देवानां गुणलिङ्गानामानुश्रविककर्मणाम् ।
सत्त्व एवैकमनसो वृत्ति: स्वाभाविकी तु या ।
अनिमित्ता भागवती भक्ति: सिद्धेर्गरीयसी ॥

devānāṁ guṇa-liṅgānām ānuśravika-karmaṇām |
sattva evaika-manaso vṛttiḥ svābhāvikī tu yā ||
animittā bhāgavatī bhaktiḥ siddher garīyasī ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.25.32; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.614; Prīti Sandarbha: 61)

“The vṛtti [i.e., engagement] solely in relation to Sattva [i.e., Bhagavān], which is natural [i.e., not effected by force] and causeless [i.e., free from extraneous desire], of the illuminators [i.e., the senses], which make known their objects and whose actions are directed by the Veda, of one of singular [i.e., one-pointed] mind is [known as] bhakti related to Bhagavān, and [is] superior to siddhi [i.e., mokṣa].”

Alternate translation

“The vṛtti [i.e., mental function] which is natural and causeless of one of singular [i.e., one-pointed] mind solely upon Sattva [i.e., Bhagavān] among the devas, whose indicators are the guṇas and whose actions are known from the Vedas, is [known as] bhakti related to Bhagavān, and [is] superior to siddhi [i.e., mokṣa].”

Commentary

The first translation is in accord with the commentaries of Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda and Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmīpāda, the second with that of Śrī Jīva Gosvāmīpāda.

athainaṁ bhagavat-prītiṁ sākṣād eva lakṣayati sārdhena—devānāṁ guṇa-liṅgānām … | pūrvaṁ ‘śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati’ ity uktam | atra yadyapi rati-bhaktyor dvayor api tāratamya-mātra-bhedayoḥ prītitvam eva, tathāpi prīty-atiśaya-lakṣaṇāyāṁ premākhyāyāṁ bhaktau tad atisphuṭaṁ syād iti kṛtvā bhakti-padena tām upādāya lakṣayati | arthaś cāyam—guṇa-liṅgānāṁ guṇa-trayopādhīnām, ānuśravikaṁ śruti-purāṇādigamyaṁ karmācaritaṁ yeṣāṁ te tathoktāḥ, teṣāṁ devānāṁ śrī-viṣṇu-brahma-śivānāṁ madhye sattve sānnidhya-mātreṇa sattva-guṇopakārake svarūpa-śakti-vṛtti-bhūta-śuddha-sattvātmake vā śrī-viṣṇau | etac copalakṣaṇam | śrī-bhagavad-ādy-anantāvirbhāveṣv ekasminn apīty arthaḥ | eva-kāreṇa netaratra, na ca tatrāpi cetaratrāpi ca | eka-manasaḥ puruṣasya yā vṛttis tad-ānukūlyātmako jñāna-viśeṣaḥ | animittā phalābhisandhi-śūnyā | svābhāvikī svarasata eva viṣaya-saundaryād ayatnenaiva jāyamānā, na ca balād āpādyamānā | sā bhāgavatī bhaktiḥ prītir ity arthaḥ | prīti-sambandhād evāsyā bhakteḥ svābhāvikatvaṁ syāt | tasmād vṛtti-śabdena prītir evātra mukhyatvena grāhyeti | sā ca siddher mokṣād garīyasī, ‘sālokya-sārṣṭi’ ity ādi śravaṇāt | ata eva jñāna-sādhyasyāpi tiraskāra-prasiddher jñāna-mātra-tiraskārārthaṁ siddher jñānād iti vyākhyānam asadṛśam | atra mokṣād garīyastvatvena tasyā vṛtter guṇātītatvaṁ tato’pi ghana-paramānandatvaṁ śrī-bhagavat-prasāda-viśeṣeṇaiva manasy uditatvam, tat tādātmyenaiva tad-vṛtti-vyapadeśyatvaṁ ca darśitam |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā; Prīti Sandarbha: 61)

“Now, he [i.e., Bhagavān Kapila] defines directly this prīti for Bhagavān with a verse and a half: devānāṁ guṇa-liṅgānām … [i.e., he speaks SB 3.25.32–33]. Previously [i.e., in SB 3.25.25], there was the statement, ‘Śraddhā, rati, and bhakti will gradually manifest’ (śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati). Although both rati and bhakti possess only the nature of prīti (prītitva) and are distinct only in the sense of a gradation [between them in terms of the extent to which the nature of prīti is manifest in them], still considering that that [i.e., the nature of prīti (prītitva)] shall be very clearly evident in [a description of] bhakti, which is [also] known as prema and of the nature of profusion of prīti [i.e., possessed of a greater manifestation of prīti than rati], he defines that [i.e., prīti] by means of the word bhakti here [in SB 3.25.32–33]. Then, the meaning is this: ‘Among the devas’ (devānāṁ) means among Śrī Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and Śiva—they who are said to be [they] whose ‘indicators are the guṇas’ (guṇa-liṅgānām), that is, whose adjuncts (upādhis) are the three guṇas, and whose ‘actions’ (karmaṇām), that is, conduct, is ‘known from the Vedas’ (ānuśravika), that is, is knowable from the Śruti, the Purāṇas, and so forth. ‘Upon Sattva’ (sattve) [among the devas Śrī Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and Śiva] means upon Śrī Viṣṇu, he who regulates sattva-guṇa solely by proximity [i.e., without having to touch or mix with it], and [also] alternately, [means] he whose nature is that of the śuddha-sattva produced by a vṛtti of his svarūpa-śakti. This [i.e., the name Sattva] too is an indicator. ‘Upon one in particular among the innumerable appearances of Śrī Bhagavān and so forth [i.e., upon any of his various forms and avatāras]’ is the meaning. By the word eva, not upon others, and not both upon him and upon others also [is indicated, i.e., the one-pointedness of mind described here is fixity of the mind solely upon Bhagavān, and not fixity of the mind upon anyone or anything apart from Bhagavān or fixity of the mind upon both Bhagavān and anyone or anything apart from him]. The vṛtti [i.e., mental function], that is, the particular form of awareness constituted of favorability to him [i.e., Bhagavān], of [such] a person of singular [i.e., one-pointed] mind (eka-manasaḥ) which is ‘causeless’ (animittā), that is, free from pursuit of results [i.e., any object other than bhakti], and ‘natural’ (svābhāvikī), that is, arising entirely naturally without effort on account of the beauty of its object [i.e., Bhagavān], meaning, not required to be brought about forcibly, is [known as] bhakti related to Bhagavān, that is, prīti. This is the meaning. Only because of a relation with prīti can the naturalness (svābhāvikatva) of this bhakti come about [i.e., without prīti for the object of bhakti, viz., Bhagavān, a mental vṛtti constituted of favorability towards Bhagavān that is natural (svābhāvika) will not come about]. Therefore, by the word vṛtti, prīti specifically is to be understood primarily here. That [i.e., prīti], furthermore, is superior to siddhi, that is, mokṣa, because of hearing sālokya-sārṣṭi … [i.e., because such is stated in SB 3.29.13]. Therefore, because of the well-known censure even of the aim of jñāna [viz., mokṣa, as stated in SB 3.29.13 and elsewhere], explaining [this vṛtti to be superior] to siddhi in the sense of jñāna for the sake of censuring only jñāna is unbefitting [i.e., it is not that bhakti is only superior to jñāna but that it is also superior to mokṣa, that is, the end attained by jñāna, as well]. Here, because of [its] being superior to mokṣa, this vṛtti’s being beyond the guṇas, and so also [its] being the highest intense bliss, being manifest in the mind only by a special form of Śrī Bhagavān’s grace, and being designated as a vṛtti thereof [i.e., as a vṛtti of the mind] only because of tādātmya with that [i.e., because of an acquired, non-ontological, functional oneness with the mind], is shown.”

Note

Regarding the word asyā in the sentence, “Prīti-sambandhād evāsyā bhakteḥ svābhāvikatvaṁ syāt: only because of a relation with prīti can the naturalness (svābhāvikatva) of this bhakti come about,” the edition of the Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā edited by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Śaṅkara Śāstrī Jī presents asyā as the reading. The edition of Śrī Hari Dāsa Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja presents ananyasyā as the primary reading and lists asyā as a variant. The editions of Prīti Sandarbha edited by Śrī Prāṇa Gopāla Gosvāmī and Śrī Purī Dāsa Mahāśaya present anyasyā as the reading. In the case of the ananyasyā reading, the meaning would be, “Only because of a relation with prīti can the naturalness (svābhāvikatva) of one-pointed (ananya) bhakti [lit., ‘bhakti having no other‘] come about.” This would be relevant to the verse under discussion because the bhakti being discussed in the verse is said to exist in “one of singular [i.e., one-pointed] mind” (eka-manasaḥ). In the case of the anyasyā reading, the meaning would be, “Only because of a relation with prīti can the naturalness (svābhāvikatva) of other bhakti come about.” Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda states in his commentary on this verse that bhāva-bhakti, be it the type manifest from vaidhī- or rāgānugā-sādhana-bhakti, is experienced to be natural (svābhāvika) to a bhakta, while sādhana-bhakti is experienced to be natural to a bhakta at any stage of rāgānugā-sādhana-bhakti but only in the advanced stages of vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti, viz., niṣṭhā, ruci, and āsakti. Thus, one view could be that if Śrī Jīva Gosvāmīpāda speaks of “other bhakti” (anya-bhakti) in this passage, he would be referring to stages and forms of uttama-bhakti other than sub-niṣṭhā level vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti and non-uttama-bhakti. Alternately, Śrī Prāṇa Gopāla Gosvāmī reasons that the “other bhakti” (anya-bhakti) possibly spoken of here has a cause and effect relationship (kārya-kāraṇa-sambandha) with prīti, that is, prema-bhakti. Although it would seem problematic to speak of bhāva-bhakti or forms of sādhana-bhakti other than lower stage vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti as unnatural (asvābhāvika), still it may be considered that the remark is made in regard to sādhana-bhakti as a general category which can’t be said in all of its forms to be natural (svābhāvika) but could be said according to him to be considered natural because of it being a cause of attaining bhakti that is natural (svābhāvika). The intended sense of “naturalness” (svābhāvikatva) here, however, seems more likely to be a naturalness that is actually experienced by the bhakta rather than one that only comes about at a later stage as an effect.

sattva eva śuddha-sattva-mūrtau harāv eva, na tu devatāntare | ekam eka-svarūpam eva sevya-buddhi-mayatvena tvad-rūpa-nāmādy-upāditsu, na tu yogi-janāder ivāyatyāṁ taj-jihāsu mano yasya, tasya puruṣasya | tathā ekasmin bhajana eva, na tu jñāna-karmādiṣu mano yasya tasya puṁsaḥ | … yā vṛttis tadīya-śabdādi-grahaṇa-rūpā vyāpṛtir animittā niṣkāmā sā bhāgavatī bhaktir ity anvayaḥ | tatra sattva eva eka-manasa iti sattva eva indriyāṇāṁ vṛttir iti kākākṣi-golaka-nyāyenobhayatrānvitam | atra sattva ity anena sattva-guṇavati brahma-rudrādāv iti nāśaṅkyaṁ bhāgavatīty anena tad-vyāvṛtteḥ | yad vā, satāṁ bhāvaḥ sattvaṁ vaiṣṇavatvam | tatra eka-manasaḥ vaiṣṇavo bhaveyam ity ekānta-manaso vaiṣṇavatve eva yā indriyāṇāṁ vṛttiḥ sā bhaktiḥ | na ca svacchandenaiva pravartamānāṁ teṣāṁ vṛttir bhaktiḥ | kintu śrī-guror upadiṣṭa-mantrocitācaraṇavatām ity āha—gurur uccāraṇam anuśrūyata ity anuśravo mantras tvad-vihitam ānuśravikaṁ, tad eva karma nitya-kṛtyaṁ yeṣāṁ teṣām | kiṁ ca—utsargān mala-mūtrādeś citta-svāsthyaṁ yathā bhavet | ataḥ pāyur upasthaś ca tad-ārādhana-sādhanam || iti viṣṇu-rahasyokteḥ pāyūpasthayor api vṛttir bhakti-sambandhena bhaktir iti vaidhī sādhana-bhaktir lakṣitā | atha tu-kāreṇa pṛthak-kṛtya tat-sādhyāṁ bhāva-bhaktiṁ rāgānugākhyāṁ ca, tathā-bhūtānām eva svābhāvikī vṛttiḥ sā siddher mukter api garīyasī śreṣṭhatareti svābhāviky api vṛttir mukter guruḥ śreṣṭhety artho labhyate | svābhāvikī vṛttiś ca dvividhā—kasyacit śāstra-śāsanenaiva śrī-gurūpadiṣṭa-śuddha-bhaktau pravṛttimato bhajanābhyāsa-paunaḥpuṇyena niṣṭhā rucy-āsakti-bhūmikā adhirūḍhasyendriyāṇāṁ vṛttir harau svābhāvikī bhavati, yathā prākṛta-lokānāṁ pati-putrādiṣu, kasyacic ca prācīnārvācīna-tādṛśa-mahat-saṅga-kṛpā-janita-vilakṣaṇa-saṁskāra-vaśena gurūpadeśāt pūrvam evānantaram eva vā śāstra-śāsanaṁ vinaiva svabhāvata evendriyāṇāṁ bhakti-śāstroktācaraṇavatī eva yā harau vṛttiḥ, sāpi svābhāvikī jñeyā … | … tad evaṁ gurūpadiṣṭa-mantravatī bhakti-śāstrokta-vidhy-anusāriṇī anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyā jñāna-karmādi-rahitā bhagavati śrotrādīndriyāṇāṁ vṛttir bhaktiḥ | sā cālpa-pramāṇā sādhana-bhaktir asvābhāvikī bhavati | saiva pūrṇa-pramāṇā sādhya-bhaktiḥ svābhāvikī bhāva-bhaktir bhavatīti | saiva kācid alpa-pramāṇāpi jātyaivādhikyāt svābhāvikī ced rāgānugā nāmnī sādhana-bhaktiḥ | sā ca jāti-pramāṇābhyāṁ pūrṇā rāgānugīya-bhāva-bhaktir bhavatīti viveko bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhau jñeyaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)

“‘Only upon Sattva’ (sattva eva) means only upon the embodiment of śuddha-sattva, Hari, and not, rather, upon another devatā. [‘Of one of singular mind’ (eka-manasaḥ) means] Of a person whose mind is solely of one nature, that is, [that of being] desirous of accepting your figure, names, and so forth with consideration of them being worthy of service, and not rather, desirous of abandoning them in the future like yogīs and others [who meditate on them only as a means to another end]. Further, [‘Of one of singular mind’ (eka-manasaḥ) means] Of a person whose mind is solely upon this one [type of] bhajana, and not, rather, upon jñāna, karma, and so forth. … The vṛtti, that is, the engagement in the form of reception of sounds and so forth related to him [i.e., Sattva, Hari] which is causeless, that is, without desire (niṣkāmā) [i.e., without desire for anything other than bhakti to Bhagavān], is bhakti related to Bhagavān. This is the syntactical order (anvaya). Therein [i.e., in regard to the phrase sattva eva], ‘one whose mind is solely upon Sattva’ and ‘the vṛtti (engagement) of the senses in relation to Sattva alone’—[the text] is syntactically ordered in both ways as per the principle of crow’s orb eye (kākākṣi-golaka-nyāya) [i.e., as a crow has but one eye with which it looks out two sockets on opposite sides, so sattva eva is to be simultaneously applied in two ways]. By [the word] sattve here, Brahmā, Rudra, and others possessed of sattva [-guṇa] should not be suspected [to be the meaning] because of their exclusion by [the word] Bhāgavatī (“related to Bhagavān”). Alternately, sattva, that is, the bhāva of the sat, means Vaiṣṇavatva [i.e., being a Vaiṣṇava]. In that case, ‘one of singular mind’ (eka-manasaḥ) means, [one whose resolve is,] ‘Let me become a Vaiṣṇava.’ The vṛtti of the senses based on the Vaiṣṇavatva of one of such one-pointed mind is bhakti. And it is not that the vṛtti of those proceeding only as per their fancy [i.e., in pursuit of aims other than Bhagavān and bhakti to him] is bhakti, but rather [only that] of those possessed of conduct befitting the mantra taught by śrī guru. Thus, he [i.e., Kapiladeva] says [ānuśravika-karmaṇām], ‘of they whose conduct (karma), that is, regular activities (nitya-karma), are based on the Vedas (ānuśravikam), that is, enjoined by the mantra, that is, that which is anuśrava, meaning, to be heard uttered by the guru. Moreover, according to this statement from the Viṣṇu-rahasya, ‘Because soundness of mind can come about from excretion of stool, urine, and so forth, the anus and urinary organ are instruments of his worship [i.e., worship of Bhagavān],’ the vṛttis i.e., functions] of the anus and urinary organ are [also to be considered] bhakti because of [their having] a relationship with bhakti. In this way vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti is defined. Then, by the word tu, its sādhyā [i.e., the type of bhakti to be attained by vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti, namely], bhāva-bhakti, and that [type of bhakti] known as rāgānugā, are to be separated [i.e., to be understood to also be separately alluded to]. The natural (svābhāvikī) vṛtti only of such nature [i.e., of bhāva-bhakti, or of rāgānugā-sādhana-bhakti] is superior to (garīyasī), that is, better than, even siddhi, that is, mukti. Thus, the meaning ‘Even a natural (svābhāvikī) vṛtti is greater, that is, superior to, mukti’ is to be taken. A natural (svābhāvikī) vṛtti is also to be understood to be of two types: (1) the vṛtti in relation to Hari of the senses of someone engaged, solely because of the injunction of śāstra, in pure bhakti taught by śrī guru who has ascended to the level of niṣṭhā, ruci, or āsakti by repeated practice of bhajana becomes natural (svābhāvikī), like that of worldly people in relation to a husband, son, and so forth [i.e., the vṛtti in relation to Hari of the mind and senses of someone engaged in advanced practice of vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti becomes natural (svābhāvikī)], and (2) the vṛtti in relation to Hari of the senses of someone possessed of conduct stated in bhakti-śāstra completely naturally, that is, entirely without the injunctions of śāstra, either before or after instruction from guru, by the influence of a special saṁskāra produced by the association of a past or present mahat of this nature also becomes natural (svābhāvikī) [i.e., the vṛtti in relation to Hari of the mind and senses of someone engaged in rāgānugā-sādhana-bhakti at any level becomes natural (svābhāvikī)]. … Thus, in this way, a vṛtti of the senses, such as hearing, related to Bhagavān that is connected with the mantra taught by guru, is in accord with the directives stated in the bhakti-śāstra, is free from desirousness of anything else [i.e., other than bhakti], and is apart from jñāna, karma, and so forth, is bhakti. That, furthermore, in small measure, as sādhana-bhakti, is unnatural (asvābhāvikī). That itself in full measure, as sādhya-bhakti [i.e., the realized state], is natural (svābhāvikī), and [is known as] bhāva-bhakti. That itself, even in some small measure, when it is natural (svābhāvikī) on account of superiority in character (jāti), is called rāgānugā-sādhana-bhakti, and that when full in character and measure is rāgānugīya-bhāva-bhakti. This discernment is to be known in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.”

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