In the ‘Dainik Pratyaksha’, Sadguru Shree Aniruddha explains the term ‘Shraddhavan’ (Adorer) in his Editorial (Number 1597) as –
Shree Krishna, Himself has pronounced the term ‘Shraddhavan’ (Adorer) while narrating the Bhagavad Gita.
In Chapter Four, one can find the first of the references to the term ‘Shraddhavan’ which later reoccurs in chapters Six and Eighteen respectively. The Shraddhavan thus has three mentions in the Bhagavad Gita.
‘The one who performs Bhakti is a Bhakta. However, we must not forget that the one who remains within the Devotion Sentience (Bhaktibhav Chaitanya) is the real Bhakta that is – the ‘Shraddhavan’.
श्रद्धावान्लभतेज्ञानंतत्पर: संयतेन्द्रिय:।ज्ञानंलब्ध्वापरांशान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति॥
- Shreemad Bhagavad Gita 4/39
(The Shraddhavan who promptly performs bhakti, staying firm and steadfast at the feet of the Almighty and controls his faculties with bhakti attains knowledge. The Shraddhavan that once, achieves the supreme peace that one attains at the God-realization.)
योगिनामपिसर्वेषांमद्गतेनान्तरात्मना।श्रद्धावान्भजतेयोमांसमेयुक्ततमोमत:॥
- Shreemad Bhagavad Gita6/47
(From among all the seekers of the Karma Marg, the Gyan Marg, the Yoga Marg or any other path, a Shraddhavan who performs My single-minded, heartfelt bhakti in entirety, I consider him the most distinguished among all as he is totally and wholly connected to Me).
श्रद्धावान्अनसूयश्चशृणुयादपियोनर:।सोऽपिमुक्त: शुभान्लोकान्प्राप्नुयात्पुण्यकर्मणाम्॥
- Shreemad Bhagavad Gita 18/71
(The Shraddhavan (Adorer), who without harbouring malice or jealousy towards anyone, listens to the Shreemad Bhagavad Gita, will be liberated from all the clutches and shall reach the propitious realm of the virtuous.)
An‘ordinary man’, a ‘bhakta’, the ‘Shraddhavan’ and the‘true Shraddhavan’ are the various milestones in the journey on the path of Bhakti.
An ordinary man
The one- who performs bhakti only for gains and to seek worldly pleasures; the one who feels nothing in even starving the Almighty, instead forgets him once the material gain is achieved and again remembers Him when in need is considered an ordinary man.
A Bhakta
The one who performs Bhakti is a bhakta. A bhakta begins on the path of Bhakti with whatever faith he or she has, continues in the pursuit of bhakti, importantly - always stays grateful to the Almighty and performs bhajan, poojan, mantra jap, pathan, chanting offers prayers, reads holy texts while repeatedly telling the Almighty that He is the only One who holds all the strings of his/her life.
A bhakta on the path of Bhakti is aware that he is a tiny little bit, is gullible, but still faces all the life situations by ever strengthening the faith that the Almighty, the God he worships is boundless and infinite, has absolute power and falls for love. Such a bhakta has only one, and the single aim and that is ‘to be a servitor and a friend tohis Almighty, serve Him as much as he can and surrender himself at the refuge of His feet’.
The Shraddhavan (Adorer)
When the feelings of being a servitor, a friend to the Swayambhagwan and surrendering at His divine feet are pronounced in the mind by a bhakta, though sporadically, the Swayambhagwan Himself takes the bhakta forward on the path of Bhakti, accepts his seva, however small or minuscule, considering it to be many times more than in reality. The Swayambhagwan then brings about his transformation from a bhakta to the Shraddhavan, the Shraddhavan who is His friend. And then the Swayambhagwanplaceshim in the Devotion Sentience. The one who stays in the Devotion is the true bhakta or the Shraddhavan.
In the path of Bhakti, the Swayambhagwan keeps actively intervening, anytime and anywhere, in the life of the Shraddhavan as per the will of the Aadimata Jagadamba.
The True Shraddhavan (Adorer)
The true Shraddhavan is the one who shelters himself in the ‘Daivi Prakriti’ or the ‘Sannihita’, the power of the love of the Swayambhagwan
that is always-connected to Him, surrenders at the feet of the Swayambhagwan, gets delighted at the sight of the smile on the face of the Swayambhagwan and acquires the love that flows through His eyes.