Guest guest Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 GREETINGS AND NAMASTE! very interesting observations... here is what shri ramakrishna himself said on this subject... Two Paths: Jnana and Bhakti Master: "Reasoning is one of the paths; it is the path of the Vedantists. But there is another path, the path of bhakti. If a bhakta weeps longingly for the Knowledge of Brahman, he received that as well. These are the two paths: jnana and bhakti." "One may attain the Knowledge of Brahman by either path. Some retain bhakti even after realizing Brahman, in order to teach humanity. An Incarnation of God is one of these. "A man cannot easily get rid of the ego and the consciousness that the body is the soul. It becomes possible only when, through the grace of God, he attains samadhi - nirvikalpa samadhi, jada samadhi. "The ego of the Incarnations returns to them when they come down from the plane of samadhi; but then it is the 'ego of Knowledge' or the 'ego of Devotion'. Through the 'ego of Knowledge' they teach men. Sankaracharya kept the 'ego of Knowledge'. "Through the 'ego of Devotion' Chaitanyadeva tasted divine love and enjoyed the company of the devotees. He talked about God and chanted His name." " ********************************************************************** hari om tat sat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 Most illuminating! That gave me some peace of mind, thanks. But Jnana and Bhakti only? RAJA and KARMA yogins may not agree with Sri Ramakrishna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 hey durrson, you are keeping me on my toes this evening dear one! let us look at the seal of the vedanta society (the ramakrishna order) "The wavy waters in the picture are symbolic of Karma, the lotus of Bhakti and the rising-sun, of Jnana. The encircling serpent is indicative of Yoga and the awakened Kundalini Shakti, while the swan in the picture stands for the Paramatman. Therefore, the idea of the picture is that by the union of Karma, Jnana, Bhakti and Yoga, the vision of the Paramatman is obtained." Swami Vivekananda a car runs on four wheels- the vedanta society recognizes the importance of all four yogas namely bhakti, karma, jnana and raja yoga. ********************************************************************** shri ramakrishna himself adised ghis disciples... "That doctrine teaches that one should always be careful to observe three things, namely, a taste for God's name, kindness to all beings, and the service of co-devotees. ...One should have the conviction in one's heart that the whole universe belongs to Krishna, and therefore, one should have compassion for all beings." The master said "Talk of compassion for beings! Insignificant creature that you are, how can you show compassion for all beings? Who are you to show compassion? You wretch, who are you to bestow it! No, no; it is not compassion to jives, but service to them as Shiva." when narendra (swami vivekananda) heard this he exclaimed "Ah, what a wonderful light have I got today from the Master's words! What a new and attractive Gospel have we received today through those words of his, wherein a synthesis has been effected of sweet devotion to the Lord with Vedantic knowledge, which is generally regarded as dry austere and lacking in sympathy with the suffering of others. Whenever shall I get the opportunity I will preach this wonderful doctrine of 'Shiva Jnane Jiva Seva', serving God in each living being! since then, serving the living god (the poor and the downtrodden) has become the 'motto' of the ramakrishna order. what is karma yoga? the path of self-less action- not being attached to the fruits of action- serve god by serving all fellow human beings - 'nara seva narayana seva' -'jana seva janardana seva' - the ramakrishna order always takes a lead in relief fforts whenver there is a natural calamity or disaster- in the recent earthquakes in gujarat, the society launched an aggressive 'fund' drive and rushed men, materials and money to the victims of the quake. so, according to the princilpes as laid down by the ramakrishna order "we can live in accordance with our divine nature by serving God and following our divine path by releasing the ego (Embree:279). When we can act with selfless pursuit we recognize our unity with the entire universe." this is karma yoga at its best. ********************************************************************* please read swami vivekananda's views on different yoga including raja yoga... "Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest the Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy - by one, or more, or all of these - and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are nothing but secondary details." In this quotation, "work", "worship", "psychic control" and "philosophy" represent the means of Four Yogas, namely Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Jnana Yoga, respectively. Raja Yoga seeks to achieve inner mental control by spiritual exercise and following the path of meditation. , " The focus of this path is the mind. Through our intellectual powers and ability to still the mind it is possible to realize our oneness with Brahman. The constant thoughts of our brain keep us constantly moving, thinking, and preoccupied; there is little time left for our true, divine self to emerge. To train the mind we must become aware of our thoughts through the practices of meditation, during which we direct all our energies to understanding this process. This path is most often practiced along with one or all of the other yoga's discussed. A contemplative life is one that is focused on controlling the mind in addition to worshipping, serving, and realizing God. Following one or more or all of these paths with a devoted heart and true desire to seek God will lead one to realization of one's divine nature ." dear friend, the teachings and practices of vedanta society give importance to all four paths - namely bhakti, karma, jnana and raja yoga depending on the temperament of the spiritual aspirant. in one evening, i have broken my 'mauna' four times!!! smiles!!! hari om tat sat!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 15, 2002 Report Share Posted April 15, 2002 Oh Adi, It is in my very own Samskaras to like to keep others on their toes! Sorry if I caused you to wreck your vrata 4 times. But your reproductions of those quotations is most instructive indeed. Many thanks! Om Sri Hanumate Namah ps: 13 is my favorite number Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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