Bhakti Sandarbha 181-184 : The Grace of Devotees is Independent

...one may misconstrue that the grace of devotees is motivated by seeing the suffering of someone. This would mean that bhakti can be caused by something material. This however goes against the principle that bhakti is untouched by anything material.

... Bhagavān does not control the will of His devotees. Thus it cannot be said that their grace is controlled by Bhagavān. Bhagavān himself is under the control of devotees. Such is the play of love that the Controller Himself becomes controlled and vice versa.

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Anuccheda 181 : Devotees Give Grace by Their Own Free Will

ततः सत्सङ्गहेतुश्च सतां स्वैरचारितैव, नान्यः। यथाह (भा. ११.२.२४)—

त एकदा निमेः सत्रमुपजग्मुर्यदृच्छया।

ते नवयोगेश्वरा यदृच्छया स्वैरतया, न तु हेत्वन्तरप्रयुक्ततयेत्यर्थः। यदृच्छा स्वैरिता इत्यमरः।

Nothing other than the independent will of saints can be the cause of sat-saṅga, as Śrī Nārada said:

Once they unexpectedly arrived at the sacrificial arena of King Nimi. (SB 11.2.24)

"They" refers to the nine sages known as Nava-Yogeśvaras. The adverb "unexpectedly" (yadṛcchayā) means that they went by their own will, and not impelled by any other cause. The Amara-koṣa lexicon also defines the word yadṛcchā as "free will."

सत्सु परमेश्वरप्रयोक्तृत्वं च सदिच्छानुसारेणैव। तदुक्तं "स्वेच्छामयस्य" (भा. १०.१४.२) इति, "अहं भक्तपराधीनः" (भा. ९.४.४६) इति च।

Bhagavān inspires the devotees to act only in accordance with their own will. As Brahmā said, "Bhagavān acts according to the will of His devotees" (SB 10.14.2). And Bhagavān Himself said, “I am under the control of My devotees” (SB 9.4.63).

॥११.२॥ श्रीनारदः॥१८१॥

Commentary by Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji Maharaj

By reading the previous anuccheda one may misconstrue that the grace of devotees is motivated by seeing the suffering of someone. This would mean that bhakti can be caused by something material. This however goes against the principle that bhakti is untouched by anything material. Even if a devotee empathizes with a person and bestows his grace upon him, it is not motivated by that person's suffering. A devotee sees many people suffering around him, but he does not bless everyone. If suffering was the cause of getting the blessings of a devotee, then everyone suffering in material world should get it.

Moreover, those who are sāttvika in nature would never get the blessings of a devotee. If somebody is drowning in a river and shouting for help, then a man walking by may decide to help the drowning person. But he is also free not to help. If the call for help were the cause for saving the drowning man, then the man who saves him would have no choice but to do it. By definition, a cause is that which unfailingly leads to a particular effect. Therefore, Śrī Jīva says that the grace of a devotee does not depend on anything other than the independent will of the devotee. Thus it is completely unpredictable.

Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī says that even Bhagavān does not control the will of His devotees. Thus it cannot be said that their grace is controlled by Bhagavān. Bhagavān himself is under the control of devotees. Such is the play of love that the Controller Himself becomes controlled and vice versa.

Anuccheda 182: The Independent Will of the Devotees

तथा च (भा. ६.१४.१४)—

तस्यैकदा तु भवनमङ्गिरा भगवान् ऋषिः।

लोकान् अनुचरन्नेतान् उपागच्छद्यदृच्छया॥

तस्य चित्रकेतोः।

Regarding the free will of devotees, Śrī Śuka also said:

"Once, while roaming throughout these planets, the honorable sage Aṅgirā unexpectedly arrived at his palace." (SB 6.14.14)

"His” means Citraketu's.

अत्रापि तदैव तस्य साम्मुख्यं जातम्, कालान्तरे तु प्रादुर्भूतमिति मन्तव्यम्। अत एव तद्विलापसमये श्रीमताङ्गिरसैव तं प्रति—"ब्रह्मण्यो भगवद्भक्तो नावसीदितुमर्हति" (भा. ६.१५.१२) इत्युक्तम्॥

In this case also, it should be understood that Citraketu became favorable to Bhagavān precisely at that time, yet his devotion manifested only later. It is for this reason that when he was grieving for his dead son, Aṅgirā said to him: "It does not befit you, who are a devotee of Bhagavān and devoted to the brāhmaṇas, to be dejected in this manner." (SB 6.15.19)

॥६.१४॥ श्रीशुकः॥१८२॥

Commentary by Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji Maharaj

Usually we think of Bhagavān as the supremely independent person. There is no entity that is greater than or even equal to Him. He is called the supreme master or controller. Thus it is hard to accept that devotees can have independent will, not influenced even by Bhagavān. So Śrī Jīva gives more examples of this.

In the previous anuccheda he gave the example of the Nava-yogendra visiting King Nimi to bless him. Here he cites the example of Aṅgirā visiting King Citraketu. In both instances the adverb yadṛcchayā, "by one's independent will," has been used. Yadṛcchā or in the instrumental case yadṛcchayā is a word that has often been used in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in relation to the independent will of a devotee or Bhagavān. Earlier it was used in relation of acquiring śraddhā (Cf. Anu. 172; 11.20.8, 11, 27, etc.) which there was also defined as the fortuitous association of a devotee.

Śrī Jīva comments that when Aṅgirā met King Citraketu, the king’s awareness spontaneously turned towards Bhagavān, but this devotional attitude became fully manifest when the queens poisoned his son.

Anuccheda 183 : The Grace of a Devotee is not Dependent on Anything

सतां कृपा च दुरवस्थादर्शनमात्रोद्भवा, न स्वोपासनाद्यपेक्षा, यथा श्रीनारदस्य नलकूवरमणिग्रीवयोः। तदाह (भा. ११.२.६)—

Devotees become compassionate merely by seeing the miserable plight of living beings; their mercy is not contingent on any worship or supplication. It is in this way that Śrī Nārada blessed Nalakūvara and Manigrīva. This is supported by the words of Śrī Vasudeva:

भजन्ति ये यथा देवान् देवा अपि तथैव तान्।

छायेव कर्मसचिवाः साधवो दीनवत्सलाः॥ इति।

स्पष्टम्॥

The gods, who adhere to the law of karma like a shadow, reward their worshipers in direct proportion to the worship received from them. But devotees are compassionate towards the distressed. (SB 11.2.6)

The meaning of this statement is clear.

॥११.२॥ श्रीमान् आनकदुन्दुभिः॥१८३॥

Commentary by Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji Maharaj

Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī continues to stress that the grace of a devotee is not influenced by anything external, such as praise or honor. Usually when people want a favor from someone, they will go and flatter that person, which then inspires him to give help. Such is not the case with a devotee.

Again it should not be misunderstood that the grace comes only by seeing the miserable plight of the suffering living entities. In the previous two anucchedas the King Nimi and Citraketu were not in any miserable position, but nevertheless they received the grace of the Nava-yogendra and the sage Aṅgirā respectively.

In the verse spoken by Vasudeva he contrasts the devotee with the devas. The devas give their blessings only if they are worshiped, not independently. They give their blessing in proportion to the worship they receive. It is like a business transaction.

Anuccheda 184 : Devotee Association Brings Immediate Results

सत्सङ्गमस्यैव परमसंस्कारहेतुत्वात् तदर्थं न पुरुषस्य संस्कारहेत्वन्तरमपेक्ष्यं च, यत आह (भा. १०.८४.११) —

Because sat-saṅga is itself most purifying, a person need not undertake any other purificatory process in order to obtain it. Therefore, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa told the sages:

न ह्यम्मयानि तीर्थानि न देवा मृच्छिलामयाः।

ते पुनन्त्युरुकालेन दर्शनादेव साधवः॥ इति।

Sacred waters are not true places of pilgrimage, nor do forms made of clay or stone constitute the deities. These purify only after being served for a long time, but devotees purify by their mere presence. (SB 10.84.11)

ते कथं नाद्रियन्ते गौणत्वात् ? इत्याह—ते पुनन्तीति॥

Why are holy places and deities not so highly regarded due to being secondary? Bhagavān conveys this in the verse by stating that they only purify after a long period.

॥१०.८४॥ श्रीभगवान् मुनिवर्गम्॥१८४॥

Commentary by Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji Maharaj

This verse is spoken by Kṛṣṇa in the assembly of sages who came to meet Him when He went to Kurukṣetra during the solar eclipse festival. The verse should not be misunderstood to minimize the importance of the holy waters or the deity forms of Bhagavān. The import of Kṛṣṇa’s statement is that a holy place or tīrtha is not just ordinary water, nor is the deity a piece of clay or stone. Indeed they are persons. Just as the river Gaṅgā is not some ordinary water but the Goddess Gaṅgā. The deity also is non-different from Bhagavān. Even though this is so, they only purify after being served for a long time. However, the association of a devotee purifies immediately. Therefore, the sages headed by Śaunaka said (1.18.13):

We do not compare even a moment's association with a devotee of Bhagavān to residence in heaven or even liberation, what to speak of the pleasures of this material world!

The intent of Kṛṣṇa’s statement is that the association with a devotee does not depend on anything else for being effective. To extend this analogy further it can be said that listening to stories of devotees is even more effective than listening to the stories of Bhagavān.