Vyavasāyātmikā Buddhi is only possible in pure devotion (1)

So I was thinking about Vishwanath Chakravarti's commentary to 2.40-41. He makes a bold statement that the word yoga (in buddhir yoge tv imāṁ śr̥ṇu) means bhakti-yoga, and he continues this argument in the following verse when explaining vyavasāyātmikā buddhi. Now everybody else takes yoga to mean karma-yoga, so is Vishwanath's interpretation strained (kaṣṭa-kalpanā)? Let's look at it...

My tree growing in Vrindavan

I will translate the commentary first and then add some commentary. Today I did 2.40, tomorrow 2.41.

नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते
स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात्
No effort on the yoga path is ever lost, nor can any obstacle ever hold one back forever. Just a little progress on this path can protect one from the greatest fear. [Gītā 2.40]

अत्र योगो द्विविधः श्रवणकीर्तनादिभक्तिरूपः, श्रीभगवदर्पितनिष्कामकर्मरूपश्च । तत्र "कर्मण्येवाधिकारः" [गीता २.४७] इत्यतः प्राग्भक्तियोग एव निरूप्यते, "निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन" [गीता २.४५] इत्युक्तेर्भक्तेरेव त्रिगुणातीतत्वात्, तयैव पुरुषो निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवतीत्येकादशस्कन्धे प्रसिद्धेः, ज्ञानकर्मणोस्तु सात्त्विकत्वराजसत्वाभ्यां निस्त्रैगुण्यत्वानुपपत्तेः।

Yoga here is of two kinds: One is [svarūpa-siddha bhakti] in the form of hearing and chanting, etc., the other is in the form of desireless activity offered to Bhagavān (āropa-siddha-bhakti). In this connection the verse 2.47 is presented as the state before bhakti-yoga.

[For more on the subject of svarūpa-siddhā and āropa-siddhā bhakti, see Bhakti Sandarbha 217-233.]

karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo'stv akarmaṇi

You have a right to your work alone
but never at any time to the fruits;
You must not be the cause of the fruits of work
You must not have any attachment to inactivity.

And it is also said that bhakti is beyond the three guṇas:

traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna |
nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho niryoga-kṣema ātmavān ||

The Vedas deal with duties pertaining to the three qualities of nature – sattva, rajas and tamas. Arjuna, rise above these three guṇas. Become free of material dualities and situated in your true transcendental nature as a servant of God, and give up all concerns for your material condition. (2.45)

And it is also well known from the Eleventh Canto that through devotion one becomes free from the guṇas. [Numerous possibilities yeneme nirjitāḥ saumya guṇā jīvena citta-jāḥ / bhakti-yogena man-niṣṭho mad-bhāvāya prapadyate // 11.25.32, but also see Gītā 14.26]

It is also impossible that jñāna and karma could lead to transcendence of the guṇas since they are in the sattva guṇa and rajo-guṇa respectively.

भगवदर्पितलक्षणा भक्तिस्तु कर्मणो वैफल्याभावमात्रं प्रतिपादयति, न तु स्वस्य भक्तिव्यपदेशं, प्राधान्याभावादेव । यदि च भगवदर्पितं कर्मापि भक्तिरेवेति मतं, तदा कर्म किं स्यात् ? यद्भगवदनर्पितकर्म, तदेव कर्मेति चेन्, न ।

The bhakti that is characterized by offering works to God can only result in the absence of failure in those works, but is not really worthy of the nomenclature "bhakti" because devotion is not predominating in such activity. And if one should think that karma offered to God is devotion then what would karma be? But if one thinks that karma is work offered to Bhagavan, that is also cannot be true since Nārada states that such karma is useless.

नैष्कर्म्यमप्यच्युतभाववर्जितं न शोभते ज्ञानमलं निरञ्जनम्।
कुतः पुनः शश्वदभद्रमीश्वरे न चार्पितं कर्म यदप्यकारणम्॥ [भा.पु. १.५.१२] इति नारदोक्त्या तस्य वैयर्थ्यप्रतिपादनात् ।

naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ
na śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanam
kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvare
na cārpitaṁ karma yad apy akāraṇam

Knowledge that brings freedom from the entanglements of desire and false identification with the body do not look particularly well if they are devoid of feeling for the infallible Lord. What, then, is gained by works (karma) which are inauspicious [i.e., naturally painful from the very beginning and transient by nature (abhadram)], if they are not offered up to the Supreme Lord -- even if they should be performed without selfish motivation? (SB 1.5.12)

तस्मादत्र भगवच्चरणमाधुर्यप्राप्तिसाधनीभूता केवलश्रवणकीर्तनादिलक्षणैव भक्तिर्निरूप्यते, यथा निष्कामकर्मयोगऽपि निरूपयितव्यः । उभावप्येतौ बुद्धियोगशब्दवाच्यौ ज्ञेयौ—"ददामि बुद्धियोगं तं येन मामुपयान्ति ते" [गीता १०.१०], "दूरेण ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनञ्जय" [गीता २.४९] इति चोक्तेः ।

Therefore here in this verse it is bhakti characterized uniquely by hearing and chanting that is the means for attaining the sweetness of Bhagavan's association that is being pointed to.

अथ निर्गुणश्रवणकीर्तनादिभक्तियोगस्य माहात्म्यमाह—नेह इति । इह भक्तियोगे अभिक्रमे आरम्भमात्रे कृतेऽपि अस्य भक्तियोगस्य नाशो नास्ति । ततः प्रत्यवायश्च न स्यात् । यथा कर्मयोगे आरम्भं कृत्वा कर्मानुष्ठितवतः कर्मनाशप्रत्यवायौ स्यातामिति भावः ।

So here in this verse bhakti yoga in the form of hearing and chanting beyond the guṇas. In this bhakti yoga (iha) in the undertaking (abhikrama), i.e., even only in the very beginning the bhakti yoga is not destroyed (nāśa). So there is also no diminution (pratyavāya) in the way even after commencing the karma the person who does so would experience both destruction and loss.

ननु तर्हि तस्य भक्त्यनुष्ठातुकामस्य समुचितभक्त्यकरणात् भक्तिफलं तु नैव स्यात् ? तत्राह—स्वल्पम् इति । अस्य धर्मस्य स्वल्पमपि आरम्भसमये या किञ्चिन्मात्री भक्तिरभूत्, सापीत्यर्थः । महतो भयात् संसारात् त्रायत एव । "यन्नामसकृच्छ्रवणात् पुक्कशोऽपि विमुच्यते संसारात्" [भा.पु. ६.१६.४४] इत्यादिश्रवणात् । अजामिलादौ तथा दर्शनाच्च ।

So the question arises one who wants to practice such bhakti if he does not perform it properly does he not get the result? In response Krishna says " Just a little progress on this path can protect one from the greatest fear." This means that even a small amount of devotion that has only been begun, even that does so. It protects one from the great fear, i.e., saṁsāra. This is stated in Bhagavata: "Only by hearing Bhagavan's name once even an uncivilized person is liberated from material conditioning." (yan-nāma sakṛc chravaṇāt pukkaśo'pi vimucyate saṁsārāt , BhP 6.16.44) This is also seen from the story of Ajāmila.

The Bhāgavata also has a verse with the same meaning as this one:

न ह्यङ्गोपक्रमे ध्वंसो मद्धर्मस्योद्धवाण्वपि ।
मया व्यवसितः सम्यङ् निर्गुणत्वादनाशिषः ॥ [भा.पु. ११.२९.२०] इति भगवतो वाक्येन सहास्य वाक्यस्यैकार्थमेव दृश्यते ।

na hy aṅgopakrame dhvaṁso mad-dharmasyoddhavāṇv api
mayā vyavasitaḥ samyaṅ nirguṇatvād anāśiṣaḥ

My dear Uddhava, because My dharma is completely free from the guṇas. a devotee who seeks no reward certainly never suffers even the slightest loss by adopting it. (BhP 11.29.20)

किन्तु तत्र निर्गुणत्वान् न हि गुणातीतं वस्तु कदाचिद्ध्वस्तं भवतीति हेतुरुपन्यस्तः । स चेहापि द्रष्टव्यः ।

The difference between this Bhāgavatam verse from the Gītā is that it adds the reason for bhakti not being destroyed: "because it is completely free from the guṇas (nirguṇatvāt). Only something that is free from the guṇas can be free of destruction. So that understanding should be applied in this verse here also.

न च निष्कामकर्मणोऽपि भगवदर्पणमहिम्ना निर्गुणत्वमेवेति वाच्यम्—"मदर्पणं निष्फलं वा सात्त्विकं निजकर्म तत्" [भा.पु. ११.२५.२३] ॥४०॥

Furthermore it should be noted that works performed without desire do not become transcendental to the guṇas on account of the greatness of offering them to Bhagavān. As stated in Bhāgavatam: " Work performed as an offering to Me, without consideration of the fruit, is considered to be in the mode of goodness." (mad-arpaṇaṁ niṣphalaṁ vā sāttvikaṁ nija-karma tat, BhP 11.29.20)

To be continued...