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In stanza 3 of the text, Madhusudana defines bhakti as "The modification of the mind melted by the spiritual disciplines of the Lord's devotees which has become a continuous, stream-like flow directed toward the Lord of all."12 This definition is modeled on that given at Bhagavata-purana Madhusudana, in his commentary, cites this 3.29.11-12.13 passage and takes pains to let the reader know that he is following its authority.

160 In both definitions, bhakti is identified as a modality of the idividual psyche; in the purana it is a "flow of the mind" (manogati), in the Bhakti-rasayana, a "modification" (vrtti) of the mind. It is, by this definition, distinguished from other psychic modifications by several factors. First, it is unlike ordinary waking consciousness, but like both yogic meditation (dhyana) and Vedantic upasana, 14 in that it is a constant, unbroken stream of awareness. Second, and now in contrast to meditation and upasana, it occurs in a mind that has been placed in a state of heightened emotional sensibility called "melting." The latter condition is aroused by devotional practices known as the bhagavatadharmas, the "disciplines of the Lord's devotees, The "15 the most important of which, as we shall see, is "hearing" (sravana) of the sublime attributes and wondrous activities of the Lord and his incarnations. third distinguishing factor of devotion is, of course, that its object is the "Lord of all," the bhagavat or "Blessed Lord," about whom a good deal will be said shortly. Though there is a close correspondence between Madhusudana's definition and that of the Bhagavata-purana, our author's introduction of the technical term vrtti ("mental modification") in place of the purana's more general manogati ("flow of the mind") is significant. It allows him to begin to introduce refinements in the definition that

161 will eventually lead to its being recast in a new, thoroughly Advaitic mould. In his commentary, Madhusudana defines the term votti as "the mind's assumption of a particular form (akara) "16 鈥� This is the standard view of Vedanta, which, like the Sankhya and Yoga systems, conceives of the mind as composed of a subtle, highly plastic substance of constantly changing modalities. According to the cognitive theory of Advaita, discussed in some detail in Madhusudana's comments on Bhakti-rasayana 1.20-25,17 the mind in the process of perception undergoes a change of state, reaching out and assuming the form of its object. This mental modification removes the ignorance veiling the object from the subject and creates a link between the two. Madhusudana applies this understanding of vrtti to the initial defintion given in stanza 3, glossing the phrase "directed toward the Lord of all" as "having assumed the Lord's form. form. "18 This allows him to define bhakti more technically as the mind's becoming receptive to, and taking on, the "form" of God. Thus we read: "The worship which consists in the mind's taking on the form of the Blessed Lord is devotion, and again, " "Devotion is Blessed Lord."19 鈥� the mind's taking on the form of the