aśakyānuṣṭhānakasya vidher aprāmāṇyād iti bhāvaḥ |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.6.51)
“‘Because of the non-authoritativeness of an injunction enjoining performance of that which is impossible [to actually be carried out]’ is the purport.”
na mayy ekānta-bhaktānāṁ guṇa-doṣodbhavā guṇāḥ |
sādhūnāṁ sama-cittānāṁ buddheḥ param upeyuṣām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.36; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.210; Bhakti Sandarbha: 177, 312, 321; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.293
“[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] Bhaktas who are one-pointed upon me, are sādhu [i.e., free from attachment and aversion (rāga and dveṣa)], are equanimous, and have attained that which is beyond the intellect, have no qualities [i.e., merits, sins, or otherwise] produced by qualities and faults [i.e., produced by observance of injunctions and neglect of prohibitions].”
apauruṣeyaṁ vākyaṁ vedaḥ | sa ca vidhi-mantra-nāmadheya-niṣedhārthavāda-bhedāt pañca-vidhaḥ |
(Artha-saṅgraha: 1 (10))
“Veda is a statement that is not produced by a puruṣa (apauruṣeya) [i.e., a statement that is beginninglessly self-existent and thus not produced by any living being]. That [i.e., Veda], furthermore, is of five types according to the divisions of (1) vidhi [i.e., injunction], (2) mantra [i.e., hymn], (3) nāmadheya [i.e., name], (4) niṣedha [i.e., prohibition], and (5) arthavāda [i.e., explanatory or eulogistic passage].”
eṣā akiñcanātyantikīty-ādi-saṁjñā bhaktir dvividhā—vaidhī rāgānugā ceti | tatra vaidhī śāstrokta-vidhinā pravartitā | sa ca vidhir dvividhaḥ | tatra prathamaḥ pravṛtti-hetuḥ, tad-anukrama-kartavyākartavyānāṁ jñāna-hetuś ca | prathamas tūdāhṛtaḥ—‘tasmād ekena manasā bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ | śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca dhyeyaḥ pūjyaś ca nityadā ||’ ity-ādinā | dvitīyaś cārcana-vratādi-gataḥ | tam āha—‘mām eva nairapekṣyeṇa bhakti-yogena vindati | bhakti-yogaṁ sa labhata evaṁ yaḥ pūjayeta mām ||’ nairapekṣyeṇa ahaitukena | ahaituka-bhakti-yoga eva kathaṁ syāt? tatrāha—bhakti-yogam iti | evaṁ—‘yadā sva-nigamenoktaṁ dvijatvaṁ prāpya pūruṣaḥ | yathā yajeta māṁ bhaktyā śraddhayā tan nibodha me || arcāyāṁ sthaṇḍile’gnau vā sūrye vāpsu hṛdi dvije | dravyeṇa bhakti-yutko’rcet sva-guruṁ mām amāyayā ||’ ity-ādy-ukta-vidhinā | evam ekādaśī-janmāṣṭamy-ādi-gato’pi jñeyaḥ | atha vaidhī-bhedāḥ śaraṇāpatti-śrī-gurv-ādi-sat-sevā-śravaṇa-kīrtanādayaḥ | ete ca pratyekam api dvi-trādayaḥ samudityāpi kāraṇāni bhavanti, tathā śravaṇāt | tatra prathamataḥ śaraṇāpattiḥ |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 235–236)
“This bhakti known as ‘unconditional’ (akiñcanā), ‘absolute’ (ātyantiki), and so on [e.g., ‘causeless’ (ahaitukī), ‘non-deceitful’ (akaitava), etc., meaning, this bhakti that is propounded throughout Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] is of two types: vaidhī and rāgānugā. In this regard, vaidhī [-bhakti] is [bhakti that is] impelled by injunctions stated in the śāstra. Such injunctions, furthermore, are of two types. In that regard, the first [type of injunction] is that which is a cause of the inclination [to enact bhakti], and [the second type] is that which is a cause of knowledge of what is to be done, what is not to be done, and the order [in which things are meant to be] therein [i.e., in such bhakti]. The first [type of injunction] is illustrated [in SB 1.2.14], ‘Therefore, Bhagavān, the Protector of the sātvatas [i.e., his bhaktas], is to be heard about, to be praised, to be meditated upon, and to be worshiped continuously with one mind [i.e., with a one-pointed mind].’ The second [type of injunction], furthermore, is that which is related to ritual worship (arcana), rites (vratas), and so forth. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa describes that [in SB 11.27.53], ‘One attains me specifically through the practice (yoga) of bhakti without motive [i.e., through unconditional prema], and one who shall worship me in this way shall attain that practice (yoga) of bhakti [i.e., that unconditional prema].’ ‘Without motive’ (nairapekṣyeṇa) means without cause [i.e., without desire for any object other than me and bhakti to me, meaning, if one engages in a motiveless practice of bhakti—unconditional prema-bhakti—wherein there is no other cause, that is, no other object of pursuit than Bhagavān himself and bhakti to him, then as a result of that motiveless practice of bhakti one will attain Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa]. [In this regard one may wonder,] ‘How can specifically a practice (yoga) of bhakti without cause come about [i.e., if one can attain Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa by way of a motiveless practice of bhakti, then how can one attain that motiveless practice of bhakti]?’ To this, he says bhakti-yogam … [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa states the second half of the verse wherein he says that one should perform ritual worship (pūjā) of himself ‘in this way’ (evaṁ)]. ‘In this way’ (evaṁ) means in accord with stated injunctions [mentioned earlier by Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa in SB 11.27.8–9], ‘Having attained the twice-bornness stated by the precept applicable to themself [i.e., the type of twice-bornness that is enjoined in the directives in the Veda for their personal eligibility (adhikāra), meaning, their particular caste (jāti) and so forth], when and how a person should worship me with bhakti and śraddhā—hear that from me. One endowed with bhakti should unaffectedly worship me, [I who am] one’s own Guru, in a deity, [or, if that is not possible, then in the first of whichever of the following is possible], on a piece of ground leveled for the performance of sacrifice, in a fire, in the sun, in water, in the heart, or in a twice-born.’ Similarly, [the second type of injunction] is to be understood to also be related to Ekādaśī, Janmāṣṭamī, and so forth [i.e., the injunctions that cover when and how rites like those related to Ekādaśī and Janmāṣṭamī are to be performed are also to be considered instances of the second type of injunctions that impel the practice of vaidhī-bhakti].
“Now, the divisions of vaidhī [i.e., the various forms of vaidhī-bhakti] are śaraṇāpatti [i.e., śaraṇāgati], service to the sat beginning with the blessed guru, hearing (śravaṇa), praising (kīrtana), and so on. These [i.e., the various forms of vaidhī-bhakti], furthermore, both individually and in combinations of two, three, or more, become means [by which bhāva becomes manifest] because of hearing so [i.e., because examples of bhāva becoming manifest through engagement in them are heard about in the śāstra]. Therein [i.e., among the divisions of vaidhī-bhakti], firstly there is śaraṇāpatti.”
yasmād evaṁ sarvānandātikrama-liṅgena paramānanda-svarūpāsau bhaktis tasmāt tatra svabhāvata eva pravṛttir guṇaḥ, tathābhūtām api tan-mādhurīṁ svadoṣeṇānubhavitum asamarthānāṁ tu kevala-vidhi-niṣedha-sambhava-guṇa-doṣa-dṛṣṭyaiva pravṛttir api pūrvāpekṣayā doṣa eva | … ||177|| iyam akiñcanākhyā bhaktir eva jīvānāṁ svabhāvata ucitā | svābhāvika-tad-āśrayā hi jīvāḥ ‘sa kāraṇaṁ karaṇādhipādhipaḥ’ iti śruteḥ | aṁśatve’pi bahiraṅgatva-svīkārāt tad-āśrayatvaṁ sūrya-maṇḍala-bahir-ātapa-paramāṇūnām iva | ata eva pādmottara-khaṇḍe praṇava-vyākhyāne—‘a-kāraś cāpy u-kāraś ca ma-kāraś ca tataḥ param | veda-trayātmakaṁ proktaṁ praṇavaṁ brahmaṇaḥ padam || a-kāreṇocyate viṣṇuḥ śrīr u-kāreṇa cocyate | ma-kāras tu tayor dāsaḥ pañcaviṁśaḥ prakīrtitaḥ ||’ … ||178||
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 177–178)
“Since, in this way, this bhakti is of the essential nature of the highest bliss by virtue of [its possessing] the characteristic of surpassing all [other forms of] bliss, inclination (pravṛtti) towards it just naturally is a quality, whereas even inclination [towards it] solely because of consideration only of the merits and demerits [i.e., consequences for oneself] produced by [observation and transgression of] injunctions and prohibitions [related to it] on the part of those who are unable to experience its sweetness even as such [i.e., even though it is a cause of experience of superlative bliss] because of their own faults [e.g., their absence of intentness upon Bhagavān, their inclinations, desires, and attachments related to objects other than Bhagavān, their offenses (aparādhās) against Bhagavān, and so on] is verily a fault (doṣa) in comparison to the former [i.e., in comparison to an inclination towards bhakti that is impelled naturally]. … ||177||
“This bhakti known an ‘unconditional’ [alt., ‘pure,’ lit., ‘without anything’] (akiñcanā) [i.e., unconditional bhakti] alone is befitting naturally for jīvas, since jīvas are they whose dependence upon him [viz., Bhagavān, the object of unconditional bhakti] is natural, as per the Śruti [i.e., Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.9], ‘He is the Cause [of everything (sarvasya), as per Śrī Śaṅkarācārya’s commentary] and the Ruler of the ruler of the means of action [i.e., the Ruler of the jīva, who is the ruler of the senses in their bodies, as per Śrī Raṅga Rāmānuja’s commentary].’ Even with [the existence of their] part-hood (aṁśatva) [i.e., even though the jīvas are parts (aṁśas) of Bhagavān’s Paramātmā aspect], [their] being of dependence (āśrayatva) upon him is because of acceptance of their externality (bahiraṅgatva) [lit., their being regarded as an outer part of Bhagavān] as is so of the particles of light outside the orb of the sun [i.e., as light particles that have been emitted by the sun are understood to be situated outside the orb of the sun yet also dependent upon the sun for their existence, the jīvas are understood to be distinct parts (vibhinnāṁśas) of Śrī Bhagavān uet also dependent upon Śrī Bhagavān for their existence; as only something that is considered distinct from something else can be considered to be dependent upon it (since otherwise it would simply be the thing it is being said to be sheltered within), so the jīvas are considered to be dependent upon Bhagavān because it is understood that they exist ‘outside’ him in the sense that they are considered dependent external parts (aṁśas) of him]. Therefore [i.e., because the jīva is a dependent, external part of Śrī Bhagavān], in the explanation of praṇava in the Uttara-khaṇḍa of Padma Purāṇa (PP 6.227.22-23) [it is said that the jīva is a servant of Śrī Bhagavān], ‘The letter a along with the letter u and the letter m after that—praṇava [i.e., the word Aum]—is declared to be the basis of the three Vedas and the word for [alt., dwelling place] of Brahman. Viṣṇu is referred to by the letter a, and Śrī is referred to by the letter u. The servant of the two [i.e., of Viṣṇu and Śrī], the twenty-fifth [element in the universe, viz., the jīva], is declared to indeed be the letter m.” ||178||
tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan hariḥ sarvatra sarvadā |
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca smartavyo bhagavān nṛṇām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.36)
“Therefore, O King, Bhagavān Hari is to be heard about, to be praised, and to be remembered by human beings always and everywhere with the full self [i.e., with full attention].”
smartavyaṁ satataṁ viṣṇor vismartavyo na jātucit |
sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.8; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.113)
“Viṣṇu is to be remembered always and is never to be forgotten. All injunctions and prohibitions should be servants of these two [principles].”
ei tore satya kahi, baḍa priya tumi |
veda-mukhe baliyāchi yata kichu āmi ||
ye ye karma kaile haya ye ye divya-gati |
tāhā ghucāite pāre kāhāra śakati? ||
muñi pāro̐ sakala anyathā karibāre |
sarva-vidhi-upare āmāra adhikāre ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.10.246–248)
[Mahāprabhu:] “I tell you the truth, since you are very dear [to me]. Who has the power to do away with all the various duties that I have stated through the mouth of the Vedas by performing which various divine attainments occur? I [alone] can change them all, since I have authority over all injunctions.”
