Here we summarize uttamā bhakti, its divisions and the definitions which were discussed in previous articles. uttamā bhakti is defined as continuous service directed favorably towards Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. It should be devoid of all material desires and not covered by desire for brahma-sāyujya mukti, and/or faith in […]
There is a beautiful kārikā by Śrī Śrīnāth Cakravarti which captures the principles of vraja-bhakti and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mood. We examine this kārikā below. ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeṣa tanayaḥ tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam ramyā kācit upāsanā vraja vadhu vargeṇa ya kalpitā Śrīmad Bhāgavatam pramāṇam amalam prema pumartho mahān Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhor matamidam […]
In the spiritual world, form follows function. This is true of everyone- including Kṛṣṇa’s associates
We have previously examined the concept of sādhanā bhakti and bhāva bhakti, and the difference between them. The article below explains the difference between them in less technical terms by expanding on concepts introduced in a lecture by Sri Babaji (Bhakti-rasamrta Sindhu lectures, 2017, Vrindavan). The mind of […]
An example where the primary meaning of scripture can be misleading is Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa līlā described in the Bhāgavatam. Here, there are references to intimate interactions between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs, which appear sexual in nature in their primary meaning, no different from an ordinary book of romance. And yet, at the end […]
In Sanskrit kāvya, words have three kinds of meaning. Kavi-karṇapūra’s Alaṅkāra-kaustubha describes these meanings in detail 1. They are abhidhā-vṛtti, lakṣaṇā-vṛtti and vyañjanā-vṛtti. The meanings of these words are best understood through an example. Consider the words: gaṅgāyāṁ ghoṣaḥ. The abhidhā or primary meaning of these words is […]
Rupa Goswami quotes the following verse from the sixth canto of the भागवतम् in भक्तिरसामृत सिंधु 1.2.52: मुक्तानाम् अपि सिद्धानां नारायणपरायणः| सुदुर्लभः प्रशान्तात्मा कोटीषु अपि महामुनेः|| muktānām api siddhānāṁ nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇaḥ su-durlabhaḥ praśāntātmā koṭiṣv api mahā-mune Jiva Goswami helps us translate this verse by defining the terms in it. […]
There are two types of enjoyment (भुक्ति): material enjoyment and spiritual enjoyment. There are also two types of liberation (मुक्ति): freedom from material troubles, and spiritual liberation- getting completely out of the material world. None of these fit into the definition of uttamā bhakti1. Of these, we will examine […]
Rupa Goswami in his भक्तिरसामृत सिंधु has presented three divisions of उत्तमा भक्ति (uttamā bhakti): sādhanā, bhāva and prema. sādhya and sādhana are only two. Jiva Goswami and Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur have given two different explanations for why Rupa Goswami makes three divisions. Their explanations offer deeper insight into bhāva and […]
We have seen that साधना (sādhanā) is the activities of the senses (इंद्रिय-व्यापार) that result in भाव (bhāva). Someone who has bhāva will also serve Kṛṣṇa with the senses, but there is a difference. The activities at the stage of bhāva are external manifestations of the internal bhāva. […]
There are two opposing views on where bhāva, the sādhya of sādhanā bhakti1, exists before it manifests in the heart (heart refers to the unconscious mind). One view is that bhāva is dormant in the heart, that is, it has been eternally present. This is the view in some modern […]
In Indian philosophy1, साधन (sādhana) and साध्य (sādhya) refer to cause and effect, or ingredient and product. Say for example, we are preparing soup. Before the soup comes into existence, only its separate ingredients exist – vegetables, tomatoes, some masala, water, salt etc.. Mixing the ingredients together and […]