Naradabhakthi suthra 6

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Suthra-6-yath jnAthva mattho bhavathi, sthabdhO bhavathi AthmAramo bhavathi

 

Knowing the Self one becomes like an intoxicated or madman, and like a numb or fascinated man , enjoying the bliss of the self continuously.

 

The picture of the man of realisation, sThithaptajna, through bhakthiyoga continues.One who is completly immersed in devotion has no ego and functions only as an instrument of God. He may look normal outwardly and may do all his duties as expected but his attitude differs from that of an ordinary person actng with a selfish motive. Sometimes he acts like a madman not conforming to the social standards because he is intoxicated with devotional fervour and acts like a lunatic. Most of the devotee-saints were considered as lunatics by their family and society.He can be described as mattha-madhupa, a bee intoxicated with honey of the Lord.This is because his actions cannot be understood by others He is under the influence of a higher power, the ways of which is inscrutable for the ordinary mind.sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa said that all are mad but while some are mad after money, power and other worldly things a devotee is mad after God.

 

Sthabdha on the other hand means inactivity due to enchantment. A devotee at the height of ecstacy may appear completely stupefied. Nammazvar while composing pasuram on the Lord being bound to the mortar said one word 'etthiram' meaning 'what a wonder' and became unconscious for six months. He sat motionless for many years under the tamarind tree deeply engrossed in the joy of the Lord.

 

AthmarAmA means immersed in the self, That is, the real Self of all, Brahman which arises from the jnana. This denotes that realisation of the Self is not attainment but knowing the reality.The upanishad says that the Self is inside the individual self, 'ya athmanaH antharah,' whom the individual self did not know,' yam AthmA na vEdha,' and to whom the individual self is the body,'yasya AthmA Sareeram,' that is the inner self of all. the immortal.

 

The suthra has a subtle suggestion that there is no real difference between jnana and bhakthi.They differ only in the method of approach and in their expression.In the Gita Krishna says,'thEshAm jnAnee nithyayukthaH EkabhakthirviSishyathE,'(BG.7.17) that the jnani, man of wisdom is always with the Lord, and devoted to Him only through yoga and he is the first and foremost among those who seek Him. the description of a bhaktha in the 12th chapter and of jnani in the 13th chapter of the Gita are similar and reiterated again in the 18th chapter ,'bhakthyA mAm abhijAnAthi yavAn yaschasmi thathvathaH thathO mAm thatthvathO jnAthvA viSathE thadhanantharam, through devotion he comes to know Me fully, who and what I am in reality; knowing Me thus in truth he forthwith enters into Me,'

 

When Sankara and Ramanuja speak of bhakthi and jnana being subservient to one another respectively it should be understood that they refer to the jnana and bhakthi at the level of sadhana, a means of attainment whereas in the final stage both are the same.Besides bhakthi has a special merit in as much as it can be achieved by anyone while jnana cannot be without the necessary discipline.