FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.22

సా శ్రద్ధయా భగవద్ధర్మచర్యయా జిజ్ఞాసయాధ్యాత్మికయోగనిష్ఠయా । యోగేశ్వరోపాసనయా చ నిత్యం పుణ్యశ్రవ:కథయా పుణ్యయా చ ॥ ౨౨ ॥
sā śraddhayā bhagavad-dharma-caryayā
[saa shraddhayaa bhagavad-dharma-charyayaa]
jijṣāsayādhyātmika-yoga-niṣṭhayā
[jijshaasayaadhyaatmika-yoga-nishthayaa]
yogeśvaropāsanayā ca nityaṁ
[yogeshvaropaasanayaa cha nityam]
puṇya-śravaḥ-kathayā puṇyayā ca
[punya-shravah-kathayaa punyayaa cha]
sā — that devotional service śraddhayā — with faith and conviction bhagavat-dharma — devotional service caryayā — by discussion jijṣāsayā — by inquiry adhyātmika — spiritual yoga-niṣṭhayā — by conviction in spiritual understanding yoga-īśvara — the Supreme Personality of Godhead upāsanayā — by worship of Him ca — and nityam — regularly puṇya-śravaḥ — by hearing which kathayā — by discussion puṇyayā — by pious ca — also.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sā śraddhayā bhagavad-dharma-caryayā
sā
that devotional service
śraddhayā
with faith and conviction
bhagavat-dharma
devotional service
caryayā
by discussion
jijṣāsayādhyātmika-yoga-niṣṭhayā
jijṣāsayā
by inquiry
adhyātmika
spiritual
yoga-niṣṭhayā
by conviction in spiritual understanding
yogeśvaropāsanayā ca nityaṁ
yoga-īśvara
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
upāsanayā
by worship of Him
ca
and
nityam
regularly
puṇya-śravaḥ-kathayā puṇyayā ca
puṇya-śravaḥ
by hearing which
kathayā
by discussion
puṇyayā
by pious
ca
also.
Attachment for the Supreme can be increased by practicing devotional service, inquiring about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, applying bhakti-yoga in life, worshiping the Yogeśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and by hearing and chanting about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These actions are pious in themselves.

The word yogeśvara is applicable to both the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and His devotees also. In Bhagavad-gītā this word occurs in two places. In the Eighteenth Chapter (18.78), Kṛṣṇa is described as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, who is the master of all mystic power ( yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇaḥ ). Yogeśvara is also described at the end of the Sixth Chapter (6.47): sa me yuktatamo mataḥ. This yuktatama indicates the topmost of all yogīs — the devotees, who can also be called yogeśvara. In this verse, yogeśvara-upāsanā means to render service to a pure devotee. Thus Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā: without serving a pure devotee, one cannot advance in spiritual life. Prahlāda Mahārāja also has said:

naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiṣcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat

( Bhāg. 7.5.32 )

One should take shelter of a pure devotee, who has nothing to do with this material world but is simply engaged in devotional service. By serving him only, one can transcend the qualitative material condition. In this verse it is recommended ( yogeśvara-upāsanayā ) that one serve the lotus feet of the topmost yogī, or the devotee. To serve the topmost devotee means to hear from him about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To hear the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the mouth of a pure devotee is to acquire a pious life. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) it is also said that without being pious one cannot engage in devotional service:

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajanti māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ

To become fixed in devotional service one has to become completely cleansed from the contamination of the material modes of nature. For work in devotional service the first item is ādau gurv-āśrayam: one should accept a bona fide spiritual master, and from the bona fide spiritual master inquire about one’s transcendental occupational duties ( sad-dharma-pṛcchā ) and follow in the footsteps of great saintly persons, devotees ( sādhu-mārga-anugamanam ). These are the instructions given in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu by Rūpa Gosvāmī.

The conclusion is that to increase attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead one has to accept a bona fide spiritual master and learn from him the methods of devotional service and hear from him about the transcendental message and glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way one has to increase his conviction about devotional service. Then it will be very easy to increase attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Attachment for the Lord takes place by faith, by being inquisitive about the process of bhakti, by steadiness in ātmā-yoga, by worship of the great yogīs, and by pure discussions about the Lord on a daily basis. Four verses speak about the prominence of bhakti first. The sentence continues for four verses. Rati (sā) appears by pure discussions about the Lord (puṇya-śravaḥ).
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