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At this point, there might be an objection: "Devotion to the Lord is merely knowledge of Brahman by another name. Knowledge of Brahman is taught as the goal of all good deeds in revealed texts such as, 'By recitation of the Veda, by sacrifice, by charity, by austerity, and by fasting, Brahmins seek to know Him' [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.22]. And the same thing is taught in the section of the Brahmasutras beginning with the words 'sarvapeksa' [3.4.26-39].104 verses previously quoted in this work also indicate that devotion to the Blessed Lord is the same as the knowledge of Brahman, because they too define devotion as the goal of all good deeds. Further, it is already established in the Brahmasutras, through the removal of ignorance and The misconception, that knowledge of Brahman is the supreme goal Hence undertaking this inquiry 105 is useless." of life. But this is not so, because devotion and knowledge of Brahman have distinct natures, as well as means, ends, and qualifications.106 mode, 107 Devotion is a conditioned mental the mind's taking the form of the Blessed Lord after becoming melted. Knowledge of Brahman is an unconditioned mental mode 108 whose object is the secondless Self only, and it is not preceded by melting of the mind. The hearing of compositions which bring together the exalted qualities of the Blessed Lord 109 is the means to devotion,

256 The while the means to knowledge of Brahman is the great sayings of the Upanisads such as, "Thou art That" [Chandogya Upanishad 6.9.4]. fruit of devotion is an abundance of love for the Blessed Lord. The fruit of the knowledge of Brahman is the cessation of the ignorance which is the root of all evil. While all living beings are qualified for devotion, the renunciates of the highest degreelll who are possessed of the "four-fold means "112 are eligible for knowledge of Brahman. 110 only To Both devotion and knowledge of Brahman result from good deeds such as sacrifice and charity, and so do [other ends such as] heaven and the desire for knowledge.113 illustrate: Although the injunction, "He who desires heaven should perform the new and full moon sacrifices," establishes that good works are a means to heaven, the statement, "The new and full moon sacrifices fulfill all desires, "114 shows that they are a means to other ends as well. And the verse (just quoted by the objector], "By the recitation of the Veda, by sacrifice, by charity, by austerity, and by fasting, Brahmins seek to know Him" [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.22], in fact does establish that good deeds are a means to the desire for knowledge. This is in accordance with the maxim of "separate connection."115 That good works are also a means to devotion and the knowledge of Brahman may be similarly proven.116 The results are the same only when the

257 entire complex of causal factors is identical, but not when merely one cause is common. Otherwise, undesirable consequences would follow. 117 Therefore, devotion and knowledge of Brahman, neither of which is the fruit of the other, may, like heaven and the desire for knowledge, both be the result of a single means. It might be objected that, if devotion is distinct from knowledge of Brahman, it will, like heaven and so on, not be the supreme goal of life. This is not so. Heaven and the other goals cannot be enjoyed forever. They can be experienced only at certain limited times and places through certain specific bodies and sense organs, and, moreover, they are pervaded by the twofold pain of perishability and contingency. So they are certainly not ultimate. The uninterrupted flow of the bliss of devotion, however, is ultimate because it may be enjoyed equally in all times and places without limitation as body and sense organs, like the fruit of knowledge of Brahman, and because it does not have the two-fold pain of perishability and contingency. As it is said: If someone, abandoning his allotted duties and worshiping the lotus feet of Hari, should stumble while yet a novice, what evil could befall him wherever he might be? On the other hand, what can those who do not so worship gain by following their allotted duties? 1.5.17

258 A person serving Mukunda will never in any circumstances return to transmigratory existence as others may. One remembering the embrace of the feet of Mukunda, having perceived its excellence, will never desire to abandon it again. 1.5.19 Those whose minds, attached to His glorious qualities, have even once been fixed on the lotus feet of Krsna and who have [thereby] expiated all their sins, will not see Death or his noose-bearing servants even in their dreams. 6.1.19 The qualification "untouched by any suffering" is employed [ in stanza 1] for the sake of teaching that devotion is so even in the midst of calamity. Thus again, devotion is not the same as heaven and the rest which are ultimately painful.118 For similar reasons, devotion is also different from the sentiments prized by the worldly. 119 These, not prescribed by scripture and not being a cause of the destruction of sins, are certainly affected by pain at the time of calamity. The chief distinction [between devotion and the worldly sentiments], however, is explained below, where it is shown that devotion has both direct and indirect rewards. 120 It might be objected: "If all this is so, the desire for liberation will not arise because of the impossibility of detachment from the bliss of devotion. In that case,

259 there can be no commencement of the study of Vedanta, which has the desire for liberation as one of its prerequisites."121 We admit that this is true, because one already attached to the bliss of devotion does not undertake such study. 122 Nevertheless, Vedantic inquiry may be necessary even for devotees for the sake of determining the essential nature of the object of their worship. 123 But the impossibility of detachment from the bliss of devotion is certainly not a source of distress; in fact, it is desirable. Even saints who are liberated-in-life 124 enjoy devotion to the Blessed Lord, as it is taught: Sages who delight in the Self, who are free of the knots [of ignorance], practice selfless devotion to the Widestrider, 125 such are the qualities of Hari! 126 1.7.10 Thus ends the commentary on the first stanza, which serves as a summary of the meaning of the whole text. The author now further 127 specifies the aim of the work by mentioning its title: 2. O WISE ONES, LET THIS INEXHAUSTIBLE ELIXIR OF DEVOTION 128 BE DRUNK OF ABUNDANTLY BY YOU WHO HAVE LONG BEEN AFFLICTED BY THE INTENSE ILLNESS OF WORLDLY EXISTENCE, FOR IT IS EXTREMELY EFFICACIOUS IN THE REMOVAL OF THAT. The meaning of the stanza is clear.