Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Narada Bhakti Sutra 66

tri-rupa-bhanga-purvakam nitya-dasya-nitya-kanta-bhajanatmakam prema karyam premaiva karyam

SYNONYMS

tri-rupa -- of the three material forms (the qualities of goodness, passion, and ignorance); bhanga -- the breaking; purvakam -- preceded by; nitya -- perpetual; dasya -- servitude; nitya -- perpetual; kanta -- as a lover; bhajana -- service; atmakam -- consisting of; prema -- pure love; karyam -- one should manifest; prema -- pure love; eva -- alone; karyam -- one should manifest.

TRANSLATION

After breaking through the aforementioned coverings of the three modes of nature, one should act only in pure love of God, remaining perpetually in the mood of a servant serving his master, or a lover serving her beloved.

PURPORT

As described in Sutra 56, there are three secondary forms of devotional service tinged with the gunas (goodness, passion, and ignorance). These are practiced by sakama devotees, who approach the Supreme Lord when in distress, when seeking wealth, or when seeking knowledge. One should transcend these secondary types of devotion and approach the Supreme Lord only with love. In other words, here Narada is urging us to come to the spontaneous stage, as in the rasas of servitude (nitya-dasya) and conjugal love (nitya-kanta-bhajana). We should not think that we have completed the course of bhakti by becoming a religionist in the conventional sense -- by attending the temple and making obligatory prayers and donations.

As a spiritual master, Narada has responsibly taught the lower stages of bhakti and encouraged anyone with even a drop of faith. But it is also his responsibility to remind us that the goal is prema, and prema alone. His method is similar to Lord Krsna's in the Bhagavad-gita, where the Lord mercifully encourages all kinds of karmis, jnanis, and yogis, advising them on how to progressively turn their attention toward Him. But then He concludes, "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me" (Bg. 18.66).

Out of love, without seeking reward, a devoted servant tries to please his master, and a wife her husband. We see the perfection of servitude in the spiritual world, in Krsna's servants like Raktaka, Daruka, and Patri, and we see the perfection of a wife's devotion in the queens of Dvaraka. In Lord Krsna we find the perfect master and the perfect beloved, and so His servants and wives are eternally liberated as nitya-dasa and nitya-kanta. Following in the footsteps of such liberated beings, devotees in this world should strive to practice devotional service on the level of pure love. As stated in the Caitanya-manjusa: prema pum-artho mahan. "Love for Krsna is the supreme goal of life."

<<< >>>

Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari