Bhakti Is Both the Means and the Ultimate End

This chapter contains thirty-four verses. The first verse, which introduces the discussion, is spoken by Śrīla Vyāsa, while the remaining verses are spoken by Sūta Gosvāmī. In Sūta’s two opening verses, he first offers respectful obeisance to his guru, Śrī Śukadeva, “who is able to pervade the hearts of all beings” (sarva-bhūta-hṛdayaḥ). By recalling him in this manner, Sūta’s intention is that Śukadeva may be pleased to pervade his own heart, enabling him to reflect the transcendental light of Śrīmad Bhāgavata in reply to the sages.

Then, in the next verse, Sūta offers obeisance unto Nara-Nārāyaṇa, unto the Supreme Person, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, unto the Goddess Sarasvatī, and unto Śrīla Vyāsa. These four successively represent the presiding deity of the existential ground wherein the Bhāgavata was manifested (adhiṣṭhātṛ-devatā), the supreme worshipful Deity of the text (devatā), its linguistic potency (śakti), and its seer (ṛṣi). By invoking the blessings of these four, Sūta demonstrates the protocol for initiating a deliberation on the Bhāgavata itself.

Following this opening invocation, Sūta Gosvāmī begins to address the questions of Śrī Śaunaka raised in the preceding chapter. Of the latter’s six questions, four are answered in succinct form in this chapter. Śaunaka’s first question (SB 1.1.9), “What is the ultimate good (ekāntataḥ śreyaḥ) for humanity?” is answered in SB 1.2.6, in the words, “It is that by which causeless, unobstructed [prema] bhakti to Adhokṣaja, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, can come into being.” The second question (SB 1.1.11), regarding the preeminent engagement by which the self can be completely fulfilled (yena ātmā suprasīdati), is also answered in the very same verse, in the assertion that causeless and unobstructed bhakti is that by which the self is completely fulfilled (yayā ātmā suprasīdati). Apparently, it is answered even in Sūta’s previous statement (SB 1.2.5), in which he declares that the self is completely fulfilled simply by an inquiry about Kṛṣṇa.

In regard to Sūta’s seminal statement (SB 1.2.6), it may be questioned, “What about the path of jñāna, which is concerned with the immediate realization of the Absolute and detachment from worldly existence?” Sūta addresses this question in the very next verse (SB 1.2.7) by pointing out that jñāna and vairāgya automatically ensue as concomitant effects of bhakti. Additionally, in the next three verses, he clarifies that the true aim of dharma is not material prosperity or the attainment of heaven but to induce attraction for the narrations of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, human life is meant only for inquiry into the Absolute Truth.

On this note, Sūta clearly defines the Absolute in SB 1.2.11 as nondual consciousness (advaya-jñāna), which is confirmed by the direct experience of all truth-seers. This is one of the most important verses of the entire Śrīmad Bhāgavata, specifying the nature of the Absolute to be investigated. On this basis, Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān are understood as the three self-disclosures of one and the same nondual Reality in increasing order of ontological completion and aesthetic integrity.

From this point forward, bhakti is understood as that method which directly discloses nondual consciousness in its most complete manifestation as Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He is thus to be heard about, glorified, meditated upon, and worshiped with one-pointed mental attention (SB 1.2.14). In five verses (SB 1.2.16–20), Sūta then delineates the progression of bhakti through the stages of the initial attraction for hearing (ruci), the cleansing of all inauspicious predispositions from the heart (abhadrāṇi vidhunoti), fixity in devotion (niṣṭhā), establishment in the state of unalloyed being (viśuddha-sattva), and direct perception of the Absolute, both internally and externally (vijñāna, or sākṣātkāra).

This bhakti is directed not to any lesser gods, who embody the qualitative aspects (guṇas) of primordial nature, but only to Bhagavān Vāsudeva, who is the ultimate end of all the Vedas and all spiritual practices recommended therein, as summed up by Sūta in two decisive verses (SB 1.2.28–29).

In the final verses of the second chapter, Sūta Gosvāmī then answers the third and fourth questions of the sages. The third question, “With what intent did Śrī Kṛṣṇa appear from Devakī, the wife of Vasudeva?” (SB 1.1.12–13), is answered in broad terms in the concluding verse of the chapter (SB 1.2.34). Therein Sūta declares that Bhagavān Vāsudeva assumes numerous avatāric descents for the sake of divine play (līlā) and that these are meant for the nourishment and support (bhāvayati) of all beings. This reply is consistent with the general tone of the question, which mentioned that Bhagavān’s avatāric descent is meant for the protection (kṣemāya) and prosperity (bhavāya) of all beings.

Śaunaka’s fourth question (SB 1.1.17) was a request for Sūta to describe Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s munificent acts (udārāṇi karmāṇi). This is answered once again in universal terms in four verses (SB 1.2.30–33), which describe Bhagavān’s acts of evolving, entering, and sustaining the cosmos for the benefit of all beings. These are His munificent acts in regard to the world manifestation.

In conclusion, it may be said that this chapter deals primarily with three topics: (1) sādhana-bhakti predominated by hearing the narrations of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the prescribed means of ultimate attainment (abhidheya-tattva), (2) causeless and unobstructed prema-bhakti for Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the end state to be attained (prayojana-tattva), and (3) Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself as the most complete self-disclosure of nondual consciousness, the import of all the Vedas, and the ultimate object of bhakti (sambandhi-tattva).

All Verses

  1. Verse 1Śrī Vyāsadeva said: Ugraśravā, the son of Romaharṣaṇa, was delighted by the compelling questions of the brāhmaṇas. After first expressing his appreciation for their words, he began to reply.
  2. Verse 2Śrī Sūta said: When Dvaipāyana Vyāsa saw his son [Śuka] hastening off to become a mendicant without having undergone the sacred thread ceremony and thus forsaking his Vedic duties, he was afflicted with feelings of separation and called out after him, “O my son!” At this, even the trees, being then infused with Śuka’s own internal state, echoed in response. I bow down to this sage [Śrī Śuka], who [by the strength of his perfection in yoga] pervades the hearts of all living beings.
  3. Verse 3I take refuge of Śrī Śukadeva, the son of Vyāsa, the teacher of the great sages, who, out of compassion for those entangled in the cycle of birth and death (saṁsāra) and aspiring to cross the dense darkness of material existence, spoke this most confidential of the Purāṇas [Śrīmad Bhāgavata], which is self-endowed with supramundane power, being the essence of all the Vedas, one without compare, and the light of supreme transcendence.
  4. Verse 4After first offering respects unto the twin sages, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and indeed unto the Supreme Person Śrī Kṛṣṇa, unto Sarasvatī Devī, and unto Vyāsa, one should then recite this triumphant Śrīmad Bhāgavata.
  5. Verse 5O sages, you have questioned me in a highly significant manner, beneficial for the entire world, because thorough inquiry about Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as conducted by you, is itself that by which the self is completely fulfilled.
  6. Verse 6That alone is humanity’s supreme essential duty [meaning sādhana-bhakti] by which causeless, unobstructed bhakti [characterized as divine love (prema-lakṣaṇā)] for Adhokṣaja, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, can come into being, as a consequence of which the self is completely fulfilled.
  7. Verse 7Bhakti-yoga that is directed to Bhagavān Vāsudeva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, quickly gives rise to detachment and the immediate intuition of Reality that is unmotivated [by the desire for liberation.]
  8. Verse 8If the dharma prescribed for human beings is meticulously carried out yet does not induce attraction for the narrations of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, then it is decidedly only fruitless labor indeed.
  9. Verse 9-10Dharma, the intent of which is liberation (āpavargya), is certainly not meant for material prosperity (artha). Prosperity, which has dharma alone as its inevitable end, is assuredly not meant for the appropriation of sense objects (kāma); so it has been attested to [by those who have realized the Truth]. The willful appropriation of sense objects is not meant for sensual pleasure (indriya-prīti) but only for requisite life sustenance. The purpose of life is to inquire into the Absolute Truth and not to procure the benefit (artha) [of heaven, renowned] in this world by carrying out one’s prescribed duties.
  10. Verse 11Those who have directly realized the Absolute Reality declare that alone which is nondual consciousness to be the Absolute Reality (tattva). That Reality is denoted as Brahman, as Paramātmā, and as Bhagavān.
  11. Verse 12The sages who are endowed with resolute faith directly perceive that very Absolute Reality (tattva), the Supreme Self, within their own self by bhakti, imbibed through hearing [the self-revealed truth teachings] and invested with immediate awareness and freedom from all attachment.
  12. Verse 13Therefore, O best of the twice-born, the highest perfection of dharma meticulously performed by human beings according to the socio-religious divisions related to vocation (varṇas) and the various stages of life (āśramas) is to please Bhagavān Hari.
  13. Verse 14Consequently, with one-pointed mental attention, one should continuously hear about, glorify, meditate upon, and worship Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Guardian of His devotees.
  14. Verse 15Those whose discernment is awakened and who are self-controlled slit the binding knot of conditional action with the sword of constant meditation on Bhagavān Hari. Who would not feel attraction for His narrations?
  15. Verse 16O learned brāhmaṇas, by visiting, dwelling in, or attendance to, a holy place and by service to highly realized devotees, attraction for the narrations of Bhagavān Vāsudeva comes about for a person endowed with firm faith, who is eager to hear.
  16. Verse 17Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the benefactor of His devotees and in regard to whom the acts of hearing and glorification are themselves purifying, verily becomes established in the hearts of those who hear His narrations and eradicates all inauspicious predispositions therein.
  17. Verse 18When a person’s inauspicious predispositions have been almost completely destroyed by regular attendance to elevated devotees and by continuous hearing of Śrīmad Bhāgavata, then resolute bhakti unto Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is praised in choice poetry, comes into being.
  18. Verse 19At that time, the heart is no longer overpowered by the qualitative states of perpetual distractedness (rajas) and indolence (tamas), nor by the vitiated emotions (bhāvāḥ) derived from them, including lust, greed, and so on. Becoming established in the state of unalloyed being [śuddha-sattva], consciousness becomes perfectly serene.
  19. Verse 20To one whose consciousness is established in perfect serenity [śuddha-sattva] in the manner just described, and who is thus freed of all attachment, direct experiential awareness of the existential truth of Bhagavān is immediately self-disclosed through the influence of bhakti [prema] to Bhagavān [now enacted again in the stage of bhakti’s fruition].
  20. Verse 21Precisely coinciding with the immediate perception of Īśvara as He is in His own essential being, the knot of ego in the heart of such a realized person is pierced, all doubts are cut asunder, and the reaction to all karma is nullified.
  21. Verse 22For this reason, indeed, the enlightened sages, out of supreme delight, continuously engage in bhakti to Bhagavān Vāsudeva, which is utterly fulfilling to the self.
  22. Verse 23The universal qualitative constituents (guṇas) of primordial nature (prakṛti) are known as luminosity (sattva), dynamism (rajas), and stasis (tamas). Endowed with these, although the One transcendent Supreme Person assumes three different names — Hari (Viṣṇu), Viriñci (Brahmā), and Hara (Śiva), respectively — for the sustenance, evolution, and dissolution of this material world, yet among them, the ultimate benefits for humanity ensue from Śrī Viṣṇu alone, the direct embodiment of unalloyed being (viśuddha-sattva).
  23. Verse 24Just as smoke is superior to firewood, which is a product of the earth, yet superior even to smoke is fire, because it is the direct functional medium for enacting the ritual acts of the three Vedas; so too, the universal qualitative principle of dynamism (rajas) is superior to stasis (tamas), yet superior even to dynamism is luminosity (sattva), because it conduces directly to the immediate realization of the Absolute.
  24. Verse 25Consequently, from time immemorial the sages have worshiped Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is beyond the purview of the senses (adhokṣaja) and the direct embodiment of unalloyed being (viśuddha-sattva). Those who follow in their footsteps also become eligible to attain the ultimate good in this world.
  25. Verse 26As such, those who aspire for liberation, while altogether free from enmity, worship only the beatific expansions of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, avoiding frightful forms and the custodians of worldly beings.
  26. Verse 27Those whose natures are of the qualitative essence of rajas and tamas and whose character is thus accordant [with the forefathers and so on], worship only the forefathers, the spirit entities, the progenitors, and others, being covetous of power and progeny combined with wealth.
  27. Verse 28-29The Vedas are exclusively intent upon Bhagavān Vāsudeva. Sacrificial rites are for the sake of Vāsudeva. The yoga practices aim at Vāsudeva. All ritual acts are meant for the pleasure of Vāsudeva. The immediate intuition of the Absolute (jñāna) culminates in the direct apprehension of Vāsudeva. Asceticism is undertaken to attain Vāsudeva. Socio-religious duty (dharma) is for the sake of Vāsudeva, and the ultimate destination (gati) has its end in Vāsudeva alone.
  28. Verse 30He, this very same Bhagavān [Vāsudeva], although beyond the material guṇas and all-pervading, evolved this cosmos in the beginning through His own extrinsic potency (māyā), which is constituted of the three guṇas and whose nature is ingrained in the interplay of cause and effect.
  29. Verse 31Having entered immanently into these universal qualitative constituents (the guṇas) brought forth by that extrinsic potency (māyā), Bhagavān appears as if endowed with the material guṇas. [Yet He is not so in reality because] He is established in His own supreme power by virtue of His potency of pure consciousness.
  30. Verse 32Just as one and the same substance, known as fire, inheres in innumerable pieces of wood that are the natural sources of its manifestation, yet it appears as though many [because of the differences in the wood out of which it appears], so too, the one Supreme Omnipotent Being, who is the Self of the Cosmos, is immanent in all living beings, yet He appears as though a multiplicity [because of the manifoldness of the individuated beings in whom He abides].
  31. Verse 33Having entered within the various grades of material bodies, which were generated by Him out of the substances evolved from the three guṇas of material nature, including both the gross and subtle elements, the senses, and the mind, He [the Supreme Immanent Self of the Cosmos (viśvātmā)] experiences the sense objects that are appropriate to those bodies.
  32. Verse 34Fondly assuming avatāric descents for the sake of divine play (līlā) among the gods, animals, human beings, and other forms, He indeed [Bhagavān Vāsudeva], the agent behind the world’s creation, sustains all worlds along with their living entities through the qualitative state of perpetual being (sattva-guṇa).