Relationship Between Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Raja Yoga

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For those who thought that ramayana has nothing to do with yoga

Amma has brought out this wonderful aspect

 

 

Relationship Between Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Raja Yoga

 

 

A noted scholar Ram Chandra Shukla commenting on the Ramacharita Manas of Tulasidas makes an interesting point about the relationship which Tulasidas chooses to establish between the devotee and Lord Rama which shows that Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga are one and the same at the highest level:

 

What attracts our attention in this relationship is the fact that his love is not directed towards an equal but towards one who is greater or higher. Tulasidas considers this form of love to be better than the love between equals. What he really implies is that in the relationship between the great and the small, a sense of righteous duty is inherent. If the beloved is small, our love towards him will arouse feelings of kindness, favour, forgiveness, compassion, support etc. On the other hand, if he is great our feeling of love for him shall arouse faith, respect, humbleness, modesty, politeness, gratitude, sense of obedience and so on. The feeling of love, our poet cherishes for his Master, belongs, undoubtedly in the latter category – it is devotion charged with deep reverence. The sense of elevation attained through self-surrender to the exalted can certainly not be achieved through submission to an equal… deity is an inherent attribute of the object of devotion and piety is the same as between an image and its reflection: it is correlation between the subject and the object. Moving one step further, we realize that the correlation between the subject and the object is exactly the same as between the 'knower' and the 'knowable'. The 'knower' and the 'knowable' in the field of knowledge have the subject (Ashraya) and the object (Alambana) as their counterparts in the field of emotion. As the knower and the knowable merge into one at the climax of knowledge, so do the subject and the object at the climax of emotion. This should suffice for understanding the identity of piety and devotion.

 

Tulasidas explains the relationship between Yama and Niyama and the higher stages of Ashtanga Yoga, the Samyama, (Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi) in a splendid imagery which, step-by-step shows spiritual progression. Kakabhushunda, the enlightened crow (in the Uttara Khand section) expounds this idea to Garuda the vehicle of Vishnu. This amazing idea and image describes the stages of spiritual perfection through the metaphor of a lighted lamp filled with ghee (Uttara Kanda). This mountainous metaphor begins with a Jiva (spirit) of genuine piety compared to a cow. The milk extracted from this cow eventually is transformed through various virtues to ghee. This ghee is used to fuel the lighted lamp (Vidya – Knowledge) which dispels darkness which leads to meditation and the spiritual evolution of the soul. Kakabhushunda says:

"In this manner let him light the splendid lamp, a-glow with the knowledge of Brahma, by merely approaching which all the moths of vanity and other vices are consumed….

 

The constant awareness that "I am That (Brahma)" is the lamp's most brilliant flame. In this way when the bliss of self-knowledge sheds its bright luster, the error of duality, the root of worldly existence, is dispersed, and the deep darkness of infatuation and the rest that form the family of Avidya (ignorance), disappear. Having thus found the light of self-realisation, reason rests in the chamber of the heart, and so unties the knot.

 

Dwesha Yoga: The Dharana / Dhyana of Intense Hatred

 

Another interesting idea is that the negative emotion – hatred - actually may lead to Dharana on the object of hatred. If the "hated personage" is the Lord (in this case Rama) one becomes "one with Rama". (Samadhi). Tulasidas touches upon this peculiar idea of the Hindu tradition called Dwesh Yoga or union with God through enmity or hatred. He attributes this Dwesha Yoga to the character of Ravana, the arch-villain of the Ramayana. In the Kamba Ramayana, the Tamil version of the Ramayana Kamban, the poet, in the last verse of his epic describes the ten heads of Ravana as glowing with three times their previous splendour, as Ravana lay dead on the battlefield, killed by Rama. Kamban says this is because Ravana was purified of his sins by his death at the hands of the Lord Himself. This idea is found in many other Hindu stories as well. Dwesha Yoga or Oneness through extreme enmity is seen in other contexts as well. Kamsa, the wicked king of Mathura sought to kill Krishna, his own sister's son. Kamsa knew Krishna was destined to kill him, hence, he lived in constant fear of him. In the Bhagavatha it is said, "Sitting or standing, sleeping or awake, while eating or waking, Kamsa's thought were concentrated on Him (Krishna). In this way, the whole world became full of Krishna". Hatred and fear are powerful tools in one-pointing the mind! Tulasidas illustrates this same idea of Dwesha Yoga through Ravana, the arch-villain of Manasa. The poet makes Ravana ponder his fate upon hearing of the death of his brothers Khara and Dushana in battle with Rama and Lakshmana.

 

Amongst gods, men, Rakshasas, Nagas and birds, no one can stand (the might of) my servants. Khara and Dushana were as strong as I. Who could have killed them except God Himself? If it is He who gives happiness to the Gods then I shall force the enmity of the Lord and dying with his arrow in my heart, will cross the ocean of birth and death. This indolent body is incapable of prayer, hence in thought, word and deed (will I seek the enmity of God). This is my determination. (But) if they (Rama and Lakshmana) are princes and mere human beings, defeating them in battle, I shall capture the wife.

 

When the battle was in progress and the Rakshasas were being destroyed on every side, Tulasidas has Shiva comment to Parvathi:

 

O Uma! Rama is tender-hearted and kind.

"The Rakshasas remember Me with the attitude of an enemy"

Thinking thus in His heart, He gives them liberation.

Tell me, Bhavani, who can be as compassionate as He?

-- Yogacharya Dr Ananda Balayogi BhavananiChairmanICYER and Yoganjali Natyalayam25, 2nd Cross, Iyyanar NagarPondicherry, South Indiawww.icyer.com

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