Bhakti and Embodiment
Page 29
Upaniṣadic formulations of mantras as meditation devices are reimagined in distinctive ways in later yogic, tantric, and bhakti traditions, which advocate the practice of meditation techniques that use as vehicles specially designated mantras that are thought to possess intrinsic power. These mantras may be monosyllabic or multisyllabic and are not necessarily Vedic in origin, but they are generally modeled on the prototype of Om and are upheld as potent sound-vibrations by means of which the practitioner can directly experience that transcendent, imperishable reality which is the ultimate source and abode of the Veda.51
Embodying the Divine Presence in Sound: Mantra and Nāman in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s formulations of mantra and nāman build on and re-vision a range of Vedic formulations, including Ṛg-Vedic representations of the epistemology of Vedic cognition, the Brāhmaṇas’ portrayals of the cosmogonic function and theurgic efficacy of the Vedic mantras, and Upaniṣadic constructions of the soteriological function of root mantras as meditation devices. The influence of tantric—and more specifically Pāñcarātra—perspectives on mantra is also evident in the Bhāgavata’s reflections on mantra meditation. I will briefly examine the Bhāgavata’s re-visioning of mantras before turning to an analysis of its constructions of the divine names, nāmans, of Kṛṣṇa.
Re-visioning Mantras
In its re-visioning of mantras the Bhāgavata Purāṇa elaborates in certain contexts on the Brāhmaṇas’ formulations regarding the cosmogonic function of the Vedic mantras as the primordial utterances of the creator, while in other contexts it reimagines Upaniṣadic and Pāñcarātra formulations concerning the soteriological function of mantras as meditation devices.
Cosmogonic Function of the Vedic Mantras
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa represents the primordial utterances described in Vedic accounts—Om, the three vyāhṛtis, and the three Vedas—as different stages in the unfoldment of the divine speech of the creator principle, who is designated in the Bhāgavata and other Purāṇas by his post-Vedic appellation, Brahmā.
From the space in the supreme Brahmā’s heart, when his mind was absorbed in meditation, came forth a sound (nāda), which is perceived through restraining [sensory] activity.… From that [sound] arose the syllable Om, composed of three parts [a, u, m], of unmanifest origin, self-luminous, which is the emblem of the divine Brahman, the supreme Self (Ātman). It is he who hears, when the sense of hearing is nonactive and the sense of sight inoperative, this unmanifest sound (sphoṭa). The manifestation of this [Om], through which speech (vāc) is manifested, derives from the Self in the space [of the heart]. This [Om] is directly expressive of its own abode, Brahman, the supreme Self, and it is the secret essence of all mantras, the eternal seed (bīja) of the Vedas.
This [Om], O descendant of the Bhṛgus, consists of three sounds (varṇas), a and the rest, in which are contained three modes of being: the [three] constituents of prakṛti (guṇas), the [three] names (nāmans), the [three] objects (arthas), and the [three] states (vṛttis). From these [three sounds] the unborn Lord brought forth the traditional system of akṣaras (phones), distinguished as semi-vowels; sibilants; vowels, short and long; and consonants. With this [sound-system] the Lord, desiring to express the functions of the four classes of priests, [brought forth] from his four mouths the four Vedas together with the [three] vyāhṛtis and the syllable Om.52
The Bhāgavata represents the creator Brahmā as the “first seer” (ādi-kavi),53 who, like the ṛṣis of the Ṛg-Veda, establishes his awareness in the heart through meditation and serves as the conduit through which the subtle vibrations of transcendent sound find expression on the level of vocalized speech as the recited texts of the Vedic mantras. The process begins with Om, which, as in the Brāhmaṇas and Upaniṣads, is represented as the root mantra that is the most concentrated essence of the Vedic mantras, from which the three vyāhṛtis and the four Vedas progressively unfold. The passage points to four different stages in the process of manifestation. (1) Om emerges as an unmanifest, undifferentiated sound that can only be perceived in the depths of meditation when all sensory activity has been transcended. This unexpressed, transcendent sound contains the potentiality of all sound within it and is the sound-form of Brahman. It is the “secret essence of all mantras” and the “seed (bīja) of the Vedas,” containing the potentiality of the Vedic mantras in yet undifferentiated form. (2) This primordial totality of sound is differentiated into three sounds—a, u, m—which contain various sets of three entities. With respect to these triads, Śrīdhara Svāmin, in his commentary on this passage, explains the three guṇas as sattva (purity), rajas (activity), and tamas (inertia); the three names (nāmans) as Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma; the three objects (arthas) as the three worlds, bhūḥ (earth), bhuvaḥ (midregions), and svaḥ (heavens); and the three states (vṛttis) as waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. If we accept Śrīdhara’s interpretation, the three constituent sounds of Om thus contain in seminal form the three Vedas along with the three vyāhṛtis, the seed-syllables that are the essences of the three Vedas and the basis of the three worlds. (3) These three sounds—a, u, m—then differentiate into the forty-eight varṇas or akṣaras (phones) that constitute the sound system of Sanskrit. (4) Finally, the forty-eight akṣaras of Sanskrit combine in various configurations to form the words of the four Vedas—Ṛg-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sāma-Veda, and Atharva-Veda—to which Brahmā gives vocalized expression through the agency of his speech. He also brings forth from his four mouths the three vyāhṛtis together with Om—oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ—uttering the opening invocation of the three-lined gāyatrī mantra, which, as mentioned in Chapter 3, is celebrated as the seed expression of the four Vedas.
There is creative power in the divine speech that issues forth from the creator Brahmā, from the root mantra Om to its fully elaborated expression in the Vedic mantras. Om, as represented in this passage from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, contains within it the potentiality of all sound, and this potentiality is actualized when the undifferentiated Om differentiates into particularized impulses of sound, which then precipitate to form the concrete phenomenal creation. While Om, as the sound-form of Brahman, is the source and foundation of the entire creation, the three vyāhṛtis—bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, and svaḥ—are the seed-syllables from which the three worlds—earth, midregions, and heavens—are manifested. The four Vedas, as the most elaborated, differentiated expression of the sound potentiality contained in Om, are ascribed a pivotal cosmogonic role in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa as the basic sound impulses through which the creator Brahmā structures the manifold worlds and beings of the phenomenal creation.
While he was contemplating, “How shall I bring forth the aggregate worlds as before?” the Vedas issued from the four mouths of the creator.… From his eastern and other mouths he brought forth in succession the Vedas known as Ṛg, Yajur, Sāma, and Atharva.…54
Like other Purāṇic cosmogonies, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa elaborates on the Vedic image of the Vedas as the archetypal plan of creation and represents the creator Brahmā, like Prajāpati in the Brāhmaṇas, as reciting the Vedic mantras at the beginning of each kalpa in order to project all worlds and beings into concrete manifestation. He simply utters the Vedic name for each world and class of beings, and the corresponding forms spontaneously manifest. Since Brahmā’s utterance of the Vedic words is held to be the means through which he manifests the manifold forms of creation according to the same fixed pattern in each kalpa, it is considered vital that his utterance of every syllable be absolutely precise and free from error. In this context the Bhāgavata interjects its distinctive Vaiṣṇava perspective into the creation narrative by emphasizing Brahmā’s subsidiary role as the demiurge who derives his creative powers from Kṛṣṇa, the supreme Bhagavān, who is the ultimate source of creation and of Brahmā himself. Thus, when proceeding with his cosmogonic activities, Brahmā is portrayed as beseeching Bhagavān not to allow his utterance of the Vedic words to fai
l.55
Soteriological Function of Mantra Meditation
While the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s re-visioning of mantras thus elaborates on the Brāhmaṇas’ formulations regarding the cosmogonic function of the Vedic mantras, it also at times draws on Upaniṣadic and Pāñcarātra constructions of the soteriological function of mantras as meditation devices. A number of passages in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa recommend meditation (dhyāna) utilizing mantras that incorporate the divine names of Kṛṣṇa as a means of attaining direct experiential realization of Bhagavān. I will discuss the Bhāgavata’s representations of mantra meditation in Chapter 6 and will examine in particular its appropriation of Pāñcarātra constructions of mantra. As we shall see, the Bhāgavata invokes the Pāñcarātra notion of mantra-mūrti, in which the mantra is considered the sonic form of the deity. This notion does not of course originate with Pāñcarātra traditions but has Vedic antecedents in the Ṛg-Vedic conception that mantras are invested with the living presence of the deities. Nevertheless, the Bhāgavata’s conception of mantra meditation as a means of enlivening the divine presence embodied in the mantra has clearly been influenced by Pāñcarātra as well as Vedic formulations.56
Engaging the Name
The priestly exponents of the discourse of sacrifice in the Brāhmaṇas, as discussed earlier, celebrate the theurgic efficacy of the Vedic mantras as śruti, the primordial sounds at the basis of creation that were “heard” by the Vedic ṛṣis reverberating forth from the transcendent and that continue to be heard in the ongoing recitations of the brahmin reciters who preserve the traditions of Vedic recitation (vedādhyayana) and Vedic yajñas as a means of maintaining the cosmic order. The Upaniṣadic exponents of the discourse of knowledge, in contrast, reduce the Vedic mantras to root mantras such as Om and celebrate the soteriological efficacy of these mantras as vehicles to be used in meditation (dhyāna) as means of realizing Brahman, that transcendent, imperishable reality which is the ultimate source and abode of the Veda. Both of these perspectives are reflected in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s formulations regarding the divine names, nāmans, of Kṛṣṇa, which the text emphasizes should be engaged through the external bodily practices of śravaṇa, hearing, and kīrtana, recitation or singing, and the internal meditative practices of smaraṇa, contemplative recollection, and dhyāna, meditation. However, in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s discourse of bhakti all four modes of engaging the divine names—hearing, singing, contemplative recollection, and meditation—are ascribed soteriological efficacy, and the Vedic emphasis on theurgic efficacy recedes in importance as the focus shifts from maintaining the cosmos to purifying and liberating Kṛṣṇa’s devotees.
Śravaṇa, kīrtana, and smaraṇa are given primacy of place in the Bhāgavata’s enumeration of the nine forms of bhakti in 7.5.23–24,57 and this triad of practices is repeatedly celebrated, along with the virtually identical triad śravaṇa, kīrtana, and dhyāna, as the foremost modes of devotional practice.58 The terms śravaṇa, kīrtana, smaraṇa, and dhyāna are used throughout the Bhāgavata Purāṇa to refer to hearing about, singing about, remembering, and meditating on Kṛṣṇa in all of his aspects—not only his names (nāmans) but also his qualities (guṇas) and playful activities (līlās, caritas, or karmans) as well as stories (kathās) about his exploits. With respect to these four modes of practice, I would suggest that the Bhāgavata gives precedence to śravaṇa and kīrtana, hearing and singing, as the principal modes of engaging the divine names in public and private devotional contexts, whereas it gives priority to smaraṇa and dhyāna, contemplative recollection and meditation, as the appropriate modes of engaging the divine names when they are used as mantras in meditative contexts. I will focus on the Bhāgavata’s formulations regarding nāma-kīrtana in this section and will provide an analysis of its formulations regarding the role of divine names in mantra meditation in Chapter 6.
Among all of these practices, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa singles out nāma-kīrtana—along with comparable practices of singing (root gā), reciting (root gṝ), or uttering (root grah, root vac, or root vad) the nāman—as the preeminent practice of bhakti-yoga. The Bhāgavata declares that Bhāgavata dharma—dharma pertaining to Bhagavān, which is secret, pure, and difficult to comprehend—is the supreme (para) dharma of all human beings, and this dharma involves engaging in bhakti-yoga through singing the divine names.59 In the following analysis I will focus on the Bhāgavata’s formulations regarding (1) nāma-kīrtana as the special dharma of Kali Yuga; (2) the purifying and liberating power of the divine names; and (3) nāma-kīrtana as both the means to and expression of Kṛṣṇa bhakti.
Nāma-Kīrtana as the Dharma of Kali Yuga
The Bhāgavata proclaims that nāma-kīrtana is the special dharma of Kali Yuga. Nāma-kīrtana is held to be the most efficacious means of salvation in Kali Yuga, for by singing the divine names a person gains liberation (mukti) from saṃsāra, the cycle of birth and death; attains perfect peace (paramā śānti); and realizes the supreme goal (uttamā gati) of human existence.60
Although Kali Yuga is a storehouse of faults, it has one great virtue: by kīrtana of Kṛṣṇa alone one is liberated from bondage (mukta-saṅga) and attains the supreme (para). That which is attained in Kṛta Yuga by meditation on Viṣṇu, in Tretā Yuga by offering sacrifices, and in Dvāpara Yuga by worship is attained in Kali Yuga by kīrtana of Hari.61
The Bhāgavata ultimately invests nāma-kīrtana with the status of yajña in Kali Yuga: “Wise people worship [in Kali Yuga] by means of sacrifices (yajñas) consisting mostly of saṃkīrtana.”62 Like the Vedic yajñas that serve as a means of enlivening the presence of the deities embodied in the Vedic mantras, nāma-kīrtana is extolled as a means of enlivening the presence of the supreme Godhead embodied in his name, which is considered the only effectual means of destroying the forces of ignorance that envelop human consciousness in Kali Yuga. Moreover, Kṛṣṇa himself, as the supreme Bhagavān, is celebrated as the source and abode of the Veda (veda-garbha), and therefore singing his names is represented as yielding the fruits of the Vedas—not only the fruits of Vedic recitation (vedādhyayana) and Vedic yajñas promised by priestly exponents of the discourse of sacrifice, but also the fruits of meditation (dhyāna) and ascetic disciplines (tapas) promised by the Upaniṣadic exponents of the discourse of knowledge. Even an outcaste dog-eater—who is reviled by brahmanical exponents of the Dharma-Śāstras as beyond the pale of the varṇāśrama-dharma system and is excluded from participation in Vedic yajñas—by reciting the divine name attains the status of a twice-born Āryan, or “noble one,” and not only becomes eligible to perform a Soma sacrifice, the highest in the hierarchy of Vedic yajñas, but also attains fruits comparable to those attained by reciting the Vedic mantras, offering sacrificial oblations, and performing rigorous austerities (tapas).
By only occasionally hearing (śravaṇa) and singing (anukīrtana) your name (nāmadheya), bowing down to you, or remembering (smaraṇa) you, even a dog-eater (śvāda) becomes immediately eligible to perform a Soma sacrifice.… O how glorious that even a dog-eater (śva-paca) becomes worthy of veneration because he has your name (nāman) on the tip of his tongue. Those noble ones who recite (root gṝ) your name (nāman) have thereby practiced austerities (tapas), offered sacrificial oblations, bathed [in sacred waters], and recited the Vedas.… I offer obeisance to you who are Brahman, the supreme Person,…to you who are Viṣṇu, the abode of the Veda (veda-garbha).63
Purifying and Liberating Power of the Name
In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s discourse of bhakti, Bhāgavata dharma, which entails engaging in bhakti-yoga through singing the names of Bhagavān, thus supersedes varṇāśrama-dharma as the supreme dharma of humankind. The soteriological efficacy ascribed to this practice is held to derive from the purifying and liberating power of the divine names.
The Bhāgavata repeatedly emphasizes the purifying potency of the nāmans of Kṛṣṇa, which have the power to cleanse (root pū or root śudh) the
heart and mind and destroy all sins (pāpas, pātakas, or aghas) when their potency is activated through singing or uttering them.64 Nāma-kīrtana is declared to be the most effective means of expiation (prāyaścitta or niṣkṛta), for whereas the expiatory procedures prescribed by brahmanical exponents of the Dharma-Śāstras, such as vows (vratas), austerities (tapas), and gift-giving (dāna), may temporarily counteract the negative effects of a particular sin, utterance of the divine names is the only remedy that can purify the mind completely of all negative tendencies and their residual karmic impressions.65
A thief; a wine-drinker; a friend-betrayer; a brahmin-slayer; a violator of his guru’s bed; a slayer of a woman, king, parent, or cow; and other types of sinners (pātakins)—for each of these sinners (aghavats) utterance of the name (nāma-vyāharaṇa) of Viṣṇu is the most effective means of expiation (su-niṣkṛta) because the Lord’s attention is thereby drawn towards him [the utterer]. A sinner (aghavat) is not purified to the same extent by vows and other means of expiation prescribed by exponents of the Vedas as by uttering (udāhṛta) the syllables of the name (nāma-padas) of Hari, which engenders the experience of the attributes (guṇas) of the glorious Lord. For the process of expiation (niṣkṛta) is not complete if the mind again seeks its evil ways. Thus for those who wish to destroy their accumulated karma, repeatedly extolling the attributes (guṇānuvāda) of Hari is the only [remedy], as it purifies the mind (sattva-bhāvana).66