Bhakti and Jnanam

[Guest guest]

My Respected Upa Guru Subramaniyamji !

 

First , i am flattered that you should address me by the name 'Veera

mata' (the 836 th name of Sri Lalita in Sri Lalita Sahasaranama ) !

There are many warriors in this group - some fight on the rules

of 'Grammar'. others fight on the basis of interpretation

of 'metaphors' in Adi Shankara's Bhasyas and still others fight and

say 'Ishwara' is an 'upadhi.' But if we use the 'sword of

dicrimination' ( viveka ) as Our beloved Acharya has suggested again

and again , by Devi kripa and Guru kripa, we can pierce the darkness

and we will all realize that' Brahman is beyond words and thoughts'!

As long as we fight over the rules of grammar or limiting adjuncts

(upadhis) etc etc , we are still operating under the Maya of

lower knowledge (aparavidya) which is knowledge of the empirical

world!

 

Thank you , however, for pointing out the 'error' in that verse on

Bhavani ! If others had not noticed it so far, i am sure they will

notice it now that you have pointed it out! Smile!!

 

Sir, Pl allow me to quote a verse from Srimad Bhagwat Gita

 

jnanena tu tad ajnanam

yesam nasitam atmanah

tesam aditya-vaj jnanam

prakasayati tat param (chap 15 verse 16)

 

The Atman is the light: The light is covered by darkness:

This darkness is delusion: That is why we dream.

When the light of Atman, the revealed Brahman.

drives out our darkness that light shines forth from us, a sun in

splendor!

 

Sir ! The sun's rays fall on a dirty pond and the same sun's rays

also fall in the sacred river Ganges - the Sun is the same ; the

reflection is also the same ! Similarly , Adi Shankara is like the

Sun who is shining in all his majestic splendor and glory - it is up

to the spiritual aspirants how they want to view his different

bhasyas , granthas and bhakti compositions! How can anyone know the

mind of a great Sage who is the very embodiment of Devotion and

Knowledge - Lord Shankara!

 

Sir, i am sure you have read verses from Adi Shankara Bhagvadapada's

Subramanya bhujangam - when Adi Shankara composed this verse Tin the

shore temple of Lord Subramanya at Thiruchendur and when he sag the

the following stanza , Lord Subramanya himself appeared!

 

jayA nanda bhooman jayA pAra dhAman, jayA mogha keerthe jayA

nanthamoorthe

jayA nanda sindho jayA shesha bandho, jaya tvam sadA mukti dhAnesha

soono

 

O Source of ananda, reveal Thyself! O Embodiment of boundless

effulgent light, reveal Thyself! O Lord! who has all pervading glory,

reveal Thyself! O Embodiment of bliss, reveal Thyself! O Lord, Thou

art the ocean of bliss, reveal Thyself! O Lord who is the friend of

all creatures, reveal Thyself! O Lord, Son of Parameshwara, Bestower

of liberation, reveal Thy Glory to me and protect me!

 

Is it a coincidence that your name is also Sri Subramaniyam ? Let

Lord Subramanyam make you his instrument to light the lamp of 'bhakti

and jnana' in this august group !

 

namah kekine shaktaye chApi tubhyam, namah chhaga tubhyam namah

kukkutAya

namah sindhave sindhu deshAya tubhyam, punah skanda moorthe namaste

namostu

 

I bow to Thee, O Peacock (the symbol of Vedas)! I bow to Thee, O

Shakti Weapon (Vel is Parashakti herself), I bow to Thee, O Sheep

(the symbol of maya tattvam), I bow to Thee, O Rooster (the symbol of

Ego), I bow to Thee, O Ocean (the symbol of ananda), I bow to Thee, O

Tiruchendur Shrine, I bow to Thee, O Lord Skanda! I bow to Thee again

and again! Let all my prostrations reach Thee!

 

(subramanya bhujangam)

 

Thank you once again for assuming the thread at a moment's notice on

Bhakti and jnana and you are doing 'wonders' with it! One of the

names of Sri Lalita devi is 'dwaita varjita' and i hope with your

scholarly posts, all dualities will melt away!

 

Vel Muruga! Vetri Vel Muruga! Sakti Vel Muruga! Veera Vel Muruga!

 

with warmest regards

[Guest guest]

Namaste All.

 

The recent wordy duels on duality, individuality, Ishvara, etc.

prompts me to share the following. I am also mindful of Nair-ji's

invitation at the beginning of this thread (and Ram-ji's reminder in

a recent post) to bring personal insights to the discussion. These

are personal reflections and may contain misunderstandings. I

welcome corrections and other reflections.

 

First a little background. I was brought up on a steady dose of

bhakti and delighted in the stories of Rama and Krishna as a child.

But this bhakti started waning as I entered college and remained low-

key thereafter. It was difficult to hold on to the notion of a God

sitting high in heaven and managing the affairs of the world. The

scientific temperament demanded proof and so on. At the same time, I

was always intrigued that many great souls e.g. Gandhiji, Vinobha,

etc. were deeply religious and had held up the Gita as the guide to

living.

 

Then I got introduced to vedanta. This appealed to my intellect as

it was logically sound. It made a lot of sense. It was also

flattering to be told that I was perfect, I was sat-chit-ananda and

I was verily Brahman - 'tat tvam asi'. I could also talk a little

about the fundamentals of vedanta as I read texts like tattvabodha

and atmabodha. I don't know about the others around me, but I guess

I was impressed with my own scholarship.

 

As I learned a little more vedanta, I started wondering about

bhakti. Why bhakti? What is the point of praying to Ishvara if I am

indeed That Ishvara? It was a little puzzling that shankaracharya

had composed so many wonderful devotional hymns. If they do not have

any role or value in advaita sadhana, why would he go to the

trouble? To say that he did this only for the sake of the mediocre,

I think, is to accuse him of duplicity.

 

Then I reflected on what I had been learning. I realized that all

that had changed was that now I had an inkling of what vedanta was

about and I could utter some impressive jargon - 'brahma satyam,

jagan mithya', etc. I did not feel any different. I was ready to

abandon prayer and other sadhana on the vague idea that if I am

brahman, then there was no need for these. But the same thinking had

not touched the other aspects of my life. After all, if I am

brahman, I should have no need for any pravritti. So all that had

happened was I had acquired a certain bookish knowledge. There was

no difference between the 'before' and 'after' except for a sense of

superiority - 'I know something'.

 

I can write my autobigraphy in three words - 'I, me, mine'. As long

as this notion of 'I' remains, I believe no realization is possible.

And this is where I see bhakti coming in. It is bhakti that can

surrender this ego and ultimately annihilate it. Hence our Acharya

opens the ShatpadI stotram with: 'avinayam apanaya viShnO'. It is

Ishvara who can help us in our sadhana. If we are to progress on

this path, His grace is necessary to eliminate 'ahankAra' which

keeps alive the notions of 'I' and 'mine'.

 

There is another important factor that goes side by side with

bhakti. With all the reading of scriptures, while everything sounds

logical and convincing, the rational mind still demands proof in the

scientific sense. Sruti declares that we can realize the truth here

and now, in this very life. Our sages and acharyas hold that sruti

is the ultimate pramana. This has been attested to by numerous

mahatmas throughout the ages. We need to have faith in sruti and in

our gurus - we need 'shraddha', the twin sister of bhakti. The Gita

says, 'shraddhAvAn labhate jnAnam' - the faithful one obtains

knowledge. This shraddha is not mere faith. It is faith along with

the courage to take to the prescribed path, follow through and find

out the truth for ourselves. Without shraddha and bhakti, my

learning of vedanta will only be good for parlour discussions.

 

I would like to end this somewhat long note with the words of Sri

nIlakaNtha dIkShita:

 

"The effort of learning the scriptures yields merely the ability to

juggle seven or eight words like brahman, shakti, remover of bondage

(bandha vimochanI), all-pervading mAyA, Consort of the destroyer of

KAma', etc."

 

"brahmEti shaktiriti bandhavimocanIti

mAyAmayIti madanAtaka vllabhEti |

saptAShTa shabda parivartana mAtrayEva

sAmarthyamAvahati shAstraparishramOyaM ||"

(AnandasAgarastvah. 11)

 

 

Harih Om.

Neelakantan