生 活 的 藝 術 之 南 境 知 識 棧

A Commentary of Bhakti Sutras

Vol. 1  The Love That Does Not Die

By H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

At St. Mathicu du Pare Canadian Ashram on July 20^th, 2002

Our life evolves around love. The origin of life is love. And the goal of life is also love. Suppose you have everything in the world and there is no love in life, would you like to live? Nobody would like to live. Love is the aim of life, the goal of life. Yet, the seeking for love that brings freedom, that brings comfort, that brings such a peace is ongoing. Isn’t it? If you see from the other side, you find all the problems in life come also because of love. Greed, jealousy, anger, frustration, all these negative emotions, whole negative emotions are caused by love. It is the distorted form of love. Yet, we do not want any of these distortions. Mankind is seeking for a love which is free from negativity, which is soothing, which is comforting, which leaves you in peace. Isn’t it? Hmm...

The center of life is love. And yet, we seem to be so far away from our own center. What can connect us to our center? What can bring us back to our self? This quest is ongoing. You need a little thread to be connected. You need something, something to hold on that rises the hope in life, that brings light into your eyes, that makes your heart feels lighter, add wings to your heart. What is that? That something that is missing in our life, that something can make our life from misery to celebration, that can transform our life from misery to celebration, that can turn the tears of saddness to tears of joy, tears of gratitude that thread you need. That life saving thread, such thread, such rope, such string are called sutras. That has the essence and in short give you something to hold on, uplift you. A tiny thread can make the kite go so high in the sky. A tiny thread can make kite go high in the sky. So, this mind needs such a sutra, a thread. One such thread is Bhakti Sutras – the Aphorism of Love.

There was a sage, rishi ancient day whose name was Narada. Narada means one who connects you to the source. One who is in the center as well as in the circumference. Most of us we reel in our circumference. We remain in our circumference. We are just trying to find our center but we never reach there, we move in cycle, we remain in the exterior. There are those who live in the center, who live in the world of their own not connected to the practical reality of the life. Often, you find this happening in the world, there are some people who are very ideology. There are some people who are very much in ideology but they are not so practical. And others who are some practical, they drop all the ideas, goals so there is no progress in life. You need a balance, a path, a connectedness with your ideology and practicality. Wisdom is that which make high ideas possible to live in daily life, in the mundane existence.

The rishi Narada is also called the Devashi – the playful rishi. He is known for creating mischief. (laughter) If someone is here, someone is there play double roles – “Don’t be like Narada.” It is a colloquial expression in India. He will create troubles and problems everywhere but all the troubles and problems will turn out to be very good for everybody. (laughter) See, life is no fun without some mischiefs. (laughter) Life is not a struggle, life is not a burden, a weight on your head. It is celebration. It is a play. Your life is a play and display of consciousness. Narada was one such rishi, one of its kind. He will create mischief, he will connect people who normally don’t connect, who connect you to the center, to the own existence. He gives the spoke to the wheel. It’s the spoke makes a wheel a wheel. A center will not make a wheel, just a ring can not make a wheel. It’s the spoke make a wheel a wheel. And it’s the spoke makes something rolling, something moving. When life is stagnant, you need to go to Narada. He will keep you moving. How does he do it? With a small aphorism, a tiny sutra, tiny words of wisdom.

The Bhakti Sutras, Bhakti – the divine love, love in its ultimate form. Love in its pinnacle. You know, there are some types of love, variety of love. The way you love your children you don’t love your parents. The way you love your parents you don’t love your friends. The way you love your friends you don’t love the same way you love your the animals. The way you love the objects, your home, your car, telephone, everything else, all little little objects in your home. It’s all different. The expressions of love are different. The flavours are different. The modes are different. And the pinnacle of love, when all these different forms meet or culminate is called bhakti. That which is common between god and man is bhakti. That which you share with the entire creation is bhakti. If you can think of a love which you share with the entire universe, whole cosmos that state of unity, oneness is what bhakti is. Love is not just an emotion. Love is not saying “Oh, my dear! I can’t live without you. Don’t go anywhere. Just stay next to me all the time.” This is emotion. Of course, there is love behind that emotion. There is love behind every emotion. You love perfection so you are angry at imperfection. You love object very much so you are greedy about it. You love someone very much for yourself then you are jealous. Is it some love that has wisdom in it? Is it some love that uplifts you? Elevates you? Brings such thrill in your whole being? Is there a love wakes you up totally from every cells of your body? That is bhakti.

Narada begins his Bhakti Sutras saying:

Athato bhaktim vyakhyasyamah

And now, I shall explain bhakti. This is something that is impossible to do. An emotion can not be expressed but the core of emotion, the origin of emotion, the origin of existence how can that be explained? You know sages said too that is impossible. You can not even express enough your love for someone by gesture, by your movement, by your words. But something that is so deep, so vast, so huge, how can you find an expression? Narada is attempting to do that. Athato  He said “then now” I will explain bhakti. He puts a condition “then now”. That means before you must have done something. Athato  And then now, I will explain what is bhakti. Like the bee, you went here and there, and there and went into every flowers. You try to grasp and grasp whatever you could do. In the world you have seen so many different types of love, so many different types. And you have experienced misery here misery there or disappointment here disappointment there, some joy here some joy there, the joy without peace many times, excitement you have experienced. You have seen enough then the seeking has begun. If you are asleep, nothing matters to you. There is no quest. Whom should be given an explanation? One who asks, isn’t it? Someone who is asleep, what is the point of giving them an explanation? You need certain amount of wakefulness in order to listen, in order to hear and digest. So, Narada said “And then” so now you are awaked. Now, you know what it is the reality in life. You have understood the core of our existence is moving towards love. The essence of our life is wanting the love. The goal of our life is to seek love. Isn’t it? What good is enlightenment which has no love? And there is love, who cares for enlightenment! (laughter) The word enlightenment itself means unconditional love, the love that doesn’t die out, that stays, that uplifts. So, if the seeking has started in you, has the search begun then okay, now! Now, we can talk about love. You can’t talk about love to someone who doesn’t know about love. Fortunately, in this creation not a being who doesn’t know what love is. We are born out of love. It’s all getting back to the source, so it is a matter of getting back to the source. So, has the journey begun in you? You want to get back to your source? Then, I can give you a little explanation.

Sa tvasmin param prem rupa

You can only know something by something which you already know. You journey can only happen from know to unknow, not from unknow to unknow. Hmm... Someone asks what is pine tree? Pine tree is pine tree, a tall tree. Any tree could be a tall tree. If you do not know pine tree, how do you know pine tree? What is banana? Banana is plantain. What is plantain? Plantain is banana, you know. You can not know a plantain through apple. You know, “It is the type of fruit but it is long.” How does it taste? It tastes like a mixture of banana and ... banana. It is no way to explain to you something that which is not in the same category. Sa tvasmin param prem rupa

You know about love, you know something about love. You have experienced in your life. Bhakti is the ultimate of that love, is the full range of that love. Sa tvasmin param prem rupa  That bhakti is the love in It, in Him, in the divine. How much you love your children? How much you love your friends? Multiply it with so many times, n number of times. That is bhakti. If your love for a person, for an object is x, multiply that million times, even that can not come near bhakti. It will be less than bhakti. Sa tvasmin param prem rupa  Intense love.

Amrit swarupa cha

If you look at the way your life has expanded in love, the love has always been changing, changing colours. A baby cling onto the mother, doesn’t want to leave the mother for a minute even a second. But the same baby when it grows older and older, see, how its attention moves away from the mother. Not that it doesn’t love the mother but there is a difference. And the same child get married and he gets children and see how much that person loves his children and how much he loves his parents. It changes. See, you love your children more than your parents. Same will happen to your children. They will start loving their children more than you. One day we said “I can’t live without you!” another day “I can’t stand you!” (laughter) Love has distorted, died out. But bhakti Amrit swarupa cha  is the love that doesn’t die. It grows by minute, by second, never vanishes. That love is bhakti. Amrit swarupa cha  Immortal is its nature. Timeless is its quality. Immortal is its nature. Timelessness is its quality. Amrit swarupa cha  Hmm...

Yallabhadhva puman siddho bhavati, amrito bhavati, tripto bhavati

Attaining which perfection comes in life. You know, when there is love, you see perfection. When you don’t love somebody, you will see all the imperfections in them. But if someone whom belongs to you, whom you love very dearly, you don’t see so many imperfection. You are compelled to see some imperfections when it starts bothering you and your situation and people around you. But still, when there is love, you see perfection. There are 3 types of perfection. Perfection in action, perfection in speech and perfection in the feeling. When such love dawns in life, perfection is eminent. amrito bhavati  Immortal is such love. I heard an instance. A teenage boy beat up his mother. They were both travelling in a train. So he was beating his mother, she was blew and bleeding. The police came and arrested the son and they are going to take him to custody. But the mother pleased the police “No! Please leave him. He is my son.” The mother pleased “No! No! Don’t touch him.” She was all blews and she was almost half conscious. In the half conscious state, she pleased the police “No! No! Don’t beat up my son! Don’t punish him. He is my child.” “Child? He is nearly 18,19, 20 years old.” The mother said “No, my child.” She could not see any imperfection in her child. Do you see what I am saying?

Divine love brings such perfection in life. You see everything with wisdom. The creation moves from one perfection to another perfection. Not from imperfection to imperfection. You can see the whole situation in two perspectives. One you can say it is moving from disaster to disaster; imperfection to imperfection. “This is not imperfect, something else will happen that will also be imperfect.” Or moves from perfection to perfection.

What is the use of love in life? You know, people say “It is better not to be emotional, not to have any these emotions, love and other things just be mechanical, shut off the emotion.” Many people are afraid to love just because it will bring some problems, pains, hurts. Love hurts so better shut it off. Live like a wood. Live like a rock. Love makes you supple and vunerable. It is the Bhakti Sutras, the knowledge of bhakti that gives us the strength that allows you to be loving and yet be strong and powerful. It allows you to be supple and yet not vunerable, delicate yet immortal, strong. siddho bhavati  Perfection comes in life. amrito bhavati  Timelessness, immortality comes in life. Immortal means not that your body remains forever. Undying source of energy. This realisation that you are not just the body, you are the spirit that comes through love. tripto bhavati  Bring such fulfillment, such fulfillment which you can not get through anything else. Hmm...

Who doesn’t want such love? Who doesn’t want such perfection? Who doesn’t want such fulfillment? You think knowledge can bring fulfillment? No, knowledge only prepares you to dive into devotion. Knowledge is like the soap that you put on the clothe. It of course washes away all the dirt. But love is like the purity of the garment. Love is what you are. Like your body is made up of amino acid, protein, carbohydate etc. The spirit in you is made up of love and that is undying. It’s immortal. The whole purpose in life is to realise that you are immortal. Again not the body. The spirit! You are immortal. You are fulfillment. Where are you looking for that fulfillment? You know, when dogs bite the bone, they feel that the bone is very juicy. It’s because biting the bone, they make wound in their own mouth, their jaw. Their own jaw starts bleeding. They don’t know the juice they are enjoying are from their own gum. Bones are not juicy. You are juicy. (laughter)

Sri Radhe Radhe Radhe Sham   Govinde Radhe

Sri Radhe Radhe Radhe Sham   Govinde Radhe  Sri Radhe

Govinde Radhe Radhe Sham    Gopale Radhe Radhe Sham

Govinde Radhe Radhe Sham    Gopale Radhe Radhe Sham

Sri Radhe Sri Radhe Sri Radhe....