Mādhurya Kādambinī – Sri Visvanatha Cakravartipada

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

tatra bhaktyadhikāriṇaḥ prathamaṁ śraddhā. sā ca tat tacchāstrārthe dṛḍha pratyayamayī. prakramyamāṇa yatnaika nidāna rūpa tad viṣayakatvaika nirvāha rūpa sādara spṛhā ca. sā ca sā ca svābhāvikī kenāpi balād utpāditā ca.

TRANSLATION: First śraddhā, or faith, appears in a person qualified for bhakti. śraddhā means to have firm faith in the purport of the scriptures related to bhakti. In other words, the desire to attentively follow the process of devotion as described in the scriptures with enthusiasm is known as śraddhā. There are two types of śraddhā, one is spontaneous and the other arising forcibly.

Pīyūṣa Kaṇikā Explanation:

The author has briefly described the true form of bhakti, its self-manifest nature and its symptoms, and he has commenced describing the different stages of devotional practice, which is the main topic of this book. śraddhā is the first step to enter the temple of bhakti. Bhakti can be done universally by any one at any place and time. śrī kṛṣṇa bhajane hoy sabe adhikārī; kibā vipra kibā śūdra ki puruṣa nārī (C.C.) “Everyone is entitled to devotion to Kṛṣṇa, whether they are brāhmaṇas, śūdras, men or women.” Although bhakti does not wait for time, place, caste or gender, still, it depends on śraddhā or faith. śraddhāvān jana hoy bhaktye adhikārī “Only persons with faith are qualified for bhakti.” Actually without faith, one cannot attain perfection in any process, either karma, jñāna, or yoga. Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna in the Gītā (17.28):

aśraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ tapas taptaṁ kṛtañca yat
asad ityucyate pārtha no ca tat pretya no iha

“O Arjuna! Sacrifice, charity, austerities, and other religious activities done without faith are said to be asat (useless), because they are fruitless either in this world or the next.” Maharṣi Patañjali says, śraddhā cetasaḥ samprasādaḥ sā hi jananīva kalyāṇī yoginaṁ pāti “Complete satisfaction of the heart is śraddhā.” It means firm faith in a particular subject matter, when the filth of doubt has been driven out of the heart. This is the first seed of a favourable attitude. Here we can see that faith destroys one’s doubts and brings along a favourable attitude towards that subject. śraddhā, like an auspicious mother, always lovingly protects a yogī. A faithful person can bring his activities to perfection. The deeper śraddhā gets, the more a devotee’s heart becomes favorably inclined and he proceeds towards perfection.
Surely karma, yoga and jñāna also rely on faith, but the faith that is required in bhakti is extremely special. It is nirguṇa, beyond the three modes of nature. It is the first step in devotional practice, while prema is its final step. Śrīmat Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda has written (Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhuḥ 1.4.15-16)—

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu saṅgo’tha bhajana kriyā
tato’nartha nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ
athāsaktis tato bhāvas tataḥ premābhyudañcati
sādhakānām ayaṁ premnaḥ prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ

“First of all there is faith, then one associates with devotees, then one begins to engage in bhajana, then one gets rid of bad habits, becomes fixed, gets taste, becomes attached (to Kṛṣṇa), then bhāva awakens and then prema. This is how the gradual growth of prema of the devotee takes place.”

The author is describing the characteristics of śraddhā, the first step of devotion.” The author describes here two symptoms of the first step of devotional practice. The first sign is firm faith in the purport of the scriptures. Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22/62) says: ‘śraddhā’-śabde viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścay; kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta hoy “Firm faith to render service to the Lord is called śraddhā. A devotee with śraddhā is firmly confident that by rendering service all other obligations are automatically fulfilled.” This means that one endeavours to gain realisations about the statements in the scriptures and tries to understand them logically. When there is firm faith in these teachings one understands that without worshipping God, life is wasted. Alongside this, one hears about Śrī Hari’s attributes like compassion and His pastimes of uplifting the fallen, which makes the heart blossom with hope. It then also becomes natural to lose taste for sense objects, realising that they are temporary. A life without bhajan becomes greatly intolerable and surrender to Śrī Hari becomes natural.
In Bhakti-sandarbha (173) Jīva Gosvāmī says śraddhā is the same as śaraṇāgati. śraddhā śaraṇāpattyor aikārthaṁ labhyate. tacca yuktam. śraddhā hi śāstrārtha viśvāsaḥ. śāstraṁ ca tad aśaraṇasya bhayaṁ taccaraṇasyābhayaṁ vadati. tatojātāyāḥ śraddhāyās taccharaṇāpattir eva liṅgam iti – “śraddhā and śaraṇāgati (surrender) are understood to have the same purport. śraddha means firm faith in the purport of the scriptures. The śāstras explain that persons surrendered to the Lord are fearless and the non-surrendered are full of fear. Therefore, śaraṇāgati is the symptom of śraddhā.” Unless śaraṇāgati is firmly fixed within the heart of the sādhaka, one cannot do bhajana of the Lord’s lotus feet. The more one surrenders the more one advances in bhajana. śaraṇāgati is the very life of devotional practice. Only completely surrendered persons can attain supreme peace, divine bliss, and the eternal abode of the Lord. Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna in the Gītā (18/62):

tam eva śaranaṁ gaccha sarva-bhāvena bhārata
tat prasādāt parāṁ śāntiṁ sthānaṁ prāpsyasi śaśvatam

The author then mentions that the second quality of śraddhā is the desire to attentively follow the process of devotion with enthusiasm as prescribed in the scriptures. In other words, when the first symptom of śraddhā, firm faith in the scriptures, is born, its result, the second characteristic (following the process of devotion with enthusiasm) will be manifest without a doubt. The sādhaka then will carefully follow the practices that are prescribed by the scriptures and will also always desire to perform such scriptural activities.
Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī describes in Bhakti-sandarbha (173) kiṁ ca jātāyāṁ śraddhāyāṁ siddhāvasiddhyau ca svarṇa siddhi lipsor iva sadā tad anuvṛtti ceṣṭaiva syāt. siddhiś cātrāntaḥ karaṇa kāmādi doṣa kṣaya kāri paramānanda paramakāṣṭhāgāmi śrī hari sphuraṇa rūpaiva jñeyā. tasyāṁ svārtha sādhanānupravṛttau ca dambha pratiṣṭhā-lipsādi-maya ceṣṭā leśo’pi na bhavati na sutarāṁ jñāna pūrvakaṁ mahad avajñādayo’parādhāś cāpatanti virodhād eva…….yadi vā śraddhāvato’pi prārabdhādivasena viṣaya sambandhābhyāso bhavati tathāpi tad vādhayā viṣaya sambandha samaye’pi dainyātmikā bhaktir evocchalitā syāt…..śāstrīya śraddhāyāṁ tu jātāyāṁ sudurācāratvāyogaḥ syāt ‘parapatnī paradravya’ ityādi viṣṇu toṣaṇa śāstra virodhāt “As one anxious to find gold continues his attempts whether he finds it or not, similarly a devotee continuously attempts to achieve perfection, whether he is successful or not. Perfection means the perception of Śrī Hari, which drives out all faults like lust from the heart and gives supreme bliss. Even after attaining perfection, devotees continue their endeavors to get deeper realizations, while those who have not yet attained perfection endeavour faithfully to do so. Devotees constantly making such attempts are without even the slightest bit of false ego, desire for fame, and so on. Thus they never intentionally commit offenses at the feet of great devotees, as this is a grave obstacle for attaining perfection in devotion. Sometimes a faithful person sees that he still has material attachments due to his previous saṁskāras. Knowing them to be an obstacle for his attainment of perfection, he feels himself very fallen and that humility causes his bhakti to increase. Faithful persons never commit sinful acts, as the śāstra says, parapatnī paradravya parahiṁsāsu ye matim; na karoti pumān bhūpa tuṣyate tena keśavaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa) “O King! Lord Viṣṇu is satisfied by he who does not desire to steal another man’s wife or money, or commit violence to others.” From all this evidence it is clear that when faith arises the practising devotee can give up all his bad habits such as offending superior devotees or endeavouring for profit, adoration and distinction. Thus he can easily climb the steps that lead to the kingdom of prema. Hence the aspirants must understand this initial step of faith very well. To build a skyscraper, its foundation must be very strong. If it is not strong the whole building will crash to the ground. Similarly, to make a beautiful bhakti-palace for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure, one’s śraddhā-foundation must be very firm. śraddhā is the basis of understanding one’s qualification in bhakti. Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22/64,65,67,69) says:

śraddhāvān jana hoy bhakti-adhikārī;
uttama, madhyama, kaniṣṭhā—śraddhā-anusārī
śāstra-yuktye sunipuṇa, dṛḍha-śraddhā yānra;
uttama-adhikārī seī tāraye saṁsāra
śāstra-yukti nāhi jāne dṛḍha, śraddhāvān;
madhyama-adhikārī sei mahā-bhāgyavān
yāhāra komala śraddhā, se kaniṣṭha jana;
krame krame teṅho bhakta hoibe uttama

“A faithful person is qualified for bhakti. According to their faith devotees are classified as uttama (first class), madhyama (intermediate), and kaniṣṭha (neophyte). One who is expert in explaining the scriptures and has firm faith is called uttama-adhikārī. He only can deliver the whole world. Who has firm faith, but is not expert in explaining the scriptures is called an intermediate devotee. One whose faith is immature is called a neophyte. Gradually he will turn into a first class devotee.” Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda divides these two kinds of śraddhā again: one is spontaneous, or natural (svābhāvikī) and the other arising forcibly (balapūrvaka). Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmī describes two classes of śraddhā in Bhakti-sandarbha: śāstrīya-śraddhā (scriptural faith) and laukikī-śraddhā (popular faith). The association of sādhus and their mercy are the causes of śraddhā— sat saṅgājjāyate śraddhā. In the Bhāgavata (3.25.25) Kapiladeva tells His mother Devahūti:

satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa rasāyaṇaḥ kathāḥ
taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati

“By seriously associating with the devotees, one hears My glories, which give pleasure to one’s heart and ears. By hearing these glories with affection, one gradually attains śraddhā, rati, and prema for Me, the bestower of liberation.” This verse shows that śraddhā appears by the association of sādhus. The faith that arises by the association and the company of saints is natural and is called scriptural faith. Pure worship which will result in prema is their very livelihood. Forced faith or popular faith is not the result of such mercy and association of the saints, but is attained by hearsay, copying from others and is knowledge that comes down in a succession of popular belief. This is not a qualification for pure worship. When the faithful aspirant achieves the mercy and the association of the saints he can be blessed with natural or scriptural faith.
After this Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmīpāda explains the difference of śraddhā between a ruci-pradhāna (having natural taste for devotion) person and a vicāra-pradhāna (inclined to logic and argument) person. This is how the vicāra-pradhāna devotees gradually attain śraddhā — tatra prathamaṁ tāvat tat tat saṅgajātena tat tacchraddhā tat tat paramparā kathā rucyādinā jāta bhagavat sāmmukhyasya tat tad anuṣaṅgenaiva tat tad bhajanīye bhagavad āvirbhāva viśeṣe tad bhajana mārga viśeṣe ca rucir jāyate. tataś ca viśeṣa vubhutsāyāṁ satyāṁ teṣvekato’nekato vā śrī gurutvenāśritāt śravaṇaṁ kriyate. tac copakramopasaṁhārādibhir arthāvadhāraṇam. punaś cāsambhāvanā viparīta bhāvanā viśeṣavatā svayaṁ tad vicāra rūpaṁ mananam api kriyate. tato bhagavataḥ sarvasminn evāvirbhāve tathāvidho’sau sadā sarvatra virājata ityevaṁ rūpā śraddhā jāyate………ityevaṁ vicāra pradhānānāṁ mārgo darśitaḥ (Bhakti Sandarbhaḥ, Paragraph 202) By the association of the sādhus one gets faith in the truth and in the association of the saints and taste for topics of the Lord received in disciplic succession is achieved. Thus one turns towards the Lord and concomitantly one attains a taste for a specific form of the worshipable Lord and His devotion. If there is a wish to know about the specifics shelter is taken of one or more such sādhus as śravaṇa-guru (from whom one hears the scriptures). śravaṇa means to learn about the purport of the scriptures with reference to upakrama (commencement of the text), upasaṁhāra (conclusion) abhyāsa (repetition), apūrvatā (uncommonness), phala (fruit of hearing), arthavāda (explanation of the precept), and upapatti (conclusion). These devotees carefully examine the scriptures to get rid of two doubts, asambhāvanā and viparīta-bhāvanā. asambhāvanā means thinking that what one has heard from śāstras and sādhus is impossible. viparīta-bhāvanā means to have a reverse understanding of the purport of the scriptures. After hearing from sādhus, one gets the realization that the Lord is always mercifully residing everywhere in all His manifestations as the knower and possessor of all energies. These realisations make one determined to serve Him—that is the proper scriptural faith. This is the way the vicāra pradhāna devotees attain faith.
ruci-pradhāna devotees follow the following course: ruci pradhānāṁ tu tādṛg vicārāpekṣā jāyate kintu sādhusaṅga līlākathā śravaṇa ruci śraddhā śravaṇādyāvṛtti rūpa evāsau mārgaḥ (B.S.) ruci pradhāna devotees do not depend on this process. They simply hear the Lord’s pastimes from the sādhus and attain taste for them. Finally they attain śraddhā. Thus hearing repeatedly about the Lord, they serve Him with faith.