Culmination of Bhāgavata Sāṅkhya – Pure
Bhakti (2 hours)
Metaphysical basis for Bhakti and its efficacy in
transcending the temporary
 “Let us inquire into the Supreme Truth, the origin of this
world.”which is in the Brahma-Sutra/Vedanta and the
Bhagavata Purana.
 Vedanta are prose aphorisms (sutras) that systematically argue
for the philosophical doctrines of the Upanisads.
 Bhagavata Purana is is a marvel of poetry that expresses a
sophisticated theology dedicated to the bluish Lord, Sri Krsna.
 Some five hundred years ago, in Krsna’s village of Vrndavana, the
Caitanya Vaisnava tradition brought these two texts together.
Emerging from a period of intense devotional activity in North
India, yet grounded in the Vedantic philosophical tradition, the
Caitanya tradition combined and transformed the nature of both.
Caitanya Vaisnavism pushed the very limits of devotional feeling
for Krsna, and this required a foundation that was equally resilient
and sophisticated.
 The contribution of Caitanya Vaisnavism to the realm of Indian
philosophy is virtually unknown. The tradition is famous instead
for its depth of devotion to Krsna, the playful Deity who stole
butter as a child in V[ndavana and spoke the Bhagavad-gita on the
battlefield of Kuruksetra.
 Nearly every theistic school since the time of Sankara, the famous
eighth-century nondualist, has engaged with the Vedantic
tradition, usually by writing a commentary on the Brahmasutra.
 The first four aphorisms of the Brahma-sutra are regarded as the
most important, for they give definitions and establish
methodology for the entire text.
 The four sutras are as follows: athato brahma-jijñasa, “Now,
therefore, [let us begin] inquiry into Brahman; janmady asya yatas,
“[Brahman is that] from which there is the creation, [maintenance
and dissolution] of this [universe]; sastra-yonitvat, “Scripture is
the origin [of knowledge about Brahman]; and tat tu samanvayat,
“That [Brahman is realized] by a complete understanding (of
scripture).”
 The history of Vedantic commentary is rich with lively debates,
rigorous logic, and ingenious reinterpretations. Still, there are
some basic questions that every school is concerned with. They
can be put like this: • What is the nature of ultimate reality
(Brahman)?
• What is the relationship of the world to Brahman?
• What is our nature, that is, the nature of living entities?
• How do we obtain final liberation (moksa)?
 Sripad Sankara argued that Brahman is attributeless reality, which
apparently transforms into this phenomenal world, although this
transformation is in fact illusory. The living entities are
nondifferent from Brahman and therefore liberation consists
simply in realizing this identity. The Vaisnava teachers, beginning
with Ramanuja and Madhva, naturally reject such a view, for it
precludes the possibility of a loving relationship between the Lord
and His devotees. For them, Brahman is a person with unlimited,
attractive qualities, and all living entities are his natural servants.
The creation of the world is a result of the Lord’s play and
therefore it is a real transformation of his power (sakti). Liberation
means to revive one’s loving relationship with the Supreme Lord
and participate in his eternal play.
 The Chaitanya school of Bengal is remarkable in its ability to
engage in Vedantic discourse and at the same time practice an
ecstatic form of devotion to Krsna.
 The Bhagavata Purana lies at the very heart of Caitanya
Vaisnavism. Caitanya regarded the Purana as the perfect and
natural commentary on the Brahma-sutra, having been written by
the author himself, Badarayana Vyasa.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one the most popular and influential
Sanskrit religious texts. Among the Purāṇic literature it occupies
something of a unique and revered position as the primary
religious document of Vaiṣṇava bhakti, or devotion; particularly
devotion to Kṛṣṇa.
 There is actually a great deal of speculative and theological
material in the Bhāgavata, far more in fact than many of the other
Purāṇas. A great deal of this material consists of some variation of
the Sāṃkhya School of philosophy. Sāṃkhya is understood to be
one of the six traditional darśanas of Hindu philosophy and
though it has not always enjoyed as great of popularity as some of
its rival schools, its influence can be seen in nearly every facet of
Sanskrit literature. What is commonly referred to as the Classical
Sāṃkhya philosophy is exemplified by the Sāṃkhyakārikas (2nd -3
rd cent. C.E.) attributed to Iśvarakṛṣṇa, which present a dualistic
and non-theistic system of philosophy. The version of Sāṃkhya
that is found in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa does not conform to the
details of the classical system, although it does share many
elements in common. The Sāṃkhya of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa can
be found in a number of places throughout the text, but its most
systematic versions are found at 2.5, 3.5, 3.7, 3.26, and
throughout the eleventh Canto of SB. The most prominent of
these SB 3.26, which is found within a larger section that is often
referred to as the Kapilagītā, named after the traditional founder
of the Sāṃkhya School.
 The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is generally considered to be one of the
more recent of the Mahāpurāṇas. Though the Purāṇic literature is
vast and was composed over an extended period of time eighteen
of the Purāṇas are generally understood by the tradition to be the
most ancient and the most authoritative. The list of these
eighteen is far from agreed upon by all commentators and thus
there are more than eighteen texts that might be considered
Mahāpurāṇas, but it is this class of scriptures which are of concern
here. The two most common lists of these texts are those given in
the Viṣṇu and Matsya Purāṇas. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa gives the list as;
Brahma, Padma, Viṣṇu, Śiva, Bhāgavata, Nārada, Mārkaṇdeya,
Agni, Bhaviṣya, Brahmavaivarta, Liṅga, Varāha, Skanda, Vāmana,
Kūrma, Matsya, Garuḍa, and Brahmāṇḍa. The list in the Matsya
Purāṇa is nearly identical except that it replaces the Śiva with the
Vāyu Purāṇa