Contents
Statement of Purpose: Sources and Scope of the Volume
Part I: Introduction to Bhakti Yoga
Vaidhī (Prescriptive) Bhakti and Rāgānugā (Spontaneous) Bhakti
The Nine Practices of Vaidhī Bhakti
Pāda-sevana (Service to Īśvara’s Feet)
Ātma-nivedana (Self-Surrender)
Bhakti Mixed with Attachment to Dharma and Jñāna
Bhakti Mixed with Karma and Jñāna
The Divine Brahman Realms of Vaikuṇṭha and Goloka
The Development of Rāgānugā Bhakti
Meditating in Enmity: Kṛṣṇa and the Demons
Meditating in Passion: Kṛṣṇa and the Gopīs
The Practitioner of Bhakti, the Bhakta
The First Step in Bhakti: Association with a Bhakta
The Liberated Bhakta: Different Types of Mokṣa in the Bhāgavata
The Object of Bhakti: Īśvara, Bhagavān, Brahman, and Divine Hierarchies
Bhakti and Other Paths of Yoga
Definition of Īśvara, Bhagavān, and Brahman
Prakṛti and the Three Guṇas: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas
The Nature of Īśvara in Vedānta: Primary or Derivative?
A Three-Tiered Hierarchy of Brahman
Who Is the Supreme Īśvara?: The Purāṇic Context
Īśvara, Pure Bhakti, and Motivated Bhakti
Part II: Tales and Teachings from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa
Invocation and Glories of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa (I.1)
The Setting of the Bhāgavata (I.1–4)
The Tale of Vyāsa: Existential Malaise (I.5–6)
The Tale of Sage Nārada: The Maidservant’s Son (I.5–6)
The Tale of Dhṛtarāṣṭra: The Blind Emperor’s Final Days (I.13)
The Tale of King Parīkṣit: Cursed to Die in Seven Days (I.18–19)
The Teachings of Sage Śuka: The Wandering Enlightened Sage (II.1–4)
The Tale and Teachings of Lord Brahmā: The Primordial Yogī (II.5–6)
The Tale and Teachings of Lord Brahmā, Version II (III.8–9)
The Tale of Queen Devahūti: The Mystic Powers of Yoga (III.23–24)
The Teachings of Lord Kapila: Sāṅkhya Yoga (III.25–33)
The Tale of Prince Dhruva: The Five-Year-Old Yogī Prodigy (IV.8–9, 11, 12)
The Tale of King Pṛthu: The Ideal Monarch (IV.22–23)
The Allegory of King Purañjana: The Illusion of Sensual Pleasures (IV.25–29)
The Teachings of the Ṛṣabha Incarnation: The Ascetic as Madman (V.5–6)
The Tale of King Bharata: The Mind at the Moment of Death (V.7–9)
The Teachings to King Rahūgaṇa: The Illusion of Social Status (V.10–12)
The Allegory of the Forest: The Illusion of Family Life (V.13–14)
The Tale of Ajāmila: The Power of Mantra (VI.1–3)
The Tale of King Citraketu: The Dead Son Returns (VI.14–16)
The Teachings of Yamarāja: Lament of the Widowed Queens (VII.2)
The Tale of Child Prahlāda; Viṣṇu Protects His Bhaktas (VII.4–9)
The Tale of the Elephant Bhakta: Surrender to Viṣṇu (VIII.2–4)
The Tale of King Ambarīṣa: The Consequences of Offending Bhaktas (IX.4–5)
The Tale of Saubhari: Suppressed Saṁskāras (IX.6)
Part III: Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Incarnation
Vātsalya Bhāva: Kṛṣṇa as Mischievous Child (X.8–9, 11)
Sakhya Bhāva: Kṛṣṇa as Playful Friend (X.12–13, 15, 18)
Madhura Bhāva: Kṛṣṇa as Amorous Lover (X.23, 29–33, 21)
Part IV: Caitanya’s Śikṣāṣṭakam
The Eight Verses of Instruction
Part V: The Nārada Bhakti Sūtras
Appendix I: Establishing the Authority of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa in the Vedic Tradition