虔信的定义
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中文
第一章
祈祷
स तन्मयो ह्यमृत ईशसंस्थो ज्ञः सर्वगो भुवनस्यास्य गोप्ता।
य ईशेऽस्य जगतो नित्यमेव नान्यो हेतुर्विद्यत ईशनाय॥
यो ब्रह्माणं विदधाति पूर्व यो वै वेदांश्च प्रहिणोति तस्मै।
तं ह देवं आत्मबुध्दिप्रकाशं मुमुक्षुर्वै शरणमहं प्रपद्ये॥
स तन्मयो ह्यमृत ईशसंस्थो ज्ञः सर्वगो भुवनस्यास्य गोप्ता।
य ईशेऽस्य जगतो नित्यमेव नान्यो हेतुर्विद्यत ईशनाय॥
यो ब्रह्माणं विदधाति पूर्व यो वै वेदांश्च प्रहिणोति तस्मै।
तं ह देवं आत्मबुध्दिप्रकाशं मुमुक्षुर्वै शरणमहं प्रपद्ये॥
"彼乃宇宙之真我，不朽永恒；彼握主宰之权；彼为全知、遍在、宇宙之护持者、永恒之主宰。无有他者能永恒地治理世界。彼于创造之初造出梵天（即宇宙意识），并将吠陀（Vedas）赐予彼——为求解脱，我皈依于彼光耀之一，其光使智识转向真我（Atman）。"
虔信（Bhakti）的定义
虔信瑜伽（Bhakti-Yoga）是对主的真实、真诚的探寻，一种以爱开始、以爱延续、以爱终结的探寻。对神极致之爱的癫狂中，哪怕只有一刹那，便能为我们带来永恒的自由。纳拉达（Narada）在其《虔信格言》（Bhakti-aphorisms）的阐释中说："虔信即对神的炽烈之爱"；"当一个人获得这种爱，他便爱一切，恨一切皆无；他永远满足"；"这种爱无法被化约为任何世俗的利益"，因为只要世俗的欲望还存在，这种爱便不会降临；"虔信胜于业力（karma），胜于瑜伽（Yoga），因为这些皆以某一目的为指向，而虔信本身即为其果，即为其手段，亦即为其终点。"
虔信历来是我们圣哲们恒常的主题。除了商底利亚（Shandilya）或纳拉达这样专门论述虔信的著述者之外，那些注释韦亚萨经（Vyasa-Sutras）的伟大注释者，虽明显是智慧（Jnana）的倡导者，也对爱有着颇为深刻的论述。即便注释者急于将许多——若非全部——文本解释为传授某种干燥的知识，那些经典——尤其是论述崇拜的章节——也不容易被如此操纵。
智慧（Jnana）与爱（Bhakti）之间，实际上并没有人们有时所想象的那么大的差别。随着我们的深入，我们将看到，它们最终会汇聚，在同一个点上相遇。胜王瑜伽（Raja-Yoga）亦复如此——当它被作为达到解脱的手段而修习时，而不是（如同不幸的是，它在骗子和神秘主义者手中频繁变成的那样）被用作欺骗轻信者的工具时——它同样引领我们走向同一目标。
虔信的一大优势在于它是达到那伟大神圣目标最容易、最自然的方式；它的一大劣势在于，在其较低的形式中，它有时会堕落为可怖的狂热主义。印度教、伊斯兰教或基督教中的狂热派，几乎总是从这些处于虔信较低层次的礼拜者中招募人员的。那种对所爱对象的专一性依附（Nishtha），若无此则真正的爱无法生长，却也往往成为谴责其他一切之物的原因。每个宗教或国家中所有软弱而未得充分发展的心灵，爱其理想的方式只有一种，那便是憎恨其他一切理想。这便是为何同一个人，对自己的神之理想如此充满爱，对自己的宗教理想如此虔诚，一旦看到或听到任何其他理想，便立刻变成一个怒吼的狂热分子。这种爱有些类似于犬的本能——看守主人财产免遭侵入；只是犬的本能比人的理性更为优良，因为犬无论主人以何种装扮出现在它面前，都不会将主人误认为敌人。再者，狂热分子失去了一切判断力。在他的情形中，个人的考量具有如此压倒性的重要性，以至于对他来说，一个人说了什么——是否正确——根本不是问题；他总是格外在意的一件事，是谁在说。对待自己同道中人，他温和、善良、诚实、充满爱意；但当行动针对其宗教圈子以外的人时，他会毫不犹豫地做出最卑劣的行为。
然而，这种危险只存在于虔信的所谓预备阶段（Gauni）。当虔信成熟并进入所谓的最高阶段（Para），便不再有这些可怖的狂热主义表现之虞；那被这更高形式的虔信所征服的灵魂，已与爱之神如此接近，以至于不可能成为传播仇恨的工具。
在此生中，并非所有人都能在性格的构建上达到和谐；然而我们知道，最高贵的性格乃是那种智慧、爱与瑜伽三者和谐融合的性格。鸟儿飞翔需要三件事——两翼与一条作为舵的尾巴。智慧（Jnana）是一翼，虔信（Bhakti）是另一翼，而瑜伽是保持平衡的尾巴。对于那些不能同时和谐地修习这三种礼拜形式、因而单独选取虔信作为其道路的人，有一件事始终需要牢记：形式与礼仪，尽管对于进步中的灵魂是绝对必要的，但其唯一的价值，不过是将我们带入那种对神最为炽烈之爱的境界。
智慧之师与爱之师之间，在观点上有一点小小的分歧，尽管双方都承认虔信的力量。智慧之师（Jnanis）将虔信视为解脱的工具；虔信者（Bhaktas）则将其既视为工具，又视为所要达到的目标。在我看来，这是一个没有太多差别的区分。实际上，当虔信被用作工具时，它真正意味着一种较低形式的礼拜，而在后来的阶段，更高的形式便与较低形式的实现变得不可分割。各方似乎都对自己特有的礼拜方式极为强调，却忘记了：有了完美的爱，真正的知识必然会不召自来；而从完美的知识中，真正的爱是不可分离的。
铭记这一点，让我们尝试理解伟大的吠檀多注释者们在这个问题上所说的话。在解释《经》中"Avrittirasakridupadeshât"这句格言时，薄伽梵商羯罗（Bhagavan Shankara）说："如此，人们说'他虔诚于国王，他虔诚于导师（Guru）'；他们这样称呼那追随导师、并以此追随为唯一目的的人。同样，他们说'这位深情的妻子默念着她深情的丈夫'；这里所指的也是一种热切而持续的记念。"这是商羯罗所界定的虔信。
"禅定（Dhyana）又是一种对所禅想之物的持续记念，如同连续不断地从一个容器向另一个容器倾倒的油流。当这种对神的记念方式得以实现，一切束缚皆告断裂。因此，经典中谈及持续记念作为解脱的手段。这种记念又与亲见具有同样的形式，因为它与以下经句的意思相同：'当那远与近皆在的他被见到时，心的束缚断裂，一切疑惑消散，一切业果消失。'近者可以被见到，但远者只能被记念。然而，经典说我们必须既见近者，又见远者，由此向我们表明，上述的记念与亲见具有同等效力。这种记念当升华之时，便呈现出与亲见相同的形式……崇拜即是持续的记念，这可从经典的核心文句中看出。作为重复崇拜的知晓，已被描述为持续的记念……如此，这种已升华至等同于直接感知之高度的记念，在《吠陀》（Shruti）中被称为解脱的手段。'此真我（Atman）无法通过各种科学而达到，亦非通过理智，亦非通过对吠陀的大量研习。真我渴望于其者，方能达到真我，真我向此人显现自身。'此处，在说明单纯的听闻、思辨与禅定皆非达到真我的手段之后，又说'真我渴望于其者，方能达到真我'。至亲之爱者方为所渴望者；凡真我极度渴望于其者，他便成为真我最为钟爱的人。为使此钟爱者能达到真我，主自身会予以援助。正如主所说：'那些持续与我相连、以爱礼拜我的人——我为其意志指引方向，使他们归于我。'因此，据说，凡对这种等同于直接感知的记念极为珍视之人——因为它对记念感知之对象而言是珍贵的——他便被至上真我所渴望，并由此达到至上真我。这种持续的记念，即以虔信一词来表示。"这是薄伽梵罗摩奴阇（Bhagavan Ramanuja）在其注释《今问梵义经》（Sutra Athato Brahma-jijnasa）时所说的话。
在注释帕坦伽利（Patanjali）经典中的"Ishvara pranidhana-dva"——即"或通过对至上主的礼拜"——一句时，薄阇（Bhoja）说："奉献（Pranidhana）是虔信的一种形式，其中一切作为，不求感官享受等果报，皆献于那诸师之师。"薄伽梵韦亚萨（Bhagavan Vyasa）在注释同一处时，也将奉献定义为"一种虔信的形式，通过这种形式，至上主的慈悲降临于瑜伽修行者，并赐福于他，成就其愿望"。按照商底利亚的说法，"虔信是对神的炽烈之爱。"然而最好的定义，来自虔信者之王普拉拉德（Prahlada）：
"愿那无知者对感官短暂对象所怀有的那种不灭之爱——就如我持续地冥想着你——愿这样的爱不要从我心中消逝！"爱！为谁而爱？为至上主自在天（Ishvara）。对任何其他存在的爱，无论其多么伟大，皆不能称为虔信；因为，如罗摩奴阇在其《要义释》（Shri Bhashya）中引述一位古代阿阇梨（Acharya）——即伟大导师——的话所说：
आब्रह्मस्तम्बपर्यन्ताः जगदन्तर्व्यवस्थिताः। प्राणिनः कर्मजनितसंसारवशवर्तिनः॥यतस्ततो न ते ध्याने ध्यानिनामुपकारकाः। अविद्यान्तर्गतास्सर्वे ते हि संसारगोचराः॥
"从梵天（Brahma）到一丛草，世间一切有生之物，皆是因业力（Karma）而生的生死之奴；因此，它们作为禅定之对象，无法对禅定者有所助益，因为它们皆处于无明（Avidya）之中，皆处于变迁之中。"在注释商底利亚所用的"Anurakti"一词时，注释者斯瓦普纳斯瓦拉（Svapneshvara）说，它的意思是Anu，即"之后"，与Rakti，即"依附"；意指了解神的本性与荣耀之后而生起的依附；否则，对任何人的盲目依附——如对妻子或子女的依附——便可称为虔信了。如此，我们便清楚地看到，虔信是一系列对宗教实现所作的心理努力，从普通的礼拜开始，以对自在天的极致深爱告终。
注释
English
CHAPTER I
PRAYER
स तन्मयो ह्यमृत ईशसंस्थो ज्ञः सर्वगो भुवनस्यास्य गोप्ता।
य ईशेऽस्य जगतो नित्यमेव नान्यो हेतुर्विद्यत ईशनाय॥
यो ब्रह्माणं विदधाति पूर्व यो वै वेदांश्च प्रहिणोति तस्मै।
तं ह देवं आत्मबुध्दिप्रकाशं मुमुक्षुर्वै शरणमहं प्रपद्ये॥
स तन्मयो ह्यमृत ईशसंस्थो ज्ञः सर्वगो भुवनस्यास्य गोप्ता।
य ईशेऽस्य जगतो नित्यमेव नान्यो हेतुर्विद्यत ईशनाय॥
यो ब्रह्माणं विदधाति पूर्व यो वै वेदांश्च प्रहिणोति तस्मै।
तं ह देवं आत्मबुध्दिप्रकाशं मुमुक्षुर्वै शरणमहं प्रपद्ये॥
"He is the Soul of the Universe; He is Immortal; His is the Rulership; He is the All-knowing, the All-pervading, the Protector of the Universe, the Eternal Ruler. None else is there efficient to govern the world eternally. He who at the beginning of creation projected Brahmâ (i.e. the universal consciousness), and who delivered the Vedas unto him — seeking liberation I go for refuge unto that effulgent One, whose light turns the understanding towards the Âtman."
DEFINITION OF BHAKTI
Bhakti-Yoga is a real, genuine search after the Lord, a search beginning, continuing, and ending in love. One single moment of the madness of extreme love to God brings us eternal freedom. "Bhakti", says Nârada in his explanation of the Bhakti-aphorisms, "is intense love to God"; "When a man gets it, he loves all, hates none; he becomes satisfied for ever"; "This love cannot be reduced to any earthly benefit", because so long as worldly desires last, that kind of love does not come; "Bhakti is greater than karma, greater than Yoga, because these are intended for an object in view, while Bhakti is its own fruition, its own means and its own end."
Bhakti has been the one constant theme of our sages. Apart from the special writers on Bhakti, such as Shândilya or Narada, the great commentators on the Vyâsa-Sutras, evidently advocates of knowledge (Jnâna), have also something very suggestive to say about love. Even when the commentator is anxious to explain many, if not all, of the texts so as to make them import a sort of dry knowledge, the Sutras, in the chapter on worship especially, do not lend themselves to be easily manipulated in that fashion.
There is not really so much difference between knowledge (Jnana) and love (Bhakti) as people sometimes imagine. We shall see, as we go on, that in the end they converge and meet at the same point. So also is it with Râja-Yoga, which when pursued as a means to attain liberation, and not (as unfortunately it frequently becomes in the hands of charlatans and mystery-mongers) as an instrument to hoodwink the unwary, leads us also to the same goal.
The one great advantage of Bhakti is that it is the easiest and the most natural way to reach the great divine end in view; its great disadvantage is that in its lower forms it oftentimes degenerates into hideous fanaticism. The fanatical crew in Hinduism, or Mohammedanism, or Christianity, have always been almost exclusively recruited from these worshippers on the lower planes of Bhakti. That singleness of attachment (Nishthâ) to a loved object, without which no genuine love can grow, is very often also the cause of the denunciation of everything else. All the weak and undeveloped minds in every religion or country have only one way of loving their own ideal, i.e. by hating every other ideal. Herein is the explanation of why the same man who is so lovingly attached to his own ideal of God, so devoted to his own ideal of religion, becomes a howling fanatic as soon as he sees or hears anything of any other ideal. This kind of love is somewhat like the canine instinct of guarding the master's property from intrusion; only, the instinct of the dog is better than the reason of man, for the dog never mistakes its master for an enemy in whatever dress he may come before it. Again, the fanatic loses all power of judgment. Personal considerations are in his case of such absorbing interest that to him it is no question at all what a man says — whether it is right or wrong; but the one thing he is always particularly careful to know is who says it. The same man who is kind, good, honest, and loving to people of his own opinion, will not hesitate to do the vilest deeds when they are directed against persons beyond the pale of his own religious brotherhood.
But this danger exists only in that stage of Bhakti which is called the preparatory (Gauni). When Bhakti has become ripe and has passed into that form which is called the supreme (Parâ), no more is there any fear of these hideous manifestations of fanaticism; that soul which is overpowered by this higher form of Bhakti is too near the God of Love to become an instrument for the diffusion of hatred.
It is not given to all of us to be harmonious in the building up of our characters in this life: yet we know that that character is of the noblest type in which all these three — knowledge and love and Yoga — are harmoniously fused. Three things are necessary for a bird to fly — the two wings and the tail as a rudder for steering. Jnana (Knowledge) is the one wing, Bhakti (Love) is the other, and Yoga is the tail that keeps up the balance. For those who cannot pursue all these three forms of worship together in harmony and take up, therefore, Bhakti alone as their way, it is necessary always to remember that forms and ceremonials, though absolutely necessary for the progressive soul, have no other value than taking us on to that state in which we feel the most intense love to God.
There is a little difference in opinion between the teachers of knowledge and those of love, though both admit the power of Bhakti. The Jnanis hold Bhakti to be an instrument of liberation, the Bhaktas look upon it both as the instrument and the thing to be attained. To my mind this is a distinction without much difference. In fact, Bhakti, when used as an instrument, really means a lower form of worship, and the higher form becomes inseparable from the lower form of realisation at a later stage. Each seems to lay a great stress upon his own peculiar method of worship, forgetting that with perfect love true knowledge is bound to come even unsought, and that from perfect knowledge true love is inseparable.
Bearing this in mind let us try to understand what the great Vedantic commentators have to say on the subject. In explaining the Sutra Âvrittirasakridupadeshât , Bhagavân Shankara says, "Thus people say, 'He is devoted to the king, he is devoted to the Guru'; they say this of him who follows his Guru, and does so, having that following as the one end in view. Similarly they say, 'The loving wife meditates on her loving husband'; here also a kind of eager and continuous remembrance is meant." This is devotion according to Shankara.
"Meditation again is a constant remembrance (of the thing meditated upon) flowing like an unbroken stream of oil poured out from one vessel to another. When this kind of remembering has been attained (in relation to God) all bondages break. Thus it is spoken of in the scriptures regarding constant remembering as a means to liberation. This remembering again is of the same form as seeing, because it is of the same meaning as in the passage, 'When He who is far and near is seen, the bonds of the heart are broken, all doubts vanish, and all effects of work disappear' He who is near can be seen, but he who is far can only be remembered. Nevertheless the scripture says that he have to see Him who is near as well as Him who, is far, thereby indicating to us that the above kind of remembering is as good as seeing. This remembrance when exalted assumes the same form as seeing. . . . Worship is constant remembering as may be seen from the essential texts of scriptures. Knowing, which is the same as repeated worship, has been described as constant remembering. . . . Thus the memory, which has attained to the height of what is as good as direct perception, is spoken of in the Shruti as a means of liberation. 'This Atman is not to be reached through various sciences, nor by intellect, nor by much study of the Vedas. Whomsoever this Atman desires, by him is the Atman attained, unto him this Atman discovers Himself.' Here, after saying that mere hearing, thinking and meditating are not the means of attaining this Atman, it is said, 'Whom this Atman desires, by him the Atman is attained.' The extremely beloved is desired; by whomsoever this Atman is extremely beloved, he becomes the most beloved of the Atman. So that this beloved may attain the Atman, the Lord Himself helps. For it has been said by the Lord: 'Those who are constantly attached to Me and worship Me with love — I give that direction to their will by which they come to Me.' Therefore it is said that, to whomsoever this remembering, which is of the same form as direct perception, is very dear, because it is dear to the Object of such memory perception, he is desired by the Supreme Atman, by him the Supreme Atman is attained. This constant remembrance is denoted by the word Bhakti." So says Bhagavân Râmânuja in his commentary on the Sutra Athâto Brahma-jijnâsâ .
In commenting on the Sutra of Patanjali, Ishvara pranidhânâdvâ, i.e. "Or by the worship of the Supreme Lord" — Bhoja says, "Pranidhâna is that sort of Bhakti in which, without seeking results, such as sense-enjoyments etc., all works are dedicated to that Teacher of teachers." Bhagavan Vyâsa also, when commenting on the same, defines Pranidhana as "the form of Bhakti by which the mercy of the Supreme Lord comes to the Yogi, and blesses him by granting him his desires". According to Shândilya, "Bhakti is intense love to God." The best definition is, however, that given by the king of Bhaktas, Prahlâda:
"That deathless love which the ignorant have for the fleeting objects of the senses — as I keep meditating on Thee — may not that love slip away from my heart!" Love! For whom? For the Supreme Lord Ishvara. Love for any other being, however great cannot be Bhakti; for, as Ramanuja says in his Shri Bhâshya, quoting an ancient Âchârya, i.e. a great teacher:
आब्रह्मस्तम्बपर्यन्ताः जगदन्तर्व्यवस्थिताः। प्राणिनः कर्मजनितसंसारवशवर्तिनः॥यतस्ततो न ते ध्याने ध्यानिनामुपकारकाः। अविद्यान्तर्गतास्सर्वे ते हि संसारगोचराः॥
"From Brahmâ to a clump of grass, all things that live in the world are slaves of birth and death caused by Karma; therefore they cannot be helpful as objects of meditation, because they are all in ignorance and subject to change." In commenting on the word Anurakti used by Shandilya, the commentator Svapneshvara says that it means Anu, after, and Rakti, attachment; i.e. the attachment which comes after the knowledge of the nature and glory of God; else a blind attachment to any one, e.g. to wife or children, would be Bhakti. We plainly see, therefore, that Bhakti is a series or succession of mental efforts at religious realisation beginning with ordinary worship and ending in a supreme intensity of love for Ishvara.
Notes
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。