There are two characteristics of the Asakti stage of Bhakti: Kleshagni and Shubhada.
Kleshagni: In Asakti dasha, the sadhak does not get distressed by miseries and disasters. It is not like the sadhak does not have to face any sufferings in his life, but he is so absorbed in the contemplation of Radha Krishna and is so detached from the material world that he does not get distressed about it.
“Dukheshu anudvigna manah sukheshu vigataspriha” (Bhagvat Geeta 2.56)
Meaning: A sadhak should be undisturbed in miseries and detached in pleasurable moments.
In fact, the sadhak considers worldly miseries as auspicious and worldly pleasures as inauspicious. Normally, people think ‘I must have committed sins in the past and that's why I have to suffer such miseries.’ But in Asakti dasha, the sadhak thinks everything is happening for his spiritual welfare. He sees mercy in miseries and lack of mercy in pleasures.
Namdev, a great devotee of Sri Hari, used to do bhajan in his hut made of earth, wood, and leaves. He was completely detached from worldly matters and always remained absorbed in contemplation of Sri Hari (Bhagvan Vishnu). He always remained in a state in which the sadhak has nothing to do with the material body and anything related to it.
Sri Hari wanted to take test of him to see how purely My Bhakta is devoted (surrendered) and in order to check this, Namdev's hut caught fire. Namdev became very happy on seeing his hut on fire and started clapping and dancing. He said, “Sri Hari is very merciful! He knows I might get attached to this hut and that's why He burned it.”
There were also some of Namdev's belongings in the unburnt part of his hut. Namdev started throwing them into the fire, saying, “O Hari, these things could also bind me to this samsara, I might get attached to these too.” Namdev threw all his utensils, his blanket, walking stick, everything in the fire. “How merciful Sri Hari is! He keeps vigilance on me and burned everything which might become reason for my attachment towards material things. Glories to Sri Hari!”
Saying so, Namdev became ecstatic with love for Sri Hari. Sri Hari was obviously pleased with Namdev's detachment from worldly things but got worried that he might burn everything belonging to him. So, suddenly, the hut stopped burning. How can a hut made of wood and dry leaves stop burning? It was purely Sri Hari's desire. Since the hut stopped burning, Namdev stayed in the unburnt part of the hut and did bhajan. Half of the roof was burnt, and half is still intact. Sri Hari saw that My devotee Namdev stays in the half-burnt hut due to which sometimes, he endures bright sunshine and rain & storm at other times.
Sri Hari went to Namdev under the disguise of a simple labourer who makes huts and constructions made of mud. He prayed to Namdev, “Baba, why are you staying in this half-burnt hut? Please allow me to make a hut for you.” Namdev replied, “Why are you so concerned? I am alright with this hut. Don’t waste my time. Go!”. Sri Hari asked “Prabhu, I will make a new hut for you. You don’t have to worry. You just give me your approval,”. Namdev said, “Go, go! I don’t need any more huts. I am alright with this one. I have to do bhajan only, which is going on uninterrupted. Then why would I need a new hut?”. Sri Hari prayed again with folded hands, “Baba, please allow this fallen servant to serve you. Just permit me to build a new hut and you don’t have to do anything as I will take care of all things. You can do your bhajan uninterrupted as always.”
Namdev was a great Vaishnava and Vaishnavas are compassionate by nature. Besides, Sri Hari is ever attractive and enchanting. Therefore, Namdev could not say no anymore. He thought, “Ahh, he is a devotee and wants to do sewa (service). Even though I don’t need anything, he is so insistent on serving me, and prays with such humility, it is not good to turn his offer down again and again.” Sometimes, devotees accept service from others just to make them happy. Even if they don’t need anything, they don’t want to hurt people sincerely desirous of serving them.
So Namdev said, “Okay, brother, if you are so insistent, make a hut as you wish. But don’t call me from my bhajan to help you. You can’t ask me for water or help to hold things in place. You must make the hut by yourself. I will do bhajan uninterrupted. If you accept this condition, then only you are allowed to build the hut. Otherwise, Go”. Sri Hari said, “Baba, when I am finished making the thatch, you merely have to hold it up for me so that I can pull it up on the top of the hut. It will take only a little time. Other than that, you don’t have to do anything.” “Alright, I will give a little time to hold the thatch up. Other than that, don’t call me,” said Namdev.
So, Sri Hari made a beautiful hut for Namdev. Bhakta Namdev helped the thatch up while Bhagavan pulled it up and secured it in place. The hut was so beautiful that even the king of that kingdom came to see it as it looked more pretty in comparison to the palace. Everyone including the king wanted to know who had built such a beautiful hut. But who could tell who the simple labourer was, who have built such a beautiful hut?!
In this way, the sadhak sees miseries as auspicious in which normal people get highly distressed, and pleasures as inauspicious in which normal people get emotionally attached or take pride.
There was a devotee who was sitting on a high tree and cutting firewood. While doing his work, he became absorbed in contemplation of Sri Hari and prayed, “O Hari, I have many Prarabdhas (fruits of one’s actions through several births). Please send all my Prarabdhas within this lifetime itself so that I don’t have to take birth again. Please don’t keep anything for later births.” While thinking like this, he fell from the tree and fractured his one leg. For any worldly person, this would be a great misery. But the devotee started dancing on one leg in ecstasy. He said, “How merciful of Sri Hari that They have listened to my prayer immediately and even started sending my Prarabdha so that I can exhaust them within this lifetime and break free from the cycle of birth and death,”.
The sadhak considers worldly pleasures inauspicious. Money, relationships, pleasures, luxury, titles, appreciation – all these seem like dangerous things to the sadhak. Sometimes, even those in the clothes of a renunciate desire fame and luxury. But in the Asakti dasha, the sadhak becomes fearful of these things. He wants to run away from all of these.
There are two types of Klesh (agonies) – Kayik Klesh (physical agonies) and Manasik Klesh (mental agonies). Physical agonies include diseases, worldly disasters, pains, and physical discomforts. Mental agonies include worry, anxiety, feeling hurt, sadness, etc. For example, when a dear person gets hurt, people start worrying about the person. Why? Because we consider him dear to us. Mamata (the sense of belonging) is the reason here. In case of Sri Srivas Prabhu, he didn’t have Mamata even for his son. When his son was dead, he remained unperturbed and danced in ecstasy in Mahaprabhu's kirtan. Who is who's son? If he died, what is my loss? Anyone who has taken birth will also die one day.
If someone humiliates a person, he suffers mental agony because his ego got hurt. Even when he loses something dear to him, he suffers mental agony because he was attached to that thing (this includes money, possessions, etc.) But in Asakti dasha, the sadhak ceases to suffer mental agonies because now he is not attached to any worldly person, object, or entitlements (fame, appreciation, titles, etc.) Since he has nothing to do with the material world, he is unfazed by any kind of loss.
Q: Sometimes, it is seen that even such sadhaks of a very high stage of Bhakti endures physical ailments. For example, one sadhu of a very high stage of Bhakti developed cancer. Another devotee, who is in the stage of Prem Bhakti, developed Prostate cancer. How is the sadhak able to contemplate Radha Krishna in such a state?
A: In Asakti dasha or higher stages, the sadhak doesn’t get perturbed by physical ailments. The mind is the medium through which we feel and direct our body and its parts. Without the help of the mind, we cannot process anything. In Asakti dasha, the sadhak remains absorbed in contemplation of Radha Krishna while his attachment to the body is almost diminished. Therefore, even if his body endure diseases, pains, or serious ailments like cancer, the sadhak does not feel them; He is not mentally agonized.
I have personally seen Priyacharan Baba being physically afflicted by throat disease in which there was some pus formation in his throat. To drink one gulp of water, it took five to ten minutes because of this ailment. I used to wonder how a Siddha baba like Priyacharan baba endures such a vicious ailment. Once, I asked him, “Baba, do you have pain?” His face would light up with a smile and he would say, “Not at all! I have no pain. Vinod! When did you come?” He starts talking with me. I asked him many times about the pain but every time, he answered with a hearty smile, “No, no, I have no pain at all.” This is because his mind was absorbed in contemplation of Radha Krishna. In that stage, the mind gets detached from the body and does not suffer mental agony by physical ailments.
There was another Baba in Govardhan. He developed a cancerous ulcer on his back. His disciples pleaded with him that he must get admitted to a hospital in Mathura for operation and get the ulcer cured. But Baba said, “Why will I go to Mathura? I have no discomfort and my bhajan is going on well. This body is temporary. What is the need to entertain it so much? I will not go anywhere leaving my Asana.” The disciples pleaded again, “Please, Baba, this ulcer needs to be operated and removed. Please allow us to take you to Mathura.” Baba still disagreed.
At last, the disciples said, “Baba, if you allow, can we bring the surgeon here and ask him to operate on the ulcer within your kutiya (bhajan room) itself?” Baba said, “Do as you wish as I have no desire to entertain and care for the body. If you want, arrange for it.” Then the disciples called the best doctor from Mathura.
Upon examining Baba's ulcer, he said that the operation needs to be conducted immediately. The doctor created an operation theatre in Baba's kutiya itself. Finally, when Baba came for the surgery, the doctor said, “Baba, please leave your japamala aside as we need to give you anaesthesia.” Baba said, “There is no need for anaesthesia. You do your work and let me do my work.” The doctor was astonished! He said, “Baba, without anaesthesia, it will hurt a lot.” Baba said, “Don’t worry, son, you do your work. If I feel any discomfort, I will let you know and thereafter, you can give me anaesthesia. Just give me two minutes so that I will sit with my japamala and then you can start the operation.” Baba sat with the japamala, chanting Harinaam. Soon, his mind was totally absorbed in contemplation of Radha Krishna. The doctor started operating while Baba was seemingly out of the body.
The muscles on his back were mostly rotten due to cancer. The doctor could not understand how Baba was even alive. He removed half of the rotten muscles but stopped, thinking if he removed more muscle, nothing would hold up his back. His cancer had reached a stage where a normal person could not endure the pain anymore and would have died. But Baba was totally unfazed by it. So, the doctor accepted defeat and closed the surgery area with stitches and bandages. He understood that the case of Baba was not in the hands of medical science. He folded his hands before Baba and said, “Baba, my work is finished.” Baba said, “Okay, son, you can leave.” Baba was calm and peaceful, without a trace of any pain or discomfort.
In this way, the sadhak becomes free from Manasik Klesh (mental agonies). Sometimes, the mental agonies bother a person so much that he even wants to end his life (suicide). This proves that mental agonies are more painful than physical agonies. In Asakti dasha, the sadhak becomes free from Manasik Klesh and, therefore, one of its main characteristics is Kleshagni.
Q: If someone slanders Guru, Ishta or the Sampradaya, then also the sadhak does not become agonized by it during this stage?
A: Yes, in case of Guru, Vaishnava and Ishta, he becomes agonized. Only in case of worldly matters, he becomes totally unfazed by them. Also, when he is unable to do his routine bhajan, he is very agonized. Sometimes, he even wants to commit suicide if he feels he is not able to do bhajan.
Shubhada: This is the second characteristic of the Asakti stage wherein the sadhak becomes adorned with all great qualities of a bonafide devotee as mentioned below:
• Kripalu (he is impartially benevolent to all),
• Akritadroha (he does not consider anyone as his enemy),
• Satyasaar (he is committed to the Truth i.e., Sri Krishna is the only Truth),
• Sama (he considers all creatures equal as Krishna resides in every living being),
• Nirdosh (he is free from all faults born from Maya),
• Vadanya (he is magnanimous),
• Mridu (he is soft-hearted and sweet spoken),
• Shuchi (he observes physical cleanliness and mental piousness),
• Akinchana (he does not accept anything more than what is needful for survival),
• Sarvopakarak (he tries to benefit others, irrespective of reciprocity),
• Shanta (he is peaceful in pleasures and miseries alike),
• Krishnaika sharan (he is devoted to Krishna only),
• Akaam (he has no desire for any worldly matters),
• Aniha (he is detached from worldly matters),
• Sthira (he is steady in his words and actions),
• Vijita Shadaguna (he has conquered his desires, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and jealousy – the six enemies),
• Mita bhuk (he eats only as required to maintain his body),
• Apramatta (he does not get fascinated or absorbed in worldly matters),
• Manad (he respects everyone equally, irrespective of their status or qualities),
• Amani (he does not desire respect, recognition, or appreciation for himself),
• Gambhir (he is grave, and he does not flaunt his Bhakti),
• Karun (he is compassionate),
• Maitri (he desires welfare for everyone like a friend),
• Kavi (he speaks in a beautiful language and chooses his words expertly),
• Daksha (he is not lazy; he does all his works expertly) and
• Mauni (he does not speak unless questioned, besides Hari katha).
Even Sri Bhagavan becomes captivated by these qualities of a devotee and says:
“Aham bhakta paradhino hyaswatantrayeva dvija”
Meaning: I am bound by my devotees. I am not independent, O Brahman. (Bhagvan says to Durvasa Rishi in Srimad Bhagvatam 9.4.63)
[Note: Srila Vishwanath Chakravarti Pad has described Kleshagni and Shubhada as characteristics of Sadhan bhakti in his commentary of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu and in Madhurya Kadambini. Since Asakti is the last stage of Sadhan bhakti, here Baba has described them as characteristics of Asakti dasha. This means that while the process of burning Prarabdhas and development of auspicious qualities by the mercy of Bhakti Devi starts as soon as the sadhak starts doing bhajan, it is only at the stage of Asakti when the sadhak becomes completely free from mental agonies and acquires all qualities of a bonafide devotee in full bloom.]
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