Sutra 02

Narada Bhakti Sutra No-2 

सा त्वस्मिन् परप्रेमरूपा ।

It (bhakti) is of the nature of Supreme Love for Him (the Lord).

The meaning of this sutra is that bhakti is not an ordinary emotion or sentiment, but a sublime and intense devotion to the Supreme Reality, who is the Source and Goal of all existence. Bhakti is not a means to an end, but an end in itself. It is not a way of attaining something else, but a way of expressing one's innate and natural love for the Supreme. Bhakti is not a product of the mind, but a manifestation of the heart. It is not a result of any effort, but a spontaneous and effortless flow of affection and attachment to the Lord.

Devotion (bhakti) is defined in various ways by various teachers but to Devarshi Nārada it is indeed ‘the Supreme love for God.’ It depends upon nothing else. A mind totally turned towards God in love, demanding nothing, not even Realization, is a mind filled with devotion. Thoughts constantly flowing in love towards the Supreme is devotion (Constant Remembrance). Nobody else, nothing else, no one else, but Nārāyaṇa – this attitude of the heart is love. This state is called exclusive love (ananya prema) and this total love for the Lord is devotion, also known as Constant Remembrance. 

Bhakti is the highest form of love, because it is unconditional, selfless, and pure. It does not depend on any external factors, such as the qualities, actions, or favors of the beloved. It does not seek any reward, recognition, or reciprocation from the beloved. It does not have any ulterior motive, expectation, or demand from the beloved. It is simply a state of being in love with the Lord, for His own sake, and for no other reason. Bhakti is the ultimate expression of the soul's longing for union with the Supreme, who is the essence and fulfillment of all love.

Bhakti is the essence of all spiritual paths, because it is the direct and intimate relationship between the individual and the Lord. It is the Realization of one's true identity as a part of the whole, and the surrender of one's ego to the will of the whole. It is the recognition of the Lord as the innermost Self of all beings, and the service of the Lord as the service of all beings. It is the joy of seeing the Lord everywhere, and the Bliss of being with the Lord always. Bhakti is the Ultimate Goal of human life, because it is the experience of the Supreme Love that transcends all duality, diversity, and distinction.

In That (asmin) – Instead of specifying God by any of the usual terms, Brahman, Ᾱtman, Īśvara or Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, Śiva and so on, Nārada deliberately uses the word ‘Asmin’ in order to avoid all sectarianism. The divine pronoun ‘That’ (as in "Thou Art That") indicates all concepts of God and it includes both the manifest and the unmanifest, the immanent and the transcendent, both the concepts of God, with form and without form. Love is the relationship that grows in joy and ecstasy between the lover and the beloved. Thereafter it becomes a bond that holds them together into a permanent intimacy in joyous abandon.

Similar Vedic texts:

- From the Yogavashishta, Chapter 6, Part 2, Verse 215:

भक्तिरेव गरीयसी भक्तिरेव गरीयसी ।

गुणमाहात्म्यासक्ति-रूपासक्ति-पूजासक्ति-स्मरणासक्ति-दास्यासक्ति-सख्यासक्ति- वात्सल्यसक्ति-कान्तासक्ति-आत्मनिवेदनासक्ति-तन्मयतासक्ति-परमविरहासक्ति-रूपा एकधा अपि एकादशधा भवति ॥

Bhakti alone is the greatest, bhakti alone is the greatest. It is of the form of attachment to the qualities, the greatness, the form, the worship, the remembrance, the servitude, the friendship, the affection, the love, the self-surrender, the absorption, and the supreme separation of the Lord. It is either one or eleven-fold.

- From the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, Chapter 6, Verse 23:

यस्य देवे परा भक्तिर्यथा देवे तथा गुरौ ।

तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः ॥

He who has Supreme devotion to the Lord, and as to the Lord, so to the teacher(Guru). To him these truths, indeed, shine forth, O great-souled one.

- From the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 12, Verse 20:

ये तु धर्म्यामृतमिदं यथोक्तं पर्युपासते ।

श्रद्धधाना मत्परमा भक्तास्तेऽतीव मे प्रियाः ॥

Those who follow this immortal dharma as I have taught. Endowed with faith, regarding Me as their Supreme Goal, they are exceedingly dear to Me.