VIRODHA BHAKTI AND SAI BABA

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VIRODHA BHAKTI AND SAI BABA

 

In the last chapter under caption "Is Sai Baba to be broken?" two

instances were mentioned of devotees getting violently angry with the

object of their worship, viz., Sai Baba and breaking his image. In

both these cases, the devotion of the image-breakers was revived of

strengthened, as the result probably of Sai's conferring benefit that

had been withheld for a time. Sai Baba being a kind Mother granted a

blessing even after the devotee broke away from him or her (for

really there is no sex in God) in high dudgeon. This is true Motherly

Love.

 

This is the basis of "satyagraha", which is always successful

(whether violent or nonviolent) within groups where strong love

prevails between the members. The question arose whether success

justifies the use of violence, and the answer has been given that

momentary success in gaining the desired object is a very petty

matter, which cannot counter-balance the dreadful evil results of

violent iconoclastic frenzy. Amongst the evils are the danger of the

bad example being freely followed and iconoclasticism becoming the

raging fashion among large numbers as also the positive harm to the

individuals concerned in allowing rajas and tamas to predominate and

engulf all satwa, so as to bring one to a spiritually lower level.

The success in the above-mentioned cases might perhaps have been

attended by a strong wave of repentance which would normally wash off

the evil vasanas of anger, irreverence, etc., and if the be so, the

second evil mentioned above has been averted in these cases. This

naturally leads us to consider the subject of Virodhi Bhakti.

 

People believe that all bhakti devotion must be characterised by love

and consider hatred as the exact opposite of bhakti. They can as

easily think of Virodhi Bhakti as of Black whiteness. Yet Srimad

Bhagavata, which may be regarded as our Bhakti Sastra, says devotion

springs through hatred.

 

That is why the term vyree bhakti is in common use. The cases of

Ravana, Kamsa and Hiranya Kasibu are cited as instances of such

virodha bhakti. Several of us would rather regard these cases as

instances of violent poisonous hatred getting into a previously

healthy loving system, which might have naturally killed out all Love

or Bhakti except for the special grace of God and checks the effects

of the poison by strengthening the reserve power or power of revival

of health that every organism possesses within certain limits. The

hatred is undoubtedly poisonous but by divine grace the old Love is

not destroyed but only temporarily clouded or muddled; just as a

perennial and powerful spring or artesian well may thrust out

thousands of ounces or even maunds of poison poured on it. It is this

analogy that would induce one to refuse the name Bhakti to hatred,

which is entirely foreign to its nature. But the analogy is not exact

by reason of the peculiar nature of jivas, which lead some to

consider hatred as negative electricity applied to one side of the

jiva producing by induction the opposite of it, viz., positive

electricity or Love in another side. Arguments by analogy are often

attended with great danger and so we might avoid discussion of the

propriety of the name Virodhi Bhakti and at least out of regard for

Srimad Bhagavata accept its classification and labels in this matter

and proceed to consider (1) whether during the currency or

continuance of any one's hatred to Baba, God or other personality,

there are any means of noting if it is really a case of Bhakti and if

it will end in restoration of the love that should characterise

Bhakti and (2) secondly, if there are no such means, what steps or

attitude the person concerned and his well-wishers should adopt.

 

Srimad Bhagavata, VII Skanda, Chapter 1, verses 25, 26 etc run as

follows:

 

(25) Therefore, let the mind be swayed (towards God) by hatred or

devotion, or fear or by friendship or even by lust. Somehow, it must

be directed (Godward) so as not to be diverted to other things.

 

(26) My firm belief is that man cannot so surely attain the Divine

state through devotion as through (violent and continued) hatred.

 

(27) The worm shut up in the bee's closed earthen cell constantly

thinks of the bee in terror and turns thereby into a bee.

 

(28) Thus persons have by (persistent) hatred of the Lord Sri

Krishna, who masquerades as a man purified themselves of Sin and

attained Him.

 

Also VII Chapter 6, sloka 29 and 30 run thus:-

(29) Many persons have reached His state by fixing their minds on Him

through Lust, Hatred, Fear, Friendship or Devotion and thus getting

rid of their sins.

 

(30) By lust, the gopis reached Him; by fear, Kamsa, by hatred,

Sisupala; by kinship, the Vrishnis; by friendship you, and by

devotion, we O Lord!

 

The term virodhi bhakti is not used in any of these passages. What is

used is vyra anubhanda or vyra yoga, and this is contrasted with

bhakti. Evidently the author in the last stanza feels the absurdity

of calling hatred by the name bhakti. If even the name hatred is so

repulsive, one may ask how does hatred serve to take the soul to God.

the answer given is, that it does not matter for what reason the mind

is turned to God. Let it turn to God in violent anger or hatred or

out of lust, it will still be in contact with God. And God is such a

wonderful dynamo that it will absorb into itself all sorts of objects

and convert them into itself. The hatred serves the purpose of

intense concentration – a process that goes on intensifying itself

and preventing any forgetfulness of God. it is forgetting God that

forms the real danger. That is apathy, a barren state. if the mind is

fired with hatred or lust for or anger with God, it is fascinated by

god and has soon to surrender itself. Its fangs of hatred are soon

steeped in Divine Love and become Love. It is like tender gallnut

steeped in syrup or in like juice, which retains its form but loses

its taste entirely. The old favour, if slightly retained, gives a

variety and piquancy to the taste and increases its utility of

attraction. So the secret of this so called vyree bhakti is its being

directed towards God with persistent and great violence carried to

the point of fascination and surrender.

 

Now is there any difference noticeable between this sort of hatred or

irreverence for God and the ordinary forms of ungodliness or scoffing

and disregard for God? the latter tend to degrade and may go on

degrading the scoffer or sinner for a very long time. But the former,

on account of extra-ordinary and ever-increasing violence, must soon

come to a stop. It is like the locust rushing at and getting

destroyed in the flame. The hating ego rushes likewise into the

divine flame and is burnt up. It becomes part of the flame. The ego

is purified of its hatred and becomes part and parcel of God. That is

the real point, the distinction between ordinary hatred and what is

termed vyree bhakti. the vyra or hatred like lust etc., directed to

other objects than God degrades. The slow, dead, alive, scoffing or

hatred even of God produces no satisfactory results. It is

extraordinary vehemence of vyree bhakti and its direction to God that

enables us to distinguish vyra bhakti from other forms taken by the

sins of hatred, lust etc., Hence, in theory, it ought to be easy to

distinguish the vyra bhakti from mere vyra. In practice, however, it

may be very difficult for the person entertaining the hatred or his

well-wishers to make a correct diagnosis. In all cases of doubt, one

must play his trump card of increasing one's vehemence in approaching

God without, or God within. Let one angrily ask God in such cases why

He takes a delight in tantalising a poor creature and when he

proposes to put an end to the intolerable situation. Or if one has a

metaphysical or introverted turn of mind, let him very earnestly

examine what it is that he terms "God" what his "self" and what

"other selves or things". Even this observation and analysis must be

conducted with great persistence and earnestness and not in a half-

hearted way. then sooner or later, (according to the degree of his

earnestness and his poorva punya, it may be), he will perceive that

there is only one substream or essence underlying these three

entities – God, Self and Universe, which may be termed Parameswar,

Paramatman or Para Brahman.

 

The advice thus to be given in cases of inquiries into doubtful cases

of such bhakti and jnana is to heighten or intensify the case,

whatever the attitude may be and if possible to turn the inquiry

inward. Inquiry or vicharamarga will suit only a few. emotional

methods suit most. If emotion turns into a wrong direction, let us

not worry so long as the emotion is directed to God, and when it is

so directed, low aim and low level are the crimes or sources of

danger. "Audacity, Audacity, Audacity" – this maxim of Danton is the

recipe – or if that alternative is possible "through submission". If

some advice, as by rule of thumb, is wanted, it is this:- Seek the

company of real saints and good people," however distasteful such

company may be, especially in times when one's bhakti has been upset.

That advice i.e., satsang gives relief when other measures are not

available or found useless.

 

(Courtesy: HH Pujyasri B V Narasimha Swamiji)