1. Bhakti in Advaita Vedanta Translation & Study of Madhusudana Bhakti Rasayana Lance Edward Nelson (Thesis)

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6-1-1986

Bhakti in Advaita Vedanta: A translation and study of Madhusudana Sarasvati's Bhaktirasayana

Lance Edward Nelson

Recommended Citation Nelson, Lance Edward, "Bhakti in Advaita Vedanta: A translation and study of Madhusudana Sarasvati's Bhaktirasayana" (1986). Open Access Dissertations and Theses. Paper 3453. http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/opendissertations/3453

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BHAKTI IN ADVAITA VEDÂNTA: A TRANSLATION AND STUDY OF MADHUSUDANA SARASVATÎ'S BHAKTIRASÂYANA

By (C LANCE EDWARD NELSON, M.A.

A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

McMaster University June, 1986

BHAKTI IN ADVAITA VEDANTA: MADHUSUDANA SARASVATI'S BHAKTIRASÂYANA

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (1986) (Religious Studies) MCMASTER UNIVERSITY Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Bhakti in Advaita Vedanta: A Translation and Study of Madhusudana Sarasvatt's Bhaktirasayana AUTHOR: Lance Edward Nelson, B.A. (State University of New. York at Albany) M.A. (University of San Diego) SUPERVISOR: Professor J. G. Arapura NUMBER OF PAGES: xi, 541

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ABSTRACT

Madhusudana SarasvatI (16th century), one of the greatest and most vigorous exponents of post-Samkara . Advaita, was simultaneously, and somewhat paradoxically, a great devotee of Krsna. He authored several works in which he sought to give bhakti a more prominent place within Advaita, a system traditionally regarded as hostile to devotional spirituality. The Bhaktirasayana (BR), the most important of these, is an independent composition which attempts a theoretical integration of non-dualist metaphysics and the ecstatic devotionalism of the Bhagavata Purana. The work's main thesis, borrowed from the Vaignava devotionalists, is that bhakti is highest goal of life (paramapurusartha). To establish this in the face of the orthodox Advaita doctrine that liberation alone is thehighest aim, Madhusūdana argues (1) that bhakti is God (bhagavat) appearing in the melted mind of the devotee, (2) that, since bhagavat is supreme bliss, so is bhakti, and (3) that bhakti includes knowledge of the atman and is a more blissful experience than moksa. While the argument for the experiential superiority . of bhakti in the state of jIvanmukti ("liberation in life") is plausible, Madhusudana does not show, in Advaitic terms,

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how it can be experienced eternally after death. Moreoyer, he fails to establish that bhagavat is ontologically equal to Brahman, which makes it difficult to see how bhakti, as identified with bhagavat, can be ontologically superior, or even equal, to moksa. In short, he does not present a .convincing argument for bhakti's being the paramapurusartha. In later works such as the GudarthadIpika and Advaitasiddhi, Madhusudana abandons the idea that bhakti is an independent spiritual path and itself the parama- purusartha. The commonly accepted view that he was a champion of the cause of bhakti who successfurly integrated . devotion and Advaita cannot therefore be accepted without serious qualification.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I must, first and foremost, express my deep gratitude to my Mother, Mrs. Sheila B. Nelson, without whose unfailing support and encouragement this dissertation would never have been completed. To my doctoral committee at McMaster University -- Profs. J. G. Arapura, P. Granoff, and K. Sivaraman -- I owe a special debt for their continued support and understanding during the extended period it took me to complete this work. It is my happy duty also to acknowledge the financial support given to me by The Cananda Council, which made my research possible, and also to thank the Canandian people, who indirectly provided for my graduate study through that agency and others as well, notably the Ontario Graduate Fellowship. It is my sincere hope that I will be able to make a contribution equal in some small proportion to the trust that these persons and institutions have placed in me. To my professors, now colleagues and friends, at the University of San Diego, especially Fr. Ronald Pachence and Dr. Helen deLaurentis, I must express my deep appreciation for the loving encouragement and esteem they provided in . times of need. This kindness was of immeasurable help to me in the midst of my struggles with this material.

For his considerable practical help with the mechanical details of committing this project to print, I must thank Dr. Jack Pope of the University of San Diego, Academic Computing. Thanks are due as well to Mr. Devin Milner and Ms. Pat Higgins, of the James S. Copley Library, USD, who cheerfully helped me find many obscure texts through interlibrary loans. I also must acknowledge the assistance and editorial acumen of Mrs. Lila Youngs, who was kind enough to proofread the manuscript at several stages of its development. To the revered teachers with whom I had the priviledge of studying in Poona -- Sri K. Venugopalan, Dr. V. M. Paranjpe, and Mrs. M. K. Desai' -- I offer my pranams and sincere expression of deep gratitude for sharing with me a small part of their immeasurably rich tradition. It is more than a mere platitude to say that without their help this work would have been impossible for me. I must also express my thanks to Dr. S. D. Joshi, Head of the Institute of Advanced Study in Sanskrit, University of Poona, for his kind hospitality and guidance during my stay in India, and to Prof. R. D. Laddu, retired Professor of Sanskrit, University of Gwalior, who helped me with the sections of the GadharthadIpika translated in chapter nine. The people of India -- sages and scholars, and common folk as well -- have allowed me access to a profound world of

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meaning, insight, and sentiment (rasa). In acknowledgement of this debt, I wish finally to dedicate this work to them. I cherish the hope that it will make some small contribution to the process through which their heritage is becoming a major factor in the increasingly cosmopolitan and ecumenical culture of our small planet.

San Diego, June, 1986

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv INTRODUCTION: ADVAITA, BHAKTI, AND MADHUSUDANA 1 PART I: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS Chapter I. DEVOTIONAL TRENDS AND IMPERSONALISM IN THE EARLY SCRIPTURES 20 1.1 Bhakti, Personalism, and

1.2 Impersonalism . Devotional and Impersonalist Aspects 20 Vedic Religion 1.3 Devotional Trends and Impersonalism 24

1.4 in the Major Upanisads Bhakti and Advaita in the 33 Bhagavad Gfta 43 II. BHAKTI IN THE WRITINGS OF SAMKARA 52 2.1 Introduction: Samkara as a devotee? 2.2 Samkara's Authentic Works 52 2.3 Levels of Being and Religious Structures 54 2.4 56 Structures in Place: JIva and 2.5 Isvara Samkara's Devaluation of Devotion 61 2.5.1 The penultimacy of religious 67 structures and bhakti 2.5.2 67 2.5.3 Bhakti not an independent path 70 2.5.4 Knowledge the means to liberation Saving knowledge mediated through 73 the Vedic revelation 2.5.5 74 2.5.6 Eligibility for knowledge 75 Karma and bhakti as

2.5.7 preparatory to knowledge 2.5.8 Bhakti and upasana 77 78 The seeker of knowledge rejects 2.5.9 devotion The GIta interpreted for the 82

jñanin . 88

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2.6 Social Dimensions . 2.7 Advaita Exclusivism and the Ethos of 90 Bhakti 93 II. PURANA BHAKTI AND ADVAITA IN THE BHAGAVATA 96 3.1 Introduction: the Scripture of Krşņa Bhakti 3.2 Devotion as the Supreme Path and One Goal 96 3.3 Devotion as Practice and Devotion as Goal . 99

3.4 Ecstatic Devotion 102 3.5 Metaphysical Non-dualism 103 3.6 Social Teaching 106 111 IV. BENGAL VAISNAVA CONCEPT OF BHAKTI 115 4.1 .The Flowering of Ecstatic Bhakti in Bengal 4.2 Caitanya and Sridhara 115 4.3 4.3.1 The Theology of the Gosvamins 117

The three-fold deity and his 123

4.3.2 three-fold energy Bhakti as the fifth and 124

highest goal of life 128 4.3.3 4.3.4 The definition of bhakti The stages of devotion . 132

4.3.5 The levels of ecstatic love 134 4.3.6 Bhakti given ontic status 137

as Krşna's highest power 4.4 Bengal Vaisnava Social Practice 141 149 v. MADHUSUDANA ON ADVAITA-BHAKTI: THE THEOLOGY OF DEVOTION IN THE BHAKTIRASAYANA 152 5.1 5.2 Approaching the Bhaktirasayayana Bhakti as an Independent Path 152 5.3 The Highest Goal of Life 154 5.4 Bhakti as a Modality of the Mind 156 5.5 Bhakti as Bhagavat 159 5.6 The Nature of Bhagavat 162 5.7 Bhakti and Knowledge of Brahman 167 5.8 Bhakti and Moksa 176 5.9 Bhakti Superior to Mokşa 185 194 VI. BHAKTI AND SANSKRIT AESTHETICS 199

6.1 Bhakti, Myth, and Imagination 6.2 The Theory of Rasa 200 6.3 Religious Application of the Rasa Theory 205 Bhaktirasa in the Theology of the 210 6.4 Bengal School . 6.5 Madhusadana on Bhaktirasa 215 223 ix

PART II: THE TEXT

VII. AN ANNQTATED TRANSLATION OF THE FIRST CHAPTER OF MADHUSUDANA SARASVATI'S BHAKTIRASAYANA WITH MADHUSUDANA'S OWN COMMENTARY 238 Section Divisions (Added by Translator) i Opening Prayer and Introduction to Stanza One ii. The Four Types of Yoga 238 iii. Preliminary Purification of the Mind 239

through the Yoga of Action iv. The Approach to Devotion through the 239 Yoga of Knowledge Devotion is the Supreme Goal of Life 240 v. The Goal of Life is Bliss Only 243 vi. vii. Devotion is the Highest Goal of Life 244

viii: Because It is Pure Bliss. . Other Terms in the First Stanza Explained 246

ix Scriptural Support for Devotion as 247 the Goal Of Life Devotion as Means and Devogion as End 248

Devotion Distinguished from Knowledge 249 xi of Brahman 255 xii. The Characteristics of Devotion 260 xiii. The Mind in Devotion xiv. The Three Levels of Devotees 261

xv. Other Designations of the Melted State 265

xvi. The Three Levels of Advanced . Devotees 266 xvii. a The Definition of Permanent Emotion 266

and Sentiment 267 xviii. The Permanent Emotion Becomes a Sentiment Because It is Blissful The Explanation According to Samkhya 268 xix. 272 xx Objections Based on Other Theories of Mind xxi. The Final Position on Mind 276

xxii. The Form of the Lord in the Melted Mind 280 283 xxiii. The Possession of the Lord's Form is Natural The Levels of Non-attachment 286 xxiv. xxv. The Relation of Knowledge, Non-attachment, 292

and Devotion 298 xxvi. The Nature of Knowledge 299 xxvii. The Nature of the Higher Non-attachment The Nature of Devotion 301 xxviii. 301 xxix. The Eleven Stages of Devotion 304 xxx. Colophon 305

×

PART III: CRITICAL , REFLECTIONS

VIII. THEORETICAL DIFFICULTIES 307

8.1 Is Madhusudana's Presentation Convincing? 8.2 The Eternality of Devotion 307

8.3 Bhagavat as the Eternal Experiencer 310

of Devotion 8.4 Bhagavat Still Ontologically 313

Less Than Brahman 8.5 A Suggestive Metaphysical Vagueness 317 319

IX. THE CONTINUITY OF MADHUSUDANA'S THOUGHT ON BHAKTI -322.

9.1' Possible Purposes of the BR . $9.2 Softening the Exclusivism of Orthodox 323

Advaita .. 9.3 Bhakti in the GudharthadIpika 328

9.3.1 The devotional flavor of the text 331

9.3.2 Surrender to God the GIta's 332

9.3.3 key teaching The resurgence of Advaitic 334

exclusivism 9.3.4 Modi's understanding of the GAD 335

9.3.5 Devotion for the renunciate 339

9.7 Madhusudana's Final Intention 341 350

X. CONCLUDING REMARKS 356

NOTES 368

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 527

BIBLIOGRAPHY 529

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INTRODUCTION

ADVAITA, BHAKTI, AND MADHUSUDANA

The tension between the spiritual paths of knowledge and devotion has been a key internal problem for the Hindu tradition since the rise of the devotional schools in the second half of the first millenium C.E.1 Popular Hindu piety centers on bhakti, a religion of devotion and grace, of loving surrender to a personal God. From the seventh century, the time of Samkara, however, the dominant vision of Hindu metaphysical thought has included the idea of salvation through knowledge of the radical oneness of the individual self with an impersonal ultimate reality, Brahman. Samkara's monastic followers -- a small but highly influential minority of the religious population -- have maintained and elaborated, and even today continue to carry on, the tradition of his Advaita ("non-dualistic") Vedanta.2 For these renunciates, the tat tvam asi ("That thou art") of the Chandogya Upanisad, which seems to proclaim the identity of the soul and Brahman, is the sacred Word that conveys enlightenment. But for the devotionalists, who not without reason see any tendency towards monistic thought as inimical

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to the development of bhakti, both this "great sentence" (mahavakya) and the aspect of Upanisadic thought which it symbolizes are problematic.3 Religious devotion, like other forms of love, seems to require several things. First, it presupposes duality, so that there can be a relationship between the lover and the beloved. Second, it demands that each term of the relationship be personal, capable of feeling and response. That is to say, the relationship must be between an "I" and a "thou." It is difficult to imagine a love relationship between an "I" and an "it." Third, and here religious devotion differs from ordinary love, the relationship must be between unequals: the worshipper feels that he or she is limited and dependent and that the object of worship is unlimited and independent, a being of a wholly different order. Religious devotion flows from the I, the lover, to a Thou who is the one supreme Beloved. For the theologian of bhakti, Advaita Vedanta seems to threaten and undermine all of these essentials. The non- dualist position is summed up in the well-known formula attributed to Samkara: "Brahman alone is real, the world is false, the individual soul is precisely Brahman, not at all different."4 Brahman, the Absolute, is understood to be pure "being-consciousness-bliss."5 It is an Other that is mysterious, tremendous, and fascinating, but also utterly

impersonal. Since the transcendent, changeless Brahman is the only reality, the world must be explained as a product of Ignorance (avidya).6 The seeming individuality of souls is likewise a false appearance. When true intuitive knowledge of reality (tattvagñana) is attained, separative awareness is seen to be a false superimposition, a delusion caused by avidya. The soul realizes its identity with the Supreme, declaring: "I am Brahman. "7 This elevation of the jiva to the status .of identity with the ultimate is, from the devotionalists' point of view, bad enough. Perhaps worse, however, is the non- dualists' apparent depreciation of the status of the personal God (Isvara), who turns out to be a penultimate reality, Brahman appearing as if conditioned by association with the world through its cause, avidya. True, Isvara is intimately related to the ultimate, unconditioned Brahman as its highest expression. He remains, however, something less by that very fact. The Advaitin, therefore, finds himself in the position of having to go beyond God to attain the highest reality, which he discovers to be his òwn inner Self. While this is a bold and breath-taking vision, there is'a problem: it seems to entail the loss of all the elements required for devotion. Relationship, personhood, dependence, limitation -- all are false constructs (vikalpa), ultimately to be transcended in total identity with the Absolute.

In connection with its devaluation of the phenomenal world, Advaita maintained a characteristically ascetic attitude of distrust toward the emotions and indeed the whole human personality. Anything that tended to perpetuate the jIva's involvement in the world of dualism and relationship, or to nourish its sense of existence as a separate center of consciousness, was regarded by the Samkarite renunciates with suspicion. Since love of God fostered the idea of difference (bheda) and dependence on an outside power (paratantrya), it too was subject to a final negative evaluation.8 It is therefore not surprising that, when the teachers of the devotional schools began to formulate their own systems of theistic Vedanta, this outlook, so brilliantly articulated by Samkara and his disciples, was perceived as a serious threat. The theologians of bhakti considered it their duty to criticize Advaita and do their best to refute it; their efforts in this regard were supplemented, on occasion, by denunciations of the teachings of the Samkara school that were indeed quite bitter. Ramanuja, in his commentary on the BS, wrote of Samkara's views as follows: This entire theory rests on a fictitious foundation of altogether hollow and vicious arguments, incapable of being stated in definite logical alternatives, and devised by men who are destitute of those particular qualities which cause individuals to be chosen by the Supreme Person revealed in the Upanishads; whose intellects are darkened by the impression of

beginningless evil; and who thus have no insight into the nature of words and sentences, into the real purport conveyed by them, and into the procedure of sound argumentation.9 Madhva's dislike of the Advaitins was so great that he called them "deceitful demons" who "play in the darkness of ignorance";10 he charged that the so-called "Brahman" taught by these "illusionists" (mayavadins) was the same as the Void of the Madhyamika Buddhists.11 JIva Gosvamin had a similar estimate of Samkara's doctrine. It was promulgated, he said, at the express command of Lord Visnu, in order that beings would be deluded and remain in bondage, and the present cydle of creation continue. 12 The substantive criticism of Advaita put forth by these writers cannot be discussed in detail here. Suffice it to say that it centered on the refutation of Samkara's denial of quality, difference, and relationship in the Absolute, and the drawing up of whole lists of objections to his doctrine of Maya, which was understood by the theists as asserting the total illusoriness of the world.13 A significant portion of the vast literature of theistic Vedanta, much of which is still inadequately studied, is in fact made up of such anti-Advaitic polemics. That Samkara's thought appears so hostile to religious orientations based upon love and grace as to elicit such criticism is not without importance. Advaita for some years now has been recognized by many informed

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persons as the most significant product of the combined mystical genius and speculative acumen of the Hindu mind, as by far its most important contribution to world thought. And it is likely to retain much of this recognition, in spite of the recent flux of interest in the theistic Vedanta of Ramanuja and others.14 It is worth considering, therefore, what place devotion might have within this system. Is Advaita really so obtuse that it would, in dogmatic concern for an "ultimate" truth that can have little connection with human life or even human thought, cut itself off from the wellsprings of human religiosity? How, if such is the case, has it continued to live as a vital tradition? The fact is that Samkara's Advaita is normative for large numbers of Hindus. It carries tremendous prestige in the tradition, especially since popularized by Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, and others. While many are thus at least nominally Advaitins, they are also likely, being average people, to be devotees (bhaktas) of a deity which they regard as a supreme personal being. But is this combination really possible? Can one be both a genuine Advaitin and an authentic bhakta? This is an important dilemma for Hindu spirituality for many reasons, not the least of which is that it affects so many. For the student of Indian culture, it brings certain fundamental polarities in the religion of

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the subcontinent into sharp focus. And it commends itself to the attention of a more general audience as well, since it has a direct bearing on universal questions pertaining to both religious praxis and, perhaps more important, the very nature of the ultimate itself. The problem of the tension between the God of the philosophers and the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob -- to' use the terms of Pascal's celebrated dicotomy -- has been a recurrent one in the history of religious thought. As Pannikar points out: Within Christian philosophy even as great a theologian as Thomas Aquinas has not been completely successful in welding a union between the Aristotelian philosophical God (prime mover, ultimate cause, absolute Being without relation to the World) and the living God who cares for Man, loves the World to the point of sending the eternal Word, his only begotten Son, to save it.15 The so-called impersonalism of Hindu and Buddhist thought has been a major. barrier to understanding between the East and the Judeo-Christian-Islamic peoples.16 Thus the issue at hand may also have some relevance, in a converging world, to certain concerns of a more practical, dialogical nature. For those seeking, in the Hindu or whatever other context it presents itself, to understand-the problem of the tension between personal and non-personal concepts of the Godhead, and the associated spiritualities of love and enlightenment, the thought of Madhusddana Sarasvatt is of no small importance. He was one of the few traditional writers that sought to integrate bhakti and non-dualism in a

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way that remained true to the strict boundaries of Samkara's system, and the only one to work at this problem. systematically. Flourishing in the second half of the sixteenth century C.E.,17 Madhusddana was the last of the great thinkers of the classical, post-Samkara Advaita, . indeed of the whole pre-modern period of Indian philosophy. His credentials as a staunch Advaitin are impeccable, as we shall see. He was known as an intellectual giant whose mastery of all branches of learning was phenomenal. From his works, we cah judge that this reputation was well deserved. In addition to being a master of the more strictly religious disciplines such as Vedanta and Yoga, Madhusudana was accomplished in aesthetics (alam- kara), grammar (vyakarana), and, not the least, the forbiddingly difficult "New Logic" (navyanyaya). The last of these disciplines had originated at NavadvIpa, in his native Bengal, where he studied it under the greatest masters of his time. Madhusudana also displayed considerable talent as a poet, and is said to have been able to compose extempore involved metrical pieces in flawless classical Sanskrit. This intellectual acumen and wide learning contributed to his effectiveness as a polemicist -- he used the techniques of the navyanyaya, for example, with devastating skill against any who challenged the viewpoint

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of Advaita -- and it assured him a reputation of legendary proportions. The illustrious pandits of the court of the great Moghul emperor Akbar are said to have been so impressed by his erudition that one of them paid tribute to him in verse, comparing him with the .goddess of learning herself, after whom his monastic order had been named. "Only Madhusudana SarasvatI knows the limits of SarasvatI," the courtier declared, "and only SarsavatI knows the limits of Madhusudana Sarasvatf."18 In later life, it is reported, the great Advaitin returned to NavadvIpa to visit his former teacher Mathuranatha, causing the learned and highly renown logicians of the place to tremble for fear of their reputations: "When Madhusudana, the master of speech, came to NavadvIpa, TarkavāgIsa began to shiver and Gadādhara became confused. "19

Madhusudana gained this renown through such works as the Samksepasarfrikasarasamgraha (SSS), the Siddhantabindu (SB), the Vedantakalpalatika (VKL), and the Advaitaratnaraksana (ARR). In these writings, he combined lucid expositions of the metaphysics of non-dualism with deft rebuttals of the criticisms of its opponents. The latter consisted chiefly of the Nyaya logicians, on one hand, and the followers of Madhva's theistic and devotional Dvaita Vedanta on the other.20 In his Prasthanabheda ("Doctrinal Divergence"), Madhusudana displayed his wide

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scholarship by outlining all the systems of philosophy and theology known to him and giving an account of their differences within a systematic framework of interpretation. In the process, he mentioned some ninety authors and works from various branches of Sanskrit learning.21 His most famous work, however, and the prime source of his claim to immortality in the annals of the Samkara school, was his Advaitasiddhi ("Vindication of Non-dualism") (AS). This work, it is said, successfully defended Samkara's non-dualism against the vigorous attacks of a brilliant follower of Madhva, Vyasaraja (1460-1539). The latter had almost succeeded in throwing the prestige of Advaita into utter collapse with his Nyayamrta, in which he made devastating use of the methods of navyanyaya to refute one after another all of the cherished doctrines of samkara's scholastic successors. In the ponderous and rigorously dialectical AS, Madhusudana provided extensive, carefully worked-out answers to all of Vyasaraja's objections, using to the full his genius as a logician and polemicist, and thus saved the day for the Advaitins. This text has the reputation of being a "tough nut" the kernel of which the "beak of intelligence" has difficulty in reaching.22 To this day it is highly esteemed among traditional pandits, who consider its study indispensable to genuine scholarship in Advaita. 23

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Of immediate interest in the present context, however, is the fact that in the midst of the AS Madhusudana saw fit to insert a verse expressing sentiments of profound devotion to a personal God. Having just completed a section of the work entitled the Nirakaravada ("Argument for Formlessness"), designed to prove that Brahman as the ultimate real is devoid of any akara or form, he wrote: I know of no higher reality than Krana, whose hand is adorned by the flute. His complexion is like a fresh dark cloud laden with water, and He wears beautiful yellow silk. His reddish lips are like the bimba fruit, His face is as beautiful as the full moon, His eyes are like. lotuses. 24 After this, Madhusudana went right on with his highly technical dispute with the Madhvas, arguing that Brahman does not possess knowledge in the ordinary sense of the term, because Brahman is pure knowledge or consciousness itself. The remainder of the work contains no such devotional outburst. 25

Important questions arise here. Why was such a verse placed alone in such a significant place? What did MadhusOdana intend by thus juxtaposing the beautiful form of Krsna with the formless Brahman? Why did he assert that he knows no higher reality than that deity, when he has just argued against the theists for the formlessness of the supreme principle? If this were the sole instance of such devotional expression, it could perhaps be dismissed as an anomaly. But consider the following verse, which occurs in Madhusudana's commentary on the BG:

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If some yogins, with their minds controlled by the practice of meditation, see that attributeless, actionless, supreme Light, let them see it. But as for me, may that wondrous blue Effulgence that runs and plays on the banks of the Yamuna long be the delight of my eyes. 26 This is the great Advaitin speaking, the master of anti- dualist dialectic, yet the surprising truth is that he is also a fervent devotee of Krsna. In Madhusudana we are confronted with an authoritative spokesman, indeed a consummate master, of Advaita who is at the same time a bhakta. The questions arising from the short but pregnant verse in the AS, therefore, are serious and even take on a certain urgency. Madhusudana, in fact, wrote several works dealing with bhakti, the most important of which were the Bhaktirasayana ("Elixir of Devotion") (BR), the only independent treatise on the subject ever written by one of the great preceptors of Advaita, and the GudharthadIpika (GAD), an extensive commentary on the "hidden meaning" (gudhartha) of the Bhagavad GIta. The teaching of these works, especially the BR, will be the central focus of the present study. Other writings of Madhusudana that deal with devotion include the MahimnnahstotratIka, a commentary on the popular "Hymn on the Greatness of Siva" by Puşpadanta, in which Madhusudana argues that Siva and Vişnu are both none other than the fsvara who is identical with Brahman, and the Bhagavatapuranaprathamaslokavyakhya, a commentary on

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the first verse of the BP.27 As the result of these works, he gained renown as a great devotee of Krgna and a strong advocate of the inclusion of bhakti within the spirituality of Advaita. 28

The following verses attributed to Madhusudana evidently had a wide circulation in the tradition. They celebrate one of his teachings that, although unconventional from the orthodox point of view, is nevertheless characteristic, namely the idea that devotion is possible even after the realization of identity with Brahman: The ultimate truth is non-duality, but duality is necessary for worship. If such bhakti can be experienced, it is a hundred times better than liberation. 29

Prior to [the realization of] true knowledge, duality is 'the cause of delusion; but when knowledge has arisen through direct intuition, duality can be assumed for the sake of devotion. This is even more beautiful than non- duality.30 I have not been able to trace either of these quotes, so it is not possible to confirm the traditional attribution. Nevertheless, the fact that they are ascribed to Madhusūdana is certainly indicative of his reputation as an advocate of. bhakti, and they do, if somewhat hyperbolically, reflect his views as set forth in the BR and the GAD. The truth is that verses expressing devotional sentiments occur in his works with a frequency that is singularly uncommon -- or, more accurately, unprecedented -- in the writings of the great teachers of Advaita. For example:

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I-take refuge in the dense cloud of being-consciousness- bliss, Brahman in human form, which, having entered into the vast forest [of Vrndavana or samsara], was besieged by the love-struck cowherd women. 3T

I adore the son of Nanda, that effulgence which is the wholeness of the essence of beauty, the supreme Brahman in human form, who removes [all] bondage to the world. 32. I adore the one of lotus-eyes whose face, as he plays upon the flute, is as beautiful as the moon. Appearing in Vrndavana to increase the joy (ananda) of [his foster-father] Nanda and thus reward him for austerities [performed in previous lives], He is that Brahman which is [described as] "truth, knowledge, infinite" [TU 2.1.1]. He is the non-dual bliss which is realized, with liberation as the consequence, by the great sages who have attained transcendent awareness (samadhi) after approaching a guru and practicing meditation.33 Such quotations should suffice to establish Madhusudana's strong predilection toward devotion and indicate something . of the; flavor of its expression in his works. What remains is the more demanding task, that of looking deeper and trying to discover how it was possible for this great follower of Samkara to accommodate a devotional spirituality of this kind in the context of his non-dualism.

Though modern writers on Post-Samkara Advaita commonly remark on the fact that Madhusudana showed an unusual interest in bhakti for an Advaitin, his thought on this subject has actually recieved dittle careful study. What work has been done has been cursory and for the most part descriptive. Only three writers in English, to my knowledge, have dealt with the teachings of the BR in any detail. Gupta's work on the philosophy of MadhusUdana

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includes a chapter summarizing the teachings of the BR, and Mishra's book on bhakti in Samkara Vedanta gives the gist of Madhusudana's views along with those of Narayana TIrtha, a student of Madhusudana whose Bhakticandrika follows the BR closely .. The most adequate statement of the teachings of both the BR and the GAD is to be found in the introduction and appendices of Modi's translation of the SB. All of these expositions, however, are largely uncritical. Mishra, for example, characterizes Madhusudana as a "stalwart" of bhakti who made the "finest contribution" to the cause of devotionalism in Samkara Vedanta, 34 while Gupta asserts that the teachings of the BR represent the "grand climax" of the entire historical evolution of the concept of bhakti in India.35 It is clear that a more critical historical and philosophical analysis of Madhusudana's thought on devotion is in order. This study will be an attempt to make a beginning in this direction. Its primary purpose will be twofold: (1) to provide an overview of what I shall call the "orthodox" Advaitic view of bhakti and its role in the spiritual life, i.e., the understanding that was formulated by Samkara and accepted without significant modification by all writers of his tradition prior to Madhusudana, and (2) to provide a summary and assessment of Madhusudana's own presentation of the subject in BR. These matters will occupy us in chapters

16

two and five of part I and in the whole of part, III. To allow the reader some direct access to Madhusudana's thought, an annotated translation of the first and most important chapter of the BR will be included as part II. A secondary objective of this study will be to provide certain additional Background material that is necessary for an understanding of the BR and its historical context. In fulfilling this goal, I shall of course have to take up a number of scriptural and theological matters. I shall also make repeated reference to important social dimensions of the tension between bhakti and Advaita, since a grasp of these is essential to a proper appreciation of the wider religious implications of the text. Lest, however, we become overly involved in historical detail at the expense of our primary aim -- determining the significance and the degree of success of Madhusudana's attempt to wed bhakti and Advaita -- the discussion of such subjects will be restricted to essentials. In chapter one, I shall present a brief discussion of the meaning of the term bhakti and its history in Hindu spirituality prior to Samkara. Chapters three and four will deal with certain developments in the bhakti tradition that occurred in the 800-odd years that intervened between Samkara and Madhusudana. 36 Since a great deal went on in the devotional movements during this period, much of which

17

has received little or no study, I shall confine myself to discussion of two major elements of the religion of Krsna- bhakti which have an immediate bearing on the teachings of the BR and have been fairly well researched by modern scholarship. Sufficient for our present purpose will be a consideration of the teachings of the Bhagavata Purana (BP) and the doctrines of the Bengal Vaisnava Gosvamins.37 The latter developed the BP's theology of ecstatic bhakti to new heights under the influence of the great fifteenth century saint and revivalist Caitanya. Although it is possible that the thinking of the Gosvamins, especially Rupa, exerted a direct influence on Madhusudana, who was himself a Bengali, their work will be used in this study only as an illustration of a fully developed system of Krsnaite theology. That is to say, it will be discussed as a representative example of the outlook of a wider devotional tradition with which, in its totality, Madhusudana was interacting in his typically expansive and eclectic way. To determine the nature or extent of any specifically Bengal Vaisnava influence on the author of the BR would be very difficult if not impossible. 38 In this study, therefore, I shall confine myself to comparing certain aspects of the Gosvamins' thought with that of Madhusudana and avoid more definite conclusions as to actual borrowing of ideas. Such judgments, without a great deal of further research, would be nothing more than speculation.

18

Finally, I shall in chapter six give a brief introduction to the sanskrit aestheticians' theory of rasa ("sentiment") and the history and rationale of its adoption by certain theologians of devotion. Among the most important of the latter writers were Rupa and JIva Gosvamin and, as the very title of the Bhaktirasayana suggests, Madhusudana himself.

PART I:

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

CHAPTER ONE

DEVOTIONAL TRENDS AND IMPERSONALISM IN THE EARLY SCRIPTURES

1.1 Bhakti, Personalism, and Impersonalism The term bhakti, when translated in this study, is consistently rendered as "devotion." This regularity is to enable the reader to be certain of the underlying Sankrit when encountering the translation. The choice of the word "devotion" is of course not purely arbitrary. Bhakti refers to that exceedingly important aspect of Hindu spirituality which corresponds most closely to what the English-speaking world identifies as devotional religion, that is to say, the spirituality of the "heart" rather than the mind or intellect. Hindu devotionalism is a religion of love of, and surrender to, a gracious and personal supreme deity. As with any other religious term, bhakti has gone through various stages of development and has meant somewhat different things to different people in different times and places. Following Hardy's lead, for example, it is useful to distinguish between a contemplative bhakti, associated with yogic or Vedantic meditative disciplines, and an

20

21

ecstatic bhakti, characteristic of later highly emotive forms of Krna devotionalism.1 Although this distinction is not crucial to the present study, I will have occasion to refer to it as we proceed. The etymology of bhakti has been carefully documented by a number of researchers, most recently Dhavamony and Hardy, both of whose works are generally available.2 There is therefore no need to repeat here the details which they have presented so well .! Suffice it tot 1 say that the term stems from the verbal root bhaj, which has the basic meaning: to share, partake, participate. By extension it comes to express resorting to, liking, fondness, and especially love in all its various manifestations, ranging from attachment and enjoyment, through secular love, to love of God and even, on occasion, God's love for humanity. 3 In the classical Hindu tradition it comes to mean primarily an intense loving concentration of all one's faculties on a God that is adorable, blissful and bliss-giving, all-powerful and yet readily approachable. An experience which is rewarding in itself, often ecstatically so, it serves as'a means of focusing one's psychic energies in such a way as to penetrate behind the world of appearances and gain access to true being, which for the devotionalist is the same as bhagavat ("the Blessed Lord") or Isvara ("the Lord"), that is to say, God. Being

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such, bhakti is for many Hindus -- perhaps the majority -- a yoga or path to salvation that is sufficient unto itself.4 Indian spiritual discipline has always aimed at direct experience of the divine and understood salvation to be dependent upon such experience. Conceptions of the nature of the transcendent reality, however, and the means to its immediate realization, have varied radically from age to age and from one school of thought to another. We should not expect, therefore, to find a strict developmental continuity between earlier movements of Indian religious history and those which come later, and we should not be surprised when one strand of spirituality recognized as "Hindu" seems vastly different from, even contradictory to, another. "Hinduism," if it is in any way an entity, is a composite of elements from many different sources, sources not all of which can be documented historically or even identified with any precision. The result is that the tradition is in some respects strained, but in many others enriched and even vivified, by a number of internal tensions and polarities: Of these, the opposition between knowledge and devotion, the focus of the present study, is one of the most central.5 It points to two basic ways in which India has thought of the divine. "The religious history of India," writes Hardy, "is marked by the conflict and the interaction of two major trends: to conceive of the absolute

23 either in terms of a (mystical) state of being or as a personal God."6 Used as a device for understanding, this typology can be extremely helpful in sorting out the bewildering variety of the tradition. Within Hinduism, Advaita Vedanta is the preeminent representative of the former tendency, and emotional Krsna devotionalism one of the prime examples of the latter. These particular forms of the two basic types, it should be noted, do not emerge until the second half of the first millenium C.E. While they each obviously have their antecedents in earlier forms of Indian spirituality, a detailed exposition of their roots, development, and interactions -- even insofar as these can be known from the limited documentation -- is beyond the scope of the present study.7 I do, however, want to touch in this chapter on certain key moments in early Hindu religious history with a view to sketching a rough picture of the place of bhakti in the tradition and its relation to impersonalistic ways of thought in the time prior to Samkara. I shall naturally focus on the most important scriptures of this period, namely the Rgveda (RV), the Upanisads, and the Bhagavad Gfta (BG), though bhakti itself, as we shall.see, does not emerge in the Sanskrit tradition -- and the light of history -- until the time of the last of these.

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1.2 Devotional and Impersonalist Aspects of Vedic Religion Our understanding of the history of devotionalism in the Vedic period is hampered by the lack of written records of any form of religion but that of the Aryans who were, as is well-known, relative late-comers to the sub-continent. Of the earlier indigenous traditions of India, our direct knowledge is very limited.' Our first in depth exposure to the religion of the sub-continent comes through the scriptures of the Sanskrit-speaking Aryan immigrants, the Vedas, which do give us a fairly good picture of the spirituality of the priestly classes that composed them. The Vedic hymns and especially their later philosophical L outgrowths, the Upanisads, reveal types of religiosity which, though containing certain devotional elements that are fairly universal in human religion, are conspicuously lacking in the kind of whole-hearted love of a supreme deity characteristic of the later Hindu tradition. This leads modern scholarship to suspect that the origins of bhakti are to be found apart from the elite Vedic tradition in forms of religion associated with such early cultures as that of the

c Indus Valley and that of the Dravidians. Though we know little about the spirituality of these peoples, the evidente which we do have lends support to this view. As this data is amply documented in any number of general works on the

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religion of South Asia,8 there is no need to repeat it here. I will mention, however, the not so well-known fact, which will be pertinent to our later study, that even as late as the end of the first millenium C.E. the orthodox Vedic tradition regarded such devotional practices as image worship, which originated outside its fold, with extreme suspicion. 9 The textual, and indeed the only, source of our knowledge of early Vedic religion is the Rgveda, 10 which has been described as having claim to be "the first literary masterpiece of the human race. "ll As revealed in this text, the piety of the ancient Aryan peoples is based primarily upon a reciprocal relationship between the human worshippers and their deities (devas, "shining ones"), the latter traditionally reckoned to be 33 in number.12 The devas are understood to be intelligent powers that animate and control various aspects of nature and maintain the cosmic order. No supreme personal deity, however, is recognized by the early hymns of the RV. The term "polytheism" is therefore commonly applied to Vedic religion, and it is roughly appropriate. Max Muller preferred the term "henotheism" (or "kathenotheism"), which he coined for the purpose, because individual hymns frequently address the particular deva being invoked as if it, for the moment, were supreme. As we shall see, the later hymns of the RV tend to subordinate the

26

various deities to a more abstract underlying reality. In view of this, the term "polysyntheism" or "polysynthetic monism," which has been applied to native American religion, 13 may finally be the most appropriate label for the Vedic vision. The Vedic gods, while powerful, are nonetheless not seen as sufficiently different from humankind to demand the kind of total devotion characteristic of bhakti. In this respect, they may cautiously be compared to the gods of the Greek pantheon. Though they have the ability to bestow favors upon humanity, and do so when satisfied by proper praise and sacrifice, they are regarded by the Vedic seers (rsis) as fellow inhabitants of the same cosmos, with whom humanity works in a partnership that, while unequal, is not excessively so. The predominance of petitions for material boons such as health, long life, and progeny is particularly striking, and, conversely, evidence of the desire for an intimate relationship with the deity purely for the sake of the relationship itself -- a key element of bhakti -- is scarce. Dhavamony, who is skeptical of the existence of anything resembling bhakti in the Veda, points out that "the love of the worshipper for his god is rather one of family affection."14 The hymns often stress humanity's familial ties with the gods, who share "brotherhood, our kinship in the Mother's womb" and "sameness in race" (sajatya).15

27

Agni, for example, while "father and mother of men" is also "brother and friend" and even "well-loved guest. "16 This praise, we sense, is not given entirely in a spirit of humble supplication any more than it is free from extrinsic motivation. We find, in fact, that the rsis themselves have the power of strengthening the gods through their prayers and sacrificial offerings.17 In the later Vedic period, this theme is developed to the extent that the gods themselves are understood to be dependent upon the sacrificial offerings for their well-being.18 The general tone of tender and reciprocal familial affection is, however, deepened on occasion into adoration, as at RV 10.7.3: "Agni I regard as my father, my relation, by brother, my friend; his light will I adore; it shines in heaven, as holy as the sun."19 The risis describe .. themselves as diety-seekers (devayu) and even deity-lovers (devakama). 20 Indra's devotees find ecstatic joy in the object of their worship: "In Indra they delight who are fond of visions. "21 Moreover, they seek Indra's abode with longing, and desire to attain him: I have beheld his strong and secret dwelling, longing have sought the Founder's [Indra's] habitation. I asked of others, and they said in answer: "May we, awakened men, attain to Indra."22 Verses such as these have been taken as evidence of the beginnings of bhakti in the Veda. Hopkins, in fact, goes so far as to state that "the bhakti or loving devotion,

28

which some'scholars imagine to be only a late development of Hindu religion, is already evident in the Rig Veda, even in its dangerous trend towards eroticism. "23 In support of this view, he quotes RV 10.43.1-2a: All my thoughts, seeking happiness, extol Indra, longing for him; they embrace him as wives embrace a fair young bridegroom, him the divine giver of gifts, that he may help mel My mind i's directed to thee, Indra, and does not turn from thee; on thee I rest my desire, O much- invoked one. 24 This could in fact be a glimpse of a fervent devotional relationship between god and worshipper that is akin to bhakti. In the rest of the hymn, however, the longing for the deity is combined with the archaic symbolism of the soma-ritual in such a.way as to cause us to hesitate in making a simple identification between it and the later phenomenon: And there is, of course, the repeated petitionary refrain "that he may help mel", which is of a sort frequent in the Veda but uncharacteristic of the later bhakti literature. Consider also the sentiments expressed in the final verses of the sukta: O Much-invoked, may we subdue all famine and evil want with store of grain and cattle. . May Indra from the front, and from the centre, as Friend to friends, 9. vouchsafe us room and freedom. 25 Even if such prayers were directed toward a supreme, diwinity, one would be hard put to identify them as bhakti. Neither the term bhakti itself nor the verbal root bhaj are used in the Vedic hymns to express worship or love

29

of God. 26 While there are occasional instances of an intense emotional attachment to-the deities that is.similar to later Hindu devotionalism, the instances remain occasional and the similarities rather vague. To see them as the early expressions of true bhakti, as perhaps the beginnings of Hindu devotionalism, is unwarranted. 27 If bhakti served the medieval devotionalists as the primary means of human access to the divine, this function was fulfilled for the Vedic rsis chiefly by dht, "vision" or "inspiration. "28 Gonda, in fact, identifies this faculty as "their only possibility of entering into communion with the transcendent reality. "29 While this statement should be qualified by reference to the seers' use of ritual and the psychically stimulating juice of the soma plant as auxiliaries, 30 the centrality of dhI in Vedic spirituality is nevertheless unquestionable. Hence the importance of RV 3.62.10, the sacred gayatrf: "We meditate on (dhImahi, possibly 'envision') that most excellent radiance of the god Savitar; may he stimulate our vision (dhiyah)."31 This, the most highly celebrated of Vedic mantras, has since the time of the rsis been imparted to members of the "twice-born" castes in the ceremony of investiture with Ene sacred thread (upanayana), and is even now recited thrice daily by the orthodox. It is essentially a prayer for the strengthening of the power of spiritual sight. Savitar, however, is not

30 the only diety petitioned for this boon. Soma is important in this respect; he is.praised as the "Lord of vision". (dhr) because he grants mental power and mystic insight. Sarasvatt and Ugas are likewise beseeched to bestow dhf.32 According to the tradition, the rsi is to be understood primarily as a "seer" (pasyaka), and Yaska, the ancient etymologist, tells us that the term rsi is itself derived from the root drs, "to see. "33 As we might expect from the association of dht with Savitar, the sun, the power of vision is connected with light and inner illumination. It does not, however, seem to be associated with the emotion of love for any deity. It seems certain, then, that the bhakti tradition is not a simple continuation of, or a direct development from, the spirituality of the Veda. This becomes even more apparent when one considers that the Rgveda in its chronologically later portions shows an increasing tendency to identify the gods with each other and, eventually, to identify all with one underlying abstract reality. Here we find the earliest record of that tendency to devalue divine personality in favor of a higher impersonal principle which, while characteristic of much that is most unique in Hindu and Buddhist thought, is so utterly antagonistic to the theistic spirit.

31

These hymns, most of which are found in the tenth book of the RV, reveal an initially hesitant but nevertheless definite effort to look through and beyond the gods to discover their source in a higher ultimate. In 10.82 the rsi is in quest of "that which is earlier than this earth and heaven, before the Asuras and gods had being."34 The chanter at 10.121 echos, "Who was the one God above the gods?"35 The realization is that the devas are 3

not the end of the human quest for being. "The gods," says RV 10.129, "were born after this world's creation. "36 The hymns identify that which lies beyond the gods as a single reality, as "That One" (tad ekam) of.10.129, a reality which existed. "in the beginning, "37 or the "One Being" of 1.164.46, whom the sages are said to name variously.38 Although certain hymns of the RV and portions of the later brahmanas show some tendency to personify this ultimate as, for example, Visvakarman (the "all-maker"), 39 Purusa (the primal "Person"),40 or Prajapati (the "Lord of Creatures"), 4l the dominant tendency is to push beyond personality altogether toward a transpersonal ground of being. Especially in Indian thought, when the name (nama) becomes optional, the form (rupa) becomes indefinite and the personality tends to vanish. Even the high creator figures are seen, in a manner unthinkable in any truly theistic system, to have had an origin in time and to be less than all-knowing:

32 .

As the Golden Germ he arose in the beginning; when born he was the one Lord of the existent. 42 None knoweth whence creation has arisen; And whether he has or has not produced it: He who surveys it in the highest heaven, He only knows, or haply he may know not.43 In their daring speculations, the seers display a reverent wonder combined with a certain scepticism, the latter directed not so much toward the ultimate itself as toward the adequacy of their attempts to. encompass it. Even in their praise of the golden being who is "Lord of the existent" there is a subtle yet insistent questioning, a quiet but none the less urgent probing lest the final reality be missed. In a repeated refrain, the rsis of RV 10.121 ask, "What God shall we worship our oblation?"44 A pronounced sense of humility in the face of the ultimate is evident, and in the end, while the idea of personality seems to. be radically questioned, no definite alternative conception is formalized: "Enwrapped in misty cloud, with lips that stammer, hymn-chanters wander and are discontented. "45

Given such tendencies, it is not surprising that the next stage in the tradition's development was not theism. The Aryan genius, perhaps under the influence of certain indigenous non-theistic worldviews, was moving in a different direction, toward an intellectual mysticism which looked through and beyond the various personal deities of

33 the Vedic pantheon to an impersonal absolute that lay beyond them.

1.3 Devotional Trends and Impersonalism in the Major Upanişads46 The speculative tendencies found in the creation hymns of the tenth book of the RV continue in other texts of the Vedic period. The Atharvaveda, for example, nominates first prana (the "cosmic breath") and later kala ("time") as the ultimate principle of the universe.47 Also, and for perhaps the first time, it uses the term brahman to designate the reality underlying the gods and identifies it as the source of both being and non-being.48 This movement toward an abstract conception of the ultimate eventually finds its classical and most complete scriptural expression in the. Upanisads, which become the fountainhead and ultimate authority for the various schools of Vedanta. Despite the fact that later commentators, regarding the Upanisads as quite literally revealed, were obliged to hold that they teach one single, consistent doctrine, the truth is that they bring together speculations and intuitions that are diverse in nature. No unanimity of viewpoint is attained or even sought. Nevertheless, while the texts do contain even in their earlier portions certain material open to theistic interpretation, 49 the most

34 prominent teaching is without question an impersonalistic, idealistic monism. The ethos of the Upanisads may be described, correspondingly, as that of an 'intellectual mysticism, and the tradition gives recognition to this fact in adopting these texts as the primary scriptures of the path of knowledge (jñanamarga). The etymological meaning of the word upanisad, "sitting (sad) down (ni) near (upa)," suggests private instruction, confidentiality -- even esotericism. According to the tradition, the term means "secret" (rahasya).50 This implies that sacred knowledge of the type discussed in these texts was not given out indiscriminately to all. Even Brahmins, we are told, were subject to rigorous tests before they were accepted as pupils.51 I point this out to underscore the fact that the kind of abstract philosophical religiosity common to the rsis and the Upanisadic sages was restricted to an elite, as it has always been in the religious history of humankind and as it most definitely is in Samkara's Vedanta. The common people, we must assume though the evidence is slight, practiqed some form of popular religion that had close ties to the indigenous. traditions and was probably theistic in nature. If love of the divine is difficult to find in the hymns of the Veda, it is even more so in these texts. The primary interest of the Upanisadic sages is the intuitive

35 realization, through higher spiritual gnosis, of the impersonal ultimate that transcends all "name and form" (namarupa). The supreme Brahman is "that from which words turn back, along with the mind, unable to reach";52 it is. accurately described only through negation. "Now therefore," says Yajmavalkhya, "there the teaching 'Not this, not thatl' (neti, neti), for there is nothing higher than this, that he is so. "53 If the ultimate is described, it is often in the most abstract terms possible: "Being alone, my dear, was this in the beginning, one ondy, without second. "54 The Upanisadic identification of the inmost self of the human being with the highest reality, the equation of atman and Brahman that is enshrined in the saying "Thou art That" (tat tvam asi),55 is too well known to require comment here. Suffice it to say that, when the quest is to know -- and through knowing to become -- Brahman, 56 and when the sage re obviously finally declares "I am Brahman, "57 we are obviously encountering a type of thinking that provides little ground for the development of devotional religion. Nonetheless it is true that certain later Upanisads do introduce elements of theism. The Katha, for example, has two verses which admit a place for grace in salvation, 58 and this Upanisad allows itself to speak twice of the highest reality as the "Person" (purusa) who is "beyond the unmanifest. "59 The Isa, the Mundaka, and the Maitrt speak

36 of the ultimate principle as the "Lord" (Isa).60 These and similar tendencies show the influence of, and are our first literary evidence for, the truly theistic movements which later emerge more fully into history in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita. In this they may reflect an increasing recognition among the Brahmin elite of popular forms of theistic religion. 61 The late Svetasvatara (SU) is no doubt the most significant of the Upanisads in this regard. Such familiar designations of the supreme personal deities of the classical tradition as Isvara, mahesvara, and even bhagavat figure prominently in this text.62 Sometimes referred to as the "gateway of Hinduism, "63 it goes so far as to personify Brahman, identifying it with Rudra-Siva, a divinity who arose from obscure origins, possibly in the Indus Valley civilization, to become one of the major deities of the late Vedic tradition. In this Upanisad, however, Rudra-Siva is not just one of the Vedic gods; he is the one God. "Over both the perishable and the soul (atman)," we are told, "the one God rules."64 In addition to the monotheistic turn of phrase, note the suggestion here of a distinction between the Lord and the atman. In another place the SU speaks of "the enjoyer, the object of enjoyment, and the Impeller" -- i.e., the soul, matter, and the Lord -- as separable aspects of the "three-fold Brahman. "65 This, of course, is

37

suggestive of the theology of later southern saivism, for which this text eventually became an important source. 66 While the appearance of these theistic elements in the scriptures of the Brahmins is an impressive indicator of changes later to come, the references do not yet point to a spirituality of bhakti. It is true that the Su, echoing the Katha, speaks forcefully of divine grace67 and, in a manner even more suggestive of later devotional practice, of trusting surrender to God.68 Yet the method of salvation thematized still remains the familiar Upanisadic gnosis, although now combined with the disciplines of yoga, which at this point are gaining greater acceptance in the Sanskrit tradition. Thus at Su 2.8-15 we find an interesting combination of yoga and theism that ends, significantly, with a final emphasis on knowledge. These verses present.an elaborate description of yogic meditation ending with the declaration, "By knowing God (deva) who is unborn, immovable, free from all natures, one is released from all bonds. "69 At SU 1.10 we read: "By meditating on Him, by uniting with Him, by reflecting on His true being more and more, there is finally cessation of all illusion."70 Even in this most explicitly theistic of the Upanisads, love of God as such is not mentioned at all, except in a single reference to bhakti at 6.23. This is the only occurrence of the word in any of the major Upanisads, and indeed this is

38

the first time it is used in its technical religious sense in the entire body of Vedic literature. The verse in question says only: "These matters which have been declared are manifest only to the great-souled one who has the highest devotion for God and for his spiritual teacher as for God."71 Unfortunately, this is not enough to give us a, clear idea of what the author understands by bhakti. It is, moreover, somewhat disturbing that this is the very last verse of the text. Were it not for the general theistic tone of the Upanisad and its explicit doctrines of grace and surrender, we might be tempted to conclude that the verse represents a later addition. In terms of structure and function, the closest counterpart to bhakti in this stratum of the Vedic tradition is a kind of reverent meditation called upasana, literally "sitting near."72 The objects of this contemplative exercise are certain rituals, chants, and -- perhaps more important -- natural phenomena and deities, which are valorized as symbols of deeper spiritual realities.73 As such, they point to the underlying interconnectedness of things, to the intelligence that governs the universe, the life-energy that animates it, and ultimately to Brahman itself. The Upanisads recommend that the seeker of mystic knowledge focus his mind on these sacred symbols. Thus we find: "Meditation on the entire saman is good,"74 "Speech

39

indeed makes all this known; meditate on speech,"75 "Mediate on food as the Self."76, Examples of such injunctions could be multiplied indefinitely.

Upasana may be understood as a discipline that was explorative and yet at the same time conservative. In a period of transition, it functioned as a creative mediator at the interface between the archaic, ritualistic symbology of the samhitas and brahmanas and the more philosophical vision of the Upanisads: The writers.of the classical Vedānta explain that various upasanas were meant to be practiced by different persons at varying stages of life. The student, the householder, the priest, the hermit, and so

on, we are told, each had their proper objects of meditation, which reflected the highest truth in varying degrees according to the interests and capacities of the individuals concerned. 77 The purpose of the discipline was constant recollection of Brahman as present in its different manifestations, with the aim, according to the interpretation of Samkara's school, of purifying the mind and preparing it gradually for the ultimate realization. Upasana is generally translated as "meditation," and with good, reason. Samkara defines it in terms that remind us of the dhyana of the Yogasutras.78 In the introduction to his commentary on the CU, he states: "Upasana is a continuous current of identical thoughts, unbroken by any

40

disparate cognitions, directed toward an object accepted from scripture."79 Ramanuja's understanding of the term is essentially the same: "'Upasana' means steady remembrance (dhruvanusmrti), i.e., a continuity of steady remembrance,- uninterrupted like the flow of oil."80 .It is not, however, to be identified as a type of yogic meditation .. Several factors militate against this. First, the practice originates and develops in a ritual context in which the objects of "meditation" include religious symbols and personally conceived cosmic powers. The ambience is not the ascetic, non-theistic -- or only nominally theistic -- schools of Yoga. Second, while upas is frequently to be translated as "to meditate," it is in many cases more suitably rendered as "to revere," or sometimes even "to worship" or "to adore." For example: "Who is he whom we worship as the Self";81 "That, verily, know thou, is Brahman, not what they here adore";82 "Into blinding darkness enter those who worship the unmanifest";83 "All the gods worship as the' eldest the Brahman which is understanding. "84 At Maitrt 4.4, a distinction between contemplative thought (cinta) and knowledge (vidya), on the one hand, and the action designated by upas, on the other, is implied: "By knowledge, by austerity, by contemplative thought ... the wise man who worships Brahman with this triad attains happiness."85

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It seems likely that in these instances the verb is already being used with something of the sense it carries frequently in the BG, namely, that of reverence or even worship, as in the verse: "Those who, fixing their mind on Me, revere (upasate) Me ..... "86 For these reasons, to translate upasana simply as "meditation".is misleading. The scope of the term seems to fall somewhere between pure meditation in the yogic sense, i.e., interior, cognitive meditation, and the love of a supreme being characteristic of bhakti. Hence the translation "reverencing," "reverent meditation," or "mental worship" is to be preferred. Upasana is a mental "sitting near"; that is to say, a meditative, but reverent approach to Brahman through a symbol prescribed by scripture. To what extent the Upanisadic Brahman could have been the object of love is a moot question. Though the texts, for the most part, describe it in impersonal terms, they also suggest that it is the ultimate referent of all desire. At BU 2.4.5, the classical text on love of, or desire for, the atman, we find the great monist Yajnavalkhya asserting that the yearning we feel for husband, wife, children, wealth, indeed all things of this world, is only a deflected form of our yearning for the Self. "Verily," he ':1 says, "it is not for the love of all that all is dear, but it is for the love of the atman that all is dear. "87 Earlier in the same Upanigad we read: . A

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That Self is dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than all else, for it is the innermost. . . . One should meditate (upastta) on the Self alone as dear. For him who meditates (upaste) on the Self alone as dear, what he holds dear is not perishable.88 Using the rationalereflected in these verses, Samkara interprets tadvanam, the mystic appellation of Brahman at KeU 4.6, as "that which is desired by all.living beings because. it is the inner Self."89 The verse itself then translates: "Known as `that which is desired by all,' it is to be reverently meditated upon (upasitavyam) as such. "90 To the extent, therefore, that upasana was focused on Brahman itself, that is to say, to thedegree that the symbol employed expressed the ultimate in its fullness as the ground of being; the true Self, and the inner controller of all, to that extent it could condeivably have approximated the love of the ultimate represented in bhakti. Ramanuja, writing from an overtly theistic perspective almost two thousand years after the time of the Upanisadic sages, taught in fact that upasana is the same thing as bhakti. 91 While it isdifficult to accept this interpretation as anything but an attempt, by forcing' upasana to carry a greater load than it could historically bear, to give his Vaisnava devotionalism an air of Vedic sanctity, it should be remembered that Ramanja's style of bhakti was not of the fervent devotional type found in later devotional schools. A comparison, if not an identification,

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of upasana and bhakti is not entirely inappropriate. It points to a definite parallel between the functions the two perform in- their respective spiritual environments. Even in Samkara's system -- where the understanding of sagunopasana as meditation on' the qualified Brahman is probably closer to the original Upanisadic spirit -* upasana occupies structurally and functionally the same position as does bhakti. This parallel between the two will be of importance to the discussion in the next chapter.

1.4 Bhakti and Advaita in the Bhagavad GIta Tradition has it that the BhagavadgIta contains the distilled essence of all the Vedas and, especially, of the Upanisads.92 Modern scholarship, while recognizing that the work owes much to those earlier scriptures, sees it in addition as a wide-ranging response to certain pressing religious problems of its time, including the need for a more universally appealing, personal conception of the ultimate. It attempts to bring together and coordinate a number of diverse strands of spirituality, both Vedic and non-Vedic, that were present in the contemporary (ca. 200 B.C.E.) religious milieu. 93 The degree of success it achieved in this regard is impressive. The reader who turns from the Upanisads to the GIta will be struck especially by. a new theme not encountered in

44 the older philosophical texts, one which emerges strongly in the midst of the Gita's multi-leveled orchestration of religious ideas. This new note is the doctrine of salvation through bhakti, understood explicitly as loving devotion to a personal God. The teacher, first of all, is no longer a seer or a sage, but God himself. He is Krsna, the supreme personal deity of the extra-Vedic Bhagavata school, who is identified in the BG as equivalent or even superior to the Upanisadic Brahman. Although the theme of bhakti emerges only gradually in the course"of the narrative, from the end of the sixth chapter it begins to dominate. In the eleventh and twelfth chapters it reaches a climax in Krsna's grand theophany and in the subsequent recognition of bhakti as the highest path to salvation. Then, in the summary of the teachings at the end of eighteenth chapter, the devotional mood attains a final crescendo: "Having become Brahman, . . . he attains supreme bhakti to me";94."Through devotion, he knows Me truly, how great and who I am";95 and "Having resorted to Me, by My grace he attains the eternal, imperishable abode.#96 At 18.66, Krsna gives his "supreme word," the "most secret" of all: "Take refuge in Me alone, for I will deliver thee from all sin. "97 We thus no longer have to search for traces of bhakti; it is in the Gita impossible to miss. The noun 1 itself appears fourteen times in the text, the verb form

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nineteen times.98. Though, being unsystematic like the Upanişads, the GIta does not define bhakti explicitly, we can easily gather from usage and context how it understands the term. Bhakti is a taking refuge in God with one's "whole being."99 It is an all-encompassing attachment to bhagavat, a constant focusing of the mind on God100 that affects the devotee's entire life; it is worship that is at the same time both loving and constantly disciplined. 101 Accordingly, Krsna teaches his disciple: Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in worship, whatever you give in charity, whatever austerity you perform, do it as an offering to Me. 102 Have your mind absorbed in Me, be My devotee, worship Me, bow down to Me, have Me as your highest goal. 'to Me.103 Having thus disciplined yourself, you will surely come

To be a devotee (bhakta), one must perform all actions for : God104 and take refuge in God. 105 One must have one's mind and heart constantly fixed on:God, 106 one's life absorbed in God, 107 one's inmost Self lost in God. 108 In short, God must be one's all in all. 109 Such a centering of all of one's faculties on the Lord is bhakti, which is not authentic unless it is one-pointed and unwavering.110 According to Krsna, the devotee's mind must go to no other object. 11l

Despite this emphasis on bhakti, however, the GIta does not use the extensive vocabulary of devotion common to the later Vaisnava schools. Such synonyms for ecstatic

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spiritual love as preman, anuraga, sneha, pranaya, and so on, used by the medieval devotional writers, 112 do not appear in the text. The only precise word for love employed, other than bhakti itself, is prIti. This occurs once, in an interesting context, at 10.10: "To them who are constantly disciplined and worship Me with love, I give the: discipline of the intelligence by which they come to Me." Note here the association of love with discipline (yoga), and intellection (buddhi).113 The bhakti of the GIta is clearly not the ecstatic and outwardly emotional love of the later Vaisnava sects. Rather, it is a devotion associated with yogic concentration and knowledge. Indeed, as Zaehner has pointed out, the GIta's teaching on bhakti presupposes that the aspirant is yukta, i.e., already disciplined in yoga. 114 l"With his mind tranquil," says Krsna, "free from fear, established in his vow of celibacy, his mind controlled: and focused on Me, let him sit disciplined (yukta), intent on Me. "115 This is the contemplative bhakti which we have indicated is distinguishable from later ecstatic forms of devotion. Hardy identifies it as a type - common to the BG, the Visnu Purana, and the Vedantic theism of Ramanuja. 116 It is, to use the terminology of the Bengal Vaisnava school somewhat anachronistically, the "quiescent devotion" (santabhakti) of the meditative and self- controlled yogin or jñanin. 117

This observation is confirmed by BG 7.16-19, a passage that has been important to commentators of all persuasions. It is particularly interesting for the present study of the relation between Advaita and bhakti because it asserts that the jmanin, the person who possesses knowledge is the highest type of devotee. As repeated reference to this passage will be made in the pages that follow, it is worth reproducing here in full: Persons of good deeds who worship Me are of four kinds, O Arjuna, the afflicted, the seeker of wealth, the seeker of knowledge, and the possessor of knowledge, o Best of the Bharatas. Of these, the possessor of knowledge, constantly disciplined, whose devotion is one-pointed, is the best, for I am exceedingly dear to him and he is dear to Me. Noble indeed are all these but the possessor of knowledge I regard as My very Self, for he, with disciplined Self, has, resorted to Me as his highest goal. At the end of many births, the possessorof knowledge resorts to Me, thinking "vasudeva [Krsna] is all that is." Such a great soul is exceedingly difficult to find. 118 The emphasis on knowledge here as an apparent preliminary to love of Krana certainly points to the contemplative nature of the BG's bhakti. For Advaitins, the term jñanin means one who has achieved the realization of identity with Brahman. Hence, ignoring the possibility of a final mingling of love and knowledge that these verses suggest, they are able to take them as confirmation of the superiority of the path of knowledge. 119

48 Other passages in the Gita also provide support for the non-dualist position. At 5.16-17, for example, a: distinctly impersonalist tone is struck: But for those whose ighorance has been destroyed by knowledge, knowledge illumines That Supreme (tat param) like the sun. Thinking of That, their being absorbed in That, making that their end and highest goal, they attain a state from which there is no return, their sins destroyed by knowledge. 120 BG 4.36-39 praises knowledge as the boat which rescues even the worst sinner, the fire which reduces all karma to ashes, and the greatest purifier. "One who has faith," Krsna tells Arjuna, "whose senses are controlled, who is intent on That, gains knowledge and, having gained knowledge, quickly attains the highest peace. "121 A good number of verses magnifying the power of knowledge could be cited in addition to those. already referred to. 122 Indeed the whole exposition of the nature of the atman in chapter two and the distinction between the "field" and the "knower of the field" in chapter thirteen, as well as the descriptions of the enlightened sage at 2.55-72 and 12.12-20, are entirely in accord with the non-dualist vision. At the same time, however, there are at least as many passages which extol bhakti and are consequently troublesome for the strict Advaitin. The first eight verses, of chapter twelve are especially important in this regard, since they suggest the superiority of bhakti to the quest

49 for knowledge of the impersonal absolute. They begin with a question that, for the first time in the scriptural / traditions known to us, brings the theme of the present study into explicit focus. )Confused, we can imagine, by Krsna's alternate praise of devotion to him as the personal God, on the one hand, and his exaltation of knowledge of the ultimate as an impersonal "That," on the other, Arjuna asks: "Those devotees (bhaktas) who, ever disciplined (yukta), worship Thee and those again who [meditate on] the imperishable Unmanifest, which of these is better versed in yoga?"123 Krna's answer is that the ones who are "most perfect in yoga" are the disciplined devotees. 124 The path of knowledge is fraught with difficulty, but salvation for the true bhakta'is swift and sure: Those who, offering all their actions to Me, are intent on Me, who worship Me, meditating on Me with yoga directed toward no other, Those whose thoughts are fixed on Me, I quickly deliver from the ocean of death and rebirth, O Partha. 125 Since the .Lord's final recommendation is that his disciple follow the path of devotion, this passage portends difficulty for Samkara's position. We shall see in chapter two that his handling of it is not totally convincing. Also worthy of mention in this connection is 14.27, in which Krsna identifies himself as the foundation (pratistha) of the immortal, imperishable Brahman. 126 Zaehner and others take this as a otear triumph for theism,

50 and.it is indeed possible that it was originally intended to express the superiority of Krsna to the Upanisadic ultimate.127 In interpreting this or any part of the Gita, it should be remembered that its concluding emphasis, as mentioned above, is on the sufficiency for salvation of surrender to the personal God. Many commentators, with Many considerable justification, take the injunction at 18.66 to abandon all for Krsna as a decisive -- and, as it were, retroactive- determinant of the meaning of the entire text. While all of this is obviously supportive of the devotionalist's position, it leads to difficulties for those who are interpreting the text from the standpoint of the path of knowledge, i.e., that of orthodox Advaita. The truth is that the Gita, in a manner typical of the great scriptures of the world, is concerned more with the directness of its insight into the divine than with the problems that later systematic interpreters might face. It holds together seemingly conflicting interests in a way that no doubt was frustrating for the commentators who saw the paths of knowledge and devotion, and the associated visions of impersonalism and personalism, as being mutually exclusive. Evidently, its author did not feel such apparent contradictions as acutely as did the teachers of the Vedanta who were to follow. He was able to bring impersonalism and personalism together in a kind of dynamic tension which, in

51 the final analysis, is one of the important secrets of the text's enduring appeal: 128 As -we shall see in chapters three and five, both the Bhagavatapurana and Madhusudana, its student, make attempts to juxtapose Advaitic thought and bhakti that are, each in their own way, comparable to that of the GIta. More commonly, however, it seems to have been thought that the paradoxes involved in this kind of enterprise were too great. Thus we will find Samkara, in chapter two below, and the Gosvamins of the Bengal Vaisnava tradition, in chapter four, choosing formulations that emphasize a single side of the polarity It -may be that in doing so they sacrificed something of the creative dynamism evident in scriptures such as the GIta for positions more easily developed into rigorously consistent systems of thought.

CHAPTER TWO

BHAKTI IN THE WRITINGS OF SAMKARA

2.1 Introduction: Samkara as a Devotee? We now turn to examine in some detail the place that devotional spirituality occupies in Advaita Vedanta, as formulated by Samkara (ca. 650-750 C.E.), 1 the system's founder and principal authority. The prestige of Advaita, we have already noted, is such that many practicing Hindus, even though they may be devotionally inclined, claim to be philosophical non-dualists or at least to recognize samkara's non-dualism as the highest truth and greatest wisdom of the sages of their tradition. This combination of Advaita and devotion may or may not be carefully thought out. No doubt in the majority of cases it is not. Even many highly erudite Advaitins, however, will assert that, despite the bitter criticism of Advaita offered by the proponents of the various theistic forms of Vedanta, there is really no conflict between non-dualism and devotion. To see, how this is possible, they will say, only a more careful and open-minded consideration of Samkara's thought is needed. Thus A. P. Mishra, who has written a very helpful book on the subject of bhakti in Advaita, writes: "Only a

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casual and brief perusal of the System brought me to the conclusion that the monistic [i]deal of the Samkara Vedanta is not only not against Bhakti but, on the contrary, it preaches it in positive and assertive term[s]."2 .In a similar vein, Swami Smarananda of the Ramakrishna Order, which has been consistently interested in a harmonization of Advaita and bhakti, 3 argues: There is a popular conception or rather misconception that Advaita Vedanta -- the non-dualistic school of Vedanta -- is opposed to bhakti or devotion, as a path to spiritual attainment. Nothing could be further from the truth, for Advaita is not essentially opposed to any path. Many of the staunchest advaitins (followers of Advaita) including Srt Samkara, the greatest of them all, were great devotees too. They could follow the devotional path, because they could see no contradiction between it and the Advaitic conclusion 'Brahman alone is real, the world is unreal, and the jtva is no other than Brahman.' Many are the ways leading to this supreme realization. Among them the path of devotion has been recognized by all religions, including the Advaita Vedanta, as a very efficacious method of achieving this goal."4 Even as sophisticated a philospher-scholar as Radhakrishnan * subscribes to this view. He is convinced that, "While S. [Samkara] is an absolute non-dualist in his metaphysics, he had great faith in bhakti or devotion to a personal God."5 To what extent can such evaluations of Samkara's understanding of devotion be substantiated? This is a difficult question, and a definitive treatment cannot be attempted here. Nevertheless, because Madhusudana's views on bhakti were in many ways an implied critique of those of

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his illustrious predecessor, it is necessary to have some kind of unbiased understanding of what Samkara's thought on." the subject was. Otherwise, it will be impossible to understand what Madhusudana was seeking to accomplish in the Bhaktirasayana. After a lapse of more than 800 years, he was the first theorist following samkara to make any substantial contribution to Advaita's understanding of bhakti.6 If this is realized, both the extent of Samkara's authority and the significance of MadhusUdana's work will begin to be appreciated. Here, then, I wish to make at least a preliminary evaluation of Samkara's views on devotional religion.

2.2 Samkara's Authentic Works At the beginning, we must touch briefly on the subject of the authenticity of the many works attributed to Samkara: Anyone who reads on the problem of bhakti in Advaita will invariably learn of the many devotional hymns (stotras), such as the Bhaja Govindam, the Govindastaka, the SivanandalaharI, and others7 that are said to have been written by this teacher and are commonly presented as evidence that he was a great devotee.8 Unfortunately, critical scholarship suggests that it is highly improbable that these works were written by Samkara himself. It is likely, instead, that they were composed by later followers,

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perhaps heads of the monasteries of his order of samnyasins, each of whom had thetitle "Samkaracarya." The same seems to be true of almost all of the independent treatises (prakaranas) attributed to samkara,9 especially those, such as the Prabodhasudhakara, that give considerable attention to devotion and are, like. the stotras, frequently cited by the proponents of Advaita-bhakti. To enter into a detailed consideration of the problem of the authorship of the hymns and "minor-works" attributed to Samkara and the various, often conflicting views contained in them would be, for obvious reasons, beyond the scope of this paper. I can here only bring to the reader's attention that Samkara's authorship of these works is highly dubious. of course, this conclusion of historical criticism does not take away from the fact that these devotional poems and treatises were indeed attributed to Samkara and were accepted aad preserved. in his order. This in itself is evidence that devotion has historically been recognized as an essential component of the practical spiritual life of the Advaita tradition.10 But it does not tell us much about the views of Samkara himself. Given that the hymns and most of the independent treatises referred to cannot be safely ascribed to Samkara, the following evaluation of his position on bhakti must be based on a consideration of the so-called "major-works," his

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commentaries on the three prastanas ("foundation-texts"). of Vedanta: the Upaniads, the BS, and the BG. The authorship of these works is undisputed.1l As a commentary is by nature limited to the subject matter of the primary text, and as the Upanisads and the BS say almost nothing about bhakti, we find explicit discussion of this discipline only in the Gftabhasya (SGB). The following discussion will therefore rely heavily on that work, though it will become apparent that Samkara's commentaries on the other two prasthanas also provide material that is pertinent to the present inquiry By way of introduction to the whole problem, I will begin with a consideration of some aspects of Samkara's thought which, taken together, show that he does actually make a place for bhakti in his system. We will find that he has much to say about ordinary religious life and especially about the personal God, the individual soul, and their relationship.

2.3 Levels of Being and Religious Structures Fundamental to Samkara's thought is the distinction between the para ("higher") and the apara ("lower") Brahman. He articulates it as follows: Brahman is apprended under two forms; in the first place as qualified by limiting conditions owing to the multiformity of the evolutions of name and form; in the second place as being the opposite of this, i.e. free' from all limiting conditions whatever . .. [Many

57 scriptural passages] declare Brahman to possess a double nature, according as it is the object either of Knowledge or Nescience. 12 Of these two forms of Brahman, it is the lower that is described at BS 1.1.2 as the source, the support, and the end of the world; it is the lower that, in a word, is the personal God. Isvara, as the personal God is termed, is the transcendent, supreme Brahman appearing as if conditioned and personalized by virtue of its relation to maya, the principle of phenomenality. The concept of Isvara is extremely important in Advaita Vedanta and will receive considerable attention as our discussion proceeds. While devotionalists have of course objected stridently to the Advaitins' apparent relegation of the Lord to the status of an inferior reality, the scheme of the two- fold Brahman does unquestionably achieve several useful purposes. It enables Samkara, for example, to arrive at a consistent, systematic interpretation of the Upanisads, which speak of the ultimate in unsystematic and on occasion even contradictory terms -- sometimes as an active, cosmically involved, conditioned, quasi-theistic or personal being and sometimes as inactive, acosmic, unconditioned, transpersonal Absolute. The descriptions of Brahman as "qualified" (saguna) are assigned to its lower aspect, the descriptions of it as "unqualified" (nirguna) to its higher aspect, and the revelation (sruti) is thus interpreted as a unified

58 whole. In addition to being useful for scriptural exegesis, this device of the two-fold ultimate also allows Samkara to combine his vision of the final unreality of all but the supreme, non-dual "One without second" with a genuine, if provisional, acceptance of a practical religiosity having all the elements of ordinary theism .. It is this aspect of his thinking that will be our primary focus in the rest of this section. In order to understand Samkara's evaluation of conventional piety, it is necessary to look at a second distinction, one that is parallel to division between the higher and lower Branman and designed to serve some of the same purposes .. Samkara does not, as is commondy supposed, teach that everything other than the highest, unqualified Absolute is a bare illusion. He speaks, instead, of three levels of being or reality (satta). Within the realm of becoming and appearance, he makes a clear distinction between the ontological status of illusory objects (prati- bhasikasatta), such as those produced by hallucinations and mirages, and that of the everyday empirical world (vyavaharikasatta). This distinction is based on the common-sense view that pots, jars, elephants, trees, and the like are experienced intersubjectively and are relatively long-lasting while illusions are not. The everyday world is therefore more real than the illusory realm. Samkara goes

59 on to make a similar distinction between the truth of the empirical or phenomenal level of experience and that of the transcendental or noumenal level, the level of ultimate Reality (paramarthikasatya), identified with the para Brahman. 13 7Illusions can be easily overcome by empirical knowledge of various sorts, but the empirical level of experience itself is much more difficult to transcend. Nothing but direct intuitive realization of the Absolute can take us beyond it. While the soul, the world, and even personal God are ultimately seen to be false appearances, reminiscent of a great cosmic dream, they are not exactly illusory, for they are constantly present to the experience of all jtvas. It is worth noting here that the distinction between illusory and empirical experience shows that Samkara is not a subjective idealist. God and the world for him are much `more than mere creations of the mind. There is in fact a certain realism in his thought that causes him, for example, to take pains to refute the views of the Vijñanavada Buddhist idealists. The teachers of the latter school deny the existence of external objects independent of perception. 14 Samkara, however, does not see such subjectivism as a necessary consequence of the doctrine of maya. As long as one has not realized the ultimate truth, the world has empirical reality (vyavaharikasatta). Within

60 this empirical reality, external objects are quite as real as the cognitions we have of them; they exist in their own right, independent of the individual mind. The same is true of the world as a whole and of Isvara. When one jtva realizes its identity with Brahman, the activity of the manifest universe is not thereby terminated. It continues on its ordinary course, being experienced by other souls, directed as always by the personal God. Isvara, the creator and sustainer of the world, has at least as real an independent existence as anything else. He is certainly not an illusion, a mere product of the mind. From the point of view of embodied beings, he is in fact the most real of all conditioned entities since he is the eternal source of all levels of empirical existence other than his own. Samkara emphasizes repeatedly that as long as we have not attained the realization of the supreme Brahman, in 'which all duality is dissolved, we cannot avoid recognizing the pragmatic truth of the empirical (vyavaharika) world and all its relationships. As he says at BS 1.1.14: The entire complex of phenomenal existence is considered true as long as the knowledge of Brahman being the Self of all has not arisen; just as the phantoms of a dream are considered to be true until the sleeper wakes. As long as true knowledge does not present itself, there ... is no reason why the ordinary course of secular and religious activity should not hold on undisturbed.15 And again, at BS 2.1.14: That . . . all those distinctions [Isvara, jiva, etc. ] are valid, as far as the phenomenal world is concerned, scripture as well as the BhagavadgIta states. 16

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The. vyavaharika realm, then, with its undeniable empirical . reality, becomes the setting in samkara's system for all of the symbols, activities, and emotions of ordinary religion.

2.4 Structures in Place: JIva and Îsvara Samkara's distinction between levels of reality and his acceptance of the full functionality of the lower Brahman and the practical world enables him to.regard all of 4 the religious structures necessary for bhakti with utter seriousness and profound respect. While it is doubtful whether his analysis. is finally adequate from the devotionalists' point of view, it is important to consider his presentation of theism carefully and appreciate its depth. It was not without reason that even a Christian theologian such as Otto was able to recognize this great Advaitin's relationship to the theistic worldview of the Gtta, the epics, and the puranas as an "inner one."17 Indeed, as P. Hacker has recently shown, it is almost certain that Samkara and his early followers came from strong Vaisnava backgrounds.18 Despite his belief that both jIva and Isvara are ultimately identical in the supreme Brahman, Samkara is able to accept the difference between them on the phenomenal plane. "That the jtva has qualities opposite to that of isvara," he says, "is obvious. "19 The jiva is Brahman in

62 association with the antahkarana, the "inner organ" consisting of mind, ego, and understanding. As such, the jtva is the victim of avidya, is limited in all respects, and undergoes continual. rebirth in the cycles of samsara. The Lord, however, is subject to none of these defects: There is a distinction between the Supreme Lord and the "embodied [jtva]. One is the doer, the enjoyer, a bearer of merit and demerit, and subject to joy and sorrow. The other is the opposite of this and has qualities such as sinlessness and so on.20 It is true [that Isvara] dwells in the body, but he does not dwell only in the body, because we hear of his all- pervasiveness in scriptures such as "greater than the earth, greater than the heavens" [CU 3.14.3] and "all- pervasive and eternal like the ether." But the jiva dwells only in the body.21 Îsvara, like the jiva, is Brahman limited by a conditioning adjunct (upadhi). But His supremacy derives from the special nature of this adjunct, with which the likeness between the two ends. Isvara is Brahman associated, not with a limited mind and body, but with maya, the universal creative matrix, the divine energy (sakti) that projects the entire cosmos. Unlike the jiva, the Lord is not taken in by the delusive, concealing power of maya." On the contrary, the true nature of reality, including especially his identity with the highest Brahman, is eternally transparent to him. 22 While the jiva is controlled by maya, svara is the mayavin, the omnipotent, omniscient controller of maya. 23 The Lord has the power of manifesting, sustaining, and destroying the world. He is

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thus the ruler of the universe and all in it. According to Sankara: "The Highest Lord arranged at the beginning of the present kalpa [cycle of the universe] the entire world with. sun and moon, and so on, just as it had been arranged in the preceding kalpa."24 Moreover, "although the creation of this world appears to us a weighty and difficult undertaking, it is mere'play to the Lord, whose power is unlimited."25 ' The jiva may gain certain super-normal yogic powers (siddhis) in the state of liberation, but it can never gain such universal power, which belongs only to God.26 Though the jivas may ultimately be "one with His [the Lord's] own Self," Samkara makes it clear that "He stands in the realm of the phenomenal in the relation of a ruler to the so-called jtvas."27 Indeed, the jiva is totally dependent upon the Lord's grace for both the experience of samsara and the knowledge that effects moksa. Šamkara writes: For the soul which in the state of Nescience is blinded by the darkness of ignorance and hence unable to distinguish itself from the complex of effects and instruments, the samsara-state in which it appears as agent and enjoyer is brought about through the permission of the Lord who is the highest Self, the superintendent of all actions, the witness residing in all beings, the cause of all intelligence; and we must therefore assume that final release also is effected through knowledge caused by the grace of the Lord. 28 Îsvara is the "inner controller" (antaryamin) of the jiva, causing it to act in accordance with its past deeds:

64 The Lord is a causal agent in all activity. For scripture says, He makes him whom he wishes to lead up from these worlds do a good deed; and the same makes him whom he wishes to lead down from these worlds, do a bad deed' (KauU. 3.8); and again, He who dwelling within the self pulls the self from within' [BU 3.7.2-23].29 Although, like the Lord, the jiva is without beginning, it does have an end, attained when its individuality dissolves in the state of moksa. Îsvara, however, is eternal. The cycles of creation go on forever, and so does the Lord who rules over them. Like time and the process of change, he is without beginning and without end.30 In Samkara's comments on BS 1.1.5, we read: If, as the adherents of the Yoga-sastra assume, the Yogins have a perceptive knowledge of the past and the future through the favor of the Lord; in what terms shall we have to speak of the eternal cognition of the ever pure Lord himself, whose objects are the creation, subsistence, and dissolution of the worldi31 Isvara may vanish for the individual who attains final liberation, but never for the world as a whole. Samkara advances several proofs for the existence of God of the sort that would be entirely acceptable in theistic circles, and he deals extensively with the problem of theodicity.32 He also explicitly accepts that central element of Hindu devotional religion, the doctrine of periodic divine incarnation (avatara) on earth. "The highest Lord," he declares, "may, when he pleases, assume a bodily shape formed of maya, in order to gratify thereby his devout worshippers."33 He supports this statement by a

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reference to a theistically oriented smrti. In his introduction to his commentary on the BG, Sakara provides, in addition to a classic statement of his conception of Isvara, a revealing explanation of the mystery of the avatara: The Blessed Lord is always possessed of knowledge, majesty, power, strength, might, and radiant energy. Controlling his own maya, the primal cause consisting of the three material qualities that belongs to him as Visnu, he appears, to work the welfare of the world, as if possessed of a body, as if born, though in reality he is unborn, imperishable, the Lord of all beings, in nature eternally pure, free, and liberated.34 While rejecting, at BS 2.2.42, certain doctrines on the origination of the soul held by teachers of the non- orthodox Bhagavata school, Samkara at the same time makes clear that he is sympathetic with much of their theology, including the idea that the Godhead assumes various manifest forms, and suggests further that he does not disapprove of their devotional spirituality: We do not controvert the doctrine that Narayana, who is known to be higher than the Unevolved, who is the Supreme Self and the Self of All, has multiplied himself through himself into single forms. . . Nor do we raise any objection if it is intended to worship the Bhagavan with unceasing concentration of mind by approaching him [in his temple] or by other means.35 In a similar vein, Samkara writes at BS 1.2.7: It is taught that God ... is perceptible, i.e. visible, in the lotus of the heart, just as Hari is in the salagrama stone. In this, it is a cognition of the Inner Sense [buddhivijñana] which apprehends him. God, . though omnipresent, graciously allows himself to be reverently meditated upon there. 36

66 However inadequate his understanding may be from the devotionalists' point of view, it is clear that Samkara AL accepts at least the provisional validity of personalized forms of God and devotional worship. Note that in the last quote but one Samkara is speaking of Narayana, apsectarian deity, as the equivalent of the "highest Self." While this may seem puzzling at first, an apparent transgression of the distinction between the higher and lower Brahman, usages like this are common in his writings. His tendency to employ such designations of the transpersonal Absolute as parabrahman, atman, and paramatman interchangeably with Isvara, paramesvara, and bhagavat, which are titles of the personal God, and even Narayana and Vișnu, which are personal names derived from mythology, is one that has been well-documented. 37 This practice, which is continued by the great commentator's followers, should not, however, be a cause of perplexity. Isvara in Advaita is the highest conception of the Absolute accessible to the limitations of human thought and discourse. Hence, practically speaking, the Lord is the ultimate for all who.remain in the grip of phenomenality. Once having made the distinction between para and apara, Brahman and Isvara, Samkara and his followers feel no need to dwell upon it. The Lord, we have seen, is nothing less than the supreme Reality itself in its aspect of relatedness

.6.7 to the phenomenal world; as such, Isvara truly is Brahman. There is consequently no harm in speaking of him as the ultimate while one is discoursing within the limitations of phenomenality, where one is necessarily confined by the very act of speaking. Any'attempt to maintain a constant and rigorous distinction between the paramarthika and vyavaharika standpoints in this respect would make the discussion unbearably cumbersome. Furthermore, by virtue of overemphasis, it would imply a devaluation of the personal God that is not intended. The foregoing exposition should be sufficient to establish that, despite the charge of "impersonalism" frequently leveled against Samkara, the concept of tsvara and the latter's distinction from the individual soul is richly articulated in his thought.38 The Lord retains for -him the full complement of power and grace attributed to God by more conventional thinkers, and the jiva as such its full degree of dependence.

2.5 Samkara's Devaluation of Devotion 2.5.1 The Penultimacy of Religious Structures and Bhakti The discussion thus far has indicated that the elements necessary for bhakti -- including soul, God, and even grace -- are present in Advaita in fully functional form. It would seem, therefore, that devotion is possible within this

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system. We can not yet conclude, however, that the. critique of non-dualism by the theistic Vedantins is entirely without basis. To be sure, some of their polemics miss the point. Samkara's position may well be a subtle one requiring much sympathy to penetrate, but he was neither a Buddhist nor a devil, nor even as anti-religious as some have made out. This, I think, has been sufficiently established. Nevertheless it does remain that, while the structures necessary for bhakti are present in Advaita and devotion is therefore possible, the element of ultimacy has been removed from both the devotional experience and its object. This leaves bhakti in a precarious position, in danger of losing much of its compellingness. Consider, for example, the following passage: The Lord's being a Lord, his omniscience, his omnipotence, and etc. all depend on the limitation due to the adjuncts whose Self is Nescience; while in reality none of these qualities belong to the Self whose true nature is cleared, by right knowledge, from all adjuncts whatever. . The Vedanta texts declare that for him who has reached the state of truth and reality the whole apparent world does not exist.39 The Advaitins' tendency to keep the distinction between the higher and lower Brahman in abeyance while they are speaking of conventional religious notions does not mean that they have forgotten it. On the contrary, they reassert it dramatically, as Samkara does here, as soon as they begin thinking in terms of moksa, their final goal. When this happens, ordinary piety is forgotten in the quest for what

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. is perceived as a higher level of truth. Isvara may be God in all his glory from the point of view of the world, but from the point of view of liberation he is, as Isvara, dependent on the world, just as the space limited by pots and jars is, for its existence as such, dependent on those ressels. When the pot is broken, so does the particular configuration of space it contained; when the world disappears in the final disembodied state, so does God.40 This kind of thinking does not quite place Isvara in the realm of maya, but it does effectively remove him from the sphere of final truth in a way that a true devotionalist could not tolerate.41 If the Lord himself suffers from penultimacy in Advaita, all the more does bhakti. As we shall see, it is only through direct intuitive knowledge, according to \ . Samkara, that one can attain the ultimate realization. In the final analysis, bhakti must remain within the domain of practical spirituality, merely a preliminary discipline that seâplir has no power to take one beyond the sphere of duality. In metaphysical terms, bhakti and its dualistic distinctions are confined to the realm of the false, the realm of maya. 42 It neither gives us access to Being, nor does it have itself any true ontological status. So on both counts Advaita makes it difficult for its adherents to take devotion as commonly understood with final seriousness.

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2.5.2 Bhakti Not an Independent Path Though the Advaitins themselves vary in the importance they place on devotional religion, almost all accept that it is but a preliminary step to the acquisition of knowledge. Like selfless action, 43 bhakti purifies the mind and prepares it for. the final intuition of the identity of jiva and Brahman. It must be remembered in this connection that all of the important writers on Advaita up until modern times were highly educated, intellectually gifted individuals from Brahmin families, men so inclined to the contemplative life that they were willing to. take monastic vows and live the lives of ascetics. Thus it is not surprising that, once having felt the intellectual appeal of Samkara's non-dualistic metaphysic, many tended to disparage devotional religion as based on a dualism born of ignorance. The typical attitude of Advaitins toward bhakti is expressed by Amalananda in this verse from his Kalpatataru:

Those slow-minded persons who are uhable to directly realize the unqualified supreme Brahman are blessed by' the descriptions of the qualified [Brahman]. When their minds have been brought under control by habitual contemplation on the conditioned Brahman, 'that very Brahman reveals itself as devoid of all .limiting adjuncts. 44 Though somewhat rudely stated here, this is Samkara's position also. Himself a renunciate and follower of the path of knomledge, he sought to extol this path to

71. encourage his fellow monks and vindicate it in the face of criticism from outside. To understand Samkara's views on bhakti, one must first realize that he was writing at a time when the emotional devotion so dominant in later centuries was.still in its formative stages. In spite of the Gita's emphasis on devotion bhakti was not yet widely 'accepted in orthodox Smarta45 circles as ar independent means to salvation. 46 Rather, it was cultivated in the non-Vedic schools which produced the agamas, tantras, and the puranas, schools such as the Bhagavata and the Pancarata which were, even in the time of Yamuna (tenth century) and later, still arguing. the case for their orthodoxy.47 Certainly, in Samkara's major works, the discussion of bhakti as a possible center of the religious life of serious seekers is conspicuous by its absence. While the chief opponents of Madhusudana in the sixteenth century were the devotionalists, who by then had cast off the stigma of heterodoxy, Samkara's most serious rivals in the seventh century were the ultra-orthodox Vedic ritualists of the PūrvamImamsa. The great Mimāmsakas Kumarila and Prabhakara were then at the height of their influence, having played an important role in the anti-Buddhist Hindu revival that had actually paved the way for Samkara's success. As fellow Smartas engaged like him in Vedic exegesis, but with a radically different viewpoint, they were enemies closer to

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home and therefore more dangerous.48 A disproportionately large part of Samkara's writing is taken up in controversy with these representatives of the conservative Vedic establishment, who asserted that salvation could only come through religious works, chiefly proper observance of. Vedic ritual, which necessitated remaining in the householders' asrama. They consequently denied the legitimacy of samnyāsa ("renunciation") since it. involved the giving up of ritual and indeed all normal social life. Samnyasa, however, was a key element of Samkara's spirituality; it was, as we shall see, the basis of the path of knowledge, of which he sought to be the champion. The two doctrines clashed, and we must understand the stridency of Samkara's emphasis on knowledge and renunciation as the means to salvation against the background of this controversy. In his GItabhāsa, for example, he identifies the key problem of that text as the resolution of the conflict between the pravrttidharma ("path of works") and the nivrttidharma ("path of renunciation"). In keeping with his purpose of glorifying samnyasa and defending it from its activist Mimamsaka critics, he tries to show that the GIta teaches the superiority of renunciation and knowledge to the path of works. Much of his commentary is taken up by efforts to demonstrate this conclusion.49 For the reasons just stated, he is in all of his writings far less concerned with arguing for the

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73 superiority of knowledge to bhakti. This makes a study such as the present one somewhat more difficult, but Samkara does , say enough to allow the careful reader to arrive at a fairly accurate understanding of his views on devotional spirituality.

2.5.3 Knowledge the Means to Liberation The real, for Samkara, is that which never changes. Liberation, the highest goal of life (paramapurusartha), consists in identification with the unchanging reality, viz., Brahman. He says of moksa: Scripture declares that state to be naturally and originally an unembodied one. ... Among eternal things, some indeed may be 'eternal, although changing' (parinamanitya) : But this [moksa] is eternal in the true sense, i.e. eternal without undergoing any changes (kUtasthanitya), omnipresent as ether, free from all modifications, absolutely self-sufficient, not composed of parts, of self-luminous nature. That bodiless entity in fact, to which merit and demerit do not apply is called release. therefore the same as Brahman. 50 . It [moksa] is

Given, thus, that the ultimate state is one of stasis, it is understandable that the approach to it should involve a minimization of process and becoming. So neither the . religious activism advocated by the Mimamsakas nor bhakti lead directly to release. Samkara never tires of repeating that the sole means to liberation is knowledge (jñana):51 The attainment of moksa is only from knowledge of reality. 52 Knowledge of the Self alone is the means to the highest good, for, being the remover of the cognition of duality, it culminates in liberation.53

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The Upanisad "Having known Him one goes beyond death; there is no other path for going" [s.U. 3.8] indicates that a path other than knowledge is not known. Another text [S.U. 6.20] says that moksa for one who does not possess knowledge is as impossible as rolling up space like a leather hide. And the Puranas and the Smrtis declare, "Moksa is attained through knowledge. "54

2.5.4 Saving Knowledge Mediated Through The Vedic Revelation This knowledge is not, of course, discursive. It is rather a direct intuition (saksatkara) that transforms one's perception of reality. Though it is an insight that goes beyond the verbal, it is mediated verbally. It is often forgotten that the "mysticism" of Advaita, if it can be so- called, is anchored in Vedic orthodoxy. PūrvamImāmsā proclaimed uncompromisingly that knowledge of what cannot be directly perceived by the senses -- in the MImamsakas' case, correct ritual behavior (dharma) -- must come from the infallible word of the Veda. Advaita, as conservatively orthodox as its sister system, 55 is committed to the same doctrine. Knowledge of Brahman, the supersensory object of interest to Vedanta, does not come haphazardly through just any mystical practice, but through one channel only: the words of sruti, specifically, the "great sayings" (mahavakyas) of the Upanisads which are heard (sruta) by the qualified pupil from the mouth of the competent teacher. The mahavakyas, of which the most important is tat tvam asi, "That thou art" [CU 6.8.7], are

75 the final catalysts of knowledge. At BS 1.1.4, Samkara. discusses the seeker's dependence upon scripture at length. He writes: "The fact of everything having its Self in Brahman cannot be grasped without the aid of the scriptural passage `tat tvam asi. '"56 Later on, at 3.2.21, he elaborates: The only thing needed is that the knowledge of Brahman should be conveyed by the Vedic passages sublating the apparent plurality superimposed upon Brahman by Nescience, such as Brahman is indicated in this way, knowledge arising of . Thou art it.' . As soon as itself discards Nescience, and this whole world of names and forms, which had been hiding Brahman from us, melts away like the imagery of a dream.57 Samkara's disciple Suresvara develops this doctrine of immediate verbal mediation of enlightenment in his writings. He emphasizes, however, that the disciple must be prepared by previous practice before the sruti can be effective in this way. 58

2.5.5 Eligibility for Knowledge This last idea brings us to the concept of adhikara ("eligibility"). While it plays a significant role in Hindu religious thought in general, 59 the notion is especially important in Advaita Vedanta. Not all are entitled to enter the path of knowledge. In addition to important social qualifications, which will be considered below, a long process of moral and spiritual preparation, either in this life or in previous lives, is presupposed. At the beginning of the BSSB, Samkara outlines the "four-fold means"

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(sadhanacatustya) that an individual must have to qualify for the study of Vedanta. The strict requirements include: (1) the capacity to discriminate between the eternal and the non-eternal; (2) indifference to the rewards of action in this world or the next; (3) the "six-fold endowment," which includes equanimity, self-control, withdrawal from sensual pursuits, concentration, patience, and faith; and (4) the intense desire for liberation. 60 An even more detailed outline of prerequisites for the study of Advaita is presented at Upadesasahasrt 2.1.2. There Samkara indicates that his teaching is truly intended only for the mendicant (parivrajaka) who is a paramahamsa ("supreme swan"), a title reserved, at least in the later tradition, for the highest and most respected order of samnyasins.61 Those possessed of such qualifications, the highest aspirants (uttamadhi- karins), are utterly detached from.the world and so able to contemplate their identity with the impersonal Brahman. Single-minded in their quest, they seek to remain aloof from everything in the realm of process and becoming, including, both religious works and religious emotionalism. Only such individuals are qualified for the path of knowledge, which forms the direct means to immortality. Other individuals, not possessed of such virtues, are eligible only for the paths of selfless action and devotion. According to Samkara, Arjuna was a seeker of this ..

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second sort. BG 2.47 reads, "Your adhikara is foraction alone, "62 and Samkara's gloss has Krana saying directly to Arjuna: "You are qualified for works alone, not for the path of knowledge."63 Later on in the commentary we learn that, "because the Blessed Lord is exceedingly desirous of Ar juna's well-being, he recommends to him only the yoga of action which is based on the cognition of distinction and unconnected with right knowledge."64 Arjuna is thus taken as an example of the madhyama adhikarin, the "middling aspirant" who does not yet have the spiritual maturity necessary to tread the lofty way of renunciation and knowledge.65

2.5.6 Karma and bhakti as Preparatory to Knowledge Through the paths of karma and bhakti, individuals not qualified for the path of knowledge gradually attain greater purity. Thus: The religion of [ritual] activity enjoined on the castes and stages of life [when performed with desire for its results] is the means of attaining the worldof the gods. This, when performed with the idea that it is an offering to God, without regard fop its rewards, produces purity of mind. And one whose mind is purified attains, by means of the acquisition of fitness for the discipline of knowledge, the means to the highest good which is the same as the means to the arising of * knowledge. 66 It is important to realize that, in Samkara's mind, the paths of action and devotion are allied disciplines applicable to the same level of spiritual striving. So

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devotion, which often takes the form of action dedicated to God, is likewise only a means of purification: The state of being qualified for the discipline of knowledge is a perfection attained as the fruit of the yoga of devotion which consists of worshipping the Blessed Lord through performance of one's allotted duties. The discipline of knowledge, caused by the yoga of devotion to the Blessed Lord, leads to the fruit of moksa. 67 In chapter 13 of the Gita, verses 7-11, various virtues, including "unwavering devotion," are listed and identified with knowledge. Samkara explains that, "bhakti ... to Me, the Lord, . is knowledge. . . . [i.e.] is called' knowledge because of being conducive to knowledge."68 Those who perform their duties selflessly as an offering to God, 5 and those who focus their minds and hearts on God with devotion, are engaged, not in the direct ascent to liberation, but in an exercise which, however essential, remains preliminary to the quest for knowledge.

2.5.7 Bhakti and Upasana In this and other respects, bhakti for the Advaitin is similar to Upanisadic upasana.69 In comparison with the sparsity of discourse on bhakti in the early literature of 4 Advaita, there is a relative abundance of explicit discussion of upasana. This is because, as we have. seen, the latter discipline figures importantly in the Upanisads -- which are the central scriptures of the Samkara tradition --

79 while the former does not. From the Advaitins' analysis of upasana it can be determined that it occupies the same structural position in their interpretation of the more orthodox, but archaic, Upanisadic spirituality that bhakti occupies in their understanding of later Hindu practice. Samkara's definition of upasana, already referred to in our discussion of the Upanisads, is worth repeating here: "Upasana is a continuous current of identical thoughts, unbroken by any disparate cognitions, directed toward an object accepted from scripture."70 It is not difficult to see how upasana, in this view, might have much.in common with the Gfta's "devotion with no other object" (ananyabhakti). Samkara describes the latter as "undivided concentration with the unwavering conviction `There is nothing higher than.vasudeva, therefore he is- our sole goal.'"71 Elsewhere he says: "Bhakti 'with no other object' is that which is never divided toward objects other than the Blessed Lord."72 At BS 4.1.1, Samkara illustrates the intensity of mental concentration required of those engaged in upasana. The analogies he uses are reminiscent of the way in which a devotional teacher might describe the bhakta's preoccupation with thought of God: Thus we say in ordinary life that a person 'is devoted' to a teacher or a king if he follows him with a mind steadily set on him; and of a wife whose husband has gone on a journey we say that she thinks of him only if she steadily remembers him with longing.73

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So there are obviously certain parallels between upasana and bhakti. Although their objects are perhaps different, the difference is not as great as it may seem at first. In Samkara s understanding, at least, the objects of upasana, such as the holy syllable Om, and the object of bhakti, Isvara, are alike special manifestations or symbols (it is. fair to say) of the highest Brahman. The attitude of the practitioner of upasana toward the object of his meditation is not the emotional bhakti of the later tradition, or even the. more reserved, intellectual devotion of the BG. But again, we have seen that upasana involves a reverential approach to the ultimate that is at least comparable to the combination of love and mental concentration found in bhakti. Finally, Samkara makes it clear that upasana, like bhakti, is not the direct path to moksa, but rather a means ·to mental purffication (sattvasuddhi).74 Samkara specifies his understanding of the difference between upasana and knowledge at BS 1.1.4. There he points out that, while upasana is dependent upon the meditating subject for its existence and is prey to the vagaries of human volition, true knowledge is.determined by the independently existing object and is therefore not dependent on the mind of its agent.75 This idea isv summarized succinctly by Vidyaranya Svamin, the great fourteenth century Advaitin, in his PañcadasI. "Knowledge," 7

81 he writes, "is determined by its object, while upasana is determined by its agent. "76 The implication is that only knowledge can take us beyond subjectivity, beyond the realm of maya, to true Being. Let us note what follows for upasana, and for bhakti as well. Both these disciplines are insufficient in themselves, and the aim of those practicing them should be to attain sufficient purity of mind to experience the immediate intuitive knowledge of Brahman that alone is the direct means to moksa. The final realization will perhaps occur in this life, i.e., such persons may make the transition from upasana or bhakti to jñana. 77 More likely, however, they will have to either wait for another birth78 or attain the requisite saving knowledge through the process known as kramamukti ("gradual liberation"). The latter consists in the attainment after death of brahmaloka, the highest celestial tealm from which there is no rebirth. Inhabitants of this heavenly world attain knowledge of the unconditioned Brahman, and hence moksa, when the whole universe, including brahmaloka, is dissolved at the end of the present cosmic cycle (kalpa).79

2.5.8 The Seeker of Knowledge Rejects Devotion Samkara sees the life of the seeker of knowledge as one of constant "dwelling in Brahman" (brahmasamstha), 80 and he describes the discipline of knowledge as "an intense effort to acquire a continuous current of the awareness of the inner Self."81 The work required on this path is considerable and requires sincere dedication of one's total life energy; it is no small undertaking. This fact explains the need for renunciation and freedom from mundane concerns. It also throws light on samkara's idealization of the samnyasin and the special praise he reserves for the naisthikabrahmacarin ("complete celibate") who, like the great Advaitin himself, has renounced directly from the student stage and has never been entirely caught up in the illusions of the world: It goes without saying that one who renounces from studenthood and remains in the spiritual life as long as he lives will attain liberation in Brahman. 82 Here, the yoga of knowledge -- knowledge itself being , yoga -- is the path prescribed for the samkhyas, those possessed of knowledge which discriminates between the Self and its objects, who have renounced the world from the stage of studenthood, who have ascertained the real through the wisdom of the Upanisads, who belong to the Paramahamsas or highest order of wandering mendicants, whose life is focussed on Brahman only.83 Here we again encounter the high standards that Samkara sets for aspirants to the path of knowledge.

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An important part of the Advaitic discipline84 is the effort to remove "contrary ideas" (viparItabhavana), ite., dualistic ways of thinking and perception that contradict scriptural teaching as to the Self's oneness and total inactivity. To succeed in the task of uprooting separative consciousness and immersing himself in the idea .of oneness, the contemplative who has entered the path of knowledge must abstain from activities and modes of thought and feeling which reinforce dualism. Hence the urgency of Samkara's polemic against those who denied the value of renunciation and asserted that liberation can only come through engagement in the ritualistic observances of the life of the orthodox householder, or through a kind of compromise combination of such works with meditation and knowledge. In the Gitabhasya, he speaks of "the impossibility of existing in a single person of both knowledge, which depends on ideas of non-agency and unity, and works, which depend upon ideas of agency and multiplicity. "85 The practitioner of jmanayoga is taught to regard "the whole world and all knowledge born of difference as mere ignorance, like night."86 Since "that which is perceived as being without foundation cannot become. a motive for action,"87 the man of true discrimination refrains from ' works. Again and again, Bamkara stresses that the renunciate must avoid such activities and attitudes as involve him in dualistic modes of awareness:

84 The yoga of action, which is the opposite of renunciation, is based on the idea of agency derived from false knowledge and maintains one in the idea that the Self is active by nature. So the impossibility of the yoga of action for the knower of the Self is taught, since right knowledge contradicts false knowledge and its effects.88 "`I do nothing at all,' thus the disciplined knower of reality should think" [BG 5.8]. This verse teaches the one who knows the reality of the Self to refrain, through constant mental discipline, from the idea "I am acting" in actions such as seeing or hearing, even when these are undertaken for the mere maintenance of the body. Therefore, it is not possible to imagine even in a dream that the knower of the Self could perform the yoga of action, which is contradictory to right knowledge and based on false knowledge.89 All action without exception has its seed in ignorance and desire. Consequently, it is taught that action pertains to the ignorant and discipline of knowledge to those who know. : The verse "I give that yoga of discriminative understanding by which they approach Me". [10.10] means that the ignorant followers of the path of works do not so approach.90 Now, if the person engaged in the discipline of knowledge is enjoined to avoid the path of action because it involves him in dualistic thinking, should he not also rise above the dualism inherent in worship and devotion? Though Samkara does not deal with this question in explicit terms, 91 it is certain that this is his opinion. In. chapter 12 of the Gfta, verses 1-12, Krna clearly asserts that the devotees of the personal God are the "best practitioners of yoga"92 and that their path is superior to the path of meditation on the "Imperishable," i.e., the impersonal Absolute, because the latter way is much more difficußt. Samkara nevertheless choses not to take this teaching at its

85 face value, treating it rather as mere hortatory praise designed to inspire Arjuna, who is not fit for the path of knowledge, to persist in the paths of action and devotion. Referring to 7.18, he writes, "It has been said that `The one who knows is regarded as my very Self.' Of those who are thus identical with the Blessed Lord (bhagavatsvarūpa), there is no need to say that they are either the best or not the best practitioners of yoga. "93 Then follows a crucial passage: Here, having assumed a distinction between the Lord and the Self, the yoga which consists of concentrating the mind on the Lord in his universal form and performing works for the sake of the Lord is declared. The verse "If you are not able to do even this" [12.11] indicates that karmayoga is the result of ignorance. So the Blessed Lord teaches that it should not be performed by those who meditate on the Imperishable and who see no distinction [between the Lord and the Self]. Likewise, He teaches that meditation on the Imperishable should not be performed by the karmayogins. Having declared, in the verse "They attain Me" [12.4], that those who meditate on the Imperishable are independent in the attainment of liberation, [the Lord] has shown that the others [the bhaktas] are dependent on another, dependent on the Lord, in the verse "I am their deliverer" [12.7]. If the latter were considered to be the very Self of the Lord [like the former] because of the cognition of non- distinction, they would in fact be the Imperishable, so the mention of deliverance in regard to them would be inappropriate. Because the Blessed Lord is exceedingly desirous of Arjuna's well-being, He recommends to him only the yoga of action which is based on the cognition of distinction and unconnected with right knowledge. No one, having definitively known himself to be the Lord, would wish to become subordinate to anyone, because this would be a contradiction [of that knowledge ].94 It is not surprising that this interesting paragraph is invariably overlooked by those who wish to portray Samkara

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as a teacher and practitioner of bhakti. Its implications, however, are important and are worth drawing out at some length.

First, this passage confirms beyond question something that has already been suggested, namely, that Samkara makes no clear distinction between the paths of action and devotion. Rather, he lumps them both together as one yoga, referred to in the singular, which consists of concentrating the mind on God and offering one's actions to him, and which stands over against the discipline of knowledge as an entirely separate path. Despite the fact that this chapter deals explicitly with devotion to Krsna, and indeed is entitled "Bhaktiyoga" in its colophon, Samkara has no problem in referring to the, discipline in question as karmayoga. In his mind, then, there are two paths, action- devotion and knowledge, for which different types of persons are eligible. Second, the paragraph clearly states the presuppositions of these two disciplines. Action-devotion is based on the assumption that the Lord and the Self are distinct (atmesvarabhedam asritya, bhedadrstimantam). It is the effect of ignorance (ajñanakarya) and is unconnected with right knowledge (samyagdarsanananvitam). Further, it involves dependence upon an outside power (paratantryam), the Lord, for salvation or deliverance. The path of

87 knowledge, on the other hand, is founded upon the idea of. the identity of the Lord and the Self, i.e., true knowledge, and its followers are therefore not dependent upon the Lord for liberation, as if He were some external being other than their very Self.95 Third, it becomes readilyapparent in this passage . that the mutually contradictory nature of the presuppositions of these two paths is the reason why persons are restricted to one or the other. The paths, however, are obviously not of equal value. Samkara again makes it clear that he regards Arjuna as a middling aspirant, eligible only for the lower, purificatory path of action-devotion, but not for the direct path of knowledge. Arjuna and others like him may fancy taking to the latter, higher way, but they are not sufficiently prepared. On the other hand, the pure soul who is eligible for knowledge, whose being is gripped by the truth "I am Brahman, "96 will find the idea of descending to the level of action or devotion -- and thus becoming involved in duality, ignorance, and dependence -- to be abhorrent.97 Like it or not, and with apologies to lovers of the Bhaja Govindam, this is what Samkara is saying, almost in so many words: Devotion, conceived dualistically with the distinction of God and soul, is a product of spiritual ignorance suitable only for the lesser aspirants.

88 In. this connection, it is worthwhile noting that in most of his writing Samkara neglects to observe the tradition of invoking the blessings of a diety at the beginning or end, or both, of a philosophical work.98 As a possible reason for this, Hacker points out a statement in Samkara's commentary on the Kena Upanigad: "He who, having been lead to Brahman, is consecrated to sovereignty does not wish to bow to anybody. "99 An idea such as this is in perfect accord with the sentiments expressed in the passage of the SGB just quoted.

2.5.9 The Gita Interpreted for the Jñanin The difficulty for Samkara in his commentary on the BG is of course the fact that the text frequently extols bhakti and taking refuge in the personal God as if they constituted an independent path to liberation. Consider, for example, the following: Whoever serves Me with unwavering discipline of devotion, he, having gone beyond the material qualities, is fit for becoming Brahman. 14.26100 By devotion he knows Me truly, how great I am and who. Then, having known Me truly, he enters into Me forthwith. 18.55101 Samkara, now more obviously than ever writing to recommend the path of knowledge and renunciation, handles these verses

89 by referring the reader back to 7.16-18, where it is taught that there are four types of devotees: the afflicted (who seeks relief), the seeker of material well-being, the seeker . of knowledge, and the possessor of knowledge (jñanin). The supreme bhakti which is the subject of the verses quoted above belongs only to the last of these, the jñanin, but this highest level of devotion is actually "the same as knowledge"102 or "of the nature of discriminative knowledge. "103 Samkara writes: The supreme culmination of knowledge is a steady knowledge of the oneness of the individual conscious self and the Supreme Self in the form of a firm conviction based on personal experience. It is generated by the teachings of the scriptures and the preceptor, in conjunction with the various factors that aid in the arising and maturation of knowledge such as purity of mind, humility, etc., and is accompanied by the renunciation of all works based on notions of difference, notions such as agency and the other elements of action. This same culmination of knowledge is what is declared [at 7.17] to be the fourth, highest kind of devotion in comparison with other types such as that of the afflicted person. By that supreme devotion he knows the Blessed Lord truly, immediately after which the idea of difference between the individual conscious self and the Lord ceases completely. Therefore, the declaration "He knows Me by devotion," when devotion is defined as the culmination of knowledge, involves no contradiction. 104 In this way, Samkara handles certain verses of the Gfta which are embarrassing for his position by simply identifying the bhakti so highly extolled in them with jnana. The Gfta's supreme devotion, then, is nothing but the supreme knowledge that is attained by the renunciate Advaitin. 105

This dubious exegesis is extended to Samkara's discussion of devotional surrender to Krsna. GIta 18.66 is hailed by devotionalists as the "final verse" (caramasloka). It is said to contain the scripture's highest teaching, total surrender to God: "Resort to Me alone as your sole refuge. "106 But Samkara's comments again reduce the spirituality of bhakti to a cognitive discipline: "Resort to Me alone," the Self of all, abiding alike in all beings, the imperishable Lord, free from conception, birth, old age, and death, with the idea that I alone am the "sole refuge." The meaning is, "Know that there is nothing other than Me. "107

2.6 Social Dimensions It is necessary to emphasize that Samkara's thinking on bhakti cannot be understood without taking into account his strict hierarchical conceptualization of the spiritual life. There are two mutually incompatible paths, each based upon contradictory assumptions and suited to different types of persons. One way is for the "enlightened," the other for the "unenlightened. "108 samkara makes this point repeatedly, but perhaps most clearly in the following passage: The discipline of works is the means to the attainment of the goal of life [moksa] only by virtue of being the cause of the attainment of the discipline of knowledge, not independently. But the discipline of knowledge, which is attained by the discipline of works, is the means to the goal of life independently, without relying on anything else. 109

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An important social dimension comes into play here. In opposition to the MImamsaka's exaltation of the householder's life-stage as the foundation of the true. religious life, Samkara asserts, not only that samnyāsa is a valid path, but that it is essential for the practice of the discipline of knowledge which leads to moksa. "All the Upanigads," he says, "as well as the Epics, the Puranas, and the texts on Yoga, prescribe for the seeker of moksa the renunciation of all works as an accessory to knowledge."110 Renunciation is necessary because, as we have seen, the path of knowledge requires a quiet life in which thought is directed in ways that are contrary to the common-sense construction of reality, and also "because moksa," its goal, "is the state of dwelling in the actionless nature of the inner Self. "lll Sakara continues: It is not possible for one desiring to go to the eastern ocean to be on the same road as one intending to go to the western ocean, because it is in the opposite direction. . . . This [discipline of knowledge] is contradicted by being conjoined with action, like going to the western ocean. Well-informed persons hold the difference [between knowledge and action] to be like that between a mountain and a mustard seed. 112 His conclusion is: "Therefore, the discipline of knowledge is to be undertaken only through the renunciation of all action. "113 Samkara also mentions a more legalistic reason for limiting the discipline of knowledge to the samnyasins, namely that only they can avoid the sin of omitting the performance of prescribed rituals:

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The term "brahmasamstha" denotes fulfillment in Brahman, a state of being grounded in Brahman to the exclusion of all other activity. Now such a state is impossible for persons belonging to the three former asramas [students, householders, and retirees], as scripture declares that they suffer loss through the non-performance of the works enjoined on their asrama. The mendicant, on the other hand, who has discarded all works can suffer no loss owing to non-performance. Such duties as are incumbent upon him, viz. restraint of the senses and the like, are not opposed to the state of being grounded in Brahman, but rather helpful to it.114 The social aspect of Samkara's thought becomes even more significant religiously when we realize that he, like many classical Hindu authorities, believed that only male Brahmins were eligible for samnyasa. 115 Hence, Arjuna's ineligibility for the path of knowledge was based on more than individual considerations of temperament, level of psycho-spiritual maturity, and so on. líng t He was a Ksatriya, and according to Samkara -- and, again, many other orthodox authorities -- members of that caste are not eligible for renunciation: Even though engaged in a battle which was his duty as a Kşatriya, he [Arjuna], with his understanding and discrimination overcome by grief and delusion, of himself quit that battle and undertook the duty of another, namely, the life of a mendicant. In this way, abandoning one's own duty and taking to what is prohibited is natural to all beings whose minds are afflicted by faults such as grief and delusion. 116 A little thought about this limitation and a serious conclusion becomes all too apparent: If moksa is attained only by knowledge, and only samnyasins are eligible for knowledge, and only male Brahmins are qualified for

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samnyasa, then only male Brahmins can attain moksa. Now, to my knowledge Samkara never says this in so many words, 117 and the conclusion must be, modified to indicate that the restriction does not apply to kramamukti, the "gradual" liberation through rebifth in brahmaloka described above. Moreover, Samkara does concede that there may be some exceptions to this rule. 118 Nevertheless the implication is clear. Liberation119 is available directly only to male Brahmins who have, through renunciation, taken to the path of knowledge. Others, including devotees of the personal God, have two options. One is to be satisfied with kramamukti and a wait of countless thousands of years until the current world-cycle comes to an end. The other is to hope for rebirth as a male Brahmin.

2.7 Advaita Exclusivism and the Ethos of Bhakti This elitism on the social level results from the combination of two factors: first, the notion that there are two separate spiritual paths, each having different qualifications, and second, the hierarchical thinking that underlies the Hindu theory of caste. From the point of view of the tradition itself, of course, this exclusivism is benevolently intended. If every one were intensely seeking liberation, the Advaitin might say, the energy which keeps the world in motion would surely begin to run down. What

94 would happen to society if more than a small minority took to the path of knowledge? Even if it were socially workable, the radical liminality imposed by renunciation and non-dualistic modes of thought would be psychologically disastrous for most. To be sure, the true Samkara Advaitin does not, and cannot, accept the validity of devotion for himself, because it contradicts the basic assumptions of his discipline. But he recognizes that it is good for others, those whose minds are more encumbered with worldly desires and distinctions, i.e., less "pure," than his. Indeed, for the sake of setting an example to others and encouraging them in their path, the jmanin may willingly fulfill certain outward religious observances associated with bhakti. He knows that, through their devotion, the less qualified aspirants will eventually attain fitness for knowledge and, at last, moksa. 120 However profound the insight into human nature and however good the intentions that may be assumed (for purposes of understanding) to underlie it, this aristocratic mentality is absolutely opposed to the egalitarian spirit of the later bhakti movements. The devotionalists, we shall soon discover, tend to disparage knowledge and to downplay the importance of moksa as a goal of spiritual striving. This attitude may well be related to the Advaitins' exclusivism, as if to say, "Since moksa is so restricted,

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who needs it?"121 We shall see, in any event, that much of what Madhusudana writes about bhakti is influenced by this liberal outlook of the devotional movements.The BR especially seems to be aimed at opening up the Advait to a wider variety of spiritual options for a wider range 8f aspirants.

CHAPTER THREE

BHAKTI AND ADVAITA IN THE BHAGAVATA PURANA 3.1 Introduction: The Scripture of Krsna-bhakti In the Bhagavata Purana (BP), we come in contact with a spirituality that is in many respects radically different from that of Samkara and his followers. This divergence owes much to the fact that this text drew its primary inspiration, not from the Upanisads, but rather from the ecstatic devotionalism of the Alvars, of whose distinctive religious ethos it was the first expression in Sanskrit.1 These popular poet-saints, who between the sixth and ninth centuries were the center of a flourishing Vaişnava revival in the Tamil-speaking South,2 emphasized theism and taught salvation through a fervent and intensely personal love of the deity. The social practice of the Alvars was democratic: indeed they themselves came from all levels of society and included several women in their number.

Composed in the ninth or early.tenth century,3 the BP attained wide popularity and became the scriptural basis of all subsequent expressions of Krana-bhakti in North India.4 It was the inspiration and catalyst of a vast

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outpouring of devotional sentiment and religious activity, affecting not only the educated classes, but also the" humblest peasants, through the influence it had on the popular hymns of such poet-saints as.CandIdas and Vidyapati (fifteenth century), Mira Bat and Surdas (sixteenth century). Although the theologian . Ramanuja (eleventh century), whose brand of bhakti was more contemplative than emotional, made no reference to the BP, it was important to Madhva (thirteenth century), who wrote a commentary on it called the Bhagavatatatparya.5 For Vallabha (1481-1533) and the Gosvamins of the Caitanya school (sixteenth century), it assumed paramount importance as the scriptural fountainhead of their Krsna-centered systems of theology and spirituality. The Gosvamins held it in such esteem that they proclaimed it to be the sage Vyasa's own commentary on his Brahmasutras, in this way asserting the purana's status as an authentic basis for theology.6 Madhusudana, it seems, considered the Bhagavata to be the ultimate authority on devotional matters. As we shall see, he quotes profusely from it in the BR. Like the poetry of the Alvars, 7 the religion of the BP focuses on the story of Krsna's youth and dalliance with the cowherd girls, the gopfs, as recounted in the tenth book of the purana, the Krsnacarita. Thematically most important in this connection are the ravishing beauty of Krsna and the

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intense, overpowering love which it inspired in the women of Vrndavana, the rustic community in which the divine child grew up. The author of the purana is entranced by, and seeks to portray in the Krsna story, not God's awesome majesty and power (aisvarya) as Lord of creation, but his irresistibly sweet attractiveness (madhurya), made manifest to humankind. in the form of a beautiful cowherd youth. The captivating appearance of the young Krsna, the sublime seductiveness of the call of his flute, and the idyllic setting of the forests of Vrndavana are conveyed in language that is richly evocative, so much so that the work has been hailed by as eminent a scholar as D. H. H. Ingalls as "the most enchanting poem ever written. "8 ' I cannot pretend here to adequately illustrate this aspect of the text. Suffice it to say that Krana is described as the infinite bliss of Brahman concentrated in a small but divinely attractive human form: Wonderful and indeed marvelous is the fortune of the people of Nanda's Vraja [Vrndavana], for the Supreme Bliss, the eternal Brahman in Its fullness, has become their friend!9 The gopis tell Brahma, the creator, "We saw the entire splendor of your creation [manifested] in one point -- Krsna"; gazing at the Lord and his brother, Balarama, they sigh: "This is the reward of all who have eyes; we know of no higher. "10 Indeed, the beauty of the child-avatara is such that it mesmerizes the whole cosmos.11 Krsna is the

99 "stealer of minds" (cittacora), the one whose charm bewilders even Cupid (madanamohana). Needless to say, the cowherd girls fall madly in love with him, and the story of their bhakti, which is so overpowering as to cause them to forget all consideration of social propriety, is the heart of the purana. Their relationship with Krsna comes to be regarded as the paradigmatic expression of the highest form of total self-abandonment in devotion to God.

3.2 Devotion as the Supreme Path and One Goal The BP teaches the supremacy of bhakti over all other paths, regarding it as an independent and self- sufficient discipline, indeed as the "highest religion. "12 In this connection, the text introduces three especially distinctive ideas: (1) that bhakti itself is the highest bliss and, as such, the sole goal of the true devotee, (2) that the true devotee does not seek moksa, which is a lesser joy, though the Lord may grant it to him or her if he sees fit, and (3) that, while bhaktas show no interest in moksa, even ascetics who have attained the state of liberation-in- life are attracted to, and practice, devotion. The ultimacy of bhakti is expressed, for example, at 8.3.20: One-pointed devotees who have surrendered to the Blessed Lord desire no other boon from Him. Immersed in an ocean of bliss, they sing of His extraordinary and auspicious deeds.13"

100 While thus extolling devotion, the purana tends to devalue the traditional goals of knowledge and liberation. Again and again we hear that these are not sought by the genuine bhakta, who wants only the bliss of loving service to the Lord.14 At 10.14.4, for example, it is said: For those, O Lord, who abandon bhakti, the fountain of highest blessing, and strive for the acquisition of knowledge only, that [quest for knowledge] becomes nothing more than strenuous exertion, like the pounding of coarse [but empty] husks.15 Krsna tells Uddhava at 11.20.34: My saintly, wise, and one-pointed devotees desire nothing, not even liberation (kaivalya) and freedom from rebirth. 16 And at 12.10.6 we read: This Brahmin-sage, O Goddess, having obtained supreme devotion to the eternal Person, desires no other boon at all, not even liberation (moksa).17 At least three verses in the purana repeat the phrase "neither yogic powers nor freedom from rebirth, "18 including these well-known goals of Yoga and Vedanta in lists of blessings that, in comparison with the joy of the bhakti, hold no attraction for the devotee. Numerous other passages expressing the same attitude toward moksa could be cited. With a consistency perhaps surprising to readers taught to.regard liberation as the highest goal of Hindu spirituality, the BP (and later, the entire devotional tradition that is dependent upon it) presents the attainment of that state as incidental to the bhakta's primary quest.

101 The Lord may grant it, or he may not; the devotee is indifferent. 19 No sensitive person, however, can be indifferent to the glory of bhakti. It is so great that it is sought and savored even by saints who have realized the atman, the ultimate goal of the path of knowledge. At 1.7.10, a verse frequently quoted by devotional writers, it is said: 1 Sages who delight in the Self, who are free of the knots [of. ignorance], practice selfless devotion to the Wide- strider [Vişnu-Krşna], such are the qualities of Haril20 Elsewhere, a similar vision is expressed: Sages who have gone beyond [the] injunctions and prohibitions [of scripture] and are established in the attributeless Absolute, O King, universally delight in discoursing on the glories of Hari.21 We may understand this exaltation of bhakti above moksa as, at least in part, the devotionalist's response to the Samkara tradition's restriction of moksa to the elite few. The orthodox Smarta renunciates may have their liberation, the text seems to be saying, but we have something better, without which even their Brahman-knowledge is manifestly incomplete. For Samkara, of course, these teachings emphasizing the value of bhakti as an end in itself would have been unacceptable. Knowledge and liberation are always the highest goals for the orthodox Advaita, and when they are attained, all trace of duality disappears.

102 3.3 Devotion as Practice and Devotion as Goal The Bhagavata defines bhakti formally in two ways. On one hand, it is said to be a mental state; specifically, one of loving concentration on God. This idea is put forward at 3.29.11-12, as follows: The uninterrupted flow of the mind toward Me who am seated in the hearts of all, which arises from the mere hearing of My glories and is like the flow of the waters of the Ganges toward the ocean -- this is declared to be the definition of the unqualified yoga of devotion. 22 Except, of course, for the nature of the object specified here, the understanding of bhakti that is given is strikingly similar to Samkara's notion of upasana. What might be called an essential definition, this description of bhakti as a particular mental state will be analyzed more closely in chapter five when we look at the explanation of devotion given by Madhusudana in the BR. In another place, the Bhagavata provides the rough equivalent of an operational definition of bhakti, describing it as a "nine-fold" (navadha) discipline consisting of such practices as hearing from the scriptures of the Lord's glories, singing His name, worship, prostration, self-surrender, and so on. 23 Accepted by all Krsnaite schools, this formula specifies what must be done to experience devotion. The text of the purana contains descriptions of many devotional practices that in fact correspond to those in this list of nine, and it frequently speaks of them as bhakti or bhaktiyoga. 24

103 How are these two ideas of bhakti related? The Bhagavata itself suggests that the "nine-fold" devotion of practice is the means to cultivate the higher bhakti which is the final goal.25 We thus have, at least implicitly, the distinction between devotion as means (sadhanabhakti) and devotion as end (phala- or sadhya-bhakti) that is formulated explicitly in various ways by the later bhakti theoreticians, beginning with Sandilya (tenth century) in his BhaktisUtras. 26

3.4 Ecstatic Devotion Neither of the definitions given above, however, fully captures what is distinctive in the devotional mood of the BP. It is therefore necessary to emphasize the extent to which the bhakti of this purana is different from the forms of devotion that found expression in earlier texts of the Sanskrit tradition, for example, in the Gita. If the language of the BP is rich and sensual in comparison with that of Krana's dialogue with Arjuna, so is the devotion that it expounds. That the Bhagavata regards itself as something of a new gospel is suggested by its own explanation of its origins. Early in book one we find the story of the discontent of Vyasa, who is traditionally regarded as the author of the purana. Though he was a knower of Brahman and

104 had successfully completed the gigantic task of editing the endless Veda into four collections suitable to the limited intellects of men of the kali-yuga, though he had composed the huge epic the, Mahabharata, including the precious GIta, and had distilled the essence of the entire wisdom of the Upanişads in aphoristic form in the Brahmasutras, still this great sage was dissatisfied. His spiritual malaise, we are told, was not removed until he had sung the glory of fervent devotion to the Lord in the verses of the BP.27 The appearance of a novel conception of devotion in this text was mentioned as early as 1920 by Farquhar, who declared: "What distinguishes it [the BP] from all other literature is its new theory of bhakti. "28 This fact has been recognized and studied by Gonda, Hacker, and most recently Hardy. 29 In the terminology which I proposed in chapter one, the new approach involves a shift from a "contemplative" style of devotion to one easily recognizable as "ecstatic." Gonda writes: Particularly in the life of the young herdsman god Krsna a theory and practice of bhakti is developed in a very emotional and sensual poetry, which differs in its passion and its emotionalism from the more speculative descriptions of the earlier texts. Bhakti is here an overpowering, even suffocating emotion, which causes tears to flow and the voice to falter, and even, [sic] stimulates hysterical laughter, loss of consciousness, and trance. 30 When set beside the bhakti of this purana, that of the Gita seems subdued indeed. There is nothing in the latter text

105 to compare, for instance, with what Krsna says to Uddhava at BP 11.14.23-24: Without bristling of the body-hair, without melting of the mind, without tears of joy, without bhakti, how can the heart become pure? [ But] ohe whose voice is choked with emotion, whose mind melts, who weeps incessantly and sometimes laughs, who sings shamelessly and dances -- one who is thus full of devotion to Me purifies the -[whole] world.31 Other examples could be adduced by the dozen. Since, -however, the characteristics of ecstatic bhakti will be amply illustrated by the citations from the Bhagavata which appear in chapter one of the BR,32 there is no need to dilate on them here. As we have already suggested, the distinctive emotional tone of the BP has its roots in the spirituality of the Alvars. This conclusion, long assumed by scholars, has recently been irrefutably demonstrated by Hardy, through painstaking literary analysis. In his discussion, Hardy emphasizes the importance to ecstatic bhakti of the theme, prominent in the gopf story, of the intensified emotion of love-in-separation (viraha).33 The BP describes the gopfs as experiencing the absence of their beloved in several ways. Krsna leaves the village daily to take the cows to pasture. While he is gone, the cowherd women dwell on him in their hearts, in thought, in conversation, and in song. Sometimes they hear his flute in the distance, and are filled with longing.34 On one occasion, Krsna conceals

106 himself from the gopts to humble their pride at having won his favor: this causes them to experience intense anguish.35 The final viraha occurs when Krsna leaves Vrndavana for Mathura, never to return. In songs that are adaptations of Alvar poems, the gopIs express the excruciating love-agony of separation from the physical presence of the all- attractive bhagavat, and while they despair at not seeing their Lord, their bhakti reaches new heights of intensity.36 The shift from contemplative to ecstatic bhakti, as I suggested in chapter one, does not change the structure of our key problem, the tension between devotional spirituality and Advaita. If anything, it serves to highlight it. To see this, one need only picture the contrast between the austere Samkara samnyasin, intent and vigilant in his discrimination between the "eternal" and the "non-eternal" (or absorbed in the tranquility of eternal union with Brahman), and the inconsolable gopt, lost in a frenzy of anguish at her separation from the maddeningly beautiful form of Krsna. One might well ask if there is any possibility at all of a rapprochement between these two visions of the spiritual life.

3.5 Metaphysical Non-dualism This question is made more pressing by the fact that the BP itself juxtaposes its ecstatic gopf-bhakti with,

107 unlikely as it may seem, an Advaitic metaphysic. This has been recognized by, among others, Dasgupta, Hacker, and Hardy.37 According to the latter: In general terms it is quite clear that by the eight century Hinduism had developed its new ideological identity with the purva- and uttara-mimamsa. For the next few centuries, Vedanta means advaita, and it is predictable that the BhP, trying to reconcile bhakti with brahmin orthodoxy, adopts an advaita position. This distinguishes it from the vip [Visnu Purana], which. otherwise was its major source in the Sanskrit puranic tradition. 38 The non-dualism of the BP is perhaps most striking at 11.13, a section known as the HamsagIta. 39 Here the Lord teaches that there is only one atman, with which he identifies himself.40 Then, in a passage that Madhusudana quotes in the BR,41 Krsna states that the notion of multiplicity is false like a dream and that the world is superimposed on him by maya. The discourse continues: One should regard this world as a delusion (vibhrama), a play of the mind, subject to perception, [yet] transient and extremely unstable [like the circle created by a whirling] firebrand. Consciousness is one but appears as if manifold; the diversity produced by the three-fold manifestation of the material qualities is an illusion (maya), a dream. Having turned one's vision away from that, having abandoned all desire, one should become silent, enjoying the innate bliss [of the Self], free from anxious exertion. If sometimes that which one has renounced with the idea that it is unreal should be seen, one should not be lead into error, [knowing that its] memory will last [only] until the falling away of the body. 42 Commenting on this passage, Dasgupta remarks: "It may generally appear rather surprising to find such an extreme idealistic monism in the Bhagavata, but there are numerous

108 passages which show that an extreme form of idealism recurs now and then as one of the principal lines of thought in the Bhagavata. "43 I have already referred to Hacker's study of the religious background of Samkara and his early followers. In addition to showing that these early Advaitins grew up in a Vaisnava environment, this writer suggests that other Vaisnava groups were cultivating a "radical advaitism" at a fairly early date. He refers to certain texts which are overtly Vaisnava yet simultaneously teach a non-dualist metaphysic, especially the Paramarthasara of Adisesa, which he places to the sixth century A.D.44 The first verse of- this text reads as follows: I resort for refuge to you alone, Visnu, who transcend the highest form of prakrti, who are without beginning; though One, you abide in manifold caves of illusion, you the abode of the All, present in all that moves and does not move. 45 Given this evidence of non-dualistic thinking in early Vaisnava circles, the Advaitic passages in the BP, which Hacker notes "may date from a time not far distant from Samkara's lifetime, "46 are less perplexing than they might at first appear. The purana does not confine its monistic language to its philosophical portions. In fact, it goes so far as to include the relation between the gopfs and their beloved Krsna within the scope of its non-dualist vision. We read

109 more than once, for example, that the cowherd women attain tanmayata ("the state of consisting of Him," i.e., "identity with Him") 47 and that they are tadatmika ("having Him as' their Self").48 Indeed, the cultivation of the mood of aikya ("oneness") with Krsna is included, along with erotic desire and affection, in a list of attitudes that are capable of leading to union (tanmayata) with the deity.49 At 10.30.3 we find the gopts engaged in an exercise in identification with Krsna together with a play on the mahavakya "I am Brahman": The affectionate women imitated their beloved's gait, smile, affectionate glances, and speech. Mimicking the playful pastimes of Krsna, they became one with Him [tadatmika], proclaiming: "I am He! " 50 Any idea that this identification is intended to be solely on the dramatic or the emotional level can be removed by turning to the message Krsna sent to the distraught gopfs after he had left them and gone to Mathura: You can never, honored ladies, be separated from Me, since I am the Self of all (sarvatmana). Just as the elements ether, air, fire, water and earth are in all creatures, so I am the support of mind, breath, the elements, the sense organs, and all material qualities. In Myself, by Myself, I create, preserve, and destroy Myself [as the universe] by the power of My maya which consists of the elements, the senses, and the material qualities. 51 . This implies that the gopt, in a metaphysical sense, is always united with her beloved: first, of course, on the level of spirit or atman, but also psychically and even, despite the apparent state of viraha, physically. If the

110 universe and everything in it is nothing but an expression of Krgna through His maya, then the entire being of gopf -- body and mind as well as atman -- is constantly one with Him, and the sense of separation from God is nothing more than a superficial reading of the situation. Ultimately, as even the Gosvamins of the Caitanya school recognize, the whole. divine drama being enacted in Vrndāvana is but a multi- ` leveled sport (itla) in which the Lord himself plays all the parts, appearing by his mysterious power in various forms, including those of the gopIs.52 Srtdhara Svamin (thirteenth century), the early and perhaps greatest commentator on the BP, recognized and championed its non-dualistic tendencies.53 Nevertheless, in introducing a work such as the BR, which attempts to integrate the bhakti of the BP and Advaita, they must be emphasized anew, because they were (I think it is fair to say) ignored or glossed over by later Vaisnava commentators. These writers, although they regarded the work highly and did much to popularize it, were for the most part, like Ramanuja and Madhva, extremely hostile toward Advaita.54 The conflict between devotion and non-dualism remains one of the key internal tensions of the BP. In this sense, the text functions as a microcosm of the whole Hindu tradition. I cannot here enter into the lengthy task of determining to what extent or by what means the purana is

111 successful in resolving this conflict. Hardy for one thinks that the resolution is not even attempted. 55 The important `point is that the tension undeniably does exist even here where one might least expect it, in this the scriptural heart of ecstatic devotionalism. That the text has Advaitic tendencies, of course, does not mean that it teaches the systematic and rigorously conceived non-dualism of Samkara and his followers. purana is primarily a mythic-devotional narrative, and, given this genre, such philosophical precision would not have been possible or desirable. Taken as a whole, the Bhagavata seems to suggest a type of theistic advaita, one that is willing -- perhaps naively, perhaps not -- to maintain a tension between the impersonal Reality of metaphysics and the personal God of devotion. Not feeling compelled to collapse one into the other, or elevate one above the other, the text seems to delight in the mystery of an unsystematically conceived ultimate that is both personal and impersonal.56

3.6 Social Teaching The social ethos of Alvar religion, as indicated above, was decidedly egalitarian. This trend is continued in the BP, which, though it accepts the ideal of the four varnas, tends to be critical of what it perceives as the

112t narrow-mindedness, exclusivity, and -- sometimes -- hypocrisy of the religious establishment. While the simple cowherds of Vraja accepted Krsna joyfully and without question, the Brahmins at first turned away from him: Having thus heard the Blessed Lord's request, those [Brahmins] of petty hopes and pompous ritual, fools whose conceit was great, did not listen. Because they saw [Him as a mere] human, those ignorant mortals did not honor the Blessed Lord Adhoksaja, that highest Brahman in person. 57 The status of a bhakta is determined, not by his or her caste standing or sex, but by the moral qualities and devotion he or she displays. This is made clear by the fact that Suta, the narrator of the purana is born of a mixed caste despised by the orthodox elite, 58 and Narada, the great teacher of bhakti, appears as the son of a Sudra servant-maid. 59 The gopfs, of course, are women as well as being of low caste. Despite this, they are recognized as peerless models of the highest kind of devotion. According to Akrura, a learned minister of the Vrsnis and a close companion of Krana: These young wives of the cowherds, alone among embodied creatures on earth, have attained the ecstatic love [bhava] for Govinda, the Self of all, which is the supreme [goal] desired by sages who fear the ocean of mundane existence, and by ourselves as well. For one who has acquired a taste for the stories of Hari, what is the use of [even repeated] births as a Brahmin? . .. I shall always worship the dust of the feet of these women of Nanda's Vraja, whose singing of the glories of Hari purifies the three worlds.60

113 The stereotype of a Hindu religion totally dominated by a male, Brahmin aristocracy disregards the democratic. spirit of the medieval bhakti movements, of which the BP is perhaps the most important expression. The text teaches salvation through loving devotion to Krsna, available not only to "women and Sudras," to use the standard formula, 61 but also to untouchable Svapacas, Pulkasas, and Ante- vasayins.62 For example: By hearing and praising Your name, by bowing down to You, or merely by thinking of You, even an eater of dogs [i.e., a pariah] immediately becomes fit [like a Brahmin] for p&rticipating in the soma-sacrifice.63 ( When such attitudes are taken into consideration, it becomes obvious that the BP, unlike the Samkara Vedanta, is not a product of Brahmanical orthodoxy. Hopkins believes that it was. written by, a group of ascetics who dedicated their scholarship to the cause of promoting devotionalism. "These ascetics," he writes, "may or may not have been Brahmans; if we consider the Alvars as legitimate examples, we find a variety of class backgrounds which was probably also characteristic of the Bhagavata ascetics. "64 Madhusudana Sarasvatt was deeply influenced by the religion of the BP. In the BR, as we shall see, he tries to explicate its devotional spirituality in terms of his strict philosophical non-dualism. The illusionistic metaphysic of the text of course presents him with relatively little difficulty. It is the purana's elevation of ecstatic bhakti

114 to the status of the highest spiritual goal, along with its egalitarian social teaching, that in the final analysis proves most difficult for him to handle while yet remaining true to the spirit of Advaita as formulated by samkara.

CHAPTER FOUR

BENGAL VAISNAVA CONCEPT OF BHAKTI

4.1 The Flowering of Ecstatic Bhakti in Bengal SrI Krana Caitanya (1486-1533), the inspiration and historical focus of a great revival of Krsna devotionalism in sixteenth century Bengal, was without doubt one of the greatest religious figures of late medieval India. After his death, his movement spread rapidly through much of the North, becoming known, from its point of origin, as the Bengal (GaudIya) Vaisnava sampradaya. Caitanya's fervent devotionalism was taken. up and formalized in the context of an elaborate theological system by the Gosvamins of Vrn- davana, whom he may have appointed to the task. The most important of these writers were ROpa (fl. 1533-1550)1 and his nephew JIva (1511-1596).2 Retaining a considerable amount of vitality today, the sect has recently gained a world-wide following through the efforts of the late A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, founder of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness. The intensely emotional bhakti evinced by Caitanya continued the spirit of ecstatic devotion that had been so vividly portrayed in the BP through such figures as Prahlada

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and the gopts. Indeed, his religiosity was so intense in expression that it may be said to have extended the Krsnaite. devotional ethos of the purana to new heights of ' emotionalism. Toward the end of his life Caitanaya was almost constantly immersed in the mood of the gopt Radha's anguished separation from her beloved.3 In this condition, it is said, he experienced the highest conceivable levels of Krșna-bhakti, states previously attained only by Radhā herself. Krsnadasa Kaviraja, his biographer, describes Caitanya's ecstasy as follows: Different emotions arose in him, and agitation caught his heart. He was unable even to groan as dumb people do. Consumed by the fire of loneliness, his self- composure went tossing up and down. ... [He cried:] "You are my wealth, my life: show yourself to me again!" Paralysed and then shaking, sweating and turning pallid, he wept and uttered indistinct sounds. His body hair stood on end, he laughed, wept, danced about and sang. He jumped up and ran about, the next moment to fall on the ground and lose consciousness.4 The Gosvamins provided a theoretical framework for interpreting this style of bhakti, utilizing material derived primarily from the Bhagavata, Vinu, and Padma Puranas, the pamcaratra literature, and Sanskrit Poetics (alamkarasastra).5 The BP was the most important of these sources. It was Caitanya's favorite text, and his followers, as we have seen, came to regard it as their highest scriptural authority. 6 For the most part, the Gosvamins were faithful to the devotional spirit of the

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Bhagavata. They cherished the kind of devotional ecstasy displayed in the work, and totally accepted its valuation of bhakti as the highest of all spiritual attainments, its consequent devaluation of moksa, its adoption of Krsna as the central object of devotion, and, to a great extent, its egalitarian social ethic. What did not appeal to them, however, was the BP's .Advaitic tendencies. Indeed, the Bengal school after Caitanya historically maintained, and continues to maintain, an attitude of hostility toward Advaita. This is understandable considering that the Gosvamins and especially Baladeva, an important eighteenth century writer of the sect, were well-trained in traditional Vaisnava theology, which of course:was committed to the view that non-dualistic thought is totally opposed to devotional spirituality.7

4.2 Caitanya and SrIdhara Although he was the founding figure of a great religious movement, Caitanya left no written teachings, with the posdible exception of eight verses known collectively as the Siksastaka. These stanzas, however, contain no material of a doctrinal nature.8 While his biograhpers show him giving lengthy instructions to the Gosvamins on philosophical matters, the fact is that the theological discourses attributed to him consist almost entirely of

118 direct quotations or summaries of passages from the works of the Gosvamins themselves. 9 For this reason, it is difficult to say anything positive about the metaphysical outlook of this great figure. It is worthy of note, however, that there is evidence that, even though he was a Vaisnava by birth and inclination, Caitanya may have had a sympathy for Advaitic thinking that was not shared by his followers. A detailed discussion of this question is here neither possible nor appropriate.10 Nevertheless, it is worth treating briefly, for it points to the possibility of a continuing historical connection between bhakti and Advaita in an area where such might appear unlikely. Caitanya, it seems, had a great reverence for SrIdhara Svamin, a samnyasin of the Advaitic Purf order who, as we have seen, wrote the BhavarthadIpika, without question the single mbost highly regarded commentary on the BP.11 Krşņadāsa Kaviraja describes a meeting between Caitanya and the Vaisnava philosopher Vallabha (1481-1533), during which the former soundly reprimanded the latter for his audacity in composing the Subodhint, an independent commentary on the purana that was critical of the author of the Bhavartha- dİpika: You have the vanity to write your own commentary without showing respect to Sridhara, and have even criticized himl It is by the grace of Sridhara that I have understood the Bhagavata. ' He is a world teacher; I consider him to be my very own guru. Whatever you have written out of pride against SrIdhara is wasted effort; no one will accept it. Give up your false pride and

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follow Sridhara in your commentary. Whatever you write all.I2 in accordance with Sridhara will be honored accepted by The authenticity of the sentiments expressed here, and perhaps also of the incident itself, is supported by the fact that they tend to contradict the school's anti-Advaitic stance and therefore would not have been included were they not a genuine memory of the tradition. It is significant, moreover, that all the Gosvamins who had occasion to deal with material from the BP paid homage to Sridhara, even though their interpretations in many cases were different than his.13 In this connection, Elkman writes: It seems likely that JIva's claims to follow Sridhara represent more a concession to Caitanya's beliefs than a personal preference on his part. In actual fact, JIva follows SrIdhara on only the most minor points, ignoring all of his Advaitic interpretations on the plea that they are "non-Vaisnava" and were meant merely to entice the Advaitins to study the Bhagavatal4 Radhamohana (eighteenth century), in his commentary on JIva's Tattvasandarbha, reports that the Samkara order from a fairly early date was divided into two branches, the Smartas, who followed the path of knowledge, and the Bhagavatas, who were interested in bhakti. He notes that SrIdhara belonged to the latter group.15 Tradition has it that Sridhara's bhakti-oriented commentary on the Gita caused considerable controversy in the Samkara' sampradaya in Banaras, where the orthodox at first wished to reject it. It is said, however, that the commentary was vindicated

120 through the intervention of Lord Siva himself.16 From the time of SrIdhara, according to De, "a class of mystic- emotional Samnyasins seems to have grown up, who found nothing inconsistent in their practices of Bhakti with their belief in Advaita Vedanta. "17 This tradition emerges into the light of history again in the work of Visnu Purt (fourteenth century), the author of the Bhaktiratnavalt, an anthology of verses from the BP through which that text first became popular in Bengal. Vişnu PurI was a member of the same order of Samkara monks as SrIdhara. Indeed, in the closing verses of this work he apologizes for any deviation he may have made from the teachings of his illustrious predecessor.18 The influence of this tradition of devotional Advaita samnyasins seems to have reached Caitanya himself in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century, in this case through Isvara Purf, who was Caitanya's guru, and Madhavendra Purt, who was the preceptor of Isvara and therefore Caitanya's paramaguru. Both of these figures were members of SrIdhara's order. It is possible, therefore, that Caitanya's respect for SrIdhara was based upon the recognition of a direct spiritual connection between himself and the great commentator, mediated by a lineage of gurus in the Advaitic Purt order.19 For reasons such as these, De and Elkman believe that Caitanya may have been less hostile to Advaita than his followers made him out to be. On this, De writes:

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· It is our impression that Caitanya could not have been such an anti-Samkara as depicted by Kranadasa Kaviraja. The Kaviraja, however, is careless enough to give us a rough idea as to what Caitanya's metaphysics could possibly have been, when he makes Caitanya ridicule Vallabha Bhatta for differing from Sridhara's commentary on the Bhagavata and say that SrIdhara was a `Jagad-Guru' [world-teacher]. . . Possibly Caitanya was a Samkarite Samyasin of the SrIdhara type, although he was far ahead of SrIdhara in what he understood to be the implications of Bhakti. 20 That Rupa's direct contact with Caitanya was only minimal, and that JIva most likely had none at all,21 may be significant if we take seriously the possibility of some divergence between the views of these theologians and the outlook of the figure tradition regards as their mentor. The fact is that the Gosvamins, while writing in the name of Caitanya make little reference to his place in their belief, and none at all to his spiritual experience, his teachings, or to any instruction they may have received from him. Instead, they construct their system on the basis of an elaborate exegesis of previously existing scriptures. "There cannot be. any doubt," De writes, "that the devout life of Caitanya inspired these faithful disciples, but in the building up of their systems of theology there is no reference to the life, personality or views of Caitanya himself."22

Caitanya's higher education appears to have been confined to the study of Sanskrit grammar, in which he became something of a specialist, and it is unlikely that he

122 studied theology. 23 At any rate it is fairly clear from his biographies that, after his religious conversion and the onset of his devotional ecstasies, he became quite indifferent to systematic philosophizing in any form, be it c. monistic or dualistic. It is possible that he had, for this very reason -- i.e., that he was not troubled by questions of logical consistency -- a willingness to accept the philosophical tensions inherent in the theistic non-dualism suggested by significant portions of the BP. This particular sympathy may have been overlooked by his followers in Vrndavana, trained as they were in classical Vaisnava theology. Thus Elkman writes: Though the Bhagavata embodies a variety of philosophical viewpoints, there can be no question that the doctrine of Advaita represents one of its keynotes, a fact which is clearly seen in the commentary of SrIdhara. Thus, considering the harsh criticisms which Caitanya leveled at Vallabha for contradicting SrIdhara's commentary, one may wonder whether Caitanya would have been any more pleased with JIva's nominal regard for Sridhara and his [JIva's] own original interpretations of the Bhagavata. 24 It must be born in mind, however, that SrIdhara's teaching was different in important respects from that of Samkara. 25 Hence, even if Caitanya acknowledged a spiritual or ideological link with the former and accepted his interpretation of the BP, this would show only a general sympathy for monistic thinking, and not any formal adherence to the metaphysics of orthodox Advaita.

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4.3 The Theology of the Gosvamins I have already indicated that the Gosvamins' teachings on bhakti and bhaktirasa may have influenced Madhusudana and that, even if this cannot be proved, they at least serve as the best example, in fully elaborated scholastic form, of the kind of Krsnaite devotionalism with which he was interacting in the BR. They are therefore worthy of consideration here in some detail. The discussion in the remainder of this chapter will focus on the Gosvamins' understanding of bhakti in its metaphysical and, secondarily, social dimensions. The theory of bhaktirasa will be considered independently, as promised, in chapter six.

The reader is warned at the outset that the tendency to delight in elaborate analyses, fine distinctions, and often tedious listings of principles, types, stages, and so on, common in Indian scholasticism since the rise of Buddhism, is indulged in to an extreme in the Gosvamins' writings. This occurs, it seems, under the double influence of the exponents of the highly technical Navyanyaya ("Neo- logic"), on the one hand, and the analytically-minded theoreticians of Sanskrit poetics, on the other, both groups being well represented in Bengal and the North in the sixteenth century. 26 An encounter with a number of such classificatory schemata in our discussion will therefore be unavoidable.

124 4.3.1 The Three-fold Deity and His Three-fald Energy The Gosvamin's writings present a well-articulated metaphysical system, the complexities of which I can only hint at here. For the discussion which follows, however, it is essential to have at least an acquaintance with the two central metaphysical doctrines of the school, that of the three-fold nature of Krsna as brahman, paramatman, and bhagavat, and that of his three-fold divine power or'sakti. Significantly, these doctrines are not, as in the traditional Vedanta, supported by reference to portions of the Upanigads. Rather, they are based on the Gosvamins' interpretation of carefully selected passages of the Visnu and Bhagavata Puranas. 27 It is important to realize that in this system Krsna occupies the place of the supreme principle. The Upanisadic Brahman, which even in the theistic versions of Vedanta enjoys that honor, 28 is here relegated to a subordinate position. This understanding is enshrined in a unique conception of the nature of the deity, as authority for which JIva Goavamin, the school's chief metaphysician, cites BP 1.2.11: The knowers of Reality declare that non-dual consciousness (jmana) is the ultimate Reality. It is called "brahman, paramatman, " and "bhagavat. "29 This verse could easily, and perhaps more convincingly, be given an Advaitic interpretation by recognizing brahman and

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so on as various designations of the same undifferentiated, "non-dual consciougness.30 JIva, however, choses to identify the three terms as names of distinct aspects of Krsna. These aspects in his theory constitute an ontological hierarchy, arranged, in the. order given in the verse, from lowest to highest. Note first that brahman is only a partial form of Krsna, his unqualified (nirvisesa) aspect. From the Bengal Vaisnava point of view, the unqualified reality is far from- being a complete expression of the ultimate. It is spoken of as being merely Krsna's aura, the glow (prabha) emanating from his body. Those following the path of knowledge are able to realize only this limited manifestation of Krsna's fullness, which appears to them in the form of pure consciousness.

The paramatman is a higher and more perfect expression of Krsna than brahman. It is the Lord as the indweller and inner controller of the world and the individual souls (jIvas),31 the ground of the phenomenal universe. Since in their meditations they attain the Lord in this more complete form, the practitioners of yoga are better off than the jmanins. The total fullness of Krsna, however, appears only in his highest manifestation as bhagavat, realizable only by his devotees, through bhakti. In this aspect, which

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contains and surpasses the other two forms, the Lord is revealed in his essential nature as a personal being possessed of infinite attributes and powers.32 The Vaisnavas thus reject the. Advaitins' notion that the unqualified Brahman is a higher realization than the qualified. Indeed, they reverse it. Their entire argument for the superiority of bhakti to jñana -- and also, as we shall see, to moksa -- is based on two related principles: (1) the notion that the savisesa ("qualified") bhagavat is, metaphysically speaking, a higher and more inclusive reality than the nirvisesa ("unqualified") brahman and (2) the idea that the savisesa realization of the Lord in devotion is, in experiential terms, correspondingly superior to and more satisfying than the nirvisesa realization of brahman through knowledge. In short, the experience of bhagavat is both more comprehensive and more blissful, in each case abundantly so, than the realization of brahman. The essential difference between brahman and bhagavat is that in the former the deity's saktis are unmanifest and undifferentiated, while in the latter they are fully displayed. As Chakravarti explains: The vision . . . [of Brahman] attained by the mode of Jñana is said to be intomplete (asampifrnadrsti), for it does not manifest the full vigraha [personal form] of the Bhagavat with all His saktis or powers. Since [the] powers belong to Bhagavat and not to Brahman, the latter, it is said, depends on the sakti of the former even for its manifestation (prakasa).33-

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According to this doctrine, bhagavat is the angin / ("principal") and brahman is the anga ("subordinate"). The realization of bhagavat, therefore, includes the realization of brahman.34 Since the reverse is not the case, the superiority of bhagavat and bhakti to brahman and jñana is made complete. A second important part of Bengal Vaisnava metaphysics is its analysis of the various powers or saktis of Krsna. Like the Lord himself, these powers are divided into three primary aspects, this time on the authority of Vişņu Purāņa 6.7.60. This verse, frequently cited in the tradition, speaks of a triad of saktis: first para, the "supreme"; second ksetrajña, the "knower of, the field," i.e., the inner consciousness; and.third avidya, "ignorance."35 JIva explains the three as (1) the svarUpasakti ("essential power"), which is the highest and with which Krsna governs his own internal dynamics; (2) the jIvasakti, the power of manifesting individual souls (jIvas); and (3) mayasakti, the power of manifesting the phenomenal universe. 36 The Gosvamins' understanding of the relation of these saktis to Krsna is expressed in their distinctive doctrine of "inscrutable difference and non- difference" (acintyabhedabheda), after which their system is sometimes named. 37 While, as subordinate to the Lord, the powers are different from him, they are at the same time

128 Ydentical with him in a way that, while realizable in- mystical experience, is yet rationally incomprehensible. More will be said of these powers, especially the svardpasakti, and the meaning of their relation to bhagavat, in our discussion of the Gosvamins' theory of bhakti, to which we must now proceed.

4.3.2 Bhakti as the Fifth and Highest Goal of Life From the time of the Law Books and the Mahabharata (ca. '400. B.C.E .- 400 C.E.), the Hindu tradition acknowledged four "goals of human life" (purusartha), namely: religious duty, (dharma), the acquisition of wealth (artha), pleasure (kama), and final liberation (moksa). The first three were known collectively as the "triad" (trivarga). Although understood and accepted as valid and even necessary pursuits, they were recognized as having a common orientation toward concerns that were phenomenal and transient. Liberation, on the other hand, was quite naturally placed'in a different category. It was a spiritual goal, one achieved only through its own unique means. Since it had, as it were, no competitors, it was sui generis, in a class by itself, and since it partook of ultimacy and finalitý, it became known, especially among the teachers of Advaita, as the paramapursartha, the "highest goal of life."38

129 With the rise of the devotional schools, however, the notion that bhakti was an end in itself, worthy of pursuit for its own sake, began to come into circulation. The BP, as we have seen, proclaimed.devotion to be the "highest religion" (paramo dharmah) and tended to devalue the quest for moksa. Such notions, combined with, resentment against the excessive restrictions that orthodox Vedanta had placed on eligibility for final liberation, are likely to have produced considerable dissatisfaction with the rigid formula of the four ends of life and the notion that moksa alone was the ultimate spiritual goal. In any event, although the exact historical process that lead to it is difficult to trace, 39 we find the Gosvamins by the sixteenth Sentury refusing to accept the finality of either the list of four purusarthas or the exaltation of moksa as the highest of them. The' Vaisnavas' argument is based on their perception of final release as a limited goal. According to the doctrine of the three-fold deity, liberation for the jñanin results in the attainment of union (sayujya) with brahman. A limited experience of bliss in this condition is allowed, since the Vaisnava concept of union entails "difference and non-difference" rather than the Advaitins' absolute identity. Nevertheless, the jhanins' brahmatva is a state far lower than the yogins' realization of paramatman or the

130 0 devotees' attainment of bhagavat. In comparison with the supreme bliss of the vision of the savisesa ("quality-full") Lord attained in premabhakti, the bliss of union with nirvisesa ("qualityless") brahman is insignificant.40 The Gosvamins, therefore, follow'the BP in its tendency to devalue the experience of moksa in favor of the joy of bhakti. Early in the Bhaktirasamrtasindhu (BRS, "Nectar-Ocean of Devotional Sentiment"), for example, ROpa declares that devotion "makes light of liberation. "41 He goes on to make his understanding of the superiority of bhakti quite plain. While moksa is "easily attained by knowledge," he tells us, "devotion to Hari is difficult to acquire by thousands of spiritual exercises."42 Again he declares: "Even if the bliss of brahman were to be multiplied a hundred thousand billion times, it would still not be equal to an infinitesimal droplet of the ocean of the bliss of bhakti."43 At 1.2.22 he begins a long section on this topic by describing the desire for moksa as a demon <that will never disturb the devotee whose mind is absorbed in the service of the Lord's lotus-like feet. This is followed by close to 30 supporting citations from the BP and other puranas. At the end, he declares that true devotees are so intent on bhakti that they exhibit no interest at all in acquiring any of the five forms of moksa commonly recognized by other Vaisnava schools.44 L

131 Such thinking obviously requires a reworking of the traditional formula of the four human ends. The Gosvamins, in fact, choose to expand it, declaring that bhakti is the. "fifth goal of life" (pamcamapurugartha). As the "ocean of the nectar of the bliss of divine love," it is actually a higher attainment than moksa, being itself the parama- purusartha, the final and ultimate end of all human striving.45 All of this, however, is not to say that moksa is never attained by devotees or that it has no spiritual value for them. Being the highest reality, bhagavat incofporates brahman as a part of his total nature. The realization of bhagavat thus includes the realization of brahman. Since bhakti is the sole means of realizing bhagavat, it must include jhana, the .means of attaining brahman. Consequently, true bhakti implies jñana -- and also moksa, its result. Liberation for the devotee is therefore at some point inevitable. It is release from bondage to mundane existence and the clear realization of the soul's true nature as an atom (anu) of consciousness dependent upon the - Lord. As such, however, it does not by any means entail an end of devotional activity. On the contrary, it is a necessary preliminary to the emergence of the highest stages of bhakti. The liberated soul of the bhakta ascends to Krsna's transphenomenal paradise where it acquires a

132 spiritual body (siddhadeha) and, in this exalted condition, enjoys devotion eternally at levels impossible of attainment in the material world. Bhakti, previously restricted in its expression by mayasakti, the Lord's power of phenomenality, becomes free in moksa to manifest itself in its ecstatic fullness.46

4.3.3 The Definition of Bhakti RUpa Gosvamin begins the BRS with a definition of .what he regards as the highest form of bhakti. "Supreme devotion," he says, "is reverent service (anustlana) of Krna, in accord with his wishes, without any other desire, and unobstructed by knowledge, action, etc. "47 The key factor here is the exclusion of certain elements that, from the Bengal Vaisnava perspective, render one's devotion less than pure (suddha). The highest bhakti is solely affective, as distinguished from "mixed" devotion (misra bhakti), which includes foreign cognitive or conative elements such as Vedantic gnosis, ritual action, and yogic meditation. Thus at the outset ROpa displays his school's characteristic exaltation of emotionalism over knowledge and simultaneously rejects the stance of other Vainava acaryas such as Ramanuja, Madhva, and Vallabha, all of whom make room for knowledge in some form in their definitions of devotion.48 In doing so, he is of course being faithful to Caitanya's radically emotional spirituality.

133 We have already seen how the Gosvamins' affective emphasis translates into the theological stricture that realization of bhagavat, the highest expression of the Godhead, is possible through bhakti alone -- not through karma, jmana, or meditative yoga. Now we learn that not even a trace of these other attitudes is acceptable to the authentic devotee. Of all the Vaisnava schools, the Bengal tradition is perhaps the most emphatic and uncompromising in its assertion that pure ecstatic bhakti is the only true way. 49 This being the case, the absence in this definition of explicit reference to love of the deity or psychic absorption in him, common in other definitions of bhakti, 50 is noteworthy. The emphasis on service rather than psychology is no doubt attributable to the Bengal Vaisnavas' conception of highest salvation, which combines myth and metaphysics in the idea, already mentioned, of the acquisition of a spiritual body and the experience therein of the exquisite joy of attendance on Krsna and his companions in the celestial Vrndavana. It must be born in mind, however, that "service" here means more than bodily works alone. In Rupa's definition, the word anusflana implies constant reverence and worship, a complete centering of all of one's life-faculties on God, somewhat after the spirit of the Gfta, but with a greater cultivation of the

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134 purely emotional element. It includes the practice of the various devotional disciplines such as submission to the. guru, chanting, worship, devotional dancing, pilgrimage, and so on -- in a word, all "endeavors in relation to Krsna."51 Such service naturally assumes affection toward, and continuous mental absorption in, the deity.

4.3.4 The Stages of Devotion The emphasis on ecstatic love, which we miss in the formal definition of devotion just considered, appears with redoubled force in Rupa's discussion of the higher stages of bhakti. In fact, the title-of the first chapter of the BRS, "The General Characteristics of Devotion" (bhaktisamanya), already suggests that more developed notions are to /come. At the beginning of the second chapter we learn that bhakti is three-fold, or has three levels of development, namely, sadhana ("devotion as means"), bhava ("emotion"), and preman ("ecstatic love").52 In going through the following outline of these stages, the reader should keep in mind that.they were not conceived in a vacuum, but, at least in the case of bhava and preman, were worked out in reference to two paradigms: (1) Radha's love for Krsna, as described in the Vaignava literature in all of its emotional intensity and variation, and (2) that love as re-lived in the ecstasies of Caitanya, which were still fresh in the minds of his followers.

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Sadhanabhakti consists of the various devotional practices, especially the "nine-fold" discipline of the BP, 53 that prepare the mind for the experience of the higher stages of devotion. Its goal is the manifestation of bhava in the heart. 54 Bhava ("emotion"), the second level, is the beginning of real devotion and therefore in itself already an anticipation of preman ("ecstatic love").55 According to ROpa, it resembles "a ray of the sun of preman" which "softens the heart with a delightful flavor."56 It is also called rati ("love"), which, in relation to the more intense levels of experience to come, is best understood as "incipient love. "57 Although it is only the first taste of true bhakti, this state is described as "a flood of powerful bliss." It is "constantly burning" and yet "sweeter. than a hundred-thousand moons. "58 When bhava is present, a person displays such symptoms as forbearance, not wasting a moment without thought of God, detachment, humility, longing for God, delight in the singing of the divine name, attachment to stories of God's glories, and fondness for the place in which he, as Krsna, once lived. 59 There may even be a slight manifestation of the physical symptoms of ecstatic devotion (sattvikabhavas), such as crying and the thrilling of the body-hair, that were displayed in their fullness by

Radha and Caitanya. 60 The experience of bhava, Rupa tells us, may arise as the result of spiritual discipline or, less commonly, through divine grace without reference to the aspirant's practice. 61 Preman, the third and highest level of bhakti, is simply an intensified state of this incipient love;62 it is bhava "developed to the highest degree. "63 While, as we have seen, in bhava the heart is softened, in preman it is ."completely softened. "64 An important characteristic of .this stage of devotion is the feeling of strong possessiveness toward the Lord and detachment from all else.65 According to the Caitanyacaritamrta (CC), this form of love is the "abode of all bliss."66 At BRS 1.4.15-16, ROpa lists nine steps or stages in the appearance of preman: First there is faith, then association with the holy, then worship, then cessation of all obstacles. Next comes firm dedication, then relish. Then there is attachment, then bhava, and then preman arises. This is the order of the manifestation of preman in the aspirant.67 The commentators explain faith (sraddha) as faith in the scriptures and in Krsna. 'It arises, they say, by "some good fortune. "68 Association with the holy (sadhusanga) means association with saints with the desire to learn their spiritual disciplines, 69 while worship (bhajanakriya) implies the practice of the nine-fold devotional disciplines

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recommended in the BP.70 The cessation of obstacles (anarthanivrtti) means the removal of all evil, impious, or slothful tendencies -- behavioral or psychological -- that stand in the way of the manifestation of devotion.71. Firm dedication (nistha), the fifth step, is explained as steadiness in practice. This quickly leads to relish (ruci), a liking for chanting and the other devotional disciplines, and then to an attachment (asakti) to the- Lord, whereby he becomes the sole object of one's life.72 This process of gradual purification and concentration of mind and heart prepares the way for the manifestation of bhava and, finally, preman.

4.3.5 The Levels of Ecstatic Love Another list we must consider is that of the stages that occur in the development of preman itself. RUpa indicates that the advanced levels of love for God are exceedingly difficult to understand. 73 In fact, because they are rarely manifest in aspirants, he discusses them only briefly in the BRS74 and reserves their detailed consideration for his Ujjvalanilamani. He gives, in the latter, an extended analysis of the various nuances of what he and the tradition believe to be the most fervent devotional relationship possible, that of the gopfs' and their beloved Krsna. The stages considered are (1) preman

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(2) sneha, (3) mana, (4) pranaya, (5) raga, (6) anuraga, (7) bhava, and (8) mahabhava. 75. In the CC, these levels are compared with the stages which sugar passes through during refinement: sugarcane seed, sugarcane, sugarcane juice, molasses, brown sugar, white sugar, sugar candy, and rock candy. Like the sweetness of sugar, says Krsnadasa, the sweet taste (asvada) of preman increases as it is refined.76 Preman, now considered as the first of these eight higher levels of bhakti, is described as the bond of feeling (bhavabandhana) that is the indestructible seed (bIja) of love.77 Sneha, literally "affection," is a further development of preman which causes complete melting of the heart (hrdayadravana) upon seeing, hearing of, or recollecting the beloved.78 This is a deeper state than 4 bhava or preman, which cause only softening of the heart. Mana, an emotion that plays a vital part in the classical dramatic accounts of the love affair of Radha and Krşna, is an affected mood of fickleness or pique owing to jealousy. The literal meaning of the term is "pride," but it suggests much more: a special combination of indignation and affection, resistance and longing, that serves to heighten the feeling of love between the partners.79 Pranaya, the name of the next stage, is usually used as a synonym for love. Here, however, it refers more specifically to a state of love in friendly confidence A

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139 (visrambha), either maitra, friendship qualified by humility, or sakhya, unreserved fellowship.80 Raga, literally "attachment" or "passion," is described as."that stage at which affection for the eloved converts unhappiness into happiness." With this kind of love, ROpa declares, one is willing to give up'one's life for Krsna. 81 Anuraga is the state in which love is ever fresh, .constantly revealing what was unknown before. It has four aspects: self-surrender (paravasIbhava), anxious anticipation of separation (premavaicitya), desire for birth as an' inanimate object dear to the Lord (apranijanma), and having visions of the beloved in the state of separation (vipralambha- visphurti).82 Bhava or mahabhava (the "great ecstasy"), .the last stage, is the highest pinnacle of love. According to the tradition, it can be experienced only by Krsna's queens and the gopts.83 The gopts alone, however, have the ability to experience its higher feaches. Indeed, in its fully developed form it can be attained/only by Radha84 or a divine incarnation that is able to reactualize her unique intensity of love, the only example of the latter recognized by the tradition being Caitanya himself.85 Mahabhava is said to have two levels of development. When several, but not all, of the physical manifestations of love (sattvikabhavas) are "burning intensely," it is said to

140 be "developed" (rudha). Symptoms of this state include the inability to bear separation even for a moment (nimesasaha- ta) and the distortion of one's time sense so that a whole age (kalpa) seems to last only, a moment (ksana) and a moment seems to last a whole age. 86 The second, stage, attained when all of the physical symptoms are present in their full intensity, is called "totally developed great ecstasy" (adhirOdhamahabhava), which may in its initial modes be either "delighting" (modana) or "utterly intoxicating" (mohana), depending on the extremity of the physical manifestations.87 According to the CC, the former state is experienced when in the presence of the beloved and the latter when separated.88 The profundity of mohana is suggested by its association with such phenomena/as divine frenzy (divyonmada) and the willingness to bear unbearable suffering. It is said to have the capacity to cause the whole universe to sorrow.89 The final level of this ."totally developed great ecstasy" is termed madana a mādana ( "maddening"). Including simultaneously the unimaginable bliss of union and the heart-rending pangs of separation, it is said to have infinite varieties of expression that are beyond the reach of language or understanding.90 · Caitanya's experience of mahabhava as he relived the ecstatic agony of Radha's separation from Krsna is reported in the CC as follows:

141 At first he went as fast as the wind, then suddenly he. turned into a pillar, paralysed and unable to move. The flesh around the roots of his hair swelled like boils, and his hair stood on end all over his body. Sweat was dripping from his hair like blood. Unable to speak, his throat emitted gurgling sounds. His eyes filled with tears: his body turned pallid like a white conch. He began to shake, and shivering and trembling fell down on the ground. 91 It would be hard to imagine a true Advaitin -accepting the kind of spirituality represented in such descriptions. Madhusudana's conception of the highest stages of bhakti, as we shall see, makes room for the familiar. gopf-paradigm, even including the theme of love in separation. But it remains to be seen whether his idea of devotion approaches the ecstatic extremes envisioned by the Bengal tradition. While he uses much of the same technical terminology, in many cases the meanings are different, and in the end he makes a surprising re-evaluation of the hallowed Vaisnava belief that the bhakti of the gopfs occupies the highest place in the hierarchy of devotional experience.

4.3.6 Bhakti Given Ontic Status as Krsna's Highest Power That the gopf-paradigm occupies a central place in the devotional theory of the Krsnaite tradition should by now be apparent. To a certain extent, its importance corresponds to that of "bridal mysticism," so-called, in the spirituality of such Christian mystics as St. Bernard and

1:42 .St: John of the Cross, who have much to.say about the erotic imagery of the Song of Solomon.92 Hindu thought seeks to avoid charges of moral impropriety in connection with the gopt episodes by a wide variety of stratagems, which I cannot discuss in detail here. The BP itself intertwines several levels of interpretation, from explicitly realistic. to symbolic and metaphysical. All emphasize that the bindingness of dharma is suspended in face of the immediate presence and irresistible call of the divine source of dharma. 93 Some later writers allegorize the affair -- especially the willingness of the gopTs to endure the social consequencessof being unfaithful to their husbands, which were extreme in India -- as symbolic of the demands of true religious love, which override all other considerations. Others chose the route of denying that the encounters described in the Bhagavata were sexual, because the Krsna upon whom. the gopfs doted was too young.94 The Bengal school itself deals with the issue in several ways, the most interesting of which is the doctrine that the gopfs were not ordinary humans beings at all, but incarnations of Krsna's various divine powers or saktis. Being such, they were the Lord's eternal companions (parikara) and therefore ultimately inseparable from him. Their sport was thus merely a wondrous manifestation of the eternal play (lila) of Krsna and his own energies, the play that, on a vaster scale, underlies the whole of creation. 95

143 This metaphysical turn brings us to what is, from the point of view of the present study, the most important aspect of the Gosvamins' theory of bhakti. In defining sadhanabhakti, as we have seen, RUpa says that its aim is the manifestation of bhava in the heart. This appears simple enough, but it is necessary to realize that the word. "manifestation" (prakatyam) is not used casually. It is chosen to compliment and support the author's contention; expressed in the same verse, that bhava is ."eternally accomplished" (nityasiddha).96 This means that it is not something which is produced, say, by spiritual practice, nor is it an activity of the devotee's mind. Indeed, the Gosvamins want to assert that bhava is not phenomenal in' nature at all but rather eternally existent, trans- phenomenal. The orthodox Advaitins, we have seen, deny bhakti any final ontological status. But for the Bengal Vaisnavas it is the paramapurusartha, superior even to moksa. Such an assertion cannot be based on devotional experience alone; it requires an adequate theological foundation. If bhakti is truly a higher spiritual goal than moksa, it must have a corresponding metaphysical value. Bhakti, in short, is so important for the Gosvamins that they seek to give it an ontological status beyond that of the merely psychological. In the thinking of ROpa and JIva, it is not a mode of the

144 mind (manogati) as it is in the definition of BP 3.29.11-12, which from this point of view is inadequate. Neither is it . ultimately worshipful service or even love, if the latter is understood as a function of human consciousness. Bhakti in its essential nature is an aspect of the highest power (sakti) of God. We have seen that Krsna, according to the Gosvamins' theology, has three main powers: the essential power (svarUpasakti), the power of manifesting individual souls .(jtvasakti), and the power of creating the universe (maya- sakti). To understand their metaphysics of bhakti, we must consider this doctrine in more detail. The essential power is itself divided into three aspects. These correspond to the formula "existence-consciousness-bliss" (saccidananda) -- which, here as well as in the Advaita, is thought to express the inner nature (svartpa) of the ultimate.97 The three are: (1) the power of upholding existence (samdhintsakti), (2) the power .of consciousness (samvitsakti), and (3) the power of bliss (hladinIsakti).98 The last of these, as it includes and transcends the other two, is regarded as the highest aspect of the Lord's essential power.99 It is this non-phenomenal hladinIsakti which appears in the heart of the devotee, taking the form of bhava or preman and causing.the experience of bliss. Or, according to an even more subtle analysis, it is actually not the

145 whole but only the purest essence (sara) of this highest divine power that appears as preman. Mahabhava, in turn, is the supreme essence (paramasara) of preman. 100 Bhakti, then, is identified with the highest aspect of the Lord's most intimate power and placed at the pinnacle of the hierarchy of divine energies. The schematic arrangement of saktis may be summarized as follows: the highest of the three main powers is the svarūpasakti ("essential power"), the highest aspect of this is the hladinIsakti ("power of bliss"), and the highest aspect of this is devotion, in the form of maha- bhava. Radha, the Lord's most intimate companion, is this supreme devotion personified (mahabhavarupa).101 While bhakti may seem to be identical with the mental modification in which it becomes manifest, because it takes on that particular form, in reality it is not. It is like fire, says ROpa, which appears to become one with the red-hot iron by assuming its shape but actually remains separate.102 Bhakti is in the mind, so to say, but not of it. Although it is self-luminous (svayamprakasardpa), it nevertheless appears as if illumined by a mental modification since it enters the latter and even seems to be identical with it. 103 Thus the devotion which resides in the devotee and appears to be a function of the devotee's mind is really autonomous and non-phenomenal, the essence of the highest divine power.

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Wheh the Gosvamins say that bhakti is nityasiddha ("eternally accomplished"), they point to the idea that it exists constantly in a dynamic and fully actualized condition, entirely independent of its particular manifestation in the mind of the devotee. Ultimately, it is nothing less than an experience eternally belonging to bhagavat himself. Krsna not only is bliss. In conjunction with Radha, his inseparable hladinIsakti, he enjoys bliss -- and that continually -- as mahabhava, the highest state of bhakti. In this connection, Chakravarti writes: The Lord, being the supreme relisher of bliss (rasika cudamani) relishes not only the bliss of His own self (svardpananda) but also the bliss that flows from His šakti (saktyananda). He enjoys His own nature as bliss with the help of His Hlanini-sakti which is essentially delightful. The bliss that flows from Hladinf gets transformed into Bhakti and grows much more relishable when it is thrown by the Lord into the hearts of His devotees (bhakta), attendants (parikara) and other individuals.104 The elevation of hladinIsakti above the powers samdhint and samvit suggests the subordination of the existence (sat) and consciousness (cit) aspects of the ultimate to his natureas bliss (ananda). The GaudIya Vaișnavas, reflecting in an extreme way the typical devotional interest in the affective and the ecstatic rather than the cognitive, opt for pure bliss as the highest essence of the Godhead and the heightened experience of bliss in bhakti as the raison d'etre of his saktis. "Krsna is bliss," says Krşnadasa Kaviraja. Using his hladinIsakti,

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he causes the tasting of bliss (sukha asvadana) in his devotees, and, by the same power, he savors his own bliss himself. 105 In their emphasis on the idea of sakti and their decision to describe the relation of Krsna and his saktis as one of "inscrutable difference and non-difference" (acintyabhedabheda), the Gosvamins exhibit an apparent philosophical inclination, or at least a temptation, toward a tantric-style bipolar monism. This is no doubt dye to the actual influence of tantric schools, which were powerful religious forces in Bengal and Orissa for many centuries.106 The saktis, especially hlaninf, are not adventitious (aropita), but are part of bhagavat's essential nature (svarOpabhuta).107 In terms of the Vaisnavas' mytho- metaphysical vision, Radha is separate from Krsna, yet tends to union, ultimate non-separation, even identity. The fullness of deity is Radha-Krsna. While it is true that Radha and the saktis are dependent upon Krsna, he is also dependent upon them, not only for the full realization of his own joy, 108 but even for the complete expression of his majesty and sweetness as bhagavat. Without the saktis, without Radha, bhagavat remains merely brahman, undifferentiated (nirvisesa), formless, and devotionally uninteresting. 109

148 All of this, of course, is very close to the sakti- vada of the tantrics, with Radha-Krsna substituting for Siva-sakti as the ultimate bipolar unity. The Gosvamins, .however, retreat from the abyss of monism, feeling. compelled by the requirements of their practical faith to retain the finality of difference and relationship, which they consider to be necessities of devotional spirituality. They manage this by their doctrine of "inscrutability" or "incomprehensibility." The svabhavikatva of the divine energies, their being an essential part of the Lord's nature (svabhava), is tempered by their acintyatva, the final "incomprehensibility" of their relation with the ultimate. This allows identity and difference to coexist. The combination of these two emphases produces some interesting results. Consider, for example, Krsna's celestial paradise, which is the goal of all true devotees. It and all its charming features, inhabitants, and so on, inaluding especially Krsna's boyish form, are taken to be non-phenomenal, absolute realities, greater even than brahman. This, though absurd from the point of view of traditional Upanișadic Vedanta, is made possible by the incomprehensible power of bhagavat, which is inscrutably capable of all that appears impossible to the human mind. The Lord's heaven and its inhabitants are forms of his svarUpasakti, which is non-phenomenal, identical in a sense with its possessor, and hence absolute. 110

149 From the standpoint of the present discussion, the most important consequence of the doctrine of inscrutable difference and non-difference is that it gives an exalted, almost absolute ontological status to the divine power of bliss -- and therefore, a fortiori, to bhakti, which is its highest essence. Devotion becomes bhagavat's own essential energy and, by extension, bhagavat himself appearing in the heart of the devotee. Since as such it is the eternal relishing of divine bliss in its most highly articulated form, a state that is superior, both ontologically and experientially, even to moksa, it is eminently worthy of being regarded as the supreme goal of life (parama- purusartha).

4.4 Bengal Vainava Social Practice Carrying the idea that devotion is a sakti of Krsna to its logical conclusion, the Bengal Vaisnavas are lead to the doctrine that it is inherent in all souls, even those of plants, because they are all intimately related to the Lord as fragments of his divine energy. Although eternally manifest in the Lord's celestial attendants who are beyond the reach of maya, it is dormant in jivas that are bound in the material realms created by mayasakti. 111 For these souls, it needs to be made manifest by the action of divine grace and the aid of spiritual discipline. 112

150 . The experience of bhakti, however, depends on neither Vedic study nor caste or gender qualification of any kind. Devotion is open to all, regardless of their social status. While Caitanya was somewhat conservative in many aspects of his outward social observance, he made it clear that caste distinctions have no bearing on access to religious practice or the attainment of the final religious goal. According to Krsnadasa, he encouraged people of all levels of society to worship Krsna, and often shocked his orthodox followers by sacrificing correct observance of caste rules -- he himself was a Brahmin -- and encouraging common religious, if not social, fellowship. 113 Of the six Vrndavana Gosvamins, who are regarded as the "orthodox" theologians of the movement, Raghunatha Dasa was a Kşatriya and Rupa and Sanatana, although of a Brahmin family, had lost caste by accepting service with a Muslim ruler prior to meeting Caitanya. 114 The latter fact is openly acknowledged by the tradition. Sanatana, for example, is more than once portrayed in the CC as expressing such sentiments as, "I am of low caste; I have kept low companions, and have done low work," or, "I haye served Muslims; I have associated with the murderers of Brahmans and cows. "115 The Gosvamins displayed a liberal social outlook in their willingness to accept non-Brahmins as disciples. Narottama, a Kşatriya who was a pupil of Jtva,

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was one of these; he in turn caused considerable social controversy by allowing Brahmins as well as fellow non-v: Brahmins to become his students.116 As far as the movement in Bengal is concerned, there is evidence of a divergence of opinion between Advaita and Nityananda, Caitanya's senior devotees and aides-de-camp. Advaita, a Brahmin, seems to have adopted a more conservative attitude on social questions while Nityananda, whose original caste is uncertain, gained a reputation for sympathy for persons whose status in Hindu society was low. The movement from an early period showed a tendency to divide into sub-sects, and some of this division was in fact on caste lines.117 Nevertheless, despite the well-known tenacity of the caste mentality in India, the thoroughgoing dependence of this school on the BP would have made it very difficult for any of its members to defend the imposition of social restrictions on the availability of bhakti as the paramapurusartha. A verse still popular in this century .among the Vaisnavas of Bengal reads: He who worships Krsna is not a sudra, he is a holy man among men; but he of whatsoever caste who does not this. 118 worship Krsna, he is a Sudra. All the sastras witness

Such sentiments would have been worthy of the Bhagavata itself.

CHAPTER FIVE

MADHUSUDANA. ON ADVAITA-BHAKTI: THE THEOLOGY OF DEVOTION IN THE BHAKTIRASAYANA

5.1 Approaching the Bhaktirasayana Having examined at some length certain key elements in the historical and philosophical.background of the BR, we can. now proceed to an introduction of the text itself. The present chapter will consist of an attempt bring together in systematic form the text's most important teachings on the metaphysical aspects of bhakti. In chapter six, we will turn to an account of Madhusudana's discussion of the relation between devotion and the theory of aesthetic sentiment (rasa). It has already been øuggested that the BR represents in some sense (as yet unspecified) an effort to integrate the two divergent forms of spirituality that we have been considering thus far, namely, the impersonalist vision of Advaita and the ecstatic bhakti religion of the BP and the Kranaite achools. If we take into account the vastly different emphases of these two traditions, we can readily appreciate that such an undertaking was necessarily an ambitious one, however it may have been conceived. But at

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153 this point it would be unwise to try and say much more. The complexity and importance òf the questions that the BR weighs, together with the stature and sophistication of its author, warn us against venturing, prior -to careful examination, any facile generalizations about.its meaning or purpose.' Such considerations will be more appropriately dealt with after we have become more familiar with the texte in the critical remarks reserved for chapter nine. The teachings of the BR are in fact somewhat elusive; this is not a work that be approached easily or directly. The difficulty is that, while richly suggestive, the text is often frustratingly inexplicit, and sometimes disappointingly vague. On key points such as the nature of bhakti, the distinction between bhagavat and Brahman, the relation of bhakti and moksa, and the final ontological status of bhakti, it shifts position subtly or, more frequently, refuses to enter into specific detail or draw out the full implications of what has been said. This may be in part a feature of Madhusudana's scholastic style of discourse, which assumes that the reader is well-versed the religious and philosophical literature known to the writer and his circle. It may well be due also to the unorthodox and hence controversial nature of his conclusions, which he perhaps felt were better conveyed by intimation than by explicit statement. At any rate, a large part of this

... 154 introduction will be taken up with the somewhat risky business of trying to read "between the lines" and spell out what Madhusudana is suggesting. The reader is warned to recognize the limitations of this approach. It will require on occasion that we go beyond what Madhusudana actually says, filling in gaps and extrapolating where his exposition is sketchy. This of course is an audacióus and risky enterprise, especially for someone who, no matter how sympathetic, stands outside the tradition. As long as it is done openly and cautiously, however, it is justified as a necessary part of an attempt to arrive at an understanding of the text that is even partially satisfactory.

5.2 Bhakti as an Independent Path Madhusudana was a poet of no mean accomplishments, and he used language skillfully, precisely, and imaginatively. We should not be surprised, therefore, to discover that the title of our text contains a play on words. The author reveals one possible meaning of Bhaktirasayana in stanza 2: "O wise onesl Let this Elixir (rasayana) of Devotion (bhakti) be drunk of abundantly by you . . ."1 Divided differently, however, the Sanskrit compound can also mean "The way, path, or course (ayana) of athe sentiment (rasa) of bhakti." It could be interpreted,

155 on this analysis, as referring to the course of development of bhaktirasa or, alternately, as naming the cultivation of devotional sentiment as a distinct spiritual path. Sanskrit poets delighted in this kind of double and triple entendre, and there is no doubt that Madhusudana chose this title carefully and was conscious of its various possible meanings. certainly, all of those I have mentioned are indicative of the contents of the work. The last, however; is probably the most important for our inquiry into the place of devotion in Advaita. It points to ohe of the most striking and, from the view-point of Advaita, most mnorthodox aspects of the BR, namely, Madhusudana's presentation of bhaktiyoga as a distinct and independent apiritual path that is not in need of completion by Vedic gnosis, the exclusive province of the samyasin. According to the' BR, devotion, on its own, is able to lead the seeker to the highest goal of life (paramapurusartha). Madhusudana begins his exposition of the spiritual ascent in section III by identifying the yoga of action (karmayoga) as a preliminary discipline that must be performed by all aspirants until they have acquired sufficient purity of mind. The attainment, of this goal, Madhusddana tells us, is followed by the pursuit of one of two possible paths, knowledge or devotion.2 The rest of the text makes clear that the author intends us to understand

156 these paths as independent, equally valid ways to the highest spiritual attainment. At first, this seems to be a flagrant contradiction of the orthodox Advaita doctrine, discussed at length in chapter two, that liberation comes through knowledge alone. The fact is, however, that the BR nowhere describes bhakti as a discipline which aims specifically at liberation, nor does it truly accept the latter in its classical role as paramapurusartha. One of the central teachings of the BR, enunciated repeatedly from the first stanza onward, is that love for God, bhakti, is itself the highest goal of life. So, while the teaching is indeed that bhakti is an independent path to the final goal, the goal, at least for the devotee, is not moksa but rather bhakti. Following the BP, the BR teaches that devotion is both the means and, in its higher stages, the supreme end. How exactly the relation between bhakti and moksa is to be understood is a basic question that we shall have to consider in due order. Before it can be discussed, however, we must examine Madhusudana's teaching on several other important matters, beginning with his concept of the highest goal of life.

5.3 The Highest Goal of Life If the Gosvamins of the Bengal school are unhappy with the exclusion of bhakti from the classical formula of

157 the four human aims (purusartha), so is Madhusudana. He makes this quite plain from th outset, declaring in the first stanza, as we have just seen, that bhakti is the paramapurugartha. In section V of his commentary, he writes of bhakti: "Those who know its essence and those who have experienced it declare it to be the highest goal of life, beyond which there is nothing greater."3 This to be sure is the teaching of the BP, and the Krsnaite Vaisnavas would have no difficulty with it. Nevertheless, it is a radical assertion for an Advaitin. The orthodox followers of Samkara hold that moksa is the one supreme goal and that bhakti is a preliminary to it.4 Madhusudana, on the other hand, appears to be saying that what Advaita normally considers to be the means is actually the final end, a rather significant change to say the least. It is necessary, therefore, to try and determine exactly what he means by this assertion. Madhusudana's approach to including bhakti among the purugarthas is, we discover, quite different from that of the Gosvamins. In sections VI and VII of the BR, he shifts abruptly from the argument, which he has just presented in section V, that bhakti is the paramapurusartha to a discussion designed to prove that bliss (sukha or ananda) is the highest aim. He does not wish to expand the four-fold formula, as the.Gosvamins did. Instead, he seeks to by-pass

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it by showing that the classically recognized purusarthas are so only figuratively, i.e., insofar as they are the means to bliss.'"The bliss arising from, them," says Madhusudana, "is the goal of life."5 The details of the argument, which becomes rather complex as a logician of the Nyaya school is the ostensible interlocutor, can be gleaned from the translation which follows. What is important for our present purpose is its result, which MadhusUdana also states in the form: "Bliss unmixed with any suffering is the highest goal of life."6 The phrase "unmixed with any suffering" refers us back to the. first stanza, where Madhusudana has already described bhakti as "the experience of incomparable bliss, untouched by any suffering."7 The final conclusion is not hard to draw. Madhusudana gives it at the beginning of sec. VII: "Since it is nothing more than bliss unmixed with suffering, the yoga of devotion to the Blessed Lord is also the paramapurusartha. "8 He uses the adverb "also" (api) here because he has just, at the end of section VI, concluded an elaborate argument to show that moksa is the paramapurusartha "for the very reason that it is supreme bliss," a view he acknowledges as the standard doctrine of the Vedantins.9 Because of the logical difficulties . involved in asserting that devotion and liberation are both the highest aim, we must understand him as intending that

159 they are both forms in which the actual highest goal of life, pure bliss, can be experienced by human beings. As section VII indicates, the "perfect meditation" or enstasis (samadhi) sought by the yogins is another way in which this bliss can be- attained. 10 The paramapurusartha, then, is bliss alone. At.least at this point in the text, 11 Madhusudana's assertions that devotion is "the" highest goal of life mean that, of this highest ananda, devotion is one possible form. The fact that both moksa and bhakti are supreme bliss draws our attention again to the question of the relation between them. I must defer its consideration once more, however, until we have a better understanding of Madhusudana's thinking on the nature of devotion itself.

5.4 Bhakti as a Modality of the Mind In stanza 3 of the text, MadhusUdana defines bhakti as "The modification of the mind melted by the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees which has become a continuous, stream-like flow directed toward the Lord of. all .= 12 This definition is modeled on that given at BP 3.29.11-12.13 Madhusudana, in his commentary, cites this passage and takes pains to let the reader know that he is following its authority.

160 In both definitions, bhakti is identified as a modality of the idividual psyche; in the purana it is a "flow of the mind" (manogati), in the BR, a "modification" (vrtti) of the mind. It is, by this definition, distinguished from other psychic modifications by several factors. First, it is unlike ordinary waking. consciousness, but like both yogic meditation (dhyana) and Vedantic upasana, 14 in that it is a constant, unbroken stream of awareness. Second, and now in contrast to meditation and upasana, it occurs in a mind that has been placed in a state of heightened emotional sensibility called "melting.". The latter condition is aroused by devotional practices known as the bhagavatadharmas, the "disciplines of the Lord's devotees, "15 the most important of which, as we shall see, is "hearing" (sravana) of the sublime attributes and wondrous activities of the Lord and his incarnations. The third distinguishing factor of devotion is, of course, that its object is the "Lord of all," the bhagavat or "Blessed Lord," about whom a good deal will be said shortly. Though there is a close correspondence between Madhusudana's definition and that of the BP, our author's introduction of the technical term vrtti ("mental modification") in place of the purana's more general manogati ("flow of the mind") is significant. It allows him to begin to introduce refinements in the definition that

...

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will eventually lead to its being recast in a new, thoroughly Advaitic mould. In his commentary, Madhusudana defines the term vrtti as "the mind's assumption of a particular form (akara)."16 This is the standard view of Vedanta, which, like the Samkhya and Yoga systems, conceives of the mind as composed of a subtle, highly plastic substance of constantly changing modalities. According to the cognitive theory of Advaita, discussed in some detail in Madhusudana's comments on .BR 1.20-25,17 the mind in the process of perception undergoes a change of state, reaching out and assuming the form of its object. This mental modification removes the ignorance veiling the object from the subject and creates a link between the two. Madhusudana applies this understanding of vrtti to the initial defintion given in stanza 3, glossing the phrase "directed toward the Lord of all" as "having assumed the Lord's form."18 This allows him to define bhakti more technically as the mind's becoming receptive to, and taking on, the "form" of God. Thus we read: "The worship which consists in the mind's taking on the form of the Blessed Lord is devotion," and again, "Devotion is ... the mind's taking on the form of the Blessed Lord. "19

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5.5 Bhakti as Bhagavat The next step, in the development of Madhusudana's conception of Advaita-bhakti is a subtle change of emphasis, connected with his discussion of bhakti as a sentiment (rasa).20 Having introduced the concept of devotion as a vrtti that has assumed the form of. the Lord, Madhusudana from section XVIII on begins to focus his attention on the form itself, as present in the mind. Whatever is apprehended while the mind is in its melted state, he says, becomes a permanent impression. The form of the object, retained in the mind in this particular way, becomes the basis, the permanent emotion (sthayibhava), of rasa. The form of the Lord (bhagavadakara), then, is the permanent emotion which develops into bhaktirasa. Though aesthetic categories are here inserted into the discussion, the underlying conceptual foundation remains that of Advaita. Especially interesting is Madhusudana's use of the "reflection theory" (pratibimbavada). This doctrine was developed by Sarvajmatma Muni, Prakāsātman, and ther post-Samkara Advaitins as an explanation of the relation between Brahman, Isvara, and jIva. The theory has ' several variations. Some authors regard both Isvara and jIva as reflections of the pure Brahman, the former in the universal, cosmic Ignorance (avidya) or maya, and the latter in individual Ignorance or, in come cases, in the individual

163 mind (antahkarana) .21 In Madhusudana's version, Brahman, the supreme Consciousness (caitanya), when associated with Ignorance, appears as Isvara, the bimbacaitanya or "prototype-Consciousness."L JIva, then, is the reflection (pratibimba) of Isvara in Ignorance.22 Madhusudana draws on this doctrine in his explanation of bhaktirasa, specifying that the form of the Lord, which is the permanent emotion that develops into the sentiment of devotion, is his reflection in the melted mind. The immediately obvious intention of this statement is to prepare the way for a new argument for devotion's being supreme bliss: This, in turn, will establish, not that devotion is the highest goal of life, as the previous argument was designed to do, but that it is the highest sentiment (rasa). Since the Lord is bliss, Madhusudana says, his reflection must also be bliss: Reflected in the mind, the Lord, who is supreme bliss, becomes a permanent emotion and reaches the state of being a sentiment. Hence it is beyond question that the sentiment of devotion is of the nature of supreme bliss.23 The worldly sentiments, according to the non-dualist analysis given in the commentary on stanzas 11-13, have as their objects the supreme bliss appearing in limited forms. Bhakti, on the other hand, is the supreme bliss itself manifested in its full abundance. Therefore bhakti deserves to be counted as the highest rasa.

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While this last idea is of considerable interest in its own right, a discussion of the theory of rasa and its adoption by devotional writers must be reserved for the next chapter. Of immediate concern, however, are the philosophical implications that MadhusUdana has worked into this discussion for the benefit of the discerning reader. In this connection, I must again emphasize that much of the- most sighificant teaching of this text is implicit rather than explicit. First it should be noted that our author is ho longer speaking of devotion as a vrtti, but as a reflection of bhagavat. Observe also that he is careful to start by defining his key term so that we know exactly what he is talking about: "A reflection is nothing but the,original (bimba) itself, apprehended within limiting adjuncts. "24 Placed as it is at the beginning of the section, this definition can only be intended to alert the knowledgeable reader to the fact that the author is making use of the pratibimbavada. More specifically, it is designed to bring to mind one of the important distinguishing features of this doctrine, the idea that the "reflection is nothing but the original itself." Unlike the. appearance theory (abhasa- vada), its closest rival, the reflection theory regards the pratibimba as real and identical with the bimba. 25

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Vidyaranya, for example, argues that the image is but the original itself appearing as if located in the mirror, and that it is not the reflection that is illusory but merely its apparent location. 26 Normally, the point of the pratibimbavada's identification of reflection and original is to establish the identity of jIva and Brahman. But Madhusudana is here utilizing the doctrine in an analysis of devotion. Since he is a master expositor of#the various conflicting schools of thought. in post-samkara Advaita, we can be sure that he is well aware of the theoretical implications of the reflection theory and the consequences of its application here. Hè is expecting his readers to recognize the most important of these, namely, that bhakti, as a reflection, is to be identified with bhagavat, the original.27 Although he does it without any announcement, Madhusudana makes a further shift from he BP's simple definition of devotion as a mode of the mind. As he strives to arrive at a clearer conception of bhakti from an Advaitic standpoint, he allows it to become, at least implicitly, identical with the Blessed Lord himself. Consider the sequence of thought and the grammatical structure in his sentences: "A reflection is nothing but the original itself. . . Reflected in the mind, the Lord [subject] . . becomes a permanent emotion and reaches the state of being a sentiment." I must therefore agree in substance with Gupta when he says:

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Madhusudana started with his pledge to the Bhagavata and thus declared cittavrtti [the mental mode] to be bhakti. But later on . . he almost unconsciously landed into a spiritual region where bhakti becomes Bhagavat Himself and not a mere cittavrtti. 28 Madhusudana is forced in this direction for two related reasons, though I am not at all not sure that this movement is unconscious, as Gupta suggests. First, in his desire to establish that it is the paramapurusartha and the highest sentiment, he wishes to identify bhakti with supreme Lfbliss. A mere mental mode, a product of maya, cannot be bliss, so MadhusUdana has to establish that bhakti is something greater.29 But it is axiomatic in Advaita that only Brahman and Isvara (in the language of the BR, bhagavat) can be said to be supreme bliss. On this account alone, then, bhakti must be identified with one or the other.

Second, Madhusudana wants to give devotion an ' otological status that is, at the very least, commensurate with that of moksa. But how can a cittavrtti be placed on a par with liberation, especially when the latter has been identified by Samkara as equivalent to the unchanging Absolute? So again, bhakti must somehow be assimilated to the supreme principle. The well-known equation of moksa and Brahman has already closed off one way of accomplishing this. While the Gosvamins give bhakti a near-absolute status by equating it with the Lord's highest sakti, this

.,167 route is not open to Madhusudana. As an Advaitin, he must" hold that Brahman's only sakti is'maya, which is insentient (jada), like the vrtti, and in the final analysis not fully real. Given the options, then, the adentification of bhakti and bhagavat is Madhusudana's natural and indeed only recourse.

5.6 The Nature of Bhagavat This of course raises the question of the nature of bhagavat and the relation of bhagavat to Brahman. Considering the numerous quotations from the BP found in the BR and the loving descriptions of the form of Krsna found in Madhusudana's devotional verses, we might conclude that his .Blessed Lord is an anthfopomorphically monceived deity and that the highest devotional experience is some type of „ mystical apprehension of a personal form. But the fact is, and this would be surprising were The Elixir of Devotion not written by so rigorous an Advaitin, that the first and most important chapter of the work is, despite the title, almost completely lacking in a. personalized concept of the Godhead. Bhagavat appears in the particularized form of Krana, Narayana, etc., only in the numerous verses of the BP that are quoted in the text. The sole exception occars in the first stanza, where Madhusudana speaks of devotion to "Mukunda" as the highest goal of life, and in section x, where he glosses the same stanza as follows: W.

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The name "Mukunda" indicates the object of the yoga of devotion. It will be stated that He alone, the inner controller and Lord of all, is the objective cause of the sentiment of devotion.30 At the beginning of chapter two, Madhusudana defines devotion as/the "form of Govinda that has entered firmly into the melted mind."31 He then goes on to analyse the different types of bhakti in terms of .the experience of the various participants inthe Krsna-lfla, as recounted in the BP. There is, however, no discussion of the nature of bhagavat himself. So, although "Mukunda" and "Govinda" are both names of Krsna and it is certain that Madhusudana is a devotee of that deity, we cannot determine from such references, which are either too brief or too general, how he understands either Krsna or devotional experience of Krsna. We must look to the rest of the text to discover this.

Section XI gives us, in passing, an important hint as to Madhustdana's thinking on this subject. There he suggests that, though it is not the ordinary practice, devotees may take up the study of the Vedanta "for the sake of determining the essential nature of the object of their. worship (bhajantya)."32 While he does not develop this . idea, it is warning enough. We should not be taken aback when, as we continue to read, we gradually realize that his portrait of bhagavat is practically indistinguishable from an orthodox Advaitic description of Bragman. Stanza 30, for

169 example, gives a number of adjectives intended to reveal the nature of the Blessed Lord, and the commentary explains each of them in turn: "'Omnipresent' indicates that He pervades all space, 'eternal' that He exists through all time, 'fuli' means that since He is one without second He is the substratum of the whole illusion of duality, and `consciousness.and bliss' indicates that He is the supreme goal of life."33. Commentary on stanzas 11-13 gives, as has already been mentioned, an Advaitin's argument in support of the blissfulness of rasa in general and of bhaktirasa in particular. Complete with quotations from the. Upanisads and the Brahmasutras, a discussion of the two powers of maya, and a brief exposition of the non-dualist theory of knowledge, it reads like one of the author's more formar metaphysical treatises.For purposes of this discussion, MadhusUdana shifts abrupty from using the word bhagavat as a designation of the highest principle to the use, instead, of Brahman and caitanya ("Consciousness"). These terms are employed interchangeably for each other, and for bhagavat as well. This practice continues in section XXIII, where Madhusudana establishes that the form of the Lord is innate in the mind. To provide authoritative support for his argument, he cites a portion of Suresvara's Sambandha- varttika that proves the innateness, not indeed of bhagavat, but of the Self or atman. A little later, quoting a well-

170 known passage from the Chandogya Upanigad, Madhusudana clearly identifies bhagavat and Brahman: "The Upanigadic text, `All this, verily, is Brahman, in origin, duration, and dissolution' [CU 3,14.11], teaches that all things arise from the Blessed Lord alone, exist in the Blessed Lord alone, and dissolve into the Blessed Lord alone."34 Finally, in section XXIII, Madhusudana gives a definition of bhagavat which explicitly identifies Him with the atman of the Advaitins: "The Blessed Lord is the non-dual Self, a mass of perfect being, consciousness, and bliss, the'pure existence which is the substratum of all. "35 Such passages make it obvious that the BR's understanding of bhagavat is thoroughly Advaitic; it certainly shows no influence of the Bengal Vaisnavas' elevation of bhagavat above the unqualified brahman. If anything, there is an. opposite movement which would be totally unacceptable to the Gosvamins: the concept of bhagavat becomes quite depersonalized and closely identified with the unqualified, supreme Brahman of Advaita. I pointed out in chapter two that Samkar often spoke. of the personal God and the Absolute as if they were equivalent.36 Madhusudana's tendency in this direction is even more marked, and, as the following excerpts from the GAD will demonstrate, it is by no means confined to the BR: "To Me [Krşna] alone," i.e., the undivided Self whose nature is being-consciousness-bliss, devoid of all limiting adjuncts. "37

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And so it is said by Brahma regarding the Blessed Lord SrI Krana: "Thou art the one Self, the ancient Person, the self-luminous truth, infinite, without second, eternal, imperishable, perpetual bliss, unstained, full, free from all limitation, immortal" [BP 10.14.23]. meaning is, "You are the Self, the Brahman that is The devoid of all limiting adjuncts." . . . Blessed Lord Krsna is the ultimate reality, the unconditioned Brahman which is the support of all false projections.38 Reading passages such as these along with those from the BR just quoted, we might well wonder if Madhusudana wishes to completely efface the difference between the Lord and the transpersonal ultimate. The BR, at least, leaves us to search on our own for hints as to exactly what the difference between the two, if any, might be. In his chapter on the BR, Gupta maintains that the essential distinction is that in Brahman knowledge and bliss remain undifferentiated while in bhagavat bliss is separated out; as it were, and fully manifested.39 I find no basis for this conclusion in the text. In fact Madhusudana at one point defines bhagavat in passing as a "mass of bliss and consciousness" and adds the qualifier "undivided. "40 Moreover, caitanya and moksa are also identified as "supreme bliss. 41

The only real clue to this problem given in the BR appears in section XI, where MadhusUdana is discussing the difference between bhakti and knowledge of Brahman. I.will therefore anticipate my consideration of that important passage by noting that in it the author makes a statement

172 that points clearly, if indirectly, to an important distinction between bhagavat and Brahman. He asserts that devotion is a determinate (savikalpaka) mental modification while knowledge of Brahman is indeterminate (nirvikalpaka).42 The distinction between determinate and indeterminate perception is recognized by all schools of Indian thought, although their understanding of it differs according to their various metaphysical inclinations. For the realists such as the Nyaya, both are types of relative, objective experience, indeterminate being bare apprehension, raw and uninterpreted, and determinate being cognition that is concretized and differentiated through conceptual thought. For late post-Samkara Advaitins, however, all relative experience is savikalpaka, conditioned by "name and form" (namarupa), and only intuitive awareness of the undifferentiated, objectless Consciousness -- i.e., Brahman -- is nirvikalpaka.43 Building on their understanding of this distinction, these writers distinguish between savikalpaka samadhi ("differentiated enstasis"), the experience of the qualified Brahman at the borderline of transcendence, and nirvikalpaka samadhi, the realization of absolute transcendence and complete identity with the unqualified Brahman. 44

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The point of introducing this somewhat technical discussion is that to characterize a mode of awareness, as Madhusudana has done, is also to characterize its object. If bhakti is a determinate experience, bhagavat, its object, must be a determinate or conditioned reality. Likewise, if spiritual knowledge is an indeterminate experience, Brahman, its object, must be indeterminate. It becomes apparent that, like Samkara, Madhusudana does not abandon the distinction between the personal God and the higher Brahman, even though he may relax it temporarily. Bhagavat, as we may have suspected all along, is the same as the Isvara of orthodox Advaita. He is the qualified (saguna) Brahman. Though ultimately identical with the unqualified, attributeless (nirguna) Brahman, he is conceptually -- and for the mystic perhaps also experientially -- distinguishable from the final state of pure Being. In the GAD we find Madhusudana, in accord with Advaitic tradition, describing Isvara or bhagavat as having all the attributes and functions of a supreme personal God, qualities'which make the Lord a savikalpaka, as opposed to a nirvikalpaka, reality. The determinate nature of bhagavat is obvious, for example, his commentary on BG 7.14: The Blessed Lord, who is "original" (bimba), is possessed of infinite powers. He is the controller of maya, omniscient, the bestower of all results [of actions], sleepless, having a form (murti) of pure bliss. The supreme guru, he assumes numerous incarnations in order to grace His devotees. 45

174 This is the Lord who is the object of bhakti or, more accurately, who becomes bhakti wheh reflected in the melted mind of the devotee. The language used is appropriate for a. description of the qualified Brahman; it could never be used in reference to the actionless, attributeless, impersonal Absolute. With a little research and thought, then, it becomes clear that the objects of bhakti and knowledge of Brahman can, in fact, be distinguished. There is, however, a danger that a rigid, "textbook" understanding of the Advaitins' distinction between the saguna and nirguna Brahman might lead us to conclude that Madhusudana regards the Lord as a merely phenomenal reality. It is true that certain of Samkara's followers, in their anxiety to preserve the complete transcendence and purity of Brahman, place Isvara within the realm of maya. This at least appears to be the result of the theories which take the pure Brahman itself as the bimba ("original"), regarding the personal God as its reflection (pratibimba) in the universal maya and the jiva as its reflection in individual Ignorance or the mind. Such thinking makes Isvara a kind of collective jIva; thougl' greater perhaps in power than the individual soul, he seems, since both he and the jIva are reflections, to be equally involved in phenomenality.46 But Madhusudana, as we have seen, follows the Vivarana school in refusing to reduce the Lord to the status of a reflection.

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Isvara is himself the bimba, the very Brahman in its aspect of relatedness to the world. Even though appearing to be . conditioned (upahita) in consequence of his role as the "prototype Consciousness" (bimbacaitanya), he remains nothing other than Brahman. Hence, Madhusudana can write: "Everything other than the Blessed Lord ... is false (mayika), . . . the Blessed Lord alone is real."47 It is necessary for Madhusudana to make a distinction between bhagavat and Brahman, since it is essential for the conceptual differentiation of bhakti and jñana, without which the whole enterprise of writing on devotion would be useless, as we shall see in the next section. Nevertheless, he is not anxious to stress the distinction in the BR, as this would imply a diminution of both bhagavat and bhakti Given long established Advaita tradition and his particular reading of Isvara as bimba, he is well able to speak of the Lord in terms that we might think more appropriate to the nirguna ultimate and even to use language which seems to identify the two. We here approach the realm of the paradoxical, the ultimate mystery of Advaita that defies rigid conceptualization. As long as there remains a universe for Brahman to be related to -- which is, according to Samkara Vedanta, forever -- the personal God exists as one with the transpersonal Absolute. Hence, when the Lord speaks in

176 'scripture, his voice is often to be interpreted as the "voice" of Brahman in both its aspects, qualified and unqualified, saguna and nirguna, as in Madhusudana's striking gloss at GAD 12.8: "Having fixed your mind in Me, . the qualified Brahman, you, having attained knowledge, with your Self absorbed in Me, will dwell in Me alone, the pure Brahman. "48 Who or what, then, is the BR's bhagavat? It is clear that, as far as the text is concerned, the Blessed Lord is equivalent to Brahman. Yet, while bhagavat is identical with the non-dual ultimate, he is that highest reality appearing in determinate form in order that, among other things, the supreme bliss which is his/its very nature may be relished. As to the nature of that form, Madhusudana is silent, except to suggest by his abundant use of the BP that in some unspecified way it is, at least for him, that 7 of his beloved Krana.

5.7 Bhakti and Knowledge of Brahman Having examined what Madhusudana says about the nature of bhagavat, the object of devotion, we can now return to our discussion of devotion itself. Our author has( described bhakti, first as a vrtti which grasps the form of the Lord, and then as the reflection of the Lord in the mind. Since he is not making a clear distinction between

177 bhagavat the impersonal Absolute, the structure of bhakti is turning out. to be strikingly similar to, and in some respects difficult to distinguish, from, that of knowledge. of Brahman. There are two ways in which such knowledge is spoken of in Advaita. Interestingly enough, they correspond closely to the two conceptions of bhakti presented in the BR. In the first, knowledge is understood as a mental mode which has assumed the "form" of Brahman, thereby destroying Ignorance and allowing the self-luminous reality to reveal itself in its fullness. Such an identification of knowledge and the mental mode is useful at levels of discourse which do not require the most rigorous precision. Ultimately, however, it can be only figurative. 49 This is because it suggests a duality between knowledge and Brahman which the Advaita does not want to support. In the final analysis, the vitti is insentient (jada), a product of māya. Advaita must, for this reason, identify knowledge with Consciousness itself, remaining true to the "great saying" of the Upanisad: "Brahman is truth, knowledge, infinite. "50 Strictly speaking jñana is not the vrtti but Consciousness as reflected in the vrtti.51 Knowledge of Brahman then becomes the reflection of Consciousness in its purity on the akhandakaracittavrtti ("mental modification of the undivided form") -- the psychic mode, generated by the "great sayings"

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of the Upanisads, that is regarded as the final product of Advaitic spiritual discipline. Since, here as before, the reflection is understood to be non-different from the original, knowledge of Brahman is Brahman. Madhusudana, of course, is well aware of the close structural analogy between the bhaktivrtti and the akhandakaracittavrtti, and the conceptual similarity between devotion as the reflection of bhagavat and knowledge as the. reflection of Brahman. Indeed, it becomes evident that Madhusudana's exposition of devotion is consciously framed . so as to set up a homology between devotion and jmana. The problem of the relation between the twois introduced at. the. beginning of section XI in the form of an objection: "Devotion to the Lord is merely knowledge of Brahman by another name. ... Hence the undertaking of this inquiry is useless. "52 In the discussion which follows, we learn that o devotion and knowledge "have distinct natures, as well as means, ends, and qualifications for eligibility. "53 While the author is thus obviously intent on differentiating devotion from knowledge, in order 'to defend the validity of his discourse on the former, he is by no means trying to minimize the importance of the structural similarities between the two. In fact, he wants to suggest to the perceptive reader that the similarities are quite significant. So the list of differences we are confronted with is at the same time a list of parallels.

V

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Consider first the question of their "distinct natures." Madhusudana writes: Devotion is a determinate mental modification, the mind's taking the form of the Blessed Lord after becoming melted. Knowledge of Brahman is an V indeterminate mental modification whose object is the secondless Self only, and it is not preceded by melting of the mind. 54 Here, of course, Madhusudana. is speaking of both knowledge and devotion as vrttis, a usage which, as I have indicated, must be considered figurative. Nevertheless, the passage is an. important one, so much so that I have of necessity already referred to it and discussed its key ideas above. The "melting" of the mind, as we have seen, is an essential element of bhakti. That such an emotional state should be absent from the discipline of knowledge, the path of the intellectuallygifted seeker who enjoys discriminative thinking and may tend to look down on emotionalism, is not surprising. Neither is the idea that devotion is determinate, grasping the form of God, while knowledge is indeterminate, apprehending the form of the unqualffied Brahman. This last distinction is especially crucial, however, because it points to the key metaphysical difference between the two phenomena. Since both bhakti and jñana are ultimately identical with their objects, the difference between them is based in the final analysis on the fact that their objects are different.

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The formal emphasis on distinctions in this passage should not, however, blind us to the fact that Madhusudana, as I have suggested, also wants us to see certain homologies. So far they are as follows: melted mind/unmelted mind, conditioned mode/unconditioned mode, form of bhagavat/form of Brahman. The idea of apprehending the "form"'of Brahman -- the formless, attributeless, unobjectifiable Absolute -- is, of course, problematic in itself. How can the one Knower be known? How can Consciousness become its own object? This difficulty is commonly flaunted by Advaita's critics, notably the Madhvas and the Naiyayikas, and Madhusudana is obliged to address it from various angles in all his major works. His response, in essence, is that truly speaking all knowledge consists of a mental mode grasping Brahman. The distinction between ordinary knowledge and brahmavidya is that, while in the former the mind apprehends the ultimate as limited by an object, in the latter Brahman is grasped as limited by the, akhandakaracittavrtti only. So even the final knowledge of Brahman is conditioned (upahita),55 but it is conditioned in a special way. In the VKL, Madhusudana states:

Even when it is [logically] impossible for Brahman to be an object of knowledge, knowledge is found to have Brahman as its object. This occurs either by its grasping of the original (bimba) or through some quite different process that is inexplicable (anir- vacanfya).56

181 If Knowledge of Brahman is the apprehension of the original -- which, as we have seen, Madhusudana identifies with Isvara -- then such knowledge would seem to be, like bhakti, a savikalpaka cognition, differentiated from devotion only by the lack of "melting of the mind" (cittadruti). But Madhusudana has indicated in the BR that a truly nirvikalpaka cognition of Brahman is possible, one which is a characteristic of jñana alone. Assumin his thinking on this point did not change in the interval between the composition of the two texts, the nirvikalpaka cognition mentioned in the BR must be referred to the indescribable mode of knowledge described in the VKL. Though he asserts, as he must, that "immediate knowledge having the form (akara) of Brahman"57 is possible, he confesses that a final understanding of the phenomenon depends on direct intuitive experience. 58 Having indicated how devotion and knowledge differ in nature, section XI of the BR goes on to discuss how they differ in their means (sadhana), that is to say, the practices which bring them about: . The hearing (sravana) of compositions that bring together the exalted qualities of the Blessed Lord is the means to devotion, while the means to knowledge of Brahman is the gre `Thou are That reat sayings of the Upanisads such as, We have already seen that orthodox Advaita holds that saving knowledge can only come through the mediation of the maha-

182 vakyas of the Upanisads, which serve as the indispensable final catalysts of realization. It is significant, then, that nowhere in the BR does Madhusudana suggest that devotees are dependent upon the "hearing" (sravana) of the Vedic revelation for the attainment of their ultimate spiritual aim. This is not, however, to say that there is no place for sravana in bhakti. According to the BP, the first of the disciplines of the Lord's devotees (bhagavatadharmas) is the "hearing" of the glories of the Lord, and "hearing; " Madhusudana tells us now, is the principal means to devotion. Thus, although there is a significant difference between devotion and knowledge in this respect, there is also an analogy. In both paths, the hearing (sravana) of scripture is of utmost importance. To be sure, sravana in the bhakti literature does not mean precisely what it does as a technical term of Advaita. Nevertheless, it is the first and primary discipline in both paths.60 The scriptures of knowledge, the Upanisads, and those of devotion, preeminently the Bhagavata, are of course not the same. Our author knows well, however, that Vaisnavas of Krsnaite persuasion regard the BP as their highest authority, giving it a status equal to, or greater than, the orthodox Vedanta's indispensable sruti.61 Section XXIII of the BR, as we have mentioned, seeks to show that the form of the Lord is naturally inherent in

'183 the mind. While discussing this question, Madhusudana again considers, in passing, the role of scripture in devotional spirituality, and again it is given a place corresponding to that which the "great sayings" have in Advaita. The objector remarks that, if the experience of God is inherent, then the goal of spiritual practice is already accomplished, no cause (hetu) of this state is required, and scripture will therefore be useless. Madhusudana answers that "scripture serves in the acquisition of the form of the Lord, which in turn prevents the mind's taking on the form of other objects," and he further specifies that this experience of God is "generated by scripture" (sastra- janya) . 62 Note that both the objection and the response assume that scripture is in some way the cause of the state -. of God-realization. The lack of dependence on the Vedic revelation * suggested here is thoroughly in keeping with the democratic spirit of the bhakti movements, and equally opposed to Vedantic exclusivism. It allows devotion -- and through devotion the highest goal of life- to be accessible to those, such as women and members of the lower castes, who are not eligible for Vedic study. This of course raises the question of adhikara or eligibility for bhakti, which Madhusudana does not neglect. An important difference between bhakti and jñana lies in the qualifications that

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each path demands of its aspirants. MadhusUdana states it in the most radical form possible: "While all living beings are qualified for devotion, only the renunciates of the highest degree (paramahamsaparivrajakas) who are possessed of the four-fold means are eligible for the knowledge of Brahman. "63 The full significance of Madhusudana's opening the devotional path to "all beings" in the BR will become apparent in the discussion of the relation of bhakti and moksa below. The last difference between devotion and knowledge discussed in section I has also been touched upon above. The end or result of the bhakti is "an abundance of love for the Blessed Lord, " while that of knowledge is "the cessation of the Ignorance which is the root of all evil. "64 This again emphasizes the fact that, for the the bhakta, the highest goal of life is devotion itself, not moksa. For convenience, the final list of "parallel differences" between bhakti and knowledge can be expressed, in the order of qualification, means, nature, object, and result, as follows: (1) all beings/the highest renunciates, by (2) hearing the BP/hearing the "great sayings" (3) attain a conditioned experience/an unconditioned experience (4) having the Lord as its object/having Brahman as its object and (5) divine love as its result/liberation as its result. The homology is thoroughgoing. It is obviously intended as

185 a justification of bhakti's being an independent path leading to its own goal, and to recommend devotion as an experience as valid as, and at least equal' to, the knowledge so prized by the Advaitins. All of these distinctions and parallels apply, of course, to devotion and knowledge as vrttis, which we may. now be confident to recognize in each case as a secondary or' figurative use of the terms. In their true, ontological dimensions, bhakti and jñana also show parallelism, even if it is a somewhat abbreviated one .. It is that they are identical with, respectively, bhagavat and Brahman. The real extent of the difference between these two realities, as conceived by Madhusudana, is not made clear in the BR, but at least we have established that one, conditioned in nature, may be identified with Isvara and that the other, .A the unconditioned, is the para Brahman.

5.8 Bhakti and Moksa If bhakti is similar to the akhandakaracittavrtti in structure, it is also similar in at least some of its results. In section XI, as we have seen, Madhusudana states that one of the important features which distinguishes knowledge of Brahman from bhakti is that the goal of the former is the destruction of Ignorance. This at first seems to imply that bhakti does not have this particular virtue.

186 Yet we read later that the manifestation of God in bhakti brings about what amounts to the same result: it puts an end to the experience of all other objects. MadhusUdana says: Because the numberless forms of objects (visayakara) that have entered the mind since beginningless time are destroyed by such a mental form of the Lord, and He alone shines forth, the purpose of life is accomplished.65 But the form of the Lord that is generated by scripture, though appearing as if remote at the beginning of practice, gradually removes the forms of objects from the mind and, when lead through the advanced levels of practice to immediacy, completely destroys them. 66 There follows a typically Advaitic discussion of the process in which external objects are falsely superimposed on Consciousness, with the differences that bhagavat takes the place normally occupied by Brahman, and the manifestation of God in bhakti is equated with knowledge. Thus: The main point here is that the objects which imprint their forms in the mind are not distinct from the Lord because they are superimposed on Him. . Because that which is superimposed is annulled by the knowledge of its substratum, all things vanish at the manifestation of the Lord and merge in Him. 67 There is no conclusion possible here but that Madhusudana is saying that devotion leads to the same result as brahma- vidya -- namely, the destruction of Ignorance, the revelation of Brahman as the underlying Consciousness, and the attainment of moksa. Bhakti is distinct from knowledge, especially in being a conditioned or savikalpaka experience and being independent of Vedic revelation, but it also leads to liberation.

187 This at first seems perplexing. We might wonder whether or not Madhusudana is being inconsistent, since he stated earlier that having moksa as its goal was one of the features of knowledge of Brahman that distinguish it from bhakti. Ultimately he is not, because he is here adopting the stance of the BP and the devotional schools, which devalue the quest for moksa in favor of the greater bliss of bhakti. Moksa is not the goal. The joy of bhakti is so much greater than the joy of liberation that the question of the bhakta's acquisition of the latter is incidental, even though it may in fact occur. 68 In this connection, MadhusUdana takes over and carefully articulates the devotionalists' distinction between bhakti as a spiritual practice or means (sadhana) and bhakti as an end (sadhya or phala).69 The aim of bhakti is not liberation, an experience of a totally different order than devotion, but a fully manifested, self-validating and self-sustaining mode of bhakti itself. This, we have seen, is the state described in the first stanza as the "experience'of bliss untouched by any suffering. "70 Despite what Madhusudana has said about bliss being the parama- purusartha, of which bhakti, moksa, and samadhi are alternative forms, the reader of the BR increasingly becomes aware of the insistent implication that, from the perspective of the devotee at least, devotion is without question the highest goal.

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MadhusOdana is well aware that his elevation of bhakti to the status of paramapursartha is in direct opposition to the teachings of orthodox Advaita. Nevertheless, he continues to hold to it, sometimes quite explicitly, sometimes less so, throughout the text. In section XI we find a rejection of the traditional thinking of the Samkara school that is bold and direct. The objector, who is speaking on behalf of the orthodox, raises the criticism that devotees will not experience the desire for liberation (mumuksutva) "because of the impossibility of detachment from the bliss of devotion," and that, mumuksutva being one of the four qualifications71 specified by Samkara, they will consequently be ineligible for the study of Vedanta. The implication, of course, is that this would be a great misfortune since, if tradition is right, they cannot attain moksa without such study. Madhusudana readily admits the truth of the objection as stated. He fails, however, to see any calamity in it: We admit that this is true, because one already attached to the bliss of devotion does not undertake such study. . . . But the impossibility of detachment from the bliss of devotion is certainly not a source of distress; in fact, it is desirable. 72 If indeed the inability to study the Vedas prevents a bhakta from attaining moksa, he seems to be saying, then so much the worse for moksa. The devotee does not care, for he is in pursuit of a higher goal.

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The desire for moksa is again depreciated in section XXIV, where Madhusudana describes it as evidence of a lower. stage of spiritual non-attachment. According to this understanding, the yearning for release is itself an attachment which prevents the attainment of the highest love for God and is thus an obstacle to complete fulfillment of life.73 A higher non-attachment is essential for the ultimate experience of devotion; it is characterized by a "lack of regard for all goals, including liberation. "74 There follows a series of twelve verses from the BP, which amply illustrate the distinctive teaching of that text, here echoed by Madhusudana, that the true devotee does not desire liberation in any form. All this, however, is not to say the the devotee does not attain final release. The implication of many of the BP verses which devalue the quest for liberation is that, though the devotee does not desire moksa, the Lord grants it anyway. 75 As early in the text as section VII MadhusOdana tells us that "release from transmigratory existence is inevitable for the devotee, "76 and we have just discussed section XXIII, where the manifestation of bhagavat in bhakti is said to produce a state which, though Madhusudana refuses to label it explicitly as such, is in effect indistinguishable from liberation.

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In sections XXV and XXVI of the BR, Madhusddana discusses the relation of knowledge, non-attachment, and devotion; he comes to the interesting conclusion that the' higher non-attachment which is a prerequisite for perfect bhakti cannot exist without knowledge. "First comes knowledge of the Lord," he says, "then there arises the higher non-attachment, and then the devotion which is of the nature of ecstatic love (preman)."77 He must of course specify what he means here by knowledge. Is it reverent awareness of God's greatness (mahatmyajñana), as in Vallabha's definition of bhakti?78 Although such an understanding of knowledge might be expected in a devotional treatise, it is not what Madhusudana has in mind. He describes the realization that must come prior to the attainment of the highest levels of devotion as follows: Everything other than the Blessed Lord, because it is transient, is false (mayika) like a dream. It is devoid of true significance, painful, and to be shunned. The Blessed Lord alone is real; He is the supreme bliss, self-luminous, eternal, the one to be sought after. This is the kind of knowledge spoken of. 79 This is clearly the Advaitins' direct realization of Brahman. To confirm this, we need only note that, by way of illustration, Madhusudana quotes a series of verses from both the BP and the BG80 in which the word jñanin ("possessor of knowledge"), a common designation of the Advaitin who has experienced the truth of non-duality, appears no less than seven times. Any doubt as to the

191 meaning of jmanin in this context is removed when we consider that among these verses we again encounter BG 7.16- 19. In this passage, we will recall, the jñanin is described by Krsna as the highest type of devotee, as one who is dear to Him, who has realized after many births that "Vasudeva is all." Samkara refers to these lines in his commentary on the Gfta several times to establish the superiority of the man of Advaitic realization, 81 and Madhusudana, who follows Samkara closely in his GAD, glosses BG 7.18 thus: "The jñanin, who knows Me [Krsna] as the Self, is that very Self, not different from Me; moreover, I am he. "82 In the BR, he comments on the experience of the jnanin described in 7.19: "Since it is a product of māya, all other than Vasudeva is not real; Vasudeva alone is real, is most dear, because He is the Self."83 Madhusūdana is here certainly thinking of knowledge in the full Advaitic sense, immediate knowledge (aparoksajñana), the direct realization (saksatkara) of the ultimate. To say, however, that such knowledge must precede the full development of bhakti is, since true gnosis is equivalent to moksa, the same as saying that the highest devotional experience comes only after liberation. So again we find the teaching of the BR to be in sharp conflict with standard Advaita doctrine. According to Samkara, as we have seen, knowledge and moksa entail the abolition of all

192 duality, and any suggestion that after realization there might be devotion of any sort, not to speak of a further heightening of the devotional experience, is out of the question. Yet, though Madhusudana here again fails to spell out explicitly the full implications of what he is saying, confirmation of his unorthodox intent is not difficult to find. We need only look at his outline of the eleven stages of devotional experience (bhaktibhUmika) given in stanzas 34-36 and his commentary thereon.84 The description of the sixth stage in this hierarchy is particularly important for the present discussion. It is preceded by four stages of spiritual preparation, and a fifth which consists in the manifestation in the mind of the form of the Lord. This fifth stage is bhakti in a complete but as yet not fully manifested form. Called "love" (rati), it functions as the "permanent emotion" of 'the sentiment of devotion.85 Stages six through eleven are described as the "fruits," i.e., results, of this experience, all but stage six being higher, more developed forms of devotion. These culminate in the "Supreme Limit of Ecstatic Love" (premnah paramakaatha), the eleventh. Stage six, called the "Realization of the Essential Nature" (svarOpadhigati), is somewhat peculiar. It is not a devotional experience as such. Rather it turns out to be nothing less than the immediate intuition of the ultimate that is the goal of

193 Advaita in Madhusudana's words, "the direct realization of the essential nature of the inner Self (pratyagatman)." It includes the knowledge of the fundamental identity of jIva and Brahman taught by the "great saying" of the Upanisad, "That thou art. "86. This realization, in turn, generates the intense non-attachment required for the full manifestation of bhakti. Indeed, it is the same as the knowledge spoken of in sections XXV and XXVI as an essential precursor of the highest devotional experience. "Without it," Madhusudana says, "love (rati), even though it is present, will not reach its full development due to the distractions of the body and senses. "87 The inescapable conclusion from this is that from Madhusudana is teaching that the higher levels of devotion are only experienced by the jIvanmukta, the one who has attained Self-realization while still dwelling in a human body. He is saying, in other words, that the state of liberation-in-life, which itself presupposes knowledge of Brahman, is a prerequisite for the culmination of bhakti. Such a doctrine certainly seems to represent a triumph for the cause of devotionalism in the Samkara school. It may seem a strange teaching to come from the pen of the author of the Adyaitasiddhi, but Madhusudana has already, in section XI, asserted that "even the saints who are liberated-in-life experience devotion to the Blessed Lord,"

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quoting as authority BP 1.7.10.88 It is important to remember that Madhusdana .regards himself as a jIvanmukta as well as a bhakta, and also to be aware that this doctrine of the possibility of devotion in the state of liberation-in- life is a key teaching of his GAD, as wè shall see in chapter nine.

5.9 Bhakti Superior to Mokga At this point, we are finally in a position in which we can piece together and make explicit a reasonably clear picture of the BR's for the most part implicit teaching on .the relation between bhakti and moksa as "goals of life." To work this out, we need only juxtapose (a) the discussion of the relation between knowledge, non-attachment, and devotion in sections XXV-XXVI; (b) the description of the sixth stage of devotional experience in the commentary on stanza 35, which continues and builds on the thought of (a); and (c) Madhusudana's teaching in both the GAD and the BR on the continuance of bhakti in the state of jIvanmukti. Viewed together, these teachings make inescapable the conclusion that our author is depicting devotion in its developed stages as a more advanced and more desirable level of spiritual experience than moksa. The Blessed Lord first appears in the melted mind of the devotee as early as stage five, at which point the

195 bhakta is already experiencing the sattvikabhavas ("ecstatic modes"), outward symptoms of an intensely moving inner experience. 89 This, however, is only the "sprout" (ankura) the mere beginning, of bhakti. At stage six, the devotee realizes the bliss of the Self, but even this -- the final goal of traditional Advaita -- is not the end. He goes on to experience and increasingly more blissful levels of spontaneous ecstatic love of bhagavat, plumbing the full range of premabhakti as it was enjoyed by great devotees such as Prahlada and the gopis. Though Madhusudana gives us only a sketchy outline of the higher stages of devotion, it is clear that he regards them as further and more blissful developments beyond the state of Self-realization attained at stage six. If, as we have seen, bhakti, moksa, and yogic samadhi are all forms in which the supreme bliss which is the goal of life may be realized, the implication of the BR is that bhakti is the highest of these -- that is to say, the highest mode in which the paramapurusartha can be relished.90 This is why, his initial effort to widen the concept of paramapurusartha by trahsferring that title from liberation to bliss notwithstanding, it is still possible for MadhusUdana to speak of bhakti by itself as the highest goal of life. Except for Madhusudana's close verbal identification of bhagavat and the inner Self, and the consequent

196 abstractness of his image of the former, his analysis of the relation between bhakti, and moksa is strikingly similar to that presented by the Gaudtya Vaisnavas. As we have seen, the Gosvamins regard the emancipation of the soul from the bondage of mayasakti as preliminary to the emergence of true bhakti. The underlying rationale of Madhusudana's sixth stage is exactly the same, and it accomplishes a similar end: overcoming, through realization of the atman, the hindrances to devotion imposed by bondage to ordinary psychophysical existence. The conception of atman is of course different, but in each case it must be realized in preparation for the highest experience of bhakti.91 On the principle that mystic realization in its nirvisesa ("qualityless") form is much less blissful than savisesa ("qualified") realization, the Gosvāmins regard union with brahman to be far inferior to the vision of bhagavat. 92 Again, Madhusudana's analysis of the stages of bhakti reflects a similar attitude. It suggests what for an Advaitin is an almost heretical conclusion, namely, that the nirvikalpaka realization is less, at least experientially speaking, than the savikalpaka. It is almost as if Madhusudana has accepted the classical Vaisnava belief that in Advaitic moksa, since it is a unitive state, bliss is not experienced while in bhakti it is experienced so intensely that the jmanin must remained unfulfilled unless he too can

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taste it in that form.93 Having defined bhakti as supreme bliss (paramananda), he later on in the BR begins to talk of it as preman ("ecstatic love"), which is a key term of the Gaudtya school, as we have seen. He alludes in passing to "the devotion which is of the nature of ecstatic love, "94 and goes on to designate the highest stage of bhakti as "the Supreme Limit of Ecstatic Love. "95 Although MadhusUdana again is frustratingly vague, it is possible that, since bhakti is both bliss and preman, he is using the latter term to designate the particular kind of bliss experienced in the higher stages of devotion. Preman is the bliss of bhagavat/Brahman, not just attained, but experienced fully and richly in the style of the great devotees of the Bhagavata. This further development and articulation of the ecstatic bliss experience is the chief interest of the theory of devotional sentiment, to which we shall turn in the next chapter. Although, like the Gosvamins, Madhusudana attempts to transfer bhakti from the realm of the mind and its affections to the sphere of the truly real, it is not clear that he carries this task through, with sufficient attention . to detail, to a convincing end. We finish reading the BR with the feeling that, however impressive the presentation, the question of the final metaphysical value of devotion remains to be considered. The difficulty is the same lack

198 of directness that characterizes the whole text. The reader is forced ascertain the trend of the argument and extend it, on his own, Uto its logical conclusion. The key, of course, is Madhusudana's identification of bhakti with bhagavat. Because he often speaks as if bhagavat were equivalent to Brahman, it is obvious that he wants to suggest that bhakti shares an equal, i.e., absolute, ontological status. Then . message of the BR is not only that bhakti is an independent path, not only that it is blissful, but also that it is fully real and thus capable of being ejoyed eternally as the supreme goal of human existence. The problems involved in justifying such a conception of devotion in an Advaitic context will be discussed separately in my critical reflections in part III, chapter eight.

CHAPTER SIX

BHAKTI AND SANSKRIT AESTHETICS

Although the philosophical problems inherent in the relation between bhakti and Advaita are the chief interest of the present study, an introduction to the BR would not be complete without a discussion of the theory of rasa or poetic "sentiment" that figures so prominently in the text. The notion of bhaktirasa, the "sentiment of devotion," in fact was important in all of the North Indian schools of Krsna devotion that drew their inspiration from the Bhagavata. Accordingly, this chapter will provide a brief survey of the subject. An overview of the theory of rasa, as developed by the writers on Sanskrit poetics (alamkāra- sastra),1 will be followed by a short history of its adoption by the Krsnaite devotional movements. The Bengal Vaișnava exposition of bhaktirasa will be discussed as the primary example of this development. Then, in the last section, a summary of Madhusudana's views will be given. Certain technical details of the rasa-theory, not essential to the general discussion here, will be elaborated in the notes to the translation in part II.

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200 6.1 Bhakti, Myth, and Imagination Once the rasa-theory had been adapted to their particular religious milieu, the Vaisnava teachers placed a great deal of emphasis on it and indeed developed it to a high level of sophistication. Still, classical Sanskrit aesthetics, from the standpoint of, the devotionalists, was a secular: (laukika) discipline.2 Although it had, a good deal to say about human emotions and their expression in poetry and drama, it was indifferent, if not hostile, toward 1 bhakti. The reason that devotional theologians took such an inordinate interest in the rasa-theory willvnot therefore be immediately apparent, This may especially be true for those whose familiarity with Indian spirituality is confined to the ascetically oriented forms more well-known in the West.3 Understanding, in this case, must begin with a clear appreciation of the fact that the divine sports of Krsna's youth in Vrdavana were the central, all-consuming focus of the religious life of the post-Bhagavata Vaisnava schools in the North. This particular concentration resulted in a high religious valuation being placed on the accounts of the god's exploits that were contained in the puranas, especially the BP, and the rich literary tradition dependent on those texts. We have already mentioned that the intense love of the gopfs for their Lord was taken as the paradigm of the highest and most ecstatic kind of bhakti. Other

201 modes of devotion were illustrated by the love for Krsna experienced by, for example, his friends, his parents, br the sages that happened to have contact with him.4 It must be emphasized that the stories that made these various expressions of bhakti present and real for the devotees were not treated in simple allegorical fashion, as is now too often the practice. They were not reduced to a collection of symbols "standing for," say, certain abstract metaphysical states, or stages of attainment realized through yoga. Rather, the whole Krsna-lIla was taken integrally as a mythic narrative that, continuously recounted and reenacted in various ritual contexts in the community, had to be, not symbolically deciphered for its "meaning" in terms of metaphysics or spiritual praxis, but imaginatively and whole-heartedly entered into. .. The interaction of the devotee with the Krsna-story. took place in a way that was essentially dramatic in inspiration. The theme of the Lord's play or lila suggested that the activities of the unborn, infinite bhagavat on earth were a role assumed in fun, a kind of divine stage- play with hidden, cosmic dimensions. This, combined with the aesthetic and emotional richness of the literary accounts of the life of the cowherd avatara, seem naturally to have lead the Vaisnava community to see drama as a means of drawing the devotee closer to God.5 As Hein has shown,

202 vernacular Krgna plays were popular in ancient Mathura, the traditional birthplace of the deity, as early as the second century B.C.E. And drama -- in practice as well as concept -- continued to be a central element of Krsnaite spirituality.6 The bhakta was, on one level, an avid spectator of the reenactments of the Lord's lflas that took place in the community, as well as a devoted hearer of the accounts of Krsna's life read in communal gatherings. Such literary- dramatic experiences served as an effective devotional sadhana. In this connection, Wulff (whose work on the plays of Rūpa Gosvamin vividly illustrates this phase of Vaisnava spirituality) notes that even today the popular Krsna dramas have "the power to awaken profound religious emotions in the devotees who witness them, and to sustain and deepen those emotions not only during the period of a single performance but through repeated performances over the course of a devotee's entire lifetime. "7 The serious bhakta was not,. however, confined to role of a mere spectator or auditor. Another, more profound, level of participation was available for the more serious aspirants. The BP describes the gopfs as miming Krsna's gestures and sports, and recommends that the devotee do the same.8 Accordingly, the Vaisnavas developed a theory of devotional practice which allowed the devotee to become an actor, not only in the stage play, but ultimately in the divine drama itself.

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Especially in the Bengal school, the highest experience of bhakti came through participation in the mode of devotion experienced by one of the Lord's companions (parikaras), a participation brought about by identification with the character as he, or more likely she, appeared and acted in the mythic narrative. The key practice of advanced aspirants was raganugabhakti -- "devotion following passionate attachment," i.e., bhakti that imitated the love for Krsna that was evidenced by his associates.9 Its essence has been admirably summarized by Kinsley: The devotee seeks to involve himself completely in the ongoing drama of Krsna by identifying himself with one or another of its participants. In effect, the devotee seeks to replace the ordinary world with the imaginative world of Krsna and his companions. While remaining physically'in the ordinary world, he seeks to remove himself from it by constantly remembering the transcendental world of Krsna and imagining himself to be a part of that world. With the help of acriptural descriptions, he tries to conjure up a world that is as real and immediate to him as the ordinary world in which he normally lives.10 Comparing the aesthetic approach of the GaudIyas with the ascetic orientation of Yoga, Kinsley writes: The Bengal Vaisnava devotee does not seek to still his mind but stir it by imagination. In yoga the sadhaka attains samadhi by immobilizing his mind and intellect -- by stopping the imaginative process. In Bengal Vaișnavism the devotee attains samadhi by ceaselessly imagining himself to be a female companion of Krsna.11 This spirituality of imaginative participation was taken very seriously, and worked out in careful detail, by the Vaisnava theologians. In order to provide a conceptual

204 basis for it, they had to deal with several important problems. How, to begin with, could the devotees enter the realm of the divine drama? To a certain extent the solution was obvious: by natural acts of piety such as reciting the story, meditating on it, acting it out in religious plays, and even, if possible, taking up residence in the place where the events took place, where the hallowed landmarks were yet recognizable and the memory of the divine presence was still alive. These practices were of course adopted and no doubt were effective. But theoretical difficulties remained. How could the bhaktas actually realize the emotions experienced by other persons who were actors in a drama that was, whether temporally or metaphysically, removed from them? And, especially perplexing, how could men, if they wished to enjoy the bliss of the highest bhakti, participate in the love of the female gopis for the male character Krsna? Fortunately, since drama had for many centuries been regarded in India as the highest, most comprehensive form of art, almost identical questions had already been explored in depth by the writers on Sanskrit aesthetics. It was therefore natural for the Vaisnava theologians to turn to the theories of these "secular" thinkers for aid in conceptualizing their particular imaginative and dramatically-oriented style of devotional sadhana.12

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6.2 The Theory of Rasa The first formal expression of Sanskrit aesthetics known to us is the Natyasastra (NS), a wide-ranging work which deals with drama, dance, and music as well as literary criticism. Though it is likely that the text contains much that is derived from more ancient tradition, the present redaction is dated at about the sixth century C.E.13 The Natyasastra gives credit for its authorship to the sage Bharata, who in the verses of the text expounds the art which he himself is said to have received from the god Brahma. The rich and often highly technical literature of Sanskrit aesthetics, developed by such writers as Dandin, Abhinavagupta, and Visvanatha, was based upon Bharata's authoritative exposition. The doctrine of rasa, which became the central focus of poetic theory, was first enunciated in its sixth chapter. , A rasa is an emotion, identified as the primary mood of a piece of poetry or a drama, that has been developed to a heightened, idealized state in a process of interaction between a well-executed literary work and a sympathetic connoisseur (rasika). As such, it may be enjoyed for its own intrinsic aesthetic pleasure. Difficult to translate, the term is usually rendered as "sentiment."14 Etymologically, rasa refers to the act of tasting, and hence has the root-meaning "taste" or "flavor."15 It is used, for

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example, to refer to the pleasurable savor of food or drink. In its technical aesthetic usage, however, it suggests, not the enjoyment of pleasures of the mundane world, but rather the blissful contemplation of the impersonal aesthetic emotions suggested by a work of art. The essence of rasa, it is said, is wonder or astonishment (camatkara),16 and the writing of the Sanskrit rhetoricians represents, in large part, an inquiry into the mechanics and preconditions of this highly valued experience, which is held to be the true aim of all artistic expression. In the classical tradition of poetics, eight rasas are recognized: srngara ("erotic love"), hasya ("comedy"), karuna ("compassion"), raudra ("fury"), vIra ("heroism"), bhayanaka ("terror"), bIbhatsa ("revulsion"), and adbhuta ("astonishment").17 The basis or, one might say, the "raw material" of these rasas is bhava, "emotion. "18 Eight "permanent emotions" (sthayibhavas), each associated with its respective rasa, are recognized: rati ("love"), hasa ("mirth"), soka ("grief"), krodha ("anger"), utsaha ("energy"), bhaya ("fear"), jugupsa ("disgust"), and vismaya ("wonder").19 Since other emotions are not acknowledged as possible sources of sentiment, and each sentiment must have a distinct emotional basis, the number of sthayibhavas and the number of rasas are both limited to eight. The goal of the artist's craft is to facilitate the transformation of

207 the permanent emotion into its corresponding aesthetic sentiment. Two explanations are given of the significance of the adjective "permanent" (sthayin), sometimes translated as "dominant," in the term "permanent emotion." The first and possibly original interpretation is that the particular bhava so qualified is the principal or prevailing emotion of the literary piece. As such, according to the theorists, it should not be overshadowed by any other moods that might be introduced into the composition. Whether complementary or seemingly opposed, the secondary emotions must be used only in an interplay carefully orchestrated so as to strengthen the primary mood. The other explanation builds on the idea that the sthayibhava is constantly present in the mind of the sensitive spectator in the form of a vasana or samskara, "latent impression." In this respect it is, once acquired, quite literally a permanent component of the psyche, though its conscious experience may be occasional and transitory. 20 The notion of sthayIbhava as samskara suggests another important aspect of the rasa theory, namely, the idea that whether or not an individual experiences rasa when encountering a given literary work does not depend solely on the skill and insight of the artist. Those desirous of appreciating the work must have the latent impressions of the appropriate emotion present in their minds in subtle

208 form; otherwise, they will never be able to savor the sentiment portrayed. If one has not experienced love, for example, and acquired thereby the appropriate sthayIbhava, one will not be able to fully enjoy even an inspired presentation of that emotion. For this reason, the theoreticians.of rasa universally declare: "Only the connoisseurs of the rasa are capable of relishing the rasa. "21 The latent impressions which constitute the sthayi- bhava are derived from empirical experience, either in this life or in a previous birth. 22 Such experience is the mundane (laukika) cause of emotion. When a work of poetry or drama is being enjoyed, the scene, persons, dialogue, actions, and other depicted factors serve as "supramundane" (alaukika) causes which arouse the latent permanent emotion and develop it into a rasa. Though the elements of the art form that thus serve to arouse the latent impression of the sthayibhava may resemble the emotion's original, empirical causes, there is an important difference. The literary causes are generalized, that is to say, divorced from all personal association and historical particularity. Therefore they are capable of producing -- not merely heightened emotion of the ordinary (i.e., personal) kind -- but rasa, a universal, idealized sentiment. Though the rasa is enjoyed by particular individuals, they neither identify

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it as their own private emotion nor think that they are the only ones capable of enjoying it. The sentiment has become impersonal and, like its literary causes, supramundane (alaukika). The process of aesthetic generalization (sadharani- karana) lifts the connoisseur out of his or her individual: moods, limited as they are by ego and its attendant. anxieties, to a state of self-transcendence in which the rasa may be contemplated calmly and happily. This explains why commonplace emotions such as fear and grief, usually painful when encountered in a personal way, are not so when contemplated'in idealized form as aesthetic sentiments. Ordinary emotions are either pleasurable or painful, but the experience of rasa, of no matter what variety, is one of pure joy, beyond the dualities of feeling that trouble the heart in everyday life. 23

The aesthetic experience thus involves a self- forgetfulness and a bliss that is closely parallel to -- and, in a sense, an anticipation of -- the blissful transcendence found in spiritual liberation or knowledge of Brahman. Indeed, rasa theorists are fond of comparing rasasvada ("the relishing of sentiment") with brahmasvada ("the experience of Brahman").24 In Visvanatha's Sahityadarpana, for . example, we find the following description of rasa: "It is pure, indivisible, self-manifested, compounded equally of

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joy and consciousness, free of admixture with any other perception, the very twin brother of mystic experience (Brahmasvadana sahodarah), and the very life of it is supersensuous (lokottara) wonder."25 The aesthetic and the spiritual experience, however, differ in several important respects. These have been well stated by S. K. De:' It [the experience of rasa] is like the state of the soul serenely contemplating the absolute (brahmasvada), with the difference that the state of detachment is not so complete or permanent. The artistic attitude is thus recognized as entirely spiritual. But the idealized artistic creation affords only a temporary release from the ills of life by enabling one to transcend, for the moment, personal relations or practical interest; it restores equanimity of mind (visranti) by leading one away, for the time being, from the natural world and offering another in its place. It is an attitude of pure bliss, detached spiritual contemplation (cid- svabhava samvid), similar to but not the same as the state of true enlightenment which comes only to the knower who, no longer on the empirical plane, transcends permanently the sphere of pleasure and pain. 26

6.3 Religious Application of the Rasa Theory Given the closeness of the rasa-experience to spiritual realization and the general tendency in traditional Hindu culture to understand everything in terms of its relation to final salvation, it is not surprising that the list of rasas began to expand at a fairly early date to include sentiments of more overtly religious dimensions. The first rasa to be added to the list was

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santa, the "tranquil" sentiment, associated with the quest for moksa. Its corresponding permanent emotion was F identified as nirveda, distaste for worldly pleasure, which was said to arise from knowledge of reality (tattvajñana). As early as the fifth century A.D. the Jain Anuyogadvara- sutra mentioned santa as a rasa.27 It was accepted by the theorist Udbhata, who wrote in the eighth century, as well as by many of the later writers such as Anandavardhana (ninth century), Abhinavagupta (tenth-eleventh century), and Visvanatha (fourteenth century). Other writers, however, were opposed to the acceptance of santa as a sentiment on the grounds that, being a state of detached absence of emotion, it was neither appropriate for, nor amenable to, dramatic representation. 28 Despite this conservative opposition, the acceptance of santa as the ninth rasa by influential authorities brought the finality of the earlier limitation of the number of rasas to eight into question, and the way for the elevation of other emotions to the status of rasa was opened. Soon new rasas were proposed. Preyas ("friendship") was first mentioned as a rasa by Rudrata (ninth century). Prior to this time it had been considered only a bhava ("secondary emotion").29 Later writers continued to add other moods that they felt to be important to the list of rasas. Among these were sraddha ("faith") and vatsalya ("parental affection").30

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The most important of the new sentiments, however, at least from a religious point of view, was bhakti. It is difficult to determine who first advocated its adoption. Abhinavagupta mentioned that others were proposing bhakti as a new rasa, so the possibility had been broached before his time. But he himself held that bhakti should be regarded as an accessory (anga) of santa<31 This was no doubt a reflection of his own spiritual interests as an exponent of Kashmir Saivism, which were deep but centered more on yogic practice than devotion. The orthodox rhetoricians on the whole did not accept bhakti as a rasa. Shortly after Abhinavagupta, Mammata (eleventh century) decreed that "love directed toward a deity, etc." (ratir devādivisayā) was a bhava, and he explained that the "etc." here included sages, preceptors, kings, and sons but, interestingly enough, not a beloved woman. This meant that, according to this writer, only erotic love was capable of development into a rasa and that bhakti and the others did not have this possibility.32 The fact that this position was widely accepted suggests that many aestheticians did not have serious interest in religious matters. 33 Indeed, even Jagannatha (seventeenth century), writing after the heyday of the advocates of bhaktirasa, still accepted this conservative view. He argued, against Abhinavagupta, that bhakti should not be included in santa because it is based on attachment.34

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The advocates of devotion were, understandably, not happy with the orthodox aestheticians' dental of bhaktirasa. Nor could they accept Abhinavagupta's inclusion of bhakti under santa, as this sentiment reflected, not the mood of ecstatic devotion, but that of the detached follower of the path'of knowledge or yogic meditation. They were, we can imagine, intrigued by the idea that aesthetic sentiment transported the appreciator beyond the limitations of his or her personal situation to experience emotion on a universal level. Rasa-theory seemed to provide an ideal conceptual apparatus for explaining the problems, outlined above, entailed by the bhakta's devotional identification with the characters of the Krsna story. If the emotion of a gopf is made available through poetry in such a way as to suggest rasa, any sensitive person can enter into it.35 Participation in the Krsna-lfla, then, becomes open to all who are capable of appreciating the rasas evoked by the works celebrating it.36 Realizing the potential in such thinking, the Vaisnava acaryas took up the study and religious elaboration of aesthetic theory with zeal. Since bhakti is in itself the highest goal as well as the supreme means, they argued, it is not only a rasa but in fact the highest of all rasas. Vopadeva (thirteenth century) was the first, so far as we know, to apply rasa theory to the task of explaining the emotional bhakti of the BP.37 In his Bhagavata-

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muktaphala, this Maharashtrian writer developed the idea that bhakti is the primary rasa, to which the others are subordinate. There are, he stated, hine types of devotee because the experience of bhaktirasa occurs under the form of the nine sentiments, Bharata's original eight plus santa.38 Vopadeva's commentator, Hemadri, argued that bhakti meets all of the technical specifications, such as having a legitimate sthayibhava, 39 normally required of a rasa. If it is argued that bhakti is hot a rasa because of the limited nature of its appeal, said Hemadri, this is true of santa and the other sentiments also. Each of the rasas can be appreciated only by those who are capable of .responding to it.40 Hardy refers to an interesting poem in Old Marathi dated 1316, the Vacchaharana, which shows the influence of Vopadeva in describing Krsna as the one who plays "the drama of the nine rasas." More important, the poem also. introduces a new metaphysical emphasis into the discussion by calling Krsna the "container" of those sentiments. This is the first suggestion that we can find in the literature that the theoreticians of bhaktirasa were working to raise the ontological status of bhakti toward ultimacy. As we shall see, this effort involved a new conceptualization of devotional sentiment, one that elevated it from the sphere of poetic suggestion and psychology to a level that was truly transphenomenal.41

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The pioneering efforts of these Maharashtrian . devotionalists were continued by Vallabha (1481-1533), the founder of an important Krsnaite school of Vedanta and associated devotional sect (sampradaya). The extent of his contribution on the subject of bhaktirasa, however, is difficult to estimate, as it has received practically no scholarly attention to date: 42 The situation, fortunately, is different in respect of the efforts of Rūpa and Jrva Gosvamin (sixteenth century), who developed and elaborated the bhaktirasasastra into a complex system.43 Their work, which is perhaps the best example of the direction this kind of thinking took, has been fairly well studied, thanks particularly to the pioneering efforts of S. K. De.44

6.4 Bhaktirasa in the Theology of the Bengal School Because the recounting of, and imaginative participation in, the stories of Krsna's life formed such a large part of Vaișnava spiritual practice, it was natural and relatively easy for the Goswamins to transfer the theories of classical Sanskrit aesthetics from their literary ambience to the sphere of the devotional cult. In this connection, it should be noted that love (as in other literary traditions) had long been a popular and absorbing theme in Sanskrit drama and poetry. Sanskrit aesthetics had consequently developed the theory of rhgararasa to a high

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level of complexity. and detail, particularly under the influence of such writers as Rudrabhatta (tenth century) and Bhoja (eleventh century).45 This made the rasasastra even more ideally suited to the needs of the Gosvamins, who were especially concerned with explicating the nuances of the ecstatic love-relationship of Krsna and the gopIs.46 From what has been said about rasa-theory thus far, the reader will have noticed that it is not elaborated from the viewpoint of the artist or poet and his act of creation. Rather, the chief focus of study is the sentiment experienced by the individual involved in appreciating the emotions portrayed in the work of art, i.e., the spectator (samajika) or connoisseur (rasika).47 When the theory is applied to bhakti, the devotee takes the place of the artistic connoisseur, and the center of discussion becomes (1) his or her enjoyment of the bliss of devotion and (2) the process of interaction with the drama, in this case the story of Krsna's life and exploits, by which this experience is elicited. The question of the actual locus of rasa is one of the first that must be dealt with. The Vaisnava theologians point out that there is disagreement among the orthodox rhetoricians on this problem. While some hold that the sentiment exists.in the original hero and heroine depicted in the drama and impersonated by the actors, others locate

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it in the actors themselves. Some, such as Visvanatha, hold that it resides in the spectator or connoisseur, and there are yet others who hold that, if the actor is a person of taste (sahrdaya), rasa may exist in both the actor and the audience. The Vaisnavas expand the latter position, .declaring that rasa exists simultaneously in the spectators (samajika), in the actors (anukartr), and in the original characters (anukarya).48 In the case of bhaktirasa, the original characters are Krsna and his associates, such as Radha and the gopfs, his friends, and his foster parents. The roles of both the audience and the actors are taken by the devotees, who assume various bhavas or moods as, in the process of their devotional practice, they imaginatively identify with one or another of Krsna's companions. Five key modes of approach to the divine are recognized in this regard, each associated with particular characters in the scripture who epitomize the kind of relation with Krsna that is involved. Connected with these five devotional moods (pañcabhava) are an equal number of primary (mukhya) bhaktirasas. These, the Vaisnavas believe, are the sentiments truly authenticated by the puranic accounts.49 The five bhavas are arranged hierarchically as follows: (1) santi ("tranquility"), the attitude of enlightened sages -- jmanins or yogins -- like Sanaka; (2) dasya ("servanthood"), experienced by devotess who served Krsna,

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such as Uddhava; (3) sakhya ("friendship"), enjoyed by Arjuna, SrIdhaman, and others; (4) vatsalya ("parenthood"), associated with Nanda and Yasoda, the Lord's foster parents; and (5) madhura ("sweetness"), the mood of erotic love experienced especially by the gopis.50 Ultimately, the sthayibhava of Bhaktirasa is one: namely, "love that has Krsna as its object" (srikrsnavisaya rati).51 In the tranquil mood, this appears in a form uncolored by other emotional attitudes; hence this bhava is also called suddha ("pure").52 In the other four bhavas, love (rati) for Krsna is refracted, as it were, through the prism of various emotional tones, as indicated by the names given these states. It is important to note, though, that these "mixed" moods are considered to be more blissfur, and hence more valuable, than the "tranquil" or "pure" form of devotion. The latter (along with its associated rasa, santa) is regarded as lower than the others because it is based on the realization of God in his Lordly nature (IsasvarOpa) as the four-armed Narayana, 53 which inspires awe in addition to love. The santabhaktas do not desire to serve Krsna or enter into his joyous lIlas, but are satisfied in merely obtaining a vision of the deity (tadfyanubhavamatranistha).54 True ecstatic bhakti, therefore, begins only in dasya, with the emergence of a feeling of a distinctly personal relationship with Krsna as

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the supremely blissful bhagavat. Here, the bhakta begins to develop a real sense of participeting with the Lord, in however small a capacity, in hisyeternal sports. After dasya, the ascending order of bhaktirasas is determined by increasing degrees of the feeling of intimacy with Krsna, the recognition of his divine sweetness (madhurya), and a corresponding loss of the sense of his overwhelming majesty and power (aisvarya). The latter, the Gosvamins emphasize, seriously interferes with the ecstatic devotional mood. 55 The hierarchy culminates in the sentiment of the gopis, madhura, the most highly prized of all rasas since it involves the most intimate and most blissful relationship with the Lord. Capable of being experienced in its completeness only by Radha herself, it is called bhaktirasaraj, the "king of all devotional sentiments. "56 Srnigara, the erotic sentiment of the aestheticians, is in this scheme subsumed in madhura. The remaining seven rasas of the classical writers, insofar as they may be associated with Krsna, are given secondary status as gaunabhaktirasas. If they do not involve rati for Krsna, however, they are not rasas at all, since only love for the Lord can elevate them to that state. 57 It is obvious from this that RUpa and JIva do not accept the theories of the rhetoricians without modification. In fact, they alter the system significantly

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in order to accommodate their particular religious ends. Most notable in this connection is their elaboration and extension of the metaphysical dimensions of rasa-theory in the interest of allowing the initially literary encounter with the gopt's Lord to.become a distinctly religious experience. The Gosvamins want to create a situation in which "aesthetic" joy has the potential of genuine, indeed ultimate, soteriological consequences. Thus the Krsna-lfla is règarded as much more than just another historic or even . supernatural event that has been immortalized by a poet. It is an ongoing, transphenomenal reality, eternally taking place on the highest celestial plane. Imaginative identification with the story, therefore, if practiced with sufficient intensity, becomes much more than a source of aesthetic pleasure, more even than a cause of profound religious emotion. It is a means of effecting a change in ontological level, of truly transferring one's being to Krsha's eternal realm or, however briefly, making that world manifest to the devotee dwellinghin the terrestrial sphere. The metaphysical interest continues in the analysis of bhaktirasa itself. The permanent emotion of the devotional sentiment, like that of the poetic rasas, is latent in the heart of the appreciator. But in the case of bhakti, according to the Gosvamins, it is not acquired through ordinary external experience. The sthayibhava of

221 devotion, love for Krsna, is none other than the rati that, as we have already seen in chapter five, is innately present in all beings as an aspect of the Lord's eternal hladint sakti, the divine "power of bliss."58 Krsnarati, the seed of bhaktirasa, is therefore eternal in nature (nityasiddha) and constantly abiding, in latent form, in the heart. As a sthayibhava, it is truly permanent. Bhaktirasa is thus included in the Gosvamins' efforts, discussed in chapter four, to give bhakti a share in ontological ultimacy. Since it develops from this unique spiritual sthayibhava, it is supernatural (alaukika), indeed - divine, in nature. The efforts of ROpa to disassociate bhakti from the mental faculties in which it is manifested are worth recalling here. In this case again, though the sentiment appears in the mind, it is not of the mind: it is a manifestation of the divine bliss itself.59 The orthodox rhetoricians think of their rasas as supramundane (alaukika) because they transcend the cares and limitations. of ordinary daily experience. The Gosvamins, however, never tire of asserting that, in comparison with bhaktirasa, the secular sentiments fair so poorly as to be considered mundane (laukika). Consisting of the material quality of luminosity (sattvaguna), they belong to the realm of maya. 60 The pleasure that the worldly-minded count as rasa is consequently limited and, like all material

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. pleasures, inextricably connected with pain.61 Bhaktirasa is far superior, for its bliss, being that of Krsna's highest sakti, is infinite. Even if it is allowed that the joy of literary sentiment is similar to that of the realization of Brahman, the rhetoricians' case is not helped, for according to Bengal Vaisnava theology, the bliss of Brahman is inferior by far to the bliss of Krsna, the bhagavat; who is the full expression of the Godhead. 62 . In their analysis of the various modes and degrees of bhaktirasa that may manifest in the devotee, the Gosvamins, savoring every possible variation of the sentiment, enter with scholastic earnest into seemingly endless detail. . We discover in the end, however, after all the classifications and lists of minutiae are patiently gone through, that the ultimate locus and final connoisseur of rasa is Krsna himself, not the devotee. Against Mammata's dictum that devotion to a deity cannot be a sentiment, the Vaisnavas argue that this objection applies only to the "ordinary" deities (prakrtadeva), not to Krsna, for as the Upanişad declares: "He, verily, is rasa."63, Devotional sentiment is raised from the level of the psychological to the highest ontic plane: rasa somehow constitutes the essential nature of bhagavat. That which appears in different devotees resulting in various modes of ecstatic love is the one, eternal, infinite rasa. The variety of

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sentiments experienced by jivas is only a limited reflection of the various modes of relationship possible between the Lord and the manifold aspects of his sakti.64 And not only is Krsna rasa itself, as the Upanisad suggests, he is also the supreme rasika, "relisher of rasa." Being perfectly detached and free, and at the same time capable of perfect enjoyment, Krsna is the ideal samajika. In him, the 4 fullness of rasa is experienced eternally by the power of his hladinIsakti, using which he simultaneously, out of grace, manifests bhakti in the heart of his devotees.65

6.5 Madhusudana on Bhaktirasa MadhusUdana's exposition of bhaktirasa is modeled on a pattern that has much in common with that used by the Bengal Vaisnavas. Since Rupa seems to have written his BRS by 1542,66 it is entirely possible that Madhusudana had access to it before writing the BR. Equally possible, however, is that MadhusUdana and the Gosvamins derived their ideas independently, from earlier writers such as Vopadeva, Hemadri, and perhaps Vallabha. Certainly Madhusddana was himself as well-versed in the rasasastra as was Rupa. In the absence, therefore, of a good deal of additional research on the complex religious history of this era, nothing definite can be said about any influence that ROpa may have had on the author of the BR.67

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To establish the legitimacy of bhakti as a rasa is, at any rate, one of the central aims of the Bhaktirasayana. Madhusudana is as emphatic in his assertion of this claim as the Gosvamins. If anger, grief, and fear, which are painful, can become rasas, how can it be denied that bhakti which is infinite bliss, is a rasa? There is, says Madhusudana, no good reason. 68 He takes up the classical objection of the orthodox aestheticians with an attitude similar to that of the Vaisnavas, but he gives his argument a slightly different twist. It may be true that "love for deities" (devadivisaya ratih) is a bhava as the rhetoricians claim. Still,"this only applies when the "other" deities (devantara) are concerned. These gods are limited in nature, being themselves transmigrating souls, and do not embody the highest bliss. The objection, however, does not hold true "in reference to the supreme Self who is the highest bliss. "69 Note here the implied identification of bhagavat and the paramatman, conceived in the Advaitic sense. The theologians of the Bengal school would, of course, vociferously object to this idea. In the theory of the Gosvamins, rati, the sthayi- bhava of bhaktirasa, is a non-phenomenal aspect of Krsna's highest sakti. It is thus, since the sakti is non-different from its possessor, in a real sense identical with Krsna himself. Madhusddana likewise suggests that the permanent

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emotion of the sentiment of devotion is not one derived from ordinary empirical experience. He cannot, however; identify either bhaktirasa or its sthayibhava as a power of the Lord, for in Advaita, as already stated, Isvara's only sakti is maya. He attempts a more radical solution, one he -hopes is a truly non-dualist way of elevating rasa above the phenomenal. Thepermanent emotion of bhaktirasa is not a divine sakti. It is, we have seen, the very form of bhagavat, present in the mind as a reflection. Because it is a reflection of the Lord, who is pure bliss, the sthayibhava also is pure bliss. All the more, then, will the rasa that is developed from it be so. 70 · In our discussion in chapter five above, we noted that defining bhakti as the reflection of the Lord is, according to Advaitic theory, the same as identifying it. with him. This, we said, makes it impossible to speak of bhakti as a mode (vrtti) of the mind. Madhusudana confirms that this was his intention by making clear, in chapter , three of the BR, both that rasa is equivalent to the supreme reality and that it is. distinct from the vrtti which manifests it. His approach in the first chapter was indirect, here it is much more straightforward. Making reference to TU 2.7.1, he explicitly identifies rasa with the Upanisadic atman: "`Rasa is the supreme bliss, the very Self,' so say the scriptures. "71 Again:

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Rasa is said to be the sthayibhava manifested as bliss . . . .Since this bliss is that of the Self, it has no locus or support, but the [locus and support] of the vrtti which manifests it is the mind of the connoisseur. 72 The second half of this verse introduces the idea, so . important to the Gosvamins' exposition, of the disassociation of rasa from the mental modification: This notion is repeated emphatically later on: A single modification of the mind, consisting of the material quality of luminosity, is produced. in the sthayibhava and the trio of causative factors, 73 Absorbe₫ it is determined by the combination of these. This [módification] immediately and necessarily manifests the supreme bliss, and that [bliss] is rasa. Some teachers, however, hold that this [modification] itself is rasa. 74

Madhusudana, then, like the Gosvamins and for similar reasons, takes pains to show that the sentiment of devotion is more than a mere mental phenomenon. The rasa is not the vrtti of the mind, as a traditional Advaitin might hold; it is the supreme bliss (sukham uttamam) itself. Another parallel with Vaisnava writers can be seen in the fact that Madhusudana consistently contradicts the secular aestheticians' estimation of their sentiments as alaukika ("supramundane") by referring to them as laukika ("mundane") in comparison with bhaktirasa. He displays, however, somewhat more sympathy than the Govamins for the non-devotional rasas, since he admits that they, like bhakti, are also blissful. From the perspective of Advaita,

.227 he points out, all objects -- including even the seductive heroine (kamint) of the secular love story -- are in reality non-different from Consciousness (caitanya), which is infinite joy. The happiness derived from the worldly. sentiments is consequently not finally different from the supreme ananda of Brahman. It is, however, not the pure bliss of the ultimate itself, but the bliss of that Consciousness as conditioned, and hence limited, by the objects. Hence the joy of the mundane rasas is restricted. The bliss of bhaktirasa, on the other hand, since it is nothing other than the pure, unconditioned bliss of God, is unlimited and far superior to the joy of the worldly sentiments. 75 Bhakti, then, is the highest rasa, because it is the supreme bliss in its perfect fullness, untainted by sorrow. The erotic and the other secular sentiments cannot attain such levels of joy, and are therefore inferior. In comparison with bhaktirasa, they are like fireflys trying to shine in the face of the sun. 76 In the second chapter of the BR, MadhusUdana enters upon a lengthy and complex analysis of the various types and possible combinations of sthayibhavas and rasas. Though the concern for complex detail is comparable with that of the Gosvamins, Madhusudana's system of rasa seems, at least on the surface, distinctly idiosyncratic. The orthodox rhetoricians accept eight or, if santa is included, at most

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nine sentiments. The Gosvamins admit twelve, the conventional nine plus dasya, sakhya, and vatsalya, but refuse the status of rasa to any emotion not involving love . for Krsna. Madhusudana, on the other hand, accepts a total of seventeen sentiments, of which ten are recognized as possible bhaktirasas. At 2.33-34, the latter are listed as: (1) srhgara ("erotic love"), (2) karuna ("compassion"), (3) hasya ("mirth"), (4) prItibhayanaka ("love-in-fear"), (5) adbhuta ("wonder"), (6) yuddhavIra ("heroism in battle"), (7) danavIra ("heroism in charity"), (8) suddha ("pure"), (9) vatsala ("parental affection"), and (10), preyas ("dearness" or "friendship").77 A complete exposition of the reasoning behind this list must remain beyond the scope of the present study. Madhusudana's scheme is complex, and its presentation in chapters two and three of the BR is in many places opaque. 78 Several salient points, however, are essential to the present discussion. First, santa, which is admitted by both Vopadeva and Rupa Gosvamin as a legitimate bhaktirasa, is explicitly rejected as such by Madhusudana since, according to him, it cannot have bhagavat as its object.79 This suggests (1) that he follows the classical tradition of the aestheticians in associating santa with the disciplines of jñana and yoga, which aim at Brahman-knowledge and moksa, and (2) that he

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wishes, because of this association, to separate santa completely from devotion, in accordance with his theory that bhakti is a.distinct path with no positive relation to the quest for liberation.80 This rejection of the tranquil mood as a possible bhaktirasa also reinforces the conceptual distinction, discussed in chapter five above, between bhagavat as the object of devotion and Brahman as the object of knowledge. The Gosvamins also connect santa with the paths of knowledge and yoga, but because they allow in it, as we have seen, both rati for Krsna and a vision of his Lordly form, they are willing to include it as a lesser form of bhakti.

The Vaisnavas' santa finds a close counterpart in Madhusudana's suddharasa. Like the former, the "pure sentiment" of the BR is free from mixture with the various emotional tones associated with human love-relationships; it is prompted solely by the mind's joyous realization of the greatness (mahatmya) of the Lord. 81 As we shall soon see, this sentiment plays a very important role in BR's scheme of rasas

Madhusudana's system differs from the Gosvamins' in that he retains srhgara as the name of the erotic sentiment, whereas the Gosvamins tend to prefer madhura. Also, while dasya and sakhya are included in the BR's. list of rasas, they are not counted separately, as in the Vaisnava scheme,

230 but rather included as two sub-varieties of preyas.82 MadhusUdana, furthermore, gives full recognition to several varieties of bhaktirasa that the Gosvamins de-emphasize or ignore completely. Of course, these differences may well be little more than minor variations on the same theme. ] remains, nevertheless, that the correspondences between these two systems of cataloging devotional sentiment are not always easy to discern. This fact, combined with Madhusūdana's willingness to give emotions not directed toward the Lord the status of rasa, may be taken as evidence of the independence of his work from that of the Bengal school.

It is significant, however, that Madhusudana's suddha, even though he rejects the aestheticians' santa, is hard to distinguish from the Vaisnavas' version of- the latter sentiment. The term suddha, we have seen, is sometimes used by the Gosvamins themselves to designate the sthayibhava of santa. Is this an indication that Madhusudana was borrowing from the Vaisnava tradition? We cannot be sure. In any case, the most important difference between Madhusudana's system and that of the Vainavas has yet to be discussed. It is not so much formal as axiological; that is to say, it concerns the valuation of the rasas listed rather than the question of which sentiments happen to be included in the lists themselves.

9

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Madhusudana appears at first to follow the universal Krnaite tendency to regard srhgara, the love of the gopfs for their Lord; as the highest form of bhakti and the highest rasa. He describes it as "extremely intense" (tIvratIvra), "the most powerful" (balavattara) of all sentiments.83 The gopfs, he says, experience the "supreme sentiment" (paramo rasah), consisting of a sublimely delectable blending of erotic love, parental love, friendship, and love-in-fear -- a mixture in which, according to a standard rule of the aestheticians, the resulting flavor is greater than the sum of its constituent elements.84 Following the Vaisnava tradition of imitative bhakti, he says that a devotee "should subordinate his own mind to that of the VrajadevIs."85 Such thinking, evident also in Madhusudana's *description of the highest stage of bhakti at the end of chapter one of the BR,86 shows just how far he is willing to go, as an Advaitin and a renunciate, to accommodate the ecstatic devotional mood of the Vaisnavas. The description of bhaktirasa given in the second and third chapters of the BR is cast explicitly in terms of the experience of Krsna's companions in Vrndavana. It is designed to suggest the manner in which the divine bliss of bhakti can be richly articulated to include all the ecstatic nuances of the devotion enjoyed by the gopts and the other bhaktas of the BP.

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The glorification of the bhakti of the gopfs, however, is not final. In a radical departure from traditional Vaisnava thought, Madhusudana reserves the highest experience of devotion for those who follow, not the passionate cowherd girls of Vrndavana, but rather the tranquil sage-devotees, the enlightened renunciates who worship Krsna in a more subdued way. This change of emphasis is not immediately obvious, since the discussion of the eleventh and highest stage of devotion in BR 1 does not suggest anything beyond the bhakti based on srīgara. A close examination of several key stanzas of chapter two of the text, however, reveals that Madhusudana does not wish to accept devotion based on the analogy of human passion as the ultimate. At 2.12-13 we get our first clue in this direction: Madhusudana says that "pure love" (suddharati) directed to Krşna is the end of all spiritual practice.87 Such love, we learn, is the basis of suddha, the sentiment of the same name. As we have seen, this love arises out of contemplation of the Lord's greatness (mahatmya) -- not out of erotic desire (kama), as does the love of the gopIs.88 Further on, at 2.46, we pick up two more relevant pieces of information. We are told, first, that this suddhabhakti is the mood of ascetics and saints such as Sanaka and the other eternally youthful, eternally celibate, "mind-born" sons of

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Brahma. Second, we learn that Madhusudana classifies himself in this category of devotees, though of course on a lower level than that of Sanaka. 89 This personal statement, though brief and discrete, is particularly important, since it is the only clue we have as to Madhusdana's understanding of his own place in the scheme of bhakti outlined in the BR, and since it would be quite natural for him to regard his own style of devotion as the highest. We begin to see -- even if only in vaguest outline -- a move toward the reclamation, revalorization, and reinsertion into" Krsnaite devotionalism of a mode of bhakti reminiscent of that of the BG and the Visnu Purana. Although relegated to the lowest level by the Gosvamins, this style of devotion is certainly more compatible with the ascetic, non-dualistic orientation of the Samkara samnyasin than the passionate and loving attachment of the cowherd girls. And it is not without scriptural precedent, even in the Bhagavata. 90 Stanzas 2.73 and 2.64-65 confirm that this is the direction in which Madhusudana is heading. While the love of the gopfs is mixed with elements of a variety of sentiments rooted in secular and very human emotions, Madhusudana tells us that this is not the case with the suddhabhakti of the great saints: Being devoid of elements of other sentiments, [pure love] like that of Sanaka and the rest, attains the Essential Nature (svarUpa) and becomes the tenth sentiment, which is even greater.91

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Again:

The pure (suddha) is declared to be unconditioned, and the mixed, to be conditioned. The unconditioned is based solely on the majesty of the Supreme Bliss. It is said, owing to the infinite virtues of its object of worship, to have only one form. 92 Several points are worthy of mention here. The first is that, taken together, these verses help explain the significance of Madhusudana's characterization of bhakti, at BR 1.1, as "either mixed with the nine sentiments or pure (kevala). 93 Since Madhusudana lists ten bhaktirasas at 2.33-34, we may be initially confused as to the meaning of his reference to nine in the first verse of the work, until at 2.73 we see that he understands suddha as the "tenth" sentiment. The "pure" or "unmixed" devotion of 1.1 is, then, the suddhabhaktirasa of BR 2. Second, by saying that this type of bhakti is "unconditioned," he means that it is free of the various emotional colorings associated with the nine "mixed" sentiments. Madhusudana's conception of suddha thus again resembles that of the Gosvamins. But while the latter seem to believe that this particular kind of "purity" is a drawback, Madhusudana regards it as an advantage. This is our third point, and here the similarity between the two views ceases abruptly. The author of the BR implicitly rejects the Vaisnava evaluation of the mood of the ascetics in his assertion that suddhabhakti is able, by virtue of its lack of extraneous emotional conditioning, to participate

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more intimately in the bliss of the "essential nature" (svardpa) of God. It is therefore an "even greater" sentiment. Although one wishes here even more earnestly than elsewhere in the second and third chapters of the BR for a commentary to provide further elucidation of Madhusudana's meaning, his elevation of the tranquil bhakti of the renunciates above the passionate rasa of the gopIs, and in this his flagrant violation of hallowed Vaisnava precedent, is clear enough. 94 The last and certainly not the least important idea introduced here is contained in the enigmatic attribution to suddhabhakti of "only one form" (ekarupa). Pandeya, the author of the Hindi commentary, explains this as meaning that suddhabhakti is experienged only in the mode of union or consummation (sambhoga) and not, as in the case of s srhgara, in the two forms of union and separation (vipra- lamba).95 If this is Madhusudana's intention, as seems likely, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that, at the pinnacle of his scheme of devotion, he is allowing a dramatic resurgence of the spirit of Advaita. The ecstatic pain of love-in-separation, while an essential ingredient of gopf-bhakti and a vital element in the traditional Krsnaite understanding of preman and mahabhava, 96 is ultimately eliminated in Madhusudana's version of suddhabhakti.

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We thus find that the higher Vaisnava bhavas, which are patterned after normal human modes of. love (and involve the tension of union/separation as a defining feature), are finally subordinated in the BR to a more ascetic, contemplative, and essentially unitive style of devotion -- one that is, we can venture to say, more appropriate to the emotional life of a sophisticated non-dualist renunciate.

PART II: THE TEXT

CHAPTER SEVEN

AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE FIRST CHAPTER OF MADHUSUDANA SARASVATI'S BHAKTIRASAYANA, WITH MADHUSUDANA'S OWN COMMENTARY

I. Opening Prayer and Introduction to Stanza Onel

I bow to that wondrous Being2 in the home of Nanda, 3 before whom even Girfsa4 prostrates in worship, assuming eleven-foldedness, as it were, with [ten] forms. reflected in the nails of His feet.5 In order to overcome possible obstacles at the commencement of his work, the author, foremost among the learned,6 begins with7 an auspicious verse in the form of a meditation upon the Blessed Lord.8 He then proceeds to explain the topic and the purpose of the text, and the relation of the text to the topic,9 because these things must be made known before any discriminating person will take interest:

. 1: THEY SAY THAT THE YOGA OF DEVOTION10 TO MUKUNDA, 11 EITHER MIXED WITH THE NINE. SENTIMENTS OR PURE, 12 IS THE HIGHEST GOAL OF LIFE13 IN. THIS WORLD. 14 WHICH IS THE EXPERIENCE OF INCOMPARABLE BLISS15 THIS DEVOTION, UNTOUCHED BY ANY SUFFERING, I SHALL EXPLAIN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEACHINGS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN ORDER TO BRING CONTENTMENT TO EVERYONE.

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II. The Four Types of Yoga Four yogas, 16 namely the yoga of action, 17 the eight-fold yoga, 18 the yoga of knowledge, 19 and the yoga of devotion, are well known as being the means to the highest goal of life. The Lord declares: . Three yogas have been taught by Me with the desire to confer the highest good on humanity. They are the yogas of knowledge, action, and devotion. There is ho other means whatsoever. 11.20.1620 Here, the eight-fold yoga is to be understood as included within the yoga of knowledge, because it too is taught in verses such as the following: Having controlled the breath and having mastered the proper yogic posture, one should tirelessly steady the mind, holding it on a single point by means of non- attachment and constant practice. 11.9.11

III. Preliminary Purification of the Mind through the Yoga of Action Works such as the sacraments performed at the important junctures in life from conception through marriage, 21 the five great sacrifices, 22 the course of seven cooked-offering sacrifices,23 the course of seven oblation sacrifices, 24 and the course of seven soma sacrifices25 are ordained in the scriptures as the essential duties of caste and stage of life.26 They constitute the yoga of action" which, being the means to the purification of the mind, 27 is

240 to be performed until that end is attained. According to the declaration of the Blessed Lord: As long as one has not gained indifference to the world or fondness for the hearing of my story and the other [spiritual disciplines], one should continue to perform action." 11.20.9 That the yoga of action is the means to the purification of the mind is established in revealed texts28 such as, "By sacrifice one rids himself of sin; therefore, they call sacrifice the supreme," and, "By the ladle-oblation or any other sacrifice one's mind is purified," Two alternative possibilities are accepted as marking the termination [of this process of purifying the mind through the yoga of action]. Disgust with worldly things leads to knowledge of Reality for those whose minds are unmelted. 29 For those whose minds are melted, however, there is devotion, preceded by faith in the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees, 30 such as the hearing of narratives about Him. 31

IV. The Approach to Devotion through the Yoga of Knowledge. Then, when purity of mind has been attained, one should practice the eight-fold yoga: 32 By this yoga, the mind is made capable of a one-pointedness that is defined as a continuous series, uninterrupted like a flow of oil, of

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identical cognitions of the Blessed Lord. As the Lord : Himself declares: When he has become indifferent toward all undertakings and detached, the follower of yoga, his senses controlled, should make his mind steady by constant practice.

When the mind, which is unsteady and quick to wander, is held, he should unwearyingly, by the proper means, bring it under the sway of the Self. 11.20.18-19

After this state is attained, the yoga of knowledge which is characterized by non-attachment to the body, senses, and so on becomes established.33 It is this yoga that is described in the text of the glorious Bhagavad Gita that begins with the words "absence of pride, lack of deceit" and ends with the statement, "This is declared to be knowledge. "34

The goal of this yoga of knowledge is devotion, as indicated in the following words of the Lord: One should/ meditate on the origin and passing away of all things, following the order of evolution and involution, 35 as taught by the Samkhya system, until his mind becomes tranquil. The mind of a man who has become averse worldly life and detached, who has see the truth of what has been taught, abandons its evil nature by continuous reflection on such thoughts. 36 By yogic disciplines such as observance of moral restraints, 37 by the science of logic, and by worship and meditation directed toward Me, not by any other means, the mind may remember its proper object. 38 11.20.22-24

242 In this passage, the words "until the mind becomes tranquil" [11.20.22] indicate that the yoga of devotion alone is the .goal of the yoga of. knowledge because, without the yoga of devotion, there cannot be the proper tranquillity of mind.39 The statement, "the mind . .. abandons evil" [11.20.23], refers to this yoga.40 The phrases "by worship and meditation directed toward Me" [11.20.24] and "unswerving , devotion to Me through yoga directed toward no other" [BG 13.10]41 mean "by the practice means to devotion42 that are ,included in the yoga of knowledge." Then, 43 some rare soul of great fortune, through dedicated practice of the means to devotion, fixes his love, [previously] absorbed in external things, on the Blessed Lord alone. His mind turns away from all objects of sense, as the Lord Himself proclaims in the following verse: All the desires dear to the heart of one who constantly worships Me by the yoga of devotion that I have taught are extinguished, O Sage, once I am established in his heart. 11.20.29 The permanent emotion44 known as love45 is the form of the Blessed Lord, an immediate realization of the highest bliss. It is manifested as a sentiment46 -- by a combination of the objective causes, 47 the outward signs, 48 and the associated transitory states49 -- in a special modification of a mind50 that has been melted by the hearing of compositions that bring together the wondrous qualities of the Lord and

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has assumed His form. This mental modification is the aim of all religious disciplines.

V. Devotion is the Supreme Goal of Life51 This alone is the yoga of devotion. Those who know its essence and those who have experienced it declare it to be the highest goal of life, beyond which there is nothing greater, and so do scriptural passages such as the following: Therefore, for the practitioner of yoga endowed with devotion to Me, who has become one with Me, neither knowledge nor detachment are, in this world, the means to the highest good. That which one attains by sacrifices, austerity, knowledge, detachment, discipline, the virtue of charity, observance of duty, or other means to the highest good, All that comes to my devotee most quickly through the practice of devotion to Me -- heaven, liberation, even [entry into] My celestial abode -- if in any way he desires these things. My pure, wise, single-minded devotees do not desire even slightly absolute liberation and freedom from rebirth, even if this is offered by Me. 52 Complete indifference to worldly things, they say, is the sure means to the highest goal. Hence, one who is free from desire and expectation [easily] attains devotion to Me. The consequences arising from virtue and vice do not affect My one-pointed devotees, for they are pure, even- minded, and have approached that which is beyond the intellect. 11.20.31-36

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VI. The Goal of Life is Bliss Only It is the established doctrine of all systems53 that bliss unmtxed with any suffering is the highest goal of life. The commonly accepted view that there are four goals of life -- namely, religious duty, the acquisition of wealth, pleasure, and final liberation54 -- is to be taken figuratively. This is because, like the saying, "The plow is life," it suggests that things which are really only means are, in fact, ends.55 Therefore our thesis that bliss alone is the goal of life is not upset .. According to the logicians of the Nyaya, there are two goals of life: bliss and the absence of suffering. 56 But this is not correct, because it is simpler to take bliss alone as the goal of life. The determining factor in a given cognition's giving rise to a desire to act upon it is its having. pleasure as its object, not its having either pleasure or the absence of suffering as its object. This would involve unnecessary prolixity.57 In fact, the absence of suffering is useful only at it is a pre-condition of bliss.58

The authors of the Nyaya treatises, however, might object to this, arguing as follows: "If it can be said that the absence of suffering is useful only insofar as it leads to bliss, it is equally possible to say, because of the lack of any deciding factor,59 that bliss is useful only insofar

245 as it leads to the absence of suffering. Therefore both of these are the goals of life."But this objection is not valid because there is a deciding factor, namely the relationship of invariable concomitance, 60 "Wherever there is bliss there is the absence of suffering." This is accepted by all as an invariable concomitance because it is seen to hold unconditionally. Thus, because every instance of bliss is invariably accompanied by the absence of suffering, which is the term of greater extension, 61 it is proper to say that the absence of suffering is a pre- condition of bliss. But the reverse relationship, "Wherever there is the absence of suffering there is bliss," does not always hold true. It fails, for example, in deep sleep and cosmic dissolution.62 Therefore, because the absence of suffering is not invariably accompanied by bliss, bliss is not its pre-condition. Since the presence of the term of greater extension can be otherwise accounted for as a pre- condition for the term of lesser extension, and as bliss is not the term of greater extension with respect to the absence of suffering, bliss, by itself, is the independent goal of life.63 It might now be objected that the admission that the absence of suffering is useful only in so far as it leads to bliss would mean that final liberation, which consists in the absence of suffering and is devoid of all bliss, 64 would

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not be the goal of life. If so, let us offer a funeral oblation for such a conception of final liberation, for we who follow the Vedanta declare that final liberation is the goal of life for the very reason that-it is supreme bliss.65

VII. Devotion is the Highest Goal of Life Because it is Pure Bliss Thus, since it is nothing more than bliss unmixed with suffering, devotion to the Blessed Lord also is the highest goal of life. This is why the author says, "the experience of incomparable bliss, untouched by any suffering" [stanza l]. By this are refuted all such notions as, "Devotion is not the goal of life because it is not included among religious duty, the acquisition of wealth, pleasure, and final liberation."66 Religious duty, the acquisition of wealth, and pleasure are not in themselves independent goals; the bliss arising from them is the goal of life. We can, therefore, omit the qualifications "arising from religious duty," "arising from wealth," and so on, because they lead to prolixity and excessive restriction, 67 and demonstrate that bliss alone is the goal of life. This being done, we can see that the bliss of devotion is the goal of life in its own right, just like the bliss of perfect meditation. 68 Now the bliss of perfect meditation may be included within final liberation because it is closely related to it,

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or it may be included within religious duty69 because it is produced by the sacred disciplines of yoga.70. If this is accepted, it is possible to say even to those of limited faith that the bliss of devotion may also be included within final liberation because release from transmigratory existence is inevitable for the devotee.71. Or equally, it can be said that the yoga of devotion is included within religious duty because it is produced by the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees.72 Therefore the statement that the yoga of devotion is the goal of life, either as included in one of the four commonly accepted goals or independently, is beyond dispute, because it is supreme bliss.73 :... VIII. Other Terms in the First Stanza Explained While establishing that devotion is supreme bliss, the author states its two subdivisions: "mixed with the nine sentiments or pure." These will be explained below.74 The name "Mukunda"75 indicates the object of the yoga of devotion. It will be stated that He alone, the Inner Controller and Lord of all, is the primary objective cause76 of the sentiment of devotion. This [mention of the name of the Lord] is used as an auspicious benediction77 at the beginning of the work in accord with the following traditional verse: 78

248 For them in whose heart dwells the Blessed Lord Hari, the abode of all auspiciousness, 79 there is never at any time or in any undertaking any inauspiciousness.80 "I shall explain" -- this is the declaration of the relation of the work to its subject matter.81 The phrase "in accordance with the scriptures" serves to remove any fear that the work may lack real authority, and the words "in order to bring contentment to everyone" indicate its purpose. The contentment of holy persons is inherent in their nature; what is intended in this text is the purification of the minds of others by the removal of ignorance and misconception through the reasonings expressed herein.

IX. Scriptural Support for Devotion as the Goal of Life What authoritative statements are there which indicate that the yoga of devotion is the goal of life? Note the following: There is no other. path more auspicious for one enmeshed in transmigratory existence than that from which may arise devotion toward the Blessed Lord Vasudeva. 2.2.33 That religious duty is mere toil which, even when well- performed, does not produce delight in the tales about Lord Krsna 1.2.8 Devotion to Krsna may be attained by charity, the observance of vows, austerity, sacrifice, repetition of sacred formulas, Vedic study, self-control, and by various other means to the highest good. 10.47.24

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The Supreme Lord [Brahma], having thrice studied the Veda in its entirety [with] unwavering [concentration], ascertained by deep thought that.from which arises love82 toward the Self. 83 2.2.34 The attainment of the highest good for men in this world occurs only when the mind is fixed steadily on Me through intense yoga of devotion. 3.25.44 The complete fulfillment which arises for embodied beings through meditation on Thy lotus feet or through hearing tales about Thy devotees, O Lord, is not found even in Brahman, in all its greatness. *How much less [could it be enjoyed] by those [gods or residents of heaven] who fall from celestial cars that are crushed by the sword of death?84 4.9.10 In these verses, that devotion is the goal of life is implied by the fact that it is said to be the end result of all good works. This is suggested by the general context as well. Devotion is explicitly stated to be the goal of life in the words "highest good" [3.25.44] and "complete fulfillment" [4.9.10]. And the same is indicated in the Bhagavad Gitā: Among all yogis, he who worships Me with faith, with his mind absorbed in Me, I deem the best. BG 6.47

X. Devotion as Means and Devotion as End But other statements indicate that the yoga of devotion is the means:85

250 The yoga of devotion directed towards the Blessed Lord Vasudeva quickly generates non-attachment and that knowledge which is not dependent upon reasoning. 86 1.2.7 The man of exalted intelligence, be he without desires, desirous of everything, or desirous of liberation alone, should worship the Supreme Spirit by means of intense yoga of devotion. 2.3.10 Some few who are totally devoted to Vasudeva cast off their sin completely by means of this devotion alone, [which removes evil] like the sun dispels the mist. 6.1.15 And in the Bhagavad Gita also: Through devotion, he comes to know Me in truth, how great and Who I am. Then, having known Me truly, he forthwith enters into Me. BG 18.55 In these verses, it is clearly indicated that, since the yoga of devotion is a means to another end, it is not the goal of life. There is no difficulty in this connection, however, because we maintain that devotion is two-fold, distinguishable as either means or end. 87 On the one hand, it is the end that is indicated when the word is used in accordance with its abstract derivation: "The worship88 which consists in the mind's taking on the form of the Blessed Lord is devotion." And, because this devotion is the highest goal of life, the authoritativeness of the previously cited scriptures [describing devotion as the goal

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of life] is uncontradicted. On the other hand, the means -- consisting of hearing, singing, and so on89 -- is suggested when we understand the word in accordance with its instrumental derivation: '"The Blessed Lord is worshiped, i.e., He is served, the mind having His form is fashioned, by this." Because this sort of devotion is not itself the goal of life, the authoritativeness of the statements describing devotion as means also remains uncontradicted. To illustrate, we find that the word "vijñana" is used in the sense of "Brahman" in the verse "Brahman is knowledge (vijñana) and bliss" [BU 3.9.2]. This is in accordance with its abstract derivation as meaning "knowledge." At the same time, the word is used in the sense of "mind" in the verse, "Knowledge (vijñana) directs the sacrifice" [TU 2.5.1]. Here the usage is based on the instrumental derivation, "Something is known by this. "90 The above91 is clarified by Prabuddha:92 Thinking constantly of Hari, the destroyer of a multitude of sins, and reminding each other of Him, their bodies thrill in the rapture of devotion-generated devotion. 93 11.3.31

In this verse, the first use of the word "devotion" is meant to suggest the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees, in harmony with the instrumental derivation. By the second use, devotion as end is intended, in accordance with the abstract derivation. This is shown clearly in the verse which summarizes this passage:

252. Following in this way the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees, one intent on Narayana quickly, by means of the devotion generated by these, crosses beyond the Maya94 which is so difficult to overcome. 11.3.33 Here, the phrase "spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees" is employed as a substitute for the word "devotion" in its first use above. In the case of Vedic study, the method and the goal are the 'same, namely the repetition95 of the sacred syllables. The only distinction is that in one case there is dependence on the teacher and in the other there is none. In. the present case, it might be argued, the situation is similar. The same devotion consisting of the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees, which is the means when practiced under the guidance of a teacher, having attained its culmination becomes the end, which is independent of the teacher. Therefore there can be no justification of the two-foldedness of devotion on the basis of the distinction between means and end. This reasoning, however, is invalid because, in the verse which occurs between the two just cited above, there is a reference to a state where one's purpose in life has been fulfilled:96 Sometimes they weep from anxious thought of Acyuta; sometimes they laugh and rejoice. Sometimes they utter One.97 strange [words], dance, sing, and imitate the Unborn Having attained the Supreme, fully content, they become silent. 11.3.32

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Now, the repetition of the sacred syllables which is the fruit of Vedic study is the means to a further end, namely knowledge of the meaning of the text and performance of the actions enjoined thereby. If the devotion generated by the spirituaT disciplines of the Lord's devotees were also a means to another goal, Prabuddha would not have indicated that the devotees are completely fulfilled by declaring that they, having attained the Supreme, are contented and become silent. Rather, he would have pointed out something else to be accomplished subsequently.But he does not do this: Therefore, because the two-foldedness of devotion as means and end can in this way be justified, it is established that there is no contradiction between the statements representing devotion as the means and those describing it as the end. They simply refer to different things. 98 Statements such as, "[some few] ... cast off their sin completely, "99 apply to devotion as end in addition to devotion as means because, as will be explained, devotion as end also has both direct and indirect rewards. 100 Consider the following verses: The indestructible fruit of a man's austerity, learning, sacrifice, Vedic recitation, knowledge, and charity is declared by the wise to be the act of extolling the glories of the Illustrious Lord. 1.5.22

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What man, other than a butcher of beasts, could ever tire of the recitation of the glorious qualities of the Illustrious Lord being sung by those who are free of desire? For they are an antidote to [the pain of] worldly existence and a delight to the ear and mind. 10.1.4 In these passages, the mention of the means is to be understood as referring to the end, as it is in the statement, "One should mix the soma with the cows" [RV 9.46.4]. It is established, in the Purva Mimamsa101 that the proper meaning of this phrase is, "One should mix the soma with the milk derived from cows." A further illustration may be taken from the Uttara Mimamsa. 102 In the section of the Brahmasutras beginning with the word "anumanika" there is the aphorism, "The subtle [body], for that is appropriate" [1.4.2]. This aphorism,establishes that the word "Unmanifest" in the text, "The Unmanifest is beyond the Great" [KU 1.3.11], refers to the [subtle] body which is derived from it. It is the same in the verses we are considering. The phrases "the act of extolling the glories" and "the recitation of the glorious qualities" are to be understood as referring to the love103 which arises from them. Otherwise, they could not be the highest goal of life.

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XI. Devotion Distinguished from Knowledge of Brahman At this point, there might be an objection: "Devotion to the Lord is merely knowledge of Brahman by another name. Knowledge of Brahman is taught as the goal of all good deeds in revealed texts such as, By recitation of the Veda, by sacrifice, by charity, by austerity, and by fasting, Brahmins seek to know Him' [BU 4.4.22]. And the same thing is taught in the section of the Brahmasutras : beginning with the words sarvapeksa' [3.4.26-39].104 The verses previously quoted in this work also indicate that devotion to the Blessed Lord is the same as the knowledge of Brahman, because they too define devotion as the goal of all good deeds. Further, it is already esmablished in the Brahmasutras, through the removal of ignorance and misconception, that knowledge of Brahman is the supreme goal of life. Hence undertaking this inquiry105 is useless." But this is not so, because devotion and knowledge of Brahman have distinct natures, as well as means, ends, and qualifications.106 Devotion is a conditioned mental mode, 107 the mind's taking the form of the Blessed Lord after becoming melted. Knowledge of Brahman is an unconditioned mental mode108 whose object is the secondless Self only, and it is not preceded by melting of the mind. The hearing of compositions which bring together the exalted qualities of the Blessed Lora109 is the means to devotion,

256 while the means to knowledge of Brahman is the great sayings of the Upanigads such as, "Thou art That" [CU 6.9.4]. The fruit of devotion is an abundance of love for the Blessed Lord. 'The fruit of the knowledge of Brahman is the cessation of the ignorance which is the root of all evil. While all living beings are qualified for devotion, 110 only the .renunciates of the highest degreelll who are possessed of the "four-fold means"112 are eligible for knowledge of Brahman.' Both devotion and knowledge of Brahman result from good deeds such as sacrifice and charity, and so do [other ends such as] heaven and the desire for knowledge.113 To illustrate: Although the injunction, "He who desires heaven should perform the new and full moon sacrifices," establishes that good works are a means to heaven, the statement, "The new and full moon sacrifices fulfill all desires, "114 shows that they are a means to other ends as well. And the verse [just quoted by the objector], "By the recitation of the Veda, by sacrifice, by charity, by austerity, and by fasting, Brahmins seek to know Him" [BU 4.4.22], in fact does establish that good deeds are a means to the desire for knowledge. This is in accordance with the maxim of "separate connection. "115 That good works are also a means to devotion and the knowledge of Brahman may be similarly proven. 116 The results are the same only when the

257 entire complex of causal factors is identical, but not when merely one cause is common. Otherwise, undesirable consequences would follow. 117 Therefore, devotion and knowledge of Brahman, neither of which is the fruit of the other, may, like heaven and the desire for knowledge, both be the result of a single means. It might be objected that, if devotion is distinct from knowledge of Brahman, it will, like heaven and so on, not be the supreme goal of life. This is not so. Heaven and the other goals cannot be enjoyed forever. They can be experienced only at certain limited times and places through certain specific bodies and sense organs, and, moreover, they are pervaded by the two- fold pain of perishability and contingency. So they are certainly not ultimate. The uninterrupted flow of the bliss of devotion, however, is ultimate because it may be enjoyed equally in all times and places without limitation as to body and sense organs, like the fruit of knowledge of Brahman, and because it does not have the two-fold pain of perishability and contingency. As it is said: If someone, abandoning his allotted duties and worshiping the lotus feet of Hari, should stumble while yet a novice, what evil could befall him wherever he might be? On the other hand, what can those who do not so worship gain by following their allotted duties? 1.5.17

258 A person serving Mukunda will never in any circumstances return to transmigratory existence as others may. One ' remembering the embrace of the feet of Mukunda, having perceived its excellence, will never desire to abandon it again. 1/5.19 Those whose minds, attached to His glorious qualities, have even once been fixed on the lotus feet of Krsna and who have [thereby] expiated all their sins, will not see Death or his noose-bearing servants even in their dreams. 6.1.19 The qualification "untouched by any suffering" is employed [in stanza l] for the sake of teaching that devotion is so even in the midst of calamity. Thus again, devotion is not the same as heaven and the rest which are ultimately painful.118

For similar reasons, devotion is also different from the sentiments' prized by the worldly. 119 These, not prescribed by scripture and not being a cause of the destruction of sins, are certainly affected by pain at the time of calamity. The chief distinction [between devotion and the worldly sentiments], however, is explained below, where it is shown that devotion has both direct and indirect rewards.120 It might be objected: "If all this is so, the desire for liberation will not arise because of the impossibility of detachment from the bliss of devotion. In that case,

259 there can be no commencement of the study of Vedanta, which has the desire for liberation as one of its prereq- uisites. "121 We admit that this is true, because one already attached to the bliss of devotion does not undertake such study. 122 Nevertheless, Vedantic inquiry may be necessary even for devotees for the sake of determining the essential nature of the object of their worship. 123 But the impossibility of'detachment from the bliss of devotion is certainly not a .source of distress; in fact, it is desirable. Even saints who are liberated-in-life124 enjoy devotion to the Blessed Lord, as it is taught: Sages who delight in the Self, who are free of the knots [of ignorance], practice selfless devotion to the Wide- strider, 125 such are the qualities of Haril126 1.7.10 Thus ends the commentary on the first stanza, which serves as a summary of the meaning of the whole text. The author now further127 specifies the aim of the work by mentioning its title: 2. O WISE ONES, LET THIS INEXHAUSTIBLE ELIXIR OF DEVOTION128 BE DRUNK OF ABUNDANTLY BY YOU WHO HAVE LONG BEEN AFFLICTED BY THE INTENSE ILLNESS OF WORLDLY EXISTENCE, FOR IT IS EXTREMELY EFFICACIOUS IN THE REMOVAL OF THAT. The meaning of the stanza is clear.

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XII. The Characteristics of Devotion129 Next the author begins the discourse by setting forth the general characteristics of devotion to the Blessed Lord. He does this to establish that, as a sentiment, it is the goal of life: 3. THE MODIFICATION OF THE MIND MELTED BY THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES OF THE LORD'S DEVOTEES THAT HAS BECOME A CONTINUOUS, STREAM-LIKE FLOW DIRECTED TOWARD THE LORD OF ALL IS CALLED DEVOTION. Here, "the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees" means the hearing of the Lord's glories.130 But this does not necessarily mean doing it consciously as a religious practice. In the verse, "Therefore one should fix his mind on Krana by any. means whatsoever" [BP 7.1.31], the phrase "by any means" suggests that it should be by the hearing of the glorious qualities of the Lord, either as a religious discipline or without any special effort. Thus our definition remains wide enough to include even those such as Sisupāla131 as devotees. In our system, the word "modification"132 always means the mind's assumption of a particular form. The mind becomes melted because of the "heating" action of desire, anger, and so on -- which are explained below -- in conjunction with the hearing of the Lord's glorious qualities. The modification of a mind that is so melted and, continuously flowing like a stream, is directed toward the Lord of all, i.e., has assumed the form of the Lord, is called devotion by those who are well-versed in the scriptures.

261 Regarding this definition of devotion, there is the. text: The uninterrupted flow of the mind toward Me who am seayed in the hearts of all, which arises from the mere hearing of My glories and is like the flow of the waters of the Ganges toward the ocean -- this is declared to be the definition of the unqualified yoga of devotion. 3.29.11-12 In this verse, the word "uninterrupted"133 indicates the continuous, stream-like flow. 134 The simile "like the waters of the Ganges" suggests the melted state of the mind toward the. Blessed Lord, and "the flow of the mind toward Me who am seated in the hearts of ali" shows that the mind has asumed the form of the Lord of all. According to this description, a modification of the mind in the unmelted state, though it may be a continuous flow, or a modification which is quickly disappearing, though it may be in the melted state, or one not directed toward the Lord of all, though continuously flowing in a melted mind, will not be called devotion.

XIII. The Mind in Devotion To make all of this clear, the author explains the behavior of the mind: 4. THE SUBSTANCE OF THE MIND, LIKE LAC, IS HARD BY NATURE. IN CONJUNCTION WITH OBJECTS THAT SERVE AS HEATING AGENTS, 135 HOWEVER, IT WILL BECOME MELTED.

262 There can be no destruction of the hardness of lac without conjunction with heating agents like fire. Rather, when there is contact with such things as sunlight, there will be mere softening and not a complete melting. This fact is well known. In the same way, without conjunction with heating agents such as the objects of desire, anger, and so on -- which will be explained immediately below -- there cannot be any melting of the mind. The result of contact with just any object will be mere softening. This is why the word "heating agent" is used. The author now enumerates these heating agents: 5 .. THE HEATING AGENTS FOR THE LAC OF THE MIND ARE DESIRE, ANGER, FEAR, AFFECTION, JOY, GRIEF, COMPASSION, AND SO ON. WHEN THESE SUBSIDE, THE MIND BECOMES HARD. He will give the definitions of each of these and explain their differences. 136 The basic idea here is that whatever object stimulates a high degree of desire, anger, or other emotion will cause the mind to melt. When the emotion ceases due to the transference of attention to another object, the mind will again become hard. . The author now states the purpose of the melting of the mind: 6. THE FORM WHICH ANY OBJECT IMPRINTS IN A MELTED MIND MAY BE DESIGNATED BY TERMS [MEANING "PERMANENT IMPRESSION"] SUCH AS SAMSKARA, VASANA, BHAVA, OR BHAVANA. 137 But it cannot be identified with the "soul-property" postulated by the logicians of the Nyaya as something

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generated by perishable cognitions.138 This the meaning [of the stanza]. 7. IN CONJUNCTION WITH A NON-HEATING AGENT THE MIND ONLY BECOMES SOFT. NOTHING AT ALL CAN ENTER INTO SUCH A MIND AS A PERMANENT IMPRESSION. 139 The prefix "non-" is used here in the sense of "slightly." When there is conjunction with objects which are non-heating agents -- that is, like the sunlight in the lac analogy, only slightly heating -- there is merely a moderate loosening of the parts of the mind. In such a mind, therefore, as in lac that is only slightly melted, no object can enter as a permanent impression. An object may enter as a semblance of a permanent impression, but that is something quite different. In the melted mind, there is a permanent impression; but when there is mere softening there is only a semblance of a permanent impression. The author states the decisive factor in this: 8. WHATEVER HAS ENTERED THE MIND WHILE IT IS IN THE MELTED CONDITION IS NOT RELEASED BY THE MIND EVEN WHEN IT MELTS AGAIN AFTER REGAINING ITS HARDNESS. Although the same vermilion color which is introduced into melted lac reappears when the lac comes into contact with fire and its hardness is removed again, the color which is put into lac when it is merely soft does not reappear when there is remelting. In the same way, the form of the object that enters into the mind while it is melted, remaining

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there until the mind has regained its hardness, 'is not abandoned by the mind. It continues to present itself even when another object is being apprehended during another melting. Therefore it is called a permanent impression. But the form that enters during the state of softness does not remain until the mind becomes hard again. Or if it. .does, it is abandoned by the mind when another object is being perceived. Hence it is a semblance of a permanent impression. This is the meaning of the stanza. Therefore he into whose melted mind the form of the Blessed Lord enters even once140 is completely fulfilled, because the Lord will be constantly present in his awareness. As it is said: He who sees the Self in the form of the Blessed Lord in all creatures and sees all creatures in the Self which is the Blessed Lord is the best of the Lord's devoteest 11.2.45 Seeing the Lord in all beings is possible because His very form, having entered the melted state of the mind, shines forth while one is perceiving them, just as the color which has been infused into melted lac is always present. And since such a permanent impression is indestructible, he who has it is called an advanced devotee. This is the intention of the verse.

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XIV. The Three Levels of Devotees141 The objection that only a knower of Brahman can be in such a state is untenable since the melted condition of the mind is not required in the case of a knower of Brahman. Hence is it not possible to classify a knower of Brahman among devotees either of the advanced, intermediate, or * beginning levels. When there is the condition of seeing "the Self in the form of the Blessed Lord in all'creatures" [11.2.45] at the culmination of the melted state, the devotee is said.to be at the advanced level. But when there is the slightly melted state and a semblance of a permanent impression, it is said: He who shows love toward the Lord, friendship toward those who have surrendered to Him, compassion toward the ignorant, and indifference toward the hostile is an intermediate. 11.2.46 The implication is. that, for one who is in such a condition, the subsequent ar'ising of the melted state is imminent. In regard to him in whose mind the melted state has not reached perfection or even slightly arisen, but who himself faithfully practices the disciplines of the Lord's devotees for the sake of. attaining that, and who has the capacity142 to descroy the hardness of his mind, it is said: He who strives faithfully to offer worship to Hari in His image only and does not worship Him in His devotees or in others, is known as a beginner. 11.2.47

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The word "beginner"143 is used here to mean one who is in the beginning stage,144 that is, one whose practice of the means to devotion has just started.

XV. Other Designations of the Melting State This. melted state is also known by the words love, 145 attachment, 146 and affection. 147 For instance: He is called 'the foremost of devotees whose heart Hari -- Who destroys a multitude of sins even when called on absentmindedly -- does not leave because His lotus feet are bound by the cord of love.148 11.2.54 ."Love"149 here is the melted state. It is a cord, a means of binding like a rope, since that which has once entered in the melting state cannot come out again.

XVI. The Three Levels of Advanced Devotees Advanced devotees themselves are of three levels because the form of the Lord that has entered consciousness in the melted state is perceived in three ways. The first is accompanied by the appearance of the world as real, as in the verse: Having no other object of devotion, he bows in worship to ether, air, fire, water, and earth, the celestial bodies, living beings, the four quarters, trees and the. like, rivers and oceans, and whatsoever may exist, [seeing them] as the body of Hari. 11.2.41

267 The novice among advanced devotees has this type of perception. The second level is characterized by the apprehension of the manifest world as false: Thus the entire universe -- which is unreal in essence, resembling a dream, devoid of intelligence, and painful with much suffering -- arises from Maya and appears in Thee, who art the infinite, with eternal consciousness and bliss as Thy nature, as if it were real. 10.14.22 Such a perception belongs to the middle level of advanced devotion. In the third level, the world is not apprehended in either manner.150 Thus : While I was meditating on His lotus feet with my mind 2 overcome by devotion and my eyes filled with tears of anguish, Hari slowly revealed Himself in my heart. With the hairs of my body standing on end because of the abundance of love, supremely content, lost in a flood of bliss, I could not see either,151 o Sage. 1.6.17-18 This describes the highest of the advanced devotees. The attainment of this highest state is a consequence of the uninterrupted practice of spiritual discipline.

XVII. The Definition of Permanent Emotion and Sentiment The word "permanent"152 is used here with its primary, non-technical meaning of "not passing away" to indicate the stability of the form of the object that has entered into the melted mind:153 9. THEREFORE154 , THE FORM OF THE OBJECT IS CALLED A PERMANENT EMOTION: MANIFESTED, IT BECOMES A SENTIMENT BECAUSE IT IS SUPREME BLISS.

268 Once the distinction between the spectator and the events of the play has disappeared, the permanent emotion existing in the spectator is manifested by the conjunction of the objective causes, the outward signs, and the associated transitory states.155 Being an immediate awareness of pure bliss, it develops into a sentiment. This is the rule of the experts in aesthetic theory. As the great preceptor Bharata156 has said: "The arising of sentiment is from the conjunction of the objective causes, the outward signs, and the associated transitory states" [NS 6.31]. Thus the author defines permanent emotion here in order to establish that devotion too is a sentiment. 157

XVIII. The Permanent Emotion Becomes a Sentiment Because it is Blissful158 In order to show that the permanent emotion becomes a sentiment, he proceeds to demonstrate that it is supreme bliss: 159

10. THE LORD HIMSELF IS SUPREME BLISS. HIS FORM, HAVING ENTERED160 THE MIND, BECOMES A SENTIMENT OF THE HIGHEST DEGREE .. It is said that a reflection161 is nothing but the original162 itself, apprehended within limiting adjuncts. 163 Reflected in the mind, the Lord, who is supreme bliss, becomes a permanent emotion and reaches the state of being a sentiment. Hence it is beyond question that the sentiment of devotion is of the nature of supreme bliss. This does

269 not, however, result in the identity of the primary objective cause and the permanent emotion because the distinction between original and reflection is well-known in the world, like the distinction between the individual soul and the Lord. 164 It might be objected: "Granted that the sentiment of devotion is of the nature of supreme bliss because its permanent emotion, the form of the Blessed Lord, is of that nature. How then can sentiments such asverotic love165 also be supremely blissful when their respective objects, such as the beloved one, are not so?" In response to this, he says: 11. EVEN WHEN THE OBJECT IS ONE'S BELOVED, THE CAUSE IS STILL PURE CONSCIOUSNESS AND BLISS. THE CAUSE APPEARS, HOWEVER, AS AN EFFECT AND NOT AS ITSELF BECAUSE IT IS COVERED BY THE VEIL OF ILLUSION. Brahman, the supreme bliss, is the material cause of the world. This is taught in revealed texts such as the following: "From bliss, indeed are these beings born; by bliss, when born, do they live; and into bliss, when departing, do they enter" [TU 3.6.1]. And the same is established by the aphorism: "From which there is the production, etc., of all this" [BS 1.1.2]. It is universally recognized that an effect is non-different from its material cause, as a pot is non-different. from the clay [of which it is made]. "All this, verily, is Brahman" [CU 3.14.1], "All this is the Self" [BU 2.4.6], "Being only, my dear, was this in the beginning" [CU 6.2.1] -- in statements

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such as these, the Chandogya and other Upanisads reiterate this truth. It is also demonstrated by the aphorism: "Because of the word `origin,' the effect is not other than the cause" [BS 2.1.14]. This being the case, there are two reasons for our inability to perceive the non-difference of the effect from the cause, namely, Maya's powers of projection and concealment.166 Thus the author states in the second half of stanza 1l, "It appears, however, as an effect." Projection makes what is not an effect167 appear as if it were, and concealment brings about its non-appearance in its own form as undivided bliss. As it is said: That which is perceived in the Self when in reality it does not exist and that which is not perceived [when it does ] -- know that to be [caused by]My Maya. It is like a false appearance, like darkness. 168 2.9.33 To answer'the question, "How, then, can this bliss be perceived?" the author. says: 12. WHEN THERE IS A MOMENTARY DISAPPEARANCE OF THE COVERING OF MAYA, BRAHMAN, WHICH IS BEING ITSELF BUT IS UNKNOWN, MAY BE KNOWN BY A PURE MENTAL MODIFICATION THROUGH THE MEANS OF KNOWLEDGE DIRECTED TOWARD SUCH OBJECTS AS THE BELOVED. The validity of all the means of knowledge169 rests on their being revealers of what was previously unknown. Otherwise, even memory would have to be accepted as a valid means of knowledge.170 But only Consciousness, 171 which shines with its own luminosity, can be unknown. Not so the

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insentient because there is no possibility of insentient things shining forthy and therefore their further obscuration would serve no.purpose. 172 Consequently, in order that the means of knowledge that are directed toward such things as the beloved may be considered valid as being revealers of the unknown, their object must be said to be nothing but Consciousness as limited by those things. To regard them as valid means of knowledge would otherwise be impossible. Thus, when the covering of Maya is removed by the pure, direct mental modification generated by a valid means of knowledge, Consciousness, though in reality the. supreme bliss, shines as limited by the various objects of which it is the material cause. But, because the unlimited essential nature of Consciousness is not directly perceived, immediate liberation does not occur.173 Nor is there any contradiction of the self-luminosity [of Consciousness]. 174 Then what? In answer, the author says: 13. THEN THAT ALONE BECOMES A PERMANENT EMOTION IN THE MIND AND REACHES THE STATE OF BEING A SENTIMENT, SLIGHTLY DIMINISHED BY MIXTURE WITH THE INSENTIENT. Becoming a permanent emotion when reflected in a modificaBion of a melted mind, this very Consciousness, dimited by objects, attains the status of a sentiment. Hence even the sentiments based on worldly experience can be said to be supremely blissful. However, while in the case of the sentiment of devotion there is a great abundance of

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bliss due to the manifestation of the Lord who is a mass of unlimited bliss and consciousness, in the sentiments based on worldly experience there is a lesser degree of bliss. This is because only a portion of bliss and consciousness is manifested in the worldly sentiments owing to limitation by objects. Therefore the sentiment of devotion alone should be cultivated and the worldly sentiments should be ignored. This is the author's meaning. 175

XIX. The Explanation According to Sapkhya176 14.THUS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEACHINGS OF VEDANTA, THE PERMANENT EMOTION HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE A SENTIMENT: NOW THE SAME WILL BE TAUGHT IN TERMS OF THE TEACHINGS OF SAMKHYA. That is, it will be taught that the permanent emotion is a sentiment.

In order to do this, the Samkhya system is discussed:

15. THE MATERIAL QUALITIES177 -- THE LUMINOUS, THE ACTIVE, AND THE INERT -- ARE OF THE NATURE OF JOY, PAIN, AND DELUSION. THE PRIMAL MATERIAL CAUSE178 IS COMPOSED OF THEM, AS ARE ALL ITS EFFECTS. The Sankhyas teach in the following fashión: "All existent things have one common material cause consisting of joy, pain, and delusion because they themselves are seen to consist of these. All things that are seen to share a certain nature have a common material cause of that nature, just as things like pots and bowls,

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which are made.of clay, have clay as their common cause. There is no admission here of any universal other than the pervading material cause, so there is no fault in the inference179 as there might be if "potness" and other such universals were accepted.180 Since things are all . experienced as consisting of joy, pain, and delusion, they have these factors as their common cause. By such an inference it is established that there is a cause consisting. of joy, pain, and delusion. The joy-aspect of this cause is the luminous quality, the pain-aspect is the active quality, and the delusion-aspect is the inert quality. Thus it is proved that the primal material cause is composed of the three material qualities. "This inference [involving the perception of a single material cause present in all things] cannot be used for the cross-purpose of supporting the doctrine of ultimate atoms181 or the doctrine of Brahman. In the atomic theory, it is impossibl'e to percieve any effect as consisting of atoms because it is maintained that the cause [the atoms] and the effect are distinct and, further, that the atoms are invisible. Besides, there is no valid means of knowledge' that can be applied to prove the existence of the atoms. The fact is that, utilizing reasoning that is simple and straightforward, the inference of the material cause of the first effects of creation points to one factor only, just as

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the inference of the creator of the world points to a single agent. 182 "Even when the identity of cause and effect is acknowledged, as by the followers of Vedanta, the perception of the world as consisting of Brahman is not possible because Brahman is said not to be an object of any of the ordinary means of knowledge. If it is argued that Brahman,' as existence itself, is the object of all the means of knowledge and that, as a result, any effect can be seen to consist of It, we reply that this is a mere commotion, unexpected and useless. It is impossible for Brahman, which is admitted to be without genus and species, to assume a variety of forms. "183 This, at least, is how the thinking of the Samkhyas goes.

It might be objected [against this position] as follows: "Your logic is faulty, because it is not possible to identify internal states such as joy, pain, and delusion with external objects like pots and so on. If it werk, each object would appear to each observer as threefold." The author gives the response to this: . EACH AND EVERY THING IS COMPOSED OF THE THREE MATERIAL QUALITIES AND MAY BE EXPERIENCED IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS BY THREE DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS WITH DIFFERING MENTAL CONSTITUTIONS. The idea is that it is by no means impossible for external things and internal things to share a common nature since it

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is these very externals that.become internal by being reflected in the mind. Nor must we be driven to the undesirable conclusion that everything will appear the same to all. There are differences among individuals in the mental impressions which act as subsidiary causes.184 This very point is now illustrated: 17. THE BLISS-ASPECT OF A DESIRABLE WOMAN IS EXPERIENCED BY HER HUSBAND. TO A RIVAL WIFE, SHE APPEARS AS A SOURCE OF PAIN. HER DELUSION-ASPECT IS APPARENT TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO IS UNABLE TO OBTAIN HER. For the husband, only the luminous quality of the woman is prominent; for the rival wife, only the active quality is manifest, and for another man, desiring but not obtaining her, only the inert quality stands out. So, to them respectively, joy, pain, and delusion become manifest. In this way the differences in their perceptions are explained. Variation in the petception of one thing because of differences in mental impressions is mentioned by Âcarya Bhațța185 also: A corpse, an object of desire, something to be eaten -- these are the three varying conceptions held by an ascetic, a lover, and a dog in respect of the body of a single beautiful woman. The author now states what has been accomplished: 18. THIS BEING SO, WHEN THE FORM OF BLISS HAS ENTERED THE MIND, IT, HAVING BECOME A PERMANENT EMOTION, DEVELOPS INTO A SENTIMENT. The idea is that even permanent emotions such as anger are blissful. This is because they are the result of the

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melting of the mind. Although containing portions of the active and the inert material qualities, the melted mind is characterized by a predominance of the luminous quality, and the luminous quality is blissful. Therefore all permanent emotions contain bliss. Even so, it must be understood that there is a gradation of bliss due to the intermixture of various degrees of the active and the inert qualities. .Hence the same degree of bliss is-not.experienced in every sentiment. This is made clear further on. 186

xX. Objections Based on Other Theories of Mind In reference to what has been. said thus far, the Nyaya logicians might object as follows: "Since the mind is unchanging, without parts, and atomic in size, how is it possible to say that it undergoes transformation into the form of an object by becoming melted? And how can you use the illustration of lac, a substance composed of parts? Increase and diminution are not possible in the case of something that is partless. Therefore the foregoing discussion of the nature of the permanent emotion is unsound."

In answer to this, the author says: 19. THE MIND IS UNITARY LIKE AN ATOM; THEREFORE IT CANNOT ACQUIRE THE FORM OF AN OBJECT -- THIS AND SIMILAR OPINIONS OF OTHERS ARE DISREGARDED BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT BASED ON ANY AUTHORITATIVE MEANS OF KNOWLEDGE.

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The words "and similar" serve to include the view of the Prabhakaras187 that the mind is all pervading188 and the doctrine of the Buddhists that the mind is the immediately preceding cognition that serves as the cause of its successors. 189

The truth is that the mind is of medium size. 190 We infer this from the fact that it is an instrument, like an ax, and a sense organ, like the eye. There are no grounds at all for inferring that it is atomic. Nor can it be inferred that it is all pervading because it is an eternal sense organ like the faculty of hearing, 191 since the latter's etefnality remains unproved. In fact, because the ether itself is non-eternal,192 all the more so will be the faculty of hearing which is its product.193 Since something that is produced can never be all pervading, our inference [that the mind is] of medium size does not fail in respect of [the objection based on the supposed nature of] the faculty of hearing. 194

Moreover, there is an invariable rule195.that whatever sense apprehends a particular quality is a product of the element which possess that quality. This proves that, the eye and the other senses are products of the elements which posses the qualities that they apprehend. 196 Since the mind perceives the qualities of all five of the gross elements, we must accept that it is a product of those

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elements. There are no grounds for making a distinqtion between tho mind and the other senses in this respect. 197 A distinction cannot be based on the supposition that dissimilar things [such as the elements] cannot combine to produce an effect [such as the mind]. Gold, silk, and cotton threads are dissimilar, yet they can combine to form a single cloth. If one does not accept a whole consisting of parts in this case, there will be the undesirable consequence of bidding farewell to all wholes consisting of parts, for we would have to deny this category in other cases also. Therefore the mind be understood as a product of the five gross elements in their pure state. 198 Having a predominance of the luminous quality, 199 the mind has a natural inclination towards expansion and contraction. A clear substance, it is capable like the eye of being affected by concrete objects. Joy, pain, desire, and knowledge reside in the mind; this we accept. Since these things are known to pervade the entire body, so must the mind which is their locus. Hence the mind is co- extensive with the body in size. If it is objected [by the followers of the Nyaya] that the rejection of the atomicity of the mind entails the possibility of its being connected with all the sense organs simultaneously and that hence there will be the unwanted contingency of diverse cognitions arising at the same

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time, 200 we say, "Not so." A'single cognition alone is . produced by a single sense organ at any one time. Otherwise, why would there not be the simultaneous occurrence of two visual perceptions? The simultaneous arising of cognitions produced by different sense organs is, however, desirable. We have examples such as the concurrent experience of sound, touch, form, taste, and smell when someone is eating a long sweetcake. Moreover, the objectors themselves accept the doctrine that the conjunction of the . skin and the mind is necessary for all perception; otherwise they cannot explain the phenomenon of deep sleep.201 So it will be difficult for them to deny the simultaneous perception of, for example, the taste and touch of sugar which is in contact with the area of the skin that forms the tongue. 202

The result of all this is that a divergence of opinion in respect of the [theory of] mind which we accept -- and which is supported by revealed scripture, traditional wisdom, and reason -- is not possible. The [Buddhist] teaching that the mind is the immediately preceding cognition is disregarded as being extremely illogical; the detailed refutation of this view is set forth in our Vedantakalpalatikā. 203

280 XXI. The Final Position on Mind The view of the Vedanta and the Samkhya that the mind is a composite, naturally clear substance that grasps the form of the object like a mirror is correct because it is based on proper authority. Therefore the author says: 20 THE MIND, THROUGH CONTACT WITH THE OBJECT, GRASPS ITS FORM -- SO IT IS RIGHTLY DETERMINED BY THE FOLLOWERS OF VEDANTA AND SAMKHYA. Although the Samkhyas hold that the mind is derived from the ego-principle204 while the followers of Vedanta teach that it is produced from the elements, still both recognize the fact that the mind grasps the form of the object. Hence they are both mentioned as alike. The mind's assumption of the form of the object is preceded by its melting. In support of this understanding, the author quotes a statement of Samkara: 21. AS COPPER POURED INTO A MOULD [MUȘA] COMES TO RESEMBLE IT, SO THE MIND THAT [REACHES OUT AND] PERVADES AN OBJECT SUCH AS A POT CERTAINLY BECOMES SIMILAR TO IT. 205 A musa is a crucible. 206 Heated in a crucible and poured into a mould made of clay that has an inner cavity with the shape of an idol or other image, copper assumes that shape because it has been melted. In the same way the mind itself, melted by passion, hate, and so on, and "poured" into some object through the eyes or one of the other sense organs, takes on the form of the object. This is the meaning of the stanza.

281 Even though melting is discussed here in general terms, on the basis of experience it must be restricted to the melting that isa result of attachment, hate, and so forth. Otherwise, in the absence of these factors, there is mere softening. This point has already been discussed above. 207 The mind takes on the form of the object because, like light, it removes the covering which conceals the object -- this inference is declared by Samkara to be the authority in the matter: 22. OR JUST AS LIGHT, THE MANIFESTOR, TAKES ON THE FORM OF THAT WHICH IT MAKES MANIFEST, SO THE MIND, BECAUSE IT IS THE MANIFESTOR OF ALL THINGS, IS KNOWN TO ASSUME THEIR FORMS. 208 Because the removal of the object's covering does not occur if the manifestor does not assume its form -- this is the meaning. 23. THESE WORDS OF THE HOLY ONE WHOSE FEET ARE WORTHY OF WORSHIP209 ARE LOGICALLY COMPELLING. THE PRESENT TOPIC IS NOW EXAMINED BY THE AUTHOR OF THE VARTIKAS. 210 The words of Samkara are in the stanza, "Or just as light, the manifestor The reasoning of the author of the Vartikas [Suresvara] is also presented in the form of an inference, as follows: 24. THE MEANS OF KNOWLEDGE GOES OUT FROM THE KNOWER AND, HAVING GONE OUT, MEETS THE OBJECT OF KNOWLEDGE. JOINED WITH THE OBJECT, IT TAKES ON ITS LIKENESS. 211 This special transformation of the mind is preceded by the .. melting of the mind and is called the means of knowledge212 or "knowledge in the form of a mental modification. "213

282 From the knower -- who is a composite of consciousness and unconsciousness, that is, who consists of the mind together with consciousness214 -- the mental modification flows out through sense organs like the eye and reaches an vobject such as a pot. But it does not at the same time abandon the mind, which is limited by the body, just as water flowing from a tank through an irrigation ditch does not lose contact with its source. 215 Connected with the pot, the mental modification assumes its form, and the pot is perceived because of the manifestation of Consciousness in it. This is the meaning of the stanza. The whole process is explained at length in our Siddhantabindu. 216 25. IN THE SAME WAY, MANY SUCH STATEMENTS COULD BE CITED IN SUPPORT OF THE FACT THAT THE MIND GRASPS THE FORM OF THE OBJECT. The point is that they are not quoted owing to fear that the work may become too lengthy. The same doctrine is taught by Vidyaranya in the Pañcadasf. The author now quotes him with a view to concluding [this portion of the discussion]: 26. THEREFORE, WHENEVER THERE IS A MAIDEN WHO IS FLESH, THERE IS ANOTHER WHO IS MENTAL. ALTHOUGH THE ONE OF FLESH IS A SINGLE ENTITY, THE MENTAL MAIDEN IS DISTINGUISHED .217 Because of the impossibility of the cognition of distinction in a single physical body without distinction in the mental form -- this is the meaning. He now illustrates the perception of difference that is well known to all:

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SISTER-IN-LAW, BROTHER-IN-LAW'S WIFE, AND MOTHER. 27. . IN MANY WAYS AS WIFE, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, ALSO IS [DISTINGUISHED AS] SON-IN-LAW, FATHER-IN-LAW, A MAN SON, FATHER, AND SO ON. 218 The words "distinguished as" should be supplied in the second half of the stanza. Having explained the distinction that the physical form is single while the mental is manifold, the author219 goes on to state the further difference that the former is perishable while the latter is not: 28. EVEN WHEN THE EXTERNAL BODY IS DESTROYED, THE MENTAL BODY REMAINS. THEREFORE THE WISE CALL IT "THE PERMANENT. "220 The idea is that the mental body is not destroyed ... 29. THUS THE GENERAL NATURE OF THE PERMANENT EMOTION HAS BEEN EXPOUNDED. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH OF ITS VARIETIES WILL BE EXPLAINED IN DETAIL SEPARATELY. Because it is not subject to destruction, the mental form of an object is called a permanent emotion. Its varieties -- such as love, 221 humor, 222 and so on -- and their characteristics will be discussed in the next chapter. 223 This is the meaning of the stanza.

XXII. The Form of the Lord in the Melted Mind Since the form of the object that has entered into the melted mind is permanent, the author says: 30. WHEN THE MELTED MIND GRASPS THE THE LORD -- WHO IS OMNIPRESENT, ETERNAL, FULL, AND OF THE NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND BLISS -- WHAT ELSE REMAINS?

284 "Omnipresent" indicates that He pervades all space; "eternal" that He exists through all time; "full" means that, since He is one without second, He is the substratum of the whole illusion of duality; and "consciousness and bliss" marks the Lord as the supreme goal of life. Because the numberless forms of objects that have entered the mind since beginningless time are destroyed by such a mental form of the Lord, and He alone shines forth, the purpose of life is accomplished. This is the meaning. The author now reminds us of the purpose of melting, as previously explained, 224 in order to inspire steadfastness in striving for it :. 31. THE HARD MIND DOES NOT GRASP; THE SOFT MIND DOES NOT RECEIVE AN IMPRESSION. KNOWLEDGE WHICH IS DIRECTED TOWARD OBJECTS LIKE STONES, THE WISE CALL INDIFFERENT COGNITION. 225 The hard mind simply does not grasp the object. The soft mind, though it grasps, does not retain a permanent impression. This is because in both cases there is no melting of the mind, as has been previously explained. 226 Hardness is the state of not being even slightly melted, while softness is that of being slightly so. These conditions may be recognized by the absence of the ecstatic modes, 227 which are effects of the melted state and are set forth as follows:

285 Becoming paralysed, perspiring, thrilling of the hair on the body, breaking of the voice, trembling, changing color, crying, and fainting -- these are known as the eight ecstatic modes. N$ 6.22 Therefore, hardness in respect of the Blessed Lord is condemned: That heart is made of stone which is not, alasl affected by the singing of the names of Hari. When the heart is affected, there will be tears in the eyes and bristling of the hairs of the body. 2.3.2 Without devotion, a melted mind, tears of joy, and thrilling of the hair, how can the heart become pure? 11.14.23 The meaning is that, without devotion, how can the mind be purified? Without the melting of the mind, how can there be devotion? And without tears of joy and thrilling of the hair, how can the melting state be known? The mention of tears of joy and the bristling of the body hair is meant to suggest paralysis, perspiring, and the other ecstatic modes also.

Because there is no impression made in the mind when it is not melted, the wise, i.e., the learned, call knowledge of things such as stones indifferent cognition. This knowledge is not à cause of permanent mental impressions. According to the author of the Nyaya- värtika, 228 "The object which is neither a means to pleasure nor a source of pain is an object of indifference."

286 Attachment is the cause of a permanent mental impression in the case of an object which provides pleasure; when an object that is a source of pain is present, aversion. is the cause. In the absence of both, because the mind does not melt, no permanent mental impression is created. This is the meaning. The mind's acquisition of the form of the Blessed Lord is the secret meaning of all the scriptures because all scriptures, though differing in approach, culminate in this state alone. Before it is attained, however, the forms of all other objects must be removed from the mind.

XXIII. The Possession of the Lord's Form is Natural229 It might be asked how the mind's being filled with an infinite number of desirable and undesirable impressions that have been entering it during its melted state from beginningless time might cease. Indeed, this condition seems to be the inherent nature of the mind, just as coolness is the nature of water, warmth the nature of fire, and mobility the nature of wind. When something possesses a quality inherently, there is no possibility that this inherent nature may be destroyed. In answer to this doubt, the author says: 32. THEREFORE THE WISE SHOULD CONSTANTLY, BY THE MEANS SANCTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES, MAINTAIN HARDNESS TOWARD WORLDLY OBJECTS AND THE MELTED STATE IN RESPECT OF THE FEET OF THE LORD.

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The condition of being filled with the forms of worldly objects is not the inherent nature of the mind. The fact is that this condition.is the effect of adventitious causes. In the waking state, the mind's taking the form of gross objects is caused by such factors as contact with the organs of sense. The mind in the dreaming state assumes the form of. subtle objects that are produced by the impressions latent within it. But in deep sleep, when such causes are absent, the mind becomes devoid of objects. Any mention of the dissolution of the mind in deep sleep is intended merely to signify its condition of being without objects.230 This is taught by the revered author of the Brahmasutras as follows: "It [continues] up to [its final] passing away, 231 because of the teaching of transmigratory existence [until then]" [BS 4.2.8]. The meaning of the aphorism is that the "passing away," i.e., dissolution, 232 of the mind is designated as its point of termination, and involvement in transmigration will continue until, but not after, this has taken place. Even in deep sleep there is no dissolution of the mind, because the mind re-emerges, 233 and it is taught that it has continued involvement in transmigration. The mention of dissolution of the mind by the author of the Vivarana [in the passage] beginning with the words, "What subtlety, pray, is this?" is intended to convey the opinion of the opponent, not his own, for otherwise the aphorism would be contradicted. 234

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What is inherent in the mind, however, is its having the form of the Blesged Lord. This is because the eternal Lord, the Inner Controller of all, pervades everything and is the substratum of the inexpressible Maya that is possessed of many and variegated powers as the subtle cause that produces the mind itself. While a pot's being filled with water is the result of some outside cause, its being occupied by the ether is natural because the ether is omnipresent. It is the same with the mind. This point is expounded by the author of the vartika: Just as a pot's being filled with ether at its production is a consequence of the nature of the ether itself and is not produced by a cause, so is the condition of the mind. The joy, suffering, and so on of the mind are caused by its merit and demerit. Its pervasion by the consciousness of the Self is innately established, in accordance with the very structure of reality. SV 543b-545a

If the mind's possession of the form of the Lord is natural and thus does not need to be brought about by any cause, what is the use of scripture?235 The answer to this objection is that scripture serves in the acquisition of the form of the Lord that prevents the mind's taking on the form of other objects. The form of the Lord that is inherent in the mind does not prevent the mind's assuming other forms. It can co-exist with that condition and indeed supports it.236 But the form of the Lord that is generated by

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scripture, 237 though appearing as if remote at the beginning of practice, gradually removes the forms of objects from the | mind and, when lead through the advanced levels of practice to immediacy, completel destroys them. 238 As it is said: The mind throws off the impurities born of the action of the material qualities239 through intense devotion and longing for the feet of the lotus-naveled Lord. Thus purified) it will see the reality of the Self, as eyes that are unclouded see the light of the sun. 11.3.40 As gold melted by fire gives up its impurities and regains its own pure nature, so the mind, shaking off L the results of action by means of the yoga of devotion, attains Me. The more the mind is cleansed by the hearing and recital of purifying verses about Me, the more it sees the subtle reality, like eyes made sharp by medicinal ointments. The mind of one whose thought dwells on the objects of sense remains deeply attached to them; the mind of one who meditates on Me is lost in Me. Therefore, having abandoned thought of all that is unreal as one abandons the reveries of dreams, fix your mind on Me, having made it intent on My being. 11.14.25-28 Such a yoga was taught by My disciples Sanaka and the rest240 so that the mind might be withdrawn from all else and fixed on Me. 11.13.14 This same yoga was taught by the revered Kapiladeva: 241 By performing one's own duty without desire for its fruit, by a pure mind, by intense devotion toward Me nourished over a long time by what one has learned about Me,

By knowledge which has ascertained the Real, by strong detachment, by yoga combined with austerity, and by intense concentration on the Suf --

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Constantly being consumed by these, a man's crude nature gradually disappears in this very life, as the firestick is consumed by the fire it produces. 3.27.21-23 The words "crude nature" here mean the common condition of having impressions of the forms of objects. 242 In the HamsagIta we read: 243 The mind is entangled in the material qualities, and the material qualities likewise in the mind. How, O Lord, may these be separated by the seeker who is desirous of liberation? 11.13.17 The Blessed Lord responds to this question of Sanaka and his brothers as follows: It is I alone who am apprehended by the mind, by speech, by vision, and the other faculties. Know truly that there is nothing other than Me. 11.13.24 The states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep are modifications of the mind caused by the material qualities. Because it is the witness of these, the soul244 is known to be distinct. Because the bondage of transmigration involves the Self in the activity of the material qualities, one should abandon [this bondage] and abide in Me who am the Fourth. 245 will be separated. 246 Then the mind and the material qualities The enlightened one, realizing this bondage wrought by the ego to be contrary to what he desires, remaining in the Fourth, should forsake all concern for worldly existence. As long as one does not terminate his knowledge of plurality by proper reasoning, he sleeps in ignorance even though awake, as if imagining himself to be awake in a dream.

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Because of the unreality of all things other than the Self, the differences based on them, one's goals and one's motives, are all false like the visions of a dream. He who, in the waking state, experiences the everchanging external objects through all the senses; Who, in dreams, enjoys objects resembling the external ones in the mind; Who, in deep sleep, puts an end to them all -- He, the Lord of the senses, the Witness of this threefold modification of the material qualities, is one, becauge He has continuity of memory throughout. 247 So, having thoroughly pondered these three states of the mind arising from the material qualities and determined that they are superimposed on Me by My Maya, and having cut out the whole store of doubts contained in the heart by the sword of knowledge sharpened by inference and scriptural testimony, you should worship Me. 11.13.27-33 Thus by inquiry removing the error of multiplicity, he should come to rest in the Self, fixing his purified mind on Me, the omnipresent. 11.11.21

The main point here is that the objects which imprint their forms in the mind are not distinct from the Lord because they are superimposed on Him. For all objects appear as existent -- as, for example, "an existing pot" or "an existing cloth" -- because they participate in the existence of the Lord Himself. Furthermore, the Upanisadic text, "All this, verily, is Brahman, in origin, duration, and dissolution" [CU 3.14.1], teaches that all things arise from the Blessed Lord alone, exist in the Blessed alone, and dissolve into the Blessed Lord alone. They are non- different from the Lord, like pots from clay, and will be

292 contradicted248 [by true knowledge] like the universe of the dream state. Because that which is superimposed is annulled by the knowledge of its substratum, all things vanish at the manifestation of the Lord and merge in Him. This being the case, all love, even that directed toward worldly objects, is in reality fixed on the Blessed Lord, because nothing different from Him is presented to awareness. Such a state249 was desired, by Prahlada:250> Let not unceasing love, 251 such as the undiscriminating have for worldly objects, depart from the heart of me who am constantly meditating on Thee. VP 1.20.19

XXIV. The Levels of Non-Attachmemt 252 By reasonings such as these it may be determined that the Blessed Lord is the non-dual Self, a mass of perfect being, consciousness, and bliss, 253 the pure existence254 which is the substratum of all. For one who has so realized,@the great non-attachment called Mastery arises toward the objects of waking experience, because he knows that they are as insignificant as the objects of a dream. This non-attachment is described in an aphorism of the revered Patamjali: "One who is devoid of desire for objects seen and objects heard of through scripture attains the non-attachment called Mastery" [Ys 1.15].255 The fact that non-attachment has four stages, related as means and end, 256 is widely acknowledged in all 1.

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the scriptures.' The first of these stages is characterized by the resolution, "I will most certainly remove the faults, of my mind, even though it may require great effort." This is called the Non-attachment of Exertion .. When the practice of the means is performed continually, one acquires constant attentiveness, like that of a doctor. This takes the form, "So many faults257 are now eliminated and so many yet remain," and is the second stage, called the Non-attachment of Discrimination. The third stage is attained by the regular and conscientious practice of the first two. Called the Non-attachment of the Single Sense, it is a state in which the external senses258 have lost their inclination toward objects while the impressions of those objects yet remain in the mind. 259 After the practice of these three stages, there arises a mental attitude of desirelessness toward perceptible objects, such as attractive women, even while they are being apprehended by the senses, and also toward objects heard of from scripture, such as heaven. This fourth state, produced by the practice of seeking out the defects in objects, 260 is the Non-attachment of Mastery [mentioned in YS 1.15 above]. Non-attachment is further divisible into two levels, a lower and a higher. The latter is described in an aphorism of Patañjali: "The higher is the lack of desire for the material qualities because of the realization of the

294 spirit" [YS 1.16]: 261 Realization of the spirit is the same as knowledge of the Self. The lack of desire for, or non- attachment to, the material qualities -- i.e., the objects of sense such as sound and so on -- that follows such realization is the higher, indeed the best, because it is the goal to be achieved. 262 The lower non-attachment [just described as having four stages] is that which comes before, and is the means to, this end. The sign of the lower level is the desire for liberation alone, without regard for any other end. Mucukunda263 had this type of non-attachment: I wish for no boon, 0 Lord, other than the service of Thy feet, which is most desired by those who have renounced all possessions. Having worshiped Thee, 0 Hari, the dispenser of liberation, what discerning person would chose a boon leading to his own bondage ?. Therefore, 0 Lord, having completely cast off desires, from which there arises involvement with the material qualities -- the luminous, the active, and the inert -- I resort to Thee, who art free from the material qualities, the stainless, non-dual, pure intelligence, the Supreme Spirt. Long afflicted by my own wickedness, tormented by regrets, having six insatiable enemies, 264 I can in no way find peace. I have approached Thy lotus feet, 0 Giver of Refuge, O Supreme Self, which are the truth, distressed. free from fear and grief. Protect me, O Lord, who am so 10.51.56-58 In such a state, love for the Blessed Lord does not reach its highest limit. For this reason, the Lord says to him:

295 Living the life of a member of the warrior caste, you have slain living creatures in the hunt and by other means as well. Concentrating your mind and seeking refuge in Me, you should destroy this sin through austerity. In your next birth, O King, having become a noble Brahmin, the best friend of all creatures, you will attain Me, who am Brahman, at death. 10.51.63-64 It is this lower non-attachment that is described in the aphorism of Patamjali quoted above, namely: "One who is devoid of desire of objects seen and objects heard of through scripture attains the non-attachment called Mastery" [YS 1.15]. The supreme limit of love does not arise with this, nor is there at this time the state of complete fulfillment of all goals of life. This is because the highest degree of love, which is the cause of the state of complete fulfillment, cannot arise in the absence of the higher non-attachment. The sign of this higher non-attachment is the lack of regard for all goals including liberation. 265 To illustrate: I lead beyond death those who -- having abandoned this world and the next, the body which wanders in both, as well as wealth, houses, and all else associated with that body in this world -- worship only Me, the Omnipresent, with devotion directed toward no other. 3.25.39-40

296 Such people would not accept residence in My worla, equality in power with Me, close proximity to Me, similarity in form with Me, or even oneness with Me were Me. 266 these being offered without the possibility of serving 3.29.13 There are some who, delighting in the worship of My feet and exerting themselves in My service, do not desire oneness with Me. These devotees, gathering together, celebrate with each other My glorious exploits. 3.25.34 One whose mind is fixed on Me desires nothing except Me -- not the status of Lord Brahma, the creator, nor the seat of the Great Indra, not lordship over the whole earth nor sovereignty in the nether world, neither yogic powers nor freedom from rebirth. 11.14.14 Says Prahlada: I am Thy devotee, but desire nothing, and Thou art my - Master, but have no need of my service. In our relationship, there is no object to be attained, though it is otherwise for a worldly king and his servant. 7.10.6 And Prthu: 267 I shall never desire even that [liberation] in which is not ound the nectar of Thy lotus feet flowing out through the lips of the supremely great [saints] from the depths of their hearts. Give me ten thousand ears; this is my wish. 268 4.20.24 Dhruva269 also: The complete fulfillment which arises for embodied beings through meditation on Thy lotus feet or through hearing tales about Thy devotees, O Lord, is not found even in Brahman, in all its greatness. How much less

297 [could it be enjoyed] by those [gods or residents of heaven] who fall from celestial cars that are crushed by the sword of death?270 4.9.10 The Queens: 271 We, O Righteous Lady, desire neither the sovereignty of the earth, lordship over heaven, nor [sensual] enjoyment; neither supernatural powers, the status of Lord Brahma, nor the eternal abode of Hari. We desire only to bear on our heads the dust of the radiant feet of the Mace-wielder,272-which is rich with the fragrance of the saffron from the breasts of Srr.273 10.83.41-42 And Indra:274 Thy rightful share [of the sacrifice], 0 Supreme One, has been recovered by Thee while rescuing us. The lotus of the heart, Thy home, which was afflicted by demons, has blossomed. For those who are desirous of serving Thee, what is the value of this [world] which is devoured by Time? When even liberation is not highly regarded by them, O Man-lion, what might be the value of other goals? 7.8.42 For one who has devotion to the Lord Hari, the Master of the final beatitude, and is thus sporting in an ocean of nectar, what could be the use of insignificant ditch water? 6.12.22 Also Vrtra: 275 Apart from Thee, O Excellent One, I do not desire the uppermost heaven, the status of Lord Brahma, sovereignty over the earth, or lordship in the netherworld. Nor do I want yogic powers or freedom from rebirth. 6.11.25

298 And the Vedas: 276 `There are some, O Lord, who do not seek even liberation. Abandoning their homes to find association with the flocks of. swans277 that gather at Thy lotus feet, they are. refreshed by swimming in the great ocean of nectar that is the tale of the deeds of Thee who have assumed bodily form for 'the sake of teaching the nature of the Self, so difficult to understand. 10.87.21 .Many similar verses could be cited. When there is such a state of higher non-attachment characterized by a lack of regard. for all goals including liberation, the love for the highest Self, the supreme bliss, reachesits utmost limit, because love for other ends does not arise. Thus Vtra says: My mind longs for Thee, O Lotus-eyed One, as unfledged nestlings desire their mother, as young calves that are suffering from hunger seek milk, as a despondent lover pines for her absent beloved. 6.11.26

XXV. The Relation of Knowledge, Non-Attachment, and Devotion Because the attainment of the supreme limit of love for the Blessed Lord278 is impossible without the higher non-attachment, and because the higher non-attachment cannot exist without knowledge, both knowledge and non-attachment should be cultivated in order to acquire it. Thus it is said:

299 By non-enjoyment of the material qualities that compose the primal cause, 279 9 by knowledge made full through non- attachment, by yoga, and by devotion fixed on Me, one attains Me, the inner Self, here in this body. 3.25.27 By the yoga of devotion accompanied by knowledge and non-attachment, yogis resort for shelter to the tips of My feet which are free from danger from any quarter. 3.25.43 Devotion, non-attachment, and knowledge of the Blessed Lord arise for the devotee who constantly worships the feet of Acyuta. Thereupon, O King, he attains the highest, peace directly. 11.4.43 The devotee is the person who practices the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees. First comes knowledge of the Blessed Lord, then there arises the higher non- attachment, and then the devotion which is of the nature of love.280 The Blessed Lord Himself teaches this to Uddhava: 281 For the possessor of knowledge, I alone am the desired object and favored means; I am heaven and final liberation also. No other thing is dear to him excepting Me. Those who have knowledge and discrimination know My highest state. Therefore the possessor of knowledge is the dearest to Me, for he maintains Me282 through his knowledge. 11.19.2-3

XXVI. The Nature of Knowledge What sort of knowledge is meant? Because there is a desire to know this, it is stated briefly:

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The threefold change that appears in you, 0 Udhava, occurs not in the beginning, nor in final liberation, but only in the interval of Maya. Birth and so on belong to that. Since this is so, what have they to do with you? That which exists at the beginning and the end of the unreal, also exists in the interval. 283 11.19.7 Everything other than the Blessed Lord, because it is transient, is false284 like a dream. It is devoid of true significance, painful, and to be shunned. The Blessed Lord alone is real; He is the supreme bliss -- self-luminous, eternal, and omnipresent -- the one to be sought after. This is the kind of knowledge spoken of. It is taught in the' Bhagavad GIta also: Four kinds of virtuous men worship Me, O Arjuna: the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the one desirous of gain, and the possessor of knowledge. Among these the possessor of knowledge, who is constantly controlled, whose devotion is one-pointed, is the most excellent. For I am exceedingly dear to the possessor of knowledge, and he is dear to Me. Noble indeed are all these, but the possessor of knowledge I hold to be My very Self, for with steadfast mind he resorts to Me alone as the highest goal. At the end of many births, the possessor of knowledge surrenders to Me, thinking "Vasudeva is all." Such a great soul is exceedingly hard to find. BG 7.16-19 Everything other than Vasudeva, since it is a product of Maya, is not real. Vasudeva alone is real, is the dearest, because He is the Self. This is the meaning.

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XXVII. The Nature of the Higher Non-Attachment The non-attachment that has this type of knowledge as its prerequisite is expounded as follows: The revealed texts, perception, traditional wisdom, and inference are the four means of knowledge. Because it remains unestablished in the face of these, the wise man becomes detached from this mental construct. 285 Because they are the fruits of actions, the wise man sees all things -- the invisible, up to and including the world of Brahma, like the visible -- as perishable and devoid of value. 11.19.17-18 And elsewhere: One should realize that, for men marrying and undertaking the prescribed actions for the sake of the avoidance of sorrow and the acquisition of pleasure, there will be the reverse of the expected result. What joy can there be from wealth, from houses, children, friends, or cattle? Though difficult to attain, they are, when acquired through much work, transient, and constant sources of distress which lead to one's own death. In the same way, one should know that heaven, a product of action, is perishable. In it there is the prospect of destruction at the hands of equals or superiors, as among the rulers of petty principalities. 11.3.18-20

XXVIII. The Nature of Devotion What is the nature of this devotion toward the Blessed Lord which, preceded by knowledge and non- attachment, is attained by one who practices the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees? Such being the question, it is said:

302 If you are unable to hold your mind unmoving in Brahman, result. perform all actions for Me, without expectation of One who hears with faith the auspicious tales about Me which purify the worlds, who sings of, and meditates on, My birth and actions, who takes Me as his sole refuge, O Uddhava, gains unswerving devotion toward Me, the Eternal. 11.11.22-24 And likewise: The yoga of devotion has already been explained to you, O sinless one. Since you were so pleased, now again I shall tell you of the best means of cultivating devotion to Me. Careful assistance at My worship, complete prostration before Me, showing great respect for My devotees, seeing Me in all beings Acting always for My purposes, uttering My glories in all speech, fixing the mind on Me, renunciation of all desires, Abandoning wealth, enjoyment, and pleasure for My sake offering sacrifice, giving gifts, performing oblations chanting sacred syllables, keeping vows, and performing austerities for Me -- For those surrendering themselves through such practices, O Uddhava, there arises devotion to Me. What other aim can remain for them? 11.19.19-24 And in another place: Therefore one desirous of knowing the highest good should resort to a teacher who is well versed in the Veda, who has realized the supreme Brahman, and who is established in tranquillity. Worshiping the teacher as his very Self, he should learn from him, by sincere imitation, the disciplines of the Lord's devotees, by which he may please Hari, who is the Self and who gives Himself.286

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At first there should be non-attachment of the 'mind toward all things and attachment to the saintly. compassion, friendship, or respect toward his fellow Then creatures as may be proper. Purity; austerity; patience; silence; scriptural study; straightforwardness; celibacy: non-violence; equanimity toward the pairs of opposites; 287 Seeing the Lord as the Self in. all things; solitude; . homelessness; the wearing of clean tree-bark; contentment with whatever comes; Faith in the scriptures about the Lord without condemnation of others; discipline of mind, speech, and action; truthfulness, calmness, and self-control; Hearing and singing of, and meditation on, the glories of the birth and life of Hari whose deeds are so marvelous; the performance of all activity for His sake; The dedication as offerings to the Supreme of sacrifice, charity, austerity, repetition of sacred syllables, virtuous behavior, and whatever one holds dear such as wife, children, houses, and even life itself; Friendliness to those who regard Krsna as their Lord; service to both the great and the saintly; Recounting with others the purifying tales of the Blessed Lord; sharing together delight, contentment, and the turning away from the body -- Thus thinking constantly of Hari, the destroyer of a multitude of sins, and reminding each other of Him, their bodies thrill in the rapture of devotion-generated devotion. 288 Sometimes they weep from anxious thought of Acyuta; sometimes they laugh and rejoice. Sometimes they utter strange [words], dance, sing, and imitate the Unborn One. Having attained the Supreme, fully content, they become silent. Following in this way the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees, one intent on Narayana quickly, by means of the devotion generated by these, crosses beyond Maya, so difficult to overcome. 11.3.21-33

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Therefore, by means such as these, which are sanctioned by scripture, one should acquire purity of mind. This is the meaning.

XXIX. The Eleven Stages of Devotion The author now proposes to relate, for the sake of easy comprehension by intelligent persons, the scripturally sanctioned means according to their distinct stages: 33. BOOK.289 THE MEANS ARE DESCRIBED BY NARADA IN THE FIRST I SHALL STATE THEM BRIEFLY, TOGETHER WITH THEIR DIVISION INTO SEPARATE STAGES. The meaning is clear. He now declares them: 34. FIRST THERE IS SERVICE OF THE GREAT, THEN BEING A FIT OBJECT OF THEIR COMPASSION. NEXT THERE IS FAITH IN THEIR DISCIPLINES, AND THEN COMES HEARING OF THE GLORIES OF HARI. 35. THEN THERE IS THE ARISING OF THE SPROUT OF LOVE, 290 AND NEXT'REALIZATION OF THE ESSENTIAL NATURE. THEN COMES THE INCREASE OF ECSTATIC LOVE FOR THE SUPREME BLISS, AND AFTER THAT THE DIRECT MANIFESTATION OF HIM. . NEXT THERE IS SPONTANEOUS ABSORPTION IN THE SPIRITUAL DISCILPINES OF THE LORD'S DEVOTEES, AND THEN COMES POSSESSION OF HIS GLORIOUS QUALITIES IN ONESELF. FINALLY, THERE ARISES THE SUPREME LIMIT OF ECSTATIC LOVE. THUS, DECLARED. 291 THE STAGES OF DEVOTION HAVE BEEN

37. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED LORD, ITS MEANS AND ESSENTIAL NATURE, TOGETHER WITH ITS STAGES HAVE HERE BEEN PROPERLY EXPLAINED TO THE BEST OF OUR UNDERSTANDING! Now the first chapter is ended.

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XXX. Colophon

HERE ENDS THE FIRST CHAPTER, ENTITLED "THE DEFINITION OF THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DEVOTION" BY THE DISTINGUISHED MADHUSUDANA SARASVATI AN ENGLIGHTENED SAINT OF THE HIGHEST ORDER, 292 A WANDERING MENDICANT, 293 THE MOST EXCELLENT OF TEACHERS AND BEST OF ASCETICS WHOSE PROFICIENCY IN ALL BRANCHES OF LEARNING IS FAMED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. 294

And the most excellent commentary thereon, composed by the same best of ascetics.

PART III:

CRITICAL REFLECTIONS

CHAPTER EIGHT

THEORETICAL DIFFICULTIES As promised in the introduction, the third part of this study will be concerned with an evaluation of the teachings of the BR. We shall, in this connection, consider certain important views that Madhusudana presents in this text in terms of their compatibility with (1) the principles of Samkara's non-dualism and (2) the later and somewhat different thinking on the relation of bhakti and Advaita that Madhusudana himself sets forth in his GAD. The first and more general of these problems will be our concern in this chapter.

8.1 Is Madhusudana's Presentation Convincing? The teachings of the BR, as we have had repeated occasion to notice, represent a radical departure from the traditional Advaitic attitude toward devotional spirituality. Hence we may well ask whether Madhusudana is able to deal adequately with the theoretical problems that these teachings raise. It is one thing to declare that bhakti is an independent path to, and itself sufficient as, the supreme spiritual goal, one thing to say that it is the

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308 crown of the experience of liberation-in-life; but it is another to show that these teachings are justifiable in terms of Samkara's Advaita. MadhusOdana's follower and interpreter Narayana Tfrtha, for one, seems to have been satisfied that they were .. In his Bhakticandrika, which depends heavily on the BR, we read: "The devotion that is an end is never a means; itself the only goal of life, it reduces even moksa to straw."1 Despite the fact that we do not know of any Advaitins who chose the opposite course of explicitly criticizing the position of the BR, I think that there are good reasons for concluding that Narayana's estimate is far too sanguine. For an Advaitin, the notion of bhakti as the paramapurusartha involves serious difficulties on several levels. If, to take a relatively minor example, Madhusudana wants to say that the highest stages of bhakti occur only after Advaitic realization has taken place, he must find some way to. make room for such an experience in the non- dualist understanding -of jIvanmukti. But it is difficult to see how the realization of an ecstatic climax of devotion in that state, as envisioned in the BR, could be justified. The admission of even the faintest trace of dualistic awareness in jIvanmukti -- since it implies the continued presence of Ignorance (avidya) after the rise of knowledge --

309 leads to theoretical embarrassment and is, in fact, a problem much discussed in the tradition.2 Nowhere in his writings, to my knowledge, does Madhusudana attempt an exposition of the expanded conception of liberation-in-life that his enthusiastic advocacy of the possibility of bhakti in that state would seem to require. This, however, is only the beginning of the problems that arise if the teachings of the BR are examined, with any kind of rigor, from an Advaitic standpoint. Even if we grant that Madhusudana's case for the superiority of bhakti as enjoyed by the jfvanmukta is plausible, the BR is frustratingly vague as to what happens to the liberated devotee's experience of devotion after his earthly life is over. What, we might well ask, is the significance of the devotional experience when viewed from perspective of eternity? This problem, in turn, leads to an even more difficult question, that of the ultimate metaphysical status of bhakti. No matter how convincing Madhusudana's efforts to establish the experiential superiority of devotion, it is not all all clear that he is successful in demonstrating that it has a greater ontological value than moksa, or indeed even an equal ontological value.

310 8.2 The Eternality of Devotion According to orthodox Advaita, the liberated saint at death should attain videhamukti or disembodied `liberation. Having realized his eternal identity as Brahman, he experiences after the demise of his physical -. frame no further existence as a separate center of consciousness. His individuality is simply dissolved. What remains is a state of monistic kaivalya ("isolation"), consisting of nothing but the self-luminous oneness of the pure Brahman, from which even the slightest trace of Ignorance (avidyalesa), the smallest remnant of duality that may have persisted in the state of jvanmukti, has been eliminated. If this is the ultimate destiny of all jfvan- muktas, as the soteriology of Advaita seems to require, it would appear necessary to conclude that bhakti cannot continue in the final state of liberation, even for great devotees who have attained the supreme heights of devotion. But, if this is the case, the bhakta will be no better off in the long term than the jñanin who was a non-devotee. Both the devotee and his devotion will in the end dissolve in the absolute unity of Brahman. This, of course, would completely undermine the case for bhakti's being the supreme goal of life. If nothing else, the paramapurusartha must at least be a state which does not come to an end.

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Madhusudana does not discuss this problem at all, except to indicate almost in passing thatthe devotional experience, once attained, is eternal. In section IX of the BR the objection is raised that, if devotion were something different than knowledge of Brahman, it would be, no matter how desirable, only a temporary goal like the joys of heaven (svarga), which must eventually end in a further earthly incarnation. Our author argues that this is not the case: Heaven and the other goals cannot be enjoyed forever. They can be experienced only at certain limited times and places through certain specific bodies and sense organs, and, moreover, they are pervaded by the two-fold pain of perishability and contingency. So they are certainly not ultimate. The uninterrupted flow of the bliss of devotion, however, is ultimate because it can be enjoyed equally in all times and places without limitation as to body and sense organs, like the fruit of knowledge of Brahman, and because it does not have the two-fold pain of perishability and contingency.3 This, unfortunately, is all Madhusudana sees fit to tell us. 1 It is obvious here that our author is suggesting that bhakti is not "perishable," that it is an experience that has no end. We feel the need, however, of a more detailed explanation. Does Madhusudana want, as Gupta suggests, to allow jIvanmukti as the sixth stage of devotional experience, but avoid videhakaivalya ("disembodied liberation"), its natural consequence, so that the devotee can continue to enjoy the bliss of devotion eternally?4 It may be, but how this possibility. should be conceived, and how it might be accommodated within the

312 framework of Advaita, Madhusudana does not say. The liberated devotee's continued enjoyment of devotional bliss in a celestial realm such as brahmaloka could be imagined as a sort of post-mortem extension of the jtvanmukta state. There is the difficulty, though, that in Advaita even brahmaloka is a phenomenal, ultimately impermanent state, the residents of which, as we have seen, attain absolute liberation with the dissolution of that world at the end of a qosmic age. Vaișnava theology avoids this problem by positing a transphenomenal "abode" (dhaman) of God, a super- celestial heaven5 that is beyond maya and therefore truly eternal. To this divine abode the liberated soul can go to enjoy eternal bhakti. Advaitins, however, cannot recognize the possibility of such a transphenomenal realm; they can admit nothing beyond maya except Isvara and the pure; formless Brahman. It therefore seems that, even if some sort of postmortem existence is granted -- as Samkara actually does allow for those enlightened beings to whom the Lord has entrusted certain cosmic "offices" (adhikara)6 -- the jIvanmukta-devotee will eventually have to attain videhamukti at the end of the world-age, and therewith lose his experience of bhakti and be content with the mere bliss of moksa. Thus, there is a serious difficulty in the idea of bhakti as an eternal experience of the individual mukta. If Madhusudana wants the notion of enjoying devotion

313 P "equally in all times and places without limitation as' to body and sense organs" to suggest continued individual experience, and if he wants the eternality of devotion to be based on such experience, the concept of final liberation or videhamukti, like the theory of jIvanmukti, must also be considerably reworked and expanded.

8.3 Bhagavat as the Eternal Experiencer of Devotion This, however, is not the only possible approach to securing the eternality of devotion. As an Advaitin, Madhusudana could, and perhaps properly should, argue that of course bhakti does not continue as an individual experience since, even in the state of jIvanmukti, there is no longer any question of individuality. The jIva has realized its identity with the ultimate and seen the illusoriness of its former sense of existence as a separate ego-center. So whatever individuality appears to remain is only that, an appearance, the playful activity of the Lord's maya. Already, then, the bhakta has disappeared and only bhagavat remains. Madhusudana has declared that bhagavat is eternal, non-phenomenal, and real. Bhakti, since it is identical with bhagavat, must therefore share in these attributes, participating in eternality and Being to the same degree as does the Lord. But in what sense can it continue without the bhakta?

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The lack of an individual consciousness to enjoy the bliss of devotion presents a serious problem since, among other things, it is axiomatic for the devotionalist that the bliss of bhakti, unless it is experienced consciously, will be nothing but the "ordinary" static bliss of Brahman.7 Should this particular quality be lost, bhakti would cease to be conceptualizable as distinct from moksa. It is perhaps for this reason that Madhusudana defines devotion in stanza l of the BR, not just as bliss, but as the "experience" (samvid) of bliss. But, the individuality of the bhakta having been dissolved in liberation, who is left to experience bhakti eternally? Obviously, the only candidate is bhagavat himself. By following this line of thought, therefore, we are lead to a theory that requires something strikingly similar to the Bengal Vaisnava notion of Krsna's eternal relishing of bhakti in the form of his own hladinfsakti.8 Devotion must be experienced, and since there is in the final state of moksa (according to Advaita) no more devotee to perform that function, it must be experienced by bhagavat or Isvara; it has to become, in the end, the Lord's enjoyment of his own bliss. The idea of the devotee losing himself in an eternal identity with the personal God, and experiencing bhakti in that state on a universalized, indeed completely divinized level, would seem to be a possible extension of rasa-theory,

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which takes the universalized experience of emotion as its ideal. It might appear, however, to contradict the Advaitin's belief that the liberated soul, especially in videhamukti, is merged in the formless nirguna Brahman. Although we are here going far beyond what MadhusOdana actually says, it is worth noting that the more theistically oriented concept of salvation outlined above as a possible foundation for the thinking of the BR could find some support in an interesting doctrine held by some post-Samkara Advaitins, that of sarvamukti or "universal salvation." First suggested by Vacaspati (tenth century), this theory was developed most fully by Appayya DIkşita, a younger contemporary of Madhusudana who, in his later works, also displayed strong devotional inclinations.9 In his early Siddhantalesasamgraha, a summary of the teachings of post-Samkara Advaita, Appayya writes that the attainment of liberation, even in its disembodied form, involves, not the realization of oneness with the transcendent Brahman, but rather identity with Isvara. Interestingly enough, he maintains that this is a consequence of the very theory of the relation of jiva and Isvara that Madhusudana uses in the BR, namely, the version of the pratibimbavada in which the Lord is the original of which the jiva is a reflection. Since it is the merger of the pratibimba ("reflection") in the bimba ("original") -- which in this view is Isvara, not

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the pure Absolute -- moksa is now understood as the attainment of Isvaratva ("Lordship," i.e., identity with the personal God), not the realization of final oneness with the transpersona? Brahman. As long as other reflections -- other jivas -- continue to exist, the Lord also must continue to exist as their bimba and there can be no final merger in the Absolute for the souls that have attained identity with Him. For this reason, Appaya held that the ultimate salvation of any one soul could not be attained until all jfvas were liberated, which would mean that all pratibimbas would be destroyed, and the universe finally dissolved along with its Lord. Hence the designation sarvamukti ("universal salvation").10

The problem with this doctrine is that, while having potentially valuable ethical implications, it forgets Advaita's teaching that souls are infinite in number and that the universe and Isvara are endless. It therefore amounts to an assertion, coming from within the Advaita tradition, that liberation is not oneness with the supreme Brahman but an eternal state of union with the personal God. I mention this theory only to show that the possibility of identity with bhagavat is not entirely foreign to Advaita. Whether or not MadhusOdana's thinking was inclined in this direction is, from the BR, impossible to tell. Appayya, of course, believed that Isvaratva was

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attained by all liberated souls, not just bhaktas. Could Madhusudana have come up with a scheme that allowed jñanins who were not inclined to bhakti to attain merger in the pure Absolute while at the same time permitting devotees to attain an eternal unity with bhagavat? If so, what would be the fate of those such as Madhusudana himself who · followed the path of knowledge and were perhaps even jIvanmuktas but who were also fervent devotees of the personal God? Moreover, since bhagavat in the BR is so closely identified with Brahman, would not the idea of his eternal experience of his own bliss as bhakti suggest an internal division (svagatabheda) in the ultimate that would undercut the very foundational principles of Samkara's non- dualism?

8.4 Bhagavat Still Ontologically Less Than Brahman It becomes obvious that to incorporate bhakti as an eternal reality within Advaita would require at the very least a more elaborate soteriological structure and a more carefully articulated notion of Isvara than the orthodox system, or even MadhusUdana himself, provides. To demonstrate this, I have had to fill out and extend his thought considerably, which has required much unwarranted speculation. But even if he had presented us with a more o adequate conceptualization of the Advaita-bhakta's final

318 state, and the more developed understanding. of the personal God that this would demand, his theory would still face problems. Unless developed on lines radically different .from those I have suggested, it would require an additional argument for a final ontological parity between the para : : Brahman and Isvara. This is because an Advaitin must in the end'hold that an eternal union with the personal God, no. . matter how exalted a state, is still penultimate to the attainment of Brahman, as the very concept of an eventual sarvamukti itself implies. To admit this, however, is to admit that bhakti, even as bhagavat, is ontologically less than moksa. Madhusudana is easily justified in holding that the Lord, as Brahman, is real and beyond maya. It is more difficult, however, to show that the Lord as Lord is.such.1l Unlike theoreticians such as SrIdhara and, in his later works, Appayya, who were willing to compromise certain . foundational principles of Samkara's non-dualism in order to accommodate bhakti, Madhusudana remains (metaphysically, if not also religiously) an authentic Advaitin in the BR. As such, he cannot explicitly argue for an ultimate identification of bhagavat and Being. He must maintain the distinction between the savikalpaka and the nirvikalpaka, though he might -- for devotional reasons as well as others we have discussed in chapter twol2 -- write in a way that

319 .suggested he was oollapsing it. If systematically developed, an argument for the ontological parity of Isvara and the pure Absolute would eventually lead an Advaitin to . the brink of a fatal admission. It would entail, unless I am mistaken, the recognition of the final reality of maya and' the world, since these are the factors whose "existence" is responsible for calling Isvara (as Isvara) into being. The concept of sakti could not have helped Madhusudana here, as it did the Gosvamins and perhaps SrIdhara and Appayya, for if interpreted realistically it also would lead to a basic violation of Samkara's vision.

8.5 A Suggestive Metaphysical Vagueness Madhustdana's efforts in the BR to establish bhakti as the paramapurusartha suggest that he was hoping to place it on an ontological par with moksa, a difficult goal for anyone working within the context of Advaita. If this was in fact his intention, his efforts, while richly suggestive and for that reason extremely valuable, leave the critical reader finally unsatisfied. If he was only trying to establish the easier thesis to defend -- namely, the 4. experiential superiority of bhakti to moksa -- the results are 'still inadequate when the question of the eternality of the experience is raised, by reason if nothing else of the lack of sufficient development. Indeed, even if we reduce the:

320 scope of bhakti's superiority to the period of liberation- in-life, the teaching of the BR is not without problems. As we have seen, it calls at the very least for a more expanded conceptualization of jIvanmukti than is available in the. traditional works on Advaita. .. The fact is that Madhusudana is disappointingly vague in his whole treatment of the higher stages of bhakti and their metaphysical significance. When dealing with ideas that threaten to have a momentous impact on Advaitic theory, he combines a tantalizing and seemly reckless suggestiveness with a frustrating refusal to draw out explicitly the full implications of what he is saying. We must avoid, however, the hasty conclusion that Madhusudana was unconscious of these limitations. At this late date, a charge that the most brilliant non-dualist metaphysician of the sixteenth century was careless or incompetent, even in this one instance, would place a considerable burden of proof on the accuser. It is more probable than not that Madhusudana knew precisely what he was about when he wrote the BR. True, the text is sketchy on critical points, ones that the author must have known would be controversial. But it seems to me that, with a writer of Madhusudana's caliber, we must at least consider the possibility that such apparent defects were deliberate, based on, if nothing else, a keen awareness of the

321 insurmountably paradoxical quality of his own spiritual experience. In the end, the question of why Madhusudana did not attempt a more adequate theoretical justification of the key teachings of the BR throws us back on a more basic. problem, that of trying to arrive at a satisfactory understanding of his purpose in writing the work. This task will be one of those taken up in the next chapter.

CHAPTER. NINE

THE CONTINUITY OF MADHUSUDANA'S THOUGHT ON BHAKTİ

This chapter will address certain problems centering around the continuity and consistency of Madhusudana's thought on bhakti. In this connection, we will examine a number of previously unrecognized but nevertheless significant discrepancies between the outlook of the BR and that of the GudharthadIpika (GAD), Madhusudana's later commentary on the BG. As a starting point for this discussion, however, and with a view to shedding light on questions raised in the previous chapter, I would, like' to back-step, as it were, and consider the more fundamental problem of what it was our author hoped to accomplish in the BR. One is, presumably, entitled to regard the purpose of a treatise devoted to glorifying the path of bhakti as problematic when the work comes from the pen of one of the greatest champions of Advaita, a thinker whom the devotional schools regarded as a formidable enemy. Having become familiar with the substance of the text's teachings, we are now in a position to give serious consideration to the question of Madhusudana's intentions in writing it!

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9.1 Possible Purposes of the BR It goes without saying that the motivation behind a work like the BR must have been complex and that it will be impossible to fathom it completely from a vantage. point so far removed in time as our own: Nevertheless, two possible motives do readily suggest themselves. They are related, and taken together they provide a useful starting point for thought about this problem. First, there is the obvious possibility that Madhusudana was trying work out a synthesis between Bhagavata devotionalism and Advaita, an effort that grew out of his personal religious concerns. This hypothesis seems well-supported by what we know of his own spiritual experience. Despite the fact that Madhusūdana was an uncompromising Advaitin, he was also a fervent devotee of Krsna and therefore caught up in a certain conflict of interest. Since, as Venkateswaran points out, his bhakti "occurred on a very 'high level' and after lifelong scholarship and sophistication," there can be no doubt that he was sensitive to its problematic quality, keenly aware of "the dialectical and paradoxical tension in which his mind lived, between the qualityless, transcendent impersonal Brahman, on the one hand, and the particular, concrete, quality-flooded Person Krishna, on the other."l As noted in the introduction, Madhusudana was a master of all the

324 various branches of learning current in his day and showed a marked tendency to apply his wide knowledge in efforts toward synthesis 'and syncretism. This can be seen, for example, in his consistent interest in the Yogasutras of Patañjali and the teachings of the Yogavasistha, and in his attempts, of which I shall say more shortly, to make room in Advaita for certain doctrines and practices derived from these texts. It would seem reasonable, therefore, to understand Madhusudana's work on the theory of bhakti as an extension of this synthetic activity, an effort to bring together and -- to the extent it was possible -- integrate two important streams of the spirituality of his age in which he himself was vitally interested. We could then regard the text as something of a personal document, one in which the author attempted to work out the tensions between his own private religious life, in which devotion played a significant role, and his public stance as a defender of the ultimacy of formlessness and non-duality. The assumption that an interest in a theoretical integration of Advaita and bhakti lies behind the BR has more or less tacitly informed our discussion of the text up to the present point. It has served especially as the basis of our critique, in chapter eight, of the BR's presentation of the metaphysical dimensions of bhakti. Other students of Madhusudana have of course based their evaluations of the

325 text on similar premises. Gupta, for example, regards the BR as the attempt of one of the greatest intellects of medieval India to work out a "reconciliation" of. Advaita and bhakti,2 while Mishra sees it as an endeavor to arrive at a "fusion or compromise" between Samkara Vedanta and the religion of the Bhagavatas.3 Mahadevan goes further, claiming without hesitation that to Madhusudana "must be given the credit of reconciling the philosophy of Advaita with the experience of a bhakta."4 The idea that Madhusudana himself felt a keen personal interest in the outcome of the discussion in the BR suggests, as a corollary to this "theory of synthesis," that the text should be regarded as a presentation of his own final and considered views on the subject. We have not yet committed ourselves to this position, but Modi, Gupta, Mishra, and Mahadevan all seem to take it for granted. They assume that the BR is a straightforward statement of its author's personal convictions, an effort to supplement or expand, from the devotional viewpoint, the more conventional version of non-dualist spirituality he outlined in such works as the VKL and the SB. This notion seems at first both natural and plausible, and is indeed useful insofar as it facilitates an intial entry into interpretation of the text. Nevertheless we shall shortly have occasion to question its adequacy as the foundation of any final .understanding.

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A second possible impulse behind the BR is social in nature. That is to say, the text may represent in part an attempt to mitigate the socio-religious elitism of the Samkara school and a concern that Advaitic realization be opened, at least in principle, to a broader spectrum of religious seekers. Mahadevan, for example, characterizes the BR as affort to liberalize Advaita by including bhakti along with ijñana as an independent means to salvation: Madhusūdana was the fist to claim that the path of devotion (bhakti) leads to non-dual realization. To Madhusūdana Sarasvatī, devotion is as good a means to release as knowledge. ... Whether we agree with him or not in bestowing on bhakti the importance which he gives it, we cannot help but admire the catholicity of spirit. which animates his exposition of Advaita.5 Divanji, another perceptive commentator, accepts this outgoing social concern as the primary factor behind the BR, and seems to de-emphasize Madhusudana's personal interest in the topic. In his excellent introduction to the Siddhantabindu, he writes: Bhaktirasayana seems to have been specially composed in order to establish that those persons who according.to the orthodox view are debarred from resorting to the works of the first type [the' Vedanta texts] for their salvation have another way, namely Bhaktimarga, open to them and that just as the Vedanta doctrine can be expounded scientifically with the help of quotations taken from the Upanishads so the Bhakti doctrine can be expounded scientifically with the help of quotations taken from the Bhagawatpurana and the BhagawadgIta. 6 Divanji suggests that, though a high-caste Brahmin himself and a member of one of the most respected orders of Samkara samnyasins, Madhusudana did not believe that salvation was

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available to his kind only. He was a "magnanimous soul" whose vision of Advaita included the low and the humble and who, "believing that they had as much a claim on his services as. the members of his own class had expounded for their benefit the same doctrine [Advaita] in another form with slightly different variations through works like the Bhaktirasayana."7 The implication .is that Madhusūdana was writing, not primarily to address problems of a personal nature or questions of interest to those following his own path -- namely, the Advaita samnyasins -- but for the benefit of , others who, because of social restrictions or personal factors such as temperament, were not able to engage in the pursuit of Brahman-knowledge. Divanji's remarks should remind us of Advaita's commitment to the concept of the enlightened individual who acts unselfishly out of concern for lokasamgraha, the welfare of the unenlightened world.8 At the same time, they bring to mind Madhusūdana's own statement of purpose, given in the first stanza of the BR: "to bring contentment to everyone."9 This apparentlý 1

deserves to be taken as more than a casual remark. The notion that our author was writing primarily for the sake of others may conflict to a certain extent with the view that the BR represents a personal statement containing his own final views. As we have seen in chapter two, the Advaitin's idea of noblesse oblige includes supporting

328 others in their worship, even though it may be opposed to his understanding of the ultimate truth of non-duality. 10 So wemust remain open to the possibility that, in speaking for the "contentment of everyone," for the benefit of those hot able to follow the path of samnyasa, Madhusudana was not giving us the final truth, the paramarthikasatya, as he saw it. That this is not a mere idle suspicion will be seen when it is realized that there are significant differences between the teachings on bhakti found in the BR, on one hand, and those of the GAD, on the other. We shall see that the teachings of the latter are considerably closer to the orthodox doctrine. Any judgment, therefore, as to the 1 nature of Madhusudana's purposes in writing the BR must await at least a preliminary comparison of its teachings with pertinent material gleaned from his commentary on the Gītā.

9.2 Softening the Exclusivism of Orthodox Advaita I have mentioned Mahadevan and Divanji's suggestion that one of Madhusudana's chief motivations in writing the BR was to soften the exclusivism of Advaita by making devotion a possible path to moksa. From what has been said thus far, it is clear that this idea must be taken seriously. Whatever we may have to say about the shortcomings of his effort to give a more satisfactory

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ontological basis to bhakti, Madhusūdana has at least made a plausible case for its being a means to Self-realization, a means that, unlike Samkara's way of knowledge, is open to all persons, regardless of caste or sex. While the teaching of the BR represents in many respects an innovative departure from mainstream Advaita tradition, the truth is that, by the time of Madhusūdana, certain Advaitins had already abandoned rigid adherence to the idea that jñana was the only means to salvation. We find the first traces of what Mahadevan calls a "tendency to liberalize Advaita" beginning to appear at least as early as the fourteenth century in the work of Vidyaranya.11 Although in his Vivaranaprameyasamgraha this author sticks to the orthodox view that knowledge mediated through the 'Upanisadic "great sayings" is the only way to liberation, he teaches in the Pañcadasi, a more popular work, that yogic meditation is also a valid path. Quoting the dictum of BG 5.5, "The state attained by the Samkhyas is also attained by the followers of Yoga, "12 Vidyaranya asserts that either knowledge or yoga may' be followed, according to one's aptitude.13 The immediate source of this doctrine seems to be the Yogavasistha (YV), which began to be read by Advaitins sometime after the mid-ninth century. 14 Madhusudana, as I have mentioned, had a great interest in yoga, and he, like Vidyaranya, accepted it as an independent

330 path to moksa. He refers to the teaching of the YV on this question in the GAD and ARR, both of which are much more conservative in their presentation of Advaita than the BR.15 At GAD 6.29, for example he states that both yoga and jñana lead to the immediate realization of the Self (atmasaksāt- kara), and he cites the following verse of the YV.as authoritative support for this view: "There are two ways, O Rama, to the destruction of the mind, [namely] yoga and jñana. "16 So bhakti is only one of the unorthodox means given cognizance by Madhusudana. Already in the BR, as we have seèn, he recognizes yogic samadhi as a form of the paramapursartha, and in the GAD he explicitly accepts it as an authentic means to moksa. It is likely that both Vidyaranya and Madhusudana were in this accommodation of yoga responding to the needs and interests of ascetics of their day, among whom the YV and other yogic and tantric teachings had become popular. 17 Even as conservative a movement as the Samkara Advaita was not above the necessity of adapting to historical change. And if yoga, the interest of ascetics and monks, could find a place in Advaita, why not bhakti? It was of vital' . spiritual interest to renunciates to be sure, but also, and on a much more extensive scale than yoga, it had captured the minds of the masses. The BP especially had a wide audience in the sixteenth century. Its devotional teachings

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were very important to bhagavatasamnyasins such as Sridhara and Vişnu Purf, and Madhusudana was probably not the only orthodox Advaitin to be fascinated by its powerful emotional appeal. The parallels between the objectless^moksa of Advaita and the undifferentiated samadhi of yoga were much greater than those between the former and bhakti, and the marriage between Advaita and yoga was therefore much easier to arrange. Nevertheless, Madhusudana did make the attempt to articulate a vision of Advaita-bhakti that accommodated the spirit of Bhagavata devotionalism :. Had the attitude toward devotional spirituality expressed in the BR prevailed, it would have represented a significant modification of the exclusivistic attitude of the Samkara tradition. But, for better. or worse, it did not. This may have been because the theoretical integration of Advaita and bhakti was never fully worked out, or else because the views of the BR were simply too radical a departure from Advaitic orthodoxy. At any rate, we shall see that even Madhusudana himself was not entirely consistent in support of the relatively liberal position he took in the BR.

9.3 Bhakti in the GudharthadIpika In scholarly discussions of Madhusudana's contribution to Advaita, the GAD is commonly mentioned along

332 with the BR as his other important contribution to the debate on the place of bhakti in that system. Because the GAD does indeed have a great deal to say about devotion, it is worth looking at its teachings here, if only briefly, to see what light they may shed on our attempt to understand both the BR and Madhusudana's overall thinking on bhakti. The GIta commentary is clearly the later of the two works, since it cites the BR three times. An examination of its treatment of devotion, therefore, will help us determine the the extent to which the ideas expressed in the BR represent Madhusūdana's final views on the subject.

9.3.1 The Devotional Flavor of the Text That the author of the GAD is interested in bhakti is obvious from the outset. In the introduction, he proclaims that devotion is essential at every stage of spiritual development, since it removes the obstacles that stand in the way of progress.18 Elsewhere he says that, while bhakti is the means to success in the paths of both knowledge and action, it is at the same time the end of both, 19 being Krşna's highest teaching.20 We have already noted that the GAD accepts the possibility of devotion in the state of jIvanmukti. Madhusudana asserts this belief emphatically at several points in the work, most notably in verses 37-39 of the introduction. In that passage we again encounter BP 1.7.10 and BG 7.17:

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In the state of liberation-in-life there is no idea that devotion has any further end [i.e., it is experienced as an end-in-itself]. Worship of Hari is natural to such persons, like the virtues such as lack of hatred, and so on, [enumerated at BG 12.13-20]. "Sages who delight in the Self, who are free of the knots [of ignorance], practice selfless devotion to the Wide-strider [Vişnu-Krşna], such are the qualities of Haril" [BP 1.7.10] "Of these, the person of knowledge (jnanin), constantly disciplined, who has single-minded devotion, is the best" [BG 7.17]. According to such declarations, he is the foremost of those who are devoted with ecstatic love. 2 At'several points in the course. of the GAD, 22 the author refers to the example of devotees such as Sridhaman, Ajamila, Pralāda, Dhruva, AmbarIșa, and the gopis, all of whom are prominent in the BP but rarely mentioned in the writings of other Advaitins. For a more detailed explanation of the experience of these individuals, Madhusūdana refers his readers to the discussion of devotional theory in the BR. 23 The text of the GAD is embellished with devotional verses found, for the most part, at the beginning and end of each chapter. Some of these have already been quoted; other choice examples include: Some persons who are pure in body and mind strive [for liberation] by restraining their senses, abandoning worldly enjoyments, and resorting to yoga. But I have become liberated [simply by] tasting the essence of the ambrosia which is the endless and limitless glory of Narāyana. 24 I' adore that darling son of Nanda, the supreme bliss itself, who is worshiped by all the yogins and without devotion to whom there can be no liberation. 25

334 These should suffice to show that, the devotional tone of the work is.at least comparable to that of the BR.

9.3.2. Surrender to God the GIta's Key Teaching Madhusūdana pays respect to Samkara and claims to be faithfully following his lead in interpreting the BG. 26 Nevertheless, he has a basic disagreement with his great predecessor regarding the centrality of samnyasa. While Samkara argues that renunciation is the key teaching of the GIta, Madhusudana believes, and asserts repeatedly, that the most essential message of the text is surrender to God or bhagavadekasaranata, literally "the state of having the Blessed Lord as one's sole refuge."' Thus: Only the state of having the Blessed Lord as one's sole refuge is the means to moksa, not the performance of action or the renunciation of action. 27 It is not renunciation that is enjoined here [as Samkara asserts]. Rather, the state .of having the Lord'as one's sole refuge is prescribed generally for the student, the householder, the retiree, and the renunciate. ... The state of having the Lord as one's sole refuge is itself the highest secret of all the scriptures; it is the final teaching of the Gita. Without it, even renunciation will not lead to its proper end. Hence the Lord intends to teach only the state of having Him as one's sole refuge with disregard for the path of renunciation. 28 The idea of surrender to God is given an non-dualistic turn at GAD 18.66: "I am His"; "He is mine"; "I am He" -- thus the state of surrender to the Lord is threefold, according to the maturity of practice of the means.

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Madhusudana mentions Ambarisa, Pralada, and the gopis as examples of bhaktas who experienced the highest of these three states. For details, he again refers the reader to the BR. 29

9.3:3 The Resurgence of Advaitic Exclusivism The GAD's insistence that the universally available option of devotional surrender is the single most important determinant of an individual's spiritual destiny helps to cushion the impact of its author's conservative views on eligibility for samnyasa. The purification of the mind through karmayoga, says Madhusudana, culminates in taking refuge in the Lord. Brahmins who have done so may renounce, but Kşatriyas and others may not.30 Referring, for example, to the fact that Samkara interprets BG 18.66 as an argument in favor of samnyasa, Madhusudana, who takes it as a call to surrender to the Lord, complains: "The teaching of renunciation to Arjuna who is a Ksatriya and not eligible for renunciation is not proper. "31 Thus, while rejecting Samkara's understanding of that particular verse in favor of his own theory of bhagavadekasaranata, Madhusudana accepts without question the great Advaitin's view that only Brahmins may renounce. Yet at the same time he seems to admit that non-Brahmins may obtain moksa.

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The relevant passages are the following: Whoever has purified his mind by the actions previously described necessarily becomes one who has the Blessed Lord as his sole refuge, since the purification of the mind invariably leads to that state. If a Brahmin is such, let him renounce all action, since he is free of any obstacle to renunciation. He, having the Blessed Lord as his sole refuge, will, attain liberation from samsara by the power of the Blessed Lord's grace alone. If a Ksatriya is such, since he does not have eligibility for renunciation, let him perform action, but with Me [Krsna] as his refuge. . . . By the grace bestowed by Me, the Lord, he attains the eternal, imperishable place of Visnu through the arising of knowledge of Me [without renunciation], like Hiranyagarbha. Such a one who has the Blessed Lord as his sole refuge would not perform prohibited actions, but even if he should, by My grace no obstacle would arise [for him] and, through knowledge of Me, he would attain liberation. 3.2 Ksatriyas and members of other castes, however, are not eligible for renunciation. . . Such individuals; having the Lord as their sole refuge, will attain liberation [1] owing to the fructification of renunciation performed in a previous life or [2] by the arising of knowledge of reality simply by the grace of the Blessed Lord, without renunciation, along with Hiranyagarbha or [3], having been born as a Brahmin in the next life, by the arising of knowledge preceded by renunciation. 33 What are we to make of such teaching? Several things should be noted, the first being that the orthodox doctrine that liberation comes through knowledge is here accepted as a matter of course. Second, renunciation remains an important factor even for non-Brahmins, either as a carry-over from a previous life -- as in alternative (1), which conveniently rationalizes any remarkable spiritual gifts that may be possessed by a non-renunciate -- or as the hope of a future life, as in alternative (3). Third, in the

337 absence of renunciation, as in option (2), salvation can only be attained by the power of "divine grace. The mention of Hiranyagarbha (a name of Brahma) and the "place of Vişnu" is intended to indicate the locus of the operation of this grace by recalling Samkara's commentary on BS 4.3.10, the relevant portion of which reads as follows: When the reabsorption of the effected Brahman world [brahmaloka] draws near, the souls in which meanwhile perfect knowledge has sprung up proceed, together with Hiranyagarbha the ruler of that world, . . . to the pure highest place of Visnu. This is the release by successive steps [kramamukti]. 34 The conclusion is as inescapable as it is surprising. In the final analysis, the GAD is offering the non-Brahmin, not the salvation through an independent path of devotion as presented in the BR, but the same limited fare set out by Samkara. To be sure, it is made more palatable by the lavish use of the language of bhakti, but it is still in effect either kramamukti, gradual liberation through rebirth in the world of Hiranyagarbha, or waiting for rebirth as a male Brahmin. 35 Devotion and surrender to God may be open to all, but moksa is not. Despite the pervasive devotional tone of the text, the liberal view of the BR has been abandoned and, on this important question at least, Madhusudana has returned to the fold of orthodoxy. This retreat may not be total, but as the following passage indicates, it goes to the extent of restoring the Vedic revelation to its privileged place as the final mediator of

338 salvation and saving knowledge, even for the devotee who has taken recourse to God's grace: The supreme liberation .. . is attained' by those who have cast off all obstacles by contemplation on the unqualified at the end of their enjoyment of celestial powers in brahmaloka. This is occasioned by the rise of knowledge of reality and the cessation of ignorance and all its effects through the medium of the Vedanta. sayings, which manifest themselves spontaneously by the Lord's grace, without the necessity of instruction by the guru and the difficulty of the practice of hearing (sravana), reflection (manana), and deep meditation (nididhyasana).36 That the hearing of the "great sentences" (mahavakya) is essential even for the bhakta is reaffirmed in a particularly perplexing passage at GAD 18.65. After quoting BP 7.5.23-24, the classical source of the nine-fold "disciplines of the Lord's devotees" (bhagavata- dharmas), and then referring his readers back to the BR for a more detailed explanation of those practices, Madhusūdana writes: Thus constantly having your mind absorbed in Me because of the arising of attachment to Me through the practice of the disciplines of the Lord's devotees, you will come to Me, the Blessed Lord Vasudeva, i.e .; you will attain Me by the realization of Me produced by the Vedanta sayings. 37 elose Apart from the continuation here of the BR's close identification of bhagavat and Brahman, these remarks are completely contrary to the spirit of the author's earlier - work.

339 9.3.4 Modi's Understanding of the GAD P. M. Modi, in his 1929 study of the BR and the GAD, described both of these texts as teaching the same doctrine of bhakti as an independent path to the highest goal.38 Subsequent writers such as Suryanaraya Sastri, Mahdevan, and Mishra have tended to echo this .view uncritically, taking. for granted that the viewpoint of the GAD is the same as that of the BR. Given what has been said above, however, we may be' justified in questioning the validity of this assumption .. Referring to GAD 7.16, Modi asserts that "Madhusudana admits the possibility of 'Suddhapremabhakti' the 'Pure Loving Devotion' being a means to Moksha. "39 The passage in question (BG 7.16-18) is one that has been very important to the discussion of the relation of knowledge and devotion. So if the author of the GAD had here actually given the interpretation that Modi is suggesting, it would be significant indeed. But the text of Madhusudana's commentary reads somewhat differently: "The fourth [and highest] devotee is the one who is desireless, here called the 'possessor of knowledge' (jñanin). Knowledge is the immediate realization of the Blessed Lord. The possessor of knowledge is one who is constantly absorbed in that [knowledge]. All his desires having ceased, he has crossed beyond māya. word 'and' [in the BG verse] indicates that any The desireless premabhakta should also be included as a possessor of knowledge. 40 Madhusudana mentions Sanaka, Narada, Prahlada, Prthu, and Suka as examples of desireless premabhaktas who were

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jnanins; the gopis, Akrura, and Yudhistthira are said to be examples of desireless premabhaktas. 41 The idea is that the latter should also count as jñanins, or at least be included along with those realized souls as favorites of the Lord .. We find here an interesting attempt to soften the Gita's assertion, embarassing for the devotionalist, that the jmanin is most dear to Krsna. We are not told, however., that bhakti is an independent means to liberation. In fact. the mention of Sanaka, Narada, and so on as jñanin-devotees points in rather a different direction, reminding us of chapter two of the BR, where, contrary to expectation, Madhusudana declares that the rasa experienced by the great renunciates is higher than that enjoyed by the gopIs. 42 Modi also mentions GAD 9.1 as evidence that Madhusūdana regards bhakti as a direct means to moksa. There, however, our author speaks of "the immediate attainment of liberation from knowledge of the Blessed Lord, "43 of which devotion is a "special cause" (asadharano hetuh).44 The "knowledge of the Blessed Lord" itself is given a typically non-theistic Advaitic interpretation, being described as "having scripture as its means and Brahman as its object." Madhusudana remarks, "This true knowledge alone is the direct means to liberation,"45 adding: "It can be attained with ease by means of the Upanisadic sayings combined with reflection, as taught by one's preceptor. "46

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9.3.5 Devotion for the Renunciate This is certainly does not sound like the path of bhakti presented in the BR, where there is no mention of the necessity of knowledge or the Vedic sentences. The fact is that the GAD present a style of devotion very much adapted to the mood of the Vedantic samnyasin, not a path designed, as in the BR, "for the contentment of all." Thus, in Madhusūdana's explanation of the meaning of the compound brahmabhuta ("having become Brahman") at BG 18.54, we read: "Having become Brahman" means having attained, through hearing (sravana) and meditation (manana), the firm conviction I am Brahman" [BU 1.4.10], and having acquired, through the practice of equanimity and self- control, a tranquil nature and a pure mind ... Being thus, an ascetic following the path of knowledge attains devotion to Me, the Blessed Lord, the pure supreme Self. And then comes the startling declaration: Devotion is upasana, a repetition of the mental modification having my form known as deep meditation (nididhyasana), the fruit of the practice of hearing (sravana) and reflection (manana). This devotion is the supreme, the best, the last of the four types of devotion described [at BG 7.17] thus: "Four-fold are they that worship Me." Or, it is knowledge itself.47 In the BR, bhakti is an independent path which attains the . ultimate goal with no reference to the Vedic path of knowledge. In the GAD, on the other hand, though bhakti has a prominent place, it is ultimately made subordinate to the path of knowledge and, in deference to orthodoxy, forced to accommodate itself to traditional Vedantic discipline and pass through the final bottleneck of the mahavakyas.

342 .It is difficult to say what the reason for this change of position might have been. One possibility is that the BR represents a rash burst of youthful enthusiasm, and the GAD the more sober views of a later period. But the BR . when written already constituted a departure from the respectably orthodox teachings of earlier works such as the VKL and SB, 'and as we have seen, Madhusūdana was still dabbling in the unorthodox teachings of the YS and YV in the GAD and the ARR, the latter perhaps his latest work. So we cannot speak of a simple and orderly development of thought. My suggestion is that Madhusudana is in the BR and the GAD simply speaking to different audiences and adjusting his . discouree accordingly. In the former, he is writing "for the contentment of all," perhaps with the intention of recommending the viewpoint of Advaita to educated bhaktas48 that stood outside the exclusive tradition of Samkara samnyasins. He therefore, as Divanji suggests, presents the teachings of Advaita in a form adapted to the egalitarian ethos of Bhagavata devotionalism, with which, as the result of his own predilection toward bhakti, he has considerable sympathy. In the GAD, however, he is speaking from within the Samkara tradition, 49 and trying to recommend bhakti -- as well as yoga -- to his fellow samnyasing. Though, as we have seen, he subordinates renunciation to surrender to God, he still argues clearly for the superiority of path of knowledge.

343 The first eight verses of BG 12 are crucial to the discussion of the relation of devotion and knowledge. The author of the GAD chooses to follow Samkara in regarding the denigration of meditation on the "imperishable" (i.e., the path of jnana) in that passage as nothing more than a pedagogical device designed to emphasize the efficacy of devotion. "Seeing that Arjuna is eligible only for the. knowledge of the qualified [Brahman] (sagunavidya)," Madhusudana writes, "the omniscient Lord will teach that to him, since the means (sadhana) must be graded according to one's eligibility (adhikāra)." Interestingly enough, the devotion to the saguna Brahman described here involves merging the mind into the Lord "like the color vermilion into lac. "50 This analogy figures prominently in the description of bhakti given in the BR. Its use in this context may indicate the level at which Madhusudana places the spirituality expounded in that text, relative to the kind of Vedantic bhakti he is championing here. Quoting Amalananda's versified put-down of the "dull-minded" devotees who are unable to realize the unqualified Brahman51 and, once again, the GIta's praise of the jñanin-devotee at 7.17-18, Madhusudana concludes: "From the highest perspective (paramarthatah), the most well-versed in yoga are those who meditate on the imperishable. "52 He is not making this remark simply out of deference to Samkara's

344 interpretation, for at 18.66, as we have seen, he is not afraid to openly disagree with the great commentator.53 MadhusOdana's final advice to Arjuna -- and through him all other non-Brahmins who seek spiritual realization -- is that of a conservative Samkarite: Krna's pupil should follow the path of knowledge, having first. "attained the proper qualification" (adhikaram asadya).54 Of course, Madhusudana neglects to mention that such competence cannot be obtained by a Ksatriya in his present birth. The ideal life of devotion portrayed in the GAD is, then, something quite different from that described in the BR. It is bhakti rendered compatible with jñanayoga. The latter, it will be remembered, was the alternative left undiscussed at BR 1, section III, where the spiritual life was split into the ways of knewledge and devotion. suggest that, just as the BR opts for the path of pure love, and speaks from a point of view proper to it, so the GAD chooses the path of wisdom. It picks up, as it were, the way neglected by the earlier text, speaking, as did Samkara, out of the rather different set of values belonging to the samnyasins to whom, like the SGB, it is primarily addressed. Yet, unlike Samkara's work, it strives to show the relevance of bhakti to the path of knowledge. If the BR can be said, at least in part, to be recommending Advaita to the bhaktas, the GAD is promoting the cause of bhakti among the Advaitins.

34.5 The teaching of the GAD is perhaps best epitomized in the following verse found at the conclusion of its ninth chapter: Those whose hearts are purified by the taste of the nectar which flows from the lotus-feet of Govinda quickly cross over the ocean of samsara and see the perfect Effulgence.They comprehend the highest beatitude (paramam sreyas) by means of the Upanisads, cast off error, know that duality is like a dream, and find the untainted bliss.55 Note that devotion here serves a purificatory function, while the final realization comes through the standard orthodox means. On a more theoretical plane, the following passage from GAD 7.14 provides a fascinating example of the way in which Madhusudana applies his great genius to the problem of infusing the spirituality of his beloved BP into the samhyasins' path of knowledge. It is well worth quoting in full:

The jIva, because it is limited by the mind, cognizes by means of the eyes, etc., only that which is connected with the mind and becomes restricted in its knowledge, knowing only a little. Thus arises participation in hundreds of evils [that begin with ideas] such as "I know," "I do," and "I enjoy." The Blessed Lord, who is original (bimba), is possessed of infinite powers. He is the controller of maya, omniscient, the bestower of all results [of actiors], sleepless, having a form of pure bliss. The supreme guru, he assumes numerous incarnations in order to grace His devotees. If the jIva pays homage to Him by offering all its actions to Him, it will attain all the goals of life, because what is offered to the original is also returned to be imaged in the reflection (pratibimba).

346 'This is what was intended by Prahlada when" he said: The compassionate Lord, who is innately full of the wealth of the Self, does not seek the esteem of humans who are ignorant. Whateverregard they may offer to Him, the Blessed Lord, is [really returned] to themselves, as the auspicious mark [placed] on the face [appears] in its reflection [BP 7.9.11]. If it is wished that a face reflected in a mirror acquire an. auspicious mark such as the tilaka, the mark must be placed on the face, which is the original. [Then] it will quite spontaneously be reflected in the image. There is no other way. of achieving this. In the same way, the jIva, who is the reflection, acquires that which is offered to the Lord who'is the original. There is no other means for it to attain the goal of life. This is the meaning of the illustration [given by Prahlada]. The mind of one who constantly pays homage to the infinite Blessed Lord becomes devoid.of sin, which is an obstacle to knowledge, and full of merit, which is conducive' to knowledge. Then, refined by the service of the guru and the hearing of, and reflection and meditation on, the sayings of the Upanisads, which [discipline] is preceded by renunciation of all action and [the acquisition of] tranquillity, self-control, and the other virtues, it [the mind]. becomes completely clear like a spotless mirror. In such a mind there arises the mental mode which is an immediate realization of the form of unconditioned Consciousness and is free of the forms of anything that is not the Self. This is [the realization] "I am Brahman" caused by the saying of the Upanişad "Thou are That" that has been imparted by the guru. Consciousness, reflected in that mode, immediately destroys ignorance, which has Consciousness as both its object and its support, just as a light destroys darkness. 56 Thus far it is apparent that, through devotion, the mind of the follower of jñanayoga is prepared for the final vision of unity. But is there anything more that can be said of bhakti, or is it now reduced to its former instrumental function as a purifier of the mind, a mere preliminary to knowledge? At this point, we remember that

347 .the GAD agrees with the BR, and deviates from orthodox Advaita, at least to the extent of accepting the teaching that the experience of devotion is available in the state of liberation-in-life, after knowledge has dawned. Hence we are not overly surprised to find that there follows in this. same passage a description of devotional experience of the personal God. This statement indeed more explicit and more extravagant than anything we have seen in the BR, which . relies in this respect perhaps too heavily on quotations from the BP. After a brief exposition of the three-fold Vedantic discipline of hearing, reflection, and deep meditation, Madhusudana states its result: "With the dropping off of all limiting adjuncts, they [those who resort to Krsna] remain with the form of pure being- consciousness-bliss. "57 Then the mood of the discourse changes abruptly: So the intended meaning of "resort" [in BG 7.14] must be "see." Those saintly ones who have Me as their sole refuge see "Me aloner" the Blessed Lord Vasudeva, the complete essence of infinite beauty, the abode of all refinements, the glory of whose two lotus feet is greater than the beauty of a fresh lotus, Gopala, who delights in uninterrupted playing on the flute, whose heart is attached to playing in Vrndavana, who held the Govardhana mountain aloft in sport, by whom a host of wicked persons such as Sisupala and Kamsa were slain, whose feet steal all the beauty of a fresh lotus, whose form is a mass of supreme bliss, who transcends the world created by Brahma. Meditating constantly on Me as such, they spend their days. Because their minds are immersed in the great ocean of bliss which is ecstatic love of Me; they are not overcome by all the fluctuations of maya and the material qualities.58

348 This, we must assume, is intended as a description of the experience of the jIvanmukta. 59 The GAD's presentation of the glory of bhakti is certainly impressive. And yet at the same time the unqualified support of the devotional spirituality that we found in the BR is missing .. Not only does the GAD reject the earlier text's understanding of bhakti as an independent path, it also drops the theme, so important in the BR, of bhakti as the highest goal of life (paramapurusartha). The idea is simply not mentioned. The only possible basis for an argument that that Madhusudana may still 'be entertaining ' this theory is found in two passages, already referred to, found in his commentary on chapter 18. The first asserts that bhaktiyoga is the Lord's "most secret word, more secret than karmayoga and jhanayoga its fruit, more secret than all, supreme, elevated above all. 60 In the second, explaining the relationship between the disciplines of karma and jñana and the path of bhakti, Madhusudana declares that the latter is the "means to both and the end of both. "61 But there is no explanation of what is meant by either of these pregnant sayings, and the first may be merely an echo of the BG verse (18.64) being commented upon. Madhusūdana, furthermore, makes no attempt to suggest, as he does in the BR, that the blissful experience of Krsna-bhakti enjoyed in jIvanmukti is eternal. On the contrary, he asserts that the

: 349 "highest beatitude" (param nihsreyasam) is nothing other than "the complete cessation of samsara along with its cause," which is to say, in standard Advaitic parlance, moksa. And he makes this statement conspicuously, in verse two of his introduction to the GAD, where he identifies the attainment of the state in question, equivalent to liberation, as the aim of the whole teaching of the Gita.62 v Consider in this connection the following passage from the AS, which was probably written at about the same time as the GAD since the two works refer to each other.63 In the fourth Pariccheda, Madhusudana comments on two verses of the BP, expressing ideas which must disappoint those who see him as, a champion of the devotionalism of that text: Verses such as "He who asks blessings of Thee [is no servant, he is nothing but a tradesman]" [BP 7.10.4b] teach the superiority of the devotion that, motivated by attachment to the [Lord's] glories, desires no reward. This [superiority of devotion], however, lies in its expediting the immediate realization of Reality. It does mot indicate its status relative to liberation. The superiority [of bhakti to moksa] taught in verses such as "[Selfless devotion toward the Blessed Lord is] superior to liberation" [BP 3.25.33a] is only to the extent that devotion is the generator of liberation, as the father is [said to be superior to the son onty because] the father is the generator of the son.64 The view of the GAD -- not surprisingly, given its emphasis on the path of renunciation, Vedantic discipline, and so on -- is substantially the same. Thus, in his commentary on BG 13.10, Madhusūdana quotes the Bhagavata again, with a similar end in view: "This [bhakti] is the cause of

350

knowledge, as shown in the saying, `So long as one has not developed love (prIti) for Me, Vasudeva, one will not be released (mucyate) from the conjunction with the body [BP 5.5.6]. "65 I cannot see in these passages anything but a rejection of one of the most central teachings of the BP (and the BR as well), namely, the doctrine that bhakti is the paramapurusatha, a greater goal than liberation. If Madhusudana is in fact changing his position on the ultimate value of bhakti vis-à-vis moksa, as he certainly appears to be, he is saved from the two most difficult philosophical dilemmas arising from the teaching of the BR. These are: (1) the problem of explaining how it is possible for devotion to continue in videhamukti ("disembodied liberation") and (2) that of establishing the ontological parity of bhakti and moksa. Devotion now being at its grandest only an added enhancement of the jIvanmukta's interior bliss, neither its eternality nor its ultimacy will require proof. So the only difficulty remaining of those we discussed in chapter eight will be that of justifying presence of bhakti in the condition, admittedly temporary, of liberation-in-life.66

9.7. Madhusudana's Final Intention In the GAD, then, Madhusudana claims for samnyasins the right to enjoy bhakti without, as he did in the BR,

351 - granting non-renunciate devotees a corresponding access to moksa .. He furthermore ignores the idea of bhakti as the paramapurusartha. The problem now remains: If the BR and the GAD have different and indeed contradictory teachings on - the place and function of devotion in Advaita, which is Madhusddana's true outlook? We hypothesized at the start of this chapter that one motivation for his writing on bhakti may have been to think through his own spiritual experience and somehow bring together the two. strands of Upanisadic non-duali'sm and Krsna devotionalism on which it was based. If this was the case, as seems impossible to doubt, something of what he wrote must represent his own personal understanding of the problem. But what? If we take definite agreement between the BR and the GAD, his two*major works on bhakti, as our criterion, three things can be said. First, it is at least clear that Madhusudana, who regarded himself as a jIvanmukta, believed that it was perfectly possible to experience devotion in that state. Second, it is equally certain that he thought bhakti a great help at all levels of spiritual practice. Third, both texts make it obvious that he saw a very close relation between the Brahman of Advaita and the bhagavat of the BP, and that he identified the latter with Krsna. Beyond these points, however, we cannot speak with certainty.

352

As to the especially important question of whether or not Madhusudana actually felt that bhakti was an independent path to moksa, the texts are in direct conflict. The BR says that it is, the GAD that it is not. Which is the final position? The fact that Madhusudana repeatedly refers to the BR in the GAD would seem to debar the simple explanation that he had changed his mind and repudiated the teaching of his earlier work, so we must look elsewhere for an answer. Madhusudana himself was a samnyasin of one of the most prestigious orders and a disciple of orthodox teachers. It would seem likely that during his novitiate he had followed the traditional disciplines of the Samkara school. The relatavely conservative brand of devotional Advaita taught in the GAD would therefore probably be more representative of his own personal spirituality. 67 Since Madhusūdana nevertheless continues to recognize the significantly different vision of the BR, it is possible that the earlier text was the product of a sense of obligation to instruct the unenlightened in terms acceptable to them, perhaps designed, as I have already suggested, to encourage Krsna devotionalists to come closer to the true views of the Samkara school, as modified by him to make room for devotion. It is significant that, in his Prasthanabheda (actually a portion of his commentary on the Mahimnastotra),

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Madhusudana enunciates the principle that those teachers who advocate viewpoints inconsonant with the highest truth of Advaita are not necessarily ignorant. They are only, he says, seeking to capture the minds of those whose awareness is not sufficiently developed to comprehend non-duality, hoping thereby to prevent the latter from embracing heterodox doctrines. 68 Was the BR part of a similar stratagem? If so, the theory that Madhusudana was seriously attempting to modify the exclusivistic stance of Advaita would be subject to serious question. Against this understanding, it could be argued that his sympathy for devotional spirituality was indeed' so great that his concession to orthodoxy in the GAD was just that, a concession designed to make his presentation of the value of bhakti in the path of knowledge more acceptable to his conservative fellow samnyasins. It would, however, be more difficult to find support for this alternate hypothesis. The loss for the devotionalist of the notion of bhakti as an independent path and supreme goal of life is mitigated in the GAD only by the fact that the continuance and blissful development of bhakti is allowed as an . experiential enhancement of the state of jIvanmukti. This, however, is really no compensation at all, since there is also in this text a renewed emphasis on Advaita's conservative social teaching. The bhaktas, unless as male

: 354 Brahmins they qualify for samnyasa, are not eligible for jIvanmukti. But, at least according to the BR, the full development of devotion presupposes that state. So the final result is somewhat ironic. The Advaitin renunciate, in borrowing Krsna-bhakti from the devotionalists, has excluded the latter from the highest levels of their own path, which have, in effect, been preempted for the samnyasins alone. Again, therefore, the teaching of the GAD represents in certain crucial respects not an accommodation but actually a betrayal of the devotional ethos of the BP. In view of his tradition and training, as well as the orthodox nature of his major works, I am inclined to the conclusion that the teachings of the GAD, and not the BR, are closer to MadhusUdana's own personal experience as a jñanin-devotee and more indicative of his final outlook. The result is that Madhusudana's reputation as a champion of devotion must be qualified. To be sure, his status as the foremost advocate of the inclusion of bhakti within the Advaitic spiritual experience remains intact. But it is somewhat diminished by his failure to provide an adequate theoretical justification of his position, at least in reference to the problem of devotion in jivanmukti, and perhaps on other levels as well. Furthermore, his reputation as a liberal who sought to open Advaita to all by making devotion an independent path to non-dual realization

355 has been shown to be almost entirely undeserved. Despite his encounter with the Lord of the cowherds, Madhusudana remains an orthodox Advaitin and, as such, an incurable spiritual elitist.

z (.

CHAPTER TEN

CONCLUDING REMARKS

R. D. Ranade, in his autobiographical'essay "The Evolution of My Own Thought," discusses the factors which caused him to turn from an antipathy toward philosophy to a vital and consuming interest in the subject. He reports that the following experience played a pivotal role in this intellectual conversion: When I happened to pay a visit to Benares from Poona in October, 1908, I had been to see the remnant of the Mutt [monastery] of Samkaracharya at Benares, when on a cool evening I happened to hear the devotional songs of Samkaracharya recited at the Mutt, which made me pause and think how a so-called Advaita Philosopher could at the same time make room for devotional songs in his philosophical teaching. That to me was a crux, which impelled me to study Indian philosophy all the more.1 By referring to this experience as a "crux," he apparently means to say that it confronted him with a puzzling and provocative problem, one that opened up for him intriguing new vistas of thought. No matter that Samkara himself probably did not write the hymns Ranade refers to, the question that arose in his mind that evening remains impelling: "How is it that Advaitins are also bhaktas?" This is of course the problem we have been dealing with throughout this study. To the practicing Advaitin-devotee, it may appear to be of mere academic interest, but if one

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357 approaches it, as Ranade did, from the point of view of a philosopher, one is quickly swept into direct confrontation with the most profound problems of: Indian religious thought: It is indeed a crux for the tradition, generating a deep but creative internal tension that has been the stimulus for much profound religious thought and experience. We have observed how, in the late hymns of the Rgveda, the Upanisads, the Bhagavad GIta, and the Bhagavata Purana, all of which are of central importance to the tradition in its various phases, impersonalist visions of the Godhead are held together in dynamic conflict with personalist and (in the BG and BP) devotional spiritualities.2. Little or no acknowledgement of the apparent contradictions involved is given; indeed there often seems to be a reckless oblivion to the paradoxical implications of such juxtapositions, if not a positive delight in them. Interpreters of these scriptures sought, however, to derive from them systems of thought exhibiting a more studied consistency. Such writers fell generally into. two broad categories, as we have seen: the non-dualists (or monists) and the theists. The former emphasized the impersonalist revelation and an intellectual mysticism. The devotionalists, on the other hand, held tenaciously to the finality of the theistically oriented portions of the sacred texts and the ultimacy of the devotee's loving relation with the personal God.

358 These writers naturally sought to resolve the seeming contradictions embodied in the scriptures in favor of the views that their school of thought wished to champion. Samkara, as we have seen, explained the personalistic passages of the sruti as apara vidya, a lower- level wisdom that must eventually be transcended. To be sure, he regarded conventional religious practices and devotionalism as true and valid, indeed even indispensable, for the masses engaged in the active life (pravrttimarga). For such people, religious rites and bhakti had the positive value of contributing to cittasuddhi, purification of the mind. But he believed that such practices were spiritually harmful for the paramahamsa ascetics who, having completed the process of mental purification, were eligible for the path of renunciation (nivrttimarga). Religious ritual and bhakti tended to confirm the experience of duality; they encouraged false attitudes of difference between God and the Self (atmesvarabheda) and dependence on an external power (paratantrya). They therefore interfered with the practice of Self-inquiry whereby the samnyasin sought to establish himself in the truth of the ultimate identity of jiva and Brahman, as taught in the "great sayings" of the Upanisads. Action and devotion alike were consigned to the realm of maya, and as such they were not to be taken seriously by the aspirant to non-dual realization.3 Along with this kind of

359 thinking, which was asectic in orientation and radically opposed to common sense understandings of the world and the : self, Samkara and has followers developed social attitudes that 'were decidedly elitist. The response of the Krsnaite tradition, the devotional movement with which we have been primarily concerned, was on the whole typical of that of the various bhakti schools. In the sphere of practical religion, the followers of the Bhagavata rejected the Advaitins' exclusivism and opened up the path of bhakti to all who were sincere. Moksa, which the Advaitins held was open only to the very few, was devalued as an incidental by-product of the devotional life; the bliss of bhakti itself was enthroned as the highest goal of life (paramapurusartha) in its place. In the realm of metaphysics, there was an attempt, especially marked in the work of the Gosvamins of the Bengal school, to give bhakti an exalted, near absolute, ontological status by identifying it with Krsna's highest sakti, thus transferring it from the realm of the psychological to the sphere of the ultimately real.4 MadhusUdana Sarasvatf has emerged in the present study as a highly sophiaticated, complex thinker who sought on at least two levels to bring about a rapprochement between between these two conflicting estimates of the value of bhakti. In his earlier work, the BR, he seems to be

360 writing more from the viewpoint of the devotionalist than that of the orthodox Advaitin samnyasin. Though an Advaita metaphysic is assumed, bhakti is presented as being both an independent spiritual path and itself the paramapurusartha. The realization of the highest stages of bhakti is said to . include: Advaitic Self-knowledge as one of its preliminary stages, brought about through devotional experience alone, without the mediation of the Upanisadic revelation. As in Vaisnava thought, there is an attempt to raise bhakti from the level of merely mental phenomena and give it true ontological status, in this case by identifying it with the reflection of bhagavat in the mind of the devotee, such a reflection being, according to the non-dualists' pratibimbavada ("reflection theory"); ultimately identical with bhagavat himself.5 The seriousness with which Madhusudana took the doctrine of bhakti as an independent path and parama- purusatha is, however, brought into question by the GAD, his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. While this later work gives much attention to bhakti, the viewpoint from which Madhusudana is writing is quite different from that adopted in the BR. The teachings of the GAD, consequently, differ in several important respects from those of the earlier text. The Gita commentary presents a version of Krsnaite devotionalism designed to appeal to the orthodox Samkara

361 samnyasin. The notions of bhakti as a path and as a goal in itself are abandoned. The ideal spiritual life is described as one that progresses from the purificatory path of karma to the way of renunciation and knowledge, and eventually culminates in jIvanmukti ("iiberation-in-life"), the latter state being available only to the samnyasin engaged in Vedantic inquiry. But whereas Samkara saw bhakti as a . hindrance to the highest aspirants who had taken to the path = of knowledge, Madhusudana recommends it with enthusiasm as helpful at every stage of practice and a desirable enhancement of the jivanmukti experience.6 Ahe problem with Madhusudana's presentation, to summarize what has been presented in some detail above, is twofodd. First, he neglects to deal with several important theoretical questions that this teaching on bhakti raises, such as the problem of the continued experience of devotion after enlightenment and the question of the ontological status of bhagavat vis-à-vis the nirguna Brahman. Even if we leave the more extravagant claims for bhakti made by the BR aside and consider only teachings of the GAD, we are still left wishing for an explanation of the Advaitin's post-liberation vision of the flute-carrying, yellow-clad Krsna and all that such an experience implies for Advaitic theory. Second, on the socio-religious level, Madhusūdana seems to violate the dominant egalitarian sentiment of the

362 Bhagavata and the devotional movements dependent on it by, at least in the GAD, reserving the highest spiritual experiences -- of bhakti as well as of moksa -- for the Brahmin samnyasin alone. 7 While we must certainly admire the pioneering brilliance of Madhusudana's exposition, we cannot but feel .that he did not say as much on the subject as he could have. This is not the place (nor has the present writer the adhikara) to suggest what those additional words might have been. In passing, however, I woudd mention the Upanisadic theme of the priyatva ("dearness") of the Self, along with the later notion of the atman as the paramapremaspada ("object of supreme love"), as ideas that one might have expected to be more fully developed by Madhusūdana as he wrote on Advaita-bhakti. 8 It would also, it seems to me, be regretable if these were not among the essential foci of any future discussion of this question. Perhaps in this) . category as well should be Appaya's important idea of the enlightened jIva attaining Isvaratva (identity with the personal God) rather than merger in the impersonal Brahman. 9 The problem, of course, is that Madhusudana himself was the last of the great expositors of classical Advaita. So we can neither look for a tradition of writers who carried on and extended Madhusudana's thinkingl0 nor hope that the inquiry will be taken up again, at least in the terms used

4

363 by Madhusudana. It goes without saying that the world, India not excepted, is much different today than in the 16th century. Necessarily, therefore, further discussion of this question, will be forced to go beyond the traditional categoriès of Advaitic scholasticism. It will have to take into account wider realms of thought and experience, giving cognizance both to the present day needs of the Hindu community and the unavoidable impact of the religious and philosophical experience of other traditions. Of course, it may be doubted that the problem, involving as it does the notoriously difficult task of conceptualizing ultimacy, is amenable to any rigorous philosophical or theological solution. We may be dealing here with a religious experience which exhibits in an especially provocative way a feature that seems to be common to all authentic visions of the Godhead, namely, the well- known tendency of such experiences to strain the limitations of language, to lead the mind toward the the realm of "mystery" and "paradox.". For one who wishes to speak of Advaita and at the same time retain the ultimacy of bhakti problems of conceptualization are even greater than those found in orthodox Samkara Advaita, with its clear-cut subordination of the personal experience to the impersonal, or in theistic Vaisnavism, which, in retreating to the opposite position, shys away from mystery and paradox in

364 favor of a more anthropomorphic and, one might say, common sense view of reality. It may be that in this case resolution, if such is to be had, will come more readily through image and metaphor, after the manner of the great scriptures, than through precise metaphysical delineation. There were several devotional poets with strong non-dualist tendencies who seem to have believed that this was the case. J Jñanadeva (fl. 1290) and Kabir (ca. 1398-1448) are good examples. Their approach to the problem of devotion in the context of. non-dualism was in many ways more straightforward than MadhusOdana's. Jmanadeva, for instance, was highly literate and well able to engage in metaphysical discourse, as he proved in his Amrtānubhāva. Nevertheless, this great Maharashtrian saint chose the medium of poetic imagery to express his understanding of Advaita-bhakti. Three centuries before the BR, he wrote in his Jñanesvari: As the waters of the Ganges still sparkle even after they have reached the sea, so is his enjoyment [of union with Mel. .. Some may hold the opinion that when union is reached there can be no experience of it; but one might as well ask how a word can be uttered by words. . Can anything that is not space understand the nature of space? One who has not become united with Me cannot know where I am; therefore it cannot be said that he worships Me. Thus he who . becomes one with Me enjoys Me as a young woman delights in her youth.

:365

As waves delight in the embrace of the water, light rejoices in the sun and space wanders through the heavens, so when he is united with Me he worships Me without action, as gold ornaments do honor to the gold of which they are made: The fragrance of sandalwood could be said to offer its worship to the tree and the moonlight adores the moon with true joy. Similarly, though the thought of action is inconsistent with non-duality, yet there is a form of devotion in. union; this cannot be described in words but only known in experience.11 It would be possible to reject this approach as exhibiting a naive lack of philosophical sophistication, a surrender. of the powers of thought in an acceptance of contradiction that goes beyond the tolerance even of Vedantic discourse. .Or one might gladly acknowledge it as embodying an honest recognition of the mystery of the absolute and the highest human experience thereof. In either case, however, one must admire the directness and freshness of the approach. The example of Jñanadeva is particularly instructive at the present juncture because this writer includes in his Amrtanubhava a systematic critique of Samkara's doctrine of maya. 12 This does not mean that he was opposed to non- dualism. On the contrary, he embraced it, but not in strictly Samkarite terms. He was instead one of the earliest exponents of a type of thinking, owing much to Kashmir Saiva sources, that gave bhakti an exalted status in the context of a tantric-style Advaita. Šaņkara's mayā was replaced with a fully real sakti without abandoning the non-

366 dualist position, because sakti was conceived as mysteriously identical with the absolute. In such a system, it was possible to give bhakti a central place without compromising the unity or transcendence of the ultimate. The Gosvamins readily saw this, though they tried to avoid the final non-dualistic implications that were involved.13 This kind of thinking, moreover, has had considerable influence on the Samkara tradition, especially in the modern period. Since Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, proponents of Advaita have tended to slip unannounced into a mode of discourse reminiscent of Saiva or Sakta non-dualism (i.e., one that implies the full reality of sakti) when speaking, as they often have, of the value of bhakti and the possibility of its continued experience after realization has been attained.14 Though the idea of bhakti as paramapurusartha is absent; it has often been approached and sometimes duplicated through the notion of para bhakti ("supreme devotion") -- borrowed, in an age in which liberal Advaitins have felt the need.for a synthetic view of "Hinduism," from Narada's Bhaktisūtras.15 Meanwhile Madhusudana's attempt at integrating bhakti and the orthodox mayavada, although more authentic in 1 terms of Samkara's original vision than such quasi-tantric interpretations, has languished, suffering from the twin afflictions of exaggerated praise, on one hand, and lack of

367 careful study and development, on the other. It is hoped that this study will accomplish something in the way of rectifying this neglect. Madhusudana's writings on bhakti represent an important phase of Advaitic thought, one that strains the limits of the system to their upmost and, in the process, raises important questions for the tradition as a whole. It is my feeling that a careful and creative consideration of the problems that Madhusudana's work raises would make a significant contribution to the ongoing vitality of Advaita in its modern context.

NOTES INTRODUCTION

1This problem occupies a place in Hindu religious life parallel in importance to that of the conflict between contemplation and social service in Christian spirituality. Christians obviously do not have a strong, orthodox tradition of non-dualistic theology to call their devotional life into question. Hindus, on the other hand, do not have a developed tradition of social service, or at least did not before Vivekananda. For a good example of how the theme of the conflict between the paths of knowledge and devotion has filtered down to the popular level and is alive even today, see "The Uddhav Lfla of SvamI Kunvar Pal, " trans. Norvin Hein, The Miracle Plays of Mathura (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972), chap. 8. 2On the orthodox Advaita tradition in modern India, see Wm. Cenkner, A Tradition of Teachers: Samkara and the Jagadgurus Today (Columbia, MO: South Asia Books, 1983). 3Theistic interpreters are obliged.to deal with this "great saying" (mahavakya) of CU 6.8.7 because it is part of revealed scripture (Bruti), and because it receives so much emphasis in the Samkara tradition. But their interpretations, for the most part, seem forced and artificial. For Ramanuja, "That thou art" means "Thou art la mode of That (tatprakara)." See VAS 82 (S.S. Ragavachar, Vedārtha-Samgraha of Sri Rāmānujācārya [Mysore: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, 1968], p. 67), SBR 1.1.1 (G. Thibaut, The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary of Ramanuja [Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1971], pp. 130-132). Vadiraja, à follower of Madhva, proposes that we understand tat tvam asi as tasmims tvam asi. That is, he claims, on the basis of an obscure rule .of Panini, that he is justified in turning any offensive "identity statement" (aikyavakya) into a declaration of inherence through the interpretation of a nominative as a locative. Thus, "I am Brahman" [BU 1.4.10], "Thou art That" and "All this, verily, is Brahman" [CU 3.14.1] really mean "I am in Brahman," "Thou art in That," and. "All this is in Brahman " (aham brahmani tasmims tvam sarvam brahmani vartate, Nyayaratnavali 401).

368

NOTES: INTRODUCTION 369.

See L. Stafford Betty; Vadiraja's Refutation of Samkara's Non-dualism (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1978), pp. 154, 191 Murari Gupta, a close associate of Caitanya. and his earliest biographer, tells us in his Kadaca that his master was extremely distressed at having been intiated in a dream with tat tvam asi as his samnyasamantra. His uneasiness was somewhat allayed, but -not completely, when Murari interpreted the mahavakya as a genetive compound (which would read tasya tvam asi) meaning "You are His." Later Kesava Bharatī, Caitanya"s actual samnyasaguru, initiated him with the same mantra and, it is said, gave his disciple a similar explanation of its purport. See Stuart Mark Elkman, "Jiva Gosvamin's Tattvasandharbha: A Study of the Philosophical and Sectarian Development of the Gaudiya Vaisnava Movement" (Ph.D dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1981), pp. 9-10. 4brahma satyam jagan mithya jivo brahmaiva na parah. Samkara, the first systematizer of the Advaita, is regarded by many as the greatest thinker the Hindu tradition has According to Thomas Berry, "His work is so comprehensive in its scope, so penetrating in its insight, produced. and so influential on later centuries that he may be considered the Aquinas of the Hindu tradition" (Religions of India [Beverly Hills: Benzinger, 1973], p. 56). Samkara s works, especially his commentaries on the major Upahisads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras, are regarded as. the most authoritative expositions of the system of Advaita. 5sat-cit-ananda. 6Avidya in Advaita is hypostacized as a positive (bhavarupa), quasi-ontological force. Samkara uses the term as a synonym for maya, the inexplicable power which generates the world appearance and obscures the real. See chap. VII, notes 94, 166; also J. G. Arapura, "Maya and the Discourse about Brahman," in M. Sprung, ed., Two Truths in Buddhism and Vedanta (Dordrecht: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1973), pp. 109-121. In this study, avidya is invariably translated as "Ignorance." 7aham brahmasmi, BU 1.4.10. 8See chap. 2.5: Hardy writes: "The very premises of Vedanta entail a negative attitude towards the whole empirical personality. Subject as it appears to the three limitations of time, space, and matter, in view of the experience styled brahman or nirvana, it can only be regarded as duhkha, existential suffering or contingent existence. . . . It follows from

NOTES: INTRODUCTION 370 this that the emotions, placed below the 'mind' and the 'ego' and in fact directly involved via the sense impressions in matter ... were automatically suspect. Any spiritual excercise must start by suppressing them" (Friedhelm Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti [Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983], p. 16J. 9SBR 1.1.1; Thibaut, p. 39. 10Madhva's Tattvoddyota, quoted by C. Sharma, A' Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1964), p. 372. llyac chunyavadinah sunyan tad eva brahma mayinah, Madhva's Anubhasya on BS 2.2.29, quoted by M. Hirayana, Outlines of Indian Philosophy (Bombay: "George Allen & Unwin, 1973), p. 339. 12Tattvasandarbha 23: "Samkara, however, commonly accepted to be an avatara of Siva, realized the significance of the Bhagavata [Purana], characterized by ftterances concerning the joys of bhakti which surpass 'even the joy of liberation, to be superior to his own doctrines, and was afraid to upset the views found in this divinely composed composition on Vedanta. As will be explained later, he propagated the doctrines of Advaita at the command of bhagavat in order that the latter's true nature might remain hidden. Still, Samkara desired his own words to be fruitful, and so touched on the Bhagavata indirectly, by describing in such works as his Govindastaka, etc. certain events found only in the Bhagavata, such as Yasoda's amazement at the vision of the universal form [of Krsna], Krana's theft of the Gopis' clothes, etc." (trans. by Elkman, pp. 189). 13See, e.g., SBR 1.1.1, passim (Thibaut, pp. 39- 156); Tattvasandarbha 35-44 (Elkman, pp. 237-256). 14"It [Advaita] has been, and continues to be, the most widely accepted system of thought among philosophers in India, and it is, we believe, one of the greatest philosophical achievements to be found in the East or the West" (E. Deutsch, Advaita Vedanta: A Philosophical Reconstruction [Honolulu: East-West Center Press, 1969], p. 3). The recent interest among (especially Christian) scholars in Ramanuja may be seen in such works as R. C. Zaehner's The Bhagavad-Gita (London: Oxford University Press, 1969) and John B. Carman's The Theology of Ramanuja: An Essay in Interreligious Understanding (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974). See also Betty, Refutation of

NOTES: INTRODUCTION 371

Samkara's Non-dualism. Interestingly enough, Fr. R. Panikkar takes exception to what he sees as Zaehner's identification of Advaita with a "monolithic monism." writes: "I think that Advaita Vedänta in spite of its He monistic danger -- only too real in many of its representatives -- contains a deeper truth which should not be easily dismissed in favour of an unqualified theism. Christian trinity is something more than pure theism. God is there not just one person, and yet is one God" (Raimundo Panikkar, The Unknown Christ of Hinduism Trev. ed .; Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1981], p. 142, note 92). 15panikkar, Unknown Christ, p. 143. I am indebted to Fr. Panikkar for the reference to Pascal. 16w. T. Stace speaks of the "Great Divide" between the theistic and pantheistic (better, monistic) ways of viewing the ultimate (The Teachings of the Mystics, [New York: New American Library, 1960], pp. 126-127) .. In a. discussion of the problems of inter-religious understanding, John Hick notes: "It would seem that one or the other of two basic concepts provides the framework of religious experience. One, which presides over the theistic forms of religion, is the concept of God, or of the Eternal One as personal. The other, which presides over the nontheistic forms of religion, is the concept of the Absolute, or of the Eternal. One as nonpersonal" (God Has Many Names [Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1982], Hick thinks these differences are reconcilable, as perhaps pp., 24-25). might Madhusudana. Another Christian philosopher of. religion, Keith Yandell, writes of the same problem from quite a difference perspective: "No one can consistently worship with Isaiah in the temple and then meditate with Shankara in the grove. Either, as a first step towards consistency, one personalizes Brahman or depersonalizes God, and so begins to transform one tradition into another, or one rejects at least one tradition. Eclecticism in this context is inconsistent " ("Religious Experience and Rational Appraisal," Religious Studies, X [1974], .. pp. 173-174). This "divide" between theistic and monistic ways of thought is, of course, not exclusively an East/West phenomenon. The West has its representatives of the transpersonalistic viewpoint, and, as we shall soon see, the tension between these two views has been a central dynamic of the Hindu tradition from at least the time of the Bhagavad Gita.

NOTES: INTRODUCTION 372 17The overwhelming preponderance of scholarly opinion has Madhusudana flourishing in second half of the sixteenth century: Modi, on the basis of strong traditions that Madhusudana (1) lived for 107 years, (2) had philosophical discussions with Vallabha (1481-1533), and (3) interacted with the Emperor Akbar about 1565, gives the dates 1495-1602 (P: M. Modi, trans., Siddhanta Bindu [reprint; Allahabad: Vohra Publishers & Distributors, 1985], p .. 27; see below, note 26; chap. 9, note 31). Divanji gives the dates 1540-1647 (P. C. Divanji, ed. and trans., Siddhantabindu of Madhusudana [Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1933], p. xxv). For a review of the rather complicated discussion, see Modi, pp. 21-27; Divanji, pp. xviii-xxv; or Gupta, pp. i-iv. See Swami Jagadiswarananda, "Sri Madhusudanasarasvati," Vedanta Kesari, XXVIII (1941-42), 308-314, for a good summary of the semi-legendary traditions on the life of Madhusūdana. 18sarasvatyah pāram vetti madhusūdanasarasvati madhusūdanasarasvatyah param vetti sarasvati (A. K. Majumdar, Caitanya, His Life and Doctrine [Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1969], p. 90, note 4; Jagadiswarananda, p. 312). According to Jagadiswarananda, this tradition is preserved in the introduction to the Harililaviveka. Sesagovinda, a disciple of Madhusudana, revered his master as an incarnation of Sarasvati: sarasvatyavataram tam vande srimadhusudanam (Jagadiswarananda, p. 311). colophon of the BR, which describes its author as a "master See the teacher whose proficiency in all branches of learning is famed throughout the world" (acaryavaryavisvavisruta- sarvatantrasvatantratāka, JSP, p. 139). 19navadvīpe samāyāte madhusūdanavakpatau / cakampe tarkavāgīsa kataro bhud gadadharah, Majumdar, p. 90, note 4; Jagadiswarananda, p. 314. 20To my knowledge, he makes no reference to the teachings of the Gosvamins of the Bengal Vaisnava school, who were his contemporaries and as bitterly opposed to Advaita as the Madhvas. It is likely that the Bengal Vaisnavas were not considered serious opponents since, not yet having a commentary on the BS to their credit, they were not recognized as an independent sampradaya or school of Vedanta. 21The Prasthanabheda is actually a portion of his larger work, the Mahimnastotratika, being his commentary on pp. 12, 36. verse 7 of that hymn. See Divanji, pp. viii, xxvi; Modi,

NOTES: INTRODUCTION 373

22Ganganatha Jha, trans., The Advaitasiddhi of Madhusudana Sarasvati (Allahabad: The Belevedere Steam Printing Works, 1917), vol. I, pt. 1., "Preliminary Note." 23M. Hirayanna, Outlines of Indian Philosophy . (Bombay: George Allen & Unwin [India] Private Ltd., 1973), p. 341. 24vamsībhusitakaran navaniradabhat pitambarad arunabimbaphaladharosthat / purnendusundaramukhad aravindanetrat krsnat param kim api tattvam aham na jane. This verse, which is frequently quoted, is also found at the end of the GAD (Pan, p. 775). Brahmananda, a disciple of Narayana Tirtha, writes in his Laghucandrika on this portion of the AS: "Even though a jIvanmukta the teacher remembers Sri Krşna because of the impressions of worship acquired previously; hence this verse" (jIvanmukto 'pi acaryah pūrvasañcitabhajanavāsanayā šrīkrsnam smarati -- vamšītyādi, quoted by Mishra, p. .233 [my trans. J) . Though these remarks are evidence that the verse was indeed an original part of thè text, the idea expressed seems to miss the point. Madhusudana taught, as we shall see, that bhakti was a natural and highly desirable enhancement of the state of liberation-in-life, not a mere hold-over from the previous condition of ignorance. 25I am indebted to Venkateswaran for his analysis of the implications of the appearance of this verse at this point in the Advaitasiddhi (T. K. Venkateswaran, "Rādhā- Krishna Bhajanas of South India: A Phenomenological, Theological, and Philosophical Study," in M. Singer, ed., Krishna: Myths, Rites, and Attitudes [Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1968], pp. 148-151. 26dhyanabhyasavasikrtena manasā tan nirgunam niskriyam jyotih kimcana yogino yadi param pašyanti pasyantu te / asmakam tu tad eva locanacamatkaraya bhuyac ciram kalindIpulinodare kim api yan nilam maho dhavati, GAD 13, Invocation; Pan, 522. 27For a discussion of the authenticity and chronology of Madhusudana's works, see Divanji, pp. ii-xiii; Gupta, pp. vii-xvi; Modi, pp. 27-54. Following Modi, his major works may be ordered as follows: VKL, SB, .Mahimnastotratika, SSSS, BR, Bhagavatapuranaprath asloka- vyakhya, AS, GAD, ARR. 28The Vallabhadigvijaya, a biography of the great Vaisnava theologian, is generaIly hostile towards Advaita. Nevertheless, it includes an account of an amicable meeting between Madhusudana and Vallabha. "Madhusudana shows him the

NOTES: INTRODUCTION 374

Bhaktirasayana and he is pleased. He also sends his eldest son Vitthalanatha to Madhusudana to study, and the comment is made that although Madhusudana was an Advaitin, he was full of the highest bhakti" (P. Granoff, personal communication). Another biography of Vallabha, the Nijavarta, recounts the same episodes, reporting that Madhusudana recited the verse vamstbhusita (note 24) for the great Vaignava acarya, who is said to have been very pleased .. See Modi, pp. 22-23. 29paramarthikam advaitam dvaitam bhajanahetave tadrst yadi bhaktih syat sa tu muktisatadhika. Chakravarti, p. 190 (my trans. ). Quoted by

30dvaitam mohaya bodhat prak jate bodhe mantsaya / bhaktyartham kalpitam dvaitam advaitad api sundaram. by Swami Smarananda, The Place of Bhakti in Advaita Quoted Vedanta, " Prabuddha Bharata, LXXIX (1974), p. 300; S. C. Chakravarti, PhilosophicalFoundation of Bengal Vaisnavaism (Calcutta: Academic Publishers, 1969), p. 190 (my trans. ). I have thus far not been able to find either of these verses in Madhusudana's own worke. 3lbrhadaranyanivistam viluthitam abhIravaranarf- bhih / satyacidanandaghanam brahma narakaram alambe, ARR, p. 1, invocation; quoted by Divanji, p. xxviii, note I (my trans. ). 32parakrtajagadbandham param brahma narakrti / saundaryasarasarvasvam vande nandatmajam mahah, GAD 14, end; Pan, p. 608; quoted by Divanji, p. xxviii, note l (my trans. ) .. 33gatyam jñanam anantam advayasukham yad brahma gatva gurum mattva labdhasamadhibhir munivarair moksaya sāksatkrtam / jatam nandatapobalat tadadhikanandaya vrndavane venum vādayad indusundaramukham vande ra- vindeksanam, SSS, p. 1, invocation; quoted, by Divanji, P. xxviii,. note 1 (my trans.). 34A. p. Mishra, The Development and Place of Bhakti in Samkara Vedanta (Allahabad: The University of Allahabad, Sanskrit Department, 1967)," p. 254. 35s. Gupta, Studies in the Philosophy of Madhusudana Sarasvatt (Calcutta: Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, 1966), p. 205. 36Fortunately, at least for the purpose of confining this study to a reasonable length, there was practically speaking no development of doctringion bhakti in the Samkara tradition in the years between these two great. teachers. See chap. 2, note 6; Mishra, pp. iv, 154-155.

NOTES: INTRODUCTION 375

37This part of my study will perforce neglect certain developments of this period that would require separate research to bring our understanding to the point at which their implications for the topic at hand could be properly assessed. There remain glaring gaps in our historical knowledge of the development of the bhakti movement and its interaction with the Advaita tradition between the time of the composition of the the BP and that. 9f Madhusudana. More work needs done, for example, on SrIdhara and other Bhägavatasamnyasins, on the writings of Vopadeva and Hemadri, and on Vallabha's understanding of bhakti and bhaktirasa. It is probable that Madhusūdana was aware of the contributions of these individuals (see notes 28, 38; Modi, pp. 10-11), but to what extent they influenced him is difficult to say in the present state of our knowledge. 38Cp. the following dates: Rūpa, fl. 1533-1550; Jīva, ca. 1511-1596; Madhusūdana, ca. 1495-1602 (Modi) or 1540-1647 (Divanji). These figures were thus all roughly contemporaries, Rupa most likely being the oldest, and it is possible that they had some kind of interaction. But there is no hard evidence at all for this. Madhusudana is said to have studied Nyaya at NavadvIpa in Bengal, the birth-place of Caitanya and a center of the Bengal Vaisnava movement. It should be remembered, however, that the followers of Caitanya split at an early date into a Bengal faction and a Vrndavana faction. The Gosvamins, the center of the latter group, lived and worked at a considerable distance from Bengal. Their views differed in certain respects from those of the Navadvipa circle, and were not accepted as authoritative in the East until they were made popular and given credibility in the middle of the seventeenth century by Krsnadasa Kaviraja, whose work was inspired by the Gosvamins themselves (S. K. De, Early History of the Vaisnava Faith and Movement in Bengal [Calcutta: General Printers and Publishers, Ltd., 1942], pp. 79, 88; E. C. Dimock, "Doctrine and Practice Among the Vaisnavas of Bengal," in M. Singer, pp. 45-46). It is interesting that Jiva Gosvamin is said to have studied at Banaras with a certain Madhusudana Vacaspati. While S. K. De believes that this Madhusudana, whom he identifies as "an accomplished grammarian, Smarta, and Vedantist," was not the same as the author of the BR, A. K. Majumdar argues that he was. "Jīva Gosvamin," he writes, "studied under a Madhusūdana Sarasvati at Varanasi, and it is quite likely that this teacher was none other. than this great advaita scholar." Majumdar's conclusion may seem unlikely, but there are also traditions that Madhusudana accepted both Vyasarama, the disciple of his old dualist foe Vyasatirtha, and Vitthalnatha, the son of Vallabha, as pupils. His reputation may have been such'

NOTES: INTRODUCTION 376 that his instruction was sought after by talented students of opposing viewpoints who wished to fine-tune their critiques of Advaita. (See De, VFM, pp. 1ll and 112, note 5; Majumdar, pp. 89 and 90, note 4; Jagadiswarananda, p. 311; and note 28 above.) As we shall see, there are certain parallels between Madhusudana's teaching and that of the Gosvamins. of the ideas so shared could easily be explained by But many reference to earlier writers on devotion and aesthetics with whom both the great Advaitin and the Vaisnavas were familiar. Madhusudana was almost certainly acquainted with the important pre-Gaudfya works on the philosophy and spirituality of the BP such as those of Vopadeva, Hemadri, and Vişnu Puri. In fact, he is said to have written the Harililavyakya, a commentary on Vopadeva's Harilila. (This attribution is accepted by Modi [p. 7] and other- authorities, though Divanji [p. ix] is somewhat doubtful.) He was, moreover, well-versed in the teachings of the Sanskrit aestheticians. So the similarities between the doctrines of the BR and the Bengal school by no means necessarily entail borrowing.

NOTES

CHAPTER ONE

1Friedhelm Hardy, Viraha-Bhakti: The early History of Krsna devotion in South India (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983), pp. 25-29, 36-38. To distinguish between these two types of bhakti, Hardy uses the terms "intellectual" and "emotional" instead of my "contemplative" and "ecstatic." While. I think the distinction he is getting at is valid and important, I fail to see how bhakti can be either intellectual or anything but emotional. One can be emotional in a refined way without being emotive. Is this being intellectual? Cp. the later Vaisnava idea of santa ("quiescent ») bhakti, which corresponds to my "contemplative, and Hardy's "intellectual," devotion. 2Mariasusai Dhavamony, Love of God According to Saiva Siddhanta: A Study in the Mysticism and Theology of Saivism (oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971), pp. 13-23; Hardy, VB, pp. 25-29. 3Dhavamony, pp: 13-23; Hardy. VB, pp. 25-29; R. G. Bhandarkar, Vaisnvism Saivism and Minor Religious Systems (Varanasi, India: Indological Book House, n.d.), p. 29. 4A common characteristic of all forms of yoga is that the break-through to salvation is brought about,, or at least facilitated, by intense mental concentration on the ultimate principle. In bhakti this concentration is attained through love. 5The not unrelated tension between the religious demands of the performance of dharma and the quest for moksa is perceptively developed by David Kinsley in his book Hinduism (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1982). 6Hardy, VB, p. 13. 7I do not know of anyone who has done this in a systematic way. 8See, e.g., A. L. Basham, The Wonder that was India (New York: Grove Press, 1959); Thomas Berry, Religions of

377

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 378 India (Beverly Hills: Benzinger, 1973); Thomas J. Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition (Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1971). Dhavamony (p. 22)' writes: "The early history of Hinduism ... indicates that Brahmanism grew into Hinduism owing to its assimilation, accompanied by syncretism, of non-Brahmanical religious elements, of which bhakti was the chief. Even today the tension in Hinduism between non-dualism and bhakti religion has not been satisfactorily resolved." chap. 7 ("The Origins of Bhakti). See also Dhavamony. 9See chap. 2, notes 45-47. 10The Samaveda and the Yajurveda are largely reworkings of the hymns of the Rgveda. a later text. The Atharva is also 11Bishop Stephen Neil, Bhakti: Hindu and Christian (Madras: Christian Literature Society, 1974), p. 8. 12Any study of the Rgveda should be prefaced by a statement of the fact that this scripture presents, in a language that is often obscure and exceedingly hard to translate, a spirituality that is archaic in nature and consequently difficult of access for moderns. There were debates as to the meaning of key words and phrases in the Veda as early as Yaska's Nirukta (ca. 500 B.C.E.). This portion of my study therefore proceeds with a consciousness of limitation that is greater than that felt in subsequent sections. Perhaps the most reliable scholarly guide in this diffcult area is Jan Gonda, whom for the most part I follow. See Jan Gonda, Vedic Literature (Samhitas and Brahmanas), vol. I, pt. 1 of A History of Indian Literature, edited by Jan Gonda (Weisbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1975); Vision of the Vedic Poets (reprint ed .; New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1984). 13Joseph Epes Brown writes of the native American tradition: "Such beliefs in a plurality of indwelling spirits (often referred to rather unkindly as 'animism' or 'animitism') must be understood in relation to a polysynthetic quality of vision. The recognition of multiplicity on one level of reality need not militate against the coalescing of the omnipresent spirit-beings within a more ultimate unitary principle. polysynthetic metaphysic of nature, immediately experienced Such a rather than dangerously abstracted, speaks with particular force to the root causes of many of today's problems, especially. to our present so-called 'ecological crisis'" ("The Roots of Renewal," in Seeing with a Native Eye, ed. W. H. Capps [New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1976], p. 30) .

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 379 ^ 14Dhawamony, p. 55. 15RV 8.72.8; RV 8:18.9, 8.72.7, 3.54.16. 16RV 6.1.5; RV 10.7.3, 6.2.7 17RV 2.14. 18See Joseph Campbell, The Masks of God: Oriental Mythology (New York: The Viking Press, 1962), p. 190. 7 19Trans. E. W. Hopkins, Ethics of India (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1924), pp. 10-II. Compare the mood of this statement with that of the popular Hindu devotional verse: "You alone are my father, my mother, my relative, and friend; You alone are my knowledge and my wealth; You alone are my all, my God of gods" (tvam eva māta ca pita tvam eva tvam eva bandhus ca sakhā tvam eva / tvam eva vidya dravinam tvam eva tvam eva sarvam mama devadeva). 20RV 8.92.7, 10.42.9; see Dhavamony, p. 55. 2lindram madanty anu dhiranasah (RV 3.34.8, trans. Dhavamony, p. 51). Note that the root mad, "to delight, rejoice," is common in the later literature of ecstatic bhakti. 22RV 5.30.2, trans. R. T. H. Griffiths, The Hymns of the Rgveda, new revised edition ed. by J. L. Shastri (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,- 1976), p. 249; also quoted by Dhavamony, p. 51. 23E. W. Hopkins, p. 8. 9 24Trans. E. W. Hopkins, p. 8. Cp. RV 1.62.11: "Thoughts ancient, seeking wealth, with adoration, with newest lauds have sped to thee, O Mighty. As yearning wives cleave to their yearning husbands, so cleave our hymns to thee, O Lord most potent" (trans: Griffiths, p. 42). Also, RV 10.64.2: "The will and thoughts within my breast exert their power: they yearn with love, and fly to all the regions round. No other comforter is found save only these: my longing and hopes are fixed upon the Gods" (trans. Griffiths, "p. 578). 25RV 10.43.10-11, trans. Griffiths, p. 562. 26Dhavamony, p. 56. 27Swami Smarananda of the Ramakrishna order comments on this problem, from the point of view of a "liberal" Advaitin sympathetic to devotion, as follows:

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 380 "The Vedic Aryans prayed to various deities such as Indra, Varuna, Vayu, Agni, and so on, for folfilling various desires or to be rid of various evils. These} prayers later evolved into systematic offerings and sacrifices to propitiate those deities. But these were purely sakama (desire-motivated) sacrifices. They were a far cry the idea of supreme love of God, asking nothing, seeking nothing, as it developed in the bhagavata school and other dualistic traditions of later times (Smarananda, pp. 300-309). 28See Gonda, Vedic Literature, pp. 65-73. 29Gonda, Vedic Literature, p. 66. 30It has been suggested that soma was a hallucinogenic plant that stimulated the rsis' visions. See, for example, R. Gordon Wasson, Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., n.d.). Not wishing to judge the experiences of the ancient seers to be hallucinations, and yet recognizing the parallels between their spirituality and, for example, certain forms of native American religion that use so-called "narcotic" substances as part of their religious exercises, I prefer the more neutral term "psychically stimulating." 31tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhImahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat. See Gonda, Vedic Literature, p. 67. 32Gonda, Vedic Literature. p. 66-67. 33rgir darsanat, Nirukta 2.ll; sāksātkrtadharmāna rsayo babhuvah, Nirukta, 1.20. See L. Sarup, ed. and trans., The Nighantu and the Nirukta (2nd reprint; Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1967), pp. 50, 41 [Sanskrit text]. 34RV 10.82.5, trans. R. T. H. Griffith, A Source Book in Indian Philosophy, ed. S. Radhakrishnan and C. A. Moore (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1957), p. 18. 35RV 10.121.8, trans. E. J. Thomas, Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 24. 36RV 10.129.6, trans. A. A. Macdonell, Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 23. 37RV 10.129.3, Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 21. 38Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 46. 39RV 10.82, Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 18.

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 381

40RV 10.90, Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 19. 41RV 10.121; Satapatha Brahmana 6.1.1.5, 6.1.2.13, etc. 42RV 10.121.1, trans. E. J. Thomas, Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 24; italics mine. 43RV 10.129.7, trans. A. A. Macdonnell, Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 24. 44RV 10.121.1-8, after E. J. Thomas, Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 24. 45RV 10.82.7, trans. R. T. H. Griffith, Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 18. 46While there are over 200 Upanisads extant, including an obviously apocryphal Allah Upanisad, the tradition reckons their number at 108. The majority of even . the latter number are distinctly sectarian in nature and of a relatively late date. The principal and most ancient Upanişads, upon which the discussion here is based, are generally regarded as thirteen or fourteen: the Brhad- āranyaka, Chandogya, Taitiriya, Aitareya, Kausitakti, Kena, Katha, Iša, Mundaka, Praşna, Māndukya, Maitri, Svetasvatara, and Mahanarayana. Samkara comments upon, or refers to, all of these but the Maitri (Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 37). 47AV 11.4; 19.53-54. 48AV 4.1; 10.2; 10.8. 49See, e.g., BU 3.7, a passsage important to Rāmānuja. 50Paul Deussen, The Philosophy of the Upanishads, trans. A. S. Geden (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1966), p. 12. See note 72, below. 1 51See PU 1.1-2; Kațha 1.20-29. 52yato vaco nirvartante aprapya manasa saha, TU 2.4.1. 53athata adesah -- neti neti, na hy etasmad iti nety anyat param asti, BU 2.3.6. See also BU 3.9.26; 4.2.4; 4.4.22; 4.5.15.

CU 6.2.1. 54gad eva, saumya, idam agra asId ekam evadvitiyam,

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 382 55cu 6.8.6. 56"He, verily, who knows that supreme Brahman, becomes that very Brahman" (sa yo ha vai tat paramam brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati, MuU 3.2.9. 57aham brahmasmi, BU 1.4.10. 58Katha 2.20, 23. 59avyaktat puruşah parah, Katha 3.11; avyaktāt parah purusah, Katha 6.8. 60Tsa 1; MaitrY 6.18; MuU 3.1.3. 61Thomas J. Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition (Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1971), P. 69. 62u 3,11; 4.10; 5.4; 6.7. 63Mishra, p. 65; Dhavamony, p. 66. 64kşaram pradhānam amrtāksaram harah Išate deva ekah, SU 1.10. kşarātmānāv 65bhokta bhogyam preritāram ca matva sarvam proktam trividham brahmam etat, SU 1.12. 66Cp. the trividham brahma with the tripadartha ("three realities") of Southern Saivism: pati ( the Lord"), pasu ("souls"), and pasa ("fetters"). See Dhavamony, p. 119.

67"The grace of the creator" (dhatuh prasadat, ŠU 3.20); "the grace of God" (devaprasādat, SU 6.21). 68"In that God do I, desirous of liberation, take refuge" (tam ha devam prapadye, SU 6.18). mumuksur vai saranam aham 69ajam dhruvam sarvatattvair visuddham jñatva hucyate sarvapasaih, SU 2.15. 70tasyabhidhyanad yojanāt tattvabhavad bhuyas cante višvamāyanivrttih, Su 1. 10. Maitri 6.18-19: Kaha 2.3.18. See also SU 2.8-15, 5.13;

7lyasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau / tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah, SU 6.23.

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 383 72The verbal form (as in vacam upassva, "meditate on speech") is considerably more common than the noun upasana (G. A. Jacob, A Concordance to the Principal Upanisads and the Bhagavadgita [Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1971], pp 245- 248). The stem upas, consisting of the root as ("sit") and the verbal prefix upa ("toward"), means literaIly to "sit near" and by extension to "attend to," "wait upon," "serve," "revere," "worship." It is frequently used in the láter literature, particularly in the Bhagavad GIta, in the sense of "worship." See, e.g., BG 9.13-14, 9.22, 13.25. In this.connection the similar etymological meaning of the word upanisad must be noted. The verbal root sad ("sit") and the prefixes upa ("toward") and ni ("down".) combine to give the meaning "sit down toward." the striking etymological parallel with upāsana, it has been Because of suggested that upanisad refers to the same type of reverent meditation. Although many scholars would disagree, holding that the upanisad sugests simply approaching a teacher and "sitting close beside him to hear secret wisdom, the idea of "reverent attention" in either case remains. See A. B. Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Vedas and the Upanisads [reprint; Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970], p. 492; Deussen, pp. 10-16. 73Throughout the Upanisads, we find examples of elements of the Vedic religion used in this way, e.g .: the sacrifice (CU 3.16-17), the sacrificial fire (BU 6.2.9-15, CU 5.4-10), the sun (Cu 3.19.1), the golden Person in the sun (hiranyamayah purusah, CU 1.6.6), the wind (vayu, BU 3.7.2) the Gayatri mantra (CU 3.12), speech (vac, CU 7.2.2.), mind (manas, CU"7.3.2), space (akasa, CU 3.18.1), the cosmic person (MuU 2.1.2-10), and especially the sacred syllable om (MaU 1-12, PU 5). 74gamastasya khalu sāmna upāsanam sādhu, CU 2.2.1. 75vag evaitat sarvam vijmapayati vacam upassva, CU 7.2. 76ato 'nnam atmety upasIta, MaitrI 6.12. 77Gambhirananda, Swami, "Upanisadic Meditation," The Cultural Heritage of India (2nd ed .; Calcutta: The Ramakrisha Mission Institute of Culture, 1958), I, 383-384. 78Ys 3.2. 79upāsanam tu yathasastram samarthitam kincid alambanam upadaya tasmin samanacittavrttisantanakaranam tadvilaksanapratyayanantaritam, quoted by Mishra, p. 18, note 3 (my trans.). In his commentary on BU 1.3.9, Samkara

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 384 defines upasana as "approaching with the mind a form such as that of a deity, as taught by the Veda in the eulogistic portions, and 'sitting,' i.e., reflecting [on it] to the extent that there arises' identification with the form of the' deity, etc., like the ordinary identification with the body" (upasanam nāmopāsyārthavade yatha devatadisvarūpan srutyā jhapyate tatha manasopagamya asanam cintanam laukika- pratyayavyavadhanena yavat taddevatadisvarupatmabhimanabhi- vyaktir itylaukikatmabhimanavat, quoted by Mishra, p. 19, note I[my. trans. J). 80SBR 1.1.1; Thibaut, p. 14. 81ko'yam atmeti vayam upasmahe, AU 3.1.1. 82tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedam yad idam upasate KeU 5. 83andham tamah pravisanti ye 'sambhutim upāsate, Isa 12 .- 84vijñanam devas sarve brahma jyestham upasate, TU 2.5.1. Cp. also: The dwarf who is seated in the middle, all the gods adore" (madhye vamanam asInam visve deva upasate, Katha 5.3); "Those, verily, who worship, thinking "sacrifice and actions are our work'" (ye ha vai tad istāpurte krtam ity. upasate, PU 1.9), "The wise who, free from desires, worship the Person" (upasate purusam ye hy akāmās . . . dhirah, MuU 3.2.1). 85vidyayā tapasā cintayā vidvan anena trikena brahmopasate. . sukham asnute ya evam 86mayyavesya mano ye mam upasate, BG 12.2. See also BG 9.14, 15; 12.2, 6; 13.25 87na vā are sarvasya kāmāya sarvam priyam bhavati, ātmanas tu kamaya sarvam priyam bhavati. Cp. Augustine s "My heart is restless till it rests in Thee"; also C. S. Lewis's description of God as "the One, the real object of desire, which . is what we are really wanting in all wants" (C.S. Lewis, unpublished letter to Arthur Greeves, quoted in Eliane Tixler, "Imagination Baptized, or, 'Holiness' in the Chronicles of Narnia," in Peter J. Schakel, ed., The Longing for a Form: Essays on the Fiction of C. S. Lewis. L(no city) The Kent State University Press, 1977], p. 141J. 88tad etat preyah putrat preyo vittat preyo 'nyasmat sarvasmāt antarataram . .. ātmānam eva priyam upāsfta sa ya ātmanam eva priyam upāste na hasya priyam pramayukam bhavati, BU 1.4.8.

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 385

89tasya pranijātasya pratyagabmabhutatvad vananIyam sambhajanīyam atas tadvanam nama prakhyatam brahma tadvanam, quoted by Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanisads (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1968), p. 592 (my trans.). 90tadd ha tadvanam nāma tadvanam ity upāsitavyam sa ya etad evam vedabhi hainam sarvani bhutani samvanchanti, KeU 4.9. 91"Steady remembrance of this kind is designated by the word 'devotion' (bhakti); for this term has the same meaning as upasana (meditation)," SBR 1.1.1; Thibaut, p. 16. 92Samkara: "This scripture called the Gfta is the summary of the essence of the meaning of the entire Veda" (tad idam gitāsāstram samastavedasārasamgrāhabhutan, SGB intro .; Pan, p. 5). There is also the traditional verse: "All the Upanisads are the cows, Krsna, the cowherd's son, is the milker, the wise Arjuna is the calf, and the nectar- like Gita is the milk" (sarvopansado gavo dugdha gopāla- mahat). nandanah / partho vatsahsudhir bhokta dugdham gitamrtam 93For example: Vedic ritualism, Upanişadic intuitionism and monism, yogic meditation and other forms of non-Vedic asceticism, the ethos of renunciation encouraged by the Buddhist, Jaina, and other "heterodox" movements, and the theism of the popular but unorthodox forms of religion 2-33. such as that of the Bhagavata school. See Bhandarkar, pp. 94brahmabhutah madbhaktim labhate param, BG 18.54. 95bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas ca 'smi tattvah, BG 18.55. 9pmadvyapāšrayah matprasādād avāpnoti sāsvatam padam avyayam, BG 18.56. 97mam ekam saranam vraja / aham sarvapapebhyo moksayisyami, BG 18.66. 98Jacob, Concordance, p. 664. 99garvabhavena, BG 18.62. 100m- mayy avesya mano, BG 12.2; mayy eva mana adhatsva, BG 12.8. l01tesām satatayuktānām bharatām prītipūrvakam, BG 10.10.

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 386 . 102yat karoşi yad asnāsi yaj juhoşi yad dadāsi yat / yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurusva madarpanam, BG 9.27. 103manmand bhava madbhakto madyajf mam namaskuru / mam evaisyasi yuktvaivam atmanam matparayanab, BG 9.34. 104matkarmakrt, BG 11.55; matkarmaparama, BG 12.10. 105 madasraya, BG 7.1) 106manmanas, BG 9.34 18.65; maccitta, BG 6.14, .10.9, 18.57-58. 107, madgataprana, BG 10.9. 108madgatenantaratmana, BG 6.47. 109m matparayana, BG 9.34. l10ananyā, BG 6.29, 8.22 9.13, 9.22, 9.30, 10.13, 11.54, 12.6; avyabhicarini, BG 13.10, 14.26, 18.33. lllcetasa na 'nyagamina, BG 8.8; ananyacetah satatam, BG 8.14. 112See chap. 4.3.4-5. 113The sloka reads: tesām satatayuktānām bhajatām prİtipOrvakam 7 dadāmi buddhiyogam tam yena mam upayanti te. It occurs in an interesting passage that combines a yogic ethos of control and discipline with what may be the beginnings of an emotive style of bhakti, and a final emphasis on gnosis. Verse 10.8 says that the "wise" (budha) are "endowed with emotion" (bhavasamanvita), and 10.9 describes a communal discipline resembling the devotional practices of the BP. This is juxtaposed at 10.11 with talk of the destruction of ignorance by the "light of knowledge" (jmanadIpena), but the latter is obtained -- not by yogic discipline or Vedic study -- but through the grace of Krsna himself. It is worthy of note that, while the word priti is used only once in the text, in this particular context, there are many instances in which Krsna declares that his devotees are "dear" (priya) to him, e.g .: 7.17, 12.14-20, 18.65, 69. 114R. C. Zaehner, Concordant Discord (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970), p. 136; quoted by Hardy, VB, p. 27. 115prasantātma vigatabhir brahmacārivrate sthitah / manah samyamya maccitto yukta aslta matparah, BG 6.14 Cp. BG 9.14: Constantly singing My praises and striving. firmly

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 387 fixed in their vows, bowing down to, Me with devotion,. the ever disciplined ones worship Me" (satatam kirtayanto māmi yatantas ca drdhavratah / namasyantas ca mam bhaktya nityayukta upasate). BG 9.22 reads, in part: For those persons, ever disciplined, who worship Me .. ye janah paryupasate / tesam nityabhiyuktanam . mam also BG 6.31, 6.47. See 116Hardy, VB, pp. 37-40. 117See chap. 6.4. 118caturvidha bhajante mam janah sukrtino 'rjuna / arto jijñasur artharthi jhani ca bharatarsabha // tesam jhant nityayukta ekabhaktir visisyate / priyo hi jhanino 'tyartham aham sa ca mama priyah // udarah sarva evai te GhanI tv atmaiva me matam / asthitah sa hi yuktatma mam eva nuttamam gatim // bahunăm janmanăm ante jhanavan mam prapadyate / vasudevan sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah, BG 7.16-19. 119 The jmanin is the very Self, not other than Me [Krsna]" (jAanT tv atmaiva nanyo matta iti, SGB 7.18; Pan, 81. p. 364). See also SGB 18.55, quoted below, chap. 2, note 120jñanena tu tad ajñānam yesām nasitam atmanah / tesām ādityavaj jnanam prakasyayanti tat param // tadbuddhayas tadatmanas tannisthas tatparayanah / gacchanty apunaravrttim jhananirdhutakalmasah, BG 5.16-17. tat param is neuter. Note that 121raddhavaml labhate jñanam tatparah samyatendriyah / janam labdhva param santim acirena dhigacchati. 122BG 3.39-41; 4.33-35; 5.15; 6.8; 7.2; 9.1; 14.1-2; 18.50. 123evam aatatayuktā ye bhaktās tvām paryupāsate / ye cā 'pi akşaram avyaktam tesam ke yogavittamah, BG 12.1. 124yuktatama, BG 12. 2. 125ye tu sarvāni karmāni mayi samnyasya matparaM / ananvenaiva yogena mam dhyayanta upasate // tesam aham samuddharta mrtyusamsdrasagarat / bhavami nacirat partha mayy avesitacetasam, BG 12.6-7. 126brahmano hi pratisthita 'ham amrtasyavyayasya ca, BG 14.27.

NOTES: CHAPTER ONE 388

127R. C. Zaehner, The Bhagavad-GIta (London: Oxford University Press, 1969), p. 358. No true Vedantin, however, even one of theistic persuasion, would accept any reality higher than Brahman. Ramanuja, therefore, interprets brahmano as a reference to the emancipated soul, and Madhva sees it as a designation of maya (S. Radhakrishnan, The BhagavadgIta [London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971], p. 325). Nevertheless, it is possible that the text itself (not being overly concerned with Vedic orthodoxy) means to suggest such a diminution of the impersonal Absolute. The Buddhist ideal of Nirvana also seems to be subordinated to the personal God by the description, at BG 6.15, of the "peace which has nirvana as its end and abides in Me" (santin nirvanaparamam matsamstham). 128Hardy points out that the distinction between the three margas -- karma, bhakti, and jmana -- was not made by the author of the Gita, who seems to think of loving Krsna, dedicating one's actions to him, and knowing him as the omnipresent Self as three aspects of a single integrated spirituality. The three marga theory, a product of later interpreters, was "artificially read back into the Gita" (Hardy, VB, p. 46) ..

பப்ப்

NOTES CHAPTER TWO

1This seems to be the currently accepted approximation of the period of Samkara's life, though we must keep in mind the tradition that he lived for a mere 32 years. In 1950 H. Nakamura argued for the dates 700-750; he was followed by L. Renou and D. H. H. Ingalls: P. Hacker in 1959 proposed a slightly earlier period beginning ca. 650, and in 1981 Potter concluded, "No firm evidence forces us to date Samkara any later than mid-seventh century."See Karl H. Potter, ed., Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Vol. III: Advaita Vedānta up to Samkara and His Pupils (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981), p. 116; Hardy, VB, p. 488, note 23; Sengaku Mayeda, A Thousand Teachings: The Upadesasahasri of Samkara (Tokyo: Vniversity of Tokyo Press, 1979), p. 3, The Authenticity of the BhagavadgItabhasya ascribed to Samkara," WZKSO, IX (1965), p. 155, note 1. Prior to Nakamura's research, however, the dates 788-820 were standard. The difference of one century is not crucial for the present discussion. 2Adya Prasad Mishra, The development and Place of Bhakti in Samkara Vedanta (Allahabad: The University of Allahabad, 1967), p. ii. 3Sri Ramakrishna was a great bhakta, but nevertheless taught that Advaita was the highest truth and the aim of all spiritual disciplines. His leading disciple, Swami Vivekananda, seemed publicly to be more of a jñanin, but had profound devotional experiences in his private life. Vivekananda once stated: "He [Sri Ramakrishna] was all bhakti without, but within he was all jñana; I am all jñana without; but within my heart it is all bhakti" (The Lite of Swami Vivekananda By His Eastern and Western Disciples [Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1955], p. 115). 4Smarananda, pp. 300-309. 5s. Radhakrishnan, The.Brahma Sutra: The Philosophy of the Spiritual Life (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1960), p. 37. 6One possible exception is Sridhara Svāmin (ca. 1350-1450), who wrote valuable commentaries on the Visnu and

389

NOTES: CHAPTER TWO 390 Bhagavata Puranas and the BG. A member of the Purf order of Samkara samnyasins, he was nominally an Advaitin. His devotional leanings were so strong, however, that the authoritativeness of his commentaries was questioned by .orthodox non-dualists. Although he held along with Samkara that the world is a false appearance, he was sufficiently influenced by Vaisnava thought to adopt certain teachings that were incompatible with Advaita. Most notable of these was the notion, typical of theistic Vedanta, of a plurality of souls that emanate from God like sparks from a fire. This in itself was enough to disqualify him from consideration as a strict non-dualist. Madhusudana, in spite of his advocacy of bhakti, would never have accepted such a notion. Sridhara also interpreted the concept of sakti more realistically than did Samkara or Madhusudana. Like the BP and the Krsna-devotionalists (and MadhusOdana in the BR), he taught that bhakti was a goal superior to moksa, being possible even after liberation. See Jadunath Sinha, The Philosophy & Religion of Chaitanya and His Followers (Calcutta: Sinha Publishing House Private Limited, 1976), pp. 1-11; also Elkman, p. 30, note 15. Other, more orthodox writers of post-Samkara Advaita prior to Madhusudana saw no need to diverge from the emphatic subordination of bhakti to jñana envisioned by their great master. This is understandable, since during this period they were often engaged in the process of defending their system against the vigorous attacks of devotionalists such as Ramanuja and Madhva. On this, see Mishra, pp. iv, 154-155. Appaya Dtksita, a younger contemporary of Madhusudana, was a prolific South-Indian writer on Advaita who also had devotional leanings, in this case toward Siva and the Saiva teachings of Srtkantha (ca. eleventh- thirteenth century). To satisfy his devotional bent, it seems, Appaya produced a number of works in which he adopted the point of view of that author, the most important of. these writings being his Sivarkamanidfpika, a commentary on Šrikantha's Saiva interpretation of the BS. In his introduction to this work, he states that, while Samkara's understanding of the BS is ultimately the most correct, the desire for the final Advaitic intuition can only come through the grace of Siva. Therefore, he argues, it is worthwhile writing a commentary that proclaims the supremacy of the saguna Brahman. In this devotional mood, Appaya, like Sridhara, presents a realistic interpretation of sakti without denying the Advaitin's notion that the world is an illusion. According to Prof. K. Sivaraman: "In his Siva rkamanidtpika and other works such as the Sivadvaitanirnaya and the Sivanandalahari, Appaya advocates the view of the identity of the universe with Brahman through citsakti [the supreme 'Consciousness-energy' of the Absolute]. The only

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.viable way of understanding citsakti parinama [the `transformation' of Consciousness-energy] is by treating the world thus 'evolved' as really speaking a vivarta [appearance] in Samkara's sense. Thus Srikantha's position, according to Appaya, culminates in vivartavada. If Šrikantha still employs the language of visista [real qualification], . .. it is because, says Appaya, his task was the creation of faith in devotion to saguna brahman" (personal communication, December 1986). For a discussion of Appaya's theistically oriented concept of sarvamukti, see chap. 8.3. 7See T. M. P. Mahadevan, The Hymns of Samkara (Madras: Ganesh & Co. Private Ltd., 1970). 8See Radhakrishnan, Brahma Sutra, pp. 37-38. 9Even as orthodox a Hindu scholar as the highly respected Mahamahopadhyaya Gopi Nath Kaviraj writes regarding the hymns: "No doubt, most of these stotras must have been written by the later Samkaracaryas but all of them have been attributed to the first Samkaracarya." In reference to the treatises he says, "It is difficult to decide about the authorship and genuineness of these works" (translated from the Hindi by Mishra, p. 128). Of the prakaranas, Hacker, Ingalls, and Mayeda recognize only the Upadesasahasrt as genuine, rejecting even the Atmabodha and Vivekacudamani, which are held in high esteem by the Advaita tradition (Potter, Advaita, pp. 116, 320). 10Note that JIva Gosvamin, a contemporary of Madhusudana and a bitter opponent of Samkara, still accepts the traditional attribution to the great non-dualist of several devotional poems on Krsna (Tattvasandarbha 23; Elkman, p. 188; see intro., note 12). While strict Advaitins do not accept devotion as part of their own spirituality, they have no difficulty in recommending it to others, as we shall see. To what extent the inclusion of bhakti in the form of stotras, poja, etc., in the discipline of the Samkara mathas ( monasteries") themselves is a legitimate expression of the Advaitic path, and to what extent it is a mere concession to the. "weakness" of the available aspirants, is not clear. Vivekananda's Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati in the Himalayan Swami foothills provides an instructive example in this respect. It was established as center for strictly non-dualistic spiritual practice. For this reason images, puja, kirtan, and so on, were forbidden. This policy, however, proved almost impossible to enforce. Vivekananda discovered, while visiting the ashrama on one occasion, that certain residents had begun daily worship of a picture of Sri Ramakrishna. After returning to Calcutta, he remarked: "I thought of having one centre at least from which the external worship of Sri Ramakrishna would be excluded. But I found that the

NOTES: CHAPTER TWO 392 J. . Old Man had aiready established himself even there" (Swami Nikhilananda, Vivekananda: A Biography [3rd ed .; Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1975], p. 316; see also pp. 282-283, 315- 316). Cp. note 44 below. llsamkara's authorship of the Bhagavadgītabhasya, convincingly demonstrated by Mayeda in 1965, has been accepted by Ingalls, Ragahvan, and Hacker. See Mayeda, "The Authenticity of the BhagavadgItabhasya"; P. Hacker, "Relations of Early Advaitins to Vaişnavism," WZKSO, 1965, IX, 152; Potter, Advaita, pp. 294-295. In addition to the BSSB, the SGB, the commentaries on the 10 major Upanisads, the commentary on Gaudapada's Karikas on the Mandukya Upanişad, and the UpadesasahasrI, Mayeda accepts as authentic works of Samkara (1) the Yogasutrabhasyavivarana, an exposition of Vyasa's commentary on the YS, and (2) the commentary on the Adhyatmapatala of the Apastambadarmasutra (A Thousand Teachings, p. 6). 12BSSB 1.1.11; Th I, 61-62. 13See his commentary on BU 3.5.1 (SwamI Mādhvananda, trans., The Brhadaranyaka Upanisad, with the Commentary of Samkarācarya, [5th ed .; Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1975], p. 332-333; Potter, Advaita, p. 197). See also Eliot Deutsch, Advaita Vedanta: A Philosophical Reconstruction (Honolulu: East-West Center Press, 1969), chap. 3. 14SBSB 2.2.28-32. In the post-Samkara Advaita, a kind of subjective idealism called dratisrstivada ("the doctrine of creation through perception ) was put forward by Prakasananda (twelfth century), but there is no doubt that this view would have been rejected by Samkara. 15Th I, 324. 16 BSSB 2.2.14, Th I, 330. 17Rudolph Otto, Mysticism East and West (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970), p. 123. Later on the same page, Otto speaks of the "apara vidya Samkara" as a "passionate theist. " In view of what will be said about Samkara's views below, I think this latter statement is something of an misrepresentation. I do, however, agree with Otto's observation that the great Advaitin stands sympathetically on the inside of the theistic tradition. transcends it by moving "deeper," so to say, "from within." He See the next note. 18Hacker's study of Samkara's authentic works demonstrates that his thinking on conventional religious

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matters, as well as that of his disciples, is consistently' Vaignava in tone and language (Hacker, "Relations of Early Advaitins to Vaisnavism," pp. 147-154). In this article Hacker further. suggests that the wide-spread notion that Samkara's religious background and sympathy was Saiva was originated by the much later writer Madhava-Vidyārana, "who on the basis of the mere name Samkara constructed the legend of the bhasyakara having been an incorporation of the divine Samkara or Siva" (p. 148). Cf. also Mayeda, A Thousand Teachings, p. 8, note 13. 19pratyaksam eva jIvasyesvaraviparItadharmatvam, BSSB 3.2.5; SAS II, 705 (Th II, 139). 20višeso hi bhavati šārīraparamešvarayoh / ekah kartā bhokta dharmadharmasadhanah sukhadunkhadimams ca, ekas tadviparIto napahatapapmatvadigunah, BSSB 1.2.8; SHS I, 155.

21satyam / [isvarah] sarIre bhavati, na tu sarira eva bhavati / Tjyayan prthivya jyayan antariksat, akasavat sarvagatas ca nityah" iti ca vyaptitvašravanat / jivas tu sarira eva bhavati, BSSB 1.2.3; SHS I, 150. 22BSSB 3.2.9: "The soul which ri'ses cannot be the - Lord, who is everlastingly free from Nescience" (Th II, p. 149). SGB, intro., describes Isvara as "eternally pure, enlightened, and liberated" (nityasuddhabuddhamukta, see note 34). 23"Omniscient, the source of scripture" (BSSB 1.1.3; Th I, 20); "all knowing, all perceiving" (BSSB 1.2.21; Th I,136); "absolute ruler of past and the future" (BSSB 1.3.24; Th I, 196). 24BSSB 1.3.30; Th I) 215. 25BSSB 2.2.33; Th I, 357. 26BSSB 4.4.17; Th II, 415-416. 27BSSB 2.1.14; Th I, 329. 28BSSB 2.3.41; Th II, 59. 29BSSB 2.3.41; Th II, 58-59. 30BSSB 2.1.35-36; Th I, 359-361. 31BSSB 1.1.5; Th I, 50.

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32BSSB 2.2.1 (Th I, 365-367); 2.1.34 (Th I7 357- 359); 3.2.38-41 (Th I, 180-183). See Otto, pp. 124-126. 33gyāt paramesvarasyapIcchāvasan māyāmayam rupan sadhakanugrahartham, BSSB 1.1.20; SHS I, 112. 34sa ca bhagavan jnanaisvaryasaktibalavīryatejobhih sada sampannas trigunatmikam vaisnavim svam mayam mulaprakttim vašikrtyajo vayo bhutanam isvaro nityasuddhabuddhamuktasvabhavo pi san svamayayā dehavan iva Jata iva lokanugraham kurvan laksyate, SGB, intro; Pan, 4-5. 35yat tavad ucyate yo 'sau Narayanah paro 'vyaktat prasiddhah paramatma sarvatma sa atmanatmanam anekadha vyuhyāvasthita iti, tan na nirakriyate . . . yad api tasya bhagavato bhigamanadi-laksanam aradhanam ajasram ananya- cittatayabhipreyate, tad api na pratisidhyate, quoted and translated by Hacker, Relations of Early Advaitins," 151. P. 36fåvaras tatra hrdayapundarIke nicāyyo drastavya upadisyate yatha salagrame Harih. tatrasya buddhi-vijnanam grahakam. sarvagato pišvaras tatropasyamanah prasīdati, quoted and translated by Hacker, Relations of Early Advaitins," p. 149. See Hacker's comments on this and the previous quotation, pp. 149-152. 37See G. A. Jacob, ed., The Vedantasāra of Sadananda (Bombay: Tukaram Javaji, 1894), pp. vii-ix; Hacker, "Relations of Early Advaitins," p. 151; Otto, p. 127; Mayeda, "The Authenticity of the BhagavadgItabhasya," pp. 183-185; Panikkar, Unknown Christ, pp. 112, 114. Mayeda, for example, lists some 15 instances of this kind of usage in the SGB alone. 38In this connection it is interesting that Samkara's frequent use of the word Isvara, in comparison with that of later Advaitins, including his disciples, is one of the criteria proposed by Hacker and Mayeda to identify which of the many works attributed to him are genuine (Mayeda, "Authenticity of the BhagavadgItabhasya," p. 183; Potter, Advaita, p. 115). 39BSSB 2.1.14; Th I, pp. 329-330. Text: tadevam avidyātmakopādiparicchedāpeksam evešvarasyesvaratvam sarvajhatvam sarvasaktitvam ca na paramarthato vidyayā pastasarvopadhisvarupe atmanisitrīsitavyasarva jnatvadi- vyavahara upapadyate / . . . evam paramarthavasthayam sarvavyavaharabhavam vadanti vedantah sarve, SHS I, 405. I, p. 329. 40samkara develops this analogy at BSSB 2.1.14; Th

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41Regarding developments in post-Samkara Advaita, Panikkar observes: "His followers were so keen to preserve the absolute purity and transcendence of Brahman and its total uncontamination by the World that they placed Isvara in the realm of maya, since it is he who is concerned with the creation of the world and hence gets involved in the cosmic play. This leads either to a practical dualism (between a para 'and apara brahman, between paramarthika and vyavaharika) or to an illusionistic conception of Isvara" (Unknown Christ, p. 151). Again, and this criticism might apply to Samkara bimself as well as his scholastic successors: "The Isvara of the Samkara school is in fact almost completely turned towards the phenomenal order. The divergence between Brahman and Isvara is overstressed in order to save the Absolute purity of the former" (Unknown Christ, pp. 158-159). 42"As long as it [Brahman] is the object of Nescience, there are applied to it the categories of devotion, object of devotion, and the like" (BSSB 1.1.11; Th I, 62) .. Text: tatrāvidyavastāyām brahmana upāsyopāsakā- 'dilaksanah sarvo vyavaharah, SHS I, 923. 43See BSSB 3.4.26: "Works serve to remove impurity, but knowledge is the highest way. When the impurities have been removed by works, then knowledge emerges" (kasayapaktih karmāni jñānam tu parama gatih / kasaye karmabhih pakve tato jhanam pravartate, SHS II, 923. 44nirviseşam param brahma sāksātkartum anisvarah / ye mandas te nukampyante savisesanirupanaih // vašikrte manasy egam sagunabrahmasilanat / tad evavirbhavet sāksād apetopadhikalpanam, quoted by Gupta, p. 80, note 14 (my trans.). Madhusudana quotes this verse approvingly at GAD 12.13; Pan, p. 512. Appaya Diksita (see note 6 above) seems willing to identify himself as one of the "weak-minded": "O Lord, for purposes of meditation I have given a name and form to You though You do not have them; by means of hymns I have sought to describe You though you are indescribable; I have journeyed to sacred places to be in your presence, though you are omnipresent. I have committed these three.sins in my ignorance for which I crave your pardon" (rūpam rūpavivarjitasya bhavato dhyānena yat kalpitam stutya anirvacaniyata durikrta yan maya / vyapitvam ca nirakrtam bhagavatah yat tirthayatradina ksantavyam jagadīša tad vikalata doşatrayam matkrtam, quoted by M. K. Venkatarama Iyer, Bhakti from the Advaitic Standpoint," Vedanta Kesari, LII [1966], 483 '[my trans. ]).

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45The orthodox Vedic tradition and the bhakti tradition are not, as modern Hindus frequently assume, historically the same. We have already noted that the Vedas and early Upanisads know next to nothing of bhakti in the forms in which later Hindus experienced it: Bhakti, as we have seen, begins to emerge in the Sanskrit tradition in the so called "theistic" Upanisads and the BG. But even some nine centuries later, at the time of Samkara, it is still not completely accepted by the orthodox. In this case, the "orthodox" are the Smarta Brahmins who followed the Vedic way of life and ritual as preserved and interpreted in the smrti literature, especially the srauta-, grhya-, and dharma-sutras (i.e., the texts of the various Vedic schools on public sacrifice, household ritual, and social institutions). This community, to which it must be remembered Samkara belonged, had no defining theistic commitment and no allegiance to any scripture other than the sruti and smrti (J. A. B. van Buitenen, "On the Archaism of the Bhagavata Purana," in Milton Singer, p. 217, note 42). It tended to regard those who worshipped according to the style of the Tantras or Puranas as unorthodox, The mind-set of at least the more conservative members of the orthodox camp can be inferred from the fact that the author of the Mimamsasutra, Jaimini (ca. 400-200 remains silent regarding the existence of a supreme Being though he accepts the existence of the Vedic gods. Although some later Mimamsakas admit the reality of God, Kumarila, the most influential of them, and others deny it vigorously and reduce even the Vedic gods to mere verbal accessories of the sacrifice. Hence the oft-quoted MImamsaka dictum, "The deva is essentially the mantra" (mantrātmako devah). See Slokavārtika 16.41-87, trans. Gananatha Jha, in Radhakrishnan and Moore, pp. 498-503). In the smrti literature, the term devalaka ("deity worshipper") is consistently used as a pejorative designation for temple priests who made a living offering puja according to the prescriptions of the Tantras. Manu 3.152, for example, classifies them along with physicians, butchers, and shopkeepers as persons to be avoided, and Mahabharata 12.77.8 (crit. ed.) calls them "outcaste Brahmins (brahmanacandala). (See vah Buitenen, "Archaism," p. 28-29, for these and other references). Smärtas showed an increasing readiness to interact with the While the bhakti traditions as time passed and the latter continued to gain in popularity, their attitude was much more rigid in the seventh century. Samkara, as we have seen already, seems to have had a certain sympathy for extra-Vedic theism, considerably more than some of his orthodox vaidika brethren. Nevertheless, he was first and last an adherent of the Smarta path. Mayeda notes that "he made enthusiastic efforts to restore the orthodox Brahmanical tradition,

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without paying attention to the bhakti (devotional) movement, which had made a deep impression on ordinary' Hindus in his age" (A Thousand Teachings, p. 5). Regarding the centrality of the Vedic revelation In the process of salvation and certain other important religious and social questions, he was extremely conservative, as we shall see in the reminder of this chapter. Cf. Venkateswaran, pp. 144- 146; van Buitenen, "Archaism," pp. 26-29; and Hardy, VB, pp. 489-494. 46The independence of bhakti as a path to'liberation would have been a threat to the centrality of the Vedic revelation and the position of its Brahmin custodians. The devotional movements had their own scriptures and, as we. shall see, a distinctly egalitarian outlook. On both çounts, the orthodox were suspicious. Compare dates: Samkara (seventh-eighth century), Bhagavata Purana (ninth- tenth century), Ramanuja (eleventh century). The first great proponent of theistiç Vedanta, Ramanuja, thus came some four centuries after Samkara. There were, of course, widespread devotional movements prior to the time of Ramanuja. The point is that these movements did not have the status of Vedic orthodoxy. Van Buitenen identifies three stages in the "Brahminization" or "Sanskritization" of the Vaisnava tradition in the South, beginning roughly two centuries after Samkara: (1) the acceptance of the Tamil prabandham in traditional temple worship through the efforts Nathamuni (ninth century), (2) the acceptance of the Pañcaratra literature as a result df the work of Yamuna (tenth century), and (3) the "Vedanticization" of Vaişnava devotionalism under Ramanuja. The "acceptance" referred to here? however, was not universal, especially among the Smartas. See van Buitenen, "Archaism," p. 30, and next note. 47Yamuna's Agamapramanyam is largely a defence of the orthodoxy of the Pancaratra-Bhagavata school to which he belonged. After quoting extensively from this work, van Buitenen (p. 29) sums up the socio-religious situation it was seeking to address, as follows: "The Bhagavatas laid claim to being Brahmans; it is also clear that those who made the claim were the priests among the Bhagavatas. The Smartas vehemently disputed their claim, because Bhagavatas/Satvatas were traditionally (i.e. by smrti) known to be a very low class: the issue in fact ... of a Vaisya Vratya [a member of the merchant class who does not observe his religious duties, Manu 10.20, 23]. And not only does the Bhagavata stand condemned by his heredity but his lowliness is compounded by his sacerdotal occupation; priest to his idol he lives off his priesthood, and, whatever his social pretentions, he is a common pujari."

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In light of the situation thus portrayed by Yamuna, van Buitenen ("Archaism," p. 31) interprets the conscious but artificial adoption of archaic Vedic morphology and semantics that is a unique feature of the Bhagavata Purana as an attempt to suggest that "'I am not only orthodox in the Vedic tradition, I even sound like the Veda.'" He suggests further that it may well have been the same kind of anxiety to prove Vedic orthodoxy that prompted Madhva, as late as the thirteenth century, to write his Rgbhasya, commentary on a number of hymns of the RV. , A similar concern ds reflected in the Bengal Vaisnava insistence that the BP has an authority equal to that of the Veda (see chap. 4.3.1, note 26). Indeed, it may be observed even today in the strident efforts of the teachers of the International Society for Krna Consciousness to make a simple equation of their sectarian Vaisnava traditions with an idealized "Vedic" culture. 48Mayeda suggests that Samkara's preoccupation with the superiority of the monastic life to religious activism was due in part to the pedagogical situation in which he found himself: "It is highly probable that jñanakarmasamuccayavada [the "doctrine of (salvation through) a combination of knowledge and religious works] in many varieties was prevalent among MImamsakas and Vedantins while Samkara was active. Samkara, therefore, seems to have taught his teachings to, or fought against, mostly thinkers holding various types of jñanakarmasamuccayavada" (A Thousand Teachings, p. 90). The Vedanta is also and more formally known as the UttaramImamsa, the "subsequent study" or the "inquiry into the later (portion of the Veda)." This indicates its character as being primarily an exegetical system aiming at an interpretation of the Upanigads, the final part or "end" (anta) of the Veda. As such Uttaramimamsa is a sister system to, and according to some presupposed study of, the PürvamImamsa, the "prior study" or the "inquiry into the prior (portion of the Veda, the ritual texts)." Thus, though the UttaramImamsa de-emphasizes ritualism in favor of religious knowledge, the two systems are closely related expressions of the orthodox tradition. Cf. the saying: vyavahare bhattah paramarthe samkarah, note 117 below. 49This interpretation is; of course, highly questionable. Krsna instructs Arjuna to remain in the battle and carry out his caste duty and personal calling (svadharma) as a warrior (chap. 2, passim; 3.30; 11,34; 18.45-48, etc.) and to rely on Krgna in loving devotion for his salvation (11.55, 18.58, 66). The teachings of karmayoga and bhaktiyoga are the great contributions of the

NOTES: CHAPTER TWO 399 GIta to the tradition, and it may be that one of the primary intentions of its author was to counteract the widespread interest in renunciation and monasticism inspired by the then (ca. 200 B.C.E.) powerful Buddhist movement. But Samkara was writing at a different historical moment, and there is no doubt that he felt'that the need of his time was for a champion of the path of the samnyasin. 50BSSB 1.1.4; Th I, 28. 51samkara, of course, is not alone in this. The Upanisads repeatedly emphasize the salvific power of knowledge: "One who knows Brahman, attains the supreme" (brahmavid apnoti param), TU 2.1; "He who knows Brahman, becomes Brahman(brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati), MuU 3.2.9, and so on. Samhya-Yoga holds that release comes from the discriminative realization (vivekakhyati) of the self (purusa) and its separation from the not-self (prakrti). Manu (12.85) declares that knowledge of the Self is the most excellent means to the highest good, that it is the first of the sciences because it leads to liberation (G. Buhler, trans., The Laws of Manu [New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1959], p. 501). 52kevalād eva tattvajñānān moksaprāptih, SGB 2.20; Pan, p. 45. 53atmajnanasya tu kevalasya nihsreyasahetutvam bhedapratyayanivartakatvena kaivalyaphalavasanatvat, SGB 18.66; Pan, p. 756. 54"tam eva viditvātimrtyum eti nanyah pantha vidyate 'yanāya" iti vidyaya anyah pantha moksaya na vidyate iti Brutes carmavad akasavestanasambhavavad aviduso mokşa- Tsambhavasruter jhanat kaivalyam apnotiti ca puranasmrteh, SGB 18.66; Pan, p. 758. 55See note 48 above. 56Th I, 23. Text: "tattvam asi" iti brahmātma- bhāyasya sastram antarenānavagamyamanatvat, SHS I, 40. Also: Brahman, which is omniscient, omnipotent, and the cause of the manifestation, the maintenance, and the dissolution of the world, is known only from the Vedanta scripture" (brahma sarvajñam sarvasakti jagadutpatti- sthitilayakāranam vedantadastrad evavagamyate, BSSB 1.1.4; SHS I, 39). 57Th II, 163.

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58There is a debate among Advaitins as to whether the mahavakya triggers enlightenment immediately or whether further meditation is needed to remove the obstacles to realization. Mandana holds the latter view but Suresvara, following his master, champions the former, with the qualification that the aspirant must be properly prepared. See Brhadaranyakopanisadbhasyavārttika, 4.891-935 and Naiskarmyasiddhi, 2.4-8, summarized by Potter, Advaita, pp. 516-517, 537-538. 59At the beginning of their works, authors of all Hindu religious treatises are required by tradition to state, among other things, the adhikarin, the type of person qualified to study the work (cf. chap. 7, note 9). See Swami Vivekananda's remarks on "The Evils of Adhikaravada" (Complete Works, V, 262-265). 60See chap. 7, note 112. 6lon the paramahamsaparivrajaka, see the quotation from SGB 3.3, sec. 2.5.8 below (note 83), and especially chap. 7, note 11l. follows: The passage from the Upadesasahasrf reads as "The means to final release is knowledge [of Brahman]. It should be repeatedly related to the pupil until it is firmly grasped, if he is dispassionate towards all things non-eternal . . ; if he has abandoned the desire for sons, wealth, and worlds and reached the state of a paramahamsa wandering ascetic; if he is endowed with tranquility, self-control, compassion, and so forth; if he is possessed of the qualities of a pupil which are well known from the scriptures; if he is a Brahmin who is [internally and externally] pure; if he approaches his teacher in the prescribed manner; if his caste, profession, behavior, knowledge [of the Veda], and family have been examined" (trans. Mayeda, A Thousand Teachings, p. 211). 2.6 below. On the requirement that the student be a Brahmin, see sec. Mayeda makes an interesting attempt to reconstruct the social milieu in which Samkara carried on his teaching ministry: "Samkara would not teach his doctrine to city dwellers. In cities the power of Buddhism was still strong, though already declining, and Jainism prevailed among the merchants and manufacturers. Popular Hinduism occupied the minds of ordinary people while city dwellers pursued ease and pleasure. There were also hedonists in cities, and it was difficult for Samkara to communicate Vedanta philosophy to these people. Consequently he propagated

NOTES: CHAPTER TWO 401 his teachings chiefly among samnyasins, who had renounced the world, and intellectuals in the villages, and he gradually won the respect of Brahmins and feudal lords" (A Thousand Teachings, p. 5). The requirements for the study of Advaita, even in Samkara's day, may not have been as strict in practice as the texts cited here suggest (see Mayeda, A Thousand Teachings, p. 97, note 17). Nevertheless, one might well ask how many of the "city dwellers" who have accepted the philosophical truth of Advaita over the centuries have been the type of person Samkara really had in mind when he described his ideal pupil. Indeed, considering the stringency of these qualifications, against the history of political maneuvering in and among the various Samkara mathas, one wonders how many of Samkara's renunciate Followers actually possessed them. 2, 948-950; also note 10 above. See Kane, vol. II, pt. 62karmany evadhikaras te. 63tava ca karmany evāhikāro na jmānanişthāyam, Pan, p. 106. 64yasmāc carjunasyātyantam eva hitaist bhagavams tasya samyagdarsanananvitam karmayogam bhedadrstimantam evopadisati, SGB 12.12; Pan. 512. 65There is a certain inconsistency in Samkara's simultaneous insistence that the BG as a whole teaches renunciation, but that Arjuna, to whom Krsna's message is addressed, is disqualified by caste and aptitude from putting the teaching into practice. See Madhusudana's 31). commentary on BG 18.66 (quoted below, chap. 9, notes 28, 66yah pravrttilaksano dharmo varnāsramāmė coddisya vihitah sa ca devadisthanapraptihetur api sann Išvararpanabuddhyanusthiyamanah sattvasuddhaye bhavati phalabhisandhivarjitah suddhasattvasya ca jhananistha- yogyatapraptidvarena hanotpattihetutvena ca nihsreyasahetutvam api pratipadyate, SGB, Intro .; Pan, 7. 67gvakarmana bhagavato 'bhyarcanabhaktiyogasya siddhipraptih phalam jnananisthayogyata / yannimitta jhananistha moksaphalavasana / sa bhagavadbhaktiyogo 'dhuna stuyate sastrarthopasamharaprakarane sastrarthaniscaya- därdhyaya, SGB 18.56; Pan, p. 744-745. 68mayi cesvare ... bhaktir . sa ca jñanam / ... jhanam iti proktam jhanarthatvat, SGB 13.10- II; Pan, pp. 548-550.

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69See chap. 1.3. 70For Sanskrit, see chap. 1.3, note 79. Cp. SGB 12.3: "Upasana means approaching the object to be meditated upon by making it an object of awareness and remaining with `it for a long time with an unbroken stream of steady thought like a flow of oil" (upāsana nāma yathasāstran upāsyasyā 'rthasya visayīkaranena samıpyam upagamya tailadharavat samanapratyayapravahena dirghakalam yat asanam tat upasanam acakşate, Pan, p. 502. : 7laprthaksamadhina nanyo bhagavato vasudevāt paro 'sty atah sa eva no gatir ity evam niscita vyabhicarini buddhir, SGB 13.10; Pan, p. 548. 72ananyaya 'prthagbhutaya bhagavato 'nyatra prthan na kadācid api ya bhavati sa tv ananya bhaktih, SGB 11.54; Pan, p. 496-497. 73Th II, 332. Vidyaranya Svamin (fourteenth ." century), perhaps feeling the influence of the Krsna-gopI paradigm, compares the concentration of upasana to the preoccupation of a married woman with her paramour (PD 9.84- 87). See Swamf Swahananda, trans. PañcadasI (Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1975), pp. 402-403. 74tāny etāni upāsaņāni sattvasuddhikaratvena vastutattvavabhasakatvad, Samkara's commentary on the CU, intro .; quoted by Mishra, p. 19, note 2 (my trans.). 75BSSB 1.1.4; Th I, p. 35.' See also BSSB 1.1.2; Th I, p. 18. 76vastutantro bhaved bodhah kartrtantram upasanam, PD 9.74; Swahananda, p. 399. 77"The state called moksa that is attained by the renunciate Samkhyas who follow the path of knowledge is also attained by the Yogins through the acquisition of samnyesa and knowledge of the supreme" (yat samkhyair jmananisthaih samnyasibhih prapyate sthanam moksakhyam tad yogair api' Pan, p. 250. .. paramārthajhānasamnyāsaprāptidvārena gamyate, SGB 5.5; 78Hopefully, as a male Brahmin. of the social side of Samkara's thought, below. See the discussion , 79Kramamukti is originally postulated as the state gained by those who are devoted to meditations on the conditioned Brahman through various symbols as described in the Upanişads. Samkara discusses it in detail in his

NOTES: CHAPTER TWO 403 commentary on BS 4.3-4. See also BSSB 4.3.10-11, 4.4.22, and 1.3.13; SGB 8.23-27; and Potter, Advaita, pp. 26-27. 80BSSB 3.4.20; Th II, 301. The terms comes frome CU 3.23.1: "He who dwells in Brahman attains immortality" (brahmasamstho 'mrtatvam eti). 81pratyagatmavisayapratyayasamtanakaranabhinivesas- ca jmananistha, SGB 18.55; Pan, p. 744. 82kim u vaktavyam brahmacaryad eva samnyasya yavad- jIvam yo brahmany evavatisthate sa brahmanirvanam rcchatfti, SGB 2.72; Pan, p. 133. 83tatra jñanayogena jñanam eva yogas tena samkhyanam atmavişayavivekajhanavatam brahmacaryasramad eva krta- samnyasanam vedantavijhanasuniscitarthanam paramahamsa- parivrajakanam brahmany evavatişthitanam nistha prokta, karmayogena karmaiva yogah, SGB 3.3; Pan, pp. 141-142. On e Paramahamsa, see chap. 7, note lll. 84For an outline of this discipline, see Vedantasara 182-192, summarized by Zimmer, pp. 431-432. See also Samkara's commentary on BU 1.4.2, 2.4.5, 2.5.1 (intro.), and 4.5.6 (Swami Madhavananda, The Brhadaranyaka Upanisad with the Commentary of Samkaracarya 15th ed .; Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1975], pp. 68-69, 247-248, 262, and 569); also Cenkner, pp. 65-83. 85jfanakarmanoh kartrtvakartrtvaikatvanekatvabuddhy- asrayayor ekapurusasambhavam, SGB 2.10; Pan, p. 42. 86nisevavidyamatram idam sarvam bhedajatam idam jManam, SGB 2.69; Pan, p. 128. 87napramanabuddhya grhyamanayah karma- hetutvopapattih, SGB 2.69; Pan, p. I28. 88tadviparttasya mithyajfanamdlakakartrtva- ''bhimanapurahsarasya sakriyatmasvarupavasthanarupasya karmayogasya . . . samyagjhanamithyajhanatatkaryavirodhad abhavah pratipadyate, SGB 5.1; Pan, p. 244. 89"naiva kiņcit karomtti yukto manyeta tattvavit" ity anena ca sarfrasthitimatraprayuktesv api darsana- Sravanadikarmasv atmayathatmavidah karomfti pratyayasya samahitacetastaya sada kartavyatvopadesad atmatattvavidah samyagdarsanaviruddho mithyajhanahetukah karmayogah svapne pi na sambhavayitum šakyate, SGB 5.1; Pan, p. 245. 90avidyakamabtjam hi sarvam eva karma / tatha

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copapāditam / avidvadvisayam karma vidvadvisayā ca sarvakarmasamnyasapurvika jhananistha / .. . dadami buddhiyogam tam yena mam upayanti te arthan na karminno ' jna upayanti., SGB 18.66; Pan, p. 761. 91Remember that the devotionalists had not yet made a forceful claim for bhakti as an independent path to liberation. Even Ramanuja, some 400 years after Samkara, accepts that devotion is "a particular kind of knowledge" (jmanavisesa, VAS 238; S. S. Ranghavachar, trans., Veda rthasamgraha of SrI Ramanujacarya [Mysore: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, 1968], p. 184). . 92yuktatama, 12.2. 93jmant tv atmaiva me matam iti hy uktam / na hi bhagavatsvarūpānām satām yuktatamatvam ayuktatamatvam vā vacyam, SGB 12.4; Pan, p. 505. 94atra cātmesvarabhedam asritya visvarūpa favare cetahsamādhanalaksano yoga ukta Išvarartham karmanușthanadi ca / athaitad apy asakto si . ity ajhanakaryasucanan nabhedadarsino kşaropāsakasya karmayoga upapadyate iti darsayati / tatha karmayogino kşaropasananupapattiņ darsayati bhagavan te prapnuvanti mam eva" iti / aksar- Topasakanam kaivalyapraptau svatantryam uktvetaresam paratanryam isvaradhinatam darsitavams tesam aham samuddharteti / yadi hisvarasyatmabhutas te mata abheda- daršitvad aksararūpa eva ta iti samudaranakarmavacanam tān praty apesalam syat / yasmac carjunasyatyantam eva hitaisr bhagavams tasya samyagdarsanananvitam karmayogam bhedadrstimantam evopadisati / na ca atmanam isvaram pramaņato budhva kasyacid guņabhavam jigamişati kascid virodhat, SGB 12.12; Pan, p. 511-512. 95This seems to contradict the passage of BSSB 2.3.41 quoted above in which Samkara asserts that both bondage and the knowledge which leads to final liberation arise from the grace of the Lord. But cp. BSSB 3.2.5: "Because `from him,' i.e. from the Lord there are the bondage and release of it, viz. the individual soul. That means, bondage is due to the absence of knowledge of the Lord's true nature; release is due to the presence of such knowledge" (Th II, 139). Katha 2.20 declares: "He beholds the majesty of the Self by the grace of the Creator (dhatuh prasadat)." (The full text is, pasyati . . . dhatuh prasadat mahimanam atmanah. ) But Samkara prefera to read dhatuprasadat, by the tranquillity of the senses, thus avoiding the theistic implications of the verse. instance occurs at Katha 2.23: "[The Self] can be obtained A similar only by him whom He choses; to him alone this Self reveals His own form" (yam eva esa vrnnute tena labhyas, tasya esa

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atma vivrņute tamum svam). Samkara tortures the syntax to make the aspirant the agent of choice and the Self the object of choice: "'whom' means 'his own Self'" (yam eva -- svam atmamam); "`he' means 'the aspirant'" (esa -- sadhakan). The translation thus becomes: "[The Self] Can be known through the Self alone, which he [the aspirant] chooses, i.e., meditates on." This reversal effectively, but unconvincingly, removes the element of grace. See Mariasusai Dhavamony, Love of God According to Saiva Siddhata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971), pp. 63-66. 96aham brahmasmi, BU 1.4.10. 97While describing the ideals of Advaita Ashrama, Swami Vivekananda declared: "'Dependence is misery. Independence is happiness. The Advaita is the only system which gives unto man complete possession of himself and takes off all dependence and its associated superstitions, thus making us brave to suffer, brave to do, and in the long run to attain to Absolute Freedom. "Hitherto it has not been possible to preach this Noble Truth entirely free of the settings of dualistic weakness; this alone, we are convinced, explains why it has not been more operative and useful to mankind at large" (Nikhilananda, Vivekananda, p. 283). But see note 10 above. 98The bhasyas on the MaU and the TU, and a portion of the UpadesasahasrI, begin with invocations to the neutral Brahman or atman. The SGB begins with a verse in praise of Narayana, but it is a quotation and not an original composition. The rest of Samkara's authentic works do not have invocations (Hacker, "Relations of Early Advaitins," p. 152).

99na hi svārajye 'bhiksito brahmatvam gamitah kamcana namitum icchati, quoted by Hacker, Relations of Early Advaitins, p. 152 (my trans. ). Vivekananda: Again, cp. "What does the Advaitist preach? He dethrones all the gods that ever existed, or ever will exist in the . universe and places on that throne the Self of man, the Atman, . No books, no scriptures, no science can ever imagine the glory of the Self that appears as man, the most glorious God that ever was, the only God that ever existed, exists, or ever will exist. I am to worship, therefore, none but myself. 'I worship my Self,' says the Advaitist. To whom shall I bow down? I salute my Self. To whom shall I go for help?" (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda [13th ed .; Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1976], II, 250).

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100mam ca yo' vyabhicarena bhaktiyogena sevate / sa gunan samatIyaitan brahmabuyaya kalpate. 10lbhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yascasmi tattvatah / tato mam tattvato jhatva visate tadanantaram. 102paramesvare bhaktim bhajanam param uttamam. jMānalaksanam (SGB 18.54; Pan, p. 741); jhanalaksanaya bhaktya (SGB 18.55; Pan, p. 741). '103vivekajnanatmakena bhaktiyogena, SGB 14.26; Pan, pp. 605-606. 104sāstrācāryopadesena jnānotpattiparipākahetum sahakārīkāraņam buddhivisuddyady amanitvadi capeksya janitasya ksetrajhaparamatmaikatvajhanasya kartradi- karakabhedabuddhinibandhanasarvakarmasamnyasasahitasya svatmanubhavaniscayarupena yad avasthanam sa para jhana- nişthety ucyate / seyam jhananisthartadibhaktitrayapeksaya para caturthi bhaktir ity ukta / taya paraya bhaktya bhagavantam tattvato bhijanati / yadanantaram evesvaraksetrajhabhedabuddhir asesato nirvartate ato jHananisthalaksanaya bhaktya mam abhijanatiti vacanam na virudhyate, SGB 18.55; Pan, pp. 742-743. 105This identification of devotion and the Advaitin's discipline of knowledge is found also at Vivekacūdāmani 32-33a. There we are at first surprised to Fead: Among all causes of liberation, bhakti is the best." We soon learn, however, that "bhakti is an earnest seeking to know one's own real nature . . the reality. of one's own Self" (mokşakaranasamagryam bhaktir eva garIyasI / svasva- rOpanusandhanam bhaktir ity abhidhIyate // svatma- tattvanusandhanam bhaktir ity apare jaguh). Madhavananda, trans., Vivekacudamani of Srī Samkarācārya See Swami (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1978), p. II. 106mam ekam saranam vraja. 107mam ekam sarvatmanam samam sarvabhutastham Isvaram acyutam garbhajanmajaramaranavivarjitam aham evety evam ekam saranam vraja na matto nyad astIty avadharayety arthah, SGB 18.66; Pan, p. 753. 108"The Blessed Lord Narayana, having divided the enlightened Samkhyas from the unenlightened men of action, makes them take two paths" (bhagavan narayanah samkhyan viduso 'vidusas ca karminah pravibhajya dve nist grahayati, SGB 2.21; Pan, p. 73. 109karmanisthaya jmananisthapraptihetutvena purusārthahetutvam na svatantryena, jananistha tu

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karmanisthopayalabdhatmika satf svatantryena purusarthahetur anyanapeksa, SGB 3.4; Pan, p. 144. l10sarvopanişatsv itihasapuranayogasastresu ca jānāngatvena mumuksoh sarvakarmasamnyasavidhanat, SĢB 3.1; Pan, p. 136. lllpratyagātmavikriyasvarūpanithatyac ca moksasya, SGB 18.55; Pan, p. 744. 112na hi pūrvasamudram jigamisoh prātilomyena pratyaksamudram jigamisnuna samanamargatvam sambhavati / . . . sa [jhananiştha] pratyaksamudragamanavat karmana sahabhavitvena virudyate / parvatasarspayor ivantaravan virodhan pramannavidam nišcitah, SGB 18.55; Pan, p. 744. 113tasmat sarvakarmasamnyasenaiva jmānanisthā karyeti siddham, SGB 18.55; Pan, p. 744. On the necessity of renunciation many other passages could be quoted, e.g .: "The aim of this Gita-scripture, in short, is the supreme good which is characterized by the complete cessation of samsara along with its causes, and this arises from the religious practice in the form of the discipline of Self- knowledge, preceded by renunciation of all works" (tasyāsya gİtasastrasya sanksepatah prayojanam param nihsreyasam sahetukasya samsarasyatyantoparamalaksanam, tac ca sarvakarmasamyasapurvakad atmajhananistharupad dharmad bhavati, SGB, intro .; Pan, p. 6); The cessation of grief and delusion which are the seeds of samsara is from nothing other than knowledge of the Self preceded by renunciation of all action" (samsarabIjabhūtau sokamohau tayos ca sarvaķarmasamyasapurvakad atmajhanad nanyato nivrttir iti, SGB 2.10; Pan, p. 40); The cause of the cessation of this [cause of samsara] is well known in the Gita to be knowledge together with renunciation [undertaken] when there is indifference to the world" (asya [samsarakaranasya nivrttikāranam jñanam vairagye sasamnyasam gtasastre prasiddham, SGB 13.21; Pan, p. 568); and so on. 114BSSB 3.4.20; Th II, 301-302. 115See his commentary on BU 3.5.1 and BU 4.5.15. According to UpadesasahasrI 2.1.2 (quoted above, note 61), the student of Advaita should be both a Brahmin and a paramahamsa. Farquhar believes that the early view that any educated male of the three upper castes could become a renunciate was replaced by the rule limiting eligibility for samnyasa to Brahmins about 300 C.E. (J. N. Farquhar, "The Organization of the Sannyasis of the Vedanta," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society [England], [July, 1925],p. 481).

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This restriction was accepted by many authorities, notably Medatithi, the commentator on Manu. It finds support in such passages as BU 3.5.1, "Brahmanas, having known the Self and having risen above the desire for sons; the desire for wealth, and the desire for [heavenly] worlds, live as mendicants" (etam vai tam atmanam viditva cbrahmanah putraisanāyās ca vittaisanayas ca lokaisanayas ca vyutthāya atha bhiksacaryam caranti), and MuU 1.2.12, Having scrutinized the worlds that are the rewards of actions, a Brahmana should attain non-attachment" (parIksya lokān karmacitān brahmano nirvedam ayan). Manu's description of samnyasa at 6.38 begins: A Brahmana may depart from his house ." (Buhler, p. 205). A widely circulated verse from the Vaikhanasadharmaprasna reads: "Brahmins have four 'life- stages, Ksatriyas have the first three, and Vaisyas the first two; the four stages are that of the student, the householder, the retiree, and the renunciate" (brahmanasya- ''šramas catvarah, kşatriyasyadyas trayah, vaisyasyadyau, tadasraminas catvaro brahmacarf grhasto vanaprastho bhikşur iti, quoted by Farquhar, pp. 480-481 [my trans. ]). Samkara's order of renunciates, the dasanamis, followed this rule strictly until, interestingly enough, the time of Madhusūdana (chap. 9, note 31). The issue did not remain without controversy, however, and there are texts which follow the earlier tradition of allowing male members of any of the dvija or '"twice born" castes, i.e., all except the sudras, to take samnyasa. A number of writers accept this more liberal view, including Samkara's own disciple Suresvara, who in his Varttika on Samkara's commentary on BU 3.5.1 expresses his disagreement with his guru's position (P. V. Kane, The History of Dharmasastra [2nd ed .; Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1974], vol. II, part 2, pp. 942-944; Farquhar, pp. 478-479). Vidyaranya Svamin (fourteenth century), referring in his Jivanmuktiviveka to such female sages as Sulabha, Gargf Vacaknavf, and MaitreyI, takes the liberal position that women are eligible for what he calls vividigā samnyasa ("the renunciation of the seeker"), thus: "For this renunciation, women also are qualified (asmims ca tyage striyo 'pi adhikriyante, Jivanmuktiviveka of Vidyaranya, ed. with an English translation by S. Subramanya Sastri and T. R. Srinivasa Ayyangar [Madras: The Adyar Library and Research Center, 1978], pp. 4, 182). (I am indebted to Swami Atmarupananda of the Vedanta Society of Southern California for this reference.). It has for long been commonly recognized that social factors are extremely important in Hinduism. The tradition prescribes different duties, religious practices, and observances for different persons according to their place in the social hierarchy, stage of life, and so on. A

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person's spiritual options are commonly, especially in more orthodox circles, limited and channelled by the same criteria. Since the Hindu tradition provides an extremely wide, often bewildering, variety of spiritual alternatives, such limitations may be, from a practical point of view, necessary to prevent social and psychological confusion. Though a radical metaphysically speaking, Samkara was extremely conservative socially. For example: "The primal creator Visnu, called Narayana, was born in part as Krsna of DevakT and Vasudeva for the protection of the earthly Brahman [the Vedas and the sacrifice] and Brahmin- hood. By the protection of Brahmin-hood, the Vedic way of life is preserved, since the distinctions of castes and stages of life depend upon it [Brahmin-hood]" (sa adikartā narayanakhyo visnur bhaumasya brahmano brahmanasya rakşanartham devakyam vasudevad amsena krsnan kila sambabhuva / brahmanatvasya hi raksanena rakşitah syād vaidiko dharmah tadadhInatvad varnasramabhedanam, SGB, intro .; Pan, p. 4). Most accounts of Samkara s life hold that his family belonged to the elite Nambūdiri Brahmin caste of Kerala. Samkara's spiritual exclusivism is typical of the traditional hierarchical outlook of orthodox Brahmanical Hinduism. That the highest goal of life should be restricted to the highest caste is no scandal to this way of thinking. Everyone and indeed everything must find and accept his, her, or its place in the great hierarchy of being; tradition simply requires Brahmins to bear the responsibility of being at or near its peak. 116 sokamohābhyām hy abhibhūtavivekavijñānah svata eva ksātradharme yuddhe pravrtto pi tasmad yuddhad upararama / paradharmam ca bhiksajIvanadikam kartum pravavrte / tathaca sarvapraninam sokamohadidosavistacetasām svabhavata eva svadharmaparityagah pratisiddhaseva ca syat, SGB 2.10; Pan, p. 40. l17other writers, however, do. In the introduction to Bhaskara's commentary in the Gfta, for example, we read: "The Blessed dharma is only for Brahmans a way to release. The Sudra, etc., cannot be elevated . . nor can iron be made into gold by heating it some more . Even the Ksatriya and the Vaisya do not have the same qualification for release as the Brahman. Therefore, only the Brahman has it" (van Buitenen, "Archaism," p 32). . The translator remarks (p. 33): "In Bhaskara we have a spokesman for an old-fashioned Vedanta, in which the desire of knowing Brahman is compatible only with the performance of appropriate Vedic ritual, which excludes all but the Brahman

NOTES: CHAPTER TWO 410 [caste]. This attitude was only partly reformed by Samkara. . Although he relegated all ritual performances to the realm of vyavahara, or the provisional truth of process, he did not alter the spirit of exclusiveness associated with the Vedanta. Precisely this uncompromising dichotomy between the realms of supreme truth and relative process-encouraged an attitude summed up in the well-known dictum: vyavahare Bhattah, parama- rthe Samkarah in vyavahara, a follower of Kumarilla phatta; in respect of the supreme truth, a follower of Samkara.' But to be a legitimate follower of Kumarila, the Mimamsaka had in theory to be twice-born, in practice to be a Brahman. "It would not be difficult to multiply quotations in line with Bhaskara's views. They are important inasmuch as they show, for the age with which we are concerned, the mentality of those who traditionally regarded themselves (and, however reluctantly, were regarded by others) as the final arbiters of dharma and moksa. Againsttheir spirit of exclusiveness, in society as well as in soteriology, the rise of the bhakti movement placed a spirit of catholicity." 118These exceptions appear to be only such as were necessitated by scriptural passages suggestive of the more liberal attitude of an earlier age, and which therefore called the later restrictions into question. BSSB 3.4.36 indicates that there is a possibility for knowledge even for one who is outside of the system of the four life-stages. In his comments, Samkara allows that certain persons mentioned in scripture were knowers of Brahman, such. as Raikva [CU 6.1-3], a cart-puller who did not observe caste rules, and GargI [BU 3.6, 8], a woman. SGB 9.32 (Pan, p. 439) admits a chance of "attaining the highest goal" (param gatim) for those of "sinful birth" (papayonayah) such as women, Vaisyas, and Sudras. The SGB twice discusses the case of Janaka, a King famed for his enlightenment (2.10 and 3.20; Pan, pp. 44-46, 158-160). In both cases, however, Samkara is noncommittal as to whether Janaka is a knower of Brahman or not, e.g .: "Therefore, by action alone' wise Ksatriyas of old such as Janaka and Asvapati "came to," i.e., tried to attain, `perfection,' i.e., moksa. If they were persons who had attained right knowledge, they came to perfection by action alone, i.e., without renouncing action, because of the karma determining their lives, in order to foster the welfare of the world. But if Janaka and the others were persons who had not attained right knowledge, they came to perfection gradually by action which is the means of purifying the mind. Thus the verse should be explained" (karmanaiva hi tasmat pürve ksatriya vidvāmsah samsidhim moksam gantum asthitah pravrtta

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janakadayo janakasvapatiprabhrtayah / yadi te praptasamyagdarsanas tato lokasamgrahartham prarabdhakarmatvat karmaņa sahaiva samnyasyaiva karma samsiddhim asthita ity arthan / athapraptasamyagdarsana janakadayas tada karmană. sattvasuddhisadhanabhutena kramena samsiddhim asthita iti vyakhyeyah slokah, SGB 3.20; Pan, p. 159). 119That is, the states of jIvanmukti or sadyomukti. 120See BG 3.20-26, on which Samkara comments: "For Me [Krşņa] or any other who, knowing the Self, desires to effect the welfare of the world, there is no action to be done but that which is for the welfare of the world. Therefore, for such a knower of the Self, the following is taught. .. . He should not create confusion in the mindsof the ignorant, the undiscriminating, who are attached to action. then, should he do? He should encourage them to enjoy, What, to do, all actions, the wise man himself performing in a disciplined way the very action [required] of the ignorant" (evam lokasamgraham cikIrsor mamatmavido na kartavyam asti anyasya va lokasamgraham muktva tatas tasyatmavida idam upadisyate . . . buddhibhedas tam na janayen notpadayed ajhanam avivekinam karmasanginam .. . kimtu kuryaj josayet karayet sarvakarmanı vidvān svayam tad evaviduşam karma yukto bhiyuktan samacaran, SGB 3.25-26; Pan, pp. 162-163). „Cf. also SGB 2.11. It is clear that the Samkara tradition recognizes and celebrates the selfless action performed by realized samnyasins for the sake of lokasangraha. See Cenkner's descriptions of "The ministry of the Samkaracaryas," "The Capacity of a Jagadguru, " and "The Teaching of the Samkaracaryas" (pp. 127-146). Peter Berger points out that the detached, "as if" observance of social and religious customs, "out of consideration for the weaker spirit of the masses that has a need of these," is a common feature of world-relativizing mystical religion (The Sacred Canopy [Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1969], p. 98) .. By way of illustration, he cites a passage from the Theologia germanica that parallels the attitude of the Advaitin almost exactly: "Perfect men accept the law along with such ignorant men as understand and know nothing other or better, and practice it with them, to the intent that thereby they may be kept from evil ways, or if it be possible, brought to something higher" (J. Bernhart, ed., Theologia germanica [New York: Pantheon, 1949], p. 159; quoted by Berger, p. 98). The complexity of Advaitic thinking on devotional religion is suggested by the fact that samkara is regarded,

NOTES: CHAPTER TWO 412 not only as the originator of the Advaita system, but also as an important reformer of popular Hinduism whose distaste for action did not prevent him from traveling widely to spread his views and correct religious abuses. He is venerated as the founding teacher (sthapanacarya)' of six schools of worship (sanmata) recognized by the Smarta Brahmins. These are the Saiva, the Vaisnava, the Sakta (worship of the Goddess), the Saura (worship of the sun), the Ganapatya (worship of the elephant-faced Ganapati), and the Kaumara (worship of Kumara or Skanda, the son of Siva). See Iyer, pp. 478-479; Venkateswaran, pp. 146-147; and Raymond Panikkar, "Advaita and Bhakti: Love and Identity in a Hindu-Christian Dialogue," Journal of Ecumenical Studies, VII (Spring, 1970), 301. 121see chaps. 3.2, 4.3.2.

NOTES CHAPTER THREE

1Hardy, VB, pp. 11, 44 .. 2Hardy, VB, pp. 261-269. 3Hardy, VB, p. 488. 4Hardy, VB, pp. 11, 43. 5s. N. Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1966) IV, I. 6See chap. 4, note 6 .. 7r. J. Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition, p. ("Madhavendra PuEti & yournal of the Royal Asfatic Society 118. Hardy gives ca. 600-950 as the period of the Alvars South Indian Bhakti } Link Between Bengal Vaisnayism and [of Great Britain and Ireland], 1974, p. 23). 8Writing in the forward to Milton Singer, p. iv. 9aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyam nandagopavrajaukasām / yanmitram paramanandan purnam brahma sanatanam, BP 10.14.32; GS II, 1IT5. 10ekadese 'khilasargasaustavyan tvadfyam adrakma vayam madhudvisah, BP 10.39.21b (GS II, 1218); akşavatam phalam idam na param vidamah, BP 10.21.7 (GS II, 1146). llSee BP 10.39.20; 10.21; 10.35; 10.44.14. 12paramo dharmah, 1.2.6; see 1.2.8, 2.2.33-34, 3.25.44, 4.9.10, 10.47.24, quoted in BR 1, sec. IX. For all references to BR 1, see the translation in chap. 7. 13ekāntino yasya na kaßcanārtham vāncchanti ye vai bhagavatprapannah / atyadbhutam taccaritam sumangalam gayanta anandasamudramagnah, BP 8.3.20; GS II, 830. 14Cp. the extension of this principle in Hemadri's dictum that devotion is the experience of bliss, while moksa is only the state of bliss. Below, chap. 4, note 105. 413

NOTES: CHAPTER THREE 414

15sreyahsrutim bhaktim udasya te vibho klisyanti ye kevalabodhalabdhaye / tešam asau klešala eva sişyate nanyad sthulatugavaghatinam, BP 10.14.4; GS II, IIIT. 16na kimcit sadhavo dira bhakta hy ekantino mama / vāňchanty api maya dattam kaivalyam apunarbhavam, BP 11.20,34; GS II, 1589. 17haivecchaty asişah kvāpi brahmarsir moksam apy uta / bhaktim param bhagavati labdhavan puruse vyaye, BP 12.10.6; GS II, 1694. 18na yogasiddhir apunarbhavam va, BP 6.11.25, 10.16.37, I1.14.14. 19See BP 11.20.31-34, quoted by Madhusudana in BR 1, sec. V; see also BR 1, sec. XXIV. In his discussion of this subject in the BRS, Rupa Gosvamin quotes BP 3.4.15; 3.25.34, 36; 3.29.13; 4.9.10; 4.20.24; 5.14.44; 6.11.25; 6.17.28; 6.18.74: 7.6.25; 7.8.42; 8.3.20; 9.4.67; 10.16.37; 10.87.21; 11.14:14; 11.20.34; 12.10.6 (BRS 1.2.22-57; Bon, pp. 81- 105). This attitude towards moksa found widespread acceptance in the devotional traditions. Cp. JKanesvarf 9.191: "In them the spirit of devotion is.so fervent that they even dismiss liberation [as worthless]" (V. G. Pradhan, trans., Jhanesvart [London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1967], I, 229; see chap. 4, note 39). In Tulsf Das's Ramacartiamanasa we read: This supreme state of final beatitude is most difficult to attain, so declare the saints as well as the Puranas[, ] Vedas and Agamas (Tantras). By worshipping Srt Rama, my lord, the same beatitude comes unsolicited even against our will. Water cannot stay except on land notwithstanding our best efforts; even so, mark you, O king of the birds, the joy of final beatitude cannot stay apart from Devotion to SrI Hari. Realizing this, the wise devotees of Sri Hari spurn final emancipation and remain enamoured of Devotion" (Uttarakanda, doha 118, caupal 2-4, trans. by the editor, Kalyana Kapataru, XVII [August, 1951], 273; reprint edition, Shree Ramacharitamanasa [Chandigarh: Shree Geeta Press, n.d.], pt. III, p. 273). 20atmaramas ca munayo nirgrantha apy urukrame / kurvanty ahaitukim bhaktim ithambhutaguno harih, BP 1.7.10; GS I, 25. See the discussion of jivanmukti at BR 1, sec. XI; on the importance of this verse to the Vaisnava tradition, see chap. 9, note 21.

NOTES: CHAPTER THREE 415

2lprayena munayo rajan nivrta vidhisedhatah / nairgunyastha ramante sma gunanukathane hareh, BP 2.1.7; GS I, 95. See also BP 1.8.20; 2.1.9. 22madgunasrutimatrena mayi sarvaguhasaye / manogatir avicchina yatha gangambhaso mbudhau // laksanan bhaktiyogasya nirgunasya hy udahrtam / ahaituky awyavahita ya bhaktin purusottame, BP 3.29.11-12; GS 1, 300. 23BP 7.5.23; see chap. 7, note 30. 24See the translation of BR 1 in chap .. 7. 25BP 1.3.31-33, quoted and discussed in BR 1, sec. 26SBS 56-57, 59; Swami Harshananda, trans., sandilya Bhakti Sutras with Svapnesvara Bhasya (Mysore: Prasaranga, University of Mysore, 1976), pp. 124-134. See BR 1, sec. IV, note 32; sec. X, with note 85. The date of the SBS is uncertain; I follow Hardy (VB, p. 563, note 22) in assigning the text to the century following the BP. But it should be kept in mind that, as Harshananda (p. xviii) points out, there is no direct reference to that purana in the sutras. 27BP 1.4-7. The story is also designed to show that even knowers of Brahman are unfulfilled without bhakti. It ends with 1.7.10, just discussed above. 28J. N. Farquhar, An Outline of the Religious Literature of India (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1920), p. 229; quoted by Hardy, VB, p. 38. 29Hardy, VB, pp. 38-39. 30Gonda, J., "Het begrip bhakti," in Tijdschrift voor Philosophie, vol. 10 (Louvain), p. 640; quoted and translated by Hardy, VB, p. 38. 3lkatham vina romaharsam dravata cetasa vina / vina ''nandāsrukalaya sudhyed bhaktya vina sayah // vag gadgada dravate yasya citta rudaty abhiksanam hasati kvacicca / vilajja udgayati nrtyate ca madbhaktiyukto bhuvanam punati. BP 11.14.23-24; GS II, 1555. Madhusudana quotes and comments upon verse 23 under BR 1.31 (chap. 7, sec. XXII) . 32See, e.g., BR 1, sec. XXVIII. 33Hardy, VB, passim. 34BP 10. 29.40; 10.30-31.

NOTES: CHAPTER THREE `416 35BP 10.21, 35. 36BP 10.39, 47. See Hardy, VB, pp. 530-531; Edward Dimmock, The Place of the Hidden Moon (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1966), pp. 1-13. 37Dasgupta, IV, 33; Hacker, "Relations of Early Advaitins," p. 154; Hardy, VB, pp. 494-496, 538. 38Hardy, VB, p. 494. 39"Song of the Swan"; see BR'1, sec. XXIII and note '243. 40At 11.13 the Lord, in order to teach Brahma and his mind-born sons, appeared before them in the form of a swan. When they asked him who he was, he replied: :"Verily, since the Self is unitary, what could be the relevance of your question, O wise ones, and on what basis could I answer it? In truth, when the five elements are the commonconstituents of [all] beings [and they have but one Self], your question, 'Who are you, revered Sir,' is a useless verbal exercise. It is I alone who am apprehended by the mind, by speech, by vision, and the other faculties. Know truly that there is nothing other than Me" (vastuno yady ananatvam atmanah prašna tdrsah / katham ghateta vo vipra vaktur va me ašrayah // pahcatmakeşu bhutesu samaeșu ca vastutah / ko bhavan iti vah prasno vacarambho hy anarthakah // manasa vacasa drataya grhyate nyair apf ndriyaih / aham eva no matto nyad iti budhyadhvam, BP 11.13.22-24; GS II, 1549). 41BP 11.13.24, 27-33; BR 1, sec. XXIII. 42rkgeta vibhramam idam manaso vilasam drstam vinaştamatilolam alatacakram / vijianam ekam urudheva vibhati maya svapnas tridha gunavisargakrto vikalpan // drstim tatan pratinivartya nivrttatrsnas tusnIm bhaven nijasukhanubhavo nirihah / samdrėyate kva ca yadīdam avastubuddhya tyaktam bhramaya na bhavet smrtir a nipatat, BP 11.13.34-35; GS II, 1551. Cp. BP. 11.22.10-11: "It is not possible for a soul (purusa) conjoined with beginningless ignorance to attain knowledge of the Self by itself; there should be another who is a knower of reality to impart knowledge. In this respect there is not the slightest difference between the soul and God, and any supposition that it is distinct from Him is futile" (anadyavidyayuktasya purusasyatmavedanam / svato na sambhavad anyas tattvajio jHanado bhavet // purugešvarayo atra na vailaksanyam anv

NOTES: CHAPTER THREE 417

api / tadanyakalpanapartha, GS II, 1597). Also 11.2.22: "Those [sages] wandered over the earth, seeing the whole universe, consisting of being and non-being, as God Himself, non-different from the Self" (ta ete-bhagavadrOpam visvam sadasadātmakam / atmano 'vyatirekena pašyanto vyacaran mahfm, GS II, 1493. See also BP 2.1.39; 11.2.38. 43Dasgupta, IV, 33. Noting the fact that Buddhism was strong.in South India at least as late as the seventh century, and also the presence in the BP of passages expressing a bodhisattva ethic of self-sacrifice for the spiritual welfare of others (7.9.40-44, 9.21.12), R. Mukerjee argues that verses such as this show the influence of Mahayana idealism. See The Lord of the Autumn Moons (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1957), pp. 31-32, 36-38. 44Hacker, "Relations of Early Advaitins," p. 154. 45param parasyah prakrter anadim ekan nivistan bahudha guhasu / sarvalayam sarva-caracara-stham tvam eva Visnum saranam prapadye, quoted and translated by Hardy, VB, p. 496, note 56. Hardy notes that the commentator glosses guha as maya. In his own Paramarthasara (vs. 2), the great Saiva non-dualist Abhinavagupta acknowledges his debt to Adišeşa. Cp. the following verses from the Atmabodha: "All the multiformed manifestations are projected in the eternal, all-pervading Visnu, whose nature is bliss and consciousness, like bracelets and etc. are [fabricated] in gold. ... On the destruction of the limiting adjuncts, the sage is merged in Vignu without any.remainder, like water into water, space into space, light into light" (saccid- atmany anusyute nitye visnau prakalpitah / vyaktayo vividhas sarva hatake katakādivat // . . upadhivilayād visnau nirvišeşam višen muniņ / jale jalam viyad vyomani tejas tejasi va yatha, Atmabodha 9, 53; Chinmayananda, Atmabodha of Bhagawan Sri Sankaracharya [Madras: The Chinmayananda Publications Trust, 1977], pp. 16, 103). Though the Atmabodha was probably not written by Samkara himself (see " chap. 2.2), it certainly does come from within his tradition, where it is regarded with considerable veneration as an epitome of the great acarya's teaching. 46Habver, "Relations of Early Advaitins, " p. +54. 47BP 10.21.20; 10.29.15. 48BP 10.14.43; 10.30.2-3.

NOTES: CHAPTER THREE 418

49"They, constantly.holding [an attitude of] erotic desire, anger, fear, affection, oneness, or friendship. toward Hari, attain union with Him" (kamam krodham bhayam sneham aikyam sauhrdam eva ca / nityam harau vidadhato yanti tanmayatam hi te, BP 10.29.15; GS II, 1175. 50gatismitaprekşanabhaşanadişu priyah priyasya pratirūdhamurtayan / asav aham ty ity abalas tadatmika nyavedisuh krsnaviharavibhramah, BP 10.30.3; GS II, 1179. I am indebted to Hardy, VB, p. 540, for this and the previous three references. 51bhavattnam viyogo me na hi sarvatmana kvacit / yatha bhutani bhutesu kham vayvagnir jalam mahi / tathaham ca manahpranabhutendriyagunasrayah // atmany evatmana Ttmanam srje hanmy anupalaye / atmamayanubhavena bhutendriyagunatmana, BP 10.47.29-30; GS II, 1260. 52See Hardy, VB, p. 541. 53Author of the Bhagavatabhavarthadipika, which continues to be the most authoritative and well-known commentary on the BP. Sridhara, who also composed widely- respected commentaries on the GIta and the Visnupurana, was a member of the Puri order of Samkara samnyasins and was thus nominally an Advaitin, though he had strong theistic and devotional tendencies. His commentary on the BP was so universally esteemed that commentators of other schools were often content, on points regarding which there was no doctrinal disagreement, to merely recommend his interpretation, either by referring reader to his work by name, or simply incorporating portions of his commentary. verbatim. Caitanya is reported to have had a high estimation of the BhavarthadIpika. See chaps. 2, note 6, 4.2; Sinha, p. l; N. Raghunathan, trans., Srimad Bhagavatam (Madras: Vighneswara Publishing House, 1976), I, 654. 54See chap. 4, note 7. 55Hardy, VB, p. 539. Hardy attempts to suggest "in what sense the BhP may be considered an ideological opus universal: its treatment of the gopI episodes spang the whole spectrum from Hv [Harivamsa] sensuality and Alvar emotionalism, via the yoga of the Vip [Visnu Purana], to the extreme of advaita and Illusionism" (VB, p. 541). 56Hardy remarks: "It is difficult to imagine what kind of a person the author could have been, maintaining in himself this incredible tension between intense emotionalism and monistic and theistic illusionism. But, however

NOTES: CHAPTER THREE 419

incongruous this enormous edifice may appear to us, it contains stimuli and inspiration which remained 541). operative for the following thousand years" (VB, p. See also Daniel P. Sheridan, "Devotion in the Bhagavata Purana and Christian Love: Bhakti, Agape, Eros," Horizons, VIII (1981), 273-275. .57iti te bhagavadyancam srnvanto 'pi na susruvah / ksudrāšā bhurikarmano bališa vrddhamaninah //. . . tam brahma paramam saksad bhagavantam adhoksajam / manusyadrstya duspraja martyatmano na menire, BP 10.23.9, 1l; GS II, 1153. 581.18.18. 591.5.23; 7.15.72-74. 60etan param tanubhrto bhuvi gopavadhvo govinda eva nikhilātmani rudhabhavah / vanchanti yat bhavabhiyo munayo vayam ca kim brahmajanmabhir anantakatharasasya // yande nandavrajastrinam padarenum abhiksnasah / yasam harikathodgftam punati bhuvanatrayam, BP 10.47.57, 63; II, 1263. 61see BG 9.32. 62T. J. Hopkins, "The Social Teaching of the Bhagavata Purana, ""in Milton Singer, p. 19. 63yannamadheyasravananukİrtanad yatprahvanad yat smaranād api kvacit / švado pi sadyah savanaya kalpate kutah punas te bhagavan nu darșanat, BP 3.33.6; GS, I, 317. 64T. J. Hopkins, "Social Teaching, " p. 22.

NOTES

CHAPTER FOUR

Is. K. De, Early History of the Vaisnava Faith and Movement in Bengal TCalcutta: General Printers and Publishers Limited, 1942), p. 121. 2Elkman, pp. 31, 34. 3Though Radha is not mentioned in the BP, by the time of Caitanya she had become the queen of the gopfs and Krsna's favorite. See W. G. Archer, The Loves of Krishna (New York: Grove Press, n.d.), pp. 72-9; Charlotte Vaudeville, "Krishna Gopala, Radha, and the Great Goddess," in John' S Hawley and Donna M. Wulff, eds., The Divine Consort: Radha and the Goddesses of India (Berkeley Religious Studies Series; Berkeley: Graduate Theological Union, 1982), pp. 2, 9-12. 4CC madhya 2.55ff., trans. by Hardy, VB; p. 5.

chap: 6: 5on the alamkārasastra (Sanskrit poetics), see

6JIva Gosvamin rejects all pramanas (sources of knowledge) other than the authoritative word (sabda), and his concept of what texts may count as sabapramana differs radically from that of traditional Vedanta. The Iatter regards only the Vedas and the Upanisads as revealed scripture (sruti) and classifies other texts such as the epi'cs and puranas as tradition (smrti), having considerably lesser value as pramana. JIva, however, has such high regard for the puranas that he assigns them a place equal to that of the sacred sruti. Indeed, since they are the completion or fulfillment (purana) of the Veda, rendering its unfathomable meaning accessible to people in the present dark age, they are, practically speaking, superior to the Vedic revelation. An important qualification here is that, conveniently enough for the Gosvamins' sectarian interests, only puranas which are devoted to Krsna are authentic. of these, the BP is the most authoritative, being the sage Vyasa's own commentary on his Brahmasutras (JIva Gosvamin, Tattvasandarbha 9-23, trans. Elkman, pp. I17-192; De, VFM, pp. 196-199). JIva calls the BP the "greatest of all the pramanas" (sarvapramanacakravartibhutam, De, VFM, p. 199,

420

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 421 note 3). At Tattvasandarbha 22a, he says that "in the present age those seeking to know the highest truth need only study. the Bhagavta Purana" (trans. Elkman, p. 172), and again at sec. 23 he declares: "Aside from the sun-like Bhagavata, no other scripture is capable of properly Illumining reality" (trans. Elkman, p. 188). Cp. BP 1.2.3, 12.13.15. 7RUpa and JIva came from a Vaisnava family, and it is known that Rupa showed Krsnaite tendencies even prior to meeting Caitanya (De, VFM, p. 110). Their works clearly demonstrate their wide Sanskrit. learning. have studied in Banaras, where he acquired a thorough Jtva is said to education in all the schools of Vedanta, and became well- versed in other disciplines such as MImamsa and Nyaya. his SarvasamvadinT, he refers to the views of Samkara, In Vacaspati, Ramanuja, and Madhva (Elkman, p. 33). Elkman argues that much of the Bengal Vaisnava's hostility to Advaita is attributable to the influence of Madhva's Dvaita, as transmitted through Baladeva (eighteenth century), a Madhva samnyasin from Orissa who joined the Caitanya sect, reportedly attracted by the divinity of its founder. Baladeva attempted to establish an affiliation between the Gaudfya school and his former sampradaya by showing that both Caitanya and JIva acknowledged a debt to Madhva (Elkman, pp. 39-40). On the spuriousness of this connection, see Elkman and also Hardy, "Madhavendra Purf: A Link Between Bengal Vasnavism and South Indian Bhakti" (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society [of Great Britain and Ireland], 1974, p. 25-26. Hardy (p. 26, note 18) points out that "a Madhva could not possibly have given [as Caitanya did] such high esteem to SrIdhara Svami's advaitic commentary on the BhP." After a careful study of JIva's Tattvasandarbha and its commentaries, Elkman (p. 328) concludes: "From a philosophical point of view, Baladeva places considerably more emphasis on the dualistic side of JIva's writings, and displays a hostility towards the views of Samkara which is uncharacteristic of Jtva, who ... himself cites Samkara as an authority several times in his Sarvasamvādini. In tone, Baladeva is more polemical than conciliatory, and closer in temperament to the later Madhva authors than to JIva and the other Gosvamins" (Elkman, p. 328). Elkman believes that the subsequent popularity of Baladeva's interpretation of Jva's work lead the Bengal tradition in the direction of a more consciously dualistic stance and, concommitantly, a more aggressive sectarianism, both of which were uncharacteristic of the earlfer GaudIya teachers. Elkman is aware, however, that JIva himself exhibited antipathy towards Advaita, asserting at Tattvasandarbha 23,

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR :422

for example, that Samkara was an incarnation of Siva who, at the Lord's command, taught mayavada with the express purpose of preventing people from realizing His true nature and thus ensuring the continuance of the present world age (Elkman, pp. 90, 189-191; see intro., above, note 12) .. For more on the Vaisnava attitude toward Advaita, see Edward Dimmock, The Place of the Hidden Moon (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1966), p. 126, note 3. 8 De, VFM, p. 84; CC antya 20.4-64. 9Many of the verses of the CC which are presented as Caitanya's theological instruction to his disciples are direct quotations or Bengali translations of passages from such works as the Brhadbhagavatamrta of Sanatana Gosvamin, the Bhaktirasamrtasindhu and Laghubhagavatamrta of Rūpa Gosvämin, and the Satsandarbha and Sarvasamvadinf of JIva Gosvamin. (See Majumdar, p. 216; Elkman, pp. 3-4, 13-15, 321; and the notes below, which show that many verses in the CC are in fact direct quotations, in the original Sanskrit, from the BRS.) De writes: "It is indeed difficult to say how much of this elaborate theologizing; which is piously put in his [Caitanya's] mouth, was actually uttered by him; for his reported utterances are in fact faithful summaries of the highly scholastic texts of the Vrndavana Gosvamins themselves, who, as leisured recluses, could devote their keenly trained minds to the construction of elaborate systems" (De, VFM, p. 85). 10For a fuller treatment, see Elkman's dissertation. . 1lsee 3.5 and note 53 thereon. 12cc antya 7.128-32, trans. Elkman, pp. 21-22. 13Elkman, p. 22. 14Elkman, p. 323. 15The relevant portion of his commentary on Tattvasandarbha 28 reads as follows: "Here, the system of Samkara known as Mayavada, which deals with the unqualified brahman, is not considered, since it contradicts the bhakti scriptures of JIva's school. Samkara, however, also demonstrated the significance of the Bhagavata by describing [in his poetry] such events as KrsnaTs theft of the Gopfs' clothes, etc. There consequently developed a split within Samkara's school on account of the bhakti oriented doctrines which he passed on to his disciples, the [devotional] group of Advaitins being known as

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 423

Bhagavatas', -and the others as 'Smartas'. Of these, Sridhara is an adherent of the Bhagavata' tradition. However, Jiva does. not accept Sridhara's doctrines in their entirety (trans: Elkman, p. 81). Again, whether or not the attribution of devotional writings to Samkara himself is correct, the fact. that writers both within and without the tradition accept the attribution, and that those within the tradition make use of devotional practices, is indicative of the significant role that bhakti acquired for an. important segment of Samkara samnyasins. See also De, VFM, p. 112, note 2; Elkman, p. 24. 16Swami Vireswarananda, trans., Srimad Bhagavad Gita (Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1972), p. iv; De, VFM, p. 14. 17De, VFM, p. 14. 18De,. VFM, p. 14. 19Elkman, p. 24-26; Hardy, "Madhavendra," pp. 31-33. Cf. CC adi 9.10-12: "Madhava Purī was the initial sprout of the wish-fulfilling tree of bhakti; Isvara Puri was the seedling; and Caitanya, though the gardener, was, by his inscrutable power, the sturdy tree" (trans. Elkman, p. 25). Vişņu Purī and Kesava Bhāratī, Caitanya's samnyāsaguru, may also have been disciples of this teacher (Hardy, "Madhavendra," pp. 32-33), as certainly was Advaita, one of Caitanya's closest associates in Bengal. The latter's name, which he probably received from Madhavendra, may be taken as indicative of his philosophicai predilections, and also those of his preceptor and his monastic order. The Caitanyabhagavata characterizes him as the "greatest teacher of knowledge, devotion, and non- attachment" (jnana bhakti vairayera guru mukhyatara, quoted and trans. by De, VFM, p. 24), an interesting combination of spiritualities suggestive of Sridhara Svamin's outlook. The same text reports that, after Caitanya left Bengal to live in the pilgrimage town of Puri, Advaita reverted to interests typical of the non-dualists: "Advaita-acarya has abandoned the path of bhakti, and has taken mukti [release from rebirth] as his chief concern" (trans. Edward Dimmock, "Doctrine and Practice among the Vaisnavas of Bengal," in Milton Singer, p. 54). The CC likewise speaks of Advaita's 17.67). sympathy for the path of knowledge (adi 12.40, 65-67; "It is highly probable," writes De, "that Advaita, following the tradition of Sridhara Svamin and Madhavendra Puri, believed in tempering intellectual Advaitaism with emotional Bhakti" (VFM, p. 25). See Dea VFM, pp. 24-25; Dimmock, "Doctrine and Practice, " p. 54. (In sec. 4 of the present chapter, we shall note the possibly related fact that Advaita, a Brahmin, was more conservative on social questions than his co-worker Nityananda.)

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 424 Given all this evidence, Hardy concludes: "It seems beyond doubt that the decisive influence on Caitanya's mysticism was exerted from a [devotionally oriented] movement within advaitic Vedanta, from a movement within the monastic system created by Samkara" ("Madhavendra," p. 32). 20De, VFM, p. 112, note 2. 21De, VFM, pp. 86, 112. 22De, VFM, p. 173. Edward Dimmock, a student of De, writes: "It is of considerable significance that the Gosvamins rarely mention Caitanya except in formal ways, and then usually in devotional rather than. theological contexts. They ignore completely the matter so vital to the other main. branch of the movement -- Caitanya conceived as both Radha and Krsna bound in a single body" ("Doctrine and Practice," 455 23De, VFM, p. 53-55. 24Elkman, p. 325. 25See above, chap. 2, note 6. 26De, VFM, p. 150; De, Sanskrit Poetics as a Study of Aesthetic (Berkeley: University of California Press, ' 1963), pp. 59-61. 27See note 6, above. 28Vainava theologians such as Ramanuja and Madhva * identify the Upanisadic Brahman with their supreme deity, Vişņu-Nārāyaņa. 29vadanti tat tattvavidas tattvam yaj jñanam advayam 1, 5. / brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate, BP 1.2.11; GS 30SrIdhara understands the three terms, not as referring to different aspects of reality, but as different names for the same ultimate: "'Then [it might be objected], even the knowers of Reality contradict each other.' Not so. The same Reality is designated by different names, and thus he declares `It is called Brahman, paramatman, and bhagavat' by, respectively, the followers of the Upanisads, the worshipers of Hiranyagarbha, and the Satvatas (nanu tattvavido 'pi vigItavacana eva / maivam / tasyaiva tattvasya namantarair abhidhanad ity aha / aupanisadair brahmeti, hairanyagarbhaih paramatmeti, satvatair bhagavan ity abhidhiyate, JLS, p. .16).

NOTES: CHAPTER'FOUR 425 31As in most Hindu theistic systems, the jIvas of the Bengal Vaisnava school are individual atoms (anu) of pure consciousness, quantitatively many and distinct, while qualitatively the same (De, VFM, p. 227): A distinction is made between the vyastiksetrajña ("individual conscious- ness"), i.e., the soul, and the samastiksetrajña ("universal consciousness"), i.e., God, the latter being the object of the former's worship (Dasgupta, IV, 402). 32Elkman, pp. 114-117, 271; Chakravarti, pp. 52-53, 80-81. As I write this, I have just received my copy of the January, 1985 issue of Back to Godhead: The Magazine of the Hare Krishna Movement. In an article by Mathuresa Dasa entitled Can. God Do That?" I read: "Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan are progressive realizations of the same Supreme Person. Brahman is the effulgence of Krsna's transcendental body. Paramatma is Krsna's personal expansion through which he creates and maintains the material universe. And Bhagavan is Krsna's original form as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all other features of God" (Back to Godhead, XX, 34). 33Chakravarti, p. 77. 34De, VFM, p. 224; Chakravarti, p. 78. 35visnušaktih parā proktā kšetrajñākhyā tathā parā / avidyā karmasamjhanayā trtfya saktir isyate (VP 6.7.60; quoted by Chakravarti, p. 19/. Note that the purana speaks of the sakti of Visnu, not of Krsna. This verse is quoted at least three times in the CC (adi 7.119; madhya 8.153, 20.112). 36cc madhya 8.151, 20.111, 20.149; Tattvasandarbha 31 (Elkman, p. 227-228); Chakravarti, pp. 57ff .; De, VFM, pp. 209ff. 37 The acintyabhedabhedavada. See De, VFM, p. 214. 38p. V. Kane, History of Dharmasastra (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1974J, vol. II, pt. I, p. 8; Chakravarti, pp. 244-248. 39Neither the BP nor either of Bhaktisutras refer to bhakti as a distinct purusartha. The earliest trace of this notion that I have been able to find is in the work of the Jñanadeva. 13th century Maharashtrian saint, poet, and philosopher In his celebrated Marathi version of the BG, the Jfanesvarf (9.191, 18.864), he anticipates the Gosvamins by declaring bhakti superior to the four commonly recognized

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 426 goals of life. See V. G. Pradhan, trans., Jhanesvari (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1967), I, 229 and II, 289; B. P. Bahirat, The Philosophy of Jhanadeva (3rd ed .; Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1984), p. 95. This thinker also seems to have been the first to identify bhakti with the supreme power or sakti of the the Godhead, though he does it from a non-dualistic Saiva perspective (owing much to Kashmir Saivism), to which the Gosvamins could scarcely acknowledge any debt (Bahirat, pp. xii-xiii, 93-96). 40De, VFM, pp. 291; Chakravarti, p. 235-238. 41moksalaghutakrt, BRS 1.1.17; Tridandi Swami Bhakti Hrdaya Bon Maharaj, trans., Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhuh (Vrindaban: Institute of Oriental Philosophy, 1965), I, 31. 42jManatah sulabhā muktir .' seyam sadhana- sahasrair bhaktih sudurlabha, BRS 1.1.36; Bon I, 36. 43brahmanando bhaved esa cet parardhagunIkrtah / naiti bhaktisukhambhodheh parmanutulam api, BRS 1.1.38; Bon I, 49. 44BRS 1.2.22-57; Bon I, 81-105. Verse 22, which is quoted at CC madhya 19.176, reads: bhuktimuktisprha yavat pisācī hrdi vartate / tāvat bhaktisukhasyatra katham abhyudayo bhavet. Verse 57: kin tu premaikamadhuryajusa ekantino harau / naivāngīkurvate jatu muktim pancavidham api. Cp. BP 3.29.13, quoted by Rupa at BRS 1.2.28 (Bon I, 86J and Madhusudana in his commentary on the first chapter of the BR (see BR 1, sec. XXIV) . 45krşnavişayaka premā -- parama puruşārtha / yāra āge trna-tulya cari purusartha / palcama purușartha -- premanandamrtasindhu / moksadi ananda yara nahe eka bindu, Cc 1.7.84-85; BVS, pt. 1, II, p. 68-69. 46CC madhya 8.221-230; De, VFM, pp. 203-204, 222, 229, 238, 270, 289-290, 295; Chakravarti, pp. 175, 243; Kinsley, Divine Player, p. 159. 47anyabhilasitāsūnyam janakarmadyanavrtam / anukUlyena krsnanusilanam bhaktir uttama, BRS 1.I.II (= cc madhya 19.167); Bon I, 19. See BRS 1.1.12 (= CC madhya 19.170) and also CC madhya 19.168-169a. 48Ramanuja (VAS 128, 129, 252) speaks of bhakti as a "particular kind of knowledge" ( jfanavisesa). "only knowledge which has attained the nature of supreme devotion," he declares, "is in reality a means of attaining the Lord" (parabhaktirūpapannameva vedanam tattvato

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 427

bhagavatpraptih sadhanam, VAS 251). See S. S. Raghavachar, trans., Vedartha-samgraha of Sri Ramanujacarya (Mysore: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, 1968), pp. 100, 101, 191-192. Madhva (thirteenth century) defines bhakti. as a knowledge" "constant, supreme affection (parasneha) accompanied by (jnanapurvaparasneho nityo bhaktir itIryate, Mahabharatataparyanirnaya, 1.107; quoted by Dasgupta, IV, 58, note 1.[my trans. ]). Madhva's understanding of the relation between knowledge and devotion is very close to that of Ramanuja: "Knowledge being a constituent of devotion, the latter is referred to as knowledge. Devotion is designated as a particular kind of knowledge. .. When the scriptures speak of knowledge as the means to release, that kind. [of knowledge, i.e., devotion] is intended" (jñanasya bhaktibhagatvat bhaktir jmanam itIryate / jñanasya viseso yad bhaktir ity abhidhiyate . vimuktaye vadanti srutayah so yam viseso pi hy .jhanam eva udiryate, Anuvyakhyana 4; quoted by B. N. K. Sharma, Madhva's Teaching in His Own Words [Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1979], p. 104 [my trans. ]). JayatTrtha (fl. 1365-1388), one of the great defenders of Madhva's system, describes bhakti as follows: "What is called bhakti toward the Supreme Lord consists of an uninterrupted flow of love (preman). It cannot be hindered by thousands of obstacles. It is many times greater than love for oneself or all that is regarded as one's own and is accompanied by knowledge [of the Lord's] having unlimited and infinite good and beautiful qualities" (paramesvarabhaktir nāma niravadhikānantā- navadyakalyānagunatvajhanapurvakah svatmātmīyasamasta- vastubhyah anekagunadhikah antarayasahasrenapi apratibaddhah nirantarapremapravahah, Nyayasudha; quoted by Dasgupta, IV, 317, note 2; also by B. N. K. Sharma, p. 105 [my trans. ]). - The definition of bhakti offered by Vallabha (1481- 1533) is similar to that of Madhva: "a firm and overwhelming affection (sneha) [for the Lord] accompanied by a knowledge of [His] greatness" (mahātmyajñanapurvas tu sudrdhah sarvato 'dhikah / sneho bhaktir iti proktah, Tattvarthadipa; quoted by Dasgupta, IV, 347 and Chakravarti, p. 191 [my trans. ]) . 49"The Bengal school of Vaisnavism differs from all the four great schools of Vaisnavaism in asserting that the best,type of devotion is not only not in need of jñana (knowledge) and karma (action) but is by nature unmixed with them" (Chakravarti, p. 193). 50sandilya (SBS 2) defines bhakti as "supreme love (anurakti) for the Lord" (sa para'nuraktir Isvare). Svapnsevara, his commentator, explains anurakti as "deep

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 428

attachment" (raga) which follows (anu-) knowledge of the Lord's greatness. He adds that bhakti is a "special modification of the mind directed towards the Supreme Lord" (paramesvaravişayakantahkaranavrttivisesa). See Swami Harshananda, trans., Sandilya Bhakti Sutras with Svapnesvara Bhasya (Mysore: Prasaranga, University of Mysore, 1976), pp. 15, 18. Narada (NBS 2) defines bhakti as "supreme love (paramapreman) for God" (sa tu asmin paramapremarupa). Swami Tyagisananda, Aphorisms on The Gospel of Divine Love See or Narada Bhakti Sutras (Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 3), p. 1. Cp. the defintion of bhakti as a "flow of the mind" (manogati) at BP 3.29.11-12 , quoted above, chap. 3.3. 51Bon I, 21. Note that, of Madhusudana's eleven stages of bhakti, the first is seva or gervice. See BR 1, sec. XXIX.

52sa bhaktis sadhanam bhavah prema ceti tridhodita, BRS 1.2.1; Bon I, 57 53See BP 7.5.23-24, quoted chap. 7, note 291, pt. V. 54"Accomplished by action, sadhana has bhava as its' end" (krtisadhya bhavet sadhyabhava sa sadhanabhidha, BRS 1.2.2a; Bon I, 59). 55BRS 1.3.2, Bon I, 333. 56premasuryamsusamyabhak . . rucibhis citta- masrnyakrd, BRS 1.3.1 (= CC m.23.5), Bon I, 328. 57BRS 1.3.13, Bon I, 341; cp. CC madhya 22.165 Note that Madhusudana describes his fifth stage of bhakti, state of incipient love, as "the arising of the sprout of rati" (ratyankurotpatti, BR 1.35; JSP, p. 93). 58BRS 1.3.61; Bon I, 371. 59BRS 1.3.25-26 (= CC m. 23.18-19), Bon I, 348; cp. CC madhya 23.20-30. 60BRS 1.3.2; Bon I, 333. 61BRS 1.2.6; Bon I, 336. 62BRS 1.4.1 (= CC m.23.7); Bon I, 373. 63arudhah paramotkarsam, BRS 1.4.5; Bon I, 376. 64samyafmansrnitasvantah, BRS 1.4.1, Bon I, 373. 65BRS 1.4.1-3; Bon, pp. 373-375.

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 429 66gei prema -- 'prayojana' sarvananda-dhama, CC madhya 23.13; BVS pt. 2, vol. IX, p. 8. 67adau traddha tatah sadhusango 'tha bhajanakriya / tato 'narthanivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatah // athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudancati / sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah, BRS 1.4.15-16; Bon I, 382.

p. 6. 68kona bhagye, CC madhya 23.9; BVS pt. 2, vol. IX, See Bon I, 383. 69Bon I, 382. The qualities of a genuine sadhu are enumerated at BP 11.11.29-31. For further discussion of the benefit of association with saints, see chap. 7, note 291, pt. I. 70cc madhya 23.10; BVS pt. 2, vol. IX, p. 6. See BP 7.5.23-24, quoted chap. 7, note 291, pt. IV. 71Bon I, xxi-xxii. 72Bon I, xxii-xxiii. 73BRS 1.4.17 (= CC m.23.40); Bon I, 383. 74BRS 1.4.19; Bon I, 385. This classification of levels of preman has a strong literary-dramatic component. On one important level, it represents a categorization -- of a sort common in later rhetorical treatises -- of the diverse moods of the nayika ("heroine," in this case preeminently Radha). Thus we find RUpa illustrating the various levels of emotion described in his Ujjvalantlamani with quotations from his poetry and dramas (Donna M. Wulff, Drama as a Mode of Religious Realization: the Vidagdhamadhava of Rupa Gosva mI [Chico, California: Scholars Press, 1984], p. 28-29, 149- 156; Karine Schomer, "Where Have All the Radhas Gone ?: New Images of Women in Modern Hindi Poetry," in Hawley and . Wulff, pp. 91-92). See chap. 6.1, 6.4. 75Cc madhya 19.178 and 23.42. 76cc madhya 23.43-44. 77De, VFM, p. 161; also Chakravarti, p. 254. 78Wulff, p. 151; De, VFM, p. 161. 79De, VFM, p. 162; Bon I, xxxvi. 80De, VFM, p. 162.

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 430

81BRS 3.2.87, quoted by BVS, pt. 2, vol. VII; p. 358.

.82Majumdar, p. 319; De, VFM, p. 162; Chakravarti, p. 255. Note the frequently recurring, indeed central, idea that separation is the stimulus for the most intense emotions of love and longing. See chap. 3.4. 6 83cc madhya 23.57. 84Bon I, xxxviii. 85Some of hostility displayed by the Bengal Vaisnava tradition toward the Ramakrishna Mission and its teachings is no doubt due to the latter group's belief that their teacher was an avatara of the same order as Caitanya. ' In fact the first claim for Ramakrishna's divine status. was, founded -- and, it is said, vindicated -- on the basis of the very categories of the Bengal Vaisnava bhaktirasasastra that are presently being considered. The saint's learned. .teacher-disciple, the BhairavI BramanI, declared that her "student" was experiencing levels of mahabhava previously experienced only by Radha and Caityanya and that he therefore must be a divine incarnation. See Swami Nikhilananda, trans., The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (abridged ed .; New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekanada Center, 1974), pp. 28-31. 86De, VFM, p. 162. 87De, VFM, p. 163. 88cC madhya 23.58; BVS, pt. 2, vol. IX, p. 36. 89De, VFM, p. 163; Majumdar, pp. 319-320. 90De, VFM, p. 163; Bon I, xlii. 91cc antya 14.91-96, trans. and abbreviated by Hardy, VB, p. 4. 92Cf. St. Bernard, Sermones de diversis 8.9: "A completely refined soul . . has but a single and perfect desire, to be introduced by the King into his chamber, to be united with him, to enjoy him" (quoted by Dimmock, Hidden Moon, p. 2). 93BP 10.32.10, 10.33.30-40. See Daniel P. Sheridan, "Devotion in the Bhagavata Purana and Christian Love," Horizons, VIII (1981), 268-273.

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 431

94See, e.g., Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Mayavati Memorial Edition (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1973), ITI, 257-259; also S. Bhagavantam, ed., Summer Showers in Brindavan: Discourses by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (Prasanti Nilayam: Sri Sathya Sai Education & Publication Foundation, n.d), pp. 11l-112. 95See De, VFM, pp. 264-268; Dimmock, Hidden Moon, pp. 201-204; Kinsley. Divine Player, p. 108. 96nityasiddhasya bhāvasya prākatyam hrdi sadhyata .("The manifestation in the heart of the eternally accomplished bhava is the attainment of the goal"), BRS 1.2.2b; Bon, 59. Cf. CC madhya 22.107: nitya-siddha krsna- prema sādhya' kabhu naya / sravanādi-suddha-citte karaye udaya, BVS, pt. 2, vol. VIII, p. 389. 97Cc madhya 8.154. The Advaita Vedanta made this formula current as the "essential definition" (svarOpa- laksana) of Brahman .. 98cc madhya 8.155. The authority here is VP 1.12.69, quoted at CC madhya 8.156. 99De, VFM, p. 213. 100hladinira sara nama amsa, tara prema' nāma ananda-cinmaya-rasa premera akhyana // premera parama-sara mahabhava jani / sei mahabhava-rupa radha-thakurani, CC madhya 8.159-160; BVS, pt. 2, vol. III, pp. 187-188. 101cc madhya 8.160. 102In Madhusudana's theory, the mind takes on the form of the Lord; here, the Lord's power, or a fraction thereof, takes on the form of the mind. 103BRS 1.3.4; Bon I, 334-335. 104Chakravarti, p. 186. 105krsnake ahlade, ta 'te nama -- 'hladinf' / se sakti-dvāre sukha asvāde apani // sukha-rupa krsna kare sukha asvadana / bhakta-gane sukha dite hladini -- karana, CC madhya 8.157-158; BVS, pt. 2, vol. III, pp. 186-187. Note that hladintsakti is said to include as well as transcend the lower" energies of samdhint ("existence") and samvit ("consciousness"). Hence, bhakti as hlandinf is not only bliss, its existence is independent and fully real, and it requires no external consciousness to experience itself. The emphasis on bhakti as the experience of bliss, as

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 432 opposed to the state of bliss suggested by Advaitic metaphysics, may be found at least as early as Hemadri, Vopadeva's commentator, who writes: "This. [bhakti] is even greater than liberation, for while in liberation there is the state of bliss, in bhakti there is the experience of bliss" (sa ca . .. siddher garIyasI kaivalyād adhikā, kaivalye sukhatvam bhaktau sukhanubhavah, Hemadri s Kaivalyadipika, quoted by Mishra, p .. 253, note 1 [my trans: ]). The inclusion of consciousness in bhakti is stressed by Baladeva in his Siddhantaratna. According to his theory, devotion is not the hladinisakti alone but rather the combined essence of the two powers hlādini and samvit (hladinīsara- samavetasamvitsararupa, quoted by De, VFM, p. 269, note 5). In this connection it is interesting that Madhusudana, in stanza l of the BR, defines bhakti as "the experience of -bliss" (sukhasamvit). More will be said about this in chap. 5. 106The debt that the Gosvamins owe to monistic tantric thought has been increasingly recognized. See De, VFM, pp. 20-21; Masson and Patwardan, I, 4; Dimmock, Hidden Moon, pp. 81-83; Vaudeville, p. 1l. Shrivatasa Gosvāmi, a modern exponent of the Gaudiya tradition, writes: "A single non-dual Being effulgent with absolute bliss cannot enjoy itself any more than sugar can taste its own sweetness. Hence the absolutely blissful one, for the manifestation of its eternal self-enjoyment, polarizes its singularity into 'he' and 'she.' Non-dual in essence, it becomes.dual in function. . functional duality implies the split of the Absolute . this into power or potency (sakti), ... and the possessor of power (saktiman)" ("Radha: The Play and Perfection of Rasa," in Hawley and Wulff, pp. 74-75). 107De, VFM, p. 209. 108"When Krsna is with Radha, he enchants even Cupid; otherwise, though ravishing the whole world, he himself is enchanted by Cupid" (radhasamge yadā bhāti tada madanamohanah / anyatha visvamoho pi svayam madananamohitah, Govindalilamrta, 13.29; quoted by Majumdar, p. 291 [my trans.]). By himself, Krsna is advaya-jñana- tattva [the principle of incomparable knowledge], with Radhā He is advaya-rasa-tattva [the principle of incomparable relishing of bliss](Majumdar, p. 272-273, 292). 109See 4.3.1; be, VFM, p. 223; Majumdar, pp. 273- 274. . 110De, VFM, pp. 253-258.

NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR 433 1llChakravarti, p. 196-199. 112De, VFM, p.225.' 113De, VFM, pp. 81-82, note 1; Dimmock, "Doctrine and Practice," p. 52. 114De, VFM, p. 110; Dimmock, "Doctrine and Practice," p. 53. 115CC madhya 1.179, 186, quoted and trans. by Dimmock, "Doctrine and Practice," p. 220, note. 18. 116Dimmock, "Doctrine and Practice," p." 53. 117Dimmock, Hidden Moon, p. 71. 118Quoted and trans. by Dimmock, "Doctrine ånd Practice," p. 52.

NOTES

CHAPTER FIVE

1BR 1.2; JSP, p. 32. For all references to BR 1, see the translation in chap. 7. .2BR 1, sec. III; JSP, p. 5-6. 3tam paramam niratisayam purusartham vadanti rasajñah . . . tad anubhavitaras ca, BR 1, sec. V; JSP, 11- 12 ..

4see chap. 2.5.3. Even as late as the 17th century, Dharmaraja writes: "moksa alone is the supreme goal of.life"- (moksa eva paramapurusarthah, Dharmaraja Adhvarin, Vedantaparibhasa, ed: with an English translation by S. S Suryanarayana Sastri [Madras: The Adyar Library and Research Center, 1971], p. 2). 5tajjanyasukhasyaiva purusarthatve, BR 1, sec. VII; JSP, p. 14. 6dukhasambhinnasukhan hi paramah purusartha iti, BR 1, sec. VI; JSP, p. 12. Cp. Bliss alone is the goal of life " (sukham eva purusarthah, BR I, sec. VI; JSP, p. 13); "bliss, by itself, is the independent goal of life" (sukhaf . tad eva svatantrah purusarthah, BR 1, sec. VI; JSP, p. 14); bliss alone is the goal of life (sukhamatram ca

purusarthah, BR 1, sec. VII; JSP, p. 16). 7nirupamasukhasamvidrupam asprstaduhkham, BR 1.1; JSP, p. 1. 8bhagavadbhaktiyogasyapi duhkhasambhinna- sukhatvenaiva paramapurusarthatvam, BR I, sec. VII; JSP, p. 15.

9mokşasya paramanandarupatvena tu tasya purusarthatvam vedantavadino vadanti, BR I, sec. VI; JSP, p. I5.

10"The bliss of devotion is the goal of life in its own right, just like the bliss of perfect meditation" (samadhisukhasyeva bhaktisukhasyapi svatantra-

434

NOTES: CHAPTER FIVE 435

purusarthatvat, BR 1, sec. VII; JSP,'p. 16). indication that Madhusudana, like Vidyaranya and perhaps There is good other later Advaitins, accepts yoga as an independent path to moksa. See below, chap. 9.2. llIt eventually becomes apparent that bhakti is the highest form of bliss and hence, in effect, by itseIf the one paramapurusartha. See below, 5.8-9. 12drutasya bhagavaddharmad dharavahikatām gatā / sarvese manasi vrttir bhaktir. ity abhidhiyate, BR 1.3; JSP, p. 33. T 13See chap. 3.3. 14Compare YS 3.2, Samkara's definition of upasana above (chap. 2.5.7), and Ramanuja's identification of bhakti and upasana (chap. 1.5). 15See chap. 7, note 30. 16tadākārataiva hi sarvatra vrttisabdārtho 'smākam darsane, BR I, sec. XII; JSP, p. 34 17See BR 1, sec. XXI. 18sarvesavişayavrttih / bhagavadakaratety arthah, BR 1, sec. XII; JSP, p. 34. 19bhajanam antahkaranasya bhagavadakaratārūpam bhaktih, BR 1, sec. X (JSP, 21); dravibhavapurvika hi manaso bhagavadakarata . bhaktih, BR 1, sec. XI (JSP, p. 27). 20For a discussion of the theory of rasa and its relation to bhakti, see chap. 6. 21see S. S. Suryanarayana Sastri, trans., The Siddhantalesasamgraha of Appayya DIksita, vol. I (Madras: University of Madras, 1935), I, 35-42, 161-170; Divanji, pp. 67, 93, 96-97, 111, 124, 236ff. 22ajfanopahitam bimbacaitanyam Isvarah, ajmanapratibimbitam caitanyam jIva iti . . . mukhyo vedantasiddhantah, SB 1; Divanji, p. 29. See GAD 7.14, quoted below, note 45; also Gupta, p. 128. 23paramanandas ca bhagavan manasi pratibimbitas sthayibhavatam asadya rasatam asadayatIti bhaktirasasya paramanandarupatvam nirvivadam, BR 1, sec. XVIII; JSP, p. 45.

NOTES: CHAPTER FIVE 436

24bimbam eva hi upadhinisthatvena pratIyamanam pratibimbam, BR I, sec. XVIII; JSP, p. 45. 25pratibimbasya paramarthikatvat, SB 1; Divanji, p. 28.

26Mahadevan, p. 221; both vacaspati and Padmapada advocate this view. ' See Suryanarayana Sastri, SLS, p. 31. 27According to Dasgupta (IV, 352-353), two teachers of Vallabha's school, Purusottama (seventeenth century) and Gopesvara (late eighteenth century), criticise this very theory. Both see that the notion that bhakti is a reflection of God in the melted mind would make bhakti identical with God, and both object to it on that ground. Madhusudana himself feigns to back off from the full implications of this view by making an apparent concession: "This does not, however, result in the identity of the objective cause (alambanavibhava) and the permanent emotion because the distinction between original and reflection is well known in the world, like the distinction between the jIva and the Lord (napy alambanavibhavasthayibhavayor aikyam, bimbapratibimbabhavena bhedasya vyavaharasiddhatvad TaajIvayor iva, BR I, sec. XVIII; JSP, p. p. 45). I cannot believe, however, that this is Madhusudana's final position. The very point of the pratibimbavada in Advaita, as the author of the BR well knows, is to provide a conceptual antidote to the common sense distinction between jiva and Isvara. It is also common knowledge that what is accepted as true "in the world" (vyavahara) is, for an Advaitin, no criterion of ultimate truth (paramartha). Therefore, despite this seeming capitulation to the more common sense view contained in the objection -- which seems to be that of an aesthetician rather than a Vedantin -- I must conclude that Madhusudana holds fast to the Advaitic position that the reflection is only apparently different from the original. He wants, in fact, to exploit it in service of his effort to raise the ontological status of bhakti in the direction of ultimacy. 28Gupta, pp. 204-205. 29Note that in his discussion of bhaktirasa in BR 3, Madhusudana makes a clear distinction between the rasa and the vrtti which manifests it. See chap. 6.5. 30mukunda iti bhaktiyogasya visayanirdesah / sarvantaryami sarvešvara eva bhaktirasalambanavibhava iti vaksyate, BR 1, sec. X; JSP, p. 16. 31drute citte pravista ya govindakarata sthira / ya bhaktir ity abhihita .. ., BR 2.1; JSP, p: 140.

NOTES: CHAPTER FIVE 437

32bhajanfyasvarupanirnayartham bhaktanam api tad- vicārasyā Tvašyakatvac ca, BR I, sec. XI; JSP, pp. 31-32. 33vibhum iti sarvadesavyāpakatvam, nityam iti sarvakālavyapakatvam, purnam ity advitiyataya sarvadvaitabhramadhisthanatvam, bodhasukhatmakam iti niratisayapumarthatvam darsitam, BR I, sec. XXII; JSP, p. 64. 34"garvan khalv idam brahma tajjalan" iti šrutya bhagavadekodbhavatvena bhagavadekasthititvena bhagavadekalayatvena ca . JSP, p. 76. . bodhanat, BR 1, sec. XXIII; 35garvādhisthanasanmatran paripūrnasaccid- JSP, p. 77. anandaghanam bhagavantam advayam atmanam, BR 1, sec. XXIII; 36See chap. 2.4 and note 37 thereon. 37mam eva sarvopadhivirahitam cidanandasadātmānam akhandam, GAD 7.14; Pan, p. 360. Cp. the following statement from the introduction to the GAD: "The Blessed Lord, the Supreme Bliss, is established as the meaning of the word That [in the sentence 'Thou art That' ]" (bhagavan Pan, p. 3). paramanandas tatpadartho vadharyate, GAD intro., vs. 9 38tatha coktam brahmana bhagavantam srikrsnam prati "ekas tvam atma purugah puranah satyah svajyotir ananta adyah / nityo kşaro jasrasukho niranjanah purnah dvayah mukta upadhito mrtan iti / sarvopadhišuya atma brahma tvam ity arthah . .. bhagavatah kranasya ca sarva- kalpanādhisthanatvena paramarthasatyanirupadhibrahma- rupatvat, GAD 14.27; Pan, p. 607. 39Gupta, p. 207: 40anavachinnacidanandaghanasya bhagavatasya sphuranat, BR 1, sec. XVIII; JSP, P. 49. 41"Consciousness, in reality the supreme bliss, shines as limited by various objects of which it is the material cause" (tattadvisayavacchinatvena bhasate vastutah paramanandarUpam visayopadanacaitanyam, BR I, sec. XVIII; JSP, p. 48). For an equation of bliss and moksa, see note 9 above. 42See below at note 54.

NOTES: CHAPTER FIVE 438 43"The 'most distinctive note in Advaita is probably that of pure, undifferentiated or objectless consciousness. To be sure, a distinction between two kinds of awareness -- nirvikalpaka or construction-free and savikalpaka or construction-filled -- is a common one in Indian philosophy by Samkara's time, especially as found in the Yoga systems of Buddhism and Hinduism. But Advaita elevates the distinction to new heights by identifying construction-free awareness with reality, Brahman" (Potter, Advaita, p 92). 44gee Vedantasāra 193-198; Swami Nikhilananda, trans., Vedantasara or Essence of Vedanta of Sadananda YogIndra (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1978), pp. 109-1I1. 45ga ced bimbabhutam bhagavantam anantasaktin maya- niyantaram sarvavidam sarvaphaladataram anisam anandaghana- murtim anekan avataran bhaktanugrahaya vidadhatam aradayati paramagurum, GAD 7.14; Pan, p. 360. 46suryanarayana Sastri, SLS, pp. 38-40. 47bhagvadvyatiriktam sarvam .. . mayikam bhagavan eva satyah, BR 1, sec. XXVI; JSP,. pp. 86-87. 48mayy eva sagune brahmani manah . nivatsyasi labdhajhanah san madatmana mayy eva suddhe V adhatsva brahmani eva, GAD 12.8; Pan, 508. 49"Since it is a determinant of knowledge, the vrtti is figuratively spoken of as knowledge. This has been stated in the Vivarana: `Because the vrtti of the mind is figuratively referred to as knowledge(janavacchedakatvac ca vrttau jñanatvopacarah / tad uktam vivarane "antahkaranavrttau jhanatvopacarat iti, Vedantaparibhasa ed. Suryanarayana Sastri, pp. 7-8. 50gatyam jfanam anatam brahma, TU 2.1.1. 51Gupta, p. 172. 52namantarena brahmavidyaiva bhagavadbhaktih . vyartho 'yam vicararambhah, BR I, sec. XI; JSP, p. 26. XI; JSP, p. 26. 53svarUpasadhanaphaladhikarivailaksanyat, BR 1, sec. 54dravIbhavapurvika hi manaso bhagavadākaratā savikalpakavrttirupa bhaktih, dravfbhavanupeta dvitfyatma- matragocara nirvikalpakamanovrttir brahmavidya, BR 1, sec. XI; JSP, p. 26. 55Gupta, pp. 34, 87.

NOTES: CHAPTER FIVE 439

56brahmano jfanavisayatasambhave 'pi jñanasya brahmavisayata vartate, sa. ca tadbimbagrahakatvam va, anyad eva va kimcid anirvacanfyam, VKL 47; R. D. Karamarkar, ed. and trans., VedantakaIpalatika, (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Institute, 1962), p. 108. 57brahmakaraparokşaprama, VKL 47; Karmarkar, p. 109. 58tatra canubhava eva eva saranam, VKL 47, Karmarkar, p. 110. 59bhagavadgunagarimagranthanarupagranthasravanam bhaktisadhanam, tattvamasyadivedantamahavakhyan brahmavidya sadhanam, BR 1, sec. XI; JSP, p. 27. 60Compare the formulaic summary of Advaitic spiritual discipline as sravana, manana, and nididhyasana with the "nine-fold devotion of the BP 7.5.23-24: sravana, kIrtana, etc. 61see chap. 4, note 6. 62cittaaya bhagavadakaratayan svabhavikatvena hetvanapeksayam sastrasya kvopayoga iti anyakarata- virodhibhagavadakaratasampadana ity avehi / ... bhagavadakarata 71. Bastrajanya, BR 1, sec. XXIII; JSP, p. Since here, as in the rest of the BR, we are almost swimming in a sea of quotations from the BP, we must assume that the scripture being referred to is that purana, functioning for the bhakta, at least for the purposes of the present work, as the sruti does for the Advaitin. however, that Madhusudana does not explicitly state which Note, scripture is intended. The meaning of the word sastra is somewhat ambiguous: it is also used by Advaitins to refer to the Vedic texts. See chap. 7, notes 237 and 291, pt. VI. 63pranimatrasya bhaktau adhikarah, brahmavidyayan tu sadhanacatustayasampannasya paramahamsaparivrajikasya, BR I, sec. XI; JSP, p. 27. 64bhagavadvisayakapremaprakarso bhaktiphalam, sarvanarthamolajhananivrttir brahmavidyaphalam, BR 1, sec. XI; JSP, p. 27. 65etadrsena bhagavadakarena manogatenanadi- kalapraviştasankhyavişayakaranam kavalfkaranat tanmatraparisphurtya krtakrtyo bhavati, BR 1, sec. XXII; JSP, P. 64-65. 66bhagavadakarata . sastrajanya tu sadhanopakrame parokseva bhasamana bhyasakramena

NOTES: CHAPTER FIVE 440

višayakaratam sanaissanais tirodadhatt sadhana- paripakenaparoksatam nita satf tam samulaghatam upahanti, BR 1, sec. XXIII; JSP, p. . 71. 67ayam atra niskarsah -- citte svakarasamarpaka ye vişayas te bhagavadvyatirikta na bhavanti, bhagavaty adhyastatvat . . .. / ata eva bhagavadakarasphurtya te sarve nivartamanas tadrupa eva bhavati, adhişthanajhana- nivartyatvad adhyastanam, BR 1, sec. XXIII; JSP, p. 76. 68see chaps. 3.2, 4.3.2. 69See BR 1, sec. X. 70nirupamasukhasamvidrOpam asprstaduhkham, BR 1.1; JSP, p. 1. 71sadhanacatuştaya. See chap. 2.5.5; chap. 7, note 112.

72nanu) evam sati bhaktisukhad vairagyasambhavena mumuksutvasambhavat tadadhikarikacaturlaksanamfmamsarambho na syad iti cet, satyam, bhaktisukhasaktan prati tasya anarambhat / . . . bhaktisukhad vairagyam na syad Iti tv Istam eva na paditam, BR I, sec. XI; JSP, pp. 31-32. 73See BR 1, sec. XXIV; JSP, pp. 79-80. 74paravairagyasya lingam mokgaparyantasakalaphala- nirapeksatvam, BR 1, sec. XXIV; JSP, p. 80. 75BP 3.29.13; 9.4.67; 11.20.33-34. 76bhaktasya samsaramokşasyavasyakatvat, BR 1, sec. VII; JSP, p. 16. 77prathamam bhagavatprabodhas, tatah param vairagyam tatah premalaksana bhaktih, BR I, sec. XXV; JSP, p. 85. 78See chap. 4.3.3, note 49. 79bhagavadvyatiriktam sarvam agamapayitvat svaphavan mayikam tuccham dunkharupan ca heyam / bhagavan eva satyas svaprakašaparamanandarupo nītyo vibhuš copadeya iti jhanam ity arthah, BR I, sec. XXVI; JSP, pp. 86-87. 80BP 11.9.2-3, 11.19.7; BG 7.16-19. 81For example, "The jfanin is the very Self, not other than Me" (jmant tv atmaiva nanyo matta iti, SGB 7.18; Pan, p. 364') See also SGB on 18.55, quoted in chap. 2 at note 104.

NOTES: CHAPTER FIVE 441

82mam atmatvena jfanavan jhant atmaiva na matto bhinnah kim tv aham eva sa iti, GAD 7.18; Pan, pp. 364-65. See also GAD, intro., verse 39 (Pan, p. 7), and 18.54 (Pan, p. 741). 83vasudevatiriktam sarvam satyan nasti mayikatvat, vasudeva evatmatvat priyatamas satya ity arthah, BR 1, sec. XXVI; JSP, p. 88. 84See BR 1, sec. XXIX; JSP, p. 93: 85For "permanent emotion" (sthayibhava) and other terms of Sanskrit aesthetics, see chap. 6. 86pratyagatmasvardpasya stholasuksmadehadvaya tiriktatvena saksatkaras sasthf bhumika, JSP, p. 126; evam šuddhe tvampadalaksye vagate tatpadalaksyena sahabheda- jhanam bhavati, JSP, p. 128. See BR 1, sec. XXIX, note 291, pt. VI. N 87anyatha dehendriyadiviksepena jataya api rater anirvahat, BR 1, sec. XXIX; JSP, pp. 126-127. See BR I, note 291, pt. VI. 88jtvanmuktanam api bhagavadbhaktipratipadanat, BR 1, sec. XI; JSP, p. 32. On BP 1.7.10, see chaps. 3.2, 9.3.1 (note 22).

89See BR 1, sec. XXII, commentary on stanza 31. 90A comparable exaltation of the bliss of bhakti over the bliss, not of moksa, but of yogic meditation occurs in a marvelous verse in the invocation to chap. 13 of the GAD, quoted in my introduction, note 24. 91See chap. 4.3.2. This kind of thinking is common among Vaisnavas, with the difference of course that they do not regard the jiva or atman as identical with Brahman. Yamuna, in his Gftarthasamgraha writes: "When all nescience has vanished and one has perceived the atman which is attendant on God, then one may acquire perfect bhakti and thereby attain God's paradise" (vs. 26, trans. J. A. B. van Buitenen, Ramanuja on the Bhagavad Gita [Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1968], p. 179). Ramanuja himself teaches in his commentary on the Gtta that Self-realization (atmavalokana) must precede true devotion: "Through jhanayoga one arrives at true contemplation of the realizing atman. This contemplation, again, is propaedeutic to bhaktiyoga; through bhakti alone one is capable of realizing God" (van Buitenen, Ramanuja, pp. 65-66).

NOTES: CHAPTER FIVE 442

Note that, while Ramanuja and his followers reject the idea of jIvanmukti, holding that liberation is possible only after the soul's departure from the body, Madhva, Vallabha, and the Gosvamins all admit that this state is possible. The Vaisnavas do not, however, place the high does. valuation on liberation-in-life that the Samkara tradition 92See chap. 4.3.1. 93See Hemadri's dictum regaiding the superiority of bhakti to moksa, discussed at chap. 4, note 105. 94See above, note 77. 95BR 1, sec. XXIX, stanza 36; JSP, p. 93. 96bhaktisukhadharayas sarvadesakalasartrendriyadi- sadharanyena brahmavidyaphalavad upabhoktum sakyatvat niratisayopapatten BR.I, sec. XI; JSP, P. 30.

A

NOTES

CHAPTER SIX

1Sanskrit' aesthetics generally goes by the name alamkarasastra, literally, "the science of [poetic] ornamentation." It is also called the rasasastra ("science .of aesthetic sentiment"), due to its tendency to concen-' trate, in its later period, on the theory of rasa. It is concerned almost exclusively with problems of poetics and drama, and is therefore more limited in scope than the more broadly conceived Western philosophic discipline known, as aesthetics .. I follow established convention here in referring to it as "aesthetics" or "poetics," and its' writers as "aestheticians" or "rhetoricians." 2Cf. Natyasāstra 22.99, 148: "Most people always want happiness. And women, of infinite variety, are the source of happiness. sake of religion. . .One practices austerities for the And after all, we are (only) concerned with religion because we want to be happy. happiness is women, and we want to make love to them" The source of (bhuyistham eva loko 'yam sukham icchati sarvadā / sukhasya hi striyo mulam nanasilas ca tah punah // . .. dharmartham hi tapascarya sukhartham dharma isyate / sukhasya mulam pramadas ca tasu sambhoga isyate, quoted and trans. by Masson and Patwardan, Aesthetic Rapture: The Rasadhyaya of the Natyasastra[Poona: Deccan College, 1970], I, 37; II, 5g, note 308). A study of the religious dimensions of the rasa- sastra as formulated by the great Saiva mystic Abhinavagupta is not possible here. See K. C. Pandey, Comparative Aesthetics, Vol. I: Indian Aesthetics (Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series, Studies, Vol. II; Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1959), chap. 2, "The Saiva Basis of Abhinava's Aesthetics"; also Masson and Patwardhan, Santarasa and Abhinavagupta's Philosophy of Aesthetics (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1969). .3See intro., note 8. 4See my exposition of the five primary bhaktirasas of the Bengal Vaisnavas, below, sec. 6.4.

443

NOTES: CHAPTER SIX 444

5Donna M: Wulff, Drama as a Mode of Religious Realization: The Vidadghamadhava of Rupa Gosvamf (Chico, California: Scholars Press, 1984), pp. 8-11. See David Kinsely's lucid exposition of the Krsnaite theology, of lfla. in The Divine Player (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1979), chaps. 2-3. 6Norvin Hein, The Miracle Plays of Mathura (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972), chap. 9; Wulff, chap. 2. 7wulff, pp. 22-23. 8Hein, pp. 259-262, quotes Harivamsa 2.21; VP 5 .- 13.24-29; BP 10.29-30, 11.11.23. 9The extent to which Rupa in his BRS envisioned the devotees entering into the devotional moods of the main characters -- such as Nanda, Yasoda, the prominent gopts, and especially Radha -- is actually the subject of much dispute, the details of which I cannot enter into here. Suffice it to say that the later commentators tend to confine the devotees to the role of spectators -- as mañjarIs or maid- servants of the gops, who derive satisfaction by facilitating the trysts of their mistresses with Krsna. "The commentators . . writes Wulff, "are more concerned than ROpa to maintain distance, not only between the devotees and the Lord, but also between the devotee and Krsna's close associates, who are elsewhere classified by Jİva as parts of Krana himself" (p. 31). See Wulff, pp. 29- 34. 10Kinsley, The Divine Player, p. 159. 161 of Kinsley's book for a clear exposition of Bengal See pp. 153- Vaisnava devotional practice. /. Even today, serious devotees in/Bridavan strive to enter into Krana's eternal lfla by adjusting their lives to synchronize with the child-god's diurnal routine, as it varies through the liturgical year. To aid the bhakta's imagination, the eight watches of the Lord's day, and the divine sports that he and his companions enact therein, are described in loving detail in such texts as the Govinda- . lflamrta of Krsnadasa Kaviraja. The routine of the temples of Brindavan likewise follows the Lord's daily round, thus providing ritual support for the devotee's recollection. See Shrivatsa Goswami, pp. 79-80, 339 (note 36); John S. Hawley, At Play with Krishna: Pilgrimage Dramas from Brindavan (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985), pp. 6-9. 11kinsley, Divine Player, p. 161.

NOTES: CHAPTER SIX 445

.12wulff, pp. 2, 9; Hardy, VB, pp. 559-557. 13we find references to poetic terms in the Vedas and in Panini's grammar (fourth century B.C.E.). See Edwin Gerow, "Classical Sanskrit Aesthetics," in Joesph W. Elder, ed .. Lectures in Indian Civilization (Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1970), pp. 88-89. On the date of the NS, see S. K: De, Sanskrit Poetics (2nd rev. ed .; Calcutta: Firma K. L. Mukopadhyay, 1960), I, 18-31. Masson and Patwardhan remark: "While an exact date seems out of the question, we are inclined to date the text within two or three hundred years of the third century A.D." (Aesthetic Rapture, I, 1). 14Sometimes, as "mood," though "sentiment" is more popular, haying the advantage of suggesting refined, pleasurable emotion. In the works of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swämi, founder of the Krsna Consciousness movement, the term is translated as "mellow" or "transcendental mellow." 15Ras, "to taste," is the Sanskrit root. According to the standard etymology, "Rasa is that which is tasted. or enjoyed" (rasyate asvayate iti rasah, quoted by Chakravarti, p. 345, note 9 [my trans. ]). The word can also mean "sap," "juice," "liquid extract," "elixir," "essence," "pith," "pleasure," "delight," or even "bliss." 16rase sāras camatkāro yam vina na rasorasah 107. (Alamkarakaustubha, 5.7; quoted by Chakravarti, p. 345, note 17NS 6.15-16; De, Sanskrit Poetics, II, 275. 18The Bengal Vaisnava tradition uses this same term to designate the first appearance of bhakti in the heart of the devotee. See chap. 4.3.4. 19NS 6.17. 20De, Sanskrit Poetics, II, 133-134, note 40. first explanation is referred to by JIva Gosvamin as a rule The of the exponents of the rasasastra: viruddhair aviruddhair vā bhavair vicchidyate na yah ātmabhāvam nayaty anyān sa sthayf lavanakarah (quoted by Chakravarti, p. 349. 21rasika eva rasasvade yogyah, quoted by S. K. De, Sanskrit Poetics as a Study of Aesthetic (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963), p. 54 (my trans.). 22The question of the nature and original source of the sthayibhava of bhaktirasa is a crucial one for both the

NOTES: CHAPTER SIX 446

Vaignva theologians and MadhusOdana. In their view, as we shall see, it. is not derived from empirical experience. 23De; Sanskrit Poetics as a Study of Aesthetic, p. 12-13, 53; De, Sanskrit Poetics, II, 133-134; Kinsley, pp. 150-151 24De, Sanskrit Poetics, II, 261. 25Quoted by A. K. Coomaraswamy, The Dance of Shiva (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1985), p. 35. 26De, Sanskrit Poetics as a Study of Aesthetic, p. 13.

27v. Raghavan, The Number of Rasa-s (Madras: The Adyar Library and Research Center, 1975), p. xviii. 28De, Sanskrit Poetics, II; 275-277. The encyclopedic Agni Purana has a section on rasa which, though it recognizes santa as a ninth sentiment, is highly idiosyncratic in its approach: It made, so far as I can see, no special contribution to the religious development of the rasa theory being discussed here. See De, Sanskrit Poetics, II, 200-206. 29Raghavan, Number of Rasa-s, p. 119; De, Sanskrit Poetics; II, 275. 30Raghavan, Number of Rasa-s, pp. 119-142. 31Raghavan, Number of Rasa-s, p. 122. 32De, Sanskrit Poetics, II, 278-279. 33It also shows that the Vaisnavas' designation of the rasasastra as an essentially "secular" (laukika) discipline is not entirely inappropriate, even in the context of traditional India. Cf. note 2.

268, note 19. 34De, VFM, p. 124, note 1; Sanskrit Poetics, II, 35Hardy, VB, p. 560. 36This at least partially explains the importance in Vaisnava spirituality of sravana, the "hearing" of the accounts of 'Krsna's life. See sec. 6.1, above. 37Hardy, VB, p. 561. James D. Redington

NOTES: CHAPTER SIX 447

(Vallabhacarya on the Love Games of Krsna [Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1983], pp. 3-5) argues that the BP itself has a distinctly "aesthetic orientation." This, he feels, is made most obvious in the final verse of the opening invocation: "Drink, O connoisseurs (rasika) on earth who are endowed with emotion (bhavika), drink constantly [of this] Bhagavata-nectar (rasa), [this] vessel that is the fruit Fallen from the wish-fulfilling tree of the Veda, full of the nectar (rasa) flowing from the mouth of Suka" (nigamakalpatarr galitam phalam sukamukhad amrta- dravasamyutam / pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam muhur aho ^ rasika bhuvi bhavukah, BP 1.1.3, my translation). Redington refers to BP 7.1.10, 10.29.15, and 10.43.17, all of which could be construed as depicting characters acting out various sentiments in accordance with the canons of classical Sanskrit aesthetics. On this basis, he develops (p. 5) the interesting, and perhaps defensible, thesis that the BP is in an important sense a secondary work -- in that it makes consdious use of the categories, aesthetic and developed. otherwise, of scholastic traditions that were already well

38sa navadha bhaktah. bhaktirasasyaiva hasya -. srngarakarunaraudrabhayanakabibhatsadantadbhutavira- rupenanubhavat (quoted by Raghavan, Number of Rasa-s, p. 143). nine sentiments" Cp. Madhusudana's notion of devotion mixed with the (BR 1.1). 39According to Hemadri, the sthäyin of bhaktirasa is "the fixation of the mind [on God] by any means" (kenapy upayena manonivesa, Raghavan, Number of Rasa-s, p. 143). Cp. BP 7.1.31. 40Raghavan, Number of Rasa-s, pp. 143-144. 41See Hardy, VB, pp. 561-562. 42This is an area that crys for further research. Pereira writes that "Vallabha did not create his theology of joy in a vacuum, but bases his structure on the theory of aesthetics, which originates in the work of Bharata" (Jose Pereira, Hindu Theology: A Reader [Garden City, New Jersey: Doubleday, 1976], p. 317). While this may well be true, I have been able to confirm an interest in a detailed application of the categories of rasa theory to bhakti only in Vallabha's followers. Pereira gives no documentation for Vallabha's interest in the subject, but he does note (p. 317) that the great poet and aesthetician Jagannātha Panditaraja, who flourished at about the same time as Madhusudana (ca. 1620-65), was a member of Vallabha's sampradaya.

NOTES: CHAPTER SIX 448 .ª

Redington (pp. 7-11) shows that, while both Vallabha and his son Vitthala (ca. 1518-1588) understand the love- . play of Krana and the gopts in terms of aesthetic categories, especially srngararasa, the use of the technical terminology of poetics is more prominent in Vitthala, e.g .: "The love-making that occurred after that was nothing but . His gift of His own innate bliss according to the cannons of rasa, since His very essence is rasa, as is declared in . scripture: "He, verily, is rasa" [TU 2.7.1] (tadanantaram yad ramanam, tat tu "raso vai sa" iti sruteh svarupasya rasatmakatvad rasarftya svarupanandadanam eva, Subodhint on BP 10.29.16, Vitthala's interpolation; Redington, p. 369, my translation). Majumdar's discussion of this school's theories on rasa appears to be based on the work of Vitthala and a later author named Purusottama (b. 1660). Majumdar (p. 74, note 50) quotes the former as saying: "Rasa, the enjoyer of rasa, and bhagavat are one" (sa raso bhagavan eva rasavams caiva ekah, Majumdar, pp. 70-71; 74, notes 50-51; for dates see Dasgupta, IV, pp. 374, 377). Evidently the tendency to try to elevate the status of bhaktirasa by closely identifying it with Krana was fairly widespread in the sixteenth century. Dasgupta's remarks on bhaktirasa in the Vallabha school are based on the Bhaktimartanda by Gopesvara, but this writer. was not born until 1781 (Dasgupta, IV, 350-354, 380). Hardy (VB, p. 562) credits Vallabha with the statement, "When the mind and all the senses have taken on the form of Bhagavan [bhagavadropata] . . who (which) creates pure bliss, then alone [one possesses] bhakti-rasa." A perusal of Dasgupta, Hardy's source in this case, quickly reveals, however, that the quote is not from Vallabha at all but from Gopesvara. Nevertheless, the statement is interesting because the notion of bhagavadrupata ("taking on the form of Bhagavan") is so important in the BR. Intriguing in this connection also is the fact that, according to Dasgupta, both Purusottama and Gopesvara reject the doctrine that bhakti is "a reflection of God in the melted heart ... on the ground that this would make bhakti identical with God" (IV, 352-353). It is possible, therefore, that writers of Vallabha's school were, by the seventeenth century, familiar with the teachings of the BR. It is clear that Vallabha and especially Vitthala were interested in the religious applications of rasa theory. But nowhere have I been able to find evidence that they developed this interest to the extent that the Gosvamins did. Vitțala was a younger contemporary of Madhusudana. It is perhaps significant that, according to one of Vallabha's biographies (the Nijavarta), he was sent by his father to Madhusadana as a student, to further his

NOTES: CHAPTER SIX 449 . scholastic education (P. M. Modi, Siddhanta Bindu [Allahabad: Vohra Publishers and Distributors, 1985], pp. 22-23). See my intro., note 28. 43The classical statement of Vaişnava bhaktirasa theory is found in Rapa's companion works, the Bhaktirasamrtasindhu and the Ujjvalantlamani. In the latter, Ropa acknowIedges his debt to Vopadeva: spastham muktaphale caitad bopadevena varnitam (quoted by Raghavan, Number of Rasa-s, p. 144). Jiva s Pritisamdarbha gives, according to De, a rather more metaphysical account of the subject than Ropa, though he follows the general outline of his uncle's treatment (VFM, p. 123, note 1). .44See De, VFM. 45De, Sanskrit Poetics as a Study of Aesthetic, pp. 44-45, 59-60, 117-118. 46prof. De sees a close connection between RUpa's work and "a prolific series of erotico-rhetorical treatises, beginning with Rudrabhatta's Srngaratilaka, in which the minute diversities of the amorous condition are elaborately analysed with surprising assiduity and acuteness" (Sanskrit Poetics as a Study of Aesthetic, p! 45). 47De, Sanskrit Poetics as a Study of Aesthetic, p. 16. 48chakravarti, p. 348. 49De, VFM, p. 149. 50cc madhya 19.180-237; De, VFM, p. 143-149; Wulff, pp. 27-28; Shrivatsa Goswami, pp. 77-80. 51De, VFM, p. 143; Wulff, p. 27. 52De, VFM, pp. 144-145. 53De, VFM, p. 145; Wulff, p. 27. 54De, VFM, pp. 272, 296; Shrivatsa Goswami, p. 79. 55cc madhya 19. 193-200; De, VFM, pp. 153 (note 1), 303; Chakravarti, p. 261; Shrivatsa Goswami, pp. 76-77. 56De, VFM, p. 148, 286. Note that the devotees of Rama were also attracted to the theory of bhaktirasa and recognized the value of approaching the deity through the various sentiments. Priya Das, a commentator on the

NOTES: CHAPTER SIX .450

Bhaktamala, endorses exactly the same five bhavas acknowledged by the Gosvamins. In Rama devotionalism, however, the dasyabhava or servant mood, exemplified by Hanuman, is regarded as the highest. See F. R. Allchin, trans., Tulst Das, The Petition to Ram (London: George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1966), pp. 57-59. 57De, VFM, p. 149; Wulff, pp. 26-27. 58See above, chap. 4.3.6; Chakravarti, p. 345. 59See above, 4.3:6. 60For a discussion of the three material qualities (gunas), see chap., note 177. 61Chakravarti, p. 348. 62Chakravarti, p. 348, 357-358; see above, chap. 4.3.1. 63raso vai sah, TU 2.7.1; De, VFM, p. 213. 64De, VFM, p. 285. 65Chakravarti, p. 350, 353-355. 66wulff, p. 4. 67See intro., note 38. 68krodhasokabhayadInam saksātsukhavirodhinam / rasatvam abhyupagatam tatha nubhavamatratah // Thanubhavasiddhe pi sahasragunito rasah / jadeneva tvayā kasmat akasmat apalapyate, BR 2.78-79; JSP, p. 185. 69ratir devādivişayā vyabhicārī tathorjitah. / bhāvah prokto raso neti yad uktam rasakovidaih // devantaresu jIvatvat paranandaprakasanat /. tad yojyam paramanandarupe na paramatmani, BR 2.74-75; JSP, p. 183. 70See BR 1, sec. IV: "The permanent emotion known as love (rati) is the form of the Blessed Lord. Manifest as a rasa . . . it reveals itself as an immediate realization of the highest bliss" (rasarupataya 'bhivyakto bhagavadakara- rupo ratyakhyasthayibhavah paramanandasaksat[karJatmakah pradurbhavati, JSP, p. 10). See also BR 1, sec. XVIII (1.10 and commentary); chap. 5.5; and Raghavan, Number of Rasa-s, p. 184. 71parmananda atmaiva rasa ity ahur agamah, BR 3.24; JSP, p. 197.

NOTES: CHAPTER SIX 451

72sthaytbhavah sukhatvena vyajamano rasah smrtah // sukhasyātmasvarupatvat tadadharo na vidyate / tadvyanjikaya vrtes tu samajikamanan prati, BR 3.2b-3; JSP, pp. 186, 188. 73The "causative factors" are the vibhavas, anubhavas, and vyabhicaribhavas. See BR 1, secs. IV, XVII and the notes thereon. 74bhavatritayasamsrstasthayibhavavagahini / samdhalambanatmaika, jayate sattvikf matih // sa nantara- kşane vašyam vyanakti sukkham uttamam / tad rasah kecid acaryas tam eva tu rasam viduh, BR 3.12-13; JSP, p. I9I. 75See BR 1, sec. XVIII, stanzas 1.11-12 and commentary. 76kāntādivişayā vā ye rasādyās tatra nedrsam / rasatvam puayate purnasukhasparsitvakaranat / paripurnarasā kşudrarasebhyo bhagavadratih / khadyotebhya ivadityaprabheva balavatara, BR 2.76-77; JSP, p. 184. 77BR 2:31-35; JSP, pp.F161-162. and appendix. 78Further details may be found in Gupta, Gupta's study is largely descfiptiee: 229-229 more work needs to be done to determine exactly what MadhusOdana was trying to accomplish in his exposition of rasa-theoty in chapters two and three of the BR. Insofar as I can determine, however, I have extracted all the material from those chapters that has a bearing on the philosophical dimensions of the issue at hand. 79BR 2.26-28; JSP, p. 158. 80Raghavan, Number of Rasa-s, p. 152. 81BR 2.12-13; JSP, p. 150. 82BR 2.9-11; JSP, p. 147. 83BR 2.36; JSP, p. 164. 84BR 2.66-71; JSP, p. 180-182. 85vrajadevIsu ca spastam drstam raticatustayam / taccittalambanatvena svacittam tadrsam bhavet, BR 2.71; JSP, p. 182. 86See BR 1, sec. XXIX and the notes thereon.

NOTES: CHAPTER SIX 452 87ekah paramanandamayah srīsamahatmyakaranam / / tajjanyayam drutam suddha ratir govindagocara / etadantam hi . Sastreşu sadhanamnanam igyate, BR 2.125-13; JSP, p. 150. 88See BR 2.12b (previous note) and 2.65 (note 85 below). 89suddhasattvodbhava 'py evam sadhakesv asmadādisu / drstamātraphala sa tu siddhesu sanakadişu, BR 2.46; JSP, p. 165. On Sanaka and the four mind-born sons of Brahma, see chap. 7, note 240, below. It is perhaps significant in this connection that Samkara, in the introduction to his commentary on the BG, identifies Sanaka and the others as the first, paradigmatic exponents of the path of renunciation and knowledge: "ghe Blessed Lord, having created the world, and being desirous of its preservation, brought forth in the beginning MarIci and the other Progenitors and caused them to adopt the path of action declared in the Vedas. Then, having brought forth others such as Sanaka, Sanandana, and the rest, he caused them to adopt the path of cessation from action, characterized by knowledge and detachment" (sa bhagavan srstvedam jagat tasya ca sthitim cikfrsur marIcyadin agre srstva prajapatin pravrttilaksanam dharmam grahayamasa vedoktam 7 tato nyams ca sanakasanandanadin utpadya pp. 2-3) nivrttidharmam jhanavairagyalaksanam grahayāmasa, Pan, There can be no doubt that MadhusOdana was familiar with this passage. 90See, e.g., BP 6.13; 11.2-3, 7-9, 13. Not surprisingly, these are also among the passages that show strong non-dualist tendencies. 9lrasāntaravibhāvādirāhitye tu svarūpabhāk / dašamīm eti rasatam sanakader ivadhikam, BR 2. 73; JSP, p. 183. 92tatrānupādhiņ šuddhā syāt sopādhir misritoditā // anupādhih paranandamahimaikanibandhana / bhajaniya- guņanantyad ekarupaiva socyate, BR 2.64b-65; JSP, p. 179. 93navarasamilitam va kevalam va, BR 1.1; JSP, p. 1. 94Note that MadhusOdana calls the sixth stage of bhakti, which consists of Advaitic knowledge of the atman, the realization of the essential nature" (svarUpadhigatI). In the BR 1, sec. XI, Madhusudana states that a devotee may engage in the study of the Vedanta "for the sake of determining the essential nature (svarUpa) of the object of their worship" (bhajanIyasvarupanirnayartham, JSP, p. 31).

NOTES: CHAPTER SIX 453 So the granting to suddhabhakti of access to the essential nature in the phrase svarOpabhak (2.73) is probably meant to have Advaitic overtones. But the passage in question is obscure and, in the absence of any elaboration by the author, it is difficult to say exactly what he intends. See chap. 7, note 291, pt. VI. 95ek hi prakarka (sambhogrup) mana jata hai, JSP, p. 180. 96See chap. 4.3.5.

NOTES CHAPTER SEVEN 1The BR consists of three chapters, called ullasas ("causing to shine forth," "manifestors," a term used by the aesthetician Mammata to designate the divisions of his celebrated Kavyaprakasa). The title of the first is "The Definition of the General Characteristics of Devotion" (bhaktisamanyanirupana), which bears an interesting resemblance to the title of the first section (lahari, "wave") of Rupa Gosvamin's BRS, "The General Characteristics of Devotion" (bhaktisamanya). BR 1 is accompanied by the author's own commentary (tika) and contains most of the material of philosophical interest found in the text. The earliest published edition of the work (Calcutta, 1913) in fact contained only the first ullasa, and for some time it was thought that this was the complete text. Subsequent editions, however, corrected this impression by including all three chapters. The second and third ullasas deal with the details of rasa-theory and specify the various ways in which bhaktirasa is articulated in terms of the experience of the great devotees of the BP. They are entitled, respectively, "The Definition of the Special Varieties of Devotion" (bhaktivisesanirupana) and "The Definition of the Sentiment of Devotion (bhaktirasanirūpana). Unfortunately Madhusudana did not provide us with a commentary on this portion of the text (or, if he did, it has been lost). The result is that the meaning of many individual stanzas in the second and third ullasas is less clear than one might hope -- as is, consequently, the structure and rationale of the whole system of rasa that Madhusudana is trying to present. For discussion of the teachings of these chapters, see above, chap, 6.5. The present translation is based on the edition of Sri Janardana Sastri Pandeya (Varanasi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1961), hereafter abbreviated JSP. To avoid confusion between the frequent references in the commentary to the "verses" (slokas) quoted by the author from the BP and other sources, and the (less frequent) reference to the "verses" (karikas) of the BR itself, I consistently translate the former as "verse" and the latter as "stanza." Note that the section headings given in the translation do not occur in the original Sanskrit text. have inserted them to make the logical structure of the

454

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 455 discourse a little easier to grasp and to facilitate reference to important passages of the text. 2The indefinite pronoun kamcit, here translated as "that wondrous Being," signifies inexpressibility. The inexpressible Brahman is grasped by human consciousness in personal terms as bhagavat ("the Blessed Lord") or Isvara ("the Lord"). See note 8, below; chaps. 2.4, 5.6. 3The Lord is addressed in this verse as Krsna. During his childhood and early youth, Krsna lived in the house of Nanda, the chief of the cowherds of. Vrndavana, as his foster son. See BP 10 and VP 5. 4"Mountain-lord," a name of Siva, who is said to dwell on Mount Kailasa, a remote Himalayan peak. 5At BP 3.12.12, Siva as Rudra is described as having eleven forms: Manyu, Manu, Mahinasa, Mahan, Siva, Rtudhvaja, Ugraretas, Bhava, Kala, Vamadeva, and Dhtavrata. BU 3.9.4 says that the Rudras are the ten vital breaths, with the Self as the eleventh. (See Walker, Hindu World [New York: Fredrick A. Praeger, Publishers, 1968], II, 314.) As he 'bows, ten of Siva's forms are reflected in Lord Krsna's ten toenails and Siva himself, we must suppose, assumes the eleventh. Siva is Vişnu-Krşna's greatest rival for supremacy among the Hindu gods. In making him a devotee of, and therefore subservient to, Visnu in this verse, Madhusudana displays a typical Vaisnava attitude. In his Bhaktisandarbha, JIva Gosvamin writes that deities like Siva and Brahma should be worshiped only (1) as great Vaisnavas -- i.e.7 devotees of Krsna -- or (2) as particular loci (adhisthana) or manifestations of Krsna. Some scriptures encourage equal worship of all deities, Jiva admits, since such an attitude may be useful for the yogin or the jñanin. This way of thinking would, however, be a serious handicap for the Vaisnava devotee. . The latter must focus his entire devotion on Krsna alone and subordinate all other deities to him. See De, VFM, 275. 6sistagranI, "foremost among the learned (sista)." From the root sas ("to teach, command"), sista suggests one who is well educated, widely read, and highly cultured. Cp. the colophon, sec. XXX. On Madhusudana's reputation as a scholar, see my introduction above. 7angikurvann adau, literally, "receives at the beginning" or, perhaps, "recites at the beginning.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 456

8bhagavat, literally "possessing (-vat) fortune (bhaga), "hence "blessed," "glorious," "divine," "holy." Though applied in the literature to saints and demigods as well as gods, it comes to be used especially as a title of. the supreme deity .. In this sense it is roughly equivalent to Isvara ("Lord"), as used in the Vedanta, but with the particular connotations of loving compassion and approachability. In the present work, the term is. translated as "the Blessed Lord" or, to avoid repetition, simply "the Lord." It qould just as easily have been translated by the English word "God," with which meaning modern Indian vernaculars use the Sanskrit nominative singular form bhagavan. At GAD 2.2 Madhusudana quotes the traditional scriptural definitions of bhaga and bhagavat from the VP: "'Bhaga is the designation of the six [attributes] complete dominion, righteousness, fame, glory, detachment, and liberation' [VP 6.5.74]. Complete' here applies to each of the attributes. ... He i's bhagavat in whom such complete dominion and so on reside constantly and unrestrictedly. . . `He who knows the origin and. the dissolution of all beings, their coming and going, their knowledge and ignorance, is called bhagavat' [VP 6.5.78]. . A designation such as bhagavat should be applied to Vasudeva [Krsna] alone" T"aisvaryasya samagrasya dharmasya yasasah sriyah / vairāgyasyātha moksasya gannām bhaga itingana //" samagrasyeti prayekam sambandhah . . . etadrsam samagram aisvaryadikam nityam apratibandhena yatra vartate bhagavan iti .... utpattim ca vinasam ca bhutanam agatim gatim / vetti vidyam avidyam ca sa vacyo bhagavan iti //. . . etadro bhagavacchabdarthah srivasudeva eva paryavasita, Pan, 31-32). 9At the beginning of any learned treatise in Sanskrit, it is customary for the author to make the value of his work explicit for his readers by stating its four anubandhas ("indispensable elements"). These are: the visaya (the "topic" of the work), the prayojana (the. "aim" or purpose" of the work), the sambandha (the "relation" of the work to the topic or the purpose), and the adhikarin (the "qualified person" eligible to study the work). See Vedāntasāra 5 (Nikhilananda, p. 3) and Annambhatța's Tarkasamgraha, ed. Athalye and Bodas (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1974), p. 21. That Madhusudana intends sambandha to be the relation between the work and its topic is made clear in section VIII, where he comments: "'I shall explain' -- this is the declaration of the relation of the work to its subject matter" (tam aham vyana jmIty abhidheyasambandhanirdesah, JSP, p. 17). Since the purpose of the work is to "bring contentment to all"

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 45 (akhilatustyai, stanza 1) and since "all living beings are qualified for devotion" (pranimatrasya bhaktau adhikarah, sec. XI; JSP, p. 27), no special adhikara ("qualification") need be mentioned. This is significant, in light of the highly restrictive qualifications placed on the study of traditional Advaita. 10bhaktiyoga, "the path of devotion, of loving and intense attachment to God.' See chap. 1.1, chaps. 3-6, passim. Note that Madhusudana uses bhakti and bhaktiyoga a interchangeable synonyms. invariably rendered as "devotion." In this translation, bhakti is llA name of Krşna. 12havarasamilitam vā kevalam va. bhaktirasas ( devotional sentiments ) referred to are: (1) The nine Brhgara ("erotic love"), (2) karuna ("compassion"), (3) hasya ("mirth"), (4) pritibhayanaka ("love-in-fear"), (5) adbhuta ("wonder"), (6) yuddhavira ("heroism in battle ), (7) danavira ("heroism in charity"), (8) vatsala ("parental affection ), and (9) preyas ("dearness" or "friendship"). The word kevala is used here, probably for metrical purposes, as a synonym for suddha, which is described as the "tenth rasa" at BR 2.73. The idea is as of the devotional mood of one or another of the participants follows. Devotion may be mixed, i.e., experienced in terms ' in the Krsna-lTla. As such, it would express one or more of the nine "sentiments" (rasas). But bhakti may also be "pure," i.e., enjoyed as simple bliss without reference to the various sentiments. Being divorced from the rasas that have their parallel in mundane human emotions, it would then have a more ascetic orientation. In the final analysis, although Madhusudana has great regard for the ecstatic love of the gopts, he regards the pure (suddha) devotion of such sage-devotees as Sanaka as the highest. See chap. 6.5 for references and a discussion of Madhusudana's theory of bhaktirasa; see chap. 6, passim, for rasa-theory in general. 13pumartham (equivalent to purusartha), "goal of life" or, more literally, the "aim, end or goal of man." This term is here translated consistently by the phrase, "goal(s) of life." The paramapurusartha (in this verse, pumartham paramam) is the highest human goal. See the discussion of devotion vis-a-vis the four commonly accepted purusarthas in secs. V-VII and IX, and chaps. 4.3.2, 5.3. 14The word iha in this verse is somewhat puzzling. Although it is probably added just for metrical purposes, one could conceivably make a case for its being consciously intended to suggest the limitation of bhakti to "this world"

.. NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 458 (iha) as opposed to the "next world" (amutra), i.e., as a statement that devotion is restricted to the state of. liberation-in-life' (jIvanmukti) and not experienced in disembodied liberation (videhamukti). This, of course, would upset the whole interpretation of the BR presented in chap. 5. It is clear, however, that Madhusudana is trying to establish (1) that bhakti is the paramapurusartha and (2) that, as such, it can be experienced eternally, both of which would be impossible if devotion was confined to the state of jivanmukti alone. See secs. V-VII; also chaps. $5.3, 5.9, and 8. 15nirupamasukhasamvidrūpam, "the experience (samvid) of incomparable bliss (sukha), taking sukhasamvid as "consciousness of bliss" (genetive tatpurusa) rather than "consciousness. and bliss" (dvandva). I am indabted to Professor K. Sivaraman for this suggestion, which is important in the light of Hemadri's dictum that bhakti is -the experience of bliss (sukhanubhava), while moksa is simply the state of bliss (sukhatva). See chap. 4, note . 105. The word sukha, when connected with devotion or the aesthetic sentiments, is generally translated as "bliss," signifying happiness of a ransphenomenal order. In other contexts, it can mean ordinary happiness or pleasure. 16Madhusudana here lists the yogas in their order of priority from the devotonal standpoint. As we shall soon see, the yogas of action, meditation, and knowledge are in the BR, regarded as preliminaries to bhakti. A yoga is a way or path of spiritual .development. It involves disciplined. activity aimed at preparing the practitioner for immediate, salvific experience of the transcendent, the conception of the latter varying with the particular religious context in which the effort is being carried on. A derivative of the Sanskrit root yuj, it is a cognate of the English "yoke" and suggests "means, "discipline," "endeavor," and also "joining," "union." There are many varieties of yoga in the Hindu (and Buddhist) traditions, including bhaktiyoga, which is the subject of - the present work. The term, of course, means much more than the system of physical discipline, more properly known as hathayoga, that has gained some popularity in the West. Nevertheless, as the word is now commonly used in English, leave it untranslated. 17warmayoga, the yoga based on the disinterested performance of karma ("action" in the form of duties and religious rites). See BG, chap. 3 18The astanga ("eight-limbed"y yoga of physical and mental .discipline systematized by Patamjali in his Yoga -.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 459. sutras (YS). The eight limbs are: (1) yama ("restraints" consisting of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-possessiveness); (2) niyama ("observances," consisting of purity, contentment, austerity,' scriptural study, and surrender to the Lord); (3) asana ("posture"); (4) pranayama ("control of the breath"); (5) pratyahara ("withdrawal of the senses"); (6) dharana ("concentration"); (7) dhyana ("meditation"); and (8) samadhi ("perfect meditation," "absorption," "enstasis J. See YS 2.29-32. 19jñanayoga, to be described shortly. 20Unless otherwise indicated, all verse references are to the BP. 21I have taken the liberty in this translation of relegating the long list of rites given at this point in the text to the notes in order to avoid unnecessary and tedious complexity. The "sacraments" of the Brahmanical tradition are called samskaras ("consecrations"). The Hindu law books (dharmasutras and dharmasastras) mention some forty samskaras, but our text lists only eleven of the more commonly observed rites, as follows: (1) garbhadhana ("conception"), (2) pumsavana ("securing a male child"), (3) sImantonnayana ("parting the hair" of the mother as symbolic preparation for delivery), (4) jatakarman ("birth ceremony"), (5) namakarana ("naming ceremony"), (6) anna- prasana (first "partaking of solid food"), (7) caula (first "tonsure"), (8) upanayana ("initiation" as student and investiture with the sacred thread at the beginning of Vedic study), (9) the four vedavratas ("scripture-observances," marking the periods of Vedic study), (10) snana ("bathing," marking the end of student life), and (11) sahadharmacarint- samyoga ("union with a partner who will be a companion in the performance of duty," i.e., marriage). For details, see Walker, II, 315-316; Kane, II, chaps. VI-IX; and Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Vedas and the Upanishads, Harvard Oriental Series, Vol. XXXII (authorized reprint; Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970), pp. 366-369. 22The pancamahayajnas, daily sacrifices, incumbent on all householders, directed to (1) the gods, (2) the elemental spirits, (3) the ancestors,(4) the sages (in the form of study and teaching), and. (5) humanity (as hospitality, charity, etc.). See Walker, I, 360; Kane, II, chap. XVIII; and Keith, pp. 359-360. 23The pakayajfas ( "cooked-offering sacrifices"). These, along with the samskaras and the pancamahayajnas were classed as grhya ("domestic ) rites, generally performed by U

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 460

householders within the privacy of their own homes using the domestic fire. (See Keith, pp. 358-378.) Madhusudana lists them as follows: (1) the astaka, a type of sraddha performed eight days after the full moon (Kane," IV, 353-360J; (2) the pärvana, a type of sräddha performed on the new moon day (Kane, IV, 426ff.); (3) the sraddha itself, an offering to the ancestors performed at various times through the liturgical year (Kane, IV, chap. 9); (4) the srāvanI, an offering to the serpents to gain their good will (kane, II, 821-829); (5) the agrahayani, a ceremony marking the end of the period in /which raised cots were used for sleeping, a practice adopted during the rainy season from fear of snakes (Kane, II, 829-831); (6) the caitri, a rite of uncertain' import, performed on the full moon day of the month caitra (Kane, II, 820); and (7) the asvayuji, an offering to Pasupati-Siva performed on the ,full moon day of the month asvayuja or asvina (Kane, II, 826-827). 24The haviryajmas ("oblation sacrifices"). were srauta sacrifices, distinguished from the domestic .These rites chiefly by the use of the three.specially maintained srauta fires -- or at least one of the three -- instead of the single domestic fire, and by being for the most part public, involving the use of one or more priests. The srauta were of three types: isti (an offering of. non-flesh food such as butter, rice, etc. ), pasu (an animal sacrifice), and soma (marked by libations of soma juice, as described in the next note). The seven haviryajhas listed are (1) the agnyadheya, the "installation of the fire" (Kane, II, 986-997); (2) the agnihotra> the daily morning and evening oblations to Agni, the fire-god (Kane, II, 998-1008); (3) the darsapurnamasa, the "new and full moon sacrifices" after which all istis were modeled (Kane, II, 1009ff.); (4) the ägrayana, an offering .of the "first fruits" harvested in the various seasons (Kane, II, 1106-1107); (5) the caturmasya, the "four-monthly" or seasonal sacrifices (Kane, II, 1091-1103); (6) the nirudhapasubandha, an offering of an eviscerated animal (Kane, II, 1224-1228); and (7) the sautramanī, a mixed isti and pasu sacrifice dedicated to Indra as Sutraman, the "good protector" (Kane; II, 1224-1228). 25The soma sacrifices were srauta rites distinguished by the ceremonial pressing and drinking of the juice of the soma plant. They also involve the sacrifice of animals, usually goats. The agnistoma was the model, the six, others being regarded as derivatives of it. The seven somayajñas listed are (1) the agnistoma, the "praise of Agni (Kane, II, 1133-1203); (2) the atyagnistoma (Kane, II, 1205); (3) the ukthya (Kane, II, 1204); (4) the sodasin (Kane, II, 1204); (5) the vajapeya, "drink of strength," lasting for seventeen days and featuring a chariot race

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 461 (Kane, 'II, 1206-1212); (6) the atiratra, "overnight" sacrifice, involving nocturnal libations of soma (Kane, II, 1205); and (7) the aptoryama, an extension of the preceding (Kane, II, 1206). 26varnasramadharma: 27antahkarana, literally "the inner organ," composed of buddhi, the discriminative faculty; ahamkara, the ego- sense; citta, memory; and manas, thought. There is some dispute within the tradition as to the exact meaning of these terms, especially citta and manas, so these translations are very rough. In practice, manas, citta, and antahkarana are often used loosely as synonyms. Since this Is the case in the present work, we need not delve into further complications here. See BSSB 2.3.32 (Th II, 48) and 2.4.6. (Th II, 81); Vedantasara 65-69 (Nikhilananda, pp. 46- 47). 28sruti, the authoritative statements of the Veda, regarded as revealed scripture, which are "heard" (èuta) directly from one's teacher. I have not been able to trace the source of these particular texts. The ideas, however, are common and similar expressions may be found, for example, in Satapatha and Pancavimsa Brahmanas (personal communication from Dr. Fred Smith, Department of Oriental Studies, University of Pennsylvania). 29The words "melted mind" (drutacitta) refer to a state of heightened emotional sensibility in which the mind can be deeply impressed by emotionally-charged objects. (See secs. XII-XIII; below.) The melted state is a characteristic of the devotee (bhakta) as opposed to the possessor of knowledge (jñanin), whose mind remains unmelted, i.e., not emotionally aroused, and hence more inclined toward an intellectual, analytical approach to life and the spiritual quest. 30In the present translation, the term . bhagavatadharma is invariably rendered by the phrase "spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees". bhagavatas are the devotees of bhagavat. Dharma in this The context means "practice," "discipline," e," "rule, "duty." The bhagavatdharmas are traditionally listed as nine: (1) hearing of the virtues and glorious exploits of the Lord (sravana), (2) singing his praise and chanting his name (kirtana), (3) constant thinking of him (smarana), (4) constant attendance and service (padasevana), (5) worship (arcana), (6) reverent prostration (vandana), (7) regarding oneself as the Lord's servant (dasya), (8) regarding the Lord as one's friend (sakhya), and (9) self-surrender

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 462

(atmanivedana). See note 291, pt. IV, and BP 7.5.23-24, which is quoted there. .3lAfter the practice of karmayoga has reached its 'goal -- the purification of the mind, which is an essential prerequisite for success in the the higher yogas -- the spiritual ascent bifurcates into the paths of knowledge, as followed by the orthodox Samkara samnyasins, and bhakti. From here onward in the text, Madhusudana is exclusively concerned with the second of these two disciplines, the way of devotion. It will become apparent that the yoga of knowledge discussed in sec. IV is not the rigorous and highly formalized discipline adhered to by the samnyasin, but rather a loosely conceived collection of practices -- including both meditative yoga and certain devotional. disciplines (sadhanabhakti) -- designed to further prepare the mind for Self-realization (atmasaksatkara) and the higher levels of devotional experience. Madhusudana discusses the relation between the orthodox Advaitio path of knowledge and devotion in his GAD. See chap. 9. 32Which has just.been declared to be included in the yoga of knowledge, at least from the point of view of the BP and the present discussion of devotional spirituality. 33See the discussion of non-attachment and knowledge as preliminary to the highest levels of devotion, secs. XXIV-XXVIII. 34The reference is to BG 13.7-11, which reads as follows: "Absence of pride; lack of deceit; non-violence; tranquillity; straight-forwardness; service of the teacher; purity; steadfastness; self-control; [8] indifference to the objects of the senses; absence of egoism; contemplation of the evil of birth, death, old age, sickness, and pain: [9] non-attachment; absence of clinging to sons, wife, home, and the rest; constant even-mindedness toward occurrences desirable and undesirable; [10] unswerving devotion to Me through yoga directed toward no other: frequenting lonely places; dislike for crowds of people; [11] constancy in the knowledge that pertains to the Self; awareness of the goal of true knowledge -- this is declared to be knowledge; what is other than this is ignorance" (amanitvam adambhitvam ahimsa kaāntir ārjavam / acary- . Opāsanam saucam sthairyam atmavinigrahah // indriyārthesu vairāgyam anahamkāra eva ca / janmamrtyujaravyadhiduhkhadosanudarsanam // asaktir anabhisvahgah putradāragrhadisu / nityam ca samacittatvam istanistopapattisu // mayi cananyayogena

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 463

bhaktir avyabhicārini:/ viviktadesasevitvam aratir janasamsadi / rthadarsanam. adhyatmajhananityatvam tattvajhana- "nyatha). etaj janam iti proktam ajnanam yad ato Madhusudana, in his GAD, comments on this passage as follows: "These twenty, from absence of pride through awareness of the goal of true knowledge, are called knowledge because of being conducive to that" (etad amānitvādi tattvajmānarthadarsanantam vimsatisamkhyam jhanam iti proktam, jhanarthatvat, GAD 7.14.1l; Pan, p. 549). What is being described here, and what Madhusudana wants to suggest by quoting this passage at this point in the BR, is therefore neither knowledge itself as the immediate realization of Brahman nor the discipline followed by the orthodox Samkara samnyasin buttather, as indicated in note.31, a loose amalgam of yogic, ascetic, contemplative, and even devotional practices designed to prepare the mind for knowledge and, eventually, the highest levels of bhakti. 35pratilomanulomatah, literally "with the grain and against the grain." In the pesent context, where Samkhya doctrines of the "origin and passing away of all things" are being discussed, the most appropriate translation is "according to the order of evolution and involution." Sridhara explains anulomatah as "production in due order beginning with prakrti (prakrtyadikramena bhavam) and pratilomatah as dissolution in due order beginning with the element earth" (prthivyadikramena apyayam, JLS, p. 674). 36The text of the verse: nirvinnasya viraktasya purusasyoktavedinah / manas tyajati dauratmyam cintitasyanucintaya. SrIdhara glosses the difficult phrase cintitasyanucintaya (which I have translated "by continuous reflection on such thoughts") as "repeated reflection on the thoughts ('objects of reflection,' 'things thought about') imparted by the preceptor" (gurOpadistasyaiva cintitasya punahpynar anucintaya). The text of SrIdhara s commentary: nanupayasahasrenapi mano visayākāratām na tyajati kim bhūyo bhuyah upadeseneti cet tatraha nirvinnasyeti tatas cagama- pāyişu tesv avadhibhūtātmadarsanāt tadavivekāpannasamsāre nirvinnasyato viraktasya tatas coktavedino gurupadistarthā- locakasya tato gurupadistasyaiva cintitasya punahpunar anucintaya dauratmyam dehadyabhimanan tyajati, JLS, p. 674). 37yama, see note 18. 38"Proper object" is my tranalation of yogyam, the meaning of which, is not clear. SrIdhara glosses it as paramatman ("supreme Self"): etair upayair yogyan paramatmanam manah smaret, JLS, p. 674.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 464 39pandeya, the author of the Hindi anuvada, explains that jmana is useful only as long as bhakti has not arisen, because it is bhakti that leads to the final tranquillity of mind (JSP, 9). The text reads bhaktiyogam vina manassamyakprasadabhavat, "without the yoga of devotion there cannot be proper Eranquillity of mind." This is perplexing, however, because it appears from the reference to Samkhya in 11.20.22, which is the basis of the remark in question, and indeed the whole tenor of the passage, that the verse is describing the yoga of knowledge -- not bhakti -- as the discipline which leads to the mind "becoming tranquil" (prasIdati). Therefore, it would seem more straightforward to say that knowledge, not devotion, is necessary for "proper tranquillity (prasada) of mind," especially as Madhusudana later stresses that one can enter upon the higher levels of devotion only after such tranquillity has been attained through the yoga of knowledge. The yoga of devotion is the goal or end (avadhi) of knowledge, he will assert; not because bhakti itself leads to tranquillity of mind, but because it presupposes and builds upon the tranquillity which is a result of knowledge. Tranquillity is therefore not a product of bhakti but a prerequisite for it. In his comments on sec. XXIX, Madhusudana indicates that knowledge is an essential basis of the full development of love because it removes psycho-physical distractions that impede such development (note 291, pt. VI). Cp. sec. XXV: "First comes knowledge of the Blessed Lord, then there arises the higher non- attachment, and then the devotion which is of the nature of love." For thase reasons, I have been tempted to amended the text to read jmanayogam vina and translate accordingly. But consulting the edition of the BR prepared by Mahamahopadhyaya Duracaran Samkhya-Vedanta-Tīrtha Mahodaya (Calcutta: Surendranath Bhattacarya, 1944), I find the same reading -- bhaktiyogam vina. So I let it stand and remain somewhat perplexed. 40of knowledge? See previous note. 41A portion of the Gita text just cited. See note 34 for a full translation. 42sadhanabhakti, the spiritual practices that serve as a means (sadhana) to encourage the growth of devotion. The devotional exercises described in 11.20.23-24 and BG 13.10 are forms of sadhanabhakti, which. Madhusudana here wants to include in jnanayoga as preliminary to the higher devotion. Sadhanabhakti is therefore to be distinguished from sadhya- or phala-bhakti, "devotion as end." See sec. X and note 30.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 465

43That is, after purifying the mind through the practice of the yoga of action and further preparing it through the yoga of knowledge, which here includes meditative yoga and sadhanabhakti. 44sthayibhava, a permanent mental impression of an emotional state. See sec. XVII and chap. 6, passim. 45Sanskrit has many words for love. The most frequently used in this text is preman, which suggests an ecstatic, selfless love for God. I translate preman as "love" or "ecstatic love," and when this is done no note is given. But in cases where "love" is the translation of another term, reference is made to the notes where the Sanskrit will be found. Here the word is rati which, depending on the context, has various shades of meaning such as "delight," "joy," "enjoyment," or "amorous love." In classical aesthetic theory, it is associated with the sentiment of erotic love (srngara) as the sthayibhava of the latter. In the exposition of bhaktirasa given by both the Bengal Vaişnavas and Madhusudana, rati is the sthayibhava, and nascent state, of premabhakti. Madhusūdana calls the initial stage of devotion the "sprout of love" '(ratyañkurotpatti). See stanza 35 and note 291, pt. V; also chaps. 4.3.4-5, 6.4-5. 46rasa, "sentiment." In this translation, rasa is invariably translated as "sentiment." For a discussion of rasa theory and its application to bhakti, see chap. 6. 47vibhavas, "objective causes," the external object and associated qualities which serve to arouse the latent emotion of the sthayibhava into full manifestation as a rasa. The alambanavibhava ("primary objective cause") is the figure who is the main focus of the sentiment, e.g., the hero or heroine of a drama or, in devotion, Lord Krsna. The uddIpanavibhavas ("exciting objective causes") are the personay qualities and accessories, such as the beautiful garments, perfumes, and other paraphernalia connected with the primary figure, that serve to enhance the mood. JIva Gosvamin mentions some 85 uddipanavibhavas of Krsnarati including the Lord's beauty, smile, sweet fragrance, crown, and flute, his armlets and anklets, the garlands that adorn his neck, his footprints, and so on (De, VFM, 140-141). 48anubhavas, "outward signs" or "effects," the physical manifestations of the rising emotion, such as laughing, crying, singing, dancing, and other actions of the characters, which make the internal emotion of the actors visible and communicate it to the audience. See De, VFM, p. 141.

#NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 466

49vyabhicaribhavas, "associated transitory states," temporary mental states not tied to any one of the basic emotions (love, humor, fear, etc.) but which, briefly portrayed, enhance the development of the basic emotion towards full manifestation as rasa. The orthodox rhetoricians accept thirty-three vyabhicaribhavas, including confusion, shyness, fatigue,indifference, distraction, and reflection (De, VFM, p. 140-141): Abhinavagupta explains that Bharata, author of the Natyasastra, created this special language for describing the origin of rasa in order to emphasize that the aesthetic experience pertains to a level of reality that is beyond the ordinary (alaukika). In his Abhinavabharati, he gives an illuminating explanation of the rationale behind this terminology: In the course of our ordinary life, we acquire a certain proficiency (patava) through long practioe in inferring people's mental moods (cittavrtti), i.e. their basic emotions (sthayyatma) [, ] from observing certain signs (linga) consisting in causes; effects, and accompanying elements (sahacara). In watching a drama (or reading a poem -- adhuna), a garden, a glance, i.e. ordinary causes (effects, etc. ) [, ] lose their ordinary characters of cause, etc. and take on the essential nature of the `function of awakening a permanent emotion (vibhavana), the function of leading the spectator to a recognitton of this permanent emotion (anubhavana) and of adding color (to the emotions in question -- samuparañjakatva). And so they acquire the non-ordinary names of vibhavas etc." (trans. Masson and Patwardan, Aesthetic Rapture, I, 26). For an excellent discussion of rasa-theory and its technical terms, see Masson and Patwardan, Aesthetic Rapture, I, 23-35 and their translation in the same volume (pp. 43-57) of the Rasadhyaya of the Natyasastra, with excerpts from Abhinavagupta's commentary. 50manovrttau. Note that the rasa is manifest in the vrtti, it is not the vrtti itself. CI. chap. 6.5. 5lon Madhusudana's understanding of bhakti -- and later bliss -- as the paramapurusartha, see chap. 5.3, 5.8-9. 52True devotees do not seek liberation because their only desire is to serve God and enjoy the bliss of devotion. For some, there is the fear that liberation will bring an end to the joy of service, which for them is a higher goal than liberation. See chaps. 3.2 and 4.3.2. 53garvatantrasiddhanta, literally "the settled doctrine (siddhanta) of all the books (tantra)," i.e., of

.

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the texts of the various systems of thought such as Vedanta, Sāņkhya, Nyāya, etc. 54dharma, artha, kama, and moksa. See chap. 4.3.2. 55The four are not ends in themselves, but are means to happiness, as the plow is a means to livelihood. 56The original view of the Nyaya school is that the goal of life is the absence of suffering only. Thus, Gautama's Nyayasutra (1.1.22) defines liberation as absolute freedom from suffering (tadatyantavimokso 'pavargah), and Vatsyayana (fifth century), in his commentary thereon, argues against the notion that liberation is bliss, concluding that what the scriptures call bliss is only the cessation of suffering. (See M. Gangopadhyaya, Nyaya: Gautama's Nyaya-Sutra with Vatsyayana's Commentary [Calcutta: Indian Studies, 1982], pp. 27-32, 424.) Jayanta (ninth century), in his Nyayamamjari, takes a similar Tine. (See A. G. K. Warrier, The Concept of Mukti in Advaita Vedanta [Madras: University of Madras, 1961], p. 31.) Some later Naiyayikas, however, hold that bliss has a place in liberation. Bhasarvajma (tenth century), for example, argues in his Nyayasara that, from scriptural statements regarding the bliss of liberation, it is known that the liberated soul enjoys bliss eternally. Hence, he believes, liberation is the attainment of eternal bliss as well as the cessation of suffering (nityasamvedyamanasukhena visistā- tyantikf duhkhanivrttih purusasya moksa iti, Nyayasara, quoted by Chattopadhyaya and Gangopadhyaya, Nyaya Philosophy [Calcutta: Indian Studies Past and Present, 1967], pt. I, p. 98). According to Mahamahopadhyaya Phaņibhușana Tarkavagisa, this view was current at an even earlier period and was referred to as "the view of a section of the Naiya- yikas" (Chattopadhyaya and Gangopadhyaya, p. 92). It is this understanding that Madhusudana is attacking in the present context. Madhusūdana gives a similar argument against the Nyaya view at VKL 9.(Karmarkar, p. 27). See Chattopadhyaya and Gangopadhyaya, pp. 85-93; K. Potter, Indian Metaphysics and Epistemology (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977), pp. 28-30. 57Learned tradition has it that action involves the train jmanecchapravrttiphala ("knowledge, desire, activity, and result"), each factor leading to the next. Madhusudana argues that, unless the knowledge or cognition contains happiness as its object, no desire will be generated. objector would of course assert that knowledge of the The possibility of the elimination of suffering can also lead to desire, as in the case of the removal of a thorn, where one knows that suffering can be stopped and acts to put an end

.NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 468 to it. But the reply would be that the desire to remove suffering is itself ultimately directed toward the happiness 'that thereby results, so it is simpler to say that knowledge generates desire only when it presents the possibility of happiness. 58The argument will be that the absence of suffering is not valuable in itself, but only insofar as it is a pre- condition (paricayaka) of bliss, i.e., a state that paves the way for the experience of bliss. On the other hand, Madhusudana argues, bliss is valuable in and of itself. 59vinigamaka. 60vyapyavyapakabhava. 6lvyapaka. 62In both, according to the Nyaya, there is absence of pain but no bliss. 63As the absence of suffering is the invariable concomitant of bliss, it appears with the latter not because it is itself the goal of life but because it is anyatha- siddha ("otherwise accomplished"), i.e., it is incidentally required as a prior condition of bliss. Hence it occupies a position of subordinate interest, and bliss alone is the true goal of life. 64The objector now resorts to the position of the earlier Naiyayikas that liberation is not bliss at all but consists solely in the absolute cessation of suffering. See note 56. 65And not merely the absence of suffering. 66The four commonly recognized goals of lif. See chap. 4.3.2. 67gauravat ananugamat ca. To postulate four different types of bliss is unnecessarily complex and excessively verbose. This is the fault of gaurava ("prolixity"). Then, to consider only these specific types of bliss as the goal of life is to exclude others; this is ananugama ("excessive restriction"). So it is better to drop the modifiers and define the goal of life simply as bliss. . * 68gamadhi. 69dharma.

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"70yogadharma. 7ISee the discussion of the sixth stage of devotional practice, note 291, pt. VI. 72bhagavatadharma. See note 30. 73The important point is that the goal of life is bliss. Devotion is bliss, therefore it is the goal of life. It can be considered such in its own right or, if necessary to satisfy the formula-bound, as included within the commonly accepted quartet of goals. 74At BR 2.31-35 (JSP, pp. 161-162). See note 12 and chap. 6.5. 75A name of Krşņa. 76alambanavibhava, literally-"the foundational cause," the object toward which the emotion is directed, in this case Lord Krsna. See note 47. 77mangala, literally "auspiciousness" or "happiness. "In a more technical sense, it means an auspicious word or phrase used at the beginning of a work in order to ward off any obstacles to its completion or proper understanding. The verse that follows in the text makes a play on the two meanings of the word. 78gmrti, "remembrance," "traditional wisdom," as opposed to sruti ("revealed scripture"). Cp. note 28. 79mangala. 80amangala. I have not been able to trace this verse.

81See note 9. 82rati, a term which, were Madhusudana not talking about bhakti and rasa, might be translated in this verse as "delight. (See note 45.) Note that in sec. IV Madhusūdana has already identified rati as the sthayibhava of bhaktirasa, and that the Gosvamins did the same. SrIdhara (see note 83) glosses "toward the Self (atmani)" as "toward Hari (harau)," so the translation "love" is not inappropriate in this devotional context. 83So according to Sridhara, who glosses: bhagavan brahmā / kütastho nirvikārah / ekāgracittah sann Ity arthah 7 tris trin varān kārtsnyena sākalyena brahma vedam anvīksya

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vicarya / yata atmani harau ratir bhavet / tad eva mantsaya adhyavasyat niscitavan,. JLS, p. 65., 84ya nirvrtis tanubhrtan tava padapadmadhyanad . bhavadjanakathasravanena va syad / sa brahmani svamahimany api natha ma bhut kim tv antakasilulitat patatam vimanat. This is a difficult verse. Srfdhara comments: "It may be objected that, while the joy, of heaven, etc. can be obtained through [rituals] motivated by selfish desire, it cannot be [attained] by desireless worship. Therefore he [Dhruva] says, The complete fulfillment etc.' The phrase even in all its greatness' means 'even in its. innate bliss-form !; let not' means 'is not found.' Is it: necessary to say that this [fulfillment] does not exist [for those falling] from celestial cars 'crushed' (i.e., 'cleaved' ) 'by the sword of death' (i.e., 'by Time' ) (nanu svargadisukham sakamaih prapyate niskamabhajane tan na syad ity ata aha yeti svamahimani nijanandarupe pi ma bhut na bhavatfty arthah antakasya- sina kalena lulitat khanditad vimanat sa nastfti kim u vaktavyam, JLS, p. 180). Vişnu Purf's remarks indicate essential agreement: "Since in reality the joy of hearing [the Lord's glories] is superior even to liberation, it is proper to speak of it as a goal of life in its own right. Nirvrti means joy.'. .. In Brahman' means 'in the state of liberation.' If that joy is not found even there, it goes without saying that it will not be enjoyed by persons falling from celestial cars' (i.e., from heaven) crushed' (i.e., attacked) by the sword of death (i.e., Time)" (vastutas tu moksad api sravanasukham gartya iti svatah purusarthatvam evaisam yuktam iti / nirvrtin sukham / .. . brahmani moksavasthayam apfty arthan /sa nirvrtir ma bhut na bhavati yadt tada antakah kala evasih khadgas tena lulitad upadrutad vimanat svargadeh patatām jananam tat sukham na bhavatfti kim vacyam iti, Kantimala, BRA, p .. 74). The idea is that neither the celestials nor those merged in Brahman enjoy a bliss as great as that enjoyed by embodied bhaktas.' Cp. BG 9.20-21. 85sadhana, the means to the highest' goal, and not the goal itseIf. See note 42. 86ahaituka, "not of the reasoning kind." Vişnu Purt comments: knowledge,' whose object is the Self; 'not dependent on reasoning,' not requiring proof, not the object of dry argumentation, i.e., Upanişadic knowledge" (jManam atmatattvavisayam ahaitukam hetusunyam suskatarkady- agocaram / aupanisadam ity arthah, Kantimala, BRA, p. 7). He seems again to follow Sridhara, who glosseą: ahaitukam suşkatarkadyagocaram aupanisadam ity arthah, JLS, p. 16.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 471 87phala, literally "fruit, " hence "result, " "end." 88bhajana, "worship" is an abstract neuter noun derived from the same root -- bhaj -- as the word bhakti itself. 89The bhagavatadharmas. See note 30. 90According to Sanskrit grammar, all words come from verbal roots. Thus, as we have already noted above, bhakti is derived from the root bhaj. The word vijnana is from the root jña ("to know") plus the intensive prefix vi -. The meaning of a word may be related to the root in various ways. It may express the basic notion of the verb as an abstract entity, such as "worship" or "knowledge." In such a case the grammarians will explain the meaning by bhava- vyutpatti or abstract derivation such as, in our text, "worship . . . is devotion" (bhajanam . , iti bhaktih). Or the meaning may indicate some activity related to the abstract entity, such as the means to it. To suggest the latter, the grammarians will give the karanavyutpatti or instrumental derivation, e.g., "He is worshiped . . . by this" (bha jyate anayeti). The point is that, just as vijñana/can mean either knowledge or the means to it, so bhakty can mean either devotion or its means, depending upon how it is used. Madhusudana employs the grammarian's method of analysis in order to provide further justification for his position that the term has this two-fold sense. 91That is, the distinction between the two types of devotion. 92A great yogin and devotee, Prabuddha was one of the nine, among Rsabha's 100 sons, who were famed as saints. See BP 11.2.14-23. 93bhaktya sañjataya bhaktya. I use the Literal but awkward translation devotion-generated devotion" in order to retain the word order, which is important for the discussion which follows. 94"Divine creative power," etymologically related to the root ma, "to measure, mete out." Vedanta, Maya is the power that superimposes the real-unreal In Advaita universe of multiplicity upon the formlessness of pure being and veils our awareness of. the ultimate truth of things. It should be obvious from our analysis of Samkara's "levels of being" (chap. 2.3) that Maya, as the source of the empirical world, is not to be translated simply as "illusion." Though Samkara did on occasion use the term in this sense, the 'translation "illusion" actually suggests not so much his own understanding of Maya .but rather that of the later aciocates

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of Advaitic solipsism (drstisrstivada, see chap. 2, note 14), and perhaps also the polemically distorted interpretation of the concept common to Samkara's theistic critics. J. G. Arapura writes: "To treat maya as illusion is to misunderstand it. Truly speaking, it is the cosmic condition of which illusion is the model. All descriptions of maya are given through analogy with human illusory experiences but to identify the terms of the analogy is to mistake its purpose" ("Maya and the Discourse about Brahman," in M. Sprung, ed., Two Truths in Buddhism and Vedānta [Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1973], p. 120). Maya figures in the Sanskrit tradition from the time of the Rg Veda, and the concept as used in Advaita takes over and includes some of its earlier meanings. It is a "wondrous creative power" by which the gods assume many forms; it is a "magic display" which entrahces the soul and causes it to be lost in the repeated cycles of birth and re- birth. Cp. BG 7.14: "This divine Maya of Mine, consisting of the material qualities, is exceedingly difficult to escape; only those who resort to Me overcome this Maya" (daivī hy esā guņamayī mama māyā duratyayā / mām eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te. Since the word has a wide range of meaning that is misrepresented by simplistic translations such as "illusion," and since it has a certain currency now even in the West, I feel justified in leaving it, like "yoga" and 'Brahman," untranslated. See L. Thomas O'Neil, Maya in Samkara: Measuring the Immeasurable (Columbia, Missouri: South Asia Books, 1980), pp. 29-40, 92-94. 95grahana, literally "grasping" -- which is to say, remembering and repeating but, in this stage of Vedic study where mere mechanical repetition is aimed at, not necessarily understanding. Since the English word "grasping" conveys the idea of understanding and makes it difficult to see how one process can be both the means and the end, I use the word "repetition." The student learns to repeat the .Veda by repeating the Veda, in the beginning by imitating the chanting of his teacher. Traditional Indian education places great emphasis on memory and assumes that understanding of what has been memorized will come with time and maturation. Thus, the first step in the study of Sanskrit in the traditional schools is to memorize Panini's grammar. Then only gradually does the student learn what it all means. Consider in this context the following warning issued by the ancient etymologist Yaska: "He is the bearer of a burden only -- the blockhead who, having studied, does not know the meaning of the Veda. . Whatever is learnt

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 473 without its being understood is called mere cramming; like dry logs of wood on anextinguished fire, it can never illuminate" (Nirukta 1.17, trans. L. Sarup, p. 18). 96That is, a state in which the devotee stops performing sadhana and enjoys its result. 97Krsna, who in reality is free from birth as the unborn, undying Brahman. 98Devotion as end (sadhyabhakti) is the full realization of the bliss of God, and is therefore distinct "from devotion as means (sadhanabhakti), which consists primarily of the bhagavatadharmas. 99BP 6.1.15, already quoted at the beginning of sec. 100The question of the direct (drsta, literally "seen") and indirect (adrsta, "unseen") rewards of bhakti is discussed at BR 2.44-50 (JSP, pp. 168-171). Madhusūdana defines a direct reward as one that is attained in this present body (vartamanatanuprapya) and an indirect reward as one to be enjoyed in a future body (bhavidehopabhogya). The indirect rewards of bhakti include religious merit (punya) and (as in BP 6.1.15, quoted above) the destruction of sin, both of which generate salutary experiences in a future life -- either on earth or a celestial paradise -- for those devotees who do not secure liberation in the present body. For the jivanmuktas, however, there are only the direct rewards, chief among which is the manifestation of bliss (sukhavyakti). 101"The inquiry (mImamsa) into the earlier (pūrva) portion of the Veda," the system of thought formulated by Jaimini in his Purvamimamsasutras. Jaimini's system deals primarily with interpretation of the samhita and brahmana sections of the Veda, the primary aim of this exegesis being the determination of correct ritual practice. 102"The inquiry into the latter (uttara) portion," the Vedanta system, based on the BS of Badarayana, which is concerned with interpretation of the Upanisads, the final sections of the Veda. The purva- and uttara-miamsas may also be understood as the "earlier" and later inquiries, since some thinkers (e.g., Ramanuja) believe that the study of the ritual texts must precede the study of the Vedanta. 103prfti, "love," roughly synonymous with preman in Vaișnava thought.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 474

104This section of the BS teaches that works lead to knowledge. See Radhakrishnan, The Brahma Sutra, pp. 517- 518.

105 :. into devotion as if it were a new topic. 106 svarupasādhanaphaladhikarivailaksanyat, "because of differences of nature (svarupa), means (sadhana), end (phala), and qualified persons (adhikarin)." 107savikalpakavrtti, see chap. 5.6-7. 108nirvikalpakavrtti, see chap. 5.6-7. 109For Sanskrit, see chap. 5.7, note 59. Hearing (sravana) is the first element of the nine-fold devotion of BP 7.5.22-23. (See notes 30 and 291, pt. IV.) The most important composition to be heard by the devotee is, of course, the BP. On this, see chap. 5.7 and note 237, below. 110See BP 11.12.8-9, quoted in note 291, pt. I. lllparamahamsaparivrājikas. A parivrajaka is, literally, a "wanderer, a wandering religious mendicant." The term perhaps owes its currency to the oft-cited text, BU 4.4.22: "Seeking this realm [of the Self], mendicant Brahmins wander forth" (etam eva pravrājino lokam icchanto brahmanah pravrajanti). It is used to designate a renunciate who has left the ties of family life and social duty to seek salvation. Among samnyasins, the itinerant life is held in high esteem as a means of avoiding social and other attachments. The higher orders of samnyasins, especially the paramahamsas, were traditionally subject to severe restrictions as to the amount of time they could settle in any one location: in some cases only one night in a given place was allowed. Paramahamsa means "supreme swan." In the Hindu tradition, liberated saints are likened to swans or geese, who are free to range at will through the sky, on the earth, or across the water. (See BP 10.87.21, quoted in sec. XXIV.) In particular, the reference is to the wild geese that are said to fly at altitudes as high as 35,000 feet and thus be able to soar over the Himalayas to quench their thirst in the sacred Manasa lake on Mount Kailasa. The vehicle-mascot (vahana) of Brahma, the creator, is one such hamsa. It is reputed to have the power of separating out and drinking only the milk from a mixture of milk and water, becoming thus a symbol of spiritual discrimination. The word hamsa is also associated with the sacred syllables so'ham ("I am He") chanted by renunciates who wish to realize their identity with the absolute (John S. Hawley, At

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 475

Play with Krsna [Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985], p. 290, note 25; Paramahamsa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi [11th ed .; Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship Publishers, 1979], p. 460). According to Vidyaranya's JTvanmuktiviveka, there are four orders of renunciates (samnyasins). The kutIcaka, who resides in a secluded hermitage and the bahudaka, who. wanders from place to place, have "sharp detachment," the "firm resolve of the intellect not to have a child, wife, or wealth in this life." The hamsa and the paramahamsa, however, have a "sharper detachment," expressed in the following terms: "For me the whole of this world, whirling through the cycle of rebirths, shall never be." The hamsa attains liberating knowledge in brahmaloka, but the paramahamsa in this very life. Paramahamsa is thus the religious title of the highest order of samnyasins (S. Subrahmanya Sastri and T. R. Srinivasa Ayyangar, ed. and trans., The Jivanmuktiviveka of Vidyaranya [Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1935], pp. 2, 176-178; Kane, II, 938-942). For Samkara's specification of the paramahamsa,as the ideal adhikārin, see chap. 2.5.5 and 2.5.8 (note 83). The point of all this is, again, that the qualifications for. engaging in the study of Advaita are very high indeed (see next note). Also worthy of contemplation is the fact that, in the colophons of his works, Madhusudana consistently identifies himself as a paramahamsaparivrajika. XXX, below, and note 294 thereon. See sec.

112sadhanacatusaya, the "four-fold means [to knowledgel" consisting of: (1) discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal (nityānityavastuviveka); (2) absence of desire for the enjoyment of the results of one's actions both in this world and the next (ihamutraphala- bhogavairagya); (3) the six endowments (samadamadi- satkasampati, namely, tranquillity (sama), self-Control (dama), withdrawal (uparati) from the pursuit of sense objects and the performance of prescribed rituals, patience (titiksa), concentration (samadhana), and faith (sraddha); and (4) the desire for liberation (mumuksutva). Possession of the "four-fold means" is the most essential qualification for the study of Vedanta. This subject is discussed at BS 3.4.27, which makes reference to BU 4.4.23. The Upanisad declares: "Therefore he who knows thus, having become tranquil (santa), self-controlled (danta), withdrawn (uparata), patient (titiksu), and concentrated (samahita), sees the Self in himself and sees all in the Self (tasmad evamvit, santo danto uparatas titiksuh samahito bhutva, atmany evatmanam pasyati sarvam atmanam pasyati). See BSSB 1.1.1 (Th I, 12), 3.4.27 (Th II, 309); Vedantasara 15-26, (Nikhilananda, pp. 9-14); and chap. 2.5.5., above.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 476 113The argument will show that one. thing, such as good deeds, can be a means to more than one end. Since they are conducive to purity of mind, good works can be a factor in any of these results. 1141 have not been able to find the source of these precise quotations, but similar expressions are common in the Brahmanas and the literature of the Pūrva Mīmāmsa. 115The samyogaprthaktvanyaya. Writers on Vedānta often seek to substantiate their arguments-by reference to rules of interpretation established by the Purva Mimansā. This, is such a case, based on PūrvamImamsasutra 4.3.5-7 and the Sabarabhasya-thereon. The ritual texts prescribe the offering of a single substance in two different types of sacrifices, each leading to different results. According)to the maxim of separate connection, the relation of the substance with its result in one case is quite distinct from that in the other, because the injunctions prescribing the acts are themselves distinct and separate. Hence the relation between a good deed (in this case the new or full moon sacrifice) and the result (heaven) .mentioned in one injunction will be an entirely separate affair from its relation to a result (the desire for knowledge) specified in another text. The same will apply to any connection between good deeds and results, such as devotion or the knowledge of' Brahman, that may be mentioned in other texts. So a single means may lead to different results, and the fact of having common means, such as good works, does not necessitate that any two results be identical. See Pandit Mohanlal Sandal, trans., The Mimamsa Sutras of JaiminI, Vol. XXVI of the Sacred Books of the Hindus (Allahabad: The Panini Office, 1923-25). pp. 228-229. 116See BSSB 3.4.26. l17There would be atiprasanga ("undesired consequences"). All things, for example, that happened to have clay as a common cause would have to be identical. The simple distinction between the clay pot and the clay doll would require special explanation. 118parinativirasena, literally "tasteless (without delight or disagreeable) in the end," because they lead to pain. This is a common estimation of all sense-pleasures in the ascetic spirituality of Advaita Vedanta. Compare this with the Buddhist teaching "All is suffering" (sarvam duhkham). Even the joys of heaven (svarga) are not much valued in the impersonalist traditions of India because such celestial "pleasures," like everything else in the realm of phenomenality, are ultimately perishable, contingent, and therefore painful.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 477

119That is, the sentiments recognized by the classical aestheticians. See chap. 6.2. 120See note 100. The discussion at BR 2.44-50 does not refer to the secular rasas at all. We can only assume the idea to be that the effects of the experience of worldly sentiments are immediate only while some of the effects of devotion (such as the acquisition of spiritual merit and release from sin) are not realized immediately but only in a future birth. Note that in both the secular rasas and in bhakti there is the manifestation of bliss. .In bhakti, .however, the bliss is much greater. For additional discussion of the difference between devotion and the sentiments of the aestheticians, see sec. XVIII, especially the commentary on stanza 13, and chap. 6.5. 121As explained above in note 112, the desire for liberation (mumuksutva) is one of the "four-fold means" and is regarded as an essential prerequisite for undertaking the study of Vedanta. 122gatyam, bhakti sukhasaktan prati anarambhat. And perhaps the devotee does not wish to study Vedanta, because he or she is caught up in the bliss and emotion of bhakti and finds the thought of intellectual inquiry dry and uninviting. The anti-intellectualism of many devotional sects is well known. 123bhajanIyasvarUpanirnayārtham bhaktānam api tadvicarasya vašyakatvac ca. Although its precise meaning is difficult to determine with certainty, this phrase may be an important indication of Madhusudana's understanding of the value of Vedantic discipline for the bhakta. See note 291, sec. VI. "Object of worship" is my translation of bhajanIya, "that which should be worshiped." Cp. SBS 85: "This [world] is not different from the object of devotion 194). [namely, God]" (bhajanIyenadvitIyam idam, Harshananda, p. 124jīvanmuktānām api, see chaps. 5.8 and 8.1. 125urukrama, "the wide strider," a reference to the myth of Visnu's incarnation as Vamana ("the dwarf"), in which he shows his prowess by encompassing the entire universe in three steps. See BP 8.18-23. 126on this verse, which figures importantly in the Krsnaite tradition, see chaps. 3.2, 5.8, and especially 9.3:1 (note 21).

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 478 127In stanza 1 and the commentary thereon, he has already stated that the purpose of the work is, to "bring contentment to everyone" (akhilatustyai). See note 9 128For a discussion of the play on words.involved in the title Bhaktirasayana, see chap. 5.2. 129See chap. 5.4. for a discussion of this section and its implications. 130bhagavadgunasravana, "the hearing of the Lord's glories." Again, this is the first emdment of the nine-fold devotion of BP 7.5.23-24. See note 30 and chap. 5.7. 131The son of Damaghosa, King of Chedi, Sisupala was Krsna's cousin. He became Krsna's relentless enemy after the latter abducted his betrothed, Rukmini, and married her (BP 10.53-54). Sisupala's intense hatred caused his mind to be fixed so constantly on his divine cousin that, after his death at Krsna's hand, he attained salvation (BP 10.74). The story of Kamsa, the wicked King of Mathura, is similar. His fear of Krsna, whom he had been told was to be his death, was so strong that his mind was continually occupied with thought of him. For this reason, Kamsa, like Sisupala, attained salvation after the final encounter with his foe (BP 10.44). Though MadhusOdana here seems to admit Sisupala and the like as bhaktas, he later disqualifies them. In chapter 2 of the BR he stipulates that bhaktirasa must be based on love (see note 136), and at GAD 7.16 he writes: "But Kamsa and Sisupala, even though they were constantly intent on thought of God out of fear and hate, were not bhaktas, because they did not have love for Him" (kamsasisupālayas tu bhayad dvesac ca satatabhagavac- cintapara api na bhaktah bhagavadanurakter abhavat, Pan, p. 363). 132vrtti. For an explanation of the process of cognition by means of mental modification (vrttijñana), see stanza.24 and the commentary thereon. 133avichinnā. 134. . . mentioned in stanza 2. 135tāpaka. 136At BR 2.2-28, Madhusudana explains that the various "heating agents" produce different qualities of "melting." These arouse different permanent emotions and a corresponding variety of sentiments. For example, desire produces two different kinds of permanent emotions, love in

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 479 union (sambhogarati) and love in separation (viprayogarati), depending upon whether its object is present or absent. Affection (sneha) is either paternal or fraternal, leading to the permanent emotions of paternal love (vatsalarati) or fraternal love (preyorati). In a similar way, Madhusudana assigns various permanent emotions and sentiments to each of the heating agents, arriving at an involed list of seventeen of each. (For a summary, see Gupta, p. 220-223). Not all of these, however, may become sentiments of devotion, but only those that are directed toward the Lord and are not opposed to the feeling of love (prIti) (BR 2.27, 30; JSP, pp. 159-160). Eliminating those which do not so qualify, there remain the nine devotional sentiments and suddha (the "pure") bhakti, to which Madhusudana alludes in the first stanza. (See note 12 for a list and discussion.) The important point in all of this is that the experience of devotion varies according to the emotional nature of the individual and the mode in which he or she approaches God. Thus the milkmaids of Krsna's village experienced an erotically. tinged devotion, their minds being melted by lust (kama). The devotion of Yasoda, Krsna's mother, is colored by her parental love, and her mind is melted by affection (sneha). Sisupala's melting is due to his anger (krodha), while Kamsa's is due to fear. Since 5 anger and fear are opposed to love (pritivirodhena), the last two individuals do not experience bhakti (BR 2.29-30; JSP, pp. 159-160; see note 131). Sanaka and other saints, whose minds are melted merely by contemplating the Lord's wondrous majesty (mahiman), experienced devotion in its pure form, untouched by any extraneous sentiments (BR 2.12-13, 64-65, 73; JSP pp. 150, 179, 183). See chap. 6.5. This kind of thinking is based on BP 7.1.25-30 and 10.29.15, to which the reader is referred for fuller understanding. 137All of the terms listed are roughly synonymous in this context. Madhusudana nevertheless chooses to use vasana consistently in the subsequent discussion. 138na tu vinasyata jñānena janitas tārkikādi- arikalpita atmaguna ity arthah. The Nyaya realist rejects the identification of knowledge and consciousness common to Samkhya-Yoga and Vedanta. He regards consciousness as an adventitious property of the soul and knowledge as the simple "awareness of an object" (arthagrahana). is for him more appropriately translated as "cognition." Hence jnana As such, it generates an impression but is itself a momentary experience since, if it continued to exist, it would remain present as an object of perception, and memory would not be needed (Nyayasutras 3.2.42-44; Gangopadhyaya, Nyaya-Sutra, pp. 254-257). The Nyaya differs further from Samkhya-Yoga and Vedanta in its doctrine that the impressions (samskāra

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 480 or bhavana) generated by such cognition are properties or qualities (guna) that inhere in the soul (atman), which is conceived of as a substance (dravya). (See Potter, Indian Metaphysics and Epistemology [Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977], pp. 112-127.) Madhusudana here, in passing, rejects both of these notions. For the Advaitin knowledge is eternal, being identical with Consciousness (caitanya, see chap. 5.7). Moreover, and perhaps more important in the present connection, the samskāra resides not in the atman, which of course has no qualities, but in the mind (citta). Advaita here adopts the view of Yoga. According to the Vyasabhasya on YS 2.13: "This mind (citta) -- which is filled from beginningless time with impressions (vasana) produced by the experience of afflictions, actions, and consequences -- is variegated like a fishnet covered with knots" (klesakarmavipakanubhavanirvartitābhis tu vasanabhir anādikālasammurcchitam idam cittam vicitrikrtam iva sarvato matsyajalam granthibhir ivatatam). In the same passage, Vyasa suggests that vasana and samskara are identical (Bangali Baba, Yogasutra of Patahjali with commentary of Vyāsa [Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976], p. 38). The rasa theory also regards the sthayibhava as a samskāra or vasana residing in the mind (De, Sanskrit Poetics, I, 133-134, note 40): Thus the two terms are widely accepted in the tradition as designations of a permanent mental impression derived from experience. Madhusūdana's special contribution here is the conception of a vāsana or samskāra produced, not by ordinary empirical cognition, but by the manifestation in the mind of the form of bhagavat. This notion has a parallel in Bengal Vaişnava rasa-theory. See my discussion of Madhusudana's notion of sthayibhava in note 153. 139vasana, "permanent impression." 140 . as a true permanent impression because of the melted condition of the mind at the time of entry . . . 141This classification, based on BP 11.2.45-47, is also utilized by JIva Gosvāmin (Dasgupta, IV, 422). 142gamagrI, literally "equipment." 143prakrta. #4prakrti. 145pranaya. 146anurāga.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 481 147 gneha .. 148pranaya. 149pranaya. 150It is not seen as either real or false, i.e., it is not seen at all. 151The text reads: napasyam ubhayam mune. (JLS, P. .26) glosses ubhayam atmanam param ca -- "neither ŚrIdhara myself nor the Supreme -- but Madhusudana seems to want to give the verse, out of context, an ad hoc interpretation of his own. See previous note. 152gthayf. 153That is, Madhusudana intends the second and more literal of the two meanings discussed at chap. 6.2. While sthayibhava is commonly used by the rhetoricians in the sense of the "dominant" or "prevailing" mood of a literary piece, it is also understood to refer to a "permanent" or "abiding" state of mind. (Sthayin comes from the root stha, "to stand, remain.") As a samskara or vasana, the sthayi- bhava is said to be a permanent aspect of consciousness. In Madhusudana's theory of devotion, however, and that of the Gosvamins, the sthayibhava of bhaktirasa is not acquired through empirical experience, as are the permanent emotions of the secular aestheticians. Rather, it is innate in the mind as either the form of the Lord or, in the Bengal school, an aspect of the divine sarupasakti. It is therefore permanent in a more protound, metaphysical sense. The sthavibhava of bhaktirasa never actually "enters" the mind, since it has always been there. See sec. XXIII; chaps. 4.3.6, 5.5, 6.5. 154Because the object is hever released from the mind. See stanza 8. 155The spectator's identification with the events and emotions of the play leads to self-transcendence and a blissful state of awareness. See Masson and Patwardan, Aesthetic Rapture, I, 33. For explanations of the technical terms, see notes 47-49. 156The author of the Natyasastra. See chap. 6.2. 157Madhusudana wants to show that devotion is a true sentiment. But a sentiment develops only from a permanent emotion and must involve the apprehension of bliss, so he must show that devotion arises from legitimate permanent

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 482 emotion that is blissful. For this role he nominates the form of the Lord as reflected in the melted mind. 158For discussion of this section and'its implications, see chaps. 5.5 and 6.5 159The permanent emotion is a reflection of either . the Lord, who is the supreme bliss, or an object, which is the supreme bliss limited by adjuncts. This idea is developed immediately below. 160Actually, as Madhusudana demonstrates in sec. XXIII, the form of the Lord is innate in the mind; so it 153. never really enters, but only becomes manifest. See note 161pratibimba. 162bimba. 163upadhi. 164Because, as Madhusudana well knows, the pratibimbavāda explicitly emphasizes the identity of the Lord (isvara) and the individual soul (jIva), the Lord's reflection, I cannot accept this disclaimer as the author's final opinion. According to the reflection theory, the permanent emotion, the form of the Lord reflected in the mind, must ultimately be identical with the primary objective cause (alambanavibhava), the Lord himself, who is the original. Later writers of the Vallabha sampradāya criticise this very theory on the grounds that it would make bhakti identical with God. See chap. 5.5, note 27. 165grhgara. 166According to the Advaita, Maya is said to have two powers or saktis: viksepa ("projection") and āvārana ("concealment"). The power of projection creates the world of names and forms and the power of concealment veils the true nature of reality. As Vidyaranya says at PD 6.26 and 33: "Ignorance appears as twofold with the forms of projection and concealment. Concealment produces [such ideas as], `the Immovable [Brahman] does not appear; [therefore] It does not exist.' . Mind and the two bodies [gross and subtle] are superimposed on the Immovable, like silver on mother-of-pearl, when It has been concealed by ignorance. This superimposition is called projection" (viksepāvrtirūpābhyām dvidhā 'vidyā vyavasthitā / na bhati nāsti kutastha ity apādanam avrtih IT :. . avidyavrtakutasthe dehadvayayuta

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citiņ / suktau rūpyavad adhyastā viksepādhyāsa eva hi (Swahananda, pp. 134, 137) .- When a person attains enlightenment, the concealing power of May& is broken. Even though the individual may continue to experience the world of names and forms, it no longer deludes him. As long, however, as the body remains alive and action continues, the endightened saint yet remains under the influence of the power of projection (PD 6.53; Swahananda, p. 144). 167That is, Brabman or caitanya, the cause. 168Srtdhara glosses: "A thing that, because it is something indefinable, is perceived in the absence of the thing (i.e., without reality) in the Self which is its support, and one that is not perceived, even though it exists -- know these to be [caused by] my Maya. Like a false appearance,' such as seeing two moons [on account of double vision] -- this is the illustration of cognition in the absence of an object. Like darkness' is the illustration of non- 4 cognition of an existing object, For example, the planet Rahu, though present among the other planets, is not seen because it is dark" (rte artham vinapi vāstavam artham yad yatah kimapi aniruktam atmany adhisthane pratiyeta sad api ca na pratiyeta, tat atmano mama māyān vidyat / yatha abhaso dvicandradir ity artham vina pratitau drstantah / yatha tama iti sato pratitau / tamo rahur yatha grahamandale sthito pi na drsyate tatha, JLS, p. 82). 169mana. 170Most Indian thinkers -- with the exception of the Jainas, the Vaisesikas, and some Vedantins (such as Madhva) -- deny that memory (smrti) is a valid means of knowledge. Novelty is regarded as an essential characteristic of genuine knowledge; the latter must be new, not previously acquired (anadhigata). This requirement disqualifies memory, which necessarily reveals only that which has been known before. See. Chatterjee, The Nyaya Theory of Knowledge (Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1965), p. 371ff .; Datta, The Six Ways of Knowing (Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1972), pp. 22-23; and especially Sinha, Indian Epistemology of Perception (Calcutta: Sinha Publishing House Private, Ltd., 1969), chap. 10. 171caitanya. Since this word is in Advaita synonymous with Brahman, and as such designates the ultimate reality, I capitalize it in translation, as "Consciousness."

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 484 172According to the epistemology of Advaita, the. object itself is never perceived. It is Consciousness, as limited by the objects, that is revealed by the vrtti. And it is Consciousness, as limited by the vrtti, that does the revealing. Knowledge and ignorance relate only to the real, i.e., to Consciousness. Objects, which are neither real or unreal (sadasadvilaksana), are strictly speaking neither . known or unknown. P. Granoff discusses this doctrine, summarizing Vimuktatman's demonstration (at Istasiddhi 1.125, 137) of the unknowability of the object, as follows: "The purpose of knowledge is to remove ignorance, avidya; avidya, in turn, functions to obscure awareness. Since that which has no awareness or sentience needs no further obscuration, avidya cannot be associated with any jadavastu [insentient object]. This makes knowledge of the insentient impossible. Only the soul as obscured by ignorance is really "drsya" [perceivable] or "prameya" [knowable], etc. (Philosophy and Argument in Late Vedanta [Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1978], p. 253, n. 170). I am indebted to Prof. Granoff for my understanding of this point. 173An immediate realization of Consciousness in its unconditioned form would result in instant liberation (sadyomukti), but not so the perception of the same consciousness as limited by objects. In the latter case, the mental modification (vrtti) does not eradicate the ignorance obscuring the object-delimited Consciousness (visayavacchinnacaitanya). Rather, the ignorance is temporarily "overpowered" (abhibhuta) or suppressed by the vrtti, just as a magic gem temporarily suppresses the burning power of fire. When the vrtti is withdrawn, obscuration sets in again. This is the explanation given by Madhusudana in the SB (Divanji, pp. 35-36, 238). See also Gupta, pp. 155-156. 174To say that Consciousness is self-luminous (svaprakaa) means that it shines by itself and is not the object of any means of knowledge. While manifesting everything, it cannot itself be manifested by anything else. But this claim is made only for Consciousness that is unlimited (anavacchinna). When it is limited by objects, it may become the object of a means of knowledge. The self- Auminosity of unlimited Consciousness is not compromised, hbwever, by the fact that limited consciousness can thus be manifested by something other than itself. I am indebted to Prof. Granoff for my understanding of this point. 175At BR 2.74-79 (JSP, pp. 183-185), Madhusūdana again emphasizes the superiority of the sentiment of

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 485 devotion to those based on ordinary worldly emotions. Its excellence, relative to the rasas of the aestheticians, is like the light of the sun compared to that of a firefly (BR 2.77). See chap. 6.5. 176 One of the six orthodox systems of Hindu philosophy, the Samkhya is based upon an dichotomy between spirit and matter. There are a multiplicity of spirit- monads (purusas), which, prior to moksa, are caught up in bondage through association with matter (prakrti). Matter in its primal state is composed of the three material "qualities" (gunas) in undifferentiated equilibrium; when this equilibrium is disturbed, primal matter begins to unfold in various directions, manifesting the universe. Everything except pure spirit is a product of primal matter. This includes mind as well as physical objects. All things, therefore, derive their individual characteristics from. the material qualities, which produce them by combining in varying proportions. Patañjali's Yoga, regarded by the tradition as the sister system of Samkhya, accepts the ontology of the latter almost completely, making only a few changes such as the addition of its own concept of Isvara, a sort of eternally liberated puruga. radically in many The Advaita Vedanta, though differing y respects the multij to its influence. Collapse from the samkhya, Gf purusas into also owes much one atman, for example, and reduce prakrti to a real-unreal Maya which is dependent upon the ätman, and one begins to come very close to the non-dualist metaphysic. Advaita has botrowed the guna doctrine from the Samkhya and much of its psychology as well. Therefore, as Madhusudana expounds the rasa theory from the point of view of that system, he can find himself in agreement with much of what is said, excepting of course such items as the criticism of the Advaita doctrine of Brahman (commentary on stanza 15) and the minor point about the composition of the mind (commentary on stanza 20). 177The gunas, literally "strands" or "qualities, " are the three basic factors that make up (prakrti), primal matter. They pervade creation, the evolute of prakrti, in all its aspects, mental and physical. The principle of creativity and luminosity is sattva, the "luminous quality"; tho principle of activity and passion is rajas, the "active quality"; and that of destruction and inertia is tamas, the "inert quality." As specified in the text, a predominance of these in the mind is associated, respectively, with the manifestation therein of happiness (sukha), suffering (duhkha), or delusion (moha). Each of the terms sattva, rajas, and tamas has an extraordinarily wide range of meaning, so the reader is asked to be aware of the

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 486 limitations of the translations and regard them asf suggestive rather than exhaustive. The term guna in this technical usage does not, of course, intend "quality" in the sense of an attribute of a substance. If anything, gunas are factors which combine to make up substances. Thfs ambiguity, however, is present in the original Sanskrit, and as "quality" is in common use as a translation, I have elected to use it with the foregoing cautions. For the 12-15. classical presentation of the guna theory, see Samkhyakarika. 178prakrti. 179vyabhicāra. 180The Nyaya logician might argue that things may have a similar nature without sharing a common material cause. This would involve the acceptance of a universal such as, for example, "potness." Utilizing such a notion, the pots filling a shop could be understood to have the same nature even though they might not all have the same material cause. Some might be made of clay, but others of brass or copper. But an admission like this would constitute a "fault in inference" (vyabhicara) in view of the rule, just enunciated by the Samkhya, that "all things that are seen to share a certain nature have a common material cause of that nature." The alleged fault is that the sadhana ("minor premise") -- having a particular nature, in this case "potness," in common -- is perceived without the sadhya ("conclusion"), the state of having a common material cause. But, as Madhusūdana points out, Samkhya does not admit universals of this type, so there is no such difficulty. I am indebted to Prof. Granoff for my understanding of this point. 18lparamanus. These impartite "atoms" are the ultimate constituents of the universe according to the pluralistic Nyaya-Vaiseşika' system. 182God must be one, otherwise creation would be impossible owing to the conflict of separate wills. 183The Samkhya believes that this is required by the Vedantin's theory. 184The different mental impressions serve to color their experience differently. 185The reference is presumably to Kumarila Bhatța, a leading exponent of the Pūrva Mimamsa system. The idea expressed in the verse is set forth in Kumarila's Sloka-

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varttika (sūnyavada, verses 59 and 215), but not in the same Sarvasiddhantasamgraha of Samkara (ed. M. Rangacarya, words. The exact quotation appears on p. 12, verse 7 of the Madras, 1909) and in the Sarvadarsanasamgraha of Madhava,in the section dealing with Buddhist doctrine (personal communication, Sri K. Venugopalan, Dictionary Department, Deccan College/ Poona). The verse, in fact, appears frequently in Buddhist sources (P. Granoff, personal communication). 186At BR 2 74-79 (JSP, pp. 183-185). 187The followers of Prabhakara, author of the BrhatI, a commentary on the Sabarabhasya. The Prabhakaras were one of the two main schools of the Purva MImamsa, the other being that founded by Kumarila Bhatta. 188According to the Purva MImamsa, the mind is all- pervading (vibhu) -- i.e., omnipresent -- functioning as a sense-organ by virtue of the limiting adjunct of the body. See Narayana's Manameyodaya 1.2.5, 2.2.124-129 (ed. and trans. C. K. Raja and S. S. Suryanarayana Sastri [Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1933], pp. 10-11, 214-218); also G. Bhatt, Epistemology of the Bhatta School of Purva MTmamsa (Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1962), pp. 168-173. 189According to the Buddhist doctrine of momentariness (ksanikavada), nothing exists for more than one moment. Things come into existence at one moment and are destroyed at the next. Entities which to the ordinary observer appear to possess .permanence, are in fact nothing but a series of momentary existences, each causally determining its successor and thus creating an illusion of continuity. The mind also is nothing but a series of momentary cognitions linked together in a causal relationship. See Dasgupta, I, 158-162. 190That is, it is neither atomic nor all-pervading. 191This is a reference to the view held by the Naiyayikas and the Mamamsakas that the sense of hearing is identical with the ether (akasa), which they hold to be all- pervading and eternal, as limited by the "ear-orifice" of a particular individual. The ether, though omnipresent, is not able to apprehend all sounds when thus associated with the ear because it is restricted by the limitations of the individual psycho-physical organism. See Sinha, Indian Psychology: Perception, p. 13. 192Madhusudana here rejects the doctrine of the

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Nyaya and the Mimamsa that the ether (akasa) is eternal. According to the Advaita Vedanta, the ether is a product of Maya and must therefore be non-eternal. 193Here the opponent's identification of the ether and the sense of hearing is implicitly rejected. The auditory faculty is, for the Vedantin, a product or derivative of the ether. 194The original inference is as follows: "The mind is of medium size because it is a sense organ like the eye." The opponent objects that the fact that something is a sense organ does not necessarily prove that it is of medium size, for the faculty of hearing is a sense organ, but it is not of medium size. Rather it is all-pervading. Against this objection Madhusudana argues that the auditory sense is/a non-eternal product of the ether and that, being a product, it cannot be all-pervading. 195vyapti. 196According to the Vedanta, the MImamsa, and the Nyaya, each of the various sense qualities is associated with a particular one of the five elements, of which it is considered to be the essence. Thus the quality of smell belongs to earth, taste to water, color to fire, touch to air, and sound to ether. The affinity that a sense has for the particular quality it apprehends is due to the fact that each sense is produced from the element which possesses that quality. It is a case, as Bhatt (p. 164) suggests, of "like apprehending like." The eye has an affinity for color because it is produced from the element fire, which has color as its quality. Being "fiery," it is naturally capable of apprehending the fiery quality. Similarly, the sense of smell, which perceives the earthy quality, is derived from earth, and so on in respect of the other senses. In the Nyaya and the Mimamsa, however, the organ of hearing is not a product of the ether but rather identical with it (note 191). The Samkhyas hold a completely different view. The senses, they say, are evolutes of the ego-principle (ahamkara) and not products of the elements. They are thus psychic (ahamkarika) in nature rather than strictly physical (bhautika). See Bhatt, p. 164ff .; also Chatterjee, p. 133ff. Note that the argument which follows in the text is aimed at showing that the mind is a composite entity and, hence, capable of melting. 197The Vedanta holds that the mind is one of the senses, a product of not one but all of the elements in combination. For the Nyaya, however, the mind is an

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independent principle. As an atom, it is ultimate and impartite. Rather than being a product of something else, it is one of the nine independent, eternal substances (dravya), along with the five elements, time, space, and .soul. 198That is, it is a composite formed from the five elements in the pure, subtle form in which they exist before each of the five elements is alloyed with fractions of the other four in the process of "making five-fold" (panci- kaiana), which precedes production of material creation. This is the view of Advaita. 199The nature of the luminous quality (sattvaguna) has been briefly described in note 177. It is the principle associated with clarity, intelligence, happiness, and tranquillity. Although each of the gunas is present in every aspect of creation, they appear in different proportions in different situations. Mind has a predominance of sattva; stones, of tamas, the principle of inertia and ignorance. 200The Naiyayika bases his doctrine that the mind is atomic on his belief in the impossibility of the occurrence of simultaneous cognitions. At Nyaya Sutra 1.1.16 we read: "The non-occurrence of simultaneous cognitions is the grounds for [the inference of] the mind" (yugapaj- jhananutpattir manaso lingam, Gangopadhyaya, Nyaya-Sutra, p. 424). Although the several senses are more or less: constantly in contact with their various objects, simultaneous cognitions do not occur. Therefore there must be some other factor necessary for perception over and above the contact of the senses with their pbjects. The mind is said to be an "extra auxiliary cause" (sahakārinimittāntara) in this respect, and contact of the mind with the senses is taken as the necessary additional factor in perception. follows, moreover, that the mind must be atomic in size It because otherwise it could be in contact with more than one sense organ at the same time, simultaneous cognitions being the result. To the objection that we often do have the impression of experiencing different cognitions through different senses at the same time, the Naiyayika would respond that this feeling is only an illusion created by the mind's capacity for extremely rapid movement. This ability enables it to have contact with several sense organs in quick succession. The Vedantins would agree with the Naiyayikas only to the extent of admitting that it is impossible to have more than one cognition at a time through one sense. For them, as we shall see, the mind is of sch a size and, being partite, is in possession of sufficient flexibility, as to

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 490 be in contact with two or more different sense organs * simultaneously. See Chattopadhyaya and Gangopadhyaya, pp. 81-82; and Tarkasamgraha (ed. Athalye and Bodas), pp. 147- 148. 201The main function of the mind, according to the Nyaya, is to provide a link between the soul (atman) and the sense organs. Conjunction between the soul and the mind (atmamanahsamyoga) is postulated as a necessary condition for perception. As the soul is said to be all pervading, however, it would seem that the mind must be unable to avoid contact with it, and that the connection between the soul and the mind must therefore be eternal. If this is the. case, it becomes difficult to account for the phenomenon of deep sleep, where there is no perception and, hence, an apparent disjunction of the soul and the mind. To avoid this difficulty, the Naiyayikas assert that in sleep the mind enters a particular vein, the puritat, situated near the heart. When it does so, they say, its conjunction with the soul ceases. But this solution is not really satisfactory, for if the soul is truly all-pervading, it must be present in the purftat as well as everywhere else. So a further requirement for perception is stipulated, namely, contact of the mind winh the skin. declared that there is no skin in the purItat, so that the It is then contact of the mind with the skin is suspended when the mind enters therein. See Tarkasamgraha (ed. Athalye and Bodas), pp. 147-148. 202Sugar sitting on the tongue would be, according to the Vedantin, simultaneously perceived by both taste and touch. The Naiyayika is in trouble here, for the doctrine that the conjunction of the skin and the mind is necessary for perception goes against the notion of the impossibility of simultaneous cognitions and undermines the argument for the atomicity of the mind. It appears that this doctrine was not well thought out but invented ad hoc to avoid the difficulties regarding the relationship of soul and mind stated above. 2031 have not been able to find any reference to the Buddhist theory of mind in this text, a treatise in which Madhusudana attempts to set forth the true nature of liberation and refute the views of other schools. Divanji notes that, of the at least eleven references to the VKL that can be found in Madhusudana's other writings, few can actually be traced in the present printed editions of the work. For this and other reasons he concludes that the text as we now have it is incomplete. See Divanji, p. v; R. D. Karmarkar, ed., Vedāntakalpalatikā (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1962).

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204ahamkara. 205UpadesasahasrI 14.3. 206This explanatory phrase may be the interpolation of some overzealous copyist or perhaps the mistaken incorporation into the text of what was originally a reader's marginal note. In the verse the copper, already melted,'is poured into the musa, the form of which it assumes. The musa must therefore be the mold- itself, not the crucible (putapakayantra) in which the copper is melted. 207See sec. XIII. 208UpadesasahasrI 14.4. 209The bhagavatpujyapada, i.e., Samkara. 210Suresvara (seventh century), disciple of Samkara and author of the Vartikas or versified glosses on his Upanisads. teacher's commentaries on the Brhadaranyaka and Taitiriya 211Brhadaranyakopanisadvartika 1.2.103. In the process of knowing, the one universal Consciousness appears in the three forms described in this stanza. The first is the knower (matr), which is Consciousness limited by the mind (antahkaranavacchinnacaitantya). The second is the object of knowledge (meya), which is Consciousness limited by the object (visayavacchinnacaitanya). Consciousness limited by the modification (vrtti) of the mind (antahkaranavrttyavacchinnacaItantya) is the third, called the means of knowledge (mana). The function of the mental modification is to create a connection between the subject- Consciousness and the object-Consciousness and to temporarily suppress the veil of Ignorance which obscures the latter.' (See stanza 12 and its commentary, with notes.) The vrtti accomplishes this by the process, clearly described in the text, of flowing out and assuming the form of the object. For further details see SB (ed. Divanji), pp. 32-36, 235-238; Sinha, pp. 128-139. 212mana. 213vrttijñana. 214cidacidgranthirupa, "a composite of consciousness and unconsciousness. The mind is a product of the five elements (bhautika) and, hence, unconscious (jada). Its consciousness is derived from caitanya, which is refected in it.

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215The mental modification (vrtti) remains a part of the mind even while flowing out -- being, so to say, an expansion of the mental substance. Though the vrtti flows out of the mind, the latter is not exhausted so as to become "empty." Indeed, the vrtti remains in the mind just as water remains in the tank even though some of it may be flowing out through the irrigation channels. 216SB (ed. Divanji), pp.32-36, 235-238. 217PD 4.25. 218The first half of the stanza is PD 4.23a, the second half is Madhusudana's. 219 MadhusUdana. 220gthay1. 221rati, the permanent emotion of srgara, the sentiment of erotic love. 222hasa, the permanent emotion of hasya, the sentiment of mirth. 223See especially BR 2.2-43. Gupta gives a good summary, pp. 220-224 and appendix. 224See stanza 8 and commentary. 225upeksajñana. 226See sec. XIII. 227gāttvikabhāvas. 228Uddyotakara (sixth century C.E.). Sri K. Venugopalan, of the Dictionary Department, Deccan College, has kindly attempted to trace this quote for me in the Nyayavarttika, but without success. He informs me, however, that the idea is found in Dharmottara's commentary on the Nyayabindu and in Jayantabhatta's Nyayamañjarf (personal communication). 229For a discussion of this important section, see chap. 5.7-8. 230That is, it is only figurative. 231apIti.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 493 232laya, the final dispersion of the individuality upon attainment of knowledge of Brahman and liberation. 233That is, it awakens. 234Madhusudana here wants to support his view that the mind is not dissolved in deep sleep by a reference to the Pamcapadikavivarana of Prakasatman (thirteenth century), a commentary on Padmapada's Pancapadika (seventh-eight century), which in turn is a commentary on a portion of the BSSB. The phrase "What subtlety, pray, is this?" (keyam suksmata nama), however, appears in neither the Pancapadika nor Prakasatman's Vivarana, nor even in'Vidyāraņya s Vivaranaprameyasamgraha personal communication from Sri K. Venugopalan, Dictionary Department, Deccan College): 235gastrasya_kopayoga iti. Scripture (sastra) urges us to strive to realize God and specifies means and disciplines dedicated to the end. If God is already attained, what is the point of all this? See stanza 32 above and note 237. 236It is the Lord, as Consciousness, who/which V reveals the objects. Without this inherent form of the Lord, the mind, itself insentient, would have no power of manifestation (see note 214). Here Madhusudana is talking of the "form" of bhagavat in a way that Advaitins usually taik of Brahman of caitanya. This is not, however, a deviation from Advaitic principle since, stritly speaking, it is not the pure Absolute (suddhabrahman) that is present in the mind as a reflection, making possible the experience of objects. It is, rather, the "prototype Consciousness" (bimbacaitanya), which is the same as Isvara or bhagavat .. See chap. 5.5-6. 237gāstrajanya. Madhusudana is unfortunately not specific about the important question of which sastra or scripture he has in mind. In sec. XI he specifled that "the hearing of compositions that bring together the exalted qualities of the Blessed Lord is the means to devotion" (Sanskrit: chap. 5.7, note 59). This, combined with the general tendency of the BR to regard the BP as its primary authority, makes it almost certain that it is the latter text that Madhusudana has in mind here (see chap. 5.7). Note, however, that Samkara habitually used the term sastra to designate the sruti-texts, e.g .: "Brahman is known only from the Vedanta scripture" (brahma sastrad evavagamyate, BSSB 1.1.4); The purpose of the . vedānta- scripture is the destruction of all difference posited by Ignorance" (avidyakalpitabhedanivrttiparatvāt sastrasya, BSSB 1.1.4); "Scripture is the final means of knowledge

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 494 (sastram tu antyam pramanam, SGB 2.18). See T. M. P. Mahadevan, Sankaracharya (New Delhi: National Book Trust, 1968), p. 77-78. 238Here, bhakti begins to sound very much like knowledge of Brahman. See chap. 5.7. 239The material qualities (guna), as mentioned above (note 177), are the basic constituents of creation. Since everything, in the final analysis, consists of them, the gunas and their activity come to stand for relative. creation in general, as opposed to absolute Being or Spirit. Hence the notion of the contamination of Spirit by involvement with the gunas is suggestive of any kind of relative involvement whatsoever. Conversely detachment from the gunas implies indifference to, or separation from, every aspect of mundane existence. 240The four mind-born sons of Brahma, who were "boy- sages," great spiritual adepts who remained eternally youthful and celibate. Their names were Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara. See BP 3.12, 4.22, 11.13. The fact that Madhusudana himself identifies with these figures is of great significance. See chap. 6.5, note 83. 241According to the BP (3.25-33), Kapila, the founder of the Samkhya system, was an incarnation of Visnu. Scholars are generally agreed that Samkhya is one of the oldest systems of Indian philosophy, but all evidence regarding its founder is mythical. If there was an historical personage of the name Kapila who was responsible for originating this school, it is likely that he lived in the century preceding the Buddha. The works ascribed to him, the Samkhyapravacanasutra and the Tattvasamasa, appear to be of much more recent origin (probably fourteenth century C.E.). See Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, (2nd ed .; New York: The Macmillan Co., 1958), I, 212. 242Madhusudana has just stated that "the condition of being filled with the forms of objects is not the inherent nature (svabhava) of the mind" and that "this condition is the effect of adventitious causes" (visayākāratā hi na cittasya svabhāvabhūtā, tasyā agantukahetujanyatvat, JSP, p. 69). He continues: "What is inherent (svabhavakf) in the mind, however, is its having the form of the Blessed Lord" (bhagavadakāratā tu cittasya svabhāvakI, JSP, p. 70). It seems strange, therefore, that he should now use the word "inherent" or "natural" (sva- bhavaki) in reference to the state of being filled with the forms of objects (vigayakarata). But this is what he does: prakrtih svabhāvakf visayakaratety arthah (JSP, p. 73).

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 495 This could be an error in the text, and perhaps we should read asvabhavakI, the "unnatural" or "adventitious" condition. In Iight of the association with the term prakrti ("crude nature, " "unrefined state"), however, I have chosen the more conservative alternative of translating svabhavakf as "common." ("Natural" cannot be used because it also would suggest innateness.) By saying that "crudé nature" (prakrti) refers to "the common condition of having impressions of the forms of objects," Madhusudana is giving a rather lofty philosophical interpretation of the BP text. More simply, he could have glossed prakrti as "the state of being entangled in the material qualities of prakrti." This seems, in fact, to be the idea of the citation from the HamsagIta that. immediately follows. See note 239 for the significance of the important notion of involvement in the material qualities. 243"The Song of the Swan," a section of the BP (11.13.15-42) in which the Lord tells how He appeared before Brahma and his four saintly, mind-born sons (note 240) to answer their questions regarding the means of extricating the mind from sense attachment. 244jIva. 245turya, "the Fourth," the state of pure awareness which underlies and supports the waking, dreaming, and deep- sleep states. In respect of these three, it is the fourth. See the Mandukya Upanisad for the classical exposition of this notion. 246SrIdhara explains tad gunacetasam as follows: tad tadā gunacetasām gunānam cetasas canyonyam tyagah bhavati, JLS, p. 657. I have translated accordingly. 247The Lord as Consciousness, the Fourth, is the constant and silent witness of the other three states. 248badhya, "to be contradicted, set aside, annulled." Because the world is false appearance produced by Maya, its apparent reality will be contradicted or sublated by true knowledge. 249That is, the state in which this reality is experienced. 250Regarded by the tradition as one of the greatest . devotees of all time. To save Prahlada from destruction at the hands of his evil father, the demon-king Hiranyakasipu, 10. the Lord incarnated as Narasimha, the Man-lion. See BP 7.2-

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 496 C

251prIti. 252For a discussion of the implications of this and the following five sections, especially the implication' that Advaitic knowledge is preliminary to the highest stages of bhakti, see chap. 5.8-9. 253paripurnasaccidanandaghana. 254ganmatra. 255 drstānušravikavisayavitrsnasya vaškārasamjnā vairāgyam, Bangali Baba, p. 8. In verses 13-15 of his introduction to the GAD (Pan, pp. 3-4), Madhusudana equates this vasIkaravairägya with the "non-attachment to the enjoyment of the results of action in this world and the next" (ihamutraphalabhogavairagya) that is the second of the "four-fold means that qualifies a renunciate for the study of Advaita. It leads, he says, to the strengthening of the desire for moksa. Thus it becomes a preparation for jñana rather than, as here in the BR, a preliminary to bhakti. This provides further support for my thesis that Madhusudana is writing from quite a different standpoint in the GAD. See note 112, below; also chap. 9.3. 256That is, the earlier stages are the means to those which follow. 257dosa, "fault," is also a common medical term meaning "bodily humor, " "morbid element," or "disease." 258The five senses, external as opposed to the mind. See next note. 259antahkarana, in relation to the five external senses, the internal sense." 260The practice of reflecting on the unpleasant aspects of sense objects rather than their pleasant aspects is a type of Vedantic vicara ("reflective discipline") designed to produce non-attachment. Confronted by the temptation of amassing wealth, for example, the aspirant would deliberately bring to mind and reflect on all the troubles and grief that money brings in its train, thus overcoming temptation and attachment. 261purusa, see note 176. 262According to Vyasa's commentary on YS 1.16, this higher non-attachment is a, very advanced state indeed, practically equivalent to liberation: .

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 497 "There are two kinds of non-attachment. The higher of these is the pure calm of knowledge at the appearance of which the yogin whose realization has dawned thinks: `Attained is that which had to be attained; destroyed are the afflictions that had to be destroyed; broken is the series of births whose links were tightly joined, because of the continuance of which, having been born, one dies, and, having died, one is reborn.' This non- attachment is the supreme culmination of knowledge, for liberation is not something distinct from It" (tatra yad uttaram taj jñanaprasadamātram yasyodaye sati yogr pratyuditakhyatir evam manyate -- praptam prapanfyam / kşInan kşetavyah klesah / chinnah slistaparvabhava- samkramo yasyāvicchedaj janitva mriyate mrtva ca jayata Iti 7 jhanasyaiva para kastha vairagyam / etasyaiva hi nantarfyakam kaivalyam iti, Bangali Baba, p. 8). 263A brave and pious king who helped protect the gods against the demons. His story is told at BP 10.51. 264According to SrIdhara (JLS, p. 538): ". .. known as the senses" (indriyalaksanah), i.e., the five senses and the mind, which is the internal sense" (antahkarana). Another traditional formula counts the six enemves as lust (kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), infatuation (moha), pride (mada), and jealousy (matsara). 265moksaparyantam, literally "up to and including liberation."The point is that, while the lower .non- attachment just described involves lack of desire for everything except liberation, the higher is characterized by desirelessness toward everything including liberation. This is amply illustrated by the twelve verses cited following. The author here, continuing to take the point of view of the devotional schools, implicitly slights the Vedantins' high valuation of the "desire for moksa." above; and chaps. 3.2, 4.3.2, 5.8-9. See notes 112, 121 266This text refers to the puranic doctrine of the five kinds of liberation. Salokya is the attainment of the same heavenly realm (loka) occupied by the Lord, sarsti is the acquisition of powers similar to his, samIpya is close proximity to him, sarupya is the assumption of a form or beauty (rüpa) similar to his, and ekatva or sayujya is oneness with him. From none of these states does the soul return to transmigration. Contrary to what we might expect ekatva or oneness is not always regarded as the highest goal. This is especially the case in the Bengal Vaisnava school. Even though the soul in the state of oneness is never completely identified with the Lord so as to lose its individuality (as

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 498

in the liberation of Advaita), still to be completely immersed in the divine bliss is to lose one's ability to experience the outward glories and sports of the Lord as well as the capacity for service. The Gosvamins, for this reason, regard ekatva as the lowest of the five. For them samtpya or close proximity is the highest, for in it there is direct perception of the supernaturally glorious form of the Lord, and in it the bliss of devotion, a goal superior to any state of liberation, is at its highest. See De, VFM, pp. 294-295. Rūpa Goswamin quotes the present verse (BP 3.29.13) at BRS 1.1.14 and again at 1.2.28 (Bon, pp. 28, 86); he then goes on to state that, though all but ekatva are compatible with bhakti, true devotees, who are "tasting the unique sweetness of preman" (premaikamadhuryajusa), do not desire any of the five forms of liberation (BRS I.2.55- 57; Bon, pp. 106). 267visnu incarnate in partial form as the son of Vena. A king renowned for his virtue, Prthu was most famous for taming the goddess Earth, who was withholding food from his subjects. See BP 4.15-23. 268I have followed SrIdhara's interpretation of this verse. "The nectar of Thy lotus feet" is glossed "the bliss of hearing Thy glory, etc." (yasahsravanadisukham). thousand ears are "to hear Thy giory" (yasansravanaya). The ten Prthu is saying that he does not desire liberation if in that state he cannot hear the nectar-like stories of the Lord being sung by the great saints. The text of Sridhara's commentary: mahattamanam antarhrdayan mukhdvarena nirgato bhavatpadambhojamakarando yasahsravanadisukham yatra nasti tadrsam cet kaivalyam tarhi tat kvacit kadacid api na kamaye tarhi kim kamayase tad aha yasahšravaņaya karnanam ayutam vidhatsva nanu ko py evam na vrtavan kim anyacintayety aha mama tu esa eva varah, JLS, 199. 269The son of King Uttanapada, As a boy Dhruva, inspired by the celestial sage Narada, performed austerities so rigorous that the breathing of all creation was obstructed. The Lord blessed him with the boon that, on his death, he would have the pole star (dhruva, "fixed") as his abode. See BP 4.8-12. 270This verse has already be quoted once in sec. IX. See note 84. 271Krana's Queens, addressing Draupadi. 272An epithet of Vişnu-Krana. 273A name of LaksmI, goddess of prosperity and beauty (srf), the consort of Vişnu.

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 499 274The King of the devas, addressing the Lord who, . in His Man-lion incarnation, has just slain the demon Hiranyakasipu. The latter had been tyrannizing his own son Prahlada and, indeed, all the world. 275A demon important in the Rgveda, where he is Indra's chief adversary. In the BP account (6.11-12), he is presented as. a. devotee of Lord Vişnu. 276At the end of the period of universal dissolution (mahapralaya), the eternal Vedas awaken Vişnu from his cosmic sleep by singing his praises. 277See note 111. 278bhagavatpremaparakastha. 279prakrti. 280premalaksara bhaktih. 281A devotee of Krsna who was a leader of the Yadu clan; into which Krsna was born. . 282SrIdhara: yato 'sau jhanena mam dharayati, JLS, p. 670. 283The Self which exists both before and after the appearance of the products of Maya continues to exist in the interim as the support or locus (adhisthana) of these phenomenal manifestations, just as, in the classical analogy of the snake and the rope, the rope continues to exist as the substratum of the illusory snake. This seems to be the meaning of this obscure passage, which SrIdhara glosses as follows: "The rope which exists at the beginning and end of the unreal snake also exists in the interval, but the snake does not exist; similarly, this change does not exist" (asatah sarpāder adyantayor yad asti rajjvadi tad eva madhye 'pi na tu sarpadi tadvad ayam vikaro nāsti, JLS, p. 670). 284mayika. 285vikalpa. He becomes detached from all of creation, realizing that it is but a false mental construct. Sridhara: ". . . because of the falsity of the mental construct" (vikalpasya mithyatvat, JLS, p. 671). 286SrIdhara: "Who in reality is the Self and Who gives Himself to the worshipers" (vastuta atma atmapradas copasakanam, JLS, p. 630).

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 500 287The pairs such as pleasure and pain, heat and cold, and so on, which trouble people in this world of relativity. 288This and the following two verses are cited and commented upon by Madhusudana in. sec. X. 289The eleven stages of devotion enumerated -in verses 34-36 follow roughly Narada's account of his own growth in bhakti, described in Book I of the BP (1.5.23-40). Born as the son of the servant-maid of a group sages, he waited on them, earned their grace, was attracted to their practices, heard their accounts of the Lord's glories, and' so on. Note that there is very little in common between Madhusūdana's eleven stages of devotion and the nine enumerated by Rupa at BRS 1.4.15 (see chap. 4.3.4). Gupta's suggestion (p. xxii) that Madhusudana based these stages on the fodel of the seven stages of knowledge listed in the YV, and cited by Madhusūdana at GAD 3.18, seems to me to have little foundation. The Bhaktisutras attributed to Narada contain a list of eleven types of bhakti, as follows: (1) love of the greatness of God's qualities (gunamahatmyasakti); (2) love of the beauty of God's form (rOpasakti); (3)) love of worship (pujasakti): (4) love of the constant remembrance of God (smaranasakti): (5-8) love of the Lord as his servant, friend, parent, and beloved (dasya-, sakhya-, vatsalya-, and kantasakti); (9) love of complete selt-surrender (atmanivedanasakti); (10) love in identity with God (tan- mayatasakti); and (11) supreme love in separation (parama- virahasakti) (NBS 82, Swami TyagIsananda, Aphorisms on the Gospel of Divine Love or the Narada Bhakti Sutras [Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1978], pp. 22-23). To what extent the NBS intends this list as a hierarchical arrangement is not tlear. It does not use any word for stages or degrees, but { says only that bhakti is "elevenfold" (ekadasadha). At any rate, the scheme has little in common with Madhusudana's leleven bhaktibhūmikas. . 290rati. 291MadhusUdana's commentary on these three verses (34-36) covers forty-four pages in the text. Remarks from his own hand occupy a total of only about two pages of this bulk; the rest is made up of some 190 verses from the BP which the author quotes to explain, through illustrative reference to the legends of great devotees, the various stages of devotion. This section of the commentary is, therefore, lengthy -- perhaps unnecessarily so -- and for that reason somewhat tedious. Rather than translating it in full, I here summarize its essential points, providing

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 501

direct translations of Madhusudana's own commentary where appropriate, together with a sampling of the more important verses cited. . Madhusudana explains the stages as follows: f

I. Service of the Great (mahatam seva). Note that the word seva ("service") used here carries also the meanings "resorting to," "constant attendance on," and "dwelling near" or "frequenting." Close contact is implied. By "the great" Madhusudana means either the devotees of the Lord, i.e., saints and one's preceptor, or the Lord himself in the form of an avatara ("divine incarnation") such as Krsna. "Service of the great," he says, "is two-fold: service of the devotess of the Lord or aervice of the Lord Himself" (saksadbhagavatseva, JSP, p. 97). Just as it harms the mind to associate with persons of bad character and unwholesome interests, so association with saintly persons purifies the mind, helping it to overcome attachment to worldly things and acquire a tendency to dwell on. things spiritual. Worldly desires begin to become spiritual desires, e.g., for hearing tales of the Lord's glory and realizing him in one's own life. Of course if one is fortunate enough to live at the time of an avatāra of the Lord, an even greater opportunity presents itself. Some examples of service of the Lord's devotees quoted by the author: "They say that service of the great (mahatseva) is the gateway to liberation while association with those attached to women leads to hell. The great are those who are even-minded, tranquil, free from anger, kind- hearted, and pure" (BP 5.5.2) .. "The wise know attachment as the ageless bond of the Self. But that same attachment, when directed towards the saintly, is an open gateway to liberation" (BP 3.25.20). An example of service of the Lord Himself: "For merely by loving attachment (bhava) [to Me], the milkmaids, the cows, and the trees, along with the beasts, the serpents, and other other dull-witted creatures, all became perfected and easily attained Me

"Whom even one striving by means of yoga, reasoning, vows, austerities, sacrifices, recitation and study of the Veda, or renunciation may well not reach" (BP 11.12.8-9).

• NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 502 Madhusudana comments: "Without either close association with the Lord Himself or with those [saints] who are in close contact with Him, whichever is possible, devotion to the Lordewill not arise. Here is the distinction: for those who have close association with the Lord Himself, there is no requirement for any further contact [with saints], because their goal is already achieved, but for those who are enjoying the company of saints, there is the further requirement of direct contact with the Lord, as this is the goal" (JSP, p. 101). Note that Rupa Gosvamin, in his scheme of devotional: stages, counts "association with the holy" (sadhusanga) as 4.3.4. the second, to be preceded by faith (sraddha). See chap. II. Being a Fit Object of Their Compassion (taddaya- patrata). Here the word "compassion" suggests also the active spiritual_help or grace that flows from the saint or avatara to the devotee. Though the great souls show love impartially to all creatures, devotees who possess, either naturally or by self-effort, noble qualities such as kindness, non-violence, patience, truthfulness tranquillity, and so on, may become the special object of their compassion. "The compassion of great," comments Madhusūdana, "directed toward oneself, arises because of one's virtues such as having a pure and tractable disposition" (JSP, p. 102). The virtues are important for, "If the disciple does not have such qualities, association with the great, even if attained, is useless (nirarthaka)" (JSP, p. 104). The compassion of the great is expressed in the form of grace and special attention bestowed upon the devotee, which aids him in his spiritual development. It may be earned by the bhakta's own efforts or bestowed without such consideration (JSP, 104). III. Faith in Their Disciplines (sraddha tesam "For one who is possessed of the qualities just described and is engaged in the service of the great, faith dharmesu). in their disciplines arises in the form of a particular inclination, namely, `By the performance of such disciplines I too may become one whose purpose in life is fulfilled'" (JSP, p. 108). Madhusudana cites a series of verses that extol these disciplines and explain how the aspirant may acquire a liking for their practice, e.g .: "Who will not love to hear of Him by the sword of constant meditation on Whom the wise and disciplined souls have cut the knot of karma that binds them?

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 503 "O Brahmins! Through service of great saints and frequent pilgrimage to holy places, a taste for tales of Vasudeva arises in those who are attentive and faithful" (BP 1.2.15-16). "This faith with the maturation of practice causes an increasing dislike for all objects, both of this world and the next, and leads one to regard the performance of the disciplines of the/Lord's devotees as the sole support of his life, just as hunger makes one wholly intent on food" (JSP, 109). Madhusudana illustrates such intense faith with the example of the fasting King ParIksit, who says to Suka, the narrator of the purana: "As I drink the nectar-like story of Hari flowing from the lotus of your mouth, this intolerable hunger does 10.1.23). not trouble me, who have given up even water". (BP IV. Hearing of the Glories of Hari (hariguna- sruti). "This phrase," says Madhusddana, "is meant to suggest all nine of the disciplines of the Lord's devotees" (JSP, p. 115). (See note 30 above.) These nine are enumerated at BP 7.5.23-24, which the author of the BR quotes : "Hearing (sravana) of the glories of Vişnu, singing of them, constant thought of Him, attendance at His feet worship, reverent prostration, regarding oneself as His servant, thinking of Him as a close friend, and surrender of oneself to Him -- "If this nine-fold devotion, offered to the Blessed Lord Vişnu, were practiced by a man (pumsa), it would indeed, I deem, be the highest learning. "The performance of such disciplines of the Lord's devotees according to one's capacity is the fourth stage. These four stages are means (sadhana) only" (JSP, p. 124). That is, the first four stages serve only as the means to devotion, which begins at the next stage, and are not ends in themselves. V. The Arising of the Sprout of Love (raty- ankurotpatti). This is the beginning of true devotion, the result of the practice of the first four stages. (rati) will be explained as the permanent emotion of the "This love sentiment of devotion. It is a special permanent impression of the form of the Lord that has entered into the melted mind, the 'sprout' of the 'seed' which consists in the performance of the disciplines of the Lord's devotees" (JSP, p. 124). The following text is cited:

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 504

"As a result of association with the saintly, one hears stories, like elixir to the mind and ear, from which one gains knowledge of My heroic deeds. From the enjoyment of these, faith in the path to liberation, love (rati), and devotion follow in quick succession" (BP 3.25.25). "The idea is that after one has faith in the experience of the sentiment of devotion, love (rati), the permanent emotion, will arise. Then that will develop into the sentiment of devotion, all in proper sequence" (JSP, p. 125). (See sec. XVII.) "This, the fifth stage, represents the real essence (svarupa) of devotion. The other six levels become the fruit of this through a particular process of development" (JSP, p. 126). The devotion that has been described BR 1.3-10 begins at this stage and develops until it reaches its highest limit in stage eleven. ROpa Gosvāmin also uses the word rati to designate the initial stage.of bhakti that emerges out of the practice of sadhanabhakti (chap. 4.3.4), as well as the sthayibhava of bhaktirasa (chap. 6.4). In both theories, then, rati is the nascent state of love. which develops eventually Into preman. While the author of the BR regards rati as the manifestation of the form of bhagavat, Rupa understands it as an appearance in the devotee's mind of the divine hladinT sakti. The classical aestheticians, as we have seen, regard rati as the sthyayibhava of srhgararasa, the sentiment of erotic love. VI. Realization of the Essential Nature (sva- rupadhigati). This stage is especially interesting since Madhusudana indicates clearly that it is the same as knowledge of Brahman, the highest goal of Advaita. He describes it as "the direct realization of the essential nature (svarupa) of the inner Self (pratyagatman) as distinct from both the gross and subtle bodies" (pratyag- ātmasvarūpasya sthulasuksmadehadvayātiriktatvena sākşātkāraş sasthr bhumika, JSP, p. 126). to illustrate its nature: The following verses are said

"The Self is eternal, immutable, pure, one, the conscious principle within the body, the support [of all], changeless, self-luminous, the [first] cause, all pervading, unattached, uncircumscribed. "Realizing the Self through these twelve preeminent characteristics, one should abandon the false notions of 'I' and 'mine' with regard to the body which are born of delusion" (BP 7.7.19-20). Any doubts regarding the equivalence of this state to

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 505 Vedantic knowledge of Brahman are removed by Madhusudana's assertion that it includes the realization of the truth of the "great saying" of the Upanisad, "Thou art That" (CU 6.9.4): "When, in this way, that which is designated by the word 'thou', is realized in its purity, there arises knowledge of its non-difference from what is designated by the word 'That'" (evam suddhe tvampadalaksye 'vagate tatpadalaksyena sahabheda jhanam bhavati, BR, p. 128). Madhusudana declares that such knowledge of reality" (tattvajmana) generates intense non-attachment and. suggests that this non-attachment prepares the ground for the next stage (etadrsatattvajñane sati vairagyadardhyad bhagavati premno vrddhir bhavati, JSP, p. 129). Without it, he says, "love (rati) will not reach its full development due to the distractions. of the body and senses" (anyatha dehendriyādiviksepena jātāyā api rater anirvahat, JSP, p. 126-127). Cp. GAD 7.17: "of the four types of devotees, the possessor of knowledge (jñanin) .. : is the best since he is able to concentrate his mind on the Lord constantly, due to the absence of distractions" (catur- vidhanam tesam madhye jñani . .. visisyate . bhagavati . . . sađā samāhitacetā viksepābhavāt, Pan, p. . yato 363). (See also the discussion of knowledge and non- attachment as preliminaries to the highest levels of devotion, BR 1, secs. XXV-XXVII; chap. 5.8-9.) Note that svarOpadhigati is not the same as the realization of bhagavat. The latter occurs in the eighth stage and is preceded by the increase of love made possible by the knowledge and non-attachment generated here. This is a furthet confirmation of the fact that, though Madhusudana often speaks of bhagavat as identical with the Self, he does wish to retain both a conceptual and an experiential distinction between the two. The interpretation of this stage is made somewhat uncertain by the fact that Madhusūdana has earlier (sec. XI) asserted that "inquiry into the Vedanta may be necessary even for devotees for the sake of determining the essential nature (svarUpa) of the object of their worship" (see note 123). If, as seems likely, he is using svarupa in that passage indicate the same reality -- the atman -- that is intended here in the compound svarupadhgati, it could possibly be argued that he really believes that this and the higher stages of bhakti are open only to those who undertake study of Vedanta, i.e, Advaitin renunciates. This interpretation might find some support in Madhusūdana's failure to explicitly specify which scripture (sastra) "generates" the manifestation of the form of God in the mind (see note 237, above, and chap. 5.7, notes 59 and 62). then, the allusion to the "great saying" tat tvam asi here a Is, covert introduction of Advaitic orthodoxy? Is, in other words, Madhusudana trying to suggest that the mediation of

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 506

the sruti essential even for the bhakta? Such an interpretation of the text would have the advantage of harmonizing the teachings of the BR with those of the GAD (see chap. 9.3). But the problem, over and above Madhusudana's ambiguity, is that no Brahmin renunciate, as we shall see, is named among the puranic heroes the author mentions in his commentary on BR 1 as exemplars of the higher stages of bhakti. The paradigmatic bhaktas referred to are all either Kşatriya kings, princes, or noblemen (AmbarIşa, ParIkşit, Uddhava, and Prahlada) or, worse for the interpretation under consideration, Ksatriya women (Krana's queens) or even low-caste women (the gopis). of course, there is always the doctrine, enunciated by Madhusudana at GAD 18.63 (see chap: 9.3.3), that renunciation performed in a previous life may be efficacious in provoking liberation in a present, non-renounced existence. And the Vaisnavas teach that the gopis are incarnations of great sages (rsis). But we cannot base our interpretation of the text on the unlikely possibility that Madhusudana had such notions in mind to rationalize the status of all the exemplar-devotees referred to. I feel confident that he is here suggesting the possibility of Self-realization, as a preliminary to the higher stages of bhakti, attainable without reference to Vedantic inquiry and all the restrictions that pertain thereto. The Increase of Love for the Supreme Bliss (paramanande premavrddhih). Preman is the developed and VII. enhanced state of rati. In the literature of the devotional schools, the word suggests "pure, ecstatic love of God." (See chap. 4.3.4-5.) The "Supreme Bliss" is, of course, the Lord. Purified by knowledge and non-attachment, the mind becomes lost in the love that first appeared at stage five. The example of Prahlada, son of the demon-king Hiranyakasipu (see notes 250, 274), is cited: ) "That boy, who had abandoned all his toys because his mind was absorbed in the Lord, seemed like an insentient dolt .. , His mind possessed by Krsna, he was unaware of the world around him. f "Lost in the embrace of Govinda, he was 'not aware of anything while sitting, roaming about, eating, lying down, drinking, or speaking. "Sometimes, his mind agitated by anxious yearning for Vaikuņțha [Vișņu-Krsņa], he wept. Sometimes he laughed out of joy at the thought of Him; sometimes he sang loudly. Sometimes, yearning [for Him], he cried out. Sometimes he danced without inhibition, and sometimes, intent on contemplation on Him and identified with Him, he would imitate [His actions].

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 507

"Sometimes he sat silent, the hairs on his body thrilling in rapture, delighting in the close contact, his eyes closed with tears of joy from his unswerving love" (BP 7.4.37-41). Madhusudana states that this stage represents the end of the practice of the means (sadhana) and that "the four remaining stages are accomplished without effort" (JSP, p. 131-132). VIII. The Direct Manifestation of Him (tasya sphuranam). "The eighth stage is the immediate realization (saksatkara), caused by the super-abundance of love (prematisaya), of the Blessed Lord who is the object of that love (premaspadIbhuta" (JSP, p. 132). Devotees at this " level (who are not specifically named in the passage cited) commune with celestial manifestations of the Lord: "There are some few, My devotees, who have such longing for Me and take such delight in the worship of My feet that they do not desire oneness with Me. Joining together, they celebrate My heroic deeds. "These saintly ones see My divine forms -- radiant, boon- bestowing, with charming face and violet eyes -- and they engage with them in enviable conversations. "Their minds and life-breath stolen by My beautiful limbs, My enchanting sports, smiles, looks, and sweet speech, they are transported, by [their] devotion, to My exceedingly subtle state" (BP 3.25.34-36). It is worth noting a study such as this that the words premaspada ("object of love"), which are used here in reference to bhagavat, are also used in Advaita as a designation of the atman. In the SB, for example, Madhusudana speaks of the discrimination between " "the suffering [jIva] and the object of supreme love" (duhkhiparamapremāspadānvayayyatireka, Divanji, p. 70). In another place he describes the Self as the "object of supreme love, since it is of the nature of bliss" (paramapremaspadatvena ca tasyānandarūpatvāt, Divanji, p. 9). This usage seems to be based on PD 1.8-9, where the Self is described as parapremaspada (Swahananda, pp. 4-5). See also GAD 7.17 (Pan, p. 363). IX., Spontaneous Absorption in the Disciplines of the Lord's Devotees (bhagavaddharmanistha). At this stage the devotee, filled with love for God, is constantly engaged in devotional activities. These are no longer consciously cultivated as means to realization, but are spontaneous

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 508

expressions of ecstatic love. Ambarisa, a king whose devotion was so great that the Lord protected him against the powerful curse of the sage Durvasas (BP 9.4-5), was such a devotee: "He attained such great love (bhava) for the Blessed Lord Vasudeva and for His saintly devotees that he looked upon the whole universe as if it were a clod of earth. "He directed his mind toward the lotus feet of Krna, his words to describing the glories of Lord Vaikuntha, his hands to cleaning the temples of Hari, his ears to narrations of the purifying tales of Acyuta, "His eyes to seeing the shrines which contained images of Mukunda, his limbs to embracing the bodies of the servants of the Lord, his sense of smell to the fragrance of His 'lotus feet, his taste to the sacred basil leaves,offered to Him" (9.4.15-19). Also cited as examples are Uddhava (BP 11.6.48) and Parīkşit (BP 1.9.15-21). Madhusūdana concludes: "The absorption in the disciplines of the Lord's devotees that requires effort is a means (sadhana), but this absorption, which is accomplished spontaneously (svatassiddha), is an end in itself (phalabhuta)" (JSP, p. 136). X. Possession of His Glorious Qualities in Oneself (svasmims tadgunasalita). Madhusudana's exposition of the tenth and eleventh stages is disappointingly brief, covering a total of only 21 lines of text. He begins his discussion of the former by quoting two verses from the BP (3.25.37-38) which indicate that the devotee attains supernatural powers, divine radiance, and other spiritual gifts, even though he has no desire for these things. These are explained in a brief comment as a "manifestation [in the devotee] of qualities that are imperishable and similar to the Lord's" (avinasvarabhagavattulyagunavibhava, JSP, p. 137). Madhusudana gives no further explanation of the possibilities involved, but the state seems equivalent to 266. the sarstimukti of traditional Vaisnava thought. See note

XI. The Supreme Limit of Love (premnah parama kastha). Madhusudana's explanation of this stage is short: "It is characterized by the inability to endure separation (viraha) to the extent of giving up one's very life" (prana- parityagavadhivirahasahisnutarūpā, BR, p. 137). This comment is supported by four passages from the BP illustrating the anguish experienced by the bhaktas when

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 509

separated from Krsna. Here, the paradigms are the gopfs and the queen's of Dvaraka: "There was supreme bliss for the milkmaids on seeing Govinda, a moment without Whom was to them like a hundred world ages" (BP 10.19.16). "When you go off to the forest'during the day, an instant seems like a world age to us [the gopis] who are not seeing you. A dolt is he who made the lashes of these eyes that are gazing at your radiant face with its [frame of] curly hairl" (BP 10.31.15) "Whenever, O Lotus-eyed One, you depart [from Dvāraka] for the land of the Kurus [Hastinapur] or the Madhus [Mathura] with the desire to see your friends, a moment resembles a hundred thousand years for us [Krsna's queens], O Acyuta, who become like the eyes without the sun" (BP 1.11.9). The highest intolerance of separation i's illustrated by the gopis who were prevented by jealous relatives from responding to the call of Krsna's flute and participating in the celebrated Dance of Love (rasalila) on the mooonlit banks of the Yamuna: "Some milkmaids, confined in their inner apartments and unable to escape, meditated on Krna with closed eyes, deeply engaged in thought of Him. "Their sins removed by the intense agony of unbearable separation from their beloved, their merits exhausted in the ecstasy of Acyuta's embrace attained during meditation, associating with Him, the Supreme Self, with bonds destroyed thereby even though they regarded Him as their lover, they immediately abandoned the body composed of the three material qualities" (BP 10.29.9- 11).

At this point, Madhusudana admits that he is only hinting at the nature of preman, and he promises to explain it in greater detail in the second chapter (dinmatram ihodahrtam / anantarollase punar etat saprapancam udāharisyate prema, JSP, p. 139). The important aspects of that discussion have already been summarized in chap. 6.5. In BR 2, we noted, Madhusudana at first identifies the gopt's love for Krsna as the highest sentiment (paramo rasah). But he then goes on to identify the suddhabhakti ("pure devotion") of sages like Sanaka as an even superior rasa (eti rasatam adhikam). This, combined with the emphasis here on the inability to endure separation" and

NOTES: CHAPTER SEVEN 510

the tenor of the last verse quoted, which suggests a kind of disembodied union with Krsna, suggests that Madhusudana, as a true Advaitin, envisions some kind of unitive experience as the final goal of bhakti. Certainly Madhusudana does not develop the theme of vipralamba or viraha ('"love-in- separation") to anywhere near the extent that the Gosvamins do. It is disappointing, however, that neither here, in the commentary on the last verses of the first chapter, nor in BR 2 or 3 do we find any discussion of the metaphysical implications of the higher stages of bhakti. Does the "inability to endure separation" mean that the devotee utterly loses him/herself in the experience of bhagavat, so that an authentic Advaitic identity is attained? Perhaps, but in the absence of any further help from Madhusudana, we are only guessing. On all of this, see chap. 6.5. Note that both the inability to endure separation and the distortion of time suggested by the BP quotations given here are recognized by Rūpa as symptoms of mahabhava, the highest level of preman. They are, however, associated with the rudha ("developed") and not the adhirudha ("totally developed ) state of that. "great ecstasy" (chap. 4.3.5). 292paramahamsa, see note 11l. 293parivrajaka, see note 1ll. 294The colophons of the VKL, SB, GAD, and AS, which I have at hand, do not contain the laudatory epithets "most excellent of teachers and best of ascetics whose proficiency in all branches of learning is famed throughout the world" (acaryavaryavisvavisrutasarvatantrasvatantrataka .. yativara). An admiring copyist may have added them. All but the VKL include instead a more humble designation that serves as a tribute to Madhusudana's guru: "disciple at the revered feet of the glorious Visvesvara SarasvatT" (srI- viavešvarasarasvatīpūjyapādasişya, Pan. 775; see Divanji, p. iv, note 1, and p. 82).

NOTES CHAPTER EIGHT

Iphalabhaktir na sadhanam / kintu svatah pumartha- rupaiva moksam api trnikaroti, quoted by Mishra, p. 252, note 2 (my trans.). 2See N. K. Brahma, Philosophy of Hindu Sadhana (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., 1932), pp. 181-201. 3nanu brahmavidyātiriktatve bhakteh svargādivan niratisayapuruşarthatvam na syat iti cen na, svargader niyatadesakalasarırendriyadibhogyatvena sarvatropabhoktum asakyatvat kşayitvaparatantryalaksanaduhkhadvaya- nuviddhatvena niratišayatvabhave pi bhaktisukhadārāyās sarvadesakalasarirendriyadisadharanyena brahmavidyaphaIavad upabhoktum sakyatvat kşayitvaparatantryalaksanadunkha- dvayanuvedhabhavena niratisayopapatteh, BR 1, sec. XI; JSP, p. 4Gupta, p. 210. 5Vaikuņtha, Goloka, etc. 6See BSSB 3.3.32; Th II, pp. 235-238. 7See chap. 4.3.6, note 106. 8See chap. 4,3.6. yamarayanı sastri, 10Suryanarayana Sastri, SLS, pp. 400-408. llwhile Madhusudana asserts boldly that the Lord alone is real (BR 1, sec. XXVI), this can only refer to the Lord as Brahman, since Samkara, as we have seen, has already established that, for Advaita, "The Lord's being a Lord, his omniscience, his omnipotence, and etc. all depend on the limitation due to the adjuncts whose Self is Nescience" (BSSB 2.1.4; Th I, p. 329). See chap. 2.5.1. 12See chap. 2.4 with note 37.

511

NOTES CHAPTER NINE

lVenkateswaran; p. 150. 2Gupta, p. 195. 3Mishra, p. 246. 4Mahadevan, p. 271. P. M. Modi, who was perhaps the earliest interpreter of Madhusudana's views on bhakti in Enyuish, writes: "He [Madhusudana] could show by a careful examination of the Bhagavata Purana that the metaphysics of Samkara and the ethics of Vallabha can be combined together to form a religio-philosophical system" (Modi, pp. 12-13). The philosophical difficulties raised in the previous. chapter show that, if this was truly Madhusūdana's intention, he was not entirely successful. The two spiritual standpoints remain recalcitrant in the face of efforts to bring them together in a single system. I shall shortly suggest the possibility that this was not what Madhusūdana was actually trying to do in the BR. 5Mahadevan, p. 271. 6Divanji, XXV. 7Divanji, XXVII. 8See chap. 2.7 and note 120 thereon. 9akhilatustyai, BR 1.1; JSP, p. l; cf. 'note 68. 10See chap. 2.7 and note 120 thereon. 11Mahadevan, p. 270. 12yat samkhyaih prapyate sthanam tad yogair api gamyate. 13PD 12.82, Swahananda, pp. 499-500; see Mahadevan, pp. 260-261, 269-271.

512

NOTES: CHAPTER NINE 513

14Divanji, pp. LXXXIX-XC .. Dasgupta (II, 232), noting that a summary of this text was written by Gauda Abhinanda in the ninth century, assigns it to the seventh or eighth. 15Divanji, p. CXXVI. Madhusudana quotes the YV at GAD 3.18, 5.23, 6.29, 6.32, and 6.35, in the first instance . advocating an unorthodox scheme of seven stages,of spiritual realization. derived from thad text. He also cites the YV as authority in the SB and AV (Divanji, LXXXIX). At GAD, .intro., vs. 14-28, he inserts some of the key terminology of the YS, suggesting that yogic discipline is necessary even after the dawn of knowledge to remove the accumulated vasanas that stand in the way of full enlightenment. See also section XXIV of.the BR where our author introduces a discussion of non-attachment based on the_teachings of the YS.

16The immediately relevant portion of this important passage reads: "The person disciplined in yoga and the person of equal vision both see the Self, hence both are eligible for Self-realization. Just as the restraint of the fluctuations of the mind is one cause of the immediate realization of the witness-Self; so also is the isolation of the all-pervading Consciousness by means of the discriminative rejection of the insentient. [Therefore] it is not yoga alone that is necessarily .required [though only it is mentioned in the present verse, 6.29]. As Vasiștha says: `There are two ways, O Rama, to the destruction of the mind, [namely] yoga and jñana. Yoga is restraint of the fluctuations of the mind and jñana is right vision. Some individuals cannot attain to yoga, others are unable to ascertain through discrimination the true structure of Reality. Therefore, Siva, the supreme divinity, proclaimed two paths.' Destruction of the mind is the non-perception of the mind due to its separation from the witness-Self, of which it is the limiting adjunct. There are two means to bring this about. The first is undifferen -. tiated perfect meditation (asamprajñatasamadhi) [the goal of yoga]. And the second is [the Vedantins'] discriminative deliberation, which takes the form: 'That which is witnessed [the mind] is falsely constructed in the witness-Self. Since it is unreal, it does not exist. The Witness-Self alone is the ultimate truth; only it exists'" (yo yogayuktatma yo va samadarsanah sa ātmanam Ikşata iti yogisamadarsinav atmeksanadhikarinav uktau / yatha hi cittavrttinirodhah saksisaksatkarahetus tatha jadavivekena sarvanusyūtacaitanyaprthakkaranam api navašyam yoga evāpeksitah / atha evaha vasisthah dvau

NOTES: CHAPTER NINE 514

kramau cittanāsasya yogo jñanam ca rāghava / yogo vrttinirodho hi janam samyagaveksanam // asadhyah kasyacid vogah kasyacit tattvaniscayah / prakarau dvau tato devo jagada paramah sivah // iti / cittanasasya saksinah sakasat tadupadhibhutacittasya prthakkaranat tadadarsanasya / tasyopayadvayam eko samprajatasamadhih ... dvitiyas tu saksini kalpitam saksyam anrtatvan nasty eva / saksy eva tu paramarthasatyah kevalo vidyate iti vicarah, GAD 6.29; Pan, pp. 318-319. 17Even among the Samkara samnyasins, the orthodox practice of sravana, manana; and nididhyasana was supplemented, perhaps even superseded, at an early date by yogic and tantric practices such as the use of pranayama, meditation, and mantras, interest in puja and various forms of DevI-worship, and so on. See the Saundaryalahari and the Aparokşānubhuti, both attributed to Samkara. Vidyaraņya's Jivanmuktiviveka relies heavily on the YV (Dasgupta, II, 251-252). 18"According to the authority of scriptural statements such as this, devotion to the Blessed Lord with body, mind, and speech is useful in all stages. Bhakti practiced in an earlier stage will usher in the next. Otherwise, because of the abundance of obstacles, the goal will be extremely difficult to attain .... Even when a prior stage is attained, devotion to the Blessed Lord is prescribed for each subsequent level, for without it the higher ones are not attained" (ityādisrutimānena kāyena manasā gira sarvavasthasu bhagavadbhaktir atropayujyate // 31 7/ purvabhumau krta bhaktir uttaram bhumim anayet / anyatha vighnabahulyat phalasiddhih sudur labha // 32 7/ . evam pragbhumisiddhav apy uttarottarabhumaye / vidheya bhagavadbhaktis tam vina sa na sidhyati // 36 /7, GAD intro, 31-32, 36; Pan, p. 6. 19See note 53. 20"Earlier, knowledge was explained as more secret than the secret karmayoga. But now hear My most secret word, more secret than karmayoga and jmanayoga its fruit, more secret than all, supreme, elevated above all! Out of gradeitit is again being declared to you, even though already mentioned here and there" (purvam hi guhyat karmayogad guhyataram jñanam akhyātam, adhuna tu karmayogat tatphala- bhūtajnanac ca sarvasmad atisayena guhyam yam guhyatamam paramam sarvatah prakrstam me mama vaco vakhyan bhuyas tatratatroktam api tvadanugrahartham punar vaksyamanam rnu, GAD 18.64; Pan, p. 750. 21jīvanmuktidasāyām tu na bhakteh phalakalpanā / advestrtvadivat tesam svabhavo bhajanam hareh //37/7

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atmaramas ca munayo nirgrantha apy urukrame ahaitukim bhaktim ithambhutaguno harih //38// tesam jnani / kurvanty nityayukta ekabhaktir višişyate / ityadivacanat premabhakto Tyam mukhya ucyate //39// .(GAD, intro .; Pan, pp. 6-7). BG 12.13-20 contains a description of the qualities of an enlightened devotee, whom both Samkara and Madhusudana understand as a paradigmatic renunciate-jmanin. The first virtue listed is "non-hatred" (advesta, BG 12.13). BP 1.7.10 is cited at least.twice in Madhusudana's works, here and at BR 1, sec. XI -(JSP, p. 32). It is an important verse for the Bengal Vaisnava tradition, appearing, for, example, at BRS 1.2.54 and several times in the CC (e.g., madhya 6.186, 17.140, 24.5). Indeed, an entire chapter of the latter work (madhya 24) is devoted to 61 different explanations of this text (called the atmarama verse), reportedly given by Caitanya himself. In its original context, it is a response to a question as to why the enlightened sage Suka, who was indifferent to the world, bothered to learn the voluminous Bhagavata by heart. Even the enlightened, the bard explains, are devoted to Krsna and XI. delight in hearing of his glories. . See chaps. 3.2; 7, sec. 22For example, GAD 7.16; 9.26, 30-31; 18.66. 23"The essential nature, the means, and the varieties of bhakti, which is loving attachment to the Blessed Lord, along with the varieties of devotees, has been described in detail by us in our BR; hence, here we can stop" (bhagavadanuraktirūpayas tu bhakteh svarūpam sadhanam bhedas tatha bhaktanam api bhagavadbhaktirasayane asmabhih savišesam prapancita itihoparamyate, GAD 7.16; Pan, p. 363). See also GAD 18.65 (Pan, p. 750) and 18.66 (Pan, p. 754). 24kecin nigrhya karanāni visrjya bhogam āsthāya yogam amalatmadhiyo yatante / narayanasya mahimanam ananta -. param asvadayann amrtasaram aham tu muktah, quoted by Divianji, p. XXVIII, note 3, as appearing on p. 417 of the Anandasrama (Poona) edition of the BhagavadgIta with the GAD and the Subodhini of Sridhara (my trans.). I have not been able to find it in Pansikar's edition. 25yadbhaktim na vina muktir yah sevyah sarvayoginām / tam vande paramanandaghanam šrinandanandanam, GAD, chap. 7, invocation; Pan, p. 34I. 26 bhagavatpadabhasyartham alocyatiprayatnatah / prāyah pratyakşaram kurve gitagudharthadipikam, GAD Intro, vs. 1; Pan, p. I. At several points in the course of the GAD, he refers the reader to Samkara's arguments. Divanji, p. li. See

NOTES: CHAPTER NINE 516 27madekasaranatāmatram moksasadhanam na karma- nusthanam karmasamnyaso-va, GAD 18.57; Pan, p. 746. 28na hy atra karmatyago vidhIyate. apitu vidyamane 'pi karmaņi tatrānādareņa bhagvadekasaranatāmātram brahmacarigrhasthavanaprasthabhiksunam sadharanyena vidhIyate7 . sarvesam tu sastranam paramam rahasyam Iávarašaraņataiveti tatraiva sāstraparisamāptir bhagavatā krta / tam antarena samnyasasyapi svaphalaparyavasayitvat / .. tasmat samnyasadharmesv apy anadarena bhagavadekasaranatamātre tatparyam bhagavatah, GAD 18.66; Pan, 753-754. 29tasyaivaham mamaivasau sa evaham iti tridha / bhagavaccharanatvam syat sadhanabhyasapakatah // višeso varnito smabhih sarve bhaktirasayane . . . 7ambarfsa- prahladagopprabhrtayah cāsyām bhūmikāyām, udahartavyah, GAD 18.66; Pan, p. 754. 30GAD 3.20, Pan, pp. 159-160; GAD 18.56, Pan, pp.744-746; GAD 18.63, Pan, pp. 749-750. See following three notes. 3larjunam ca ksatriyam samnyasanadhikarinam prati samnyasopadesayogat,. GAD 18.66; Pan, p. 754. See note 53. At GAD 3.20, Madhusudana outlines the whole orthodox argument for this position, and explicitly rejects the more liberal interpretation of Suresvara: "[Only Brahmins are eligible] because the saying of the Upanisads enjoining renunciation, namely, 'Brahmins, having overcome the desire for sons, wealth, and heaven, practice the life of mendicants' [BU 3.5.1], intends only Brahmins, as the injunction, The king desiring dominion should perform the rajasuya sacrifice,' intends only Kşatriyas. And the smrti declares, Brahmins have four stages of life, Ksatriyas three, and Vaisyas two.' And in the Puranas the absence of samnyāsa for Ksatriyas and Vaisyas is aIso declared: 'This dharma which bears the mark of Visnu is for the Brahmins; it is not taught for the Kgatriyas and the Vaisyas.' You [Arjuna], whose body was acquired through actions that led to birth as a Kşatriya, even though you may be a knower, are qualified only to perform action for the sake of the well-being of the world, like Janaka and the others. You are not able to renounce, because of not having obtained birth as a Brahmin. This is the meaning. It was determined by the Blessed author of the Commentary [Samkara], who knew the intention of the Blessed Lord to be such, that samnyasa is for Brahmins only, not for others. We note, however, that the author of the Varttika [on the BU, Suresvara] has made the merely audacious assertion that renunciation is for Kşatriyas and Vaisyas as well"

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("brāhmanāh putraisanāyās ca vittaisanāyās ca · lokaisanāyas ca vyuthayātha bhiksacaryam caranti" iti samnyasa vidhāyake vākye brāhmanatvasya viviksitatvāt "svarajyakamo raja rajasuyena yajeta" ity atra ksatriya- tvavat catvāra asrama brahmanasya tryo rajanyasya dvau vaisyasya" iti ca smrti / purane pi mukhajanam ayan dharmo yad visnor lingadharanam / bahujatorujatanan nayan dharmah prasasyate //" iti kşatriyavaisyayoh samnyasabhava uktah / . . . ksatriyajanmaprapakena karmanārabdhašariras tvam vidvān api janakadivat prarabdhakarmabalena lokasamgrahartham karma kartum .yogyo bhavasi na tu tyaktum brahmanajanmalabhad ity abhiprayah / etadrsabhagavadabhiprayavida bhagavata bhaşyakrta brahmanasyaiva samnyaso nanyasyeti nirņītam / vartikakrta tu praudhivadamatreņa kşatriyavaisyayor api samnyaso stity uktam iti drastavyam, Pan, 129-130. The question of eligibility for samnyasa must have been an important issue for Madhusudana. He discusses it in the passages quoted in the following two notes and also at 5.5-6 (Pan, pp. 252-253). In this connection it should be mentioned that tradition holds that the opening of certain orders of Samkara samnyasins in North India to Kşatriyas and Vaisyas was initiated by Madhusudana on the advice of the Emperor Akbar. The purpose is said to have been to provide groups of monks capable of carrying arms to protect the Brahmin samnyasins, who followed the rule of strict non-violence, From the attacks of Muslim fagirs who were persecuting them as representatives of Hinduism. Farquhar regards this tradition as historically accurate (Farquhar, pp. 482-484). Given the emphatic statement of the impropriety of renunciation for the Kşatriya expressed in the GAD, however, we may legitimately doubt that our Madhusudana was involved. 32Cp. this estimate of what happens after the attainment of purity of mind through karmayoga with that . given in BR 1, sec. III. The text reads: yah purvoktaih karmabhih suddhantahkaranah so 'vasyam bhagavadekašarano bhagavadekasaranataparyantatvad antahkaranasuddheh / etadrsas ced brahmanah samnyasapratibandharahitah sarva- karmāņi samnyastu nāma /.samsāravimokşas tu tasya bhagavadekasaranasya bhagavatprasādād eva / etadrsas cet kşatriyādih samyāsanadhikārī sa karotu nāma karmāni kimtu madvyapašrayah, aham bhagavān vāsudeva eva vyapāšrayah Saranam yasya sa madekasarano mayy arpitasarvatmabhavah samnyāsānadhikārāt sarvakarmāni sarvāni karmāni varnā- šramadharmarūpāni laukikāni pratisīddhāni vā sadā kurvāno maiprasādān mameşvarasyānugrahād avāpnoti / hiranyagarbhavan madvijnānotpattya sāsvatam nityam padam vaignavam avyayam aparināmi / etādršo bhagavadekašaranah karoty eva na pratişiddhāni karmāni, yadi kuryāt tathāpi matprasādat

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pratyavāyānutpattyā madvijñānena moksabhag bhavatīti, GAD 18.56; Pan, pp. 745-746. 33kşatriyades tu samnyasanadhikarino mumuksor antahkaranasuddhyanantaram api bhagavadā jnāpālanāya lokasamgrahaya ca yathakathamcit karmani kurvato pi bhagavadekašaraņatayā pūrvajanmakrtasamnyāsādiparipākād vā hiranyagarbhanyayena tadapekşanad va bhagavadanugraha- matrenehaiva tattvajhanotpattya grimajanmani brahmanajanma- labhena samnyāadipūrvakajnanotpattya va moksa iti, GAD 18.63; Pan, 749-750. 34BSSB 4.3.10; Th, II, pp. 391. 35Who could be certain, if they were not already a renunciate, that they had been born previously as a male Brahmin and that, furthermore, in that birth they had taken to the difficult path of samnyasa? 36sagunopāsanayā nirastasarvapratibandhānām vinā gurūpadešam vinā ca ģravanamanananididhyāsanādyāvrttiklesam svayam avirbhutera vedantavakhyenesvaraprasādasahakrtena tattvajhanodayad avidyatatkaryanivrttya brahmaloka evaisvaryabhogante nirgunavidyaphalaparamakaivalyopapatteh, GAD 12.6-7; Pan, p. 507. 37etac ca bhaktirasāyane vyākhyatam vistarena / evam sada bhāgavatadharmanusthanena mayy anuragottpattya manmanah san, mām bhagavantam vāsudevam eva esyasi prāpsyasi veđānta- vākhyajanitena madbodhena, GAD 18.65; Pan, p. 751. Cp. also GAD 12.10: Performing the actions known as the disciplines of the Lord's devotees, you will obtain the perfection defined as the state of Brahman by means of the purification of the mind and the arising of knowledge" (bhagavatadharma- samjñakāni karmāny api kurvan siddhim brahmabhavalaksanam sattvasuddhi jnanautpattidvarenavapsyasi, Pan, p. 509). 38See Modi, introduction, appendix II and III. The conclusion of his study reads: "Madhusudana emphatically stated that there are three Paths to absolution discussed in the B.G. and that in his opinion the Path of Devotion was as good as that of Knowledge and as such he himself followed that Path, though he did not adversely criticise the Jñana- marga" (p. 175). As we shall see, Madhusūdana did not regard devotion as an independent path, and, for this and other reasons, it is much more likely that he followed the path of knowledge, as supplemented (in practice and attainment) by the experience of bhakti. 39Modi, p. 16.

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40niskamas caturtha idanim ucyate jñant ca, jñanam bhagavattattvasāksātkāras tena nityayukto jhāni tīrnamāyo nivrtasarvakamah / cakaro yasya kasyapi nişkamaprema- bhaktasya jhaniny antarbhavarthan, GAD 7.16; Pan, p. 363. 4ltatra niskamabhakto jñānī yathā sanakādir yathā nārado yatha prahlado yatha prthur yatha va sukah / niskamah Buddhapremabhakto yatha gopikadir yatha va krura- yudhisthiradih, GAD 7.16; Pan, p. 363. 42See chap. 6.5. 43bhagavattattvavijñanat saksanmoksapraptir abhihita / tatra cananya bhaktir asadharano hetur ity uktam "purusah sa parah partha bhaktya labhyas tv ananyaya ity, GAD 9.1; Pan, pp. 409-410. 44tatra cananya bhaktir asādharano hetur ity uktam "purusah sa parah partha bhaktya labhyas tu ananyaya" [BG 8.22] ity, GAD 9.1; Pan, 410. Cf. notes 64-65. 45jñanam sabdapramanakam brahmatattvavisayakatvam Pan, p. 410. . /. idam eva samyagjñanam saksanmoksasadhanam, GAD 9.1;

46gurūpadarsitavicārasahakrtena vedāntavākyena sukhena kartum sakyam, GAD 9.2; Pan. p. 4Il. 47brahmabhuto 'ham brahmasmiti drdhaniscayavān śravanamananabhasat, prasannatma suddhacittah sama- damadyabhyasat / . evambhuto jnananistho yatir mad- bhaktim mayi bhagavati suddhe paramatmani bhaktim upasanam madakaracittavrttirūpam paripakvanididhyāsanākhyām sravana- mananābhāysaphalabhutām labhate parām srestham avyavadhānena sakşatkaraphalam caturvidha bhajante mam" ity atroktasya bhakticatuştayasyantyam jhanalaksanam iti va, GAD 18.54; Pan, p. 741. Modi (p. 170) suggests that Madhusudana's gloss of bhakti as jñanalaksanam ("knowledge itself," or "defined as knowledge ) represents nothing more than his submission to the authority of Samkara, who uses the same phrase in his interpretation of this verse (see chap. 2, note 102). But Madhusudana feels free to deviate from the great acarya's interpretation at other places where the latter glosses bhakti as jñana. Thus he substitutes premalaksana for Samkara's jhanalaksana at 8.22 (Pan, p. 402) and prfti for his jñana at 13.10 (Pan, 548). The rest of the present chapter will show that the GAD's Vedantic interpretation of bhakti is not merely a concession to Samkara and Advaitic orthodoxy. Madhusudana; of course, does not wish to follow the Bhasyakära in collapsing bhakti

NOTES: CHAPTER NINE 520

completely into jñana. But he is interested in finding a way to render Krsnaite devotionalism compatible with the traditional disciplines of the Samkara samnyasin. 48I am thinking here especially of devotionalists without clear sectarian affiliation, such as Madhusudana's contemporary and fellow resident of Banaras, TulsI Das, of whom the great Advartin i's said to have written: "This moving Tulasi plant has leaves of supreme bliss; its flowers are poetry, kissed by the bee Rama (paramanandapatro 'yam jangamas tulasītaruh / kavitamañjari yasya ramabhramara- cumpita, quoted by Swami Vagadiswarananda, Sri Madhusudanasarasvati," Vedanta' Kesari, XXVIII [1941-42], 313 [my trans. ]). 49See above, note 26. 50tatra sarvajño bhagavān arjunasya sagunavidyayām evadhikāram pašyams tam prati tam vidhasyati, yathadhikaram taratamyopetani ca sadhanani. . . mayi bhagavati vasudeve paramesvare sagune brahmani mana avesyananyašaraņataya niratisayapriyataya ca pravešya hingularanga iva jatu tanmayam krtva ye mam . .. 502. upasate, GAD 12.2; Pan, pp. 501- 5lcited above, chap. 2.5.2. 52tasmad akşaropāsakā eva paramārthato yogavittamah "priyo hi jnanio tyartham aham sa ca mama priyah / udarah sarva evaite jnani tv atmaiva me matam" ityadina punah punah prašastatamatayoktas / teşam eva jnanam dharmajatam canusaranıyam adhikaram asadya tvayety arjunam bubodhayişuh paramahitaişı bhagavan abhedadarsinah krtakrtyan aksaropasakan prastauti saptabhih, GAD 12.13; Pan, p. 513. 53See above, secs. 9.3.2-3, and especially his commentary on 18.66: "In this scripture called the Gīta, a tryad of disciplines, related as means and ends, is intended and expressed many times. Among these, the discipline of action is summed up as culminating in the renunciation of all action in the verse, Worshiping Him through his own action, a man attains perfection: [18.46]. The discipline of knowledge, together with the maturation of the practices of hearing (sravana), etc., is summarized in the verse: 'Then, having known Me in reality, he enters Me forthwith' [18.55]. The discipline of devotion to the Blessed Lord, being the means to. both and the end of both, is summed up at the end, thus: `Having abandoned all dharmas, come to Me as your sole. refuge' [18.66]. The author of the Commentary

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[Samkara], however, says that `come to Me as your sole refuge' is the summary of the discipline of knowledge, with having abandoned all dharmas' serving as a restatement of the need to abandon all action. [But then] who am I, wretched person that I am, to expound the intention of the Blessed Lord? The speech of the Supreme Person called the GIta is the secret meaning of the words of the Veda; who among those that are not 'extremely brilliant can explain it? [Yet] somehow I have managed this childish performance. It will [I hope] invoke the appreciation of great souls who have spontaneous affection [for all, including my humble self]" (asmin hi gftasastre nisthatrayam sadhya- sadhanabhavāpannam vivaksitam uktam ca bahudha / tatra karmaniştha sarvakarmasamnyasaparyantopasamhrtā "svakarmana.tam abhyarcya siddhim vindati manavah" ity atra /samnyāsapūrvakasravaņādiparipākasahitā jananisthopasamhrta tato mam tattvato jnatvā višate tadanantaram" ity atra / bhagavadbhaktinistha tubhaya- sadhanabhutobhayaphalabhuta bhavatīty anta upasamhrta "sarvadharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja" ity atra / bhaşyakrtas tu sarvadharman parityajyeti sarvakarmasamnyasanuvadena mam ekam šaranam vrajeti jhananisthopasamhrtety ahuh / bhagavadabhiprayavarnane ke vayam varakah vaco yad gıtakhyam paramapurusasya gamagirām rahasyam tadvyākhyam anatinipunah ko vitanutām 7 aham tv etad balyam yad iha krtavan asmi kathamapi ahetusnehanam tad api kutukāyaiva mahatām, GAD, 18.66; Pan, 754-755). On Madhusudaha's willingness to disagree with Samkara, see also note 47. It may be significant that the discipline of action is here said to lead to renunciation, not the alternative paths of renunciation (i.e., knowledge) and devotion, as specified in BRI, sec. III. 54See note 50. 55erfgovindapadaravindamakarandāsvādasuddhāsayāh samsarambudhim uttaranti sahasa pasyanti purnam mahah / vedantair avadharayanti paramam sreyas tyajanti bhramam dvaitam svapnasamam vidanti vimalam-vindanti canandatam, GAD 9, end; Pan, 441. 56ata eva jivo 'ntahkaranāvacchinnatvāt tatsambandham evaksyadidvara bhasayan kimcitjno bhavati / tatas ca jānāmi karomi bhunje cety anarthasatabhajanam bhavati / sa ced bimbabhūtam bhagavantam anantadaktim māyā- niyantāram sarvavidam sarvaphaladatāram anišam anandaghana- murtim anekān avatārān bhaktanugrahaya vidadhatam aradayati paramagurum aseşakarmasamarpaņena tada bimbasamarpitasya pratibimbe pratiphalanat sarvan api purusarthan asadayati /

NOTES: CHAPTER NINE 522

etad evabhipretya prahladenoktam "naivatmanah prabhur ayam nijalābhapūrņo mānam janād aviduşah karuņo vrnīte / yad yaj jano bhagavate vidadhita manam tac catmane pratimukhasya yatha mukhasrih //" iti / darpanapratibimbitasya mukhasya tilakadišrir apekşita ced bimbabhute mukhe samarpaņīya / sā svayam eva tatra pratiphalati nanyah kascit praptav upayo sti yatha tatha bimbhutesvare samarpitam eva tat pratibimbabhuto jivo labhate nanyah kascit tasya purusārtha- labhe sty upaya iti :drstantarthah / tasya yada bhagavantam anantam anavaratam aradhayato ntahkaranam jhanapratibandhakapāpena rahitam jhānānukūlapunyena copacitam bhavati, tadatinirmale mukuramandala iva mukham atisvacche ntahkarane. sarvakarmatyāgasamadamādipurvaka- gurüpasadanavedāntavākhyasravaņamanananididhyasanaih samskrte tattvamasIti gurūpadistavedāntavākyakaranikahan- brahmasmityanātmākarašunyā nirupadhicaitanyakārā sākşatkāratmika vrttir udeti / tasyām ca pratiphalitam caitanyam sadya eva svavisayasrayam avidyam unmulayati dIpa iva tamah, GAD 7.14; Pan, p. 360, 57sarvopadhinivrttya saccidanandaghanarupenaiva tisthantIty arthah, GAD 7.14; Pan, P. 361. 58prapasyantIti vaktavye prapadyante ity ukte 'rthe madekašaranah santo mam eva bhagavantam vāsudevam Idršam anantasaundaryasārasarvasvam akhilakalākalāpanilayam abhinavapanka jasobhadhikacaranakamalayugalaprabham anavaratavenuvadananiratavrndāvanakrīdāsaktamānasa- heloddhrtagovardhanakhyamahidharam gopalan nisūdita- šisupalakamsadiduštasamgham abhinavajaladasobha- sarvasvaharanacaranaparamānanda ghanamayamurtim ativairincaprapancam anavaratam anucintayanto divasān ativahayanti te matpremamahanandasamudramagnamanastayā samastamayagunavikarair nabhibhuyante, GAD 7.14; Pan, p. 361. 59That Madhusudana, in this text speaking from the point of view of the renunciate, wants to interpret the Gita as teaching a progression from karmayoga to jñana, with bhakti both helping on the way and enhancing the final achievement, is confirmed by his introduction to the GAD (notes 18, 21; Pan, pp. 1-7), together with his comments on 18.64 (note 20) and 18.66 (note 53). 60See note 20. 61See note 53. 62gahetukasya samsarasyatyantoparamatmakam / param nihsreyasam gitasastrasyoktam prayojanam, GAD intro., 2; Pan, p. 2.

NOTES: CHAPTER NINE 523

63Modi, pp. 46, 49. 64"yas ta asisa" ityadina phalam anicchato gunalobhena ya bhaktis tasya tu gariyastvam yat pratipaditam, tat tattvasaksatkare tvarasampadakam, na tu muktitaratamyakşepikam / "bhaktih siddher" ityadina pratipaditam gariyastvam api tajjanakatvamatrena putrāt pitur iva, AS, Pariccheda 4; quoted by Mishra, p. 254, note 1, and by Modi, p. 16, note 18 (my trans.). The BP verses referred to read as follows: yas ta asisa asaste na sa bhrtyah sa vai vanik (7.10.4b; GS I, 778); animitta bhaga- vati bhaktiņ siddher garīyasī (3.25.33a; GS I, 280). 65bhaktih . . . sapi jnanahetuh "pritir na yavat mayi vasudeve na mucyate dehayogena tavad ityukteh, GAD 13.10; Pan, p. 402. Madhusudana's characterization of bhakti as a "special cause" (asadharanahetu) of knowledge has already been mentioned (note 43). 66Brahmananda's comments on Madhusudana's own devotion in jivanmukti (introduction, note 23), though lacking the spirit of his great predecessor's glorification of the joy of that experience, indicate one possible starting point for such a justification. 67 Remember that, at BR 2.46, Madhusudana identifies himself with great renunciate devotees such as Sanaka. See chap. 6.5. 68"The Sages who promulgated [the various apparently contradictory] systems of doctrine all had as their final * purport the Supreme Lord, the One without second taught in the Upanisads, and the ultimate truth of the appearance theory [as taught by Advaita]. Certainly these sages were not deluded, since they were omniscient. Realizing, however, that persons inclined toward [enjoyment of] external objects could not be immediately introduced to the supreme goal of life, they taught a variety of [lesser] forms [of doctrine] with a view to [attract the minds of the ignorant and thus] ward off heterodoxy" (sarvesam ca pra- sthanakartīnām muninam vivartavadaparyavasanenadvitiye paramesvare eva vedantapratipadye tatparyam / na hi te munayo bhrantan sarvajnatvat teşam, kintu bahirvisaya- pravananam apatatah paramapurusarthe praveso na bhavatīti nastikyanirvaranaya taih prakarabhedah pradarsitan, Madhusudana's Tika on Mahimnastotra 7; Mahimnastotram Haridāsa Samskrta Granthamalā [Banaras: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1949], pp. 16-17). Cp. the following remarks made earlier in the commentary on the same verse: "The Ganges and Narmada Rivers, following a straight course, reach the ocean

NOTES: CHAPTER NINE 524

directly, but the Yamuna and the Sarayu, following a crooked course, reach it only indirectly, after flowing into the Ganges. Even thus, those devoted to hearing, reflecting on, etc., the great sayings of the Vedanta attain You [Paramesvara] directly, while others attain you only 'indirectly, according to the relative purity of their minds" (yatha rjupathajusām ganganarmadadinām saksad eva samudrah prāpyab yatha va kutilapathajusām yamnunasarayvadinam gangapravesadvara paramparaya, evam vedāntavākya- sravanamananādinişthanan sākşāt tvam prāpyah, anyesām tv antakaraņasuddhitāratamyena paramparayā tvam eva prapyah, Mahimnastotram, pp. 8-9. Note also that, in explaining that purpose of the BR is to foster "the contentment of all," Madhusudana remarks: "The contentment of holy persons is inherent in their nature; what is intended in this text is the purification of the minds of others by the removal of ignorance and misconception through the reasonings expressed herein" ("akhilatuştyay" iti prayojananirdesah / sādhūnām hi tustih svabhaviki / anyesam apy etadgranthoktayuktibhir asambhavanaviparitabhavandinivrtya ntahkaranasuddher hetor ity abhipratah, BR 1,, sec. 10; JSP, p. 17). It is evident from this that this distinguished samnyasin did not regard that text as being addressed to his peers. The fact is that Madhusudana delighted in exercising his intellect and displaying his vast erudition by entering into and expressing viewpoints other than that of his own orthodox Advaitic tradition. The reasons for this are complex and themselves worthy of study. In any case, it is not always easy to tell the extext to which his sympathies actually lie with the viewpoint being presented. The BR is perhaps the best example of this. Madhusudana's Bhagavatapuranaprathamaslokavyakhya ("Commentary on the. First Verse of the BP ) may be another. divided into three chapters. This text is In the first, he gives the interpretation of the Upanisadic (aupanisada) school, sūtras. including explanations of the first four of the Brahma- The second expounds the verse from the point of view of the Savatas or Bhagavatas, and incorporates Advaitic interpretations of certain categories important to the Pañcarātra system. The third part, which explains the text in terms of the theory of bhaktirasa, presents what Madhusū dana understands to be the view of the "Pure Devotion" (kevalabhakti) school (Modi, pp. 43-45).

NOTES CHAPTER TEN

IR. D. Ranade, "The Evolution of My Own Thought," in S. Radhakrishnan and J. H. Muirhead, eds!, Contemporary. Indian Philosophy (rev. 2nd ed .; London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1952), p. 543. 2See chaps. 1.4, 3.5. 3Chap. 2. 4Chaps. 3 and 4. 5Chaps. 5 and 7. 6Chap. 9. 7Chaps. 8 and 9. 8See chaps 1.3 and 7, note 291, pt. VIII. 9See chap. 8.3. 10Narayana TIrtha is a possible exception. I have not studied his work, but from what Mishra says of it, it does not seem that this writer addressed any of the problems in Madhusudana's thought on bhakti that we have raised, nor does it appear that he added anything of significance to his illustrious predecessor's teaching. See Mishra, chap. 7. 1lpradhan, II, pp. 307-308. See R. D. Ranade, Mysticism in India: The Poet Saints of India (reprint ed .; Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983), p. 136. PP. 154-156. ( 12Amrtanubhava 7. See Bahirat, pp. 198-228; Ranade, 13See chap. 4.3.6, with note 106. 14Ramakrishna proclaimed Brahman and sakti to be : identical, "like fire and its power to burn" (Nikhilananda, trans., Gospel, p. 161). For him, the world did not vanish "like a dream" in the highest realization, as it did for Samkara: he saw it as a reflex of of Sakti, the Divine

525

NOTES: CHAPTER TEN 526 Mother. "O Mother," Ramakrishna sang, "Thou art verily Brahman and Thou art verily Sakti. . . . Thou art the Absolute and Thou dost manifest Thyself as the Relative" (ibid., p. 178). The jmanin lost in the unity of the nirguna Brahman is, in Ramakrishna's teaching, compared to a person who has climbed up to the roof of a house and forgotten the steps altogether. This, however, is not the most complete realization: "The vijnani, who is more intimately acquainted with Brahman, realizes something more. He realizes that the steps are made of the same materials as the roof: bricks, lime, and brick-dust. That which is realized intuitively as Brahman ... is then found to have become the universe and all its living beings" (ibid., Ramakrishna explained that it is this realization that makes p. 155). bhakti possible even after enlightenment: "The Mother has kept me in the state of a bhakta, a vijnani. That is why I joke with Rakhal and others. Had I been in the condition of a jnani I couldn't do that. "In this state I realize that it is che Mother alone who has become everything. I see Her everywhere. the Kali temple I found that the Mother Hersel had In become everything -- even the wicked" (ibid., 290-291). Again: "The most advanced devotees say that He Himself has become all this -- the twenty-four cosmic principles, the universe, and all living beings. The devotee of God wants to eat sugar, and not to become sugar" (ibid., p» 192). In all this, we see an interesting blend of Advaita, tantrism, and even (in the sugar metaphor) Vaisnava devotionalism. While Ramakrishna did not see himself as a spokesman for the Sankara tradition per se, his vision, especially as transmitted by the more intellectual Vivekananda, has been extremely influential in modern Advaitic circles. 15Swami Vivekananda remarks: "Sri Ramakrishna used to say that there is another stage of Bhakti which is called the Supreme Devotion-(Para bhakti) i.e. to love Him after becoming established in the consciousness of Advaita and after having attained Mukti. It may seem paradoxical, and the question may be raised here why such a one who has already attained Mukti whould be desirous of retaining the spirit of Bhakti? The answer is: The Mukta or the Free is beyond all law; no law applies in his case, and hence no question can be asked regarding him. Even becoming Mukta, some, out of their own free will, retain Bhakti to taste of its sweetness" (Complete Works, V, 336-337). See Vivekananda's essay "Para-Bhakti or Supreme Devotion" (Complete Works, III, 70-100).

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ARR Advaitaratnaraksana. AS Advaitasiddhi. AU Aitareya Upanişad. AV Atharvaveda. BG Bhagavad. GIta. BR Bhaktirasāyana. BS Brahmasutras BSSB Brahmasutradamkarabhāşya. BU Brhadaranyaka Upanişad. .. BVS A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, trans., Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta. cC CU Caitanyacaritamrta. Chandogya Upanisad. GAD GudharthadIpikā. GS C. L. Goswami, ed. and trans., SrImad Bhagavata Mahapurana. JLS J. L. Shastri, ed., Sridhara s Bhavarthabodhinī [ =? BhavarthadIpika]. JSP Janardana Sāstrī Paņdeya, ed., SrImadbhaktirasayanam. Katha. Katha Upanisad. Ket Kena Upanisad. Mau Mandukya Upanisad. MuU Mundaka Upanisad. NBS Naradabhaktisutras. NS. Natya Sastra. NV Nyayavarttika. Pan Wasudev Laxman Sastri Panşikar, ed., ŠrImadbhagavadgIta. PU Prašna Upanisad. RV Rgveda. SB Siddhantabindu. SBR Sribhāsya of- Rāmānuja. SBS Sandilyabhaktisutras. SGB .SHS Samkaragİtabhaşya. Swami Hanumandasa Sastri, ed. Brahmasutra Samkarabhasya. SSS SU Samksepasarfrikasarasamgraha. Svetasvatara Upanisad. SV Sambandhavartika. Th G. Thibaut, trans., The Vedanta-sutras with the Commentary of Samkaracarya.

527

ABBREVIATIONS 528

TU TaittirIya Upanisad. VAS Vedarthasamgraha. VB Viraha-Bhakti. VFM The Early History of the Vaisnava Faith and Movement in Bengal. VKL Vedāntakalpalatikā. VP Vişnu Purāna. WZKSO Wiener Zeitschrift fdr die Kunde Sdd- und Ostasiens, und Archiv für indische Philosophie, Vienna. YS Yogasutras.

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