Bhagavatam-daily 257 – 11.12.14 – Bhakti provides what other paths do and more

Shrimad Bhagavatam, 11th Canto, Chapter 12, Text 14. Verse continues into the next verse. This verse focuses on what all Uddhava should give up, Utsarujya and the next verse states what Uddhava should take up and in a large sense this verse is like, these two verses combined are like the Sarva Dharmaan Parityaja verse of Bhagavad Gita, 18.66. So, Sarva Dharmaan Parityaja is talked about in this verse and Ma Mekam Sharanam Rajya is talked about in the next verse.
So, let’s focus on this text. There are many pathways open for all of us in life and this refers not just to whether it is the pathways of material life or spiritual life. Even in what seems to be spiritual life, there are many pathways and there are different yogas and different yogas have their own rules and regulations, Chodanam Pratichodanam, what is to be done and what is not, what is prescribed and what is prohibited.
Similarly, Shodha Veshodha, that means that all of us have read certain things and we are yet to read certain things and we have read certain books and although we may have read a lot of material, some of it we may have found illuminating, some of it helpful and similarly in the future, we may read many things and we may find some of it useful, some of it even illuminating. So, Krishna is saying that all these will point you to different paths, but Uddhava Uttruja, Uddhava, don’t bother about all these paths, just focus on me, just as he will tell in the next verse, just surrender to me. So, if we look at the context of what is happening from the start of this chapter, Krishna has been stressing how there can be various paths, but without Bhakti, the other paths do not give a transcendental result and Bhakti gives a transcendental result even without the other paths and therefore, one does not need to follow any other path and Krishna gave a series of examples of how exalted people have attained their exalted status simply by the practice of Bhakti without the practice of anything else, any other process and thereafter, the last three four verses before this was Krishna talks about the exalted, about his most exalted devotees, the Gopis and he describes their incredible, incredibly intense devotion which plunged them into an intolerably intense separation when Krishna left them and went to Mathura.
So, in several ways through several metaphors through the relativity of time wherein the Gopis who felt that one night or that one moment was like one night of Brahma in separation from Krishna on those nights which reminded them of the earlier nights when they had performed the Rastila with him or how their consciousness is completely absorbed in Krishna with no thought for anything else just like a river flows towards the ocean and a yogi’s consciousness goes beyond names and forms to the undifferentiated Brahman. So, similarly the Gopis were without his self-consciousness absorbed in Krishna consciousness. So, Krishna is bringing his thought flow to its summit to its zenith to its climax with the description of the most exalted devotees the Gopis and further to their most exalted state of consciousness that is Virahabhava love and separation and that he has done till the previous verse and now in this verse Krishna is saying yes just see this is the process this is the result that is attainable by the process of bhakti and therefore there is no need to follow any other process to agitate and complicate one’s mind in life by worrying about should I follow this or should I follow that no just just give your heart to bhakti absorb yourselves in bhakti that’s the mood of this verse and primarily the point is understandable say through an example so student wants to do well in a competitive exam say JEE for getting into IITs now suppose say there are different subjects in IIT JEE exam and then there are different coaching classes for those subjects for each of those subjects and then one coaching class makes an advertisement you know just study this one book it’s a it’s a integrated guide one stop for all needs wherein you will find whatever you need is provided so then further master claim initially the student will be skeptical oh is it really true can I just study one book Karanjali doesn’t seem likely but if after that they show that institute shows photos or promos of its students who had joined no other course who had not taken tuitions or guidance from any other counseling any other coaching institute and this just by studying this book they became toppers then naturally we would feel inspired to study that and to not bother about anything else okay this book alone can provide me such a exalted achievement then why do I need to study other books similarly this verse stresses that or this section of the Bhagavatam stresses conveys and then this verse states more explicitly that just see what is the ineffably exalted state of consciousness that the gopis have attained by their practice of bhakti without relying on any other processes so such is the potency of the process of bhakti and such is the exaltedness of the bhaktas of the kevala bhaktas so therefore just practice bhakti now when we when we are presented living examples of success stories and further of success stories who have become successful without considering without needing anything else any without needing anything from any other path then naturally you feel inspired okay I want to become successful and just by following this path I can indeed be successful just as this person has been successful so the the disapproval or the forbidding the the restriction against other processes that is mentioned over here uh is in the mood not of restricting our freedom but of focusing our energies if you have to follow too many things from too many places our it it’s difficult to do it we can’t do justice to any of them and thus we stay stuck but if we strive to protect ourselves by the process of bhakti yoga alone taking complete shelter of bhakti yoga then it is said that the lord bhakti will empower us to overcome all misery