tatra hetuḥ—yarhi yadā sat-saṅgamas tadaiva parāvareśe tvayi matir bhavati | tad-vaimukhya-karānādi-siddha-taj-jñāna-saṁsargābhāvānte tat-sāmmukhya-karaṁ taj jñānaṁ jāyata ity arthaḥ |

The reason why a person’s material existence comes to an end is that as soon as he obtains the association of a genuine saint, a devotional regard (mati) is born in him for You, the controller of spirit and matter or the orchestrator of cause and effect (parāvareśe). This statement implies that when the beginningless prior absence of awareness ( jñāna-saṁsarga-abhāva) of Bhagavān, which is the cause of the turning of one’s regard away from Him (tad-vaimukhya), comes to an end, then awareness ( jñāna) of Him comes into being, which effects the turning of regard toward Him (tat-sāmmukhya).

So the sequence is as follows:

association of a genuine devotee, sat-saṅga –> devotional regard toward Bhagavān (sāmmukhya) [which occurs after anādi-avidyā comes to an end] –> material existence comes to an end

How does Śrī Jīva Goswami conclude that sat-saṅga alone is the cause of sāmmukhya? He notes that the word tadā in the verse is not used by itself, but rather, tadā eva is used, meaning “then only”. So the sense of yarhi..tadaiva is:

Only when a person obtains the association of the sat, does devotional regard for Bhagavān come about.

So strong is Śrī Jīva on this point, that when someone develops devotion for Bhagavān without any obvious sat-saṅga, one must conclude that the person must have had sat-saṅga in a previous life, or at some other time in the current life, or through some indirect contact with the sat – through the association of those who got the association of the sat.

The nature and attitude of the recipient also determines the outcome

Śrī Jīva Goswami next takes up the following question: If the association of an authentic devotee is the cause of the appearance of awareness of Bhagavān, why is it that this does not occur for all people who obtain such association? Śrī Jīva resolves this by examining the reason for why the association of the same person, produces distinct outcomes in different people. He takes the example of the devas —

atra kṛta-śrī-nāradādi-darśanāder api devatādeḥ śrī-nalakūvarādivat tādṛśatva-prāptir na śrūyata ity ata evaṁ vivecanīyam
In this regard, it is to be noted that although the devas and others obtained the vision and association of saints like Śrī Nārada, they did not attain Bhagavān in the same way that Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva did. This is to be resolved as follows.

Śrī Jīva notes the difference between the attitudes of the sons of Kuvera, Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva, who insulted Śrī Nārada, and the devas who did not do so. And yet, the devas did not attain the direct blessing of Bhagavān like Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva did. It is known that Śrī Nārada blessed the sons of Kuvera, meaning he gave them special grace or kṛpā. But he did not choose to bless the devas in the same way, and that is the main difference.

Thus, sat-saṅga is by itself, sufficient for inducing devotion in the recipient, even if they do not even pay attention to the devotee, and/or make no effort in this direction. Yet, in those that are offensive, sat-saṅga is not sufficient by itself. In addition to the sat-saṅga, the devotee must make an extra effort to give his or her grace to the recipient.

Babaji concludes as follows in his commentary on this Anuccheda:

“The essence of all this is that there are three factors involved in bringing forth awareness of Bhagavān. The first factor is the association of an authentic devotee, the second is his or her grace, and the third is the nature and attitude of the recipient of such association. Out of these, the most important factor is the grace of a devotee, which can override even the ill-character of a recipient.”

Summary

I reproduce Babaji’s summary to this Anuccheda below —

1. If a person is without any offense and does not disrespect devotees, then the mere presence of a devotee can inspire bhakti to appear in his heart. This can occur even if the person and the devotee are not particularly attentive to each other.
2. If the person is without offense but considers the devotee to be just an ordinary pious person, then the mere presence of the devotee will not induce the appearance of bhakti. Such a person will need to receive the conscious grace of a devotee.
3. If the person has committed offenses but still respects devotees, then the association of the devotee by itself would not be sufficient to engender bhakti. One would also require the devotee’s special grace to receive it. [an example is the devas- unless Nārada makes an effort to give them his grace, they will not become uttama-bhaktas]
4. If the person has committed offenses and also considers devotees to be ordinary pious people, then also mere association will not engender bhakti. Such a person will need the extraordinary grace of a devotee. [an example is the sons of Kuvera, and King Rahūgaṇa].