bhaktiḥ - devotion; para-Ä«Å›a - of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; anubhavaḥ - direct perception; viraktiḥ - detachment; anyatra - from everything else; ca - and; eá¹£aḥ - this; trikaḥ - group of three; eka-kÄlaḥ - simultaneously; prapadyamÄnasya - for one in the process of taking shelter of the Supreme Lord; yathÄ - in the same way as; aÅ›nataḥ - for one engaged in eating; syuḥ - they occur; tuá¹£á¹iḥ - satisfaction; puá¹£á¹iḥ - nourishment; ká¹£ut-apÄyaḥ - eradication of hunger; anu-ghÄsam - increasingly with each morsel.
Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things — these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating.
ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ« has explained this analogy as follows: Bhakti, or devotion, may be compared to tuá¹£á¹i (satisfaction) because they both take the form of pleasure. PareÅ›Änubhava (experience of the Supreme Lord) and puá¹£á¹i (nourishment) are analogous because both sustain one’s life. Finally, virakti (detachment) and ká¹£ud-apÄya (cessation of hunger) may be compared because both free one from further hankering so that one may experience Å›Änti, or peace.
A person who is eating not only becomes uninterested in other activities but increasingly becomes uninterested in the food itself, according to his satisfaction. On the other hand, according to ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ«, although one who is experiencing the blissful Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, becomes uninterested in anything other than Kṛṣṇa, his attachment to Kṛṣṇa increases at every moment. Therefore it is to be understood that the transcendental beauty and qualities of the Supreme Lord are not material, since one never becomes satiated by relishing the bliss of the Supreme Lord.
The word viraktiḥ is very significant in this verse. Virakti means “detachment,†whereas tyÄga means “renunciation.†According to ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura, the word renunciation can be used in a situation in which one considers giving up an enjoyable object. But by considering everything to be potential paraphernalia in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, as described in the previous verse, one need not give thought to renunciation, for one uses everything in the proper way in the service of the Lord. Yukta-vairÄgyam ucyate.
The very pleasant analogy of a good meal is given in this verse. A hungry man busily consuming a sumptuous plate of food is not interested in anything else happening around him. In fact, he considers any other topic or activity a disturbance to his concentration on the delicious meal. Similarly, as one advances in Kṛṣṇa consciousness one considers anything unrelated to the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa an obnoxious disturbance. Such concentrated love of Godhead has been described in the Second Canto of the BhÄgavatam by the words tÄ«vreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruá¹£aá¹ param (BhÄg. 2.3.10). One should not make an artificial show of renouncing the material world; rather, one should systematically train the mind to see everything as an expansion of the opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just as a hungry materialistic man, upon seeing sumptuous food, immediately desires to put it in his mouth, an advanced devotee of Kṛṣṇa, upon seeing a material object, immediately becomes eager to use it for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa. Without the spontaneous hunger to engage everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa and to dive deeper and deeper into the ocean of love of Kṛṣṇa, so-called realization of God or loose talk about so-called religious life is irrelevant to the actual experience of entering the kingdom of God.
According to ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura, the path of bhakti-yoga is so joyful and practical that even in the stage of sÄdhana-bhakti, in which one follows rules and regulations without an advanced understanding, one can perceive the ultimate result. As stated by ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« (Bhakti-rasÄmá¹›ta-sindhu 1.2.187):
Ä«hÄ yasya harer dÄsye
karmaá¹‡Ä manasÄ girÄ
nikhilÄsv apy avasthÄsu
jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate
As soon as one surrenders to the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa (prapadyamÄnasya), giving up all other activities (viraktir anyatra ca), one is immediately to be considered a liberated soul (jÄ«van-muktaḥ). The Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, is so merciful that when a living entity understands that the personality Kṛṣṇa is the source of everything and surrenders to the Lord, Kṛṣṇa personally takes charge of him and reveals to him within his heart that he is under the Lord’s full protection. Thus devotion, direct experience of the Personality of Godhead, and detachment from other objects become manifest even in the beginning stage of bhakti-yoga, since bhakti-yoga begins at the point of liberation. Other processes have as their final goal salvation or liberation, but according to Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (18.66):
sarva-dharmÄn parityajya
mÄm ekaá¹ Å›araṇaá¹ vraja
ahaá¹ tvÄá¹ sarva-pÄpebhyo
moká¹£ayiá¹£yÄmi mÄ Å›ucaḥ
If one surrenders to Kṛṣṇa one is immediately liberated and thus begins his career as a transcendental devotee with complete confidence in the Lord’s protection.
