The Narada Bhakti Sutras

The Narada Bhakti Sutras is a text attributed to the sage Narada, extolling the principle of Para-Bhakti - or Supreme Love. This love comprises both the base, the path, and the fruit, and so qualifies it as the spiritual path par excellence that takes us immediately to the goal by sheer divine grace.

Transcript

The Narada Bhakti Sutras Now therefore we shall expound bhakti.

It is of the nature of the highest love for this one,

And of the nature of immortal bliss.

On attaining which,

A person becomes perfect,

Immortal,

Satisfied forever.

On gaining which,

One wants nothing,

Laments over nothing,

Hates nothing,

Delights in nothing,

And is never enthusiastic over anything earthly.

Experiencing which,

One becomes exhilarated beyond self-control,

Stands perfectly still,

And revels in the self.

It is no worldly desire,

For it is of the nature of suppression.

Suppression means abandoning all worldly and ritualistic activities,

And exclusive devotion to him and indifference to all things that are obstacles to it.

Exclusive devotion is abandonment of all other supports.

Abandonment to obstacles consists in undertaking only such activities,

Whether of ordinary life or those enjoined in the Vedas,

As are favorable to it.

Even after firm establishment in divine resolve,

The scriptures are to be respected.

Otherwise there is an apprehension of a fall.

Even ordinary life is only up until then,

Though physical activities such as taking food continue as long as one wears this body.

Definitions of this bhakti will not be stated in accordance with different views.

It is love of worship and other similar acts,

Says Vyasa,

Son of Parasara.

Fondness for spiritual conversation and the like,

Says Garga.

These are bhakti insofar as they do not clash with the contemplation of the self,

Says Sandilya.

But Narada says it is the offering of all acts to him and feeling the highest pang of separation on occasions of losing remembrance of him.

So it is,

So it is.

As for instance in the case of the cow herdesses of Raja,

It cannot be said that even there is a blemish,

The absence of recognition of divine glory.

Lacking in such appreciation is the love,

For instance,

Of adulterers.

In that sort of love,

There is no idea at all of one's feeling happy in the happiness of the other.

Now this bhakti is greater than kama,

Jnana,

And yoga,

For it is of the nature of the fruit of all these.

And because God hates egotism and loves humility,

Some think that knowledge is the one means to it.

Others are of opinion that there is mutual dependence between the two.

It is its own fruit,

Says Narada,

Son of Brahma.

For it is seen to be just so in the case of the palace,

A dinner,

And the like.

The king is not pleased by that knowledge,

Nor is hunger appeased by mere knowledge of food.

Hence this bhakti alone should be chosen by those who seek liberation.

Teachers have recommended various means to this bhakti.

It results from the renunciation of the objects of the senses and renunciation of attachment.

From unremitting adoration.

From listening to narration of various blessed qualities of the Lord and proclaiming them aloud,

Even while attending to affairs of ordinary life.

In the main,

However,

It results through the grace of the Great Ones,

Through even a little of the grace of the Lord.

Now association with the Great is hard to get,

Difficult to realize,

Though most invaluable.

Nevertheless,

It is attainable in that through His grace only.

For there is no distinction between Him and His devotees.

That alone should be sought out.

That alone should be sought out.

Little association should be shunned by manner of means.

For it is the cause of anger,

Desire,

Delusion,

Loss of memory,

Loss of intellect,

And utter ruin.

These are in themselves like little waves,

But through association become a veritable sea.

Who crosses this maya?

They that give up attachments.

They who wait upon a spiritually magnanimous soul.

They who become free of the idea of possession.

They who habitually resort to a solitary place.

Who cut asunder all worldly bondage.

And who transcend the three fundamental gunas of nature.

They give up the idea of acquisition and preservation.

They give up all desire for the fruit of their actions,

Renouncing all activities,

And thus passes beyond all pairs of opposites.

They who renounce even the Vedas.

They only have incessant love for the Lord.

That one crosses.

They cross this maya.

And they take other people also across it.

The nature of love is inexpressible in words.

It is like a dainty dish tasted by a mute person.

It finds expression very rarely in some worthy soul.

Beyond the fundamental gunas,

Above all desires.

Growing intense moment by moment,

Incessant.

Most subtle.

And fathomable only by intuition.

When one has reached it,

One sees that alone.

Hears about that alone.

Talks of that alone.

Thinks of that alone.

Secondary bhakti is of three kinds,

To be classified either according to the difference of gunas,

Or according to the difference of the afflicted and other aspirants to whom it belongs.

In either case,

Each preceding one is more conducive to beatitude than the one succeeding it.

Bhakti is easier than any other way of approach to God.

For it needs no external proof,

Being its own proof.

And because it is of the nature of peace,

And the nature of perfect bliss,

One need not worry if one's affairs go wrong.

For the self,

Worldly affairs,

And even the Vedas have been surrendered to the Lord.

So long as this bhakti is not achieved,

The ordinary way of life should not be given up.

But renunciation of the desire for reward of actions,

And discipline preparatory to it,

Should be persistently practiced.

Accounts of lust,

Wealth,

And unbelief should not be listened to.

Pride,

Vanity,

And other vices should be eschewed.

All acts should be offered up to him,

And even feelings like desire and pride should be entertained with a reference to him only.

The three-dimensional form of love should be destroyed,

And love and love alone should be entertained,

Devoted love of the eternal servant and of the eternal partner.

Bhaktas exclusively attached to the Lord are the best of his devotees.

Talking of bhakti to one another in faltering tones,

Attended with thrill and tears of joy,

They sanctify their being and the whole earth.

They turn ordinary bathing places into sacred places of purification,

Ordinary acts into pious deeds,

And words of instruction into holy texts.

They are full of him.

The pit trees are delighted in them,

The gods dance with joy,

And this earth is happy in their care.

Among them there is no distinction due to birth,

Education,

Color,

Race,

Wealth,

Occupation,

And the like,

For they are all his own.

The aspirant should not take to disputation,

For it leads to endless arguments and leads to no certain conclusion.

Works on bhakti should be studied,

And acts calculated to rouse this bhakti should be performed.

Time free from the sway of pleasure,

Pain,

Desire,

Profit,

Or otherworldly considerations is what everyone seeks,

So even half a second should not be trifled away.

Nonviolence,

Truthfulness,

Purity,

Compassion,

Piety,

And other essentials of good life should be maintained.

Free from care,

Always adore the lord alone with all your heart and soul.

If steadily praised,

The lord reveals himself soon and blesses the lovers with realization.

For all the three divisions of time,

Past,

Present,

And future,

Bhakti alone is preferable to all other paths.

Though in itself one,

This bhakti manifests itself in eleven different forms.

Attachment to the glorification of the blessed qualities of god.

Attachment to his beautiful form.

Attachment to his worship.

Attachment to his remembrance.

Attachment to his service.

Attachment to his friendship.

Attachment to filial love for him.

Attachment to romantic love for him.

Attachment to self-surrender.

Attachment to being filled with him.

And attachment to an intense feeling of excruciating pain of separation from him.

So declare the teachers of bhakti with one accord,

In defiance of public criticism.

Teachers like Sanat Kumara,

Vyasa,

Sukha,

Sandilya,

Garga,

Vishnu,

Kaundinya,

Sesha,

Uddhava,

Aruni,

Bali,

Hanuman,

And Vibhishana.

Whoever in this world believes and has faith in this gracious instruction offered by Narada,

He becomes endowed with bhakti.

They attain the highest beatitude.

Yes,

They attain the highest beatitude.

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