jnana & bhakti

[Guest guest]

FROM: Jay Nelamangala

 

 

Dear Sunder,

 

Do you mind posting this on my behalf, with title 'Bhakti in Shruti'

My emails are not going through.

 

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TO understand where and how the term 'bhakti' is used

in Shruti, let us study quotes from vyOma-samhitaa.

 

The question that is often asked is,

"If bhakti is a form of jnAna, and jnAna is generated by vEda,

then

what

about people who don't study Veda?"

 

vyOma-samhitaa removes this difficulty as:

 

"antyajA api yE bhaktAha nAmajnAnAdhikAriNaha ..... traivarNikAnAm

vEdOkte samyak bhaktimatAm harou"

 

Bhakti in shAstra is different from bhakti in the popular sense.

Bhakti in the popular sense is a case of intensive faith. If it is

anti-intellectual

in this form, then it has no place in shAstra. In fact it makes

Shastra

impossible.

Therefore it is not an item in the fittedness (adhikAra) to study

shAstra.

Other items being

vairAgya, shama, dama etc.

 

Bhakti as adhikAra expresses itself in the study of shAstra,

adhyayana.

Adhyayana is an evidence of bhakti. But there are different kinds of

adhyayana.

Right adhyayana and wrong adhyayana. Former is a sign of bhakti and

latter

absense of it. The evidence of right kind of adhyayana is Shama,

dama,

etc.

The evidence of Shama, dama is vairAgya. The evidence of vairAgya is

realizing

the absolute dependence on God, the evidence of absolute dependence

on

God

is karma-sanyAsa, karma-sanyAsa is in turn the origin of bhakti.

This

bhakti is

the origin of adhyayana.

 

Thus, it is an endless process in character. In this process there

is

growth

of adhikAra. adhikAra results in jignyAsA.

 

This is how, jignyAsA, bhakti, and shAstra-adhyayana are all

connected to

one another. For this reason, taittareeya makes shama, dama

subordinate

to adhyayana "shamascha svAdhyAya-pravachanE cha" etc.

 

Coming back to vyOma-samhitaa,

 

Those that have devotion i.e, adhikAra or fittedness, can obtain

knowledge

though names. ( nAmAdhikAra). Those that can't study vEda can obtain

knowledge through tantra, pancharAtra etc. Those who are wholly

devoted

to Parabrahman can obtain knowledge through the teachings of Veda.

 

Harihi Om Tatsat.

 

 

 

Jay Nelamangala