Verse Text
yad ubhe citta-kāṭhinya-hetū prāyaḥ satāṁ mate |
sukumāra-svabhāveyaṁ bhaktis tad-dhetur īritā ||249||
Translation
Because jṣāna and vairāgya generally make the heart harsh, the authoritative devotees have concluded that bhakti alone, whose nature is very tender, is the cause of entering into bhakti.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
This verse speaks of another fault in being attached to jṣāna and vairāgya. They cause hardness in the heart. In jṣāna, one must deliberate on the truth by defeating a variety of other philosophies, and in vairāgya, one must renounce enjoyment by repeated toleration of suffering. The very nature of these practices is harsh or unpleasant, and thus the heart becomes similarly harsh. (This is the opposite of sweetness and softness of the heart).
“But how can a person enter into higher and higher stages of bhakti without some sort of assistance?” The answer is given. Bhakti is said to be the cause of entering bhakti, and previous acts of bhakti alone are the cause of entering into higher stages of bhakti.
“But bhakti also will become a cause of hardening of the heart, since perfection can be reached only by effort.” The answer is given. This bhakti by its very nature is extremely tender, because it consists solely of thinking of the Lord’s sweet form, qualities and pastimes. Therefore, the conclusion is that bhakti should be performed with the desire to make the heart melt in relation to the Lord. The distinguished devotee Prahlāda has stated with emphasis:
naite guṇā na guṇino mahad-ādayo ye
sarve manaḥ-prabhṛtayaḥ saha-deva-martyāḥ |
ādy-antavanta urugāya vidanti hi tvām
evaṁ vimṛśya sudhiyo viramanti śabdāt ||
tat te ’rhattama namaḥ stuti-karma-pūjāḥ
karma-smṛtiś caraṇayoḥ śravaṇaṁ kathāyām |
saṁsevayā tvayi vineti ṣaḍ-aṅgayā kiṁ
bhaktiṁ janaḥ paramahaṁsa-gatau labheta ||
Neither the three modes of material nature, nor the predominating deities controlling these three modes, nor the five gross elements, nor the mind, nor the demigods nor the human beings can understand Your Lordship, for they are all subjected to birth and annihilation. Considering this, the spiritually advanced have taken to devotional service. Such wise men hardly bother with Vedic study. Instead, they engage themselves in practical devotional service. SB 7.9.49
Therefore, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, the best of all persons to whom prayers are offered, without rendering six kinds of devotional service unto You — offering obeisances to You, prayers, menial service, deity worship, remembering Your pastimes and hearing about Your glories — who can achieve devotion to You, the goal of the paramahaṁsas? SB 7.9.50
In the second verse quoted, the word karma (namaḥ stuti-karma-pūjāḥ) refers to paricaryā, treating the Lord as a king. Karma-smṛtiḥ caraṇayoḥ means remembrance of the pastimes of the lotus feet of the Lord. Caranayoḥ is related to all the six items in the list and indicates the devotion of the speaker. Without these six types of service (saṁsevayā vinā iti) how can a person attain bhakti? Vairāgya and jṣāna are not mentioned at all in this statement.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
NoD 14: Devotional Qualifications
Some scholars recommend that knowledge and renunciation are important factors for elevating oneself to devotional service. But actually that is not a fact. Actually, the cultivation of knowledge or renunciation, which are favorable for achieving a footing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, may be accepted in the beginning, but ultimately they may also come to be rejected, for devotional service is dependent on nothing other than the sentiment or desire for such service. It requires nothing more than sincerity.
It is the opinion of expert devotees that mental speculation and the artificial austerities of yoga practice may be favorable for becoming liberated from material contamination, but they will also make one’s heart harder and harder. They will not help at all in the progress of devotional service. These processes are therefore not favorable for entering into the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Actually, Kṛṣṇa consciousness—devotional service itself—is the only way of advancing in devotional life. Devotional service is absolute; it is both the cause and the effect. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause and effect of all that be, and to approach Him, the Absolute, the process of devotional service—which is also absolute—has to be adopted.
This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord Himself: “One can understand Me only through devotional service.” In beginning His teaching of the Gītā, the Lord said to Arjuna, “Because you are My devotee, I shall teach these secrets to you.” Vedic knowledge means ultimately to understand the Supreme Lord, and the process of entering into His kingdom is devotional service. That is accepted by all authentic scriptures. Mental speculators neglect the process of devotional service, and by simply trying to defeat others in philosophical research they fail to develop the ecstasy of devotion.