Nishtha - Looking at bhakti slightly differently

ek sAdhe keha, keha sAdhe bahu aGga
niSThA hoile uThe prema taraGga

We generally have a preconceived notion that something like chanting 16 rounds every day without fail, or attending mangala arati every day without fail, etc., is the sign of nistha.

There are 64 angas, or 9 angas, or 5 angas. But whichever one of these classifications you choose, if you have niSThA in that practice, you can attain perfection in prema.

So, I see niSThA as the devotional equivalent of "sva-dharma." It is self-discovery in terms of bhakti-sAdhana. It is the discovery of your way of relating to the practice of Krishna consciousness. For instance, someone like Anangaji has dedicated himself to kirtan, another like Keshavaji to archan. For them, bhakti means achieving perfection in devotion through this specific kind of practice. It is through their niSThA to that particular bhakti-anga that they will achieve perfection and through that anga that Krishna will reveal himself.

This does not mean that they will not cultivate other devotional angas, but the other angas will always be subservient to the principal one.

In NY I stressed the line from Bhakti-sandarbha, "astu tAvad bhajana-prayAsaH kevala-tAdRzatvAbhimAnenApi siddhir bhavati" Forget about making any effort at bhajan--simply by having the sense of identity that "I am Krishna Das" you can attain all perfection.

Of course, if you have that sense of identity, you will act accordingly. But what this very important statement indicates is (once again) that you will not find any fail safe external rules by which to recognize a devotee. Or I should say, no taTastha lakSaNa will give unfailing proof of a devotee. Tatastha lakshanas are things like chanting 16 rounds, wearing tilaka, not "falling down", etc. The real proof of a devotee is his unswerving sense of identity.

And a raganuga devotee's identity will be on both the sadhaka and siddha dehas.

(jiva)krsna dAsa, e visvAsa
karale t' Ara dukha nAi

"One who believes that he is Krishna's servant suffers no longer." (Bhaktivinoda Thakur)

Begging your pardon.

" I (a jiva) am a servant of Krsna", by thinking thus all grief departs.
(Thakura Bhaktivinoda's Gitavali).

Just seeing if you were awake

O Jagat you beet me

What do they call poems like this? Tripadi? It has the same characteristic anaGga-nigUDha-kIrtana-svarUpa:


[ A very confidential song. ] Is it also called tripadi?

If the original is "abhimAn" then sense of identity is apt. but the word implies, I believe, many meanings according to its context. I've often seen it translated as "conceit" or even "self-esteem," "pride." So taking many meanings and putting them together, you could say, "who takes pride in the self-identity and esteems himself with the conceit or ego-concept that "I am Krsna's eternal servant," such a one has consummated his bhajan.

Elsewhere the Thakura goes on to say, after singing the beauty and attributes of Sri Radha;

sakala tyajiyA se rAdhA carane/
dAsi haiye bhaja parama yatane//

"Abandoning everything else, adore the feet of Radha with utmost dilligence as a maid-servant."

Why does Jagat talk about 16 rounds? That is not, generally, enough to drink from.

I believe he mentions that in the context of the 16 of ISKCON along with their other standards that are frequently considered synonymous with niSTha.