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BHAKTI PREEMPTED:
MADHUS0DANA SARASVATI
ON DEVOTION FOR THEADVAITIN RENOUNCER'
Lance E. Nelson
T been a key source of tension within the Hindu tradition since the
rise of the devotional schools in the second half of the first millenni-
um C.E. Many Hindus have felt this opposition to be, for both faith and
practice, a critical problem. But it has also been on some important levels a
fruitful stimulus. It has led Hindu thinkers into deep reflection on the mul-
tifaceted nature of the supreme reality and the multidimensional structure
of the spiritual quest Madhusiidana Sarasvati, without doubt one of the
greatest geniuses of late medieval India, lived out this tension with intense
religious passion, and reflected upon it with great profundity. After a brief
explanation of the reasons for the tension between these two spiritualities, I
wish here to discuss an aspect of this famed scholar-saritnyasin's attempt to
integrate them.
Much Hindu piety, IK>lh rpular and .,,phi,tirated, centers on hhaktl, a
religion of devotion, grace, and loving surrender to a personal God. But
from the eighth century, the time of Sankara, Hindu metaphysical thought
has been deeply impressed and sometimes dominated by the doctrine of
salvation through knowledge of the radical onenes.s of the spiritual self with
an impersonal ultimate reality, Brahman. Sankara's Advaita or "nondualis-
tic" Vedanta, though well-grounded in the Upani~ds, seems to undercut
the idea of a personal relationship with a divine Other, so essential to devo-
tional spirituality. If the "That you are" (tat tuamtm) of the Upani~d means
53
54 LANCE E. NELSON
idnuity with the Supreme Being, and all difference is based on false per-
ception, how can one develop a loving association with the ulti1nate? If
the reality of the personal God is at best no greater (and perhaps less)
than that of the individual's own true Self, where is the possibility of
bhakti?
In his great commentaries, the only works we can be sure were actually
written by him, Sankara does not emerge as an important champion of
devotional spirituality. While he condones image worship and related ex-
pressions ofbhakti spirituality as preparatory for Advaitic knowledge, in the
end he seeks to undercut any form of devotion that suggests dualism.
Speaking for the benefit of his renouncer ( samn:yiisin) followers, Sankara
teaches (llhG.~ 12.13) that any attitude that posit< difference between the
Self and God ( iilmR.suara-bhRda), and a sense of reliance on an external
power (piiralantrya), is a serious hindrance on the steep ascent to Advaitic
realization. Devotees are aware of a dependence upon the Lord ( isuariidhi-
na), while those who have "become the very Self of God" (iivamsya iilmnb-
hiitiilJ) have attained a glorious independence ( sv/Uantrya). "No one who
has definitively known the Lord as the Self," Sankara declares, "would seek
out a state of subordination lo anything, for that would be contradictory."2
Not surprisingly, the teachers of the devotional schools felt considerable
hostility towards Sankara's views and considered it their duty to criticize,
indeed, lo denounce them. A significant portion of the vast literature of
theistic Vedanta (stemming from such teachers as Ramanuja, Madhva,
Vallabha, and Caitanya) was in fact made up of polemics against the Advai-
tic outlook.
A socio-religious dimension was added to the dispute by the fact that,
while the bhakti schools tended to be relatively egalitarian in their social
practice, admitting women and members of lower castes into the circle of
devotees and, in some cases, into positions of leadership, Sankara unhesi-
tatingly supported the elitist attitudes of his fellow orthodox Brahmins. TI1c
rl'khra1cd tiairyrt of Advai~t Uught that salvation ( ,ru~rt) was directly avail-
able only lo those following tl1e path of knowledge. This dcm,mding disci-
pline, and the contemplation of the "great sayings" ( ma.Mviikyas) of the
Upani~ds, which was its indispensable final step, was open only to re-
nouncers (sa:rhnyiisins). Since only male Brahmins were, according to wide-
ly accepted tradition, eligible for renunciation, the circle of those who
could hope for liberation in their present life was a very exclusive one
indeed. To others, Sankara offered only krama-mukti ("liberation by sta-
Devotion for the Advaitin 55
~r- ges"). This involved attaining the highest heaven ( brahma-lnka) after death
If and then winning final release with the cosmic dissolution at the end of
s) the current world-age. Or-failing this-there was hope of rebirth as a
of 1nale Brahmin in a life that would lead to renunciation. 3
The devotionalists' response, at least in traditions influenced by the BM-
ly gavala PuraT).a, was two-fold. First, they denied that ~ a was in fact the
Jf highest spiritual goal (parama-pu~artha), claiming that bhakti itself held
X- that honor. Second, they asserted that, though devotees did not seek after
ie it, they were assured of ,rw/cya anyway, as a kind of incidental by-product of
1. the path of bhakti.
"
C Madhusiidana Sarasvati: Nondualist and Devotee
,1
C From their side, the theoreticians of orthodox nondualism made no seri-
i- ous attempt at a rapprochement with the devotional movements-though
>- the latter were becoming increasingly popular-for some 800 years after
J Sailkara.5 The first and most important contribution to discussion in this
area was made by Madhusiidana Sarasvati (mid-sixteenth to early seven-
' teenth centuries),6 one of the greatest and most forceful exponents of
post-Sankara Advaita. Dominating the scholarly world of his time with his
vast learning and formidable polemical skills, Madhusiidana was known for
r his brilliant and uncompromising defense of nondualist Vedanta in works
such as the Siddhiintahiwlu and, especially, the Advaitamldhi ("Vindication
ofNondualism"), which became a classic of the Sankara tradition.
Given the long history of conflict between the various devotional schools
and Advaita, it is significant that the argument of the Advaita.,iddhi, which
was expressly intended to refute the views of the Madhva theist Vyasaraja
(1460-1539), is interrupted by a verse that is highly devotional in nature.
In the midst of his efforts to prove, against the Vai~Q.ava position, that
Brahman is pure knowledge and bliss, devoid of any form, qualities, or dis-
ti11t1io11s (niriikiirtti ttir,.,rri.~u,, ttin,i.V~tl), Madhusiidana w11,tc:
ecstatic bhakti.
Verses expressing authentic devotional sentiment appear in his works
with a frequency that is singularly uncommon-or, more accurately,
unprecedented-in the writings of the leading teachers of Sankara Ve-
danta. Madhusfidana, in fact, wrote several works dealing with bhakti. Of
these, the most important are the Blwktira.sayana ("Elixir of Devotion"), the
only independent treatise on the subject ever written by one of the great
preceptors of Advaita, and the Bhagmmdgitiigii4hiirthadi/Jil<ii. (or O,uj.hiirtha-
dipikii), an extensive commentary on the "hidden meaning" (g,J.dJu'irtha) of
the Rluiw<r1adgilii. The teaching of the latter will be the central focus of the
present discussion.
'We begin to suspect that austere Vedantic knowledge will here, as in the
Bhaktirasa_rana, play second-fiddle to love of K1wa.
Only the state of having the Blessed Lord as one's sole refuge is the
mrans to moleya, nor 1hr JX"ffonnanrc of action or the rrnunriarion
ofaction.29
ff
noL31 Referring, for example, to the fact that Sankara interprets Gild 18.66
ti
as an argument in favor of samn.,iisa, Madhusfidana, who takes it a'i a call to
surrender lo the l..ord, complains: "The teaching of renunciation to Arjuna
who is a ~alnja and [therefore] not eligible (antulhikiirin) for renuncia- y,
tion is not proper."32 Thus, while rejecting Sa.ilkara's understanding of that OJ
particular verse in favor of his own theory of hhagavad-eka-{ararJJLlrl, Ma- 4.
dhuslldana accepts without question the great Advaitin 's view that only
Brahmins may renounce. Yet at tJ1c same time he scc1ns to admit tl1at non-
Brahmins may obtain moksa.
The relevant passages arc the following:
Whoever has purified his tnind hy the actions previously described nc<:-
essarily becomes one who has the Blessed Lord as his sole refuge, since
the purificatjon of the mind invariably leads to that state. If a Brahmin
tl
be such, let him renounce all actions, since he is free of any obstacle lo
a,
renunciation. He, having the Bles.<;ed Lord as his sole refuge, will attain
lilX'raljon fnnn .mfflsiim hy the power ,,f the Hlcsscd l.ord's gr.tee alt,nc s:a
(bhagm,al-jnn.widiid roa). If a lcyaJ:riyri he such, since he docs not have eli- I,
gibility for renunciation, let him pcrfr>rm action, but with Mc [Kooa) 711
as his refugc .... By the grace bestowed by Me, the Lord, he attains the g,
clcntal, i1npc1ishahlc place ,,f Vi~1.111 thnn1gl1 Ll1< arising of knowledge w
of Mc [without rcnunciati<n1J, like I lir.11.1y~arhha. Such a ,,nc wlu> has St
1hc Rlessc<l Lord as his sole rlfuge would not perform prohibited
St
actions, hut even if he should, by My grace no obstacle would arise and,
Lb.rough knowledge of Me, he would attain lihcration.33
b
h
/(sahiya.iand others, however, arc not eligible for renunciation .... Such tl
individuals, having the Lord as their sole refuge, will attain liberation n
[I] owing to the fructificat.ion of renunciation performed in a previous le
life or [2] by the arising of knowledge of reality simply by the grace of
the Blcs."Cd Lord, without renunciation, along with HiraQ.yagarbha or
f3l, having Ix-en tx,n1 as a Rrahn1in in thr ncxl life, hy th< arising of
k11owlt,l~1 11111Tdl'd hy 1c.1111111i,ui1n1.:H
What are we to make of such teaching? Several things should be noted, the
first being that the orthodox doctrine that liberation comes through knowl-
edge, not devotion, is here accepted as a matter of course. Second, renun-
ciation remains an important factor even for non-Brahmins. It can function
as a carry-over from a previous life, as in alternative (1), which conveniently
rattonahzes any remarkable spiritual gifts that may be possessed by a non-
Devotion for the Advaitin 63
That the hearing of the great sayings of the Upani~ds is essential even
for bhaktas is reaffirmed in a particularly perplexing passage at Gwjluirtlu,-
difw 18.65. Madhusudana begins by quoting llhiigm1ala Puriirz 7.5.23-24,
the classical source of the nine-fold "disciplines of the Lord's devotees"
(bluignvata-dharmas), the efficacy of which is much stressed in the llhakti-
rasayana. Then, having referred his readers back to that earlier text for a
more detailed explanation of those practices, he writes:
This certainly does not sound like the path ofbhakti presented in tJ1e /lluzk-
li,rasiiyana, where there is no mention of the necessity of knowledge or its
mediation by the Vedic sentences. The fact is that the Gu,Jh.iirthadipikii pre-
sents a style of devotion very much adapted to the mood of the Advaita
samnytisin, not a path designed, as in the Bhaktirasiiyana, "for the content-
ment of all" (akhila-t~tyai, I.I). Thus, in Madhusiidana's explanation of
the meaning of the compound brahma-bhiila ("having become Brahman")
at Gita 18.54, we read:
Those whose hearts arc purified by the taste of the nectar which flows
from the lotus-feet of Govinda quickly cross over the ocean of sarilsdra
66 LANCE E. NELSON
and sec the pcrfccl Efli.1lgcncc. l'hcy co1nprchcnd the highest beati-
tude (f,aram11ffl Sre;as) by means of the Upani~ds, ca.~t off error, know
that duality is like a drea,n, and find the untainted bliss. 42
Note that devotion here serves a purificatory function, while the final
realization comes through the standard orthodox means.
Providing more detail, tl1e following passage from Madhusfidana's corn-
mcntary on Gita 7.14 provides a fascinating example of the way in which he
applies his great genius to the problem of infusing the spirituality of his
beloved Bhiiguvata Pura,, into the samnyasins' path of knowledge. In the
Gitiiverse in question, Kr~Qa declares: 'Those who resort to Mc alone, cross
over this miiyii.." After making reference to the teaching of tl1e 11hiigavat.a
and to Prahlada as an ideal of devotion, Madhusfidana comments:
The mind of one who constantly pays homage to the infinite Blessed
Lord becomes devoid of sin, which is an obstacle to knowledge, and full
of merit, which is conducive to knowledge. Then, refined by the scivicc
of the guru and [the discipline of] hearing, reflection on, and deep
meditation on, the sentences of the Upanisads, which [discipline] is
preceded by renunciation of all action and [tl1e acquisition ofl tranquil-
lity, self-control, and the other virtues, it [the mind] becomes complete-
ly clear like a spotless mirror. In such a mind there arises the mental
mode ( vrttz) which is an im1nediate realization (siileyiitkiira) of uncondi-
tioned Consciousness ( nirnpiidhi-cailanya) and is free of tl1c fonns of
anything that is not the Self. This is [the realiz.ation] "'I am Brahman"
caused by the Upani~dic sentence 'Thou art That," which has been
imparted by the guru. Consciousness, reflected in that mode, immedi-
ately destroys ignorance ... ,just as a light destroys darkness. 43
Thus far it is apparent that the mind of the samnyasin who follows jiiana-
yoga is prepared for the final vision of unity through devotion. But is there
anything more that can be said of bhakti, or is it now reduced to its former
instrumental function as a purifier of the 1nind, a mere prelin1inary to
knowledge? At this point, we remember that the Gii(ihiirthadipilui agrees
with the Bhaktirastiyana, and deviates from orthodox Advaita, at least to the
extent of accepting the teaching that the experience of devotion is avail-
able in the state ofliving liberation, after knowledge has dawned. Hence we
are not overly surprised to find that tl1ere follows in this same passage a
description of devotional experience of the personal God. This statcn1cnt is
indeed more explicit and 1norc extravagant 1han anything in the /lltakti-
Devotion for the Advaitin 67
It is difficult to say what the reason for this change of attitude toward devo-
tional spirituality might have been. One possibility is that the Bhaluirasiiyarw
represents a rash outburst of youthful enthusiasm, and the Gii4hiirthadi/Jikii
the more sober views of a later period. But the Bhaktirasdyana when written
already constituted a departure from the conservative teachings of Madhu~
siidana's earlier works, such as the Ve.dii.ntakalpalntikii and Su/4/uintabimlu.
Madhusiidana, moreover, was still occasionally displaying interest in the
unorthodox (from the strict Vedantic point of view) tenets of the Yogasulms
and the Yogaviis4/ha in late works such as the C.utjhiirthadiJ1ik<i and the
Advaitaralnara/cya7Ja. The fact that Madhusiidana in the Gii{jhiirtluuli/Jik<i
repeatedly refers his readers back to the Bhaktirastiyana disallows the sim pie
explanation that, having changed his mind, he had repudiated the teach-
ing of his earlier work. So we n1ust find another explanation.
My suggestion is that Madhusiidana is in the Bhaktira,ayana and the Gil
rJhiirthadi/nkii simply speaking to different audiences and adjusting his dis-
course accordingly. In the former, he is writing "for tl1e contenunent of
all," perhaps with the intention of recon1mending the vic,vpoint of Advaita
Devotion for the Advaitin 69
Conclusion
In view of his tradition and training, as well as the orthodox nature of his
major works, 49 I am inclined to the conclusion that the teachings of the
70 LANCE E. NELSON
I
Devotion for the Advaitin 71
am I, wretched person that I am, to expound the intention of the Blcs.~d Lord?
The speech of the Suprctnc Person called the Gilii is the secret n1caning of the
words of the Veda; who an1ong those that arc not cxtrcn1cly brilliant ran explain it?
{Yet] so1nchow I have 1nanag:cd this childish pcrfonna1uc. It will lf hope) invoke
the appreciation of great sottls who have spontaneous aflCct.ion [for all, incl11ding:
my humble sell]."
42. Sri~govinda-padiira11inda-makarandii.n1iida-iuddhii.iayiili snriuiiriimhudhim
utlaranti .~aha.wi /1a.i)anlt fnl.niffl mahal)/ veddntair avadhdra)'anti /1aramaril .frryn.~
tyajanti bhramaril dvaitarit sva/nia-samath uidanli 11imalii't11 uindr111t; rii,untrlnliim,
GAD on BhG 9.34, p. 441.
43. GAD on 7.14, p. 360.
44. GAD on 7.14, p. 361.
45. I arn thinking here especially of dcvotionalisL<; without clear SL'<'larian aflilia-
lion, such a<; Madhusiidana's contemporary and fellow rcsi<lcnl of llanards, rulsi
Dalli, of whom the great Advailin is sai<l lo have written: 'This rnoving tulasi plant
ha.Iii leaves of supreme blis.<;; it<; flower.Iii arc poetry, kissed by the hcc R.1rna" (fuzramd-
nanda-J,atrr, yam Jam,,imn.l tul,ui-tant/J./ kn,lilii-maiijari yary" uimn. /,lintmar11-rumf,itii.).
46. Sec l\hR 2.1(i, 2.fi1-(i5, 2.7:l; also Nelson, "Bhak1i-1asa l(ir the Advaitin
]
Rcnunic.1tc ... or
47. Sec Sai1kara's commentary on Bh(; 2.11 and 3.20-2(i. ag
48. 'The Sages who promulgated [the various apparently contradi<:to1yJ !-."}'Stc,ns as
of doctrin( all hacl as tluir lin.11 puq,nrl th<' S11pnnu Loni, th(' ()ne witho111 S('(- th:
ond taught in the Upani~<l<;, and the ult.i1natc truth or the appearance theory gic
(vai11arta-11ada) [as taught in the Advdita school). (:Crtainly these sages were not
en
deluded, since they were omniscient. Realizing, however, that persons inclined
m
tow.ird [er~jc1yrncnt or] extcn1al <1t"!jcc1s <'1111hl nc11 be i1n1nediately intr<Kh1ccd to the
!it1prcme goal oflili.:, lhey taught a v-.uicty of [lesser] fonns [lf doctrine] with a view bh
to [attract the n1ind<o of 1hc ig11orc111t and thus] ward oil' heterodoxy (n.d1tikya), .. th:
MadhusOdana's 7ilra on Mahimnastolra 7 (Mahimnasrotmm [Banara<;: Chowkhamba th,
Sanskrit Series Office, 1919], pp. 16-17). ur
(Almpare the lc.,llowing rcn1arks made earlier in the commentary on the same th
verse: 'The Ganges and Nannada Rivers, following a straight course, reach the en
ocean dir<'clly, h11t 1hr Yann,n;1. and the Sar.tyfi. fC:11l(1wing a cnM,k<"cl co11rsi:. r(';uh it in
only indircrtly. ah('I' llowinl,!; i1110 the (;;.111gcs. Even 1h11s, 1J1osc dcvotl'd lo h<"aring,
wl
rcllcrting on, rte, !he great sayings of the Ved,-1nta auain You ( Par..uncSvaraJ din.'ct~
Tl
ly, while others attain You only indirectly, according to the relative purity or their
minds." (pp. 1\-9) hi
49. Unlike Sridhara and, later, Appaya Di~ita, he never abandons his strict
Advaiti<: 1netaphysics while writing on devotion.