Free From Desire, the Devotee Desires Nothing
Having tasted divine love, the devotee craves nothing, grieves over nothing, hates nothing, and exerts for no selfish gain.
Narada describes the fruit of love in Sutra 5: 'Yat prapya na kinchid vanchhati, na shochati, na dveshti, na ramate, na utsahi bhavati' — 'Having attained which, one desires nothing, grieves for nothing, hates nothing, delights in nothing else, and strives for nothing.' The devotee's heart is so saturated with the Beloved that ordinary motivations fall away. This is not coldness or apathy but the overflowing fullness of one who has found the source of all desiring. Worldly pursuits lose their grip not through suppression but through the natural disinterest of one already complete. When the deepest need is met, the compulsive chase after external rewards quietly ceases.
Having attained which, one desires nothing, grieves for nothing, hates nothing.
This description of desireless fullness has been likened by scholars to the Stoic ideal of apatheia, yet Narada grounds the peace not in detachment from emotion but in the overflowing presence of love.
Narada Bhakti Sutras
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- What the Narada Bhakti Sutras say about desire
His test is negative. After this love there is nothing further you crave, grieve over, hate or strive for — he describes the state by what has dropped away rather than what has been added.