Thus Spake the Divine - Characteristics of Bhakti as Defined by Bhagavadpada

Thus Spake the Divine

Characteristics of Bhakti as Defined by Bhagavadpada

There are many Sages and Saints, such as Madhusudhana Sarasvati, Abbaiya Dhikshitar, Sadananda Brahmendrar and Bothenthirar etc. They are those who have reverently followed the Advaita Philosophy, which advocates the non- distinct Brahmam and Jeevan. These are the Saints who had experiential associations with Brahmam imbibed with the innate feeling that the devotee is also identical to that Brahmam. The Saints never see any distinction between the “no- attribute Brahmam” and “virtuous-attitude Ishvar”. Though they all identify different forms of Gods as one Brahmam, they still worship Brahmam in different forms of their liking. Sri Bhagavadpada, the ocean of Advaita wisdom, has worshipped all forms of God in the one form of Brahmam.

Bhagavadpada has strikingly elucidated the characteristics of Bhakti in his Shivanandalahari in the verse starting with “Ankolam Nija Beeja”. Once seeds of a tree called ‘eranzhil’ (ankolam in Sanskrit) break open from their shells, they move towards the mother tree with some gravitational force and vanish inside the tree. Similarly, we, who have emerged from God, should move towards him and stay along with him. Like how the needle drawn towards the magnet absorbs the magnetic power, the devotee, once near to God, absorbs His qualities. Then comes the chaste woman whose mind, thoughts and actions revolve around her husband. Like her, our mind, thoughts and actions should also constantly revolve around God.

The next metaphor is about the characteristic of a creeper, which holds itself around the supporting stick. In case the supporting stick moves even a little, the creeper suffers from separation but somehow manages to hold on to the stick again. Similarly, despite sorrows that bother us and make us deviate from reminiscences of God, we should remain strong enough to hold on to Him persistently.

The last simile is that of a river and the ocean, which denotes absolute Advaita. A river, whichever is its birth place, constantly flows and eventually merges with the ocean, losing its original name and form, thereby becoming unseen within the ocean. In fact, the ocean flows forward to draw the river into its estuary, rather than the river flowing into the ocean directly. In a similar way, if we extend Bhakti to God, He will come forward to us, embrace us and unify us within Him.

Initially, our Bhakti happens to be transactional in nature. Later, we slowly mature, accustom ourselves and imbibe virtuous qualities within, extending Bhakti towards God for acquiring His qualities. At the end, we realise Him as Brahmam with “no attributes” and we unify into Him.

Bhakti is inevitable both for worldly life and for experiencing the philosophies of Dvaita, Visishtadvaita and Advaita. According to Bhagavadpada, among the various means of attaining Moksha, Bhakti is the best!

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.