The holy Bhagavad Gita dedicates an entire chapter on bhakti yoga or the yoga of devotion and divine love. Although Shri Krishna explains all types of yoga in the Bhagavad Gita, He categorically states that the easiest, most effective and most perfect of all yoga is Bhakti yoga and He has confirmed that it is the only way to achieve liberation from the material world and attain Him.

In this live session, I provide the introduction to the Narada Bhakti Sutra (Aphorisms on God's divine love, by Sage Narada).

Narad muni, also known as sage Narada is a manas putra of Lord Brahma. Which means he was created by Lord Brahma using his mind and with a purpose of giving the Universe an enlightened teacher. Narad muni was created with the purpose of being the teacher and guide. He is considered the king of all sages and also called Rishiraj.

Lord Brahma taught the topic of Bhakti to Narad muni and instructed him to spread this knowledge to all of humanity. Narad muni resolved to make sure that he will endeavor to establish bhakti in everybody’s hearts. Narada muni himself became one of the foremost devotees of Lord Vishnu and the most perfect bhakti yogi in the universe. The very word Narada means ‘one who gives knowledge of the supreme Brahman’.

Narada’s knowledge was not just theoretical. As part of God’s divine leelas, Narada Muni made mistakes like giving in to his desires, etc and he was made to take birth in the womb of a maid servant. This story is documented in Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.5.23 onwards. He then got into the association of pure devotees, performed penances and practiced bhakti yoga to get elevated again. Thus, he is the most qualified person to teach bhakti.

You can find all the 84 shlokas of the Narada Bhakti Sutras documented here.

Kṛṣṇadaasa