The good things, The bad things and You (Part 1)

In this part I talk about Pushti Bhakti to give you a better idea of what is the pushtimarg's version of love. Once we clear that, we will talk about what role it plays in the Paris Attacks.

aadmi bohot chota hai, lekin kaam sab bade bade karta hai

Meet the Bade Mukhiyaji at Motamandir often enough and you will hear him proclaim this with a snarky smile and a finger directed towards Thakurji. What does it imply? To me, it implies that bhakti as defined by Naradji in his bhakti shastra and approved by Shri Mahaprabhuji has a rather tricky meaning to it. 

The definition goes - 

which is, pure and greatest love for bhagawān along with a realisation of his true identity. It is tricky because the qualities of love mentioned do not go along with each other. Just like a hungry person will find it difficult to reject good food offered to him, māhātmya gyān may interfere with sneha if not understood properly. Here is a word by word break up of this definition which is more precise than the one line explanation I did before:

• माहात्म्यग्यान - full knowledge of his greatness
• पूर्वक - with
• सुद्रढ - unshakable, strong
• सर्वतोधिक - more than anything else
• स्नेह - love

There are two distinct features to this kind of love.

माहात्म्यग्यान & स्नेह

This is because, each one of them, arouses different and contrasting emotions in us.

Māhātmyagyān arouses immense respect, humbles us towards the mighty all powerful bhagwān and reminds us of how different a single being and bhagawān are.

Sheh arouses bonding and closeness. It makes us feel closer to him, makes us feel like we are his intimate beings.


So confusing is this definition of love that even the Gopis of Vraj could not strike a balance sometime. The story of Gopi Geet in the raas leela episode reveals to us how Thakurji disappeared when he sensed that Gopis have developed a pride about Thakurji being with them in the raas. This goes to show how particular Shri Krishna is in bhakti. Even the gopis, one of those for whom Krishna came to vraja in the first place, were not spared when their bhakti went wrong. Although I must clear that the case with Gopis, pushti devotion was broken because of Pride (Aham - अहम) and not an imbalance of mahatmyagyan and sneh in their bhakti but I mention this just to remind how difficult it is to always maintain pure pushti devotion.

Coming back to the Mukhiaji's statement;

aadmi bohot chota hai, lekin kaam sab bade bade karta hai

Does this statement stand valid in the kind of bhakti as defined by Nāradji?

Post what do you think and why in the comments below.

In part two I will discuss all the possible correct answers to this. 
The more answers I get the more interesting the discussion will become, so do not shy away with your opinion. We are here to discuss and learn together, we are not ranking as to who is right or wrong.