the goal of life (piravi payan)

[Guest guest]

dear bhaktas,

 

iam new to this gathering.i have been reading a book by sri sadguru

gnananda of tapovanam at thirukovilur.in that he says

" rare indeed is human birth.having attained it,one should know its

goal and reach it. our ancient seers and sages have shown us the

path. they have revealed to us that realisation of the supreme

one,the father of the universe is the purushartha or the prime aim of

human life".

there are many paths for achieving it. first is bhakti,to stand

clinging to god. next is the path of yoga of desireless action which

leads to bhakti. third comes gnana,culmination of the pursuit along

the path of desireless action and clinging to him-in being one with

him in bliss. each of them again follows three courses determined by

three gunas or modes of prakriti or nature.

in bhakti,para bhakti or higher bhakti is considered the noblest;in

yoga, para yoga or higher yoga is the best;untrammelled bliss in the

self is the great height of gana or knowledge.

 

balaji

[Guest guest]

> there are many paths for achieving it. first is bhakti,to stand

> clinging to god. next is the path of yoga of desireless action which

> leads to bhakti. third comes gnana,culmination of the pursuit along

> the path of desireless action and clinging to him-in being one with

> him in bliss. each of them again follows three courses determined by

> three gunas or modes of prakriti or nature.

 

Dear Sri Balaji,

 

While the [above] narration is indeed good, I beg to differ on one aspect.

It was said below that the third path of purushartha is of gnana,

culmination of pursuit with desireless action. But the desireless action

is actually a karma yoga, which according to Lord Krishna is the most

uppermost of all yogas and is the most easiest path for reaching him. In

fact, the person without any desire is GOD and the root cause of all

impediments in attaining purushartha is our LIKES & DISLIKES.

 

Regards

sukumar

 

[ Unfortunately both of the above views differ markedly from the

understanding of the yogas and the Gita in Sri Ramanuja's

school. That karma-yoga and jnana-yoga leads only to

the vision of the individual self is well-established

in Sri Ramanuja's Gitabhashya. Once the vision of the self

is established, karma-yoga and jnana-yoga become totally

subsumed in bhakti-yoga and the latter becomes primary.

Yet at any stage there are aspects of all three; karma-yoga

includes an element of jnana-yoga and bhakti-yoga, and

so on.

 

karma-yoga is preferred as the easiest *starting point* for

one who has neither meditational proficiency nor intense,

all-absorbing love of God. By itself, however, it is not

the moksha-sadhana.

 

The progression of Sri Krishna's teachings in the Gita makes

this sequence of yogas clear. -- Moderator ]