Love, Bhakti, and Narad

'Narad' is one who is at the center as well as on its circumference. True to the meaning, there is a sage from ancient India, Narad. He is playful, mischievous and explains Bhakti through Sutras. To explain Bhakti in realm of words is supposedly a futile exercise. Narad does the impossible, takes us to a journey through his  aphorism of Love. These aphorism gives insights into mechanics, signs and qualities of Love, and makes life dynamic. What follows is my grasp of it, based mainly on a beautiful initial exposition from Srisri.

In the realm of words, it's a journey to the right brain that experiences the moment - engaging from the left lobe that analyzes the moment.  In realm of action, it's a journey to the center - engaging from peripherals. It's a journey common to you and I. Welcome aboard!


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What brings Dynamism:

A connection of center to its periphery in our life, sets the wheel in motion. Narad provides that connection, pokes some spokes.

A confinement of mere ideologies is like a center in isolation. I may feel safe and unperturbed in such a cave;  however like a wood or stone, I may miss then rich experiences in my existence.
Similarly, being lost in day to day practicality is like being on circumference all the while. If am too lost to care,  I would have no ideals or aim to uphold. In either position, there is no real progress.

Now, once we are aware of the two end positions of a radius we take; we also become aware of the radius itself. Once we know that, Then, Narad playfully tenders us the threads, Aphorism of Love! Spokes essential to make a wheel dynamic, to bring forth real progress.

In essential essence:

In our individual essence, lets say we are made up of XYZ, whatever it is. Teaching from Puranas says - core substratum of our spirit is one (modern science claims the same at the base of matter and force). If so, whatever be the substratum, all our experiences has to come through that 'XYZ' alone.  In all, we experience through that; and hence in all, we experience that ! 

Essentially we experience our own essence, our spirit element. If so, an event or a person that brings us that particular experience ceases to be primary.  In fact, these apparent causes then can be seen as bones to a dog! Chewing on bones that is bereft of any juice inside, we enjoy our own cuts and wounds in the process.
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Does this hi-fi view matter?

So how does this hifi philosophies stuff matter? Is it relevant at all in our casual level of awareness? One substratum?! What is it about? Can we see, feel, touch the connection or are we hopelessly far removed? Is there any similar mechanics in our day to day experience that can bring an underpinning among our experiences? Do we know a common theme in everyone's life - that manifests in its solitary pureness at center as well as the multitude of its exhibits on circumference? 

 

Colors of Emotions:

Our common daily experiences are Emotions. So lets examine that. Take a strong emotion like Anger - Anger can be seen as having an underpinning, a longing to have perfection. We put high standards either to our ourselves or other, and get angry on ourselves or others.    This not to loose a perfection can exhibit as a Fear too, but in a more straight and comprehensive underpinning of Fear, is again underpinning of longing; not to loose something that is dear to us.     A flavor of not to loose something dear comes as Possessiveness; but think about it - this emotion is again is a mere longing for the intensity, we long something so dearly that we do not want it diluted!   If we distort this flavor further (or rather say, differently, feeding on our environment) and we can have Jealousy and hence forth.

Take another turn of this cycle, feed the same basic emotion a different environment, and it may exhibit as Generosity. From a basic perspective, its again is Longing; longing to see ourselves beyond petty things. Many such emotions arise for we want to see a bigger freer form of our Self. Interestingly, that's how actually mechanics of Self works according to the the Puranas. Luckily to our understanding now,  that is how even our Quantum mechanics work - it removes the concept of any boundary of a particle in order to correctly understand the matter world in its real happening. We seems to find a resemblance in colors and shades of emotions where seemingly diverging radii converge at Longing.

What we see and what we have got:

We are told something that we are, something great and one, but we feel different. Any which way we stretch, we want to touch our greatness, but the connections is not transparent. So the bottom-line of our existing if I may, reads like this: - A grandiose perfection that we are  and a deep longing to perceive that as such - as it is !

With certain emotions, its easier to see longing as the underpinning, certain others make it more opaque. Beside differences in colors and shades of emotions, its also about our perception of the gamut in entirety.  We get wiser and it gets easier to connect the dots and even see longing or love in its abstract layer. Until then we need some words from the Wise ones. These we refer to it as Knowledge - anything that sets our sight or path of Love - Straight ! 

A Master sometime connects the first dots for us; but again, this first connection of dots is meant to reach unto our intellect. That too, if we are listening. This connection is like connection among series of bulbs starting in left corner of our brain-noodle and that goes all the way to the right most. To lit brightly, to experience more depth of our spirit, to feel the longing in its more abstraction; luckily there is switch and knob for the ones who are willing - Bhakti!


Bhakti or Longing has a quality of never finding its completion. There is no end or boundary to find. Its long like infinity.  An emotion that grows without a boundary. A Love that does not die. Apparently, Love is the only thing we are capable of sharing with Entire existence.

Emotion, but in less commotion:

We know how to tell which emotions are less distorted actually - we do feel those emotions differently - we call it as positive ones! Among that Love as an emotion is the most straight forwardly connected emotion to our existence, also referred to as (you are) Love. Love as an emotion itself comes in many flavors and depth. A genuine love for spouse, family, friend or even a stranger..  Narad asserts that purest among all Love is also Strongest among all flavors and Surest among all to boost our spirit. Its a longing of heart - its Bhakti!

Interestingly its not very hard to see that we all have it. Something or the other enchants us, say a music or a person infatuate our senses. We pursue and it grows to become our love. If we really like it, keeps growing in it bigger and we want to get it in its entirety. Its not possible to maintain a separation - we devote ourselves to that. That devotion is Bhakti ! In Love and devotion, we are the weakest; in it again, we are the strongest!

Signs of Love:

Often there is unwanted consequence of love. It can be because we do not know what is worthy of our one pointed devotion, intense love or, we may not know what are the signs and in turn know how to preserve its purity or keep it from evaporating.

Different sages gave different opinions about signs of Love before Narad. Narad in literary tradition, cites them first then gives his opinion. According to Prashar - To love is to do puja - not the rituals but puja is an expression born (ja) of fullness (purna). Nature loves us with fullness and in puja ritual in offerings we mimic how nature provides us in Love.

Garg says keep telling stories, praising about whom you love is sign of love. Keep taking can be a sign of intense love. Only when we aware that its love, we can be mature and work to preserve it.  Discipline normally looks stifling but here a discipline of giving some space can bring freedom to both in long run.

The sage known for his super chaotic ways and techniques, Sandilya, opines that rejoicing or reposing in oneself without conflict. Intellect does not arise in front of heart and say may be we should or should not. This may not work for everybody. Narad says I would prefer that I offer everything (best feelings or worst conflicts) or whatever actions that happens to Love that is Divine, in my longing to love that is Bhakti. 

Banana and Peel:

Bhakti is longing for divine or unconditional Love. Put conditions to it and it can ferment easily. In Love, we the best and we are the worst.
When devotion is pointed right, its spirituality - it gives us spirit, courage and all the merits. For us to find that experience of devotion, our ancestors perhaps made some systems to ensure. They covered spirituality in thumb rules and rituals - and Religions evolved.  They are but a banana-peel to Spirituality. Yes, peel has the feel and the facet of a banana, but it ain't banana! Peel is also good to protect the core from unwanted influences when one is growing. In a sad consequence when we forget (which is often than not), we throw the core and keep the peel. We even argue to anyone holding tight to the slippery peel. We hold truth of the relative world, how we identified or relate to the divine Love relative to our persona at any given time as absolute Truth. Its but natural to be identified with our love and defend it. In a relative world, its easy to get wrong or go wrong. Knowing perspective from ancient wisdom, knowing what they have gone through and learned is very helpful.

Truth Vs Love:

In Sanskrit, the word for existence is Sat, which also means Truth. So Bhakti says, we are Love. So, is the existence Love or Truth? Many of us are in quest for Truth - perhaps the ultimate Truth. How does a path of devotion reconcile with path of knowledge? Even if we agree that both takes to the same place, its very hard to agree on which guiding principle to adopt in the journey. The journey is in the relative world, where truth has to have a qualifying perspective and love has to have open eyes.
What we knos is that, if at all, the two get into a conflict - love wins! We let go a dear one's lie - most of the time it is said to preserve the connection. Also, a better transformation we see happen if we show love care and patience for other to see its good for them. As oppose to high handedness of a dry truth. In relative world, truth also has contradictory quality - its married to perspective,  meant for where we are. Sometime we take bus to left, sometime to right to reach the same place. Love as a guiding principle does away with such head storming. It allows us to be centered at heart. Narad says its better to be uninterested if there is any apparent conflicts than to loose balance.

Bhakti teaches us that just let it be. A simple knock, and the gates of Heaven will open. Not outside or above the clouds but in here - in heart!  Thanks heaven that Bhakti exists, and allows to meet our purest abstraction or most concretely what we are - Love! 

Trust

Krishna does not really start the Geeta.
Arjun does.

With his vishad yoga, Arjun laments over the situation -- a fight where he does not see a win in either way it goes. Duryodhan also laments before him over this and that, and in his weakness shouts. Arjun on the other hand, crumbles down in this weakness and speaks of all the philosophically sound things. Intellectually he is still very qualified, but emotionally a wreck.

Feeling weak is an emotion of missing something; missing a good trust in what we have in physical or emotional form, or lack of a proper understanding or knowledge. Such feeling is universal, and so is our wanting to gain back our strength. Luckily, Arjun remains wise enough to ask for help. Krishn takes the intellectual in Arjun through a series of statements that is overall fine and piecewise logical, but may not appear consistent with all perspectives in between. For instance, K pokes A's ego first -- what rubbish, will anybody remember of you for that? wake up ! You are betraying your highly regarded status; its better to die than to loose your grace. A finds it factual, hence finds the strength to surge up from the whirl of the emotional mess logically. But barely does A wake up to it, K whips him again -- what do you really have to loose? Heed no attention what anybody thinks of you. Well, that sound sound at a level too. Everyone dies.

We, with some bit of smartness, can see as a play of logic when told as such. Can digest this much in Geeta from no leap of faith in our mind. Good but so what ? If seeing this much was enough, Arjun was very smart, would have said -- enough already, stop singing (Gita) so that I can fight now, will ya? And that’s that; we would have had Geeta with 2 chapters. That did not happen; in our own stories, we are not that ideal either. First Krishna had to take an intellectual to align with what he knew logically. Then pampered him with emotional strength. That is few more chapters. And then there is this altogether a different job for someone to align what we know in our head and what we know in our heart together. It cost 700 verses and 18 chapters for Krishna to address it to a wise man. Our mileage may vary.

As feeling of weakness is in everyone and is the same irrespective of where it comes from. So is an underlying principle among the trust systems that is there. When chips are down, one has to start with any ground that is firm. Sometime it’s a matter of recalling our built-in trust system. For instance, even one think one is no good, can fight tooth and nail to protect what one thinks. Else no issue. Ego is a safety-vault that puts so many of us up and running. Divorces are messy as often heartbroken spouses take it on their ego. Then, we have inherent trust in so many things whether we know or not. From the waking hour to work hours to in the process of crashing to bed again, we trust on so many things not to behave erratically. Trust in people need emotional kind, physical stuff need trust in laws that governs the universe that is true everywhere and always. On the emotional front, some people starts with their trust in God itself. For instance, some are able to say - God, you can do a better job of delivering the result in appropriate manner or make my reputation in Boss' eye. I will let you worry about it, let me work on my part, the job at hand. Others, in theory, may get here purely logically. A good God should not care :-) Gita is delivered.

The further point is, no matter how you climb back, there is a connection leading from one system of trust to another. That is unless you stop yourself exploring. For most of us, we stop at a circle of some logic. But that logical consistencies themselves start with basic premises, and that’s a trust system.

(Yes basic mathematics and logic is a time tested and people tested system, but we do not demand the basic premises to be proved nonetheless. A is always A, and existence exists, always. One can not lead to other. There is always a statement that is true but can not be deduce by the given set of premises. Godel said things to this effect. If it was not, then all mathematicians would have lost their job first, for technology of deduction is far better implemented with machines already. In theory itself, some will keep their job of enriching mathematics on its fringes. Physicists who use it as language to deduce laws of physical systems, will also be alive and kick well for every deduced logic from their model premise are not always physically sensible. )

This system of trust, as any other, creates lots of mischief on both ends. One who are complete blind to logic as well as one who trust in it blindly. Similarly, we have to be careful what is right observation and what is fantasy for convenience. To paraphrase the points above -- different aspects of life can be seen as different trust systems; and there exists a connection between them. Can start with believing in yourself, or your God, does not matter. Having trust and recognizing it as such is important. That virtue took Arjun to his peace. There may not be a need to push hard to jump from one trust system leaving the other altogether. At the same time, when its on your face, sometime its worthwhile. Even if it means to oscillate in a limbo for a while. Its worthwhile to recognize a possibility of steps in between if that’s how you can step out of our loop a bit and see. There may be no dichotomy at the end. The real magic is, there is no magic at the end. just missing steps and apparently a sense of wow every step on the way.