The Ultimate Causes of Devotion - anavasthA doSa

In Madhurya Kadambini, Vishwanath Chakravarti begins by inquiring into the ultimate causes of devotion. First he establishes that bhakti arises out of Krishna's svarupa shakti, and thus, possessing the same qualities as the Lord, is completely independent and self-manifesting. In other words, Bhakti Devi acts freely of her own volition to appear where and when she wills.

The Bhagavata uses the word yadRcchayA on more than one occasion to describe the appearance of bhakti (BhP 11.20.8, 11.20.11). The dictionary definition is “spontaneously, accidentally, suddenly, fortuitously, or by chance.” Sridhar (11.20.8) glosses this as kenApy atibhAgyodayena, "with the manifestation of some exceedingly great good fortune." In other words, "good luck."

The problem here is that it is almost impossible for us to understand pure luck. The human mind seeks causes for everything. Usually we look to karma to explain things, but there are no material good deeds that can reach bhakti, which is transcendental and independent of any zubha-karma.

The contrary, that one gets this fortune when one is free of karma, still leaves us without a satisfactory explanation. If God's mercy is the cause of bhakti, then one has to seek a cause for his mercy and this easily becomes circular, for bhakti is generally seen as the source of His mercy. And if God's mercy is said to be causeless, then we arrive at another problem--that of God's perfect justice.

Vishwanath concludes, following Jiva, that some fortuitous contact with Vaishnavas is the real cause of devotion, but I don't see how this solves the logical problem, which is called anavasthA, or the inability to find an ultimate cause.

This little section of the Madhurya Kadambini opens up a whole can of worms--that of theodicy, predestination, the existence of evil, etc.

I was just reading a paper I wrote in my undergraduate course on philosophy of religion about the problem of evil. There is an ongoing discussion of this problem If God exists, why is the world like that?. Anyway, there I argued in favor of the karma doctrine, but I still had to recognize that karma is also subject to anavasthA--what is the ultimate cause of bondage, and what is the ultimate cause of liberation.

I agree with Vishwanath, though. It is the causeless mercy of Srimati Radharani, channeled through her devotees in this world, which falls like seeds seeking fertile soil. And when through some inexplicable good fortune we are able to recognize Her mercy, we recognize our constitutional position as servants.

But, this is really one of those mysterious, inexplicable areas. With or without God, we can never really understand evil.






anavasthä : an endless causal chain, inconclusive argument, one that can’t be settled. “If God is the cause of good fortune, then we must ask why he does so, but this cannot be established. This is also the basic problem with the karma doctrine. The inability to find an ultimate cause.


nirupädhika : “unconditioned” In MK 1 used to described God’s causeless mercy.

Here's the way I see it.


Such sukRti would evidently be of the bhakti-unmukha variety, not piety arising from karma or jJAna. Moreover, it would be ajJAta-sukRti, since only after attaining sat-saGga may people engage in acts of devotion with true understanding.

Examples of such meritorius deeds are the stories of the mouse whose tail caught fire in the temple, and who whirled it around in front of the deity, or the crippled bird who ran around the temple fleeing the hunter, and who thus gained the merits of offering a lamp and circumambulating the temple of Hari respectively.

Such "accidental" events are at the root of our journey towards pure devotion. Of course, they are not accidental events as such, since the super-independent bhakti only goes where she desires. There is, however, a fundamental guideline which leads her somewhere; being a servant of Hari, she would obviously aspire to create situations which humor Hari. Hari enjoys rasa, and camatkAra is at the root of rasa. Thus bhakti-devi pushes souls onto the path of bhakti essentially at her whim, so as to create situations in which even Hari is amazed by the ways by which souls turn towards Him.

That is the ultimate cause of attaining devotion.

I hope I didn't just contradict Visvanatha there. I'd better read that chapter again today.

From another angle: I was reading The Saints of Vraja last night (I have to admit that I struggle with book somewhat due to my skepticism) and came across a nice section where one bhakta was pleading for mercy. I was moved by the intensity of his cry. This idea of mercy and dependence upon the Vaisnavas, Mahaprabhu, and Sri Sri Radhe-Govinda is perfect and justifies any apparent lack in terms of theodicy and the like. It is not a philosophical oversight or aberration that bhakti appears the way it does: it fits with our consitution--and if it was any other way, it would not have the same overwhelming power, purity and meaning.

I like your answer, Madhava. Of course I am reading MK bit by bit and haven't actually gone through the whole chapter yet.

I was talking to Valaya yesterday and he made me laugh when talking about how Radharani needs all the help she can get in keeping Krishna under control because he is such a mischief maker. Radha, through her agent Bhakti Devi, is out looking for help and she is using all kinds of tricks to recruit the jivas, who are so covered with the material modes that they cannot find any attraction in serving Radha. And even when attracted, seemingly so powerless to become worthy.

I also liked his prayer: "Radha! I am nothing but a piece of stool. Everyone who comes near me turns up their nose in disgust at the putrid smell. And yet, you are the Martha Stewart of the spiritual world. You are perfectly capable of taking this turd and turning into something that will at least be decorative, if not useful."

And again, something that I liked, which sort of ties in again to theodicy, is that suffering in the world is not punishment, but to teach us humility so that we are capable of soaking up the divine grace that will transform us.

I certainly find the idea that God (as Radha) needs help, and that thus what we call mercy is as much a reflection of Divine need as of charity.

Who is Bhakti Devi?
What is her form in the lila?
Is she Yogamaya (Paurnamasi)?

Namaste. I do agree with this part.

According to the teachings of Bhakti Yoga Rasavatar, my Lord is bhakti vazya. He Himself admits this:

aham bhakta parAdhIno hyasvatantra iva dvija

I have no independence as I am under the control of my loving devotees.

Bhagvatam 9.4.63

bhakti svatantra sakala sukha khAnI.... Rama Carita Manas

itIdRk sva-lIlAbhir Ananda-kuNDe
sva-ghoSaM nimajjantam AkhyApayantam,
tadIye zitajneSu bhaktair jitatvaM
punaH prematas taM zatAvRtti vande!

Damodarashtakam. 3

rAdhikAra prema guru
Ami ziSya nAta
sadA AmA nAnA nRtya
nAcAya udbhuta

Caitanya Caritamrtam, Adilila, 4.124

The world famous scriptural declaration of the Lord,
Kathopanishad 1.2.23 says-

nAyamAtma pravacanena labhyo
na medhayA na bahunA zrutena,
yame vaiSa vRNute tena labhya-
stasyaiSa AtmA vivRNute tanUM svAm

God is NOT known through the study of Scriptures,
nor through subtlety of the intellect nor through much learning.
whom the Lord CHOOSES (out of His causeless Grace - Bhakti Devi)
by him alone is God attained,
verily unto him does the Supreme REVEAL His True Being.

guru kRSNa prasAda paya bhakti latA bIja (C.C.)

avirala bhakti vizuddha tava zruti purANa jehi gAva
jehi khojat yogIza muni, prabhu prasAda kovu pAva

(Sri Tulasi Ramayan)

mikhyaM tasyahi kAruNyaM (Sandilya Bhakti Sutra)

kRSNa tad bhakta kAruNya mAtra lAbhaika hetukA
pushti mArgatayA kaizcidiyaM rAgAnugocyate

( Bhakti Rasmrita Sindhu )

mukhyatastu mahatkRpaiva bhagavatkRpAlezAd vA

labhyatep'i tat kRpayaiva

(Naradabhakti Sutra. 38, 40)

More explanation is given at :

http://forums.delphiforums.com/jayaradhey/messages?msg=39.12



I am not comfortable with this part.

zakti mAn kI shaktiyAn agaNit yadapi bakhAn
tIn mahAn 'mAyA', 'jIva', aru, 'parA' tri zakti pradhAn

Lord Kishna possesses innumerable powers,
out of which the THREE main are,
Maya Sakti (External Cosmic Power),
Jiva Sakti (Neutral Power of unlimited Souls) and
Paraa Sakti (Internal Transcendental Power).

jIva taTastha zakti par, mAyA kar adhikAr,
vastutastu yaha dAsa hai, swAmi nanda kumAr

Jiva Sakti is a Neutral power - Tatastha Sakti,
which has been overpowered by insentient Maya Sakti
since time immemorial, although
Its TRUE nature is servitude of its Master, Lord Krishna.

kRSNa bahirmukha jIva kahan, mAyA karati AdhIn,
tAte bhUlyo Apu kahan, banyo viSaya rasa mIn

The Individual soul has turned Itself AWAY from Its Master,
the Supreme Lord, since time immemorial.
Hence, Maya Sakti has overpowered the Jiva.

As a consequence, having forgotten Its original transcendental nature,
the self (soul), the Jiva identifies itself with the body and
becomes attached to material subjects and objects.

antaraGga hai parA jo, sarva samartha kahAya
ati vicitra gati parA kI, mAyA pati hun nacAya.

Lord Krishna's 'paraA Sakt'i,
INTERNAL Potency is EXTREMELY powerful
and makes impossible possible.
The 'parA Sakti' (Yogamaya) is so AMAZING that
It causes even the Supreme Personality,
to play and dance in His Blissful exploits!

('Bhakti Shatak'- Verses 3, 4, 5, 6 - Sri Kripaluji Maharaj)

Thanks for that anuraag.
Still no answer though on who exactly is Bhakti Devi in terms of lila.



Who is Bhakti Devi?
What is her form in the lila?
Is she Yogamaya (Paurnamasi)

Bhakti as such has no particular personalizer role in the lIlA, as far as I know. The potency of bhakti is affectionately referred to as bhakti-devi since bhagavat-zakti in general is thought of as the female principle of the whole.

Sri Radha is of course the ultimate personification of bhakti, her fullest manifestation. All other zaktis, like yogamAyA, are Her aspects, as are the myriads of Vraja-gopIs.