The Bhagavad Gita is acclaimed as the cream of Vedic philosophy.
The discourse within the Bhagavad Gita establishes:
That only through selfless devotion and surrender to the Supreme Being, Lord Krishna, one can attain moksha and eternal bliss – that one can be liberated from all the trappings of pain and sorrow that this world may throw at us.
This is the path of Bhakti.
In the Kali Yuga, of all the paths to ‘moksha’, Bhakti is the simplest and most effective – comprehensible to and attainable by the common people.
Such is the power of Bhakti.
The original Vedic scriptures were documented in Sanskrit, but Sanskrit was a court language and a language of the scholars.
This meant that the Brahmagyaan embodied in the text were only accessible to the learned and the scholars.
Then how do the common people who have no understanding of Sanskrit gain access to this holy nectar?
Jagadguru Srimanta Sankardeva (1449 - 1568), the great Assamese neo-Vashnavite saint, was aware of this dilemma.
Therefore, he took up the task of rendering and adapting the Sanskrit Bhagavata to the vernacular Assamese language during the 15th and 16th centuries, so that this knowledge is accessible to the common people in the region.
He also produced a number of original works, with the Kirtan Ghoxa being one of the most important.
In the Bhakti marga of Ek Sarana Naam Dharma, it is not necessary for one to be a Brahmin or a deva (demigod).
Nor is it necessary to know all the sastras (scriptures).
By worshipping or having unflinching faith in Lord Krishna, the Yakshas, the Rakshasas, the women, the Sudras, all the inhabitants of Vraja (Vrindavana) and even the birds and the beasts became Vishnu.
Hence, the common householder can attain liberation or jivaan mukti by chanting the name and glories of Lord Krishna, Rama or Narayana (all names for the Supreme Being or Brahmaan).
There are nine different aspects of Bhakti – sravana, kirttana, smarana, arcana, pada-sevana, dasya, sakhitva, vandana and atma-nivedana.
In Ek Sarana Naam Dharma, Daasya Bhaava or servitude to Lord Krishna is emphasized, and Bhakti takes place through Sravana and Kirtana.
The devotee assumes the role of the servant of a servant of the Supreme Being, Lord Krishna.
This is the path of absolute surrender to Lord Krishna in Ek Sarana Naam Dharma.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna declared to Arjuna:
“man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣhyasi yuktvaivam ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ”
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 9, Verse 34
“Always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and offer obeisance to Me. Having dedicated your mind and body to Me, you will certainly come to Me.”
The act of humble obeisance neutralizes any ego that may arise in the performance of devotion.
Thus, free from pride, with the heart immersed in devotion, one should dedicate all one’s thoughts and actions to the Supreme.
Lord Shri Krishna assures Arjun that such complete unity with Him through Bhakti-yog will result in the attainment of God-realization.
There should be no doubt about it.
As established in the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavat Purana, Ek Sarana emphasizes that one need not worship any other gods or goddesses, other than Lord Krishna.
That salvation can be attained by chanting the glories of Lord Krishna at home or through collective practices of Naam Prasanga at the Naamghar or community prayer halls conceptualized by Jagadguru Srimanta Sankardeva.
Guru or the initiator, Deva or the one worshipped, Naam or the glories of Lord Krishna, and Bhakat or the devotee are the four key pillars of Ek Sarana Naam Dharma.
Jagadguru Srimanta Sankardeva’s Kirtan Goxa, and the Daxama (the 10th Canto or Chapter of the Bhagavat Purana which glorifies the childhood lilas of Lord Krishna in Brindavan), and the Naam Ghoxa composed by his disciple Madhavadeva, are the three key holy scriptures associated with Ek Sarana Naam Dharma.
Ek Sarana Naam Dharma has no distinctions of caste, race, gender or occupation. It is remarkably free from the scourge of casteism that afflicts Hindu societies in most other parts of India.
In Jagadguru Srimanta Sankaradeva's system, therefore, we find Brahman disciples of Sudra teachers, and even people who would be considered untouchables in other parts of India.
Nobody is considered as unfit for securing initiation into the Ek Sarana path of Bhakti.
