Narada Bhakti Sutra

The Narada Bhakti Sutra (IAST: Nrada Bhakti Stra) is a well known sutra venerated within the
traditions of Hinduism, urortedl! soken "! the famous sa#e, Narada$ The te%t details the ro&ess of
devotion (Bhakti), or Bhakti !o#a and is thus of arti&ular imortan&e to man! of the Bhakti
movements within Hinduism$ It has re&eived arti&ular attention amon# the 'aishnava traditions$
Sanskrit s&ritures often aear in variant editions whi&h ma! show di(eren&es in or#ani)ation and
verse num"erin#$ *or e%amle in the translation "! Swami +ra"havananda there are ei#ht!,four verses
arran#ed in nine &haters-./, whereas in the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust translation "! A$ 0$
Bhaktivedanta Swami +ra"huada and his dis&ile Satsvarua dasa the ei#ht!,four verses are
or#anised into 1ve &haters$
As or#ani)ed "! Swami +ra"havananda, the te%t &overs the followin# su"2e&ts:
0hater . (verses .,3) rovides a de1nition of "hakti$
0hater 4 (verses 5,.6) stresses the imortan&e of renun&iation and self,surrender$
0hater 7 (verses .8,46) rovides e%emlars of divine love$
0hater 6 (verses 48,77) endorses "hakti as the hi#hest #oal of human life$
0hater 8 (verses 76,64) rovides su##estions on how to ra&ti&e divine love$
0hater 3 (verses 67,89) e%lains the imortan&e of seekin# hol! &oman!$
0hater 5 (verses 8.,85) dis&usses the di(eren&e "etween rearator! and sureme devotion$
0hater : (verses 8:,57) &overs the forms of divine love$
0hater ; (verses 56,:6) re&ommends the ra&ti&e of ethi&al virtues and worshi of <od$
Key Concepts
=ithin the te%t Narada e%lains the erfe&tional sta#e of ure devotion> the ro&ess to a&hieve this
state> #ives ?uotations from other 'edi& ersonalities on the su"2e&t matter> thin#s to avoid when
develoin# "hakti> and 1nall! e%lains the nature of sel@ess love and the di(erent forms of atta&hment
to the Sureme erson$

Pure Devotion
*irstl! "hakti itself is de1ned as "ein# Athe most elevated, ure love for <odA-7/ whi&h is eternal "!
nature and throu#h followin# whi&h one o"tains erfe&t ea&e and immortalit! (release from samsara)$
The s!mtoms of su&h devotion are that one no lon#er has an! selifsh desires, nor is a(e&ted "! the
dualities of loss or #ain for himself "ein# full! &ontent with (and e%erien&in# e&sta&! throu#h) the
ro&ess of "hakti itself$ Narada des&ri"es that lust is a"sent in one who e%e&utes "hakti urel! "e&ause
the! naturall! have no ersonal desires to ful1ll$
The asirant "hakta is en&oura#ed to renoun&e Aso&ial &ustomsA and Areli#ious ritualsA and to fo&us
urel! on servi&e to <od with e%&lusive dedi&ation, "ein# indi(erent to whatever ma! stand in the wa!
of su&h servi&e$ A&tivities of so&ial &ustom and reli#ious rituals that are favora"le to devotional servi&e
are still romoted "ut devotional a&tivities are #iven as Athe onl! means for rea&hin# the erfe&tion of
life$A
The te%t then #oes on to ?uote '!asa, <ar#a and Sandil!a in terms of their oinions on what is "hakti,
#ivin# the oinion that all three are &orre&t "ut in &on&lusion A"hakti &onsists of o(erin# oneBs ever! a&t
to the Sureme Cord and feelin# e%treme distress in for#ettin# HimA$ The <ois (&owherd women) of
'rindavan are #iven as an e%amle of devotees who disla! this form of ure "hakti, "ut warnin# is
also made a#ainst Bfalse devotionB made in imitation of this erfe&tional sta#e whi&h Narada follows "!
statin# A*urthermore, the Cord dislikes the roud "ut is leased with the hum"leA$
Bhakti begets bhakti
An imortant oint is made in verse 79 in re#ard to the relationshi "etween "hakti and knowled#e:
ABut the son of Brahma -Narada/ sa!s that "hakti is its own fruitA -:/$ In his &ommentar!, A$ 0$
Bhaktivedanta Swami +ra"huada further des&ri"es in re#ard to this verse that A"hakti is not
deendent on an!thin# else for nourishmentA-;/ "ein# &omlete in itself, without deenden&e on the
aths of either knowled#e or renun&iation$
Obtaining bhakti
The methods initiall! des&ri"ed for o"tainin# "hakti are as follows:
<ivin# u wordl! leasures and the &lose &oman! of others who indul#e su&h a&tivities
=orshiin# the Sureme Cord &easelesl!
Hearin# and seakin# a"out the CordBs se&ial ?ualities and a&tivities
However, followin# these three, the te%t #ives the Amer&! of #reat soulsA or Aa small dro of the CordBs
mer&!A-.9/ as the most imortant fa&tors in develoin# true devotion$ Sa!in# that su&h asso&iation is
so rare and re&ious that it &an onl! "e o"tained throu#h the mer&! of <od Himself, thus the
instru&tion is #iven in verse 64: AStrive, strive onl! for the asso&iation of ure devoteesA$
Items to avoid
Alon#side the a&&etan&e of ositive ra&ti&es in the &ultivation "hakti, the te%t also des&ri"es items
whi&h should "e avoided "! the asirin# "hakta$ Intimate dealin#s with others who are a#ainst the ath
of "hakti or who indul#e in sinful ha"its is des&ri"ed as otentiall! dan#erous for one attemtin# to
urif! their &ons&iousness: ADaterial asso&iation is the &ause of lust, an#er, &onfusion, for#etfulness,
loss of intelli#en&e, and total &alamit!A -.4/$ It further e%lains that onl! one who a"andons su&h
material asso&iation, serves the sa#es and "e&omes sel@ess in their dealin#s, renoun&in# desires for
ro1t or #ain &an &ross "e!ond the o&ean of illusion$ Even the 'edas are #iven as an o"2e&t to renoun&e
for one for wants to o"tain ure and uninterruted love for <od-.7/$ In later &haters however an
instru&tion is also #iven that rese&t should "e shown for all s&ritures whi&h romote "hakti (devotion)
and an asirant "hakta should endeavour to follow the instru&tions of su&h te%ts$
The nature of pure love
The te%t states that the true nature of ure love of <od is "e!ond des&rition, "ut this does not restri&t
<od from revealin# it to those who are ?uali1ed$ Fn&e this ure love is o"tained it sa!s that a erson
Alooks onl! at the Cord, hears onl! a"out Him, seaks onl! of Him, and thinks onl! of HimA -.8/$
Se&ondar! forms of this love are #iven as stein# stones whi&h "rin# one to the erfe&tional sta#e,
with ea&h sta#e nearer to erfe&tion "ein# "etter than those re&edin# it-.3/$ It is also stated that
"hakti is a mu&h easier ra&ti&e to o"tain erfe&tion throu#h, than "! an! other ro&ess$ The reason
"ein# that Ait does not deend on an! other authorit! for its validit!, "ein# itself the standard of
authorit!$ *urthermore, "hakti is the em"odiment of ea&e and sureme e&stas!$A

Ultimate attachment
In &on&lusion the sutra #ives an instru&tion to Aatientl! endureA -.:/ until the erfe&tional sta#e of
"hakti "e&omes manifest, whilst &ultivatin# ?ualities su&h as nonviolen&e, honest!, &leanliness,
&omassion and faith$ A#ain it is said that the Cord Areveals Himself to His devoteesA-.;/ and that
"hakti is the most re&ious of all ossessions$
Ne%t a list of forms of atta&hment is #iven, throu#h whi&h a devotee should attain a lovin# feelin#
towards <od, in&ludin# :
atta&hment to the CordBs ?ualities
atta&hment to His "eaut!,
atta&hment to worshiin# Him,
atta&hment to remem"erin# Him,
atta&hment to servin# Him,
atta&hment to dealin# with Him as a friend,
atta&hment to surrenderin# oneBs self &omletel! to Him,
atta&hment to "ein# a"sor"ed in thou#hts of Him,
*inall! a num"er of devotional 1#ures from +urani& s&ritures are ?uoted as "ein# a#reement with the
truth of the ro&ess #iven, in&ludin#: the *our Gumaras, '!asa, Huka, Sandil!a, <ar#a, 'ishnu,
Gaundil!a, Sesha, Iddhava, Aruni, Bali, Hanuman and 'i"hishana$
The last verse of the te%t #ives the messa#e that: AAn!one who trusts these instru&tions soken "!
Narada and is &onvin&ed "! them will "e "lessed with devotion and attain the most dear Cord$ Jes, he
will attain the most dear Cord$A