Pure Devotional Service: The Change in Heart

In the Third Chapter it is explained that the results of worshipping devatās is insignificant and that senses are useless without being employed in bhakti to the Lord.

What you asked about duties of the dying person I have explained in terms of the two paths for the yogī. Among those person, from those who are wise and dying, such as you, I have described the process of hearing, glorifying and remembering the sweet pastimes of the Lord.

Now hear the activities for those who are not intelligent among men. Or this section can be said to be supplied as an explanation of who should be worshipped, by first showing the deities whom the foolish worship. This description continues until verse 9. Brahmaṇaḥ patim means “the master of the Vedas.” The Prajāpatis are the sons of Brahmā such as Dakṣa.

Māyām means Durgā, vibhāvasum is Agni. The strong man (vīryavān) who desires abundant semen to enjoy with many women (vīrya-kāmaḥ) should worship the Rudras.

Annādyam means to feed others or to eat. Aditi’s sons are the twelve Ādityas. Viśām saṁṣādhakaḥ means those engaged in agriculture and trading.

Ilām means earth. Pratiṣṭhām means they do not want to fall from their position. Rodasī means the heaven and earth.

Apsara urvaśīm means the Apsarās and Urvaśī.

Yajñam is a name of Indra. Dampatyārthaḥ means a person desiring mutual affection between a man and woman.

Uttamaḥ-ślokam means Dharma. Tantuḥ tanvan means desiring increase of descendents. Puṇya-janān means the Yakṣas. The Maruts are devatās.

Rājya means “desire to be a king.” This is distinguished from desiring a kingdom for which one worships the Viśva-devas mentioned in verse 4. Manūn refers to the Manus who protect the Manvantaras (seventy-one yuga cycles each). Abhicaran means killing enemies. Nirṛtim is a Rākṣasa. Kāma-kāmaḥ means desiring sense gratification. Having mentioned the activities of the foolish people, Śukadeva then mentions the activity of the intelligent person. The person desiring to destroy all material desires (akāmaḥ) should worship the supreme person, Bhagavān.

Not only those persons who have a desire to destroy all material desires should worship the Supreme Lord, but also those with all desires and those with no desires should worship Bhagavān. According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, akāmaḥ means a pure devotee. Jīva Gosvāmī in his Sandarbha says that akāmaḥ means a person whose only happiness is the happiness of the Supreme Lord. The word sarva-kāma includes all desires in general. Mokṣa-kāma is mentioned separately in order to cut down peoples’ thought that they are without desire (since they desire liberation). Or the word can indicate than the person desiring liberation is even more filled with desire than the person desiring material comforts, since it follows directly after the word sarva-kāmaḥ. The word kāma itself indicates a desire to destroy suffering and attain happiness. Those desires are shown to be stronger in the jñānis engaged in destroying the suffering of their saṁsāra and anxious for the experience of the happiness of brahman than in the karmīs who desire to destroy temporary suffering and gain temporary happiness of Svarga by worshipping devatās. But the devotees are engaged only in giving happiness to their worshippable Lord. The word niṣkāma is applicable to them. This is understood from their statements:

nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu vrajāmy aham |

teṣu teṣv acyutā bhaktir acyutāstu sadā tvayi ||

Wherever I may wander, O master, among thousands of species of life, in each situation may I have firmly fixed devotion to you, O Acyuta. Viṣṇu Purāṇa

sva-karma-phala-nirdiṣṭāṁ yāṁ yāṁ yoniṁ vrajāmy aham |

tasyāṁ tasyāṁ hṛṣīkeśa tvayi bhaktir dṛòhāstu me ||

May I have firm devotion to you in whatever birth I take allotted by my karmas.

tan naḥ samādiśopāyaṁ yena te caraṇābjayoḥ |

smṛtir yathā na viramed api saṁsaratām iha ||

Please tell us how we may constantly remember your lotus feet, though we continue in the cycle of birth and death in this world. SB 10.73.15

King Parīkṣit also said, as he began his fast:

punaś ca bhūyād bhagavaty anante ratiḥ prasaḍgaś ca tad-āśrayeṣu |

mahatsu yāṁ yām upayāmi sṛṣṭiṁ maitry astu sarvatra namo dvijebhyaḥ ||

On the other hand, in whatever birth I receive, may I have rati for the unlimited Lord, excellent association with his devotees who take shelter of him and friendship with all living beings! I offer respects to the brāhmaṇas. SB 1.19.16

Udāra-dhīḥ means very intelligent. To make Bhagavān the subject of one\s devotion whether it is without desires or with desires is a sign of good intelligence. Not worshipping the Lord is a sign of foolish intelligence. That bhakti should be strong (tīvreṇa), without the mixture of jñāna or karma, like the rays of the sun unmixed with clouds.

After the worshippers of various devatās have their desires fulfilled what goal do they achieve? Nothing. But if they receive mercy of devotees then they attain bhakti. The worshippers of devatās (yajatām) will attain the highest good (niḥśreyasoòayaḥ), if (yad) an attitude of service (bhāvaḥ) to the Lord arises because of association with devotees. Otherwise no good arises, because the devatās cannot bestow the highest good. The Lord says:

ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ |

te ’pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam ||

ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca |

na tu mām abhijānanti tattvenātaś cyavanti te ||

Those who are devoted to other gods and with faith worship them--they also worship me, but by the wrong method, O son of Kuntī.

I am the enjoyer and master of all sacrifices. Those who do not know me in truth fall down. BG 9.23-24

Worship of the devatās is not a cause of developing bhakti to the Lord at all. Association with devotees is the only method. That association is unpredictable as explained before.

“It is improper take shelter of one deity at the end of life after taking shelter of someone else for one’s whole life. How can it be proper to make the person who has always worshipped some devatā develop devotion to the Lord at the end?”

Such worshippers of devatās are actually very low, because even the worshippers of brahman take to the worship of the Lord. The progression is shown in this verse.

When (yad) there arises jñāna, which destroys the multitude of whirlpools of the guṇas, which brings satisfaction of the self, by which there is detachment from material enjoyment, and which is the path approved for merging, then bhakti-yoga arises.

One should not worry that one cannot attain association of devotees since that mercy is spontaneous, as explained previously. By the mercy of the Lord, Sanaka and others attained bhakti. By the mercy of devotees, persons such as Śukadeva attained bhakti through kīrtana and other processes. Who absorbed in the happiness of bhakti (nirvṛtaḥ) would not have attachment (ratim) for topics of the Lord? This means that the person without attachment for the topics of the Lord is not happy at all. Here the superiority of pure bhakti to karma, jñāna, yoga and worship of devatās is shown. And whatever they aim to achieve in those processes is accomplished by bhakti alone. And for all those persons practicing various methods, the highest result (prema) is finally attained by only bhakti. Thus pure bhakti which disregards karma and jñāna, without any of those desires, whose principle activities are hearing, glorifying and remembering the Lord, is the method of producing prema. This is the opinion of Śukadeva. Among those methods, chanting the name of the Lord is the supreme method. Thus five items (karma, jñāna, yoga, bhakti and prema) have been delineated. This is the meaning of the section in summary.

In saying this he expresses wonder, since all the questions were answered properly. Ṛṣim means he who sees the supreme brahman. Kavim means that among the sages he the most expert at describing the Lord.

Having understood that hearing and chanting are necessary, what else did Parīkṣit ask? They hoped that he would ask about the topic of Kṛṣṇa that should be heard and chanted. One cannot say the other topics even about creation and sub-creation, Manvantaras and kings are unrelated. Even those topics about creation and sub-creation which conclude in discussion of the Lord should be heard because they end with the discussion of Kṛṣṇa.

That assembly of devotees, among mature and immature assemblies, was the best of all. There the hearer and the speaker were most extraordinary. That is explained in two verses. While a child, Parīkṣit would enact Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

Bhagavān means omniscient. In the meeting of devotees, there will be topics containing Kṛṣṇa’s qualities which generously fulfill (udārāḥ) the mind’s desires. Those qualities of the Lord are fixed for devotees in the present and future. Thus at that place he will produce those qualities of Kṛṣṇa. Topics which give rise to talks about Kṛṣṇa are relished by the devotees.

This is not an activity which can be delayed. The sun rises and sets. It steals away men’s lives except the life where there arises the opportunity (kṣaṇaḥ) for hearing topics of Kṛṣṇa. Or the sun steals way life, except the life where even just a moment is spent in the topics of the Lord. By this alone, life becomes successful. It is said that when one branch of the tree bears fruit, the whole tree becomes successful. What then to speak of all the branches bearing fruit. If one spent one’s whole life absorbed in Kṛṣṇa’s topics, how wonderful it would be! “If that is so, and life is not taken away by hearing about Kṛṣṇa, from the moment of hearing about Kṛṣṇa, a person should not die.” That is true. It is said that the wealth of those of good character is imperishable wealth, since others spend their wealth in unlimited pleasures. The smṛti says:

samam abrāhmaṇe dānaṁ dviguṇaṁ brāhmaṇa-bruve |

adhīte śata-sāhasram anantaṁ veda-pārage ||

In giving to the non-brāhmaṇa the amount remains the same. In giving to a brāhmaṇa in name only the amount doubles. In giving to a brāhmaṇa who knows the Vedas thoroughly, the amount multiplies by a hundred thousand. Manu-smṛti 7.85

The devotee, blessed with long life by Kṛṣṇa, then becomes the associate of the Lord. Certainly his life is indestructible. Thus the devotee of Kṛṣṇa does not have his life stolen away. The devotees’ old age, death and sickness appear by the will of the Lord for increasing his longing for the Lord, for letting the opinions of others not be destroyed2 and for protecting the confidential nature of his devotees. They are not caused by time or karma. This has been explained in the chapter concerning Bhīṣma’s disappearance.

The person whose life is not stolen away does not receive rebirth in this world. Do not the trees live? They live much longer than the humans. But they do not breathe. Does not the bellows breathe? The bellows breathe more strongly than the humans. But the bellows do not eat. Do not the animals eat and mate? They can eat more than the humans. Apare indicates animals in human form.

Their animalistic life is to be condemned. They are glorified profusely by dogs, pigs, camels and donkeys. He as one person accepts the qualities of us four (animals), whereas we are all incapable of taking up another animal’s qualities. He, being a human, can take up so many qualities of animals, and we being animals, cannot take up even one quality of another animal. Overstepping his scripture ordained by dharma, he accepts our qualities with passion. We however are fixed in our qualities by destiny. He is aware of the hell into which he will be born by following our qualities, whereas we are dull-witted and cannot understand anything of the future. In this way the animals praise him in four ways. The dog’s quality is to become angry without reason. The pigs quality is eat impure items. The quality of the camel is carrying heavy burdens. The quality of the donkey is to get kicked by his mate. Kṛṣṇa has never gone in that person’s ears. Gadāgraja means “he who appears in front of sickness (gada) as its enemy.” Thus he will appear and destroy the sickness of anger and other bad qualities of the animalistic man.

After the whole person has been criticized, the parts of his body are criticized in five verses. Oh! How lamentable! (bata) The ears of a man who has not heard the glories of the Lord are holes fit for snakes to live. The tongue which does not chant the glories of the Lord is offensive (asatī) like that of a frog. Or it is like an unchaste woman, which destroys all of one’s piety. Though a person becomes successful by performing bhakti with even one of these limbs, they are criticized since they are otherwise useless.

The topmost limb, the head, is simply a burden decorated with crown and turban. It drowns him in the ocean of saṁsāra. The hands are those of a dead person. The devatās and Pitṛṣ do not accept water given by that person because he is impure.

The eyes which do not see the deity form of Viṣṇu are like those on the peacock feather. Those persons whose eyes do not see the path of deliverance for the self fall into the thorn field of saṁsāra. The feet of men who do not go to holy places are born as trees. They are similar to the bases of trees, cut by the axes of the Yama-dūtas.

After criticism of various parts of the body, there is now criticism of all of them together. The person who does not touch (abhilabheta) the dust of the devotees’ feet, who does not smear that dust on his body, is like a living corpse --a departed soul (śavaḥ), who frightens the devotees by his presence. This means that the Lord does not accept the service from his hands. The person who is not eager to smell the fragrance of tulasī attached to the Lord’s feet is also a breathing corpse.

The external limbs individually and collectively have been criticized. Now the internal nature of the person indifferent to the Lord’s glories is criticized. That heart which does not transform by the many names of the Lord being chanted (gṛhyamāṇaiḥ) is iron (aśma-sāram). The transformation is described. The body hair should stand up. The Sandarbha says that if one continually chants but the heart does not melt, that is a sign of nāmāparadha. However it should not be said that simply by tears and hairs standing on end that a person has a melted heart. Rūpa Gosvāmī has said:

nisarga-picchila-svānte tad-abhyāsa-pare’pi ca |

sattvābhāsaṁ vināpi syuḥ kvāpy aśru-pulakādayaḥ ||

When a person has a hard heart and practices exhibiting the sāttvika-bhāvas, without even a touch of emotion, the appearance of tears or other symptoms are called niḥsattva. BRS 2.3.89

And in devotees with very deep experience of prema, external tears and hairs standing on end may not be seen, even though they have melted hearts. Therefore this verse should be explained as follows. That heart which does not transform with chanting, but still has tears in the eyes and hairs standing on end (imitation), should be considered an iron heart.

The extraordinary symptoms of transformation of the heart should be the list of items starting with kṣānti:

kṣāntir avyartha-kālatvaṁ viraktir māna-śunyatā |

āśā-bandhaḥ samutkaṇṭhā nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ ||

āsaktis tad-guṇākhyāne prītis tad-vasati-sthale |

ity ādayo ’nubhāvāḥ syur jāta-bhāvāḍkure jane ||

The anubhāvas or characteristics of a person who has developed the bud of bhāva are as follows: tolerance, not wasting time, detachment from enjoyment, pridelessness, confidence in the Lord’s mercy, longing for the Lord, taste for chanting the name of the Lord, attachment to discussing about the Lord’s qualities, and attachment to living in the abode of the Lord. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.3.25-6

Tears and hair standing on end are the ordinary symptoms of the heart melting. When the uttamādhikārīs who are nirmatsara chant, they will experience the sweetness of the name. In that state there will be the symptoms such as tolerance and tears. When the majority of kaniṣṭādhikārīs with matsara chant, they will not experience the sweetness of the name, and transformation of the heart will not take place. The symptoms starting with tolerance do not appear. Even though they may show tears or hairs standing on end, they should be criticized as having iron hearts. However, by association with devotees, when they pass through the stages of anartha-nivrṭti, niṣṭhā, ruci and āsakti, with time, the heart will melt, and the iron heart will dissolve. Those whose hearts melt but remain iron-like are hard to cure. This is explained in relation to sa-bīja-yoga-dhyāna in the Third Canto:

evaṁ harau bhagavati pratilabdha-bhāvo

bhaktyā dravad-dhṛdaya utpulakaḥ pramodāt |

autkaṇṭhya-bāṣpa-kalayā muhur ardyamānas

tac cāpi citta-baòiśaṁ śanakair viyuḍkte ||

The unfortunate yogī who has developed love for the Lord, full of all sweet qualities, whose heart is somewhat soft because of devotion, whose body hairs stand on end in ecstasy, who is constantly overcome with intense tears of joy, gradually withdraws his hook-like mind from the Lord's form. SB 3.28.34

Dravad-dhṛdaya means his heart has melted. However baòiśa (fish hook) means it is still iron since the fish hook is made of iron. The bhāva that he attains and the melting of the heart are ābhāsas or semblances only, since he gradually withdraws the mind from the Lord. Why give up the Lord who is the real goal of life? By the bhakti in this meditation, he cannot be called a devotee but a yogī since he gives pain to the limbs of the Lord, the object of his meditation, by his fish hook heart, which is hard and bent.

The ideas present here are supported later in the text:

sā vāg yayā tasya guṇān gṛṇīte

karau ca tat-karma-karau manaś ca

smared vasantaṁ sthira-jaḍgameṣu

śṛṇoti tat-puṇya-kathāḥ sa karṇaḥ

Actual speech is that which describes the qualities of the Lord, real hands are those that work for him, a true mind is that which always remembers him dwelling within everything moving and nonmoving, and actual ears are those that listen to sanctifying topics about him. SB 10.80.3

These statements, by negative expression, confirm the necessity of practicing bhakti which is the conclusion of the scriptures.

“Therefore, because of this, please tell us.” “What should I tell you?” “According to your inclination, you speak what Śukadeva said. There is nothing else to say.”