अथातो भक्तिं व्याख्यास्यामः — Benefits & How to Chant
अथातो भक्तिं व्याख्यास्यामः
Complete guide to chanting correctly for maximum benefit
Benefits of Chanting अथातो भक्तिं व्याख्यास्यामः
Opens the Narada Bhakti Sutra, the supreme scripture on the path of loving devotion (bhakti yoga).
The auspicious word 'atha' (now) is itself considered a blessing, marking the dawn of the seeker's spiritual readiness.
Establishes that bhakti is a worthy and complete subject of enquiry, equal to the enquiry into Brahman.
Chanted as a sacred beginning before study or recitation of the Narada Bhakti Sutra.
Reminds the devotee that the path of love is to be learned and lived, not merely felt.
Sets the heart and mind in the mood of devotion before deeper teaching unfolds.
How to Chant अथातो भक्तिं व्याख्यास्यामः
Instructions
Recite this opening sutra slowly and with reverence as the doorway into the teaching of devotion. Pause on the word 'atha' (now), feeling that this very moment is the auspicious time to take up the path of love. Then continue with the following sutras that define the nature of bhakti. It is traditionally chanted as the invocation that begins study of the entire Narada Bhakti Sutra.
Spiritual Significance
The tradition holds that Narada himself attained his exalted state as the foremost of devotees through such single-pointed love of the Lord, and that merely beginning the study of devotion with this sutra, in the right spirit, turns the heart toward God and starts to ripen it for the bliss the later sutras promise.
Origin & History
Source: Narada Bhakti Sutra, Sutra 1
Author: Attributed to Devarshi Narada
The Narada Bhakti Sutra opens, as the great philosophical works do, with the words 'Atha ataḥ' — 'Now, therefore.' Having established (in the tradition) that the seeker has turned away from lower pursuits and is ready for the highest, the sage Narada announces that he will now expound bhakti, the path of loving devotion to the Lord. This single opening aphorism sets the subject of the whole text, which goes on to define devotion as the form of supreme love and to show it as the means by which a person becomes perfect, immortal and fully content.