Sutra (1-10) - A Bridge to the Divine

Om Namoh Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namoh Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namoh Bhagavate Vasudevaya


1. Athato Bhaktim Vyakhyasyamah.
Now let me enunciate what is Love.

Life springs from love- the origin is love and life seeks love. The
goal of live is love and, in between, life is
sustained by love. There is not a single creature or living entity on
this planet that has not known love or is devoid of love.
Yet love in its many distortions has brought so much misery in life.

What is love? The Rishi Narada brought out these Bhakti Sutras -
aphorisms on love.
Athato - Now, let me enunciate what is "Bhakti", what is devotion.

2. Sa tvasmin parampremarupa.
Now let me enuniciate what is love.

That (Bhakti) is of the nature of the perfect love for him. Narada says that the devotion is of the nature of the perfect love. For great souls like Narada, who have attained, perfection, this is experiential. This cannot be defined or described by mere words. Words can convey some sense of shared experiences. Those who have not experienced that perfect love for him cannot be made aware of the experience by mere words. Narada gives some hints by using analogies of the daily experiences of the common people. Bhakti is like love at its lowest. People experience love, which occurs between men and women. Worldly love contains desire and lust. When it is free of desire and lust completely it becomes Bhakti (or devotion). Worldly love can happen between two people but the perfect love, where lust and desire are completely absent, does not require any object. Such perfect love is not ‘for’ anyone. That is the reason Narada does not mention Ram, Krishna, Ishwar, Brahman – he says – for him “HIM” means everything else than “I”. Perfect love for ‘Him’ is the nature of Bhakti. These Sutras are very clear and it is not possible to give different interpretation to them.

3. Amrita swarupa cha.
Devotion is ultimate love.

It is like nectar. The very nature of Bhakti is like nectar. Nectar has many shades of meanings. It is to be noted that Narada does not liken Bhakti to ‘Moksha’, ‘Realisation’, ‘Release’, ‘Kaivalya’ or ‘Samadhi’. He says it is like nectar. One who drinks nectar becomes free from death. He becomes immune to change. It is in this sense the word ‘nectar’ is used here. One gets the experience of the ultimate bliss, which is not subject to change. That is the experience of a devotee. According to the Hinduism, ‘Vaikuntha’, ‘Swarga’ “Heaven’ “Brahmaloka’ are not eternal. When the merits are used up, one comes back from these worlds. But the bliss one gets in Bhakti is eternal not subject to the Vagaries of time. This is the experience of Sat, Chit, Ananda – Upanishads call it ‘Brahman’.

4. Yallabdhava pumana sidhho bhavati Amrito bhavati tripto bhavati.
Having attained that, human life becomes perfect. Divine love brings fulfilment in life.

Achieving this, one has reached the state of perfection, attains god like immortality and all his desires are completely fulfilled. This aphorism also describes the internal nature of Bhakti. One attains to perfection through it. This Sutra makes it clear that it is not the goal of the devotee to achieve immortality or Moksha. This he obtains without any effort. A devotee is only concerned with the constant blissful existence. One who reaches that state does not wish to seek anything. He has become completely satiated and no other sense object is in his thoughts. The satiation of a devotee and that of an ordinary person have completely different meaning. An ordinary person is satiated when his worldly desire is fulfilled. But he does not feel complete. Now desires raise their heads as soon as the old one’s are fulfilled. The desires are insatiable. All the objects without are not of much use in satisfying one’s desires. So long one does not realizes the ultimate satisfaction, which can only come by being steady in one self that is no external object remains necessary to satisfy one’s desire. Such a state is only possible when one attains to God. A person on the path of devotion feels a deep sense of dissatisfaction so long he does not reaches the supreme. When he attains perfection in devotee he attains the ultimate satiation. Nothing else he becomes perfectly satiated.


5. Yat prapta na kinchid vanchhati, na shochati na dvesti, narmate, notsahi bhavati.
Having attained that, there is no more craving, no more desires.

Once this is attained, no desire remains for anything else, he is freed from pleasure and pain, liking and disliking, he does not crave for anything else, he now no longer has any enthusiasm to fulfill any other purpose. One harbors desire for any pleasure till one has not experienced the ultimate pleasures that is Bhakti. Till one has experienced the absolute bliss one remains interested in small pleasures and worldly desires. Having experienced the absolute blissfulness, he no longer desires any other pleasure. This is the characteristic of a devotes. Through devotion, he transcends the worldly desires and bondages. Now, he does not retain interest in any worldly matter nor he strives to gain anything.

6.Yat gyatva matto bhavati, Sthabhdho bhavati, atmaramo bhavati.
Knowing the divine love, you become intoxicated, so still deep within you, you are reposing in the Self.

Narad is, here describing a person attained to Bhakti. Once a person has drowned himself in the ocean of devotion, he abandons everything in the care of God. He becomes like an empty vessel in an ocean. Then, god descends into him and takes charge of everything. Now, such a person becomes a vessel of god. He moves, as god desires him to. Such a person may appear to be of unsound mind to the worldly people since he is no longer bound by the societal norms or cannons of scriptures. Such a person sometimes sits quietly in a state of ‘Samadhi’ sometimes he is dancing or singing for no reason examples of Chaitnya, Mira, Ramkrishna, Paramhansa are of such devotees.

7. Sa na Kamayamana, nirodharupwat.
Divine love cannot be an object of desire. When the desires cease, then Divine love can be felt.
Divine love cannot be acheived by just desiring it because it is the cessation of desire.

That (Bhakti) is not full of desires it is of the nature of renunciation. In this Sutra, a difference has been made between the worldly desires, especially sensual desires and devotion. In case of lust, a person is desirous of pleasures resulting from the objects of desires coming in to contact with the senses. He desires mental or physical pleasures. If the desires are not fulfilled or some obstacle comes he remains unsatiated. In devotion, these desires abandon of their own. Once the tarte of devotion is experience all other pleasures appear too small, no interest remains in them, This is called renunciation.


8. Nirodhastu lok veda vyapar nyasah.
Being centered, being 100% in activity and rest. This is the way to be in Divine love.

Renunciation is abandonment of all worldly and Vedic activities. This Sutra gives specific definition of renunciation. A person attained to the states of Bhakti has no interest in the pleasures of this world nor he has any desire left for the world to come. One who has become totally free of all desires in this world and nothing remains to be obtained in the next world, is a Bhakta a devotee. Desires of such person go away of their own he becomes absolutely indifferent to them.

9. Tasminnanyata tadavirodhisudasinata.
Feeling totally one with the other. Whatever appears to be opposing love, you just be indifferent to it.

To become one with him and to have no interest in anything else is also called renunciation. When we are absorbed in the Bhakti of our beloved we become one with him. No difference of ‘mine’ and ‘thine’ remains. It is not possible to think of anything else. Automatically all interest is lost in everything else. All desires cease and all interest is lost. It is important to understand the nature of renunciation. It is different from giving up or abandonment. In renunciation, one becomes absolutely indifferent to anything. He neither seeks nor shuns it.

10. Anyashrayanam tyagoananyata.
Letting go of all supports.

When all other supports vanish, oneness with him is established. So long we are trying to reach him through our own efforts, trying to find him in other saints, godmen, at holy places in temples etc; he is not available. One we leave all the supports and resorts, becoming totally helpless. We resort to our inner soul, he becomes available to us. When we search him within ourselves, abandoning all other external supports. He becomes available to us. Once we get the support of that eternal we do no need any other support.