Devanagari
मद्गुणश्रुतिमात्रेण मयि सर्वगुहाशये ।
मनोगतिरविच्छिन्ना यथा गङ्गाम्भसोऽम्बुधौ ॥ ११ ॥
लक्षणं भक्तियोगस्य निर्गुणस्य ह्युदाहृतम् ।
अहैतुक्यव्यवहिता या भक्ति: पुरुषोत्तमे ॥ १२ ॥
Verse text
mad-guṇa-śruti-mātreṇa
mayi sarva-guhāśaye
mano-gatir avicchinnā
yathā gaṅgāmbhaso ’mbudhau
lakṣaṇaṁ bhakti-yogasya
nirguṇasya hy udāhṛtam
ahaituky avyavahitā
yā bhaktiḥ puruṣottame
Synonyms
mat
—
of Me
;
guṇa
—
qualities
;
śruti
—
by hearing
;
mātreṇa
—
just
;
mayi
—
towards Me
;
sarva
—
guhā — āśaye — residing in everyone’s heart
;
manaḥ
—
gatiḥ — the heart’s course
;
avicchinnā
—
continuous
;
yathā
—
as
;
gaṅgā
—
of the Ganges
;
ambhasaḥ
—
of the water
;
ambudhau
—
towards the ocean
;
lakṣaṇam
—
the manifestation
;
bhakti
—
yogasya — of devotional service
;
nirguṇasya
—
unadulterated
;
hi
—
indeed
;
udāhṛtam
—
exhibited
;
ahaitukī
—
causeless
;
avyavahitā
—
not separated
;
yā
—
which
;
bhaktiḥ
—
devotional service
;
puruṣa
—
uttame — towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead .
Translation
The manifestation of unadulterated devotional service is exhibited when one’s mind is at once attracted to hearing the transcendental name and qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is residing in everyone’s heart. Just as the water of the Ganges flows naturally down towards the ocean, such devotional ecstasy, uninterrupted by any material condition, flows towards the Supreme Lord.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Because the mind, by hearing about my qualities, flows continuously to me, the Supreme Lord residing in the hearts of all people, just as the Gaṅgā flows to the ocean, it is said that the quality of bhakti beyond the guṇas is absence of results other than bhakti and lack of obstructions from other processes.
The qualities of pure bhakti mentioned in SB 3.25.32 are here mentioned again for easy understanding. The mind continually flows to me, the Supreme Lord, situated in all antaḥkaraṇas, and thus the easy object of meditation, just by hearing about my qualities. Because of this, it is said to be the quality of bhakti-yoga. The sentence continues in two verses. Thus the meaning is “Because the mind flows continuously to me just by bhakti-yoga with hearing and other processes beyond the guṇas, the quality of bhakti is said to be ahaitukī and avyavhitā.” Just as the water of the Gaṅgā, even though turned back by the ocean’s waves, heads into the ocean, the mind flows only to me though allured by me with offerings of kingdom, sārṣṭi, sālokya and other results. Also the example of the Gaṅgā suggests that the mind of the devotee, like the Gaṅgā, is swift, cooling, pure and worthy of worship. What are bhakti’s qualities? It is devoid of having other results in mind (ahaitukī). It is not like jṣāna or yoga, since it independent of other processes, and is itself the result. (Bhakti is the process and bhakti is the result.) It has been explained in the First Canto that the first and twelfth stages of bhakti, sadhu-saṅga and prema, should not be considered cause and effect. [Note: The twelve stages are: mercy of the devotees, service to devotees, faith, taking shelter of guru. desire to worship (spṛhā), bhakti, anartha-nivṛtti, niṣṭhā and ruci, āsakti, bhāva, prema. SB 1.6.25-27 commentary
] This bhakti is unobstructed (avyavahitā), devoid of blockage by jṣāna or karma (sattva and rajoguṇa). This means it is beyond the guṇas. It is explained in the Eleventh Canto that the devotee (who is the abode of faith and bhakti), the happiness of bhakti and other items are all beyond the guṇas:
sāttvikaḥ kārako 'saṅgī rāgāndho rājasaḥ smṛtaḥ
tāmasaḥ smṛti-vibhraṣṭo nirguṇo mad-apāśrayaḥ
A worker free of attachment is in the mode of goodness, a worker blinded by personal desire is in the mode of passion, and a worker who has completely forgotten how to tell right from wrong is in the mode of ignorance. But a worker who has taken shelter of me is understood to be transcendental to the modes of nature. SB 11.25.26
sāttviky ādhyātmikī śraddhā karma-śraddhā tu rājasī
tāmasy adharme yā śraddhā mat-sevāyāṁ tu nirguṇā
Faith directed toward ātmā is in sattva, faith rooted in prescribed karma is in rajas, faith residing in irreligious activities is in tamas, but faith in my devotional service is purely transcendental. SB 11.25.27
Purport
The basic principle of this unadulterated, pure devotional service is love of Godhead.
Mad-guṇa-śruti-mātreṇa
means “just after hearing about the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” These qualities are called
nirguṇa.
The Supreme Lord is uncontaminated by the modes of material nature; therefore He is attractive to the pure devotee. There is no need to practice meditation to attain such attraction; the pure devotee is already in the transcendental stage, and the affinity between him and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is natural and is compared to the Ganges water flowing towards the sea. The flow of the Ganges water cannot be stopped by any condition; similarly, a pure devotee’s attraction for the transcendental name, form and pastimes of the Supreme Godhead cannot be stopped by any material condition. The word
avicchinnā,
“without interruptions,” is very important in this connection. No material condition can stop the flow of the devotional service of a pure devotee.
The word
ahaitukī
means “without reason.” A pure devotee does not render loving service to the Personality of Godhead for any cause or for any benefit, material or spiritual. This is the first symptom of unalloyed devotion.
Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam:
he has no desire to fulfill by rendering devotional service. Such devotional service is meant for the
puruṣottama,
the Supreme Personality, and not for anyone else. Sometimes pseudodevotees show devotion to many demigods, thinking the forms of the demigods to be the same as the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s form. It is specifically mentioned herein, however, that
bhakti,
devotional service, is meant only for the Supreme Personality of Godhead — Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa — not for anyone else.
Avyavahitā
means “without cessation.” A pure devotee must engage in the service of the Lord twenty-four hours a day, without cessation; his life is so molded that at every minute and every second he engages in some sort of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Another meaning of the word
avyavahitā
is that the interest of the devotee and the interest of the Supreme Lord are on the same level. The devotee has no interest but to fulfill the transcendental desire of the Supreme Lord. Such spontaneous service unto the Supreme Lord is transcendental and is never contaminated by the material modes of nature. These are the symptoms of pure devotional service, which is free from all contamination of material nature.