Hari
OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
The Narada Bhakti Sutra is our guide for a while… the
nature of Love (with the capital 'ell') and a full exploration of it. As
always, you are encouraged to 5thseek out the full text from Chinmaya
Publications (links in side-bar); but for those who prefer e-readers, this version is recommended. Whilst awareness and interest can be
raised by these posts on AV-blog, they cannot substitute for a thorough reading
and contemplation...and practice!
Chapter
4, Section 1, The Practice of Bhakti.
In
this section, Narada-ji has been pointing out the various requirements required
of other spiritual paths and that Bhakti-marg requires nothing but the desire
to please the Lord. First it was said that bhakti is a path which can be
managed even by those of ill-discipline; secondly that Love is its own reward
for its practice; and now…
zaiNtêpat!
prmanNdêpaCc.60.
Shaanti-ruupaat
param-aananda-ruupaat-cha ||60||
...also because Love is of the nature of Peace and it is
of the nature of Supreme Bliss.
A
great encouragement! Not every one in the world would necessarily voice that
they want Love (partly because it is so rudely misinterpreted), but virtually
everyone would tell you they desire "Peace and Happiness". The
promise of bhakti-marg is that both of these can be obtained because that True
Love Divine is those very things itself. To know one is to know all conditions.
It is impossible to be in a state of Love and at the same time be agitated and
angry. No matter what confused minds may say, these things are mutually
exclusive.
It
is also due to the exquisite balance of Love, Peace and Bliss, that we often
say (or are told) that it is inexpressible. This is partly because each
individual will also have a slightly different measure for these things - yet
it is also true that for these Ultimate in Spiritual Expression, there does
seem to be a common experience for those who attain it… which leaves them
speechless!
Have
you not at some time in life experienced something that you have considered to
be so extremely sublime that it is not really something you can share with
another in any adequate way? If, though, you met someone who had also
experienced as you have, then you would nod knowingly at each other and words
would be irrelevant as you ponder that experience together. Thus, all the Rsis
have been able to tell us is that Brahman, Aatman, Bhakti, God, "IT"
… is of the nature of these things. By saying 'nature of', they are leaving it
open for those who have experience to at least grasp an inkling off what may be
on offer. Words, in short, fail the Ultimate Experience.
Fine.
Thus far we have seen that, actually, Devotional practice is one of the easiest
spiritual methods and anyone can use it, without setup or qualification.
However, the test of any practice is how it helps to balance our life when we
face its difficulties, the many sorrows and sufferings it throws at us. How to
practice devotion in the midst of samsaara?
This
will be taken up in the next section.
