Bhakti Is Enough – Part 1
A series by Kishore Krishna das: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
Many devotees wonder exactly where bhakti starts and stops in their lives. Can all activities be bhakti? Should one distinguish between sadhana and one’s engagement with work or family? To what extent is Krsna present in subtle healing modalities such as pranayama, astanga-yoga, or different types of therapy? Does engagement or reliance on such activities affect one’s standing on the path of bhakti? And, most importantly, how does faith play a role in all of this?
In answer to such questions—and more—this article explores modern Gaudiya lifestyles and perspectives through the lens of Srila Rupa Goswami’s defining verse of uttama-bhakti. In the first part, as an introduction, I unpack the concept of faith and establish bhakti’s ability to fulfill the deepest desires of the jiva. In the second part, I dive into Srila Rupa Goswami’s conception of uttama-bhakti and how practitioners may stray from this path through overt or subtle divergences, offering prominent examples—along with rebuttals—of bhakti covered by jnana; in the third part, I do the same for bhakti covered by karma. And in the final part, I explain how a sadhaka can properly orient themselves to remain fixed on the path of uttama-bhakti—even when using assisting practices in the stage of anartha-nivrtti—thus ensuring the development of Krsna-prema.
Desires of the Jiva
Bhakti alone can fulfill all the desires of the baddha-jiva—principally, the desire to end suffering and the desire to attain prema (love of God). This conviction is the spirit of sraddha (faith), the inspiration of saranagati (surrender).
Capable of Ending Suffering
Tied tight to the world-knot of its ahankara—karmic self-identity—the baddha-jiva experiences suffering from three relationships: the body and mind, other living beings, and the natural environment.1 The attempt to control one relational cause of suffering—without spiritual practice—only heightens another relational cause of suffering. Thus, modern humans live in fortified homes, providing considerable shelter from natural elements and other living beings, but suffer greatly from mental and physical disorders. You push down here, it comes up there. And to the extent suffering is present, the baddha-jiva cannot help but desire freedom—liberation from the fear and anxiety that pervades material life. Bhakti is more than capable of fulfilling this desire.
In the stage of sadhana, bhakti removes material distress, klesa-agni. This process begins immediately upon taking up the path, as Krsna–nama gradually purifies one’s heart. Attachment is the womb from which suffering is born, and bhakti gives the baddha-jiva a higher taste and corresponding discernment that unveils material goals to their basic form—temporal and full of suffering—allowing one to lay them aside. This process of retiring material attachment is complete at the stage of ruci, when saranagati is fully in place.
Unlike other paths that can only dispense with aparabdha (unmanifest) karma, bhakti is also capable of removing one’s parabdha (manifest) karma, as blemishes transform into ornaments in Krsna’s service. By the ingress of the svarupa-sakti (Krsna’s internal energy), a pure devotee’s body and mind are transfigured into cid-ananda-maya, ontologically spiritual. And just to “swell the sea of blessedness,”2 the progressive stage of bhava even makes moksa (liberation) appear insignificant—such is the inner freedom experienced in Krsna-bhakti!
Capable of Awakening Prema
As Srila Sridhar Maharaja poetically elucidates on Svetasvatara-Upanisad 2.5, “You were born in nectar. You were born to taste nectar.”3 Born to taste prema, nothing short of this will fulfill our heart’s desire. And as Swami B.V. Tripurari explains, “It is not the digging that creates the water, but the water that creates [causes] the digging.” Everyone is searching—directly or indirectly—for that well of prema within, but only bhakti can awaken it. Prema is the sole property of Bhakti-devi, and her eternal yearning to please Krsna in newer and sweeter ways is the cause of unimaginable mercy. She seeks to bring sincere sadhakas within her fold to assist in seva to Sri Krsna—and this is our greatest fortune!
Rupa Goswami lists two characteristics of prema, the first of which is ananda visesatma—composed of condensed bliss. This bliss, appearing first as fleeting yet deeply inspiring moments in sadhana bhakti, becomes increasingly more reliable and concentrated with the progression of faith. Although the journey up the mountain to nistha (steadiness) is testing, the path is all downhill after one attains ruci, real taste for bhakti. This ananda becomes the guide on the path to prema. Bhakti is the way, and bhakti is the goal.
And yet, the jiva’s desire is not even focused on its own bliss—this is simply a side-effect of the heart’s transcendental tunnel vision closing in on Sri Krsna. As Bhakti-devi’s mercy fully descends, the suddha-bhakta begins to long for a specific service, shaped by their purified will. How can I position myself—in the midst of Gopal’s dearest—to increase his pleasure? Such prema attracts—and even subdues!—Krsna (Sri Krsnakarsini). This is the second and most astonishing characteristic of prema-bhakti.
Sraddha, Saranagati, and Sastra
Simply by practicing bhakti, all my desires will be fulfilled—my life will become perfect. This is Sraddha, the conviction that Krsna’s mercy—in the form of his name, devotees, deity, pastimes, etc.—is overwhelmingly powerful and gracious, at all times and more so than any other practice. This inner confidence gives distinct shape to one’s qualities and activities. More specifically, Srila Jiva Goswami insightfully posits that sraddha manifests externally as the six-limbed expression of saranagati.4 Thus, faith is embodied in “[1] accepting everything favorable to devotion to Krsna, [2] rejecting everything unfavorable to devotion to Krsna, [3] being confident that Krsna will grant his protection, [4] embracing Krsna’s guardianship, [5] fully offering one’s self to Krishna, and [6] realizing one’s lamentable lowliness.”5 This saranagati manifests in one’s thoughts, words, and actions, both through conscious cultivation and spontaneous expression. Thus, a saranagata will consciously commit their mind to focusing on the names of Krsna during japa, and this absorption may later manifest as natural receptivity and submission to Krsna’s inner guidance or the Guru’s instruction. This type of faith and corresponding surrender invites bhakti to fulfill her desires through us, being nondifferent from our own: to free us from suffering and drown us in an ocean of prema.
Jiva Goswami also describes faith as “conviction in the contents of the scriptures.”6 This means that one is acquainted with and has deep conviction in Gaudiya Vaisnava teachings as presented in texts such as Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya Caritamrta, and Bhagavad Gita, along with the insightful commentaries of revered acaryas (teachers) in one’s spiritual lineage. This does not mean that one has read every scripture and commentary—one may not have even read any scripture if they are learning directly from their Guru—but it does mean that they understand the essential tattvas (truths) of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings. After all, to have faith in bhakti, one must understand what the path and goal entail. Although this is revealed to some extent through subtle inspirations during the worship of Krsna-nama, one really needs higher guidance and revelation to sort out the dynamic entirety of what Krsna-bhakti constitutes. How can the finite understand the Infinite, unless, out of his infinite mercy, the Infinite chooses to reveal himself? Thus, sastra (scripture)—made accessible by the Guru—guides and fortifies a sadhaka’s nama-kirtan, which, in turn, confirms deeper and deeper imports of scriptural revelation, humbling one before the magnitude of mercy revealed. Sastra is no longer seen as an impersonal book of rules and parameters but a living account of the profound wisdom and heartrending affections expressed by Krsna and his devotees—this is sastriya-sraddha. Thus, one takes great confidence in slokas that seek to reinforce faith, such as this one spoken by Sri Krsna to Arjuna:
teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te
To those who are constantly devoted, who worship me with love, I give the discrimination by which they come to me.7
But many devotees do not receive this divine discrimination, as they still have faith in other means—in practices of this world. Due to anarthas, faith in jnana and karma accumulated over infinite lifetimes, one’s conception of bhakti is clouded. Although sadhu and sastra share pure bhakti-tattva—that bhakti is independent and thus only comes from bhakti—one still misinterprets it through their karmic lens. One restricts bhakti’s mercy in their life by believing bhakti is dependent on something she is not, and this lack of discernment solidifies one’s anarthas. It is one thing to have worldly desires, and it is another thing to believe bhakti is dependent on worldly desires; the latter is much more subtle and insidious. Thus, we hear very “flowery” descriptions of anartha-nivrtti that obscure the simple, straightforward beauty of what it means to be a sadhaka. It is true—you are unique, you are special, and you are more beautiful than your wildest dreams. But it is not your material ahankara that makes you so; it is your indwelling svabhava, “jivera svarupa haya—krsnera nitya das,”8 brought forth only by suddha-bhakti.
So, regardless of the purity of one’s heart, if one can truly come to understand that the only thing missing in their life is faith in bhakti, then one is perfectly situated. How bright is the future of that sincere sadhaka? I pray to always be in the association of such devotees! Bhakti is very subtle, like the glasses lost on your nose. To catch a little drop of the true spirit of bhakti is more glorious than lifetimes of advanced jnana, yoga, or karma, as none of these practices can awaken prema, the ultimate goal of life. Actually, a devotee much prefers to clear impediments through bhakti-sadhana rather than through other means, because the process of grace is most beautiful, and because one’s faith in Krsna increases as a result. On this path, one does bhakti to get more bhakti—the way is nondifferent from the goal. Thus, if one desires to attain Krsna in Vraja, they must align their orientation with that ideal. Again, purity of the heart will come in time, but we must be purely oriented now to truly be on the path of uttama-bhakti.
Therefore, śraddhā is the most honourable wealth of the jīva. As long as a sādhaka who possesses śraddhā resides in the realm of sādhana-bhakti, that śraddhā takes on the name of niṣṭhā (determination), ruci (taste), asakti (attachment) etc. according to the stage of his cultivation of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. Gradually, as bhāva (ecstasy) arises, then that śraddhā becomes nirguṇa-śraddhā (pure divine śraddhā unaffected by the modes of nature), and takes on the names of rāga or rati (loving attachment). That rati is the gateway to the temple of prema (love divine).9
- Adhyatmika, adhibautika, and adhidaivika, respectively. [↩]
- Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Siksastakam, trans. Swami B.V. Tripurari (Mandala Publishing, 2005), Verse 1. [↩]
- B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, Search for Sri Krishna: Reality the Beautiful (Mandala Publishing, 1983) 22. [↩]
- Jiva Goswami, Bhakti Sandarbha, trans. Satyanarayana (Jiva Institute), anuccheda 173. [↩]
- B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamrta (Mandala Publishing). [↩]
- Jiva Goswami, Durgama-sangamani-tika, trans. Bhanu Swami (BBT, 2020), commentary to BRS verse 1.2.17. [↩]
- Bhagavad Gita, trans. Swami Tripurari, (Mandala, 2011) verse 10.10. [↩]
- Krsna das Kaviraja, Sri Caitanya-Caritamrita, Madhya Lila, Verse 20.108. [↩]
- Bhaktivinode Thakura, “Sraddha,” trans. Swami B.V. Giri, Sajjana-Tosani 9, no. 8 (1897). [↩]
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Expand upon your commentary regarding the appropriation of modern psychology within bhakti circles to “clear out samskaras.” Prabhupada always taught us that practicing bhakti alone was sufficient to erase prarabdha karma and samskaras. I do feel that this is the essence of sraddha, to accept that bhakti alone is sufficient. I also see bhakti groups reframing psychotherapy as “anartha nivritti.” This is concerning.
I wholly agre with you. In a recent Namarasa podcast, an ex disciple of mine colorfully reiterates the central theme of his book, Radical Personalism: “Our ultimate goal is the nara-līlā of Krishna. Nara-līlā means fully human and fully divine. Not only fully divine, fully human as well. So if I’m not fully human and as we say yesterday, I’m trying to enter Goloka with a half-baked dysfunctional humanity. Maybe there will be a purgatory at the entrance, you go there for therapy for a few six months and then you can enter līlā.”
In the above comment from the podcast and throughout his book the author misrepresents the relationship between psychological development and spiritual progress. He argues that since our ideal is to enter Kṛṣṇa’s human-like līlā, sādhakas must first achieve full psychological balance to qualify for Goloka. This conflates relative human notions of emotional balance with standing in spiritual reality. While psychological stability is undoubtedly valuable, it is relative, culturally contingent, and incapable on its own of unraveling the world knot of ahaṁkara, what to speak of having power to propel one to prema. The prayojana of prema arises only through trans-rational sādhana and grace.
Moreover, the human-like līlā of Kṛṣṇa does not conform to modern ideas of psychological balance. By these standards, figures like Madhumaṅgala, Candrāvalī, and even Śrī Rādhā might appear “imbalanced.” And while fostering psychological health is important, it must be understood within a transcendental framework that appropriately contextualizes it. Importing secular psychological paradigms into Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism risks inflating self-centeredness and encouraging one to walk his or her own independent path, which directly contradicts the jīva’s inherent nature of subservience to Kṛṣṇa.
If we equate psychological balance with sattva guna, that balance will express itself as fully embracing trans-rational spiritual practice—sādhana—as opposed to rationalizing in an effort to make Gauḍīya Vedānta conform to the relativity of modern popular psychology.
Yes they have connection there, but need for therapy is need for mind
Need for doctor is for body
Need for bhakti is for soul.
Keepin’ this simplest than can be
Thank you, Swami. Here is a quote from Srila Prabhupada regarding Freudian psychotherapy, which seems relevant:
Śyāmasundara: In his theory of psychoanalysis, Freud states that by remembering and reevaluating emotional shocks from our childhood, we can release the tension we are feeling now.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: But what is the guarantee that one will not get shocked again? He may cure the results of one shock, but there is no guarantee that the patient will not receive another shock. Therefore Freud’s treatment is useless. Our program is total cure—no more shocks of any kind. If one is situated in real Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can face the most severe type of adversity and remain completely undisturbed. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we are giving people this ability. Freud tries to cure the reactions of one kind of shock, but other shocks will come, one after another. This is how material nature works. If you solve one problem, another problem arises immediately. And if you solve that one, another one comes. As long as you are under the control of material nature, these repeated shocks will come. But if you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, there are no more shocks.
DBR,
Thanks for your interest. I expand on this topic in Part 3, bhakti covered by karma, looking at psychology through the lens given by Rupa Goswami in Bhakti-Rasamrita-Sindhu. And in Part 4, I discuss how to properly see indirectly connected practices in relation to bhakti-sadhana (svarupa-siddha-bhakti).
Actually, one of the main inspirations for these articles was the experience of a close friend of mine in ISKCON-affiliated ashrams (I don’t mean to belittle ISKCON, as it is a big and variegated mission. I just mention it to show the prominence of these ideas). He asked me many questions regarding this topic because he had experienced many devotees speaking about healing traumas and psychological balance as part of anartha-nivrtti. The unclear distinction between these practices and the transrational practices of bhakti that awaken faith caused him a lot of confusion.
Could you explain this ” Thus, we hear very “flowery” descriptions of anartha-nivrtti that obscure the simple, straightforward beauty of what it means to be a sadhaka. It is true—you are unique, you are special, and you are more beautiful than your wildest dreams. But it is not your material ahankara that makes you so; it is your indwelling svabhava, “jivera svarupa haya—krsnera nitya das,”8 brought forth only by suddha-bhakti.” in more detail?
The idea here is that when devotees consider material desires/goals to be integral parts of bhakti-sadhana, they speak about anartha-nivrtti in a very flowery way, almost like it is the goal itself. Distracted sadhana is compared to the union and separation of prema, and self-acceptance is prioritized over surrender and dedication. These perspectives usually involve some entitlement or pratistha, and they are forms of bhakti covered by karma.
In the other extreme, bhakti covered by jnana, one speaks about anartha-nivrtti in a very cold and harsh way, overemphasizing austerity, detachment, and suppression of the body and mind in the fight against maya. Both of these extremes get in the way of sadhana because the real goal, attachment and surrender to Krsna, is obscured.
Bhakti is the middle way. One humbly and honestly accepts one’s adhikara, and through sincere dedication and prayer to Krsna—all while naturally supporting the body and mind as necessary—one gradually transcends one’s material identity and simultaneously begins to awaken their inherent nature as a loving servant of Krsna. Even a glimmer of this indwelling svabhava is more beautiful and meaningful than any flowery description one could give to their material ahankara. A sadhaka should be focused on cultivating this.
Interesting, so surely in the preliminary stages of bhakti one may have their bhakti covered by one of this other yoga systems. Because of how subtle all this may manifest how does one truly know their bhakti is in fact pure and directly connected to the goal?
And what is the difference between self acceptance and surrender in the example you gave about bhakti covered by karma?
Engage in bhakti for its own sake, not for material gain (karma) or merely to end suffering (jnana).
The pure orientation to uttama-bhakti has been succinctly described by Swami Tripurari.
As described in part 2, devotees who still have desires for jnana or karma understand theoretically (by scriptural faith) that they are not in their real interest. Serving under and deeply attached to the pure faith of an advanced devotee, these devotees solidify their standing on the path of uttama-bhakti. Thus, sadhu sangha will make it clear to one whether their bhakti is pure or covered.
One’s bhakti is covered when one cannot accept that desires for karma or jnana, or faith in their efficacy on the path of bhakti, are undesirable for bhakti. This is exemplified in the example you ask about. Although some self-acceptance is healthy for sadhana, when it is overemphasized, it becomes a point of validating one’s anarthas and not being willing to change one’s ways and mentalities for Krsna’s service (surrender).
To embrace the path of uttama bhakti in the stage of sādhana is to do so with the conviction that the efficacy of bhakti is not dependent upon assistance from the karma or jñana margs and to pursue it not for the goal of material progress nor for the goal of ending suffering. So there is uttama bhakti in the sādhana stage, in which one is not pure and has material desires but does not pursue bhakti for their fulfillment but rather to attain prema.
Thanks for clarifying, Guru Maharaja.
Que buen artículo Kishore, se nota la madurez de tu práctica y de tu Guru. Sin duda hay que tener una sangha que inspire y ayude en diferentes aspectos que has mencionado. Sólo algo que quizá se te olvidó comentar que considero también importante (por experiencia personal) es la estabilidad económica para avanzar en el servicio devocional puro en un sentido enfocado, lo que permite asistir a las reuniones anuales cuando un guru viaja a tu país y/o lugar cercano a donde puedas seguirle en sus clases (asociación), conversar, recibir su instrucción, aportar para gastos de viaje y dar donativos no sólo a él sino al lugar donde se imparten los programas. O bien vivir en algún ashram sirviendo, pero generando recursos para tu manutención porque sino estarías en calidad de mantenido aunque se cuente con un laksmi (como fondo de retiro para la vejez) que obviamente iría directo al ashram, una vez cobrado, sea la cantidad que sea.
Sí! Radha y Krishna me hicieron tener más Fe en Ellos sin olvidar a mi Nitay, señalándome el camino a seguir incorporándome nuevamente a la jornada laboral material de forma diferente.
Gracias Kishore por este tu primer artículo, no he visto los demás. Llegué a esta página casualmente por buscar en google un artículo que leí hace varios años que me inspiró mucho, de cómo Thomas Merton conoció el Bhagavad Gita, sus intercambios con un devoto y su muerte inesperada, no lo encontré, sólo otro y el de aquí.
Haribol! Thanks for your comment, Luz.
Yes, financial stability can be very helpful for a sadhaka. Getting this in place could be seen as a form of aropa-siddha bhakti, or bhakti through attribution. That said, it is important to see forms of aropa-siddha bhakti as subservient to our svarupa-siddha bhakti (practices that are inherently bhakti, like sravanam, kirtanam, and guru seva). Therefore, one should be willing to accept or reject financial income or a job depending on its favorability for bhakti. This requires proper spiritual discernment. I explore this a bit more in the later articles, especially article 4.