Verse Text
tatra vaidhī—
yatra rāgānavāptatvāt pravṛttir upajāyate |
śāsanenaiva śāstrasya sā vaidhī bhaktir ucyate ||6||
Translation
Now, here is the definition of vaidhi-bhakti: [Note: Vaidhi bhakti topic starts here] Where the actions of bhakti arise, not from the attainment of rāga, but by the teachings of scriptures, it is called vaidhi-bhakti.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Where the activities of bhakti appear in a person, not from attainment of rāga, but rather by the rules of scripture, that bhakti is called vaidhī. [Note: This word may be written vaidhī as a modifier of the word bhakti or as vaidhi when it is part of a compound with bhakti.] Rāga here means anurāga, a taste for bhakti. This will be understood from a later discussion on the difference between rāgātmika and rāgānuga. In this definition, vaidhi-bhakti is restricted to cases where bhakti is performed exclusively (eva) by teachings of scriptures, and not with an element of rāga. With the attainment of rāga, there will also be some use of scriptural teachings as well, but it is not called vaidhi-bhakti.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
Rūpa Gosvāmī defines the first part of devotional practice, or vaidhi-bhakti, as follows: “When there is no attachment or no spontaneous loving service to the Lord, and one is engaged in the service of the Lord simply out of obedience to the order of the spiritual master or in pursuance of the scriptures, such obligatory service is called vaidhi-bhakti.”