Narada Bhakti Sutras Lecture 05 Su.1-3 on 20-December-2018

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

Opening Invocation

ॐ जननीं सारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगदगुरुम पादपद्मे तयो: श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहु :

Om Jananim Saradam devim Ramakrishnam jagadgurum Padapadme tayoh shritva pranamami muhurmuhuh.

Introduction to the Bhakti Sutras

We are discussing Narada Bhakti Sutras. Narada doesn't claim that he is the author of Bhakti Sutras. He is only a collector, compiler, editor, and he adds his own commentaries.

His greatness is that there must have been vast literature. He selected some of them which is practical, which is most useful for all of us. So that is what we will discuss.

What is a Sutra?

In our last class we discussed, this is called a Sutra. Sutra means a tremendous amount of information compressed in the least possible words. They say a joke about Sutra:

If a Sutrakara, means one who is composing the Sutras, can reduce one syllable, he would rejoice as though a son is born to him. If a man gets a son, he becomes very happy.

So like that - that means how much we can compress without making it unintelligent. That is the goal of life. Naturally, the subject matter will be there.

Bhakti Sutras, Yoga Sutras, Dharma Sutras, etc., etc., will be there. This is called Narada's Bhakti Sutra.

Who Can Compose These Sutras?

Only a person who himself is a great person, who could write a book on music. Only a person who himself is a great musician. No theoretician can ever do this one. Narada was one of the greatest devotees on earth.

First Sutra: The Beginning

The Meaning of "Atha"

The first thing they tell is, "Atha" - the word Atha has two meanings:

It has a literal meaning
It is Mangala Sutraka (indicator of what is very auspicious)

Why auspicious? Because it is our tradition - we have to pray to God, that whatever we have undertaken must be successfully completed without any obstructions. That is the first thing.

The second thing that we need to understand is that we need God's grace, so that God's grace could give us the right understanding. That is why we always pray to Ganesha, we always pray to God.

In this world, any book means it is knowledge, so that the knowledge can come only from God, Mother Saraswati or by God's grace only.

So Atha is both a Mangala Sutraka and also a prayer. Always every Sutra literature starts with the word Atha:

अथ ब्रह्म जिग्ञासा (Atha Brahma Jijnasa)
अथ धर्म जिज्ञासा (Atha Dharma Jijnasa)
अथ भक्तिम् याख्यास्यामः (Atha Bhaktim Vyakhyasyamah)

The very first word makes it crystal clear what this book is about.

भक्तिम् - devotion. What is devotion? How devotion could be obtained? What could be the possible obstructions for attaining real devotion? And are there some shortcuts, methods by which we can obtain what we desire to have? Same thing applies to Yoga, Dharma, even anything. Crystal clear explanations.

The Complete First Sutra

अथ भक्तिम् याख्यास्यामः (Atha Bhaktim Vyakhyasyamah)

What is the meaning of अथ?

First meaning is Mangala Sujika
Second meaning is "Therefore"

Therefore means what? A person wants to become a doctor - he can't straight enter into a medical college, he has to complete pre-medical course, then only he is ready. So presumably, this person, any person who wants to become a bhakta must have certain qualifications, fulfilled qualifications, then only he is fit to enter into that particular subject.

Now you have got qualifications, now that you have the qualifications, are you ready for entering? Because a person may have qualifications, but may not feel like entering into the subject. Many people are like that, if we analyse our life.

So, here is a person who is qualified, and who is ready. अथ - Therefore, now, therefore, you are ready.

We are going to expound, to whom? To you. You means who? The person who is really... he must fulfil two conditions:

First, he must have requisite qualifications
Second, he must be absolutely ready for that

Now that you have, we are going to expound what is the subject - bhakti means? Devotion. Devotion to whom? It cannot be devotion - the word bhakti cannot be used by definition to anything else.

So if a devotee says, "I love my property," so in transcript language, that love is called bhakti, but you can't use that word bhakti to any type of love attachment. It can be only used for one purpose: If it is God, it is bhakti. If it is not God, what is it called? Kama, desire.

So bhakti - very clear understanding we must have. याख्यास्यामः - we will expound, means we will not leave anything in doubt, absolutely we will expound it.

By this word याख्यास्यामः also indicates: I am not the author, I am only a person who is carrying it, and who is handing it over, like our teachers, history teachers, science teachers - what does he do? He will not say, this is the first time anybody is teaching this subject. He will say, I have already received it from my past teachers, previous teachers, I am only passing it on to you.

Second Sutra: The Definition of Bhakti

सा तु अस्मिन् परमा प्रेमा रूपा (Sa tu asmin parama prema rupa)

Breaking Down the Definition

सा (Sa) means Bhakti. What is भक्ति?

परमा प्रेमा रूपा (Parama Prema Rupa) - it must be of the nature of supreme love.

Supreme means what? Beyond that there cannot be anything else. परमा also indicates it is not a divided love.

What is Worldly Love?

We have some love for:

The body
Our parents
Our brothers, sisters
Wives, husbands, children
Friends, country
Our job, our colleagues
So many things we have

And also it means, if I say "I love something," it means by proxy, I also don't love somebody. In our normal human usage of words, though we do not use it, whenever we use a particular word, that means there is something directly diametrically opposed to it.

For example:

This is white - what does that mean? It's not painted any other colour, not only black, any other colour
This is a man - what does it mean? He is not a woman

This is how our knowledge goes. There is no other way we can really either experience or convey the knowledge.

The Supreme Nature of Divine Love

But here by using the word Parama, it has not the opposite - there is no opposite to it. God doesn't have any opposite. Usually sometimes in literature, God and Devil, so that doesn't apply here.

So if we understand God, what we really mean: He is everything. Then who is the Devil? He must be God only.

Christian literature has a lot of problems. They say there is good and evil in this world. Who created the good? God created. Who created the evil? Satan created the evil. Now the question comes: who created Satan? Ultimately we have to accept that God is responsible for both good and evil.

Yes, Hinduism absolutely accepts: who created good? God. Who created evil? God only. So everything, any creation must come only from God, nothing else.

Why? Because God can be only one. Besides God there can be nothing else. So whatever comes, whatever we experience, necessarily has to arise only from God, nothing else.

Two Meanings of Parama

So Parama means our love - it means two meanings, we discussed it last time:

The supreme - our love, it is what is called divided love. But for God we cannot give divided love. We can only give complete love, 100%. He doesn't accept 99%. He accepts only 100%. So from our side it is 100% love.
From God's side - He is the only receiver. Nobody else can receive. 100% love - if you are loving somebody, only God can receive.

This is something wonderful we have to understand. Suppose you love somebody 100% - that person will run away from you. Why? That means 24 hours you are binding him or her with your so-called love, and no man wants that kind of bondage. You know, love, our love is the greatest bondage.

A Personal Example

I tell you something very... what I have experienced. There are some mad caps in the world, and then they fix all their attention on one person. So for example, I happen to be that person.

Always they will be phoning, and they will come. If somebody is there, you are all sitting here, if that person comes, he or she will not accept to sit there. Wants to come and sit the nearest to me, and breathe into my mouth.

I have to literally throw them out and say, "Sit there, I can't bear your bad breath."

So you understand now? This person wants to see me, wants to talk to me, and then jealousy comes. That is undivided love, they call it. That means you can't love anybody else, and only I expect you to return to me. How oppressive it becomes - terrible.

But in the case of God, it becomes a merit. Why? Because he is a free person.

The Meaning of "Asmin"

अस्मिन् (Asmin) means what? God.

In God. So why he used this particular word asmin? There are two words: asmin and tasmin. This and that.

"This" means which is nearer to me. "That" means anything further from me is called that.

So if God is somewhere else, then I cannot love. Because love is such a thing - even if physically a person is not present, my mind is only visualising that object right here. So God must be everywhere. That means wherever I go, God must be there.

If he is somewhere and I am here, it is impossible for me to love him.

Holy Places and God's Presence

And then he is also telling me: maybe in the beginning you have the idea that God is in Vaikuntha, Kailasa and somewhere else. And our devotees are peculiar devotees. All devotees are peculiar, not only our devotees. Every devotee is peculiar in the beginning. Then peculiar means particular. Afterwards they become generalised.

So here is Ramakrishna's temple. And there is a temple in Belur Math. So if we ask them, "Do you consider both of them equally holy?" They won't answer. Because Belur Math is much more holy than our also temple. That is their idea of God.

So there also God is there. Here also God is there. Is it a true statement? Yes or no? Why yes or no? God cannot change. He can't be more there. He can't be less here. So that is the real answer.

But also we are human beings. So there are certain places called holy places. So when we go to Varanasi, that place is much more holier. When we go to Kamarpukur, Jayrambati, Belur Math, Dakshineswar - these are called our chaturdhamas. Four holy places for the devotees. And they don't need to go to Rameshwaram, then Puri, then Badrinath, and Dwarka. These four places need not be gone. These are our chaturdhamas.

So always when we go to Belur Math, we feel that that is holier. No, it is not holier. Then why do we place so much of importance? There God is much more easily available than anywhere else.

The Well Analogy

It's like two people dig two wells. In one well, the water is 200 feet deep. In another, you can just put your hand and take it out. Naturally, where do you think you will be going? To the well where we can get.

So what is a holy place? Somebody had dug the flowing God who is flowing far underneath, brought him up, so that is why it is easily available.

Sri Ramakrishna gives this beautiful example: Water is everywhere, but if somebody digs a well, then everybody goes there. Why is water easily available there? Not only that, some water will be salty water, and some water will be very sweet water. So a holy place is one where God's presence is felt. Not only felt, we feel very happy.

Stories of Holy Places

Swami Brahmananda's Experience

Once Swami Brahmanandaji, with some devotees, went to Kanyakumari. And wherever Maharaj used to go, he used to have darshan of that particular deity. And once he went to Tirupati. And there he had the vision of the Divine Mother.

He was shocked. He said, "Venkateshwara's temple - why am I having the vision of the Divine Mother?" Later on, upon enquiry, he came to know that previously it was a female deity. Later on, some Ramanujacharya changed it to a male deity. Because Ramanuja was a fanatical Vishnu Bhakta. So he did not want Devi and others. In those days, that conflict was there - Shakta, Shaiva, Vaishnava. Conflict was there.

The Laughter at Kanyakumari

Swami Brahmanandaji went to Kanyakumari. Swami Prabhavanandaji and others went there. The moment they entered into the temple, everybody was feeling an irrepressible laughter. They felt just burst out laughing. But of course, they were with great difficulty, they were controlled. They did not understand.

Then later on, when they came out, then they asked Swami Brahmanandaji, "Why did we feel like that?"

He said, "That's because - see, a child who is hungry, who is playing, suddenly he spies his mother. Immediately, his face bursts into unimaginable joy and he runs and hugs the mother."

Swami Brahmanandaji was having the vision of the mother. And he had described later on, that indescribable beauty of the Divine Mother as Kanya - really, nobody can say that. Because he was feeling so much joy, all the people, they were also feeling that tremendous joy, indirectly, because he was manifesting it.

Like electricity is everywhere, but if there is a heater, then the heat will be felt by everybody. So he had become a heater. Even though electricity is there, the Divine Mother was there, but he became the conduit for that.

Who Makes Holy Places Holy?

What are we talking about? That there are certain places, though God is equally present everywhere, but he is especially felt where there are holy people.

So in Narada Bhakti Sutras itself, we get one sutra: तीर्थी कुर्वन्ति तीर्थानि (Tirthi kurvanti tirthani) - who makes these holy places? A person who has become holy, he himself will make it.

Girish Chandra Ghosh's Story

There is a funny story about this - the story means a real incident was there. This Girish Chandra Ghosh never believed in all these holy places and other things. He never used to go to take bath. Perhaps when he felt the heat, to become a little cool, he might have gone. Not in the sense that we devotees go and take bath to become holy.

So in the old age, he started going and taking bath regularly. Somebody asked him, "What is this? He used to say, these are all superstitions. Why do you go there?"

He said, "Do you know why I go? You don't understand why I go. I am trying to explain to you. So many sinners come and take bath in the Ganges, and it becomes impure. And this body had touched the holiest of the holies - Ramakrishna's feet. So when I take bath in the Ganga, the Ganges itself will become purified, so that it will be ready to purify other people."

Is it a fact? It's a fact.

The Puranic Story

There was a Puranic story - Gajendra's story was there, you know. This man who was a sinner, he went to a Rishi's ashram, and he was waiting for the darkness to disappear, night to come to an end. Suddenly he saw three very ugly old women. They had come and they started sweeping the ashram.

As they were sweeping, slowly their old age started disappearing, their ugliness started disappearing. By the end of the service, they were shining like divine deities.

So this man, he fell at their feet and said, "I watched the whole drama - who are you and what's happening here?"

Then they revealed and said, "We are Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. Every day, millions of sinners take bath and pollute us, but we come here to get rid of that pollution. By doing service to this holy man, we get rid of our pollution."

Is it a cock and bull story or is it a fact? It is a fact in life, because we have yet to acquire that Shraddha, by which we have to believe in all those things.

The Transformation of Places

So there is a Sutra here: Tirthi Kuruvanti Tirthani

So it means two things:

First thing is: before Sri Ramakrishna's advent, what was Dakshineswar? What was Kamarpukur? What was Jayrambati? It was just an ordinary useless village, superstition ridden village. The moment Sri Ramakrishna was born, what did it become? Jayati te adhikam janmana vriaja-bhoomi - It becomes most beautiful. Now millions of people, went their way to Mathura, Vrindavan. Why did they go there? Because they want to get purified there.
So two meanings are there: Tirthi means a realised soul, Paramabhakta. He has become Brahma - Brahmaiva bhavati. A knower of Brahman becomes what? Brahman himself. A knower of Brahman becomes Brahman. A knower of God becomes God.

So where such people are there, wherever they go, if Bhagavan Krishna takes birth in Vrindavan, what becomes Vrindavan? So the whole Vrindavan has become so pure, so holy for all of us, by the very fact of His birth.

Similarly, Ayodhya and Jayrambati, Kamarpukur, etc.

The Story of Kaliya

Incidentally, I am only telling, that this Kaliya, he was poisoning. Then he was a Paramabhakta of Krishna. Do you think Krishna will dance on anybody and every useless old snake? He must be really Paramabhakta.

Then this Kaliya was offering. What was coming out as Krishna was, he was taking out all the poison, let poison go. When God would access in the heart of anybody, what happens to the people? Only all the impurities, ajnana will become totally destroyed.

So it just created conversation. Somebody was asking, "God Himself is dancing on your foot and you are offering poison."

Then he said, "What else can I offer? After all, God only has given me poison. So whatever He has given me, that only we can offer with compound interest."

So Krishna said, "Why are you poisoning these waters? You go out."

He said, "I don't want to poison. It is only to attract your attention. But there is a curse. The moment I go out of Yamuna, Garuda will come and kill me."

Then Krishna said, "That is why I danced. I left my footprints upon your hood. The moment Garuda comes, here is this Kaliya, I want to kill. He comes - this is the footprints of whom? He is Divine Lord. Not only He will not kill, He will make pranams to Kaliya and disappear."

The Greatness of Belur Math

What are we talking about here? That wherever a holy person does tapasya - for example, Sri Ramakrishna did superhuman tapasya in Dakshineswar. That is why it has become such a holy place.

And then, why Belur Math is such a holy place? Because there also, all the direct disciples, you know - Mahapurushas, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Brahmananda, Swami Yogananda, Swami Premananda - what gigantic souls, such great souls, 16 such great souls, at one time, in one place, have gathered there.

We can only imagine, if one such person is there anywhere, it becomes a holy place. Raghavendra Swami, one such person, or Shankaracharya's birthplace, Kaladi, or like that, each Acharya. 16 such great souls, Mahabhaktas, Mahajnanis, they have gathered at Belur Math. What else do you think it will become?

Two Meanings of the Sutra

So, wherever a person brings out, makes the manifestation of God, so that we can all access that God, that is called making places holy. Who can do that? Only a holy man can make anything holy. This is one meaning.

Second, it is said, that when a person realises God, immediately he has a tremendous desire to come and go to places of pilgrimage. Why? The reason we have pointed out.

Many people like us, we only go to holy places to take something from there. We also contribute. What do we contribute? All our Papas, impurities, we contribute there. Someone has to come and then clean the whole lot. So, who will be cleaning? These holy people, when they go, they will be cleaning. That's why Holy Mother went on pilgrimage, Sri Ramakrishna went on pilgrimage.

Swami Turiyananda's Experience at Puri

Another fact I want to tell you, that once Swami Turiyananda visited Puri temple, and as soon as he entered into the temple, a divine fragrance started spreading all over. He was looking around, there was no flower or anything like that. He was wondering, where from this fragrance, which he never had experienced before in his life?

Then Sri Ramakrishna appeared suddenly and said, "Do you know where from the fragrance is coming? Many Gods and Goddesses, they have Darshan of Jagannath, they come for having the Darshan of Jagannath to purify themselves. And from their bodies, divine bodies, the fragrance is coming. So, that is why you are getting this."

So many incidents are there like that. But this also proves a fact. There are so many Gods and Goddesses, whom we have come not to believe because of our arrogance, that we are very well educated people. This is all for illiterate people, superstition.

No, Sri Ramakrishna has come to prove every word that is there in the scriptures.

Coming Back to the Definition

Coming back to our subject, Asmin means God is everywhere. Even though God is everywhere, a place where some Mahatma had specially did Tapasya and brought him up, that is the place for us to easily access God at our stage of evolution.

Once we have God vision, then we can go anywhere and have God vision.

So, Narada was defining, Nirvachana, of what is Bhakti. Sa - that Bhakti. Asmin - Asmin means, if I am able to see God right here, because I should be able to, that is true Bhakti. If I say God is somewhere, I have to go on pilgrimage, He has yet to become a real devotee.

Remember, do not forget. This is a definition. True Bhakti. We have not achieved it. Later on, He will tell us how to achieve it.

Tu means what? This is the only truth. So, don't go to 100 people, take 100 people's opinion and get your brain spoiled. What is the truth? What I am telling you is Param Satya.

How do you know? Because I am a Bhakta. I see God everywhere. Narada sees God everywhere. If he is a Param Bhakta, do you think he has to go to Vaikuntha to see God? Is he not seeing God here?

Why Does Narada Travel?

Then the question comes: why does he go to Loka Sanchar? Why does he go around the world? Not to see God. But to help devotees, that if there is a sincere devotee, but he is struggling to overcome some problem, so Narada will go and then he will tell him, "So that is a wrong thing. This is the right thing."

Often times he does it through a quarrel. That's why he was also called Kalaha Priya. But his purpose is: as many devotees as he could make.

The Nature of Prema

Sa - that Parama, Prema. Parama means supreme. Now we come to the word Prema.

What is it? It is of the nature of Prema. No English word can translate this word Prema. Because it is love. What is love?

In Bengali there is a beautiful couplet which says:

Atma Indriya Preeti Iccha Thari Naam Kaam

Krishna Indriya Preeti Iccha Dhore Prem Naam

Atma Indriya Preeti Iccha - The Kama, desire, for satisfaction of one's own body and mind, it takes the name - what name? Kama.

Krishna Indriya Preeti Iccha - Every happiness must go only for Krishna. That is called Prema.

Kama and Prema - Simple Words

If we desire any worldly things, limited things, perishable things, it is called Kama. And if we can really direct our desire towards God, that is called Prema.

So Parama, Prema. Supreme means what? I don't want anything else. I want only that. That desire from our part. And I don't want anybody else excepting God.

So gather all the emotions we have, attachments we have, and then direct it towards God.

Ramakrishna's Beautiful Expression

Ramakrishna puts it in his own inimitable language. When does a man realise God? He says when three attachments are combined and directed towards God, then he will realise God. What are they?

The love a chaste wife bears towards her husband - It's a beautiful expression.
The love a miser has towards his money or property - You should be a miser.
The love which a mother bears towards her only son

Just imagine. A mother has only son. All her Panchapranas are there in that son. All our attachments. So either we are attached to the body or we are attached to the money or some worldly object. Nothing else.

This is what Ramakrishna is putting beautifully. Let us withdraw. We have towards all these three, but broken, not supreme. That's why he has to use chaste wife, only mother, and miser. Peculiar words.

When we gather together and direct towards God, then we are going to realise God. That is the meaning of Parama, Prema, Swaroopa. This is called bhakti, true bhakti.

The Nature of Worldly Love

So any desire for worldly object is not really bhakti, because we are also perishable, objects are also perishable. Also, we really do not have that supreme love towards anything.

So this beautiful conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi: No husband loves the wife for the sake of the wife, but for the sake of the self. No wife loves the husband for the sake of the husband, but for the sake of the self.

Like that, in this world, everybody loves everything else, not for anything else, but for one's own self. So when we are selfish also, it means for my body-mind. When we are enlightened also, for this, because we see that divinity in everybody. That is the idea.

So this is the beautiful definition, but it is of the nature of the highest love for this one - asmin.

Third Sutra: The Nature of Amrita

We have discussed two important points:

First of all, who is qualified - who is an adhikari
What is then, what is true bhakti

We move on to the third sutra:

यद् लब्ध्वा पुमान् सिद्धो भवति अमृतो भवति तृप्तो भवति

(Yad labdhva puman siddho bhavati amrito bhavati tripto bhavati)

Actually, this is talking about: अमृतस्वरूपाच्च (Amritaswaroopaccha)

What is Amrita?

What is this bhakti? अमृतस्वरूपा (Amritaswaroopa) - Paramaprema is of the nature of amrita.

What is amrita? What is mrita? Mrita means mortal. That means what? Our love for anything is dying every minute.

You are thirsty, you love water, you drink water. After that your love for the water has evaporated.

You are hungry, then you fill up your stomach. Then your great love for all the eatables, what happens? There is an end.

There are what you call some chocolates - however much you desire chocolates. Once you have eaten a few, this applies to anything in this world.

Not only that, there is something else we have to understand. When we try to drink or eat or do something more, then the opposite effect will be there.

If I give you:

Two chocolates, one chocolate - excellent
Two chocolates - okay
Three chocolates - tolerable
Fourth chocolate - intolerable

Anything like that. Don't you see? We have to understand that. So long as there is a capacity, once that capacity is filled, then disgust comes for that very object which gives so much of joy in the very beginning.

Why Bhakti is Amritaswaroopa

But what is the nature of this love? Amritaswaroopa - it is not Marita.

Why is it not Marita?

First of all, it is directed towards whom? God. Is God mortal or immortal? Immortal.
Secondly, who can really love God? This is very important for you. Can a human being love God? Of course, I will explain to you what do I mean by human being. We are all human beings, so we are aspiring to become what? Bhaktas, devotees of God.

So long as I think I am the human being, I cannot have supreme love. Who can really love? Because, you see, what happens is pure psychology.

If I really truly love God, then I feel it should never come to an end. But it will come to an end, because when I am hungry, what am I thinking? Food. When I am thirsty, what am I thinking? Water. When I am tired, what am I thinking? Going to bed. When I go into deep sleep, am I thinking about God?

But the nature of Bhakta is: Tad vishmarane parama vyakulata - Narada himself is going to tell later on. Tad vishmarane - If I forget God for one second, one moment, then parama vyakulata - like a child who doesn't feel the presence of the mother, becomes terribly restless. You cannot pacify that child.

So like that, a true Bhakta, true Bhakti - who is a true Bhakta? One who has got true Bhakti.

The Difference from Sakama Bhakti

That is why it is also said, we will discuss it in future, if it is for the sake of fulfilling certain desires, it cannot be called Bhakti. Otherwise we have to call it Sakama Bhakti.

People flock in millions to Tirupati Venkateshwar. Why? They are all Bhaktas. Bhaktas are Bhoktas. Understand Bhokta?

"I am suffering from something, I hope I will give you a rotten banana, and you will give me one truckload of bananas." This is our expectation from God. Is it not?

How many of them are real Bhaktas? Going, "I don't want anything from you, I want only you." How many devotees go there? Such devotees are very, very rare.

The Immortal Nature

So here, amrita rupa - it is of the nature of immortality, because God is immortal. There is no death for God. Not only that. God is of the nature of love.

So it is very interesting, there are different countries in this world. Yesterday also I spoke, there are some people who consider God as a father - that means they can only fear Him, and they cannot love Him so much. Whereas some countries think of God as mother, so we always think of God as mother only. This is thinking of God as mother.

I hope you are following. I am not talking about Parvati, Lakshmi, Saraswati - I am talking about, even if it is Vishnu or Brahma or Shiva, our approach to God is: you are not only my father, you are more my mother.

That means what? Even if I commit a billion, billion terrible sins, I am not frightened to come to you, because I know you will rush towards me, gather me into your lap, wash me of all my sins, because you are my mother. That is thinking of God as mother.

Whereas in many other countries, God is a stern - if you do this, I will reward you, if you don't do this, I will punish you. Every office - that is what it is.

Whereas those who are true devotees, everywhere, anywhere, they change their idea: "Oh Lord, what can I do? In fact, all devotees blame God. All devotees blame God. If I am like this, whose fault is that? Your fault, because who created me? You created me. So if you wanted a nice person, you could have created a nice person. After all, we have come from you." So that is the idea.

The Psychology of Immortal Love

But the primary idea is that God is our mother, and God is of the nature of immortality. So therefore, the love for God also will be only immortal. It is a psychology.

You have to think and understand. I can talk, but you will have to make it your own. What is it?

If you love any object in this world... In fact, you cannot love any object in this world without changing it. The moment the object changes, our love for it also changes. Why? It is Mrita Svarupa. What does Mrita mean? Changeable in nature.

I will give you a simple example. Here is a sweet. Freshly made. Very nice. And you love it. But you keep it for two days, three days - what happens? There is a change in the sweet. And the moment that object changes, your love for it also changes.

After some time, it simply becomes rotten. Your own food, if it is there for two days, then you will have to throw it out. This is the nature of every worldly object, whatever it is.

A Story About False Immortality

There was a so-called saint. His disciples believed that his body is immortal. It will not decay. And a beautiful fragrance will come even after death. And so they kept it without cremation. After two days, it started. Such a horrible smell was coming hastily. They had to cremate that so-called person.

How much that affected their devotion, I do not know. But what I am trying to tell you: every object in this world is perishable. Therefore, our love for it is also perishing only.

If you analyse your relationships with anything in this world, this is the truth.

True Amrita Nature

Whereas, bhakti - we are talking about bhakti - amritasvarupa - so it means, too, that the object of our bhakti is also amrita. Not only that, that amrita, when we are thinking, what do we become? We also become amrita. Amrita only.

The Symbolism of Samudra Mantana

That is the story of this Samudra Mantana. Every story in the Puranas, especially Bhagavatam, Ramayana, has a deeper symbolism. I will tell you some other day.

But you know Samudra Mantana? The gods and demons got together and churned the milky ocean and first halahala poison has come, but in the end, amrita has come.

Outwardly speaking, externally speaking, this amrita is a kind of nice medication where people live for a long time, strong, without... That is not real amrita.

Real amrita is amrita-jnana. What is the jnana? I am divine. We are all potentially divine.

What is Samudra Mantana? Through shravana, manana and niridhyasana, we churn. Churn what? Our life, our mind, through meditation. Meditation is the churning rod.

And in the end, all the poisonous things will be removed and what comes out at the very end is amrita-jnana - that I am divine. That is called realisation and that is called mukti, jivanmukti.

God is Amrita-Swaroopa

So, God is amrita-swaroopa. So, another reason why He is amrita: there is a simple law. Anything that is born has to die. Anything that is born has to die.

You can't say about God, He is born. Because if you ask whether God is born, then you say, "Who are His parents?"

Purandara Dasa's Song

Purandara Dasa, one song, he sings, you know. "You don't have any parents. Krishna, Chetava, Rangaya, Hari - what type of madness is this? I have become mad in the name of Hari. But if I look at your story, Krishna, like that, you don't have any parents.

Because if you had parents, would you have gone stealing butter in other people's houses? If you had parents, they would have trained you. 'You don't touch anybody's...' But because you don't have any parents, nobody to train you up in good manners, that is why you went and did like that.

If you had parents, then they would have given you some shelter. Because you don't have parents, ultimately, some old snake was floating, and then you have to make that your bed, and then in the ocean, because nobody allowed you to be there."

Like that, you know, that song is so beautiful.

The Mystery of Understanding God

So, I know all that. But still, my mind doesn't... My mind doesn't understand, my life doesn't understand. I am a poor devotee.

It's a beautiful song in Bengali: "Who can understand what Mother Kali is? Even the six schools of scriptures, they do not even scratch the surface of you."

Then he says, "This is the kind of Kali. I can't understand. Nobody can understand."

In the end, he says, "My mind understands. It is impossible to understand. But my heart doesn't accept. Chand dhorate chai - he says, I want to catch the moon."

Like that, even though my mother Kali is un-understandable, but my heart, my mind says, "Yes, you fool, you can never understand it. You cannot measure." Because for measuring, something should be more than what it wants to measure.

This much measuring vessel is there. This much material is there. Then you can measure it. But if it is like a mountain, Himalayan mountain, how are you going to measure it? Your measuring rod is not enough.

The Story of Mother Yashoda

Mother Yashoda wanted to bind this small Krishna. All the cloths, all the ropes were not sufficient. Then he was looking. This lady was getting tired. Then suddenly he got caught. And she was very happy. He made her very happy. And then she went inside.

"My Krishna, what did you do?" Started crawling. There were two huge trees. And then he went in between with that grinding stone. With that, he went. And then both the trees got uprooted.

"My God!" Then the people heard that noise and came out. And then they were wonderstruck. "How is it possible? For this small child. And although he did not..." What is it?

So, who can measure the immeasurable? I know. I cannot understand anything. But my heart doesn't listen to me. Somehow, "Yes, yes, you can understand. Yes, yes, you can understand."

Because I know: by his grace, I can understand him. How can I understand him? By becoming him. Aham Brahmasmi - Now I can understand.

So, somehow that memory is there within us.

The Nature of Amrita

So, Amrita Roopacharya - It is of the nature of Amrita. That means it confers immortality. It never comes to an end. Amrita means there is no death. That means once a person has this love, nobody can kill him.

So, today I will just close it with a beautiful example.

The Story of Prahlada

Hiranyakashipu was a Rakshasa. And he had a son. Who? Prahlada.

These are the names of the stories in this story. As I said, you should never understand these stories as a cock and bull story. To entertain somebody.

Who was Prahlada? Divine love personified is Prahlada. Once that love had come. What is the nature of love? Amrita Roopacharya

Hiranyakashipu was trying to kill Prahlada. Was he trying to kill Prahlada? What was he trying to kill? His Bhakti.

Suppose Prahlada says, "Okay, I give up Narayana." Immediately, Hiranyakashipu will hug him. He says, "You are my son."

But what is Hiranyakashipu after? He is also after Narayana only. But he decided to accept an aggressive attitude: "I will get you like that." So, he was a Parama Bhakta. Jaya and Vijaya. So, there are so many things. We will discuss it later.

Bhakti Cannot Be Killed

But what is the meaning? Once Bhakti comes, it cannot be killed. He tried to kill Prahlada by:

Giving poison
Rolling him down a hill
Making huge elephants trample over him
Putting him in fire
Giving him poison
And by this...

In the Bhagavad Gita, 2nd Chapter, the nature of the Atman is:

Weapons cannot harm
The fire cannot burn him
And the water cannot wet him

These are all Pancha Bhutas. They are all affecting us. But he is not... The Atman is not one of the Pancha Bhutas.

So, very funnily, you have to understand the deep meaning of it. Fire cannot kill fire. Water cannot wet water.

So, you bring fire and say, "I will harm you." Bring more fire. It will be so happy that "my mother has come." It becomes even more. Not only that.

The Nature of Desires

There was one saying: "Kama is not quenched by Kama."

Then he gives an example. There is fire. You want to put it out. Pour petrol over it. What happens? It will only increase.

By satisfying our desires, will they become less? Will they become more?

But our logic is like that. "See, only this once I will have this. After that, forever I will not touch it." What happens now? It becomes doubly strong.

Really, it happened also. I will tell you later on this story.

The Immortality of Devotion

So, Prahlada cannot be killed. Hiranyakashipu also wants to kill him to prove to us that you cannot kill a devotee of God. Who is a devotee of God? He is having Bhakti. So, you cannot kill that Bhakti.

You might harm the body, but you can't harm the Bhakti at all. Not only that. God will come to his rescue in some ways.

Who can kill the body also? Can anybody kill the body? You have to understand this. Who can kill the body? One fellow goes, takes a gun or a knife and kills the other fellow. We think this fellow killed that fellow.

No. Who killed? God means what? Karma. The time has come. Otherwise, it is not possible. This is the truth. We will discuss this in the course of our time.

If time were not to come, even God cannot kill us. God cannot kill the Atman. Because it is like God saying, "I will kill myself." Atman means what? God only. How can Atman kill Atman? It is not possible.

The Addiction of Bhakti

So, what is the point we are talking here? Amrita Rupa Jaya - Bhakti.

Even if there is a little Bhakti, it is like drinking, getting addicted to drugs. So, after a little time, the dosage has to be increased. But this is Amrita Rupa. This dosage is never sufficient. "I want the whole ocean to drink."

So, the nature of Bhakti is Amrita.

The Characteristics of Amrita

What are the characteristics of Amrita? We will discuss it in our next talk. Because Amrita means:

A person will be healthy
He will be extremely happy
He will become absolutely unselfish
He will consider everybody as of the nature of God
He will see only God
He will see Vishnu
He will see Shiva
He will see Narayana everywhere

So, this is the idea.

What is Vaikuntha?

What is Vaikuntha? You say Vaikuntha. God lives in Vaikuntha. What does that mean?

You know what is Vaikuntha? To be able to see Narayana everywhere is called Vaikuntha. When you go into Vaikuntha, what do you see? Only Narayana.

So, is it a geographical location or is it just here? It is said, you know, if you take some snakes and paste them and put it as your collyrium, what do you think you will see? Only snakes. Because snakes are painted as collyrium.

Like that, when the collyrium of Narayana Bhakti is put on the eyes, what do you think you will see? That is called Vaikuntha. It is not a place you take a rocket and go there.

Kailasa means what? A devotee who sees God in the form of Shiva. They are not two different locations. Somehow people have given that idea. "Vaikuntha is above Tamil Nadu. Kailasa, where is it? Himalayas."

That is not the idea. The idea is to be able to see God everywhere. This is the idea.

So, if we learn how to see God everywhere, then where are we living? In the world of God, Brahma Loka. We are living in the world of Ishvara.

Gopala Ma's Experience

Ramakrishna was once remarking about Gopala Ma. For two months after the first vision, she was completely unconscious of the outer world. Twenty-four hours without a break, her mind was only beholding this divine child Krishna.

Ramakrishna remarked, "Now her mind has gone to Goloka." Goloka.

So that means what? Where is she? In Goloka. Where is this Goloka? Where is she? She is here in Kolkata. But Ramakrishna says she is living now in Goloka.

That is what we say. Suppose a mother has got a beloved child in Australia. Where is her heart? In Australia. Her body is here, but her mind is in Australia.

The Effects of Amrita

This is called Amrita, means what?

It makes a person extremely happy
Extremely healthy
What psychologists call a mature personality
It makes a person absolutely mad with love
It makes a person see only God, his beloved, Ishtadevata everywhere
It makes everybody God

Do you follow what I said just now? If you are able to see your Ishtadevata in this person, whom you didn't like before, now what are you looking? You are looking at her, and what do you look? Your God. Then this person becomes what? Only God.

Wherever you look, "I behold only God and nothing else." That is what Prema makes us.

The Magnetic Nature of Amrita

So, these are some of the meanings of what is called Amrita.

And finally, not only that, this Amrita becomes like a lodestone. You know what is a lodestone? Magnetic stone.

Not only the person becomes Amrita, whoever comes to that person, if you touch electricity, you will become electricity. Whoever touches you will also become electricity.

Like that, one magnet makes another iron object as magnet, so long as it is connected. Do you see the point?

So this person, God is Amrita. Then a devotee, by thinking of God, becomes one connected to him. Then he becomes Amrita. Then that Amrita, whoever comes to him, he also becomes Amrita.

That is why Sri Ramakrishna's advice is: "Cultivate holy company."

So many meanings are there to this word Amrita.

The Ultimate Happiness

It is one thing we have to know: it makes a person totally blessed, he becomes a Mukta, he becomes the happiest person on earth, even from a pragmatic point of view.

What else do we want? Why do people get married? To be happy. Why do they divorce? To be even more happy.

Here is a person who is completely happy - he is all the time happy.

Closing Prayer

ॐ जननीम् शरदाम् देविम् रामक्रिष्णम् जगत् गुर्म्

पादपद्मे तयोः स्रित्वाः प्रणमामि मुहुरुमु

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deveṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum

pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu