Narada Bhakti Sutras - Text, Transliteration, Translation & Commentary /83

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<ignore>5. DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF BHAKTI
 

75
 

25
 
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<p text="C">during divine ecstasy. It is a calm, subjective experi-

ence of the devotee. Mistake not emotion for devotion.
 
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<p text="C">Bhakti is supreme attachment to God, which is

not opposed to love of self or Atma. God Himself

exists as the soul in every being. Devotion to the

soul is devotion to God. Devotion is quest for supreme

Atman according to a Vedantin. Sandilya identifies

God with Atman..
 
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<p text="C">Remember that the enjoyment of the objects is

not opposed to the enjoyment of the real bliss in the

Atman and that sensual pleasure is a reflection or in-

finitesimal part of the supreme bliss of Atma.
 
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<p text="C">God is an embodiment of bliss. The devotee who

always dwells in God must enjoy the bliss of God.

There is always divine aura and bloom in his face

The eyes sparkle and glitter with Divine effulgence.

Those who surround the devotee experience the bliss,

because he radiates joy all around (vide Sutra 6). If

a devotee is always morose and unhappy, if his coun-

tenance is cheerless, if he is peevish, there is surely

some error in his Sadhana. He is not enjoying the

bliss of the Self. Ananda is a very important sign of

devotion. It is a fundamental sign of a Jivan-

mukta too.
 
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<p text="M">नारदस्तु तदर्पिताखिलाचारता तद्विस्मरणे
 

परमव्याकुलतेति ॥ १९ ॥
 
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<ignore>Sutra 19. Naradastu
 
tadarpitaakhilaachaarata
 

tadvismarane Paramavyaakulateti.
 
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<p text="T" merge-next="true">But Narada is of opinion that the essential cha-
 

racteristics of Bhakti are the consecration of
 
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