Priti Sandarbha 7.1 : Two Kinds of Sākṣāṭkāra: Pureness of Heart Is the First Qualification

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Had a really great rainstorm last night, power and internet were down pretty much since last night. So that is why this took so long to load. I have been slowly building my daily schedule around this evening class. This slowly is moving towards a first night schedule, where I am most active in the late evening. I still got up early this morning, but it was the first time in several days. Anyway, the day is basically spent preparing for the class which I will now give at night. So hopefully I can get into an infallible rhythm at least for the duration of this work. Actually I am really quite excited by going a little more public with these videos. I know that there are two or three bhaktas now who are following regularly, so I appreciate that there are some out there who go for the esoteric bhakti philosophy of Jiva Goswami.

This new section is primarily about bhagavat-sākśāṭkāra, which has now been equated to mukti. And so there is some vicāra to be done on the subject. You see Krishna internally with your mind, or externally with your senses. And clearly the first qualification for seeing him, in either way, is purity of heart. But there is more to it than that. The mind and senses have to be appointed with the capacity to perceive Krishna, who is inaccessible to the material mind and senses. And whatever impurity is left at that point is quickly eliminated.

So that is the beginning of another inquiry into the knotty question of people who go contrary to the rule in many ways. Pure devotees who seem to behave in a way unworthy of their nominal purity. And of course, the end of the discussion will be to advise on the side of caution.

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7.1 Two Kinds of Sākṣāṭkāra: Pureness of Heart Is the First Qualification

स चात्मसाक्षात्कारो द्विविधः—अन्तराविर्भावलक्षणो, बहिराविर्भावलक्षणश्च। यथा (भा. १.६.३४) —

That direct perception of the Self (ātmā) is of two types: manifest internally and manifest externally, as Śrī Nārada said [referring to the external sākṣātkāra]:

pragāyataḥ sva-vīryāṇi tīrtha-pādaḥ priya-śravāḥ

āhūta iva me śīghraṁ darśanaṁ yāti cetasi . .

When I sing of the heroic activities of the Lord, whose glory is delightful to the ears and whose feet are the source of all sacred waters, He quickly appears in my heart as if called there by me. (SB 1.6.34) See also Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha 60

And [for the second, external sākṣātkāra] as in:

taṁ tv āgataṁ pratihṛtaupayikaṁ sva-pumbhis

te’cakṣatākṣa-viṣayaṁ sva-samādhi-bhāgyam

haṁsa-śriyor vyajanayoḥ śiva-vāyu-lolac-

chubhrātapatra-śaśi-kesara-śīkarāmbum

They beheld Him, the fulfillment of their trance become apparent to their eyes, as He arrived accompanied by His own associates, who brought with them the paraphernalia for His service. Swan-like in beauty, He was being fanned by two whisks, the pleasing breeze of which shook the pearls that dangled from the white umbrella, appearing like drops of nectar falling from the full moon. (SB 3.15.38)

तत्रान्तःसाक्षात्कारे योग्यता श्रीरुद्रगीते (भा. ४.२४.५९)—

Eligibility for the internal realization is found in the song of Śrī Rudra:

na yasya cittaṁ bahir-artha-vibhramaṁ

tamo-guhāyāṁ ca viśuddham āviśat

yad-bhakti-yogānugṛhītam añjasā

munir vicaṣṭe nanu tatra te gatim

A sage, whose mind is pure, is not diverted to external objects, does not fall into stupor [while meditating or remembering Bhagavān] and blessed by the yoga of devotion, easily and certainly sees Your movements. (SB 4.24.59)

तत्र तेषां पूर्वोक्तानां सतां भक्तियोगेनानुगृहीतं विशुद्धं यस्य चित्तं बाह्येष्वर्थेषु भ्रान्तं न भवति तमोरूपायां गुहायां च न विशति स मुनिरित्यादिकं च व्याख्येयम्।

The verse should be explained as follows: "One whose mind that has become pure after being blessed by the devotional yoga that is possessed by the previously mentioned saints, does not become misled by external sense objects and does not fall into the pit of ignorance, is a muni [who sees Bhagavān's movements, i.e., His pastimes]."

बहिःसाक्षात्कारेऽपि व्यतिरेकेण तथैव नारदं प्रति श्रीभगवतोक्तम् (भा. १.६.२२) —

Even after having seen Bhagavān externally, the same requirement [of purity of heart mentioned by Śiva in the previous example] was spoken of by Bhagavān to Nārada as an example of the opposite:

hantāsmin janmani bhavān mā māṁ draṣṭum ihārhati

avipakva-kaṣāyāṇāṁ durdarśo’haṁ kuyoginām

Alas, you will not be able to see Me in this life because it is difficult for those whose hearts are still impure and who have not attained perfection in yoga to do so. (SB 1.6.22)

Commentary by Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji

After explaining that bhagavat-sākṣātkāra is the true mukti and the real puruṣārtha, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī divides it into two types and the qualifications needed for it. The inner sākṣātkāra is an inspiration within one’s heart, like a lucid dream. In fact, it is not easy for a common person to make a distinction whether someone is having an inner sākṣātkāra or is mentally abnormal, having some kind of hallucination.

Jīva Gosvāmī gives two example of inner sākṣātkāra. The first is of Nārada Muni who attained spiritual form after giving up his material body. Kṛṣṇa gave him a stringed musical instrument called a vīṇā. Whenever he sings about Bhagavān, the latter become manifest in his mind as if Nārada is calling Him. This is because Bhagavān and His name are non-different. The second example is of the four Kumāras who are devoted to Brahman. They went to Vaikuṇṭha to see Viṣṇu but were stopped at the seventh entrance. They got angry at the gatekeepers. When Śrī Viṣṇu came to know about it, He walked to the entrance gate. The verse from this chapter of the Bhāgavatam cited in this anuccheda describes the experience of the Kumāras. They understood that Bhagavān standing before them is the personified form of Brahman that they were used experience within their heart. This incident was discussed in Bhagavat Sandarbha (79).

Next Jīva Gosvāmī cites a verse spoken by Śiva to the Pracetas to give the requisite qualification to have sākṣātkāra of Bhagavān. The real qualification is bhakti. Without bhakti no one can have real sākṣātkāra, as Śrī Kṛṣṇa tells Uddhava, "I am known only by bhakti" (SB 11.14.21). Bhakti comes by the grace of a devotee or Bhagavān Himself. When it descends into the heart of a devotee then he/she becomes qualified to see Bhagavān, internally as well as externally. However, it depends on the will of Bhagavān when He wants to manifest Himself to such a devotee. The material senses do not have the power to perceive Bhagavān. They can only perceive material objects and qualities. But when the intrinsic potency of Bhagavān descends into them then they get the abilty to perceive Him. Although the devotee is perceiving Him with the assistance of Bhagavān’s intrinsic potency, he feels as if he is doing so with his/her own senses. This is because the senses and the intrinsic potency function as a single unit.