Bhakti and Jnanam

[Guest guest]

i received some o wonderful xmas gifts under the pipala tree when i

opened my mail box- one was from our beloved Sada-ji and the other

ones were from Sri Subbu-ji!

 

Thanx Sadaji for a brilliant exposition on the concept of 'Ishwarain

advaita' ... From Sri Bhskarji, we got half the story and Sadaji

gave us the full and complete version. In 18 chapters, Sri Krishna

bhagwan explained, expounded, enlightened and illumined by answering

all of Arjuna's questions and at the end of which Sri Krishna asks :

 

kaccid etac chrutam partha

tvayaikagrena cetasa

kaccid ajnana-sammohah

pranastas te dhananjaya (BG18, verse 72)

 

O conqueror of wealth, Arjuna, have you heard this attentively with

your mind? And are your illusions and ignorance now dispelled?

PURPORT

 

and Arjuna replied that thanks to Sri Krisna's grace , his ignorance

was gone.

 

Well, Sadaji ! i will atleast say with confidence now i understand

the concept of 'Ishwara' in Advaita a whole lot better now than

before . Most of the 'clouds' have vanished and the Sun is shining in

all its SPLENDOR AND GLORY - the NON-DUAL reality of Advaita! thank

you, kindly sir! All the more reason, you should not be silent!

smile ! we need you!

 

Subbuji, when you mentioned Sri Madhusudaa Saraswati's name, i was

thrilled ( i had also mentioned his name as a great bhakta-jnani in

one of my posts ) ! Yes! i think he was a contemporary of Sri

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and i know in my Hare Karishna days, the Sunday

Teacher always used to boast in his lectures that Even a great

Advaitin was a great Krishna bhakta at heart.

 

Sri Madhusudana Saraswati Says :

 

Dvaitam Bandaya Mokshat pRaku Prapte bodhe manushya bhaktagriham

kalpitam Dvaitam Advaitamapi Sundaram ! ( for give the errors in

typing and transposing from Devanagari script)

 

Duality is bondage before MOKSHA, and after realization it is

wisdom ! The imaginary duality of BHAKTI is sweeter than even Non-

duality!

 

(http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/sarada/Siddhi.pdf )

 

May be this is why Great Brahma-jnanis like ADI SHANKARA BHAGVADAPADA

composed such great devotional hymns on all gods/esses . FOR the

culmination of Pure Jnana is Bhakti and the culmination of Pure

Bhakti Is Jnana !

 

GREAT BHAKTAS ARE GREAT VEDANTINS AND GREAT VEDANTIS ARE ALSO GREAT

BHAKTAS ! ( SWAMI KRISHNANDA SAYS THIS ! NOT LITTLE ME! )

 

It is said one's mother is one's pratama guru- Aryamba taught young

Shankara how to pray to Ambal , her ishta-nishta and adi shankara

Bhagvadapada himself showed his Mother the divine vision of Lord

krishna in his famous composition 'PRABODHA SUDHAKARA' - in this

composition, there is a beautiful blend of both vedanta and Krishna

prema !( This book is known as 'Samanvaya Sastra' as Sri Shankara

skilfully reconciled establishing the Oneness of Saguna Bhakti and

Nirguna Bhakti while proclaiming the highest truth as 'Krishna

tattvam')!

 

 

Listen to his proclamation in the last chapter of

'Prabodha Sudhakaram', verse 150 -

 

kAmyopAsana yArthayanty anudinaM kincit phalaM svepsitam,

kecit svargam athApavargam apare yogAdi yajnAdibhiH,

asmAkaM yadunandanAMghri yugala dhyAnAvadhAnArthinAm,

kiM lokena damena kiM nRpatinA svargApavargaizca kiM?

 

"Those who waste their time for the attainment of

celestial joys or liberation (mukti- apavarga) are FOOLS!

I do NOT want any of that! I only desire to remain engrossed in the

sweet remembrance of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna.

What is the need for pleasures of this world or heaven or

Mukti to exalted Prema bhaktas of the Lord?"

 

Thus Sri Shankara appears to consider all objects, including final

liberation as insignificant in comparison to constant loving

meditation of the lotus feet of his beloved Lord, Sri Krishna.

 

(TRANSLATED BY MY FRIEND pyari hari aka dr.jaya and posted in my

group sadhana shakti)

 

On another note, subbuji! a child learns the 'soham' mantra while in

the mother's womb itself!

 

Since Adi shankara bhagvadapada composed the 'nirvana shatakam'

or 'atma shatakam' , in this context 'shiv' o ham' cannot

mean 'chitta virodhinirodha' mantra which is Patanjali yoga concept.

Since Swami vivekananda ., a staunch advaitin, was also fond of

reciting this Nirvana shatakam, i am inclined to think that when adi

shankara utttered I am siva , he meant he is Brahman! Only a

brahmajnani can also claim he is Siva ! not all mortals ! just my 2

cents !

 

i did not know Adi shankara composed HYMNS on Sri Rama also !tHANX

for that sloka ! any composition on Surya by adi shankara ? i know

there is 'aditya hridayam' on Surya but the author is not adi

shankara!

 

Salutions to MadAhva and Govinda!

 

(MADHAVA- guru of sri Madhusudana Saraswati and also Sri Krishna's

name !

Govinda - name of adi shankara bhagvadapada's guru's name and also

name of lord Krishna)

 

Sri Gurave namaha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- In advaitin, V Subrahmanian <subrahmanian_v>

wrote:

>

> Bhakti and Jnanam

>

> The glory of the Lord is supreme and infinite. So, even a

Jnani's mind inclines towards Iswara. This does not mean that he has

not realised his own True nature. Though he has realised the Tattva,

the body and the mind can be engaged in actions pertaining to

devotion towards Iswara. There is this sloka in the

Srimadbhaagavatam:

>

>

[Guest guest]

Bhakti and Jnanam

 

The vaidika system of Vedanta teaches that an aspirant will have to pass

through the stages of Karma, Upasana and Jnanam in his journey to the

Purushartha of Moksha. Karma, performed in the spirit of karma yoga along with

upasana render the aspirant a fit candidate to take up the next and final stage

of Jnana sadhana. Upasana takes the other name of Bhakti. The Absolute

Reality, the all-pervading Brahman, devoid of all qualities is extremely

difficult to grasp and even if grasped, to retain. With a view to prepare the

mind to realise the Supreme Brahman, our system teaches the way of first

understanding and appreciating the Cosmic Ruler, Iswara, who is all powerful,

omniscient and all compassionate. Only when we are able to 'think Big' we will

be able to reach the 'Bigger than the Biggest' Anoraniiyaan, Mahato Mahiiyaan.

When the mind gives itself to the appreciation of Bhagavan in all His endless

glories, slowly but surely a transformation takes place and the aspirant

arrives at the doorstep of Jnana sadhana and eventually realises the Absolute

Reality as his own Self. Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada, a truly Great Teacher,

Acharya, that he is, in his infinite compassion, has given to mankind an

inexhaustible treasure-house of bhakti literature, popularly known as his Stotra

sahitya. As he himself says in his Prashnottara ratna maalika, the true Guru is

the one who has realised the Truth and most importantly, in our context, strives

continuously for the benefit of the disciple. In infinite ways he teaches us to

address ourselves to the Lord. This is because, the ways in which we have

turned away from the Ultimate Truth is also infinite. .

 

Will God accept us, for we cannot truly claim to be leading a life much

different from that of any animal? We spend much of our energy and time earning

our bread and a large chunk of the remaining time in sleep. How then can we

claim to be far different from animals unless we are strongly devoted to God and

lead a spiritual life?

 

In his Shiva Bhujanga Strotra, Shankara poses this query to Shiva and then

tells the Lord to accept him even if he be on par with an animal. Why? Is not

Nandi the vehicle of Siva? Surely, if Shiva can accept Nandi, a bull, there

should be no problem in His accepting an animal-like devotee. How indeed could

Shiva complain about the devotee being animal-like, when He had made an animal

itself His own.

 

It is one thing to be par with an animal and another to be sinful. What if

the devotee be full of faults? Would the Lord then accept him? Shankara tells

Shiva in the verse under consideration that even in such a case Shiva should

extend His love. Why? Had not Shiva placed Chandra on His head even though the

latter had violated the promise given by him to view all his wives alike and

had even committed the sin of eloping with his preceptor's wife. Decidedly, if

Shiva could place on His head one who has such faults, He should have no reason

to reject a devotee merely because of the devotee's blemishes.

 

Let the devotee be on par with an animal and be sinful too and yet be

qualified to be accepted by God. But should not the devotee's supplication be

free from all traces of hypocrisy? Here again Shankara disagrees, for he tells

Shiva, "If you are opposed to 'two-tongued ones' then how is that you keep a

fork-tongued snake as a neck ornament? If you can adopt a snake then why not

me?"

 

In conclusion, Shankara reminds Shiva that no matter what a person's condition

might have been he inevitably becomes blessed on being received by the Lord.

The implication of the prayer is that God's compassion is limitless and so He

will accept us, all our faults and limitations notwithstanding, if we offer

ourselves to Him. Thus, we will do well to salute and surrender ourselves to

Him. The rest will be taken care of by God.

(Based on a chapter from the book: Enlightening Expositions)

 

 

 

Shopping

Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Shopping