Bhakti and Jnaana

[Guest guest]

A spiritual seeker asked a question " How to unify Bhakti and Jnaana

in life? " Here is an attempt to answer the question.

 

First to start with, we have the example given by Sri

Ramakrishna. " In the infinite ocean of Sat-Chit-Aananda, by the

cooling effect of the Bhakti of a devotee, the ocean forms into an

ice block taking the shape that is worshiped by the devotee. Again,

by the rising Sun of Jnaana, the ice block melts into the formless

water of the ocean. "

 

Always the worshiper and the worshiped can be of the same nature

only. When you are in a mood of Jnaana, you see yourself as the Pure

Conscious Subject and being so is the way to worship the formless

attributeless aspect of God. When you are in a mood where you are

very much aware of your body and mind, you worship the Lord also in

the form of your Ishta with qualities like love, compassion, etc.

This is called Bhakti. Thus they don't contradict. They are just

different ways to worship the Lord.

 

When talking about Bhakta in Gita, Krishna classifies them as four

types. (7.16) The first two are lower types - aartha and arthaarti -

seekers of worldly ends by means of worship of God. The third is of

medium type - jijnaasu

- one who seeks God as the Goal of life. The fourth is the highest

type - jnaani - one who knows God. Thus Krishna talks about Jnaana as

the highest form of Bhakti.

 

The Sat-Chit-Aananda that is " known " as the Self at the height of

Jnaana is not different from the Ishta. In Gita, Krishna tells this

at several places. " I am the string that runs through this wonderful

maala of pearls that is the world. " (7.7) " Know that I am the Self

who knows himself as the Subject in all embodied beings. " (13.2) Thus

God is the Subject, the Conscious entity in you. This is the

ParaaPrakriti nature of God. Jnaana is the way to worship Him thus.

 

God also has become the manifested Object or Nature or Prakriti.

This is the AparaaPrakriti nature of God. Everything that you see as

objects - living and non-living - tangible and intangible - they are

all the manifestations of the Lord by his Maaya. Everything that

happens is by this Maaya only. Krishna tell this in several places

also. " Everything is done by Prakriti by its Gunaas. The egoistic

deluded person thinks 'I am the doer'. " (3.27) One way to overcome

this egoism which is called Ignorance or Maaya is surrender to the

Lord. God is everything. vaasudevah sarvam (7.19) And everything that

happens is by His Will. Maaya is just another name for His Will.

There is nothing that exists other than Him. And everything happens

by His sweet Will. This is a variation of Bhakti where the Lord is

worshiped as the world - Vishwarupa. The world is seen as the

manifestation of the Lord.

 

Now, how to live everyday life with this attitude? Having known

the Lord as everything, live a life treating everything and everyone

as His aspects and every incident in life as a manifestation of His

Will. Swami Chinmayananda puts it beautifully " Your life is a gift

from the Lord. How you live is your gift to the Lord. " Do whatever

you do as an offering to the Lord. Krishna says " by worshiping Him by

doing your duty " (18.46). And take whatever happens as his prasaada.

This is also Bhakti - the Karma Yoga way. When you are outside the

puja room or temple, this is the way to worship the Lord.

 

When your mind is extrovert, see the Lord as the manifested world.

Take a position as the servant of the Lord, because the body and mind

are His servants. When your mind is introvert and when you identify

yourself with the Subject, see the Lord as the Eternal Conscious

Existence that is your own Self. When your mind is neither very

extrovert nor very introvert, you worship the Lord in the form of the

Ishta with attributes. Thus depending on the identity you take for

yourself, your view of the Lord changes and the way of worship

also changes.