Mādhurya Kādambinī – Sri Visvanatha Cakravartipada

Commentaries by Śrī Rādhākuṇḍa’s Mahānta Paṇḍita Śrī Ananta Dās Bābājī Mahārāja
Translation by Advaita das

VERSE 2:

bhaktiḥ pūrvaiḥ śrītā tāntu rasam paśyed yad-ātta-dhiḥ
taṁ naumī satataṁ rūpa-nāma-priya-janaṁ hareḥ

    TRANSLATION: Though previous mahājanas had taken shelter of Bhakti-devī, now by the mercy of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, fortunate persons attain the intelligence to realize bhakti in its rasa form. I constantly pay my obeisances unto Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, who is very dear to Hari.

Pīyūṣa kaṇā explanation:

The Vedas describe different methods for living beings to remove misery and attain bliss. These include the paths of karma (fruitive activities), jñāna (intellectual realisation), yoga, bhakti (devotion) and so forth. The Vedic scriptures on philosophy are also composed with the purpose of destroying the misery of the conditioned souls and giving them joy. Although different philosophical scriptures have given the conditioned souls different instructions for the destruction of their misery and the accomplishment of their happiness, the purpose was one and the same: the authors wanted to lift them out of material existence and place them in the kingdom of perpetual bliss. The wise know that the living entity, though constitutionally an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, is suffering due to illusion in various miserable species of life. It is impossible, however, for the tiny jīva-śakti by his own efforts to remove this miserable condition and attain eternal bliss; this can only be achieved by rendering unalloyed devotion in complete surrender unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. The hearts of materialists, polluted with fruitive desires, can be purified bringing them to the kingdom of true peace. Pondering this one can glimpse how very difficult it is for the insignificant living beings to purify their own hearts merely by the strength of their personal sadhana. But those who surrender unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord can very easily attain the pure state of heart by the mercy of His eternal potency (cit-śakti). They then become fortunate enough to relish the sweetness of prema and the Lord. This is why the wise saints of yore took shelter of devotion.
Śrī Śuka Muni says in the Bhāgavata (1.6.35): yamādibhiḥ yoga-pathaiḥ kāma-lobha hato muhuḥ mukunda sevayā yadvat tathātmāddhā na śāmyati “By restraining the senses in the mystic yoga system, lust and material desires cannot be as completely purified from the heart as can be done by the service of Mukunda.” Only bhakti can fully deliver all auspiciousness to the living entities. It is also stated in the Bhāgavata (2.2.34): bhagavān brahma kārtsnyena trir anvīkṣya manīṣayā adhyavasyat kuṭastho ratir ātman yato bhavet “After thoroughly analyzing the Vedas thrice, Brahmā concluded that bhakti is the ultimate object of Vedas.” Exalted mahājanas have hence asserted that bhakti is the supermost religion, supermost yoga, and supermost auspiciousness. Another distinct feature of bhakti is that it is a universal path of practice. Any person, at any place, and in any circumstance can perform Hari-bhajana. Bhakti brings supreme auspiciousness for all, whether they are sinful, following Vedic principles (sadācārī), intelligent, ignorant, renounced, materially attached, desirous of liberation (mumukṣu), liberated (mukta), not perfect in devotion, perfect in devotion (siddha), recent or eternal associate of the Lord (pārṣada). There is no difficulty in following the universal path of devotion. Everyone should thus accept it without hesitation.
The author is saying that previous mahājanas like Śrī Vyāsa, Śukadeva, Nārada, Uddhava, Yāmunācārya, Śrīnātha Muni, Godā, and all others followed the path of pure devotion. By their ideal example and powerful preaching they spread the glories of bhakti throughout the world. But now by the mercy of Śrīmat Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda, the people of the world are gaining the intelligence to realize bhakti in its rasa form. I constantly pay my obeisances to Rūpa Gosvāmī, who is supremely dear to Śrī Hari.
Rūpa Gosvāmī is the eternal associate of Śrī Hari in Vraja-līlā known as Śrī Rūpa-mañjarī, the leader of all maidservants (mañjarīs) of Rādhārāṇī. In gaura-līlā he descended as Mahāprabhu’s instrument for preaching the supreme nectar of vraja-bhakti filled with an amorous mood. Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 19/1) says:

vṛndāvanīyāṁ rasa-keli-vārtāṁ kālena luptaṁ nija-śaktim utkaḥ
sañcārya rūpe vyatanot punaḥ sa  prabhur vidhau prāg iva loka-sṛṣṭiṁ

“In the beginning of the creation, the Lord enlightened Brahmā bestowing on him the power of creation. So too, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was anxious to revive the sweet Vīndāvana pastimes full of rasa that were almost lost in the course of time. He thus enlightened the heart of Rūpa Gosvāmī to again spread the mellow of the Vṛndāvana pastimes.” This means that Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself manifests only once in a day of Brahmā at the end of the Dvāpara-yuga of the twenty-eighth catur-yuga during the seventh manvantara. In the Kali-yuga immediately following the Dvāpara-yuga when Kṛṣṇa appeared, Kṛṣṇa Himself again appears in golden form accepting the mood and splendour of Śrī Rādhā to relish the sweet divine love of Rādhā and preach vraja-prema. That vraja-prema propagated in the Gaura-līlā of the previous day of Brahmā was almost lost in long course of Brahmā’s full day and night of eight thousand divya-yugas. No other avatāra and no other ācārya propagates the most secret vraja-prema except Śrī Gaurāṅga-deva. Being very anxious to preach and bestow the secret mellow of Vraja pastimes, He enlightened the heart of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī: śrī-rūpa-hṛdaye prabhu śakti sañcārilā; sarva-tattva-nirūpaṇe pravīṇa karilā (C.C. Madhya 19.117) “Mahāprabhu enlightened the heart of Rūpa Gosvāmī, making him expert in properly defining all truths (tattva).”
By constantly practicing pure transcendental devotion that yields prema, all unwanted elements like offenses are driven out from the devotee’s heart. Gradually he attains the states of niṣṭhā, ruci, āsakti, bhāva, and finally prema. In bhakti-rasa, when attachment to Kṛṣṇa becomes permanent, it is known as sthāyi-bhāva. sthāyi-bhāva combines with ingredients such as vibhāva (causes that make one relish rati, or permanent attachment), anubhāva (symptoms expressing the sentiments of the heart and appearing as bodily transformations) to attain the astonishing and relishable form of rasa. In the very beginning of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Rūpa Gosvāmī reveals all the characteristics of pure devotion as described in the śruti, smīti, and Purāṇas. These characteristics are universally present in vaidhī-bhakti (devotion governed by scriptural regulations), rāga-bhakti, (spontaneous devotion), sādhana-bhakti, and prema-bhakti. To understand the essence of the characteristics of pure devotion described by Śrīmat Rūpa Gosvāmī, one must first know their explanations in the śrutis and smṛtis.
What is bhakti? In reply Gopāla-tāpanī śruti (1.15) says, bhaktir asya bhajanaṁ tad ihāmutropādhi-nairāsyenāmusmin manaḥ-kalpanam etad eva hi naiṣkarmyam: “Exclusive absorption of the mind and all the senses in the unmotivated service of the Lord, without any desire for enjoyment either in this world or the other, is known as bhajana or naiṣkarmya.” bhajana is mentioned here as naiṣkarmya because when one begins pure devotion, all the fruits of previous activities (prārabdha, etc.) are destroyed, the mind is freed from the effects of the three guṇas of māyā and one becomes absorbed in relishing the mellow of the Lord’s service.
The verb bhaj means to serve, bhaj ityeña vai dhātuḥ sevāyāṁ parikīrtitaḥ. (Garuḍa Purāṇa) Similarly in Nārada-pañcarātra the characteristic of bhakti is described as follows:

sarvopādhi vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate.

“Bhakti means engaging all the senses in the service of the Lord, the master of all senses, only for His pleasure. The devotee practicing such unalloyed devotion is completely freed from desire for sense gratification in this world or the next.” Considering the above two quotations of śruti and smṛti, Śrīmat Rūpa Gosvāmī writes:

anyābhilāṣitā śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā.

“uttamā-bhakti, or supreme devotion, means to engage oneself in the favourable service of the Lord. This bhakti is completely free from all material desires and is without any touch of jñāna and karma.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11) The essence of the commentaries on the above śloka by Jīva Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī is as follows: The natural characteristic (svarūpa-lakṣaṇa) of pure devotion is to absorb oneself in the favourable service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This practice, or anuśīlana, has two divisions. The first is pravṛtti-mūlaka, to engage one’s body, words, and mind in the favourable service of the Lord with love. That means serving Kṛṣṇa with the body, glorifying His names, attributes and pastimes with the voice, engaging the mind in thinking of His form, attributes and pastimes and always keeping a loving attitude towards Him within the heart. The second is nivṛtti-mūlaka, to avoid the sevā-, nāma-, and vaiṣṇava-aparādhas. Whatever vocal, physical and mental activities are pleasing to Śrī Kṛṣṇa is called  bhakti. Generally bhakti is of two different types, nirupādhika and sopādhika. There are two types of upādhis (designations) in bhakti: One is called anyābhilāṣa (other desires) and the other anya miśraṇa (other mixtures). If the aforementioned practice is devoid of ulterior motives like sense enjoyment or liberation and other mixtures like jñāna and karma, and consists of sheer absorption in hearing, chanting, and other services, it is called śuddha bhakti. It is known by different names such as uttamā (first class), nirguṇā (free from the influences of the three guṇas of māyā), kevalā (meant only for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa), ananyā (having no motive other than devotion), akiñcanā (no desire other then to serve Kṛṣṇa), and svarūpa-siddha (perfect by its own nature).
The adjective ānukūlya modifies the word anuśīlana, or practice, to specifically define the natural characteristic of bhakti. Simply engaging one’s senses in the Lord may not lead to pure devotion. Such engagement should definitely be favourable to the Lord and the devotee should not have a hostile mood, like Kaṁsa, Śiśupāla, Jarāsandha and other demons. This cannot be accepted as bhakti. If the word anukūla is defined only in relation to Kṛṣṇa’s taste, irrespective of the favourable or hostile mood of a devotee, then two defects arise in the definition of bhakti: ativyāpti, surpassing the natural characteristic and avyāpti, not at all touching the natural characteristic. For instance, Śrī Kṛṣṇa relishes the striking of weapons by the enemies in yuddha-, or vīra-rasa (chivalry). If this is accepted as bhakti, the defect of ativyāpti will arise since their mood is completely hostile to the Lord. On the other hand, to stop the milk from boiling over, mother Yaśodā left aside baby Kṛṣṇa. Although this was not according to Kṛṣṇa’s taste, mother Yaśodā’s intention was not hostile, so it is seen as bhakti.
By Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s mercy, Śrīmat Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda has, in his book Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu, very systematically analyzed the characteristics of pure devotion, its qualities, the details of all parts of devotion, the characteristics of vaidhī- and rāga-bhakti, the qualification for their performance, the characteristics of bhāva-bhakti and prema-bhakti, their effects, the transformation of sthāyi-bhāva into rasa form by the combination of vibhāva, anubhāva, sāttvika, and vyabhicārī bhāvas, qualification for relishing rasa, the practice of rasa, the analytical description of five main rasas—śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, and madhura, their realization, and so on. Full of nectar, this book is a guide for practicing pure devotion. If a devotee regulates his devotional life according to this book’s prescriptions, without doubt he can easily enter the kingdom of the honey-sweet Vṛndāvana pastimes. How the supermost spiritual energy of devotion enters into the devotee’s consciousness, gradually develops and culminates is elaborated upon in this highly astonishing systematic scripture. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī’s expertise in classifying the various subject matters, his lucid poetic style, his deep philosophical insight, and his excellent expositions of the process of sādhana bhajana, are evident to anyone who studies this book. Hence it should certainly be studied.
Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s unprecedented merciful gift is the practice of mañjarī-bhāva (following in the footsteps of the vraja-gopīs), or the dāsya (servitude) of Śrī-Rādhā, the embodiment of madhura rasa. The leader of the mañjarīs, Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī, has appeared as Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī and has described the five rasas, like śānta, dāsya, etc. in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.
In Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, the sequel to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, he has further described the very confidential state of the parakīya-madhura-rasa (amorous love with a paramour) of the Vraja-gopīs, the very treasure of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.
This very systematic book Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi is really a dazzling blue sapphire rising from the depths of the ocean of rasa shining brilliantly with the ecstatic bhāva of gopīs.
Though the prema existing in gopīs, who are very anxious to attain Kṛṣṇa and who are endowed with mahābhāva, is very difficult to obtain or express in words, still the writings of Gosvāmīpāda are wonderful storehouses of nectar full of prema.
The gopīs’ hearts were just like rivers of passion, incessantly streaming towards the Kṛṣṇa-ocean, that had swollen from profuse monsoon rains, inundating both banks (kula means bank or family, here the gopīs’ own families and their in-laws’ families).
All this is reflected in the Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi scripture. Although the loving passion of the gopīs is very rarely attained and is actually fully unattainable through sentiments or words, still the Gosvāmīs’ pens have produced such a storehouse of nectar that one will undoubtedly be blessed by relishing only a single drop of this nectar ocean. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu and Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi are the grammar of rasa-śāstra. These along with Vidagdha Mādhava, Lalita Mādhava, Stavamāla, Dānakeli Kaumudī, and many other books compiled by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, have enormously enriched the treasure of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava-śāstras.
Hence Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda says that though the previous mahājanas have accepted the path of pure devotion, now by the mercy of Rūpa Gosvāmī the fortunate devotees attain the intelligence to realize bhakti as rasa.
He further says that Rūpa Gosvāmī is very dear to Śrī Gaurahari. Kavikarṇapūra mentions this point in Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka (9/43):

priya-svarūpe dayita-svarūpe prema-svarūpe sahajābhirūpe
nijānurūpe prabhur eka-rūpe tatāna rūpe svavilāsa-rūpe.

“Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī is the dear friend is Svarūpa Dāmodara or he is expert in ascertaining the superexcellence of svayaṁ-rūpa, the original form of the Supreme Lord. He is very dear to the Lord and is non-different from Mahāprabhu. His form is very charming and he is as capable as Mahāprabhu in preaching divine love. His form resembles that of the Lord and he is highly competent to describe the superexcellent original form of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Mahāprabhu expanded His mercy to this Rūpa Gosvāmī to preach vraja-prema.”

In his commentary on this śloka, Śrīla Cakravartipāda asks why, although many eternal associates of Mahāprabhu such as Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāya Rāmānanda, and others were present, Mahāprabhu chose to expand his mercy for preaching vraja-prema only to Rūpa Gosvāmī? His response is that Paurṇamāsī, Nāndīmukhī, and Vṛndā are respected personalities for Rādhā, and others like Lalitā and Viśākha are elder to Rādhā. She hesitates to reveal secrets to them. It is not such with Her mañjarīs, like Rūpa-mañjarī. Similarly Advaita, Śrīvāsa, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāya Rāmānanda, and others are senior personalities. Mahāprabhu thus hesitates to reveal the secrets of the śāstras to them. But there is no such hesitation with Rūpa Gosvāmī, as he is actually Rūpa-mañjarī. He therefore expanded His mercy unto him.
In Nīlācala when Mahāprabhu introduced Śrī Rūpa to His associates, Śrī Rūpa offered his respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of them all. advaita nityānanda prabhu ei dui-jane; prabhu kahe-rūpe kṛpā koro kāya-mane. tomā-dohāra kṛpāte iṇhāra hoya taiche śakti; yāte vivarite pāre kṛṣṇa-rasa-bhakti. “Mahāprabhu told Advaita and Nityānanda, ‘Both of you wholeheartedly bestow your mercy on Rūpa Gosvāmī. May Rūpa become so powerful by your mercy that he can explain the divine mellows of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.” (Cai.-caritāmṛta, Antya 1.56-57)
He told Svarūpa Dāmodara: prabhu kahe-iṅho āmāya prayāge milila; yogya-pātra jāni iṅhāya more kṛpā hoilā. tabe śakti sañcāri āmi kaīluṅ upadeśa; tumiho kohio iṅhāya rasera viśeṣa. ”
Rūpa met me at Prayāga. Knowing him to be a worthy person, I bestowed My mercy upon him. I then empowered him with transcendental power while giving him instructions.
You should also instruct him in the secrets of divine rasa.” (Cai.-caritāmṛta, Antya 1.88-89) Hearing the nāṭaka (drama) composed by Rūpa, Rāya Rāmānanda was astonished and said to Mahāprabhu:

eta śuni’ rāya kahe prabhura caraṇe;  rūpera kavitva praśaṁsi sahasra vadane
“kavitva nā hoy ei amṛtera dhāra;  nāṭaka lakṣaṇa saba siddhāntera sāra
prema-paripāṭī ei adbhuta varṇana;  śuni’ citta-karṇera hoy ānanda-ghūrṇana
tomāra śakti vinā jīvera nahe ei vāṇī;  tumi śakti diyā kahāo, hena anumāni
prabhu kahe prayāge iṅhāra hoila milana;  iṅhāra guṇe iṅhāte āmāra tuṣṭa hoilo mana
madhura prasanna iṅhāra kāvya sālaṅkāra;  aiche kavitva vinu nahe rasera pracāra
sabe kṛpā kari iṅhāre deha ei vara;  vraja-līlā-prema-rasa yena varṇe nirantara”

“After hearing this, Rāya submitted at the lotus feet of Mahāprabhu and began to praise the poetic skill of Rūpa as if with a thousand mouths. He said, ‘This is not mere poetry, but a constant shower of nectar. All the characteristics of drama appear as the essence of rasa philosophy. His descriptions of the details of divine love are indeed very astonishing. Hearing them, one’s heart and ears whirl with transcendental bliss. Without your power, an ordinary being is unable to describe all these secret writings. I can definitely guess that he is empowered by You.’
Mahāprabhu said, ‘I met him at Prayāga, where I was fully satisfied with his attributes. His poetry is sweet and pleasing and is embellished with literary ornaments. Without such poetic skill, propagation of divine flavours is impossible. All of you benedict him with your mercy so that he can constantly describe the Vraja pastimes and the nectar of divine love.” (Cai.-car, Antya 1/192-199)

From all these descriptions we can understand how dear Rūpa Gosvāmī was to Mahāprabhu. In the beginning of this book, the author says, “I constantly pay my obeisances unto the lotus feet of Rūpa Gosvāmī.” The author is praying for the mercy of Rūpa Gosvāmī since he wishes to analyze and expand devotional principles. It is indeed impossible to understand bhakti philosophy without Śrī Rūpa’s mercy. Through his mercy one can easily attain the highest perfection on the path of devotion related to the loving service of the lotus feet of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura says in Prārthanā: śuniyāchi sādhu-mukhe bale sarva jana; śrī rūpa kṛpāya mile yugala caraṇa. śrī rūpera kṛpā yena āmā prati hoy; se pada āśraya yāra sei mahāśaya “I have heard from the mouth of sādhus and all the people say that by the mercy of Śrī Rūpa one can attain the lotus feet of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. May Śrī Rūpa bestow his mercy on me. One who takes his shelter is really a great soul.” (2)

 iha khalu paramānandamayād api puruṣād ‘brahma-pucchaṁ pratiṣṭhā’ iti brahmato’pi parātparo – raso vai saḥ. rasaṁ hyevāyaṁ labdhānandībhavatīti śrutyā sūcyamāno ‘mallānām aśanir nṛṇāṁ naravaraḥ strīṇāṁ smaro mūrtimān iti sarva vedānta sāreṇa nikhila pramāṇa cakravartinā śrīmad bhāgavatena rasatvena vivriyamāṇaḥ ‘brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāhaṁ’ iti śrī gītopaniṣadā ca evāyam iti saṁmanyamānaḥ śrī vraja-rājanandanaḥ eva śuddhasattvamaya nija nāma rūpa guṇa līlāḍhyo’nādi vapur eva kam api hetum anaprekṣamāṇa eva svecchayaiva jana śravaṇa nayana mano buddhyādīndriya vṛttiṣvavatarate. yathaiva yadu raghvādi vaṁśeṣu svecchayaiva kṛṣṇa rāmādi rūpeṇa.

    TRANSLATION: The evidence of śrutis is the best of scriptural evidence (śabda pramāṇa). The Taittiriya śruti explains that Brahman is the support, or base, of the paramānandamaya-puruṣa, the ever-blissful Supreme Person, brahma pucchaṁ pratiṣṭhā. In other words, the paramānandamaya puruṣa is supporting five coverings, ānandamaya, vijñānamaya, jñānamaya, prāṇamaya and annamaya and he is supported by Brahman. The same śruti further explains that Bhagavān is personified rasa and only by attaining Him one becomes ever-blissful. This verse declares that Bhagavān, the Supreme Absolute Truth, is superior even to Brahman. Śrīmad Bhāgavata, the supreme emperor of all evidence and the essence of all Vedānta, describes Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the embodiment of rasa in text (10.43.17) “He is a lightning bolt for the wrestlers, best of men for ordinary people, personified cupid for the women. . ”

 In the Bhagavad Gītā (14.27) as well Kṛṣṇa establishes Himself as the shelter of Brahman, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāhaṁ. The śrutis and smṛtis, therefore, assert that the Original Personality of Godhead is Śrī Vrajendra-nandana, the son of the king of Vraja Nanda Mahārāja, whose eternal figure possessing name, form, qualities, and pastimes is beyond the three guṇas of māyā (śuddha-sattva-maya, transcendental in nature). Though He is transcendental to material nature, He manifests to the ear, eye, mind, intellect, and others by His own free will without depending on any other cause. For instance, by His completely independent will and inconceivable potency, the Lord appears as Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Rāma in the Yadu and Raghu dynasties.

Pīyūṣa kaṇā explanation:

The author cites evidence from the śrutis to establish that the Self-manifest transcendental blissful Absolute Truth and the truth of bhakti are completely beyond material nature. He shows the infallible authenticity of śabda-pramāṇa or śrutis, the scriptures. Pramāṇa or evidence is the means to determine the authenticity of an object. pramātā yenārthaṁ pramiṇoti tad eva pramāṇam. Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmīpāda writes in Sarva-saṁvādinī: yadyapi pratyakṣānumāna śabdārṣopamāṇārthāpattyabhāva sambhavaitihya ceṣṭākhyāni daśa pramāṇāni viditāni tathāpi bhrama pramāda vipralipsā karaṇāpāṭava doṣa rahita vacanātmakaḥ śabda eva mūla pramāṇam, “generally there are ten types of evidence, namely pratyakṣa, anumāna, śabda, ārṣa, upamāna, arthāpatti, abhāva, sambhava, aitihya, and ceṣṭā. śabda, or śruti, however, is accepted as the most authentic evidence because it is free from the four defects of bhrama (illusion), pramāda (confusion), vipralipsā (cheating) and karaṇāpāṭava (defect of the senses). We will briefly explain how the other nine types of evidence are not dependable. Here we will briefly show how the other nine types of pramāṇa are not fully waterproof.”
Pratyakṣa: The knowledge directly perceived by the five sense organs, eye, ear, tongue, nose, and skin and the mind is known as pratyakṣa. The knowledge perceived through these senses can never be reliable because of the above mentioned four defects of delusion, imperfect senses, etc. The reality of an object cannot thus be known by pratyakṣa. For example, a magician makes things appear real to the senses that do not exist in reality. How can transcendental things then be proven through the material senses?
Anumāna: According to nyāya-śāstras, knowledge inferred from our common observations is known as anumāna. For example, girir vahnimān dhūmāt, every one has seen fire and smoke existing together. Thus when we see smoke coming from behind the mountain we presume that there is a fire behind the mountain. Since smoke can also be seen even after the fire has been extinguished by a rain shower, the above presumption is thus faulty. anumāna or presumption is thus also defective.
Ārṣa: The sayings of sages (ṛṣis) is known as ārṣa. Due to the difference in the theories of different sages, ārṣa is also unacceptable as authentic.
Upamāna: Ascertaining knowledge of an object based on comparison with another object of similar characteristics is known as upamāna. If one says lotus-like face, still one cannot have a complete knowledge of the face simply by seeing a lotus. Therefore, upamāna is also defective.
Arthāpatti: Sometimes a fact is common knowledge and thus cannot be rejected, but the cause of the fact being unknown, one speculates on the cause through common sense. This is known as arthāpatti. For example, if one sees a very healthy person, but never sees him eating or drinking in the day time, which is the healthy way, then one speculates by common sense that he must be eating or drinking during the night. It may be possible that he is taking some special medicine or has a benediction from some demigod that keeps him healthy. arthāpatti is thus also unreliable evidence.
Abhāva: An object cannot be perceived by the senses if it does not exist near them. For example, a person standing on one side of a high wall cannot see a pot lying on the other side of the wall. Incomprehension of the existence of the pot is called abhāva.
Sambhava: One hundred exists in one thousand. When such an understanding appears in the intellect, it is known as sambhava. abhāva and sambhava can never ascertain the Absolute Truth, since He is completely beyond all material conceptions.
Aitihya: A fact accepted in society as common knowledge being passed on by tradition, although no one knows who said this and when, is known as aitihya-pramāṇa.
Ceṣṭā: Knowledge of an object or its number perceived by raising the fingers or another bodily gesture is known as ceṣṭā. aitihya and ceṣṭā are also unacceptable as authentic types of evidence for spiritual matters.
Śabda: śāstras, or śabda, are apauruṣeya, not made by any mundane person.

It is also known as āpta-vākya, or absolutely accurate verbal authority. apauruṣeya means a fact manifested from the Lord, who is all knowing, all powerful, full of auspiciousness, and full of compassion. śabda-pramāṇa is thus free from the previously mentioned four defects of imperfect senses, tendency to cheat, illusion and inattentiveness.
Jīva Gosvāmī writes in Sarva-saṁvādinī: anyeṣāṁ prāya puruṣa bhramādi doṣamayatayānyathā pratīti darśanena pramāṇaṁ vā tadābhāsaṁ veti puruṣai nirṇetum aśakyatvāt tasya tad abhāvāt. ato rājñā bhṛtyanām iva tenaivānyeṣāṁ baddha mūlatvāt. tasya tu nairapekṣyāt yathāśakti kvacid eva tasya taiḥ sācivya karaṇāt svādhīnasya tasya tu tānyupamarddyāpi pravṛtti darśanāt. tena pratipādite vastuni tair viroddhum aśakyatvāt. teṣāṁ śaktibhir aspṛśye vastuni tasyaiva tu sādhakatamatvāt
“Regarding other types of evidence, the person ascertaining any fact may be bewildered due to the false perception of his senses and the existence of the four defects. It, therefore, becomes impossible to verify the authenticity of such facts. There is no such doubt, however, about śabda-pramāṇa. As the servants are completely under the control of the king, so too other types of evidence are dependent on śabda-pramāṇa. In certain cases, other types of evidence accordingly support śabda-pramāṇa, but śabda-pramāṇa itself is completely independent. It dominates other types of evidence and is self-evident. No other evidence can oppose the facts determined by śabda-pramāṇa. śabda-pramāṇa is most effective in cases where other types of evidence are unable to touch the facts.” śabda pramāṇa emanates from the Supreme Brahman, and no opposing evidence is accepted. Vedic śāstras appear from Bhagavān Himself. evaṁ vā are asya mahato bhūtasya niśvasitam etad yad ṛg vedo yajur vedaḥ sāmavedo’tharvāṅgirasa itihāsaḥ purāṇam “O Maitreya! Rig-veda, Yajur-veda, Sāma-veda, Atharva-veda, Itihāsa (Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa), and other Purāṇas appear when the all-pervading Parabrahma exhales. (Maitreyī Upaniṣad)” In other words, from Him all this knowledge emanates.
If the words of the Lord are the self-evident crest jewel of all evidence, one may ask, then will the words of Buddha-deva, who is a manifestation of the Lord, be accepted as such evidence? Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī replies to this question, na ca buddhasyāpīśvaratve sati tad vākyaṁ ca pramāṇaṁ syād iti vācyam. yena śāstreṇa tasya īśvaratvaṁ manyāmahe tenaiva tasya daitya mohana śāstrakāritenoktatvāt (Sarva Samvādinī) “Though He is the Lord, His words cannot be accepted as evidence, since the śāstras that describe Him as Lord say that He has composed śāstras to bewilder the demon-like atheists, rather than to deliver the Absolute Truth.”
In the beginning of this book Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda thus quotes evidence from the śrutis. The Śrutis describe the Supreme Lord Śrī Vrajendra-nandana, as the primeval Lord (svayaṁ-bhagavān) who is the undivided Supreme Absolute Truth, Self-manifest, devoid of duality and the embodiment of all rasa. The Taittiriya-śruti says, brahma pucchaṁ pratiṣṭhā, that the paramānanda puruṣa is the original support of all coverings namely, ānandamaya, covering of pleasure, vijñānamaya, covering of realization, jñānamaya, covering of knowledge, prāṇamaya, covering of life, and anna-maya, covering of nourishment.
Brahman is the support of the ānanda-maya puruṣa (the spirit soul) and is thus superior to him.
The śruti further says, raso vai saḥ: “Bhagavān is the embodiment of rasa” and rasaṁ hy evāyaṁ labdhvānandī bhavati:
“One can only become blissful by attaining the Lord, the embodiment of rasa.”

The śāstras therefore establish the supremacy of the Lord over Brahman, because the Lord is personified rasa, and the supreme among all Truths.
Because the spirit soul, or jīva, is minute and the non-personal Brahman is all-pervading, it can be concluded that Brahman is superior to the jīva.
The jīva is a part and parcel of Brahman, while Brahman is the source of all jīvas. Though all pervading, the non-personal Brahman is the Absolute Truth which does not manifest any energy.
Brahman, being an ordinary manifestation (sāmānya-prakāśa) of the all powerful Lord, is thus inferior to the Lord, the embodiment of rasas.
The essence of all Vedānta and crest jewel of all types of evidence, Śrīmad-Bhāgavata (10.43.17) says:

mallānām aśanir nṛṇāṁ nara-varaḥ strīṇāṁ smaro mūrtimān
gopānāṁ sva-jano’satāṁ kṣīti-bhujāṁ śāstā sva-pitroḥ śiśuḥ
mṛtyur bhoja-pater virāḍ aviduṣāṁ tattvaṁ paraṁ yogīnāṁ
vṛṣnīnāṁ para-devatetī vidito raṅgam gataḥ sāgrajaḥ

“Different groups of people saw the Original Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa differently, when He entered the wrestling arena of Bhojapati Kaṁsa along with His elder brother, Baladeva.
To the wrestlers He appeared as if a lightning bolt, to ordinary men He appeared as the most virile of all men, to women He was Cupid personified,
to the cowherds He was their blood-relative, to wicked kings He was a fearful chastiser, to His parents He was their child, Kaṁsa, the King of Bhoja, saw Him as Death,
the ignorant saw Him as merely an ordinary child, while yogīs saw Him to be the Absolute Truth and to the dynasty of Vṛṣṇī He was the supreme worshipable deity.”

This śloka beautifully describes the Original Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the primeval Lord, as personified rasa or the support of all rasas.
Śrīpāda Śrīdhara Svāmī writes in his commentary on this śloka:
tatra ca śṛṅgārādi sarva rasa kadamba mūrtir bhagavān tat tad abhiprāyānusāreṇa vabhau na sākalyena sarveṣām ityāha mallānām iti,
“the Original Personality of Godhead, the embodiment of rasas, namely śṛṅgāra (amorous), vātsalya (parenthood) and others, appeared differently to different people.
He did not appear the same to all persons.” Every person saw Him according to his own mood. None of them could see His form as the embodiment of all rasas.
Kṛṣṇa is not only personified rasa; He is also Rasarāja. In the maṅgalācaraṇa (auspicious invocation) of his book Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu,
Rūpa Gosvāmī describes Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the embodiment of all kinds of rasa, akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrti.
The seers that composed the Upaniṣads described God as rasa, but Kṛṣṇa is not just rasa— He is the king of rasa!
And He is not the king of one rasa — of all rasas! He is the embodiment of rasa, especially śṛṅgāra (erotic) rasa, which is the essence of rasa or the king of rasa.
Śrī Līlāśuka Bilvamaṅgala says, śṛṅgāra rasa sāra sarvasvam: “The worshipable deity of love, the Supreme Lord is personified madhura-rasa, or He Himself is amorous rasa.”
His head is decorated with a peacock feather and His form is curved in three places. Śrīla Jayadeva has written: śṛṅgāra sakhi mūrtimān-
“sakhi! Śyāmasundara is the embodiment of erotic rasa!”
Thus the writers of rasa-śāstras say rasaḥ śṛṅgārānām ayaṁ śyāmalaḥ kṛṣṇa daivataḥ that black colour indicates madhura-rasa and Kṛṣṇa is its presiding Godhead.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself says to Arjuna, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham: “I Myself am the support, or base, of the non-personal Brahman.”
Śrīdhara Svāmī explains this part of the śloka:
brahmaṇo’haṁ pratiṣṭhā ghanībhūta brahmaivāhaṁ yathā ghanībhūta prakāśa eva sūrya maṇḍalaṁ tadvad ityarthaḥ –
“I Myself am compact Brahman, as the orb of the sun is compact light.”
In other words, just as the sun is light and at the same time a vessel of light, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is both brahman and its support— kṛṣṇera aṅgera prabhā parama ujjvala upaniṣat kahe tāṅre brahma sunirmala (C.C.) “The Upaniṣads say that the spotless non-personal Brahman is the glowing effulgence of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s body.”
Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the beginningless Original Personality of Godhead, is indicated by the Śrutis and Smṛtis to be eternal and to possess name, form, and activities that are beyond the touch of three guṇas of material nature, śuddha-sattva-maya.
By His uncommon independent free will the Lord manifests to the senses, ears, eyes, mind, and intelligence of human beings.
Devotees thus realize the Lord by their internal and external senses. There is the famous description in Śrīmad Bhāgavata of the Lord revealing such mercy to Nārada and others.
Quite independently, through His inconceivable powers, He descends in the Raghu-dynasty as Rāma and in the Yadu-dynasty as Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
During the presence of the Lord on this planet, everyone, including the devotees, saw Him directly. Nobody could relish His sweetness, however, except the devotees.
He appears as an ordinary mundane person to the worldly-minded nondevotees and the demons want to fight with Him as enemies. Such direct vision of the Lord is as good as not seeing Him at all.

 tasya bhagavata iva tad rūpāyā bhakter api svaprakāśatāsiddhyartham eva hetutvānapekṣatā. tathāhi ‘yato bhaktir adhokṣaje ahaitukyapratihatā’ ityādau hetuṁ vinaivāvirbhavatīti tatrārthaḥ. tathaiva ‘yadṛcchayā mat kathādau’ ‘mad bhaktiṁ ca yadṛcchayā’ ‘yadṛcchayaivopacitā’ ityādāvapi yadṛcchayetyasya svācchandenetyarthaḥ. yadṛcchā svairitetyabhidhānāt

    TRANSLATION: The self-manifesting eternal energy of the Lord, bhakti, being nondifferent from the Lord‚ is not dependent on any other cause. Śrīmad-Bhāgavata (1.2.6) describes the independent appearance of bhakti, “Devotional service to Lord Adhokṣaja, who is beyond the senses of all human beings, is the best of all religions because such devotion is causeless and uninterrupted by obstacles.” Similarly, the words of the Lord, “by chance if one attains faith in hearing My glories,” “by chance if one attains bhakti,” “by chance if bhakti manifests” refer to the Lord’s independent will. The word yadṛcchā means independent will. The dictionary also mentions yadṛcchā as spontaneous or self-will.

Pīyūṣa kaṇā explanation:

The Lord appears by His independent will as Kṛṣṇa in the Yadu-dynasty and as Rāma in the Raghu dynasty. So too does He appear in the external and internal senses of His devotee.
Like the Lord, His self-manifesting internal potency Bhakti-devī is eternal and by her own independent sweet will appears to the internal and external senses of the devotee.
Her appearance does not depend on any cause. From the description in Gopāla Uttara-tāpanī Upaniṣad it can be clearly understood that Bhakti-devī is also eternal like Kṛṣṇa and is full of knowledge and bliss.
vijñāna-ghana ānanda-ghana sac-cid-ānandaika rase bhakti-yoge tiṣṭhati:
“Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the personification of absolute knowledge and compact bliss can be attained by the mercy of sac-cid-ānanda-mayī bhakti.”

This text gives the description of the svarūpa (form) of the Supreme Lord and the svarūpa of bhakti that makes him subdued by His devotees.
If bhakti were not sac-cid-ānanda-mayī, it could never make the Lord subdued by His devotees.
Bhakti is cid-ānanda-mayī, self-manifesting and completely beyond the material nature. One may ask, how then can it manifest in the material senses of a devotee?
The answer is, an iron bar put into burning fire attains the same quality as fire. So too bhakti, by its own potency, destroys the material nature of the senses of a devotee,
transforming it into spiritual nature like her own.
Finally she manifests herself in the spiritual senses of a devotee.
Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmī specifically describes the svarūpa of bhakti in Prīti-sandarbha (65) –
bhaktir evainaṁ nayati bhaktir evainaṁ darśayati bhaktivaśaḥ puruṣo bhaktir eva bhūyasī iti śruyate. tasmād evaṁ vivicyate. yā caivaṁ bhagavantaṁ svānandena mādayati sā kiṁ lakṣaṇā syāt iti na tāvat sāṅkhyānām iva prākṛta sattvamaya māyika ānanda-rūpā bhagavato māyānabhibhāvyatva śruteḥ svatas tṛptatvācca. na ca nirviśeṣa-vādinām iva bhagavat svarūpānandarūpā atiśayānupapatteḥ. ato natarāṁ jīvasya svarūpānanda-rūpā atyanta kṣudratvāt tasya. tato hlādinī sandhinī samvit tvayyekā sarva saṁsthitau. hlādatāpakarī miśrā tvayi no guṇa varjjite. iti viṣṇu purāṇānusāreṇa hlādinyākhya tadīya svarūpa śaktyānanda rūpaivetyavaśiṣyate – yayā khalu bhagavān svarūpānanda viśeṣībhavati yayaiva taṁ tam ānandam anyānapyanubhāvayatīti. atha tasyā api bhagavati sadaiva vartamāna tayātiśayānupapattes tvevaṁ vivecanīyaṁ śrutārthānyathānupapattyarthāpatti pramāṇa siddhatvāt. tasyā hlādinyā eva kāpi sarvānandātiśāyinī vṛttir nityaṁ bhaktavṛndeṣveva nikṣipyamāṇā bhagavat prītyākhyayā vartate. atas tadanubhavena śrī bhagavān api bhakteṣu prītyatiśayaṁ bhajata iti-
“Śrutis say bhakti brings one near to the Lord, bhakti makes one see the Lord, bhakti brings the Lord under her control, bhakti is the supreme path for attaining the Lord.
The point to be considered here is, what is the specific quality of bhakti that overwhelms even the Lord with bliss? One cannot consider bhakti to have material nature and material bliss as the sāṅkhya philosophers do. According to the śrutis the self-satisfied Lord cannot be attracted by any material object, nor can one consider bhakti as the svarūpānanda, or the bliss existing in the eternal form of the Lord, as accepted by the non-personalists. The Lord enjoys the bliss derived from bhakti (bhaktyānanda) more than the bliss arising from his own svarūpa (svarūpānanda). Nor can one consider bhakti as the bliss existing in the eternal form of the jīva since the bliss of jīvānanda is extremely minute. It is thus unable to overwhelm the Lord. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.12.69) says, “The three eternal energies, namely, hlādinī, sandhinī and samvit exist in the svarūpa of Bhagavān, the possessor of all energies. O Lord! Being completely free from the three modes of nature, the material modes namely, happiness (sattvikī), misery (tāmasi), and the mixture of both (rajasi) do not exist in Your svarūpa.”

This text clearly suggests that bhakti is neither svarūpānanda nor jīvānanda. The only bliss which thus remains is that arising from the hlādinī-śakti of the Lord (svarūpa-śaktyānanda).
It is this hlādinī-śakti only that overwhelms the Lord with ecstasy. By this śakti the Lord Himself attains bliss and bestows bliss to his devotees.
One may argue that since the svarūpa-śakti always exists within the svarūpa of the Lord Himself, then how can the Lord be overwhelmed by His own śakti?
To clear this doubt one can take the help of arthāpatti evidence, inference from the circumstances. A phenomenon appearing contradictory, though its effects are being observed, can only be proven by arthāpatti.
Although it is impossible for hlādinī to give more bliss to the Lord than the bliss existing in His own form, still He is getting more bliss from her.
This contradiction can be solved by arthāpatti. For instance, a man named Devadatta does not eat during daytime, still he is fat.
According to arthāpatti one has to accept that he may eat during the nighttime. Similarly, by arthāpatti one must accept no one can give bliss to the Lord other than the hlādinī-śakti, but still He gets bliss that He cannot get from her. According to arthāpatti pramāṇa she is giving Him bliss in another form, just as must be assumed that Devadatta is eating at night.
The supremely blissful state of hlādinī that eternally exists in the devotees is known as bhagavat-prīti, or divine prema.
The Lord can also experience this within His devotees and thus the Lord and His devotees become attached to each other.
Bhakti is called the svarūpa-śakti of the Lord. The Lord’s svarūpa is sat cit ānanda, so His cit-śakti has also three features, sandhinī, samvit, and hlādinī. Sandhinī is the energy related to existence. By this energy the Lord maintains His own existence and that of others. Samvit is the energy related to knowledge. Through this energy the Lord knows about Himself and causes others to know Him. Hlādinī is the energy related to bliss. By this energy the Lord Himself experiences bliss and gives bliss to others.
Existing within the svarūpa of the Lord, eternity (sat), knowledge (cit), and bliss (ānanda) cannot be separated from each other.
Sandhinī, samvit, and hlādinī are similarly inseparable. In any manifestation of svarūpa-śakti, one of these three states is predominant, while the other two are also present in lesser quantity.
As cit-śakti is self-manifested, its three states are also self-manifesting. They make their appearance by themselves and cause the appearance of others.
By the specific self-manifesting state of cit-śakti consisting of hlādinī, sandhinī, and samvit, the Lord appears in His original eternal form along with His associates and transcendental abode.
This specific state of svarūpa-śakti is known as viśuddha-sattva. When sandhinī-śakti predominates in viśuddha-sattva it is known as ādhāra-śakti, the energy holding all existence.
The abode of the Lord and the Lord’s associates appear by this energy. When samvit-śakti predominates, it is known as ātmavidyā, spiritual knowledge.
When hlādinī predominates, it is known as guhya-vidyā, secret knowledge. By this energy bhakti, or bhagavat-prīti, love for the Lord, is manifest.
One can thus understand from this description that bhakti is self-manifesting by nature like the Lord. There is no other cause for her appearance.
Bhakti manifests herself in the devotee by her own independent will. sādhana bhajana is performed to make the heart suitable for her appearance.
The author gives further evidence from the Bhāgavata to establish the independent appearance of bhakti.
In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavata (1.2.6) while establishing the ultimate welfare of the living entities, Śrīpāda Sūta Muni says to the sages headed by Śaunaka Ṛṣi,

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje
ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati

“The supreme religion of all living beings is that by which they can attain causeless and uninterrupted bhakti to the Lord, who is beyond the reach of the material senses.”
The word ahaitukī means that bhakti is causeless. This means bhakti is self-blissful; it does not seek any other fruit except the Lord and His service.
This explanation shows the causeless appearance of bhakti.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa also says to Uddhava:

yadṛcchayā mat-kathādau jāta-śraddhas tu yaḥ pumān
na nirviṇṇo nāti-sakto bhakti-yogo ’sya siddhi-daḥ

“If someone, by chance, attains faith in hearing my glories, but is neither completely detached from nor too much attached to sense gratification, then he can attain perfection by practicing bhakti-yoga.”
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavata 11.20.8).

Śrī Kṛṣṇa again says to Uddhava:

asmil loke vartamānaḥ sva-dharma-stho’naghaḥ śuciḥ
jñānaṁ viśuddhaṁ āpnoti mad-bhaktiṁ vā yadṛcchayā

“A sinless person with a pure heart performing actions without desiring the fruit can attain spiritual knowledge and somehow achieve my devotion.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavata 11.20.11)

In this text and others like it, yadṛcchayaivopacitā: “if by chance one attains bhakti,” the word yadṛcchā means by independent will.

yadṛcchayā kenāpi bhāgyeneti vyākhyāne bhāgyaṁ nāma kiṁ śubha karma janyaṁ tad ajanyaṁ vā? ādye bhakteḥ karma janya bhāgya janyatve karmapāratantrye sva-prakāśatāpagamaḥ. dvitīye bhāgyasyānirvācyatvenājñeyatvād asiddheḥ kathaṁ hetutvam. bhagavat kṛpaiva hetur ityukte tasyā api hetāv anviṣyamāṇe’navasthā. tat kṛpāyā nirūpādhikāyā hetutve tasyā asārvatrikatvena tasmin bhagavati vaiṣamyaṁ prasajjeta. duṣṭa nigraheṇa svabhakta pālana rūpas tu vaiṣamyaṁ tatra na dūṣaṇāvahaṁ pratyuta bhūṣaṇāvaham eva. bhakta vātsalya guṇasya sarva cakravartitvena sarvopamarddakatvenopariṣṭād aṣṭamyāmṛta vṛṣṭau vyākhyāsyamānatvāt
    
    TRANSLATION: Some describe the word yadṛcchā as by good fortune. If this is accepted, then one may ask whether this good fortune arises from pious activities or not? If we accept pious activities as the cause of such good fortune, then it is dependent on good deeds and loses its self-manifesting nature. If pious activities are not the cause of good fortune, then again the cause remains unknown. The cause of fortune being unknown, how can we accept that it causes bhakti? By logic, a fact that is itself unproven is unable to prove another fact. If the Lord’s mercy is accepted as the cause of bhakti, one may again ask about the cause of that mercy. Inquiring more and more about the cause of the Lord’s mercy, one is unable to come to a conclusion and the fact remains unproven. If, however, one says that the causeless mercy of the Lord is the cause of the bhakti, then it should be seen equally bestowed to all. Since this is not seen, it would imply the fault of partiality in the Lord. The partiality seen in the Lord in punishing the demons and maintaining His devotees is not a fault, but an ornament. The Lord’s affection for His devotees is supreme, ruling over all His other qualities like a universal emperor. This will be discussed in detail in the eighth shower of this book.

Pīyūṣa kaṇā explanation:

The author establishes the self-manifesting nature of bhakti by explaining the word yadṛcchā as completely independent will.
Śrīdhara Svāmī mentions in his commentary on the verse yadṛcchayā mat-kathādau that yadṛcchā means yadṛcchayā kenāpyati bhāgyodayena, “by the arising of some good fortune”.
If one accepts fortune arising from either pious activities or the Lord’s mercy as the cause of bhakti, then the completely independent and self-manifesting nature of bhakti is lost.
The author therefore explains that this fortune arises from sādhu-saṅga, or the causeless mercy of the sādhus.
When the word yadṛcchā is explained as good fortune then one may ask how this fortune arises? One may attain fortune after doing some pious activities.
If we accept this, then bhakti becomes dependent on pious activities, and all the explanations of the śruti and smīti become meaningless,
since they all describe bhakti as sac-cid-ānanda-mayī like the sac-cid-ānanda Lord and as a self-manifesting state of svarūpa-śakti.
Secondly, if pious activities are not accepted as the cause of that fortune, then its cause remains unknown and unproved.
Being itself unproved, how can such fortune be the cause of bhakti?
Thirdly, one may propose the Lord’s mercy as the cause of that fortune. Then again the question of the cause of His mercy arises.
In this way it is impossible to reach a conclusion and the fact remains unproved. This is called anāvasthā-doṣa, the defect of being unsettled or inconclusive.
Fourthly, one may further propose the causeless mercy of the Lord as the cause of that fortune. But then all living entities should get the fortune for attaining bhakti.
We see, however, that some get that fortune and some not. This implies the fault of partiality in the Lord.
Someone may say that partiality is seen in the Lord when He destroys the enemies of His devotees, yet protects His devotees.
However, this partiality is not a fault, rather it is a beautiful ornament.
The reason is that the Lord’s affection for His devotees (bhakta-vātsalya) is the quality that rules like a universal emperor over all of His other qualities. Specifically by killing the demons,
the Lord bestows boundless mercy on them. Because of their hatred for the Lord and His devotees, the spirit soul of the demons will undergo severe suffering in hell forever.
There will be no chance of their attaining bhakti. The Lord shows boundless compassion for them by killing them and thus giving them liberation, which is even difficult to attain by yogīs.

 nirupādhikayās tad bhakta kṛpāyā hetutve vastuto bhaktānām api vaiṣamyānucitatve’pi ‘prema maitrī kṛpopekṣā yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ’ (bhāg. 11.3.46) iti madhyama bhakta vaiṣamyasya vidyamānatvād bhagavataś ca svabhakta vaśyatvena tat kṛpānugāmi kṛpatve na kiñcid asāmañjasam. yato bhakta kṛpāyā hetur bhaktasyaiva tasya hṛdaya vartinī bhaktir eva. tāṁ vinā kṛpodaya sambhavābhāvād iti bhakteḥ svaprakāśatvam eva siddham.

    TRANSLATION: If the causeless mercy of the devotee is accepted as the cause of bhakti, then again the question arises of partiality on the part of the devotee. Śrīmad-Bhāgavata (11.3.46), however, accepts this partiality as the natural characteristic of the madhyama-bhakta. This verse says that he shows love for the Lord, friendship for the devotees, mercy to the ignorant, and negligence of those who hate the devotees. Partiality thus exists in the madhyama devotee. Moreover, the Lord is always under the control of His devotees. His mercy follows the mercy of His devotees. There is no impropriety in this fact. Bhakti residing in the devotee’s heart is the main cause of his bestowing mercy to others. Other than bhakti, there is no cause for the appearance of mercy. This shows the self-manifest status of bhakti.

Pīyūṣa kaṇā explanation:

Here the author establishes the fact that the causeless mercy of a devotee, who is saccidānanda like the Lord Himself, is the cause of bhakti,
not the performance of pious activities nor the causeless mercy of the Lord Himself. With reasonable evidence he explains that this does not contradict the self-manifesting independent nature of bhakti.
As the Lord’s mercy is causeless, so too is the mercy of His devotees.
The qualities of the Lord accordingly appear in the devotee, as mentioned in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22.75):
kṛṣṇa-bhakte kṛṣṇera guṇa sakali sañcāre.
If the causeless mercy of a devotee is accepted as the cause of bhakti, still it is not seen to be equally bestowed upon all.
This appears to be partiality. As partiality would appear to be improper in regard to the Lord’s mercy, so also in the case of the devotee’s mercy.
But note the following definition of the devotee of intermediate attainment (madhyama-bhakta) given in the Bhāgavata (11.2.46):

īśvare tad-adhīneṣu bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca
prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ

“A madhyama-bhakta has divine love for the Lord, is friendly to the devotees, merciful to the ignorant, and indifferent to the envious.”

This text, spoken by Śrīpāda Havi Yogīndra, one of the nine Yogendras, clearly mentions the partiality of the madhyama-bhakta regarding his mercy to the innocent and indifference to the envious.
It is easily understandable though, that this partiality does not hamper his devotion at all. By the mercy of a madhyama-bhakta‚ ordinary human beings can attain bhakti.
As the Lord is under the control of His devotees, His mercy follows that of a devotee.
By carefully considering this point, one can understand that bhakti residing in the heart of a devotee causing him to bestow mercy to others is the cause of the appearance of bhakti in them.
The conclusion is, therefore, that bhakti is the cause of bhakti.
Bhakti does not depend on any other cause for its appearance. In this way no doubt exists about the completely independent and self-manifesting nature of bhakti.

 ato ‘yaḥ kenāpyatibhāgyena jāta śraddho’sya sevane’ ityatra atibhāgyena śubha karma janya bhāgyam atikrāntena kenāpi bhakta kāruṇyeneti tattvārtho jñeyaḥ. na ca bhaktānāṁ kṛpāyāḥ prāthamyāsambhavas teṣām apīśvara preryatvād iti vācyam. īśvareṇaiva sva bhakta vaśyatāṁ svīkurvatā sva kṛpā śakti sampradānīkṛta sva bhaktena tādṛśasya bhaktotkarṣasya dānāt. antaryāminaś ca īśitavyānāṁ svādṛṣṭopārjita bahir indriya vyāpāreṣu niyamana mātrākāritve’pi sva bhakteṣu svaprasāda eva dṛśyate. yad uktaṁ śrī gītāṣu ‘mat prasādāt parāṁ śāntiṁ mat saṁsthānam adhigacchati iti. prasādaś ca sva kṛpāśakti dānātmakaḥ pūrvam ukta eva.

    TRANSLATION:  In the text, “If one attains faith in the service of the Lord by some great fortune,” some great fortune specifically refers to the mercy of a devotee,
which surpasses the fortune arising from pious activities. One may say that a devotee is also under the control of the Lord, then how is the appearance of devotee’s mercy possible without the Lord’s will or inspiration? The Lord Himself, by accepting the control of His devotees and by bestowing His kṛpā-śakti upon them, gives superiority to His devotees.
Although the Lord as Paramātmā, the Supersoul, oversees the activities of the jīvas’ external senses according to their fate,
still the Lord bestows His own mercy on the devotees under His control.
The Lord says in the Gītā, “By My mercy, My devotees attain supreme peace, which exists within My svarūpa.”
Here mercy refers to His kṛpā-śakti that he bestows on His devotees. This was previously explained.

Pīyūṣa kaṇā explanation:

Previously the author concluded that by considering the devotee’s mercy as the cause of bhakti, the self-manifesting nature of bhakti is not contradicted.
This is so since bhakti residing within the heart of a devotee is the cause of his bestowing mercy on other ordinary beings. Thus it is clear that bhakti is the cause of bhakti.

Now the author is establishing this fact by giving śāstric evidence.
In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.14) it is said, yaḥ kenāpyatibhāgyena jātaśraddho’sya sevane –
“By some great fortune one attains faith in the Lord’s service.”
Here great fortune refers to the fortune that surpasses the fortune arising out of pious activities.
That fortune can only arise from a devotee’s mercy. With the Lord’s mercy, the fault of partiality may appear, but this not so with a devotee’s mercy.
Rejecting the fortune arising out of pious activities leaves only the fortune arising out of a devotee’s mercy. This is called here atibhāgya. This great fortune causes one’s faith in the service of the Lord.
The author is establishing the self-manifesting quality of bhakti by raising various objections and clarifying them by śāstric evidence.
This is known as sthūṇānikhanana-nyāya .
One may argue that since a devotee is under the control of the Lord, how is it possible for a devotee to independently bestow mercy on others without the Lord’s will or inspiration?
One thus proposes that the root cause of the devotee’s mercy is the Lord’s inspiration.
If one accepts this proposal, then how can the self-manifesting nature of bhakti be proven?
In reply it is said that the Lord has put Himself under the control of His devotees. He has also bestowed His kṛpā-śakti to His devotees.
Therefore, the bestowal of mercy to others by His devotees does not depend on any other cause. They can independently bestow mercy to others.
Thus the Lord, by His own independent will, has given a superior position to His devotees.
The Bhakti-sandarbha (180) says, “If the devotee’s mercy is not independent, then it will be impossible for the living entities to attain the Lord’s mercy.
The main differences between the Lord and the jīvas are that the Lord is personified compact bliss, self-satisfied, completely beyond all kinds of sins, and free from the touch of māyā.
If there is no possibility of any darkness in the sun, the greatly powerful source of light, there is no possibility of realization of any misery in the Lord, who is supremely blissful.
The Śruti says, āditya varṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt –
‘The sun-complexioned Supreme Lord is beyond the darkness of māyā.’
He is always absorbed in His own divine bliss and can therefore not feel the pain of the conditioned souls.
Mercy can only appear by realizing the misery of other jīvas. As the Lord is the embodiment of compact bliss, though all-powerful, His mercy to the bound jīva soul is impossible.
The only way the miserable bound jīva soul can thus attain liberation is through the independent will of mahat, or sādhu.
The mahats also exist in the realm of bliss, completely free from the influence of the three modes of material nature.
However, as someone on just awakening from a nightmare can still remember the distress of the dream, so the devotees also remember the miseries of this world from their previous lives.
With a compassionate heart, therefore, they can bestow mercy.”
The most compassionate Lord has thus given full independence to His devotees to bestow mercy to others.
The fully independent mercy of the devotee is the only way to approach the Lord. The conclusion is that the jīvas can only receive the Lord’s mercy through the channel of a devotee’s mercy, not directly by the Lord.”
One may further argue that the Lord as Paramātmā inspires all jīvas and directs their external organs according to their fate.

In the Gītā (18.61) He Himself says: īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛddeśe’rjuna tiṣṭhati. bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtānī yantrāruḍhānī māyayā –
“The Lord as Supersoul exists within all jīvas and engages them in various activities, like a man controlling a machine.”

Is there no control of the Supersoul on the activities of a devotee? To this can be answered:
“The internal and external senses of the devotee, as well as their power to reveal the Lord’s mercy potency, are indeed under the Lord’s control according to their fate,
since their life-force comes from the Lord; thus the devotees are not fully independent. Still, we see that the Lord bestows His mercy upon His own devotees.
Though the Lord as Supersoul urges His energy to direct the external senses of the conditioned souls to undergo the result of their past activities, His control of His devotees’ senses is not like this.
The devotees consider their pains and pleasures as due to their past activities, but they are not affected by their previous karma.
Their pains and pleasures occur completely by the free will of the Lord to nourish their bhakti.
Though the kṛpā-śakti appearing in the senses of the devotees is controlled by the Lord Himself, He has given them full independence to bestow mercy on the ordinary jīvas.

In the Gītā the Lord says, “By My mercy, one can attain the supreme peace existing in My svarūpa.”
Here mercy refers to the bestowal of His kṛpā-śakti to His devotees.