Bhakti-devī

name

the goddess of devotion. All potencies of the Lord have personified forms. In Mādhurya-kādambinī (1.3) Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that bhakti is the svarūpa-śakti of Bhagavān and that she is yadṛcchā, which means that bhakti has her own will. Being sva-prakāśa, self-manifest, she is not dependent on any other agency in order to manifest in a person’s heart. In the Bhāgavatam (1.2.6) it is said: yato bhaktir adhokṣaje ahaituky apratihatā – “that by which causeless and uninterrupted bhakti for Lord Adhokṣaja arises.” The word ahaituky in this śloka indicates that bhakti has no cause. The only cause of bhakti is bhakti herself. Śrīla Cakravartīpāda analyzes the meaning of this statement. He says that bhakti situated in the heart of a bhāva-bhakta is the only cause for her manifesting in others. Since Kṛṣṇa is under the control of His unalloyed bhaktas, He has invested such power in them. Therefore sādhana is not the true cause of bhakti’s appearance. Bhakti-devī, being self-willed, manifests bhakti in the heart when she is pleased with the bhakta’s unalloyed service attitude. Ultimately this indicates that Bhakti-devī acts through the agency of Kṛṣṇa’s bhaktas who are situated in the stage of bhāva. When they see the sincerity of the sādhaka-bhakta, the bhakti which is one with the very nature of their hearts is transmitted into the hearts of the sādhakas. Other than this, there is no cause for bhakti’s appearance