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2024-04-27, 6:49 AM |
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Chapter
25: The
Glories of Devotional
Service
(1) S'rî
S'aunaka said: "Although unborn
Himself, the Supreme Lord personally from His
own potency took birth as Lord Kapila, the analyst of the ultimate
truth, in order
to disseminate transcendental knowledge for the human race. (2) Hearing
repeatedly
about
Him,
the
foremost
of
all
yogis and the godhead of the Vedas the
greater of whom cannot be found among men, pleases me in all my
senses. (3)
Please describe to me faithfully all the praiseworthy, self-inspired
actions of the Supreme Lord who is so full of the delight of the soul."
(4) Sûta said: "Being a friend of
Vyâsadeva the venerable sage Maitreya who was pleased with being
asked about transcendental knowledge then spoke
as follows to Vidura. (5) Maitreya said: 'When the
father had left for the forest,
Lord Kapila stayed behind at lake Bindu-sarovara
with the desire to please His mother. (6) When
He [some day] comfortably sat down before her, Devahûti
remembered the words of
Brahmâ and addressed Him.
He, her son, could show her the path to the goal of the ultimate
reality.
(7) Devahûti
said:
'O my Lord, I am
very disgusted with the prevalence of untruth of my agitated senses
because of which I fell into the abyss of ignorance. (8) At the end of many
births, by Your mercy I now have attained You who are my transcendental
eye to overcome the darkness of ignorance
that is so difficult to defeat. (9) He who is the origin, de Supreme Lord of all
beings and the Master of the Universe has, with You, alike the
sun, risen to the eye that was blinded by the darkness of ignorance. (10) You engaged me in this
misconception of 'I' and 'mine' [of false ego], so now be pleased my
Lord
to dispel the delusion. (11) With the desire to know about the material and
personal
aspect [prakriti
and purusha], I offer You my obeisances who are the greatest of all the seers of the
true nature. I have taken to the shelter of Your feet because You are
the person deserving it, You are for the ones depending on You the ax
that cuts the tree of an existence ruled by matter.'
(12) Maitreya
said:
'Thus
hearing about
His
mother's innocent
and commonly human wish to be successful
on the path of liberation, He with a gladdened mind slightly smiling
with His beautiful face, expounded on the way of the transcendentalists. (13) The Supreme
Lord said: 'The
discipline of yoga of relating to the soul for the sake
of complete
detachment from whatever pleasure and distress, is the ultimate
benefit for
mankind that
carries My approval. (14) O
pious mother, I will now
explain that to you what I formerly explained to
the sages who were eager to hear about all the ins and outs of the
yoga system. (15) The
living being its [state of] consciousness is considered [responsible]
for its bondage and liberation.
In attraction to the three modes of nature one is materially
conditioned, but if one attaches to the soul of the universe [the
Original
Person], one is of liberation. (16) From the impurities of lust
and
greed
and
such,
that
result
from
the
misconception
of
'I'
and
'mine',
one
is
freed
when
the
mind
is pure in being equipoised, without
distress
and pleasure. (17) It is in that state that
the person, who pure and transcendental to the material world is not
bound and fragmented, does not see himself as someone
different but as innerly enlightened. (18) With a mind full of spiritual
knowledge, renunciation
and
connectedness
in
devotion
one is indifferent about one's material
existence, which is then less of influence. (19) There
is no yogic
path as auspicious for the
perfection of the spirit as the
performance of devotional service for the Supreme Lord, the complete of
the Soul. (20)
Any man of knowledge knows that strong attachment constitutes the
entanglement
of the soul, but that that same attachment for devotees opens
the door to
liberation. (21) Being
tolerant,
compassionate, friendly to all living beings and inimical to no one,
peaceful and abiding by the scriptures, the sâdhu [the
man of virtue, of holiness, a seer] is adorned with sublime qualities. (22) They who are persistent in
performing
devotional
service
unto Me, staunch
for
My
sake refrain from acting in desire and give up family ties
and friendships. (23) Delighted
to
listen
to
the
stories
about
Me
they
fix
their
minds
upon
Me
and chant
[My
names], without causing
distress with their various
penances. (24) O
virtuous mother,
try to develop attachment to
these devotees who are free from
all attachments, for they are the ones
who compensate for
the harmful effects of being materially entangled. (25)
Through association with those who cherish the truth, the stories cultivated in
discussing My heroism
become a joy to the
ear and heart, so that, when one firmly convinced experiences the
attraction, soon devotion will follow. (26) A person finding
himself situated in
devotional service will
sincerely strive to control
his mind on the path of yoga when he, constantly thinking about
My management, in his bhakti has developed
a
distaste for gratifying his senses in relation to what he sees [now]
and hears about [the past and future]. (27)
As a person not serving the modes of nature, one attains through
spiritual
knowledge, with renunciation developed in yoga fixed on Me and devoted
to Me, in this very life the Supersoul within.'
(28) Devahûti said: 'What is unto You the
proper concept of devotion that is fit for me and from which I
immediately will
find liberation at Your feet? (29) What
o
embodiment
of
truth,
is
the
nature of the yoga to
perceive the Supreme One
you spoke about and with how
many divisions is
reality
understood by it? (30)
Please
explain this to me whose intelligence is but slow o my
Lord, so that I by Your grace may easily comprehend whatis
so difficult to understand for a
woman.'
(31) Maitreya said:
'Kapila understanding what His mother wanted, born from
her body sympathized with her and described thus the truths handed down
in disciplic succession of what one calls analytical yoga, a form of
yoga which in fact concerns a development of mystical yoga in
devotional service. (32) The Fortunate One said: 'The
divine
of [by one's senses and their ruling divinities] relating to the
qualities of matter works in accord with the scriptures when
someone in relation to the goodness [the Lord] innerly is not divided.
Factually the devotional service free from desires unto the Lord - that
is better than
the single mastery [of the state of salvation] - is something to which
one is naturally inclined. (33) The
way food is consumed by the fire
of digestion this service quickly dissolves the subtle internal
dealings of one's material motivation [the 'subtle body']. (34) Pure
devotees who engaged in the
service of My lotus feet endeavor to attain Me, never ever desire to
be one with Me. They assemble to glorify My personal
activities in association. (35) O
mother, they see My smiling face and eyes
as beautiful as the morning sun and speak with Me in favorable terms
about
the benevolence of My transcendental forms. (36) By those forms
who are so charming in all their limbs, exalted pastimes, smiling
glances and their words, their minds and senses
are captivated because of which unwillingly in their devotion the
subtlety of My heaven
is secured. (37) As a
consequence they do not desire My opulence or the
eightfold mastery over the material illusion [the siddhis, see 3.15:45], nor do they follow a desire for the splendor of Supreme
Divinity. Those devotees full of
bliss about Me as the Supreme One, just enjoy their simple lives. (38) O
mother, My devotees will never, by no [change of] time or weapon of
destruction, lose Me [and My opulence] who
was chosen by them as their dearest self, son, friend, preceptor,
benefactor
and deity. (39-40)
That way roaming in both this world and the world of subtle
experiences, those who in relation to My embodiment in this
world have given up on wealth,
cattle, houses and everything else,
unflinching
in
their
devotion
worship Me, the
all-pervading Lord of liberation, because I take
them to the beyond of birth and death. (41) No
other
person or anything else but Me,
the
Supreme
Lord
and
original ruler over matter and the person,
the
Soul
of
all
souls, can put an end to the terrible fear [of birth and death]. (42) In fear of Me the wind blows and the sun
shines, in fear of Me Indra showers rain and fire burns and in fear of
Me death is all around. (43) United
in
spiritual
knowledge
and
renunciation,
yogis
free
from
fear
in
bhakti
yoga
take shelter of My feet for the ultimate benefit. (44) The only way for people to find in this world
the
ultimate perfection of life is to steadily focus their mind in an
intensive practice of devotional service to Me.'
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