तदेवं तेषां बहुभेदेषु सत्सु तेषामेव प्रभावतारतम्येन कृपातारतम्येन भक्तिवासनाभेदतारतम्येन सत्सङ्गात्कालशैघ्र्यस्वरूपवैशिष्ट्याभ्यां भक्तिरुदयते । … तत्र प्रथमं तावत्तत्तत्सङ्गाज्जातेन तत्तच्छ्रद्धातत्तत्परम्पराकथारुच्यादिना जातभगवत्साम्मुख्यस्य तत्तदनुषङ्गेनैव तत्तद्भजनीये भगवदाविर्भावविशेषे तत्भजनमार्गविशेषे च रुचिर्जायते ।
tad evaṁ teṣāṁ bahu-bhedeṣu satsu teṣām eva prabhāva-tāratamyena kṛpā-tāratamyena bhakti-vāsanā-bheda-tāratamyena sat-saṅgāt kāla-śaighrya-svarūpa-vaiśiṣṭyābhyāṁ bhaktir udayate | … tatra prathamaṁ tāvat tat-tat-saṅgāj jātena tat-tac-chraddhā-tat-tat-paramparā-kathā-rucy-ādinā jāta-bhagavat-sāmmukhyasya tat-tad-anuṣaṅgenaiva tat-tad-bhajanīye bhagavad-āvirbhāva-viśeṣe tat-bhajana-mārga-viśeṣe ca rucir jāyate |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 202)
“Thus, in this way, bhakti manifests with speciality in nature (svarūpa) and with swiftness or time [i.e., relative slowness] as a result of sat-saṅga in accord with a gradation in types of bhakti-vāsanās [i.e., the predilections for particular forms of bhakti fostered by the sādhus with whom one associates], [as well as] in accord with a gradation in [the degree of] grace [received by an individual from the sādhus with whom one associates], and in accord with a gradation in the potency [i.e., spiritual prowess] of those [sādhus] among the numerous types of sādhus there among [i.e., among all the sādhus who are Vaiṣṇavas]. … In this regard, taste [alt., liking] (ruci) for a specific appearance [i.e., form] of Bhagavān as one’s specific object of worship (bhajanīya), as well as for a specific path of worship (bhajana) of him, manifest in the course of ongoing specific association [i.e., association with a specific type of Vaiṣṇava sādhu] for someone in whom intentness (sāmmukhya) upon Bhagavān has manifested by means first of all of a specific form of śraddhā, a specific form of taste (ruci) for the kathā [i.e., discussion of Bhagavān] of a [specific] paramparā [i.e., lineage of Vaiṣṇava sādhus], and so forth, [which become] manifest as a result of a specific form of association [i.e., the association of a particular Vaiṣṇava sādhu].”
Commentary
Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī describes here the stages by which a jīva in saṁsāra becomes a particular type of bhakta of Bhagavān: (1) the jīva receives the association of a Vaiṣṇava sādhu of a particular type; (2) as a result, the jīva acquires śraddhā and ruci for discussion of Bhagavān that are of that particular type; (3) the jīva thereby becomes intent (sāmmukha) upon Bhagavān; and then (4) by continued association with that particular sādhu, or sādhus of the same type, the jīva acquires ruci for a particular form of Bhagavān [e.g., Śrī Kṛṣṇa of Vraja] as one’s object of worship and ruci for a particular manner of worship of that particular form of Bhagavān. This process unfolds at varying speeds depending on the relative potency of the sādhu(s) the jīva associates with, the relative amount of grace the jīvas receives from the sādhu(s), and the relative quality of the bhakti-vāsanās fostered by the sādhu(s) that the jīva associates with.