Susamiddhārcir agniḥ

The comparison to "a blazing fire," (susamiddhārcir agniḥ) negates any possibility of bhakti being dependent on any other means, of its being incapable of delivering its result, or of there being any delay in its effectiveness.



1855 Dr. John Murray photograph

Facebook Jan 1 2018

I have been something of a fan of yoga and assimilating them to bhakti. There are numerous reasons for this, and it might not be an exaggeration to say that my bhakti was saved by yoga.
Nevertheless, the Bhagavatam and Jiva Goswami are quite categorical:
सुसमिद्धार्चिरित्यनेन साधनान्तरसापेक्षत्वमशक्यसाध्यत्वं विलम्बितत्वं च निराकृतम्।
The comparison to "a blazing fire," (susamiddhārcir agniḥ) negates any possibility of bhakti being dependent on any other means, of its being incapable of delivering its result, or of there being any delay in its effectiveness.
I say that yoga saved my bhakti because I learned during my yoga years (and I attribute this not only to yoga but to other events that were taking place in those years) about the importance of ekagrata. This made me learn to apply the principles of concentration to bhakti and gave me a tremendous insight into the meaning of sadhana.
We devotees have our philosophy of sadhana: the heart that is purified by sadhana becomes available to the descent of grace. Prema bhakti is not attained by the practice itself. One might even consider the gains of yoga such as health, peace, enhanced sattvika energy, etc., are all eminently applicable to the practice of bhakti.
After all, if one is concentrating on the Name, Mantra, Krishna's form, qualities, and pastimes in ascending order, and if one has faith in the human body as a vehicle for crossing the ocean of material suffering, then one takes care to maximize the efficacy of this divine gift.
It is not the Vaishnava yoga that is condemned. And bhakti-/yoga/ is always a yoga, i.e., always a sadhana

============ Maitreya does not say that a devotee does not encounter unfavorable situations, but rather that a devotee is not disturbed by them. A devotee does not give up bhakti because of some change in his or her external situation. The reason for this is that the bliss they derive from bhakti is superior to any material pleasure, and the pain they feel when the flow of bhakti is interrupted is worse for them than any material suffering. (BhaktiSandarbha 124)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

O Mind! Meditate on Radha's Breasts

Image
Flickr As I go through the dāna-līlā episode of Chandi Das's Śrī Kṛṣṇa Kīrtana , there are many songs in which Krishna describes Radha's beauty, and a regular feature of that includes descriptions of her breasts. In fact, breasts are a subject that is prominent in all Sanskrit poetry, and is even standard in prayers to goddesses. There does not seem to have been any inhibition in talking about breasts in the ancient Indian culture, even though I dare say, there is more of one in the modern society, in spite of Bollywood. There is, however, an apparent restriction in talking about genitals, male or female, in the so-called erotic poetry of India--Sanskrit or vernacular--even when lovemaking etc., is described. Such descriptions would automatically fall into some other genre. In Radha and Krishna descriptions, I cannot recall ever seeing or hearing a passage that mentioned genitals or overt sexual activity. It is nearly always spoken of somewhat euphemistically. I remember
Read more

Swami Vishwananda's Bhakti Marga and Parampara

Image
It has been a little strange here at Jiva these past few days. Swami Vishwananda is here with his troupe of disciples, of whom there are a goodly number, perhaps 80 or so. When I arrived in Vrindavan already a couple of weeks back, almost the first thing I noticed at the corner of Mathura Road and the Parikrama Marg was a big billboard with Swami Vishwananda’s charming smile and glowing tilak staring charismatically out at the world and announcing that he would be giving darshan on March 8 at the Jiva Institute. Below him, in a smaller frame was Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji, who besides being his host will be speaking on the Bhāgavatam at the darshan event. This is not the first time that Vishwananda and his group have been at Jiva. Satyanarayana Dasaji calls Vishwananda a friend, and indeed the relations between the two are very cordial. Vishwananda's group is mostly young and enthusiastic, predominantly European (German and points east), who are very enthusiastic about
Read more

Erotic sculptures on Jagannath temple

Image
This was written on the basis of Sundarananda Vidyavinode's Sri Kshetra and intended for a devotee audience, as it was done on a commission by disciples of Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj. It has never been published. I decided to put this on line since there was a discussion on Facebook on the subject and I thought I would revisit what I wrote here nearly twenty years ago. This is from chapter ten on temple renovations. Please note that I have removed the images that I had found of some of the sculptures. I have been blocked from posting links to this blog on Facebook for some infringement of its "community standards". The only thing I can think of on this blog that might have offended some prudish person in cyberspace is this. I do not have much hope for redemption as it has been over six months since my ban is "under review" and there has been no sign of action. Needless to say, I find this heavy-handed action on the part of Facebook dangerously authoritar
Read more