Kanchi Maha-swamigal's Discourses on Advaita Saadhanaa (KDAS-69)

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Namaste.

 

For a Table of Contents of these Discourses, see

advaitin/message/27766

For the previous post, see

advaitin/message/33376

 

SECTION 54: JNANA ITSELF IS BHAKTI: KRISHNA

 

More than the idea that bhakti is an important accessory for jnAna, Lord

Krishna has shown that jnAna itself is Bhakti. He mentions four categories

of devotees and in naming them he lists 'ArtI, jijnAsu, arthArthI and jnAnI'

(B.G. VII - 16: Arto jijnAsur-arthArthI jnAnI ca bharatarshabha). 'Arta'

means the distressed sufferer. 'jijnAsu' means the one desirous of

knowledge, that is, the one who wants to know the Truth and makes effort to

know. 'ArthArthI' means one who desires wealth, money, possessions,

property, power etc. The fourth is jnAni himself. The formal order among

these should be ArtaH, arthArthI, JijnAsu and jnAnI. For the purpose of

metre requirements, the order has been changed in the Gita verse. Our

business here is the mention, namely, the jnAnI as the topmost devotee. Why

can't we take him as a dvaita (dualistic) jnAni? - may be a quixotic

question here. But this has been met with already by the Lord's statement

in the next verse : He has one-pointed devotion (*eka-bhaktiH*). The Lord

caps this by the further statement *jnAni-tvAtmaiva me mataM* (JnAni and

Myself are One - that is my final opinion). Later when he dwells on

'bhakti-yoga' itself and teaches the upAsanA (dualistic saguNa upAsanA) he

only uses the words *atIva priyaH* (XII - 14 - 20) (most dear to Me), he

never says "he is Myself"; from this it is clear (when he talks about this

jnAni here) he refers only to the advaita-jnAni. In the teaching of

bhakti-yoga he says: "The nirguNa-sAdhanA gives difficulties (klesha) and

dukha (unhappiness) for those who are conscious of their body" and then goes

on to teach the saguNa-upAsanA. In other words, for those who are too

conscious of their body, the jnAna path is not easy to attain and that is

why he teaches the saguNa upAsanA to them; not with the idea that the saguNa

upAsanA is superior to the jnAna path. Let that be. Later when he starts

talking about the qualities of the Bhakti upAsaka from the shloka

*adveshhTA sarva-bhUtAnAM .* (The one who has no hate towards any being

,,,,) through seven or eight shlokas and winds up the chapter with "Such

people are dearest to me", it will be clear to any neutral observer that

whatever qualities he has described here apply only to a jnAni. Nowhere has

he said in Bhakti yoga, about revelling in the multifarious qualities of

Bhagavan, weeping, laughing, dancing, singing, going into unconscious

trance, establishing relationship with God through various moods like,

servitude, filial affection, etc. or enjoying the ritual bathing (abhisheka)

or decoreating the deity, etc. The qualities that He enunciates, viz., love

and affection to all beings, getting rid of the feelings of 'I' and mine,

equanimity with respect to happiness and misery, fear and delusion,

contentment with whatever one gets and being independent of possession and

property - all these qualities are only those of the jnAni! There is also

one shloka which describes devotees:

 

Mac-cittA madgata-prANAH bodhayantaH parasparaM /

Kathayantashca mAM nityaM tushhyanti ca ramanti ca // B.G. X - 9

 

Those who have turned all their mind toward Me, who have reposed their very

lives in Me, who are constantly enlightening each other and talking about Me

and for whom that is the satisfaction and that is the delight! But note

that this statement does not come in Bhakti Yoga or about those generally

termed to be bhaktas. It comes under ' VibhUti Yoga' where the Lord's Glory

and Power is declared to be manifested in the whole universe. In short He

says those who see such Godly Power and Glory in everything repose their

mind and life in the Lord and revel in thinking and talking about Him.

However they are not dry philosophers, but 'bhAva-samanvitAH', that is,

knowledgeable people (budhas) who are involved in God with Love. In other

words they are like jnAnis as described by the Acharya. Further on when the

Lord continues, He does not propose to give them Bhakti Yoga. He

specifically promises to Grace them with the path of JnAna, that is,

buddhi yoga; and burn any remnants of darkness of ignorance in them by the

Lamp of Wisdom (jnAna deepena).

 

In the final chapter also He says "bhaktyA mAm abhijAnAti" - by bhakti one

knows Me right; and thus emphasizes the jnAna angle. The root 'jnA' gives

rise to both the words 'jnAnaM' as well as 'jAnAti'. 'Through Bhakti one

knows Me as I am, thereby enters Me and by My Grace obtains the eternal

Immortal position' -- so ends His message in the advaita fashion. In

pursuance of the same, while giving it to Arjuna, He says 'Adopt Buddhi

Yoga' - not Bhakti Yoga!

 

Thus there is no ringing of bells, no offering of flowers, no relationship

in several moods. However it is the mood of Love with which one gives

Himself up to the Universal Life-Source and this apex bhakti is what plays

an important role in the path of jnAna.

 

SECTION 55 : THIRD STAGE

 

Once we have passed the SadhanA-set-of-four, we come to the third stage, the

final stage. No one here (in this audience) is likely to go to that stage..

Because it is a stage to be performed after one has renounced all wealth,

possession, property and kinship. So possibly it may not have to be

explained here. But still, since I have said so much about advaita-sAdhanA,

let me just touch upon it for the sake of completion.

 

Three things come there. Listening to the teaching; confirming what one

hears by repetitively thinking about it; and keeping the antaHkaraNa in that

thing and meditating on it. These three are always to be practised right

from the basic stage all through the sAdhanA, according to the necessity and

capability of the sAdhaka. Therefore I should not leave out telling you

about it.

 

SECTION 56: SANNYAASA

 

 

To be Continued)

PraNAms to all students of advaita.

PraNAms to the Maha-Swamigal.

profvk

 

 

 

 

 

 

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