Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Narada Bhakti Sutra 67

bhakta ekantino mukhyah

SYNONYMS

bhaktah -- devotees; ekantinah -- exclusive; mukhyah -- principal.

TRANSLATION

Among the Lord's devotees, the greatest are those who are dedicated to Him solely as His intimate servants.

PURPORT

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada showed an excellent example of ekanta-bhakti, single-minded devotion to the Supreme Lord. Prabhupada showed this in many ways. For example, his commentary on Sri Krsna's book, Bhagavad-gita, does not even slightly deviate from Krsna's true intent. Impersonalism taints the vast majority of Bhagavad-gita commentaries, but Srila Prabhupada's purports in Bhagavad-gita As It Is lead the reader directly to the lotus feet of Krsna. This is true of all of Prabhupada's books -- Srimad-Bhagavatam, Caitanya-caritamrta, and so on. His translation of the Sanskrit or Bengali is always accurate from a scholarly point of view, but at the same time he writes as a pure devotee: "Surrender to Krsna."

In all of Srila Prabhupada's spontaneous conversations, he was single-mindedly Krsna conscious. When he spoke of Krsna, he seemed to be talking about his dearmost friend, not merely repeating something he had read. Sometimes his krsna-katha took the form of convincing an atheist scientist that there is a supreme controller, sometimes he related the pastimes of Krsna to his disciples, and sometimes he assured devotees that Krsna is in our hearts and will give us the intelligence to execute a difficult service. Srila Prabhupada maintained this single-mindedness even while undergoing the rigors of constant travel and while living in the biggest cities of the world. Wherever he was, Prabhupada was on a mission for Krsna.

Being single-pointed in devotional service does not mean shutting out reality. Exclusivity can become sectarian if one focuses on relative truths or dedicates oneself to an ordinary person. But when the object of appreciation is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one attains the broadest vision, the vision of a mahatma.

The devotee who is fixed on Krsna has actually attained to the complete truth. That the Lord is the complete truth is stated in the Invocation to the Isopanisad: om purnam adah purnam idam [Isopanisad, Invocation]. "The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete." A devotee glorifies the Lord as the complete Absolute Truth when he utters the famous Vedic aphorism tat tvam asi, "You are that." The impersonalist philosophers adore the tat tvam asi aphorism because they take it to mean that they are one with the formless Brahman. But the actual meaning of tat tvam asi is different. When the devotee says "You are that," he is addressing the Supreme Lord. Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport to Bhagavad-gita 4.9:

The Vedic version tat tvam asi is actually applied in this case. Anyone who understands Lord Krsna to be the Supreme, or who says unto the Lord, "You are the same Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead," is certainly liberated instantly, and consequently his entrance into the transcendental association of the Lord is guaranteed.

A pure devotee who sees Krsna in everything can maintain one-pointed concentration on the Lord, even while performing a wide variety of services for Him. By contrast, materialistic persons cannot be ekanti, or focused. Because the field of sense gratification tempts the conditioned souls in many directions, and because the mind is very fickle, the hedonist's attention is splayed. As Lord Krsna says,

vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana

bahu-sakha hy anantas ca buddhayo 'vyavasayinam

"Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched" (Bg. 2.41).

Sukadeva Gosvami describes the materialist in a similar way in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.1.2):

srotavyadini rajendra nrnam santi sahasrasah

apasyatam atma-tattvam grhesu grha-medhinam

"Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, have many subject matters for hearing in human society, O emperor." Absorbed in political work or scientific research or social and economic betterment, the grhamedhis put aside the ultimate problems of old age, disease, and death. They do not inquire about self-realization, which would lead them eventually to Krsna consciousness. But a person who wants to succeed in bhakti must give up the life of bewildering distractions and take up devotional service under the guidance of a spiritual master.

The best way to cultivate single-minded devotion to Krsna is to chant the Hare Krsna mantra. This practice is what the scriptures and acaryas recommend as the main limb of devotional service for the Age of Kali. By this one simple act -- chanting and hearing the holy name -- we serve Lord Krsna the way He likes best. Haridasa Thakura set the example by making the chanting of hari-nama his exclusive service. Serious Gaudiya Vaisnavas follow in his footsteps by chanting daily at least sixteen rounds of Hare Krsna on beads. As stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta (Antya 3.268), "The holy name of Krsna is so attractive that anyone who chants it -- including all living entities, moving and unmoving, and even Lord Krsna Himself -- becomes imbued with love of Krsna. This is the effect of chanting the Hare Krsna mantra."

In the beginning stages, the restless mind balks at the single-minded devotion required to chant Hare Krsna for long stretches. The holy name is actually the sweetest nectar, but until we reach the spontaneous stage of devotion, one has to outsmart the mischievous mind. The mind is called cancala, or unfaithful, but it can become the devotee's best friend. When one chants Hare Krsna and performs other duties with concentration and devotion, the mind clears and the devotee realizes his true interest. Then the devotee becomes attracted to serving the holy names in the ekantina spirit, which Narada Muni recommends here as the best.

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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