To Chris - GG Verse 146 - Guru Gita grants freedom from disease-Chris

[Guest guest]

Dear Chris,

Thanks for this very clear explanation which was further clarified

through Eric's post. I once heard a teacher say that Lord Buddha

came to bring wisdom (the intellect) while Jesus came to bring love

and to show that the two (wisdom and love) go hand in hand.

Jai Maa

Chris Kirner <chriskirner1956 > wrote:

Eric,I don't know why, but I have been thinking about your post since

Ifirst responded, and I feel like I want to say a bit about

jnana,since, I think, it is often misunderstood by devotees.No, I

don't think it is all about devotion - I really don't - though

Icannot imagine being without it.Really, in terms of the discussion

of bhakti vs jnana, I don't seethat there is a pure separation.

Bhaktas need knowledge as much asjnanis need devotion.The way I see

it, jnana is the purest expression of divineconsciousness that

remains in creation. Bhakti is the purest form ofbliss that remains

in creation.If you recall, the Supreme, Brahman, is described as

withoutattributes, but since we cannot conceive of anything

withoutattributes, we say that the Supreme is sat (existence), chit

(pureconsciousness), and

ananda (bliss). That is All.In this maya, Sat is self-evident; we all

exist. The purest form ofChit in this maya is jnana, and the purest

form of Ananda is devotion.So, you see, they are both equally part

of, or pure expressions of theOne Whole.When most of us think of

jnana, I think we think of dry ideas andmental gymnastics. We think

of people who play with ideas likechildren play with toys, as if they

had no intrinsic meaning, noworth, and whose play is all wrapped-up in

demonstrating how much theyknow and how facile their minds are.The

word philosopher has lost all its beauty in this age. In timespast,

people understood that the study of philosophy was the study ofTruth,

the study of God. Philosopher means, lover of Knowledge,knowledge with

a capital "K".Mother has said that the practice of Truth is the most

importantpractice for this present age. But Truth extends far beyond

ourindividual mental

operations and behaviors (though this is indeedwhere we live).

Everything in this samsara is imbued with Truth, if wecan discern it.

There is beauty all around, and Truth is beautiful.The Truth is God,

and God is consciousness, and the purest form ofconsciousness in this

samsara is jnana. And jnana is not a discipline(really), nor a bit of

knowledge, it is an awareness, an attainment(at its fullest); it is

the ability to see God in a very beautifuland special way.When one

perceives the beauty of God, in a prayer, a bhajan, or evenan

insight, one cannot help but respond with love in the heart. Thepure

jnani finds pure devotion in Truth.As Mother has said, (though I

cannot for the life of me recall herexact words - and the word she

used was perfect ) when we extend,or extrapolate an idea far

enough, we get a flash of inspiration.That flash of inspiration is

jnana. It is touching the hem of Hersari. How

can one not feel blessed. Jnana is not about how manyscriptures one

knows, nor about how many degrees one has, nor abouthow well one

debates, nor even about constantly holding lofty ideas inone's mind.

Jnana is about touching the hem of Divine Mother's sari,and bowing in

reverence before Her great beauty and love.Jai Maa!Chris--- In

, "ecjensen_us" <ecjensen_us>wrote:>

OM NAMAH SIVAYA> > it seems it really IS all about devotion, huh. as

Jerry and the boys > say, "what a long strange trip its been." who

knew? God knows. > > JAI MA> > ,

"Chris Kirner" > <chriskirner1956> wrote:> > Kalia,> > > > I

think the first part of this points again to the benefits of> >

treading the path of light. When the gurudeva becomes the

caretaker> > and the guiding force of your life, many things can (not

> necessarily> > will) change for the "better".> > > > Swamiji has

discussed before, I think in reply to a question here > on> > the

forum, about how our sadhana effects our family both after us > and>

> before. I can't say I really understand this. I have only heard >

before> > about how children receive part of their karma from their

parents> > before they are born. > > > > I think the idea of the

widow, amplified in the next part of the> > verse, is that a widow,

especially if she is nearing the end of her> > life, no longer needs

to fill her heart with the needs of husband > and> > children, but

can fill it with God and Guru instead. > > > > I have observed that,

at their best, women have such naturally> > beautiful

hearts. In contrast to most men, who are more in their > heads> > and

stomachs, women are capable of great compassion and selfless > love>

> for others. This natural facility makes it easier for women, I >

think,> > to devote themselves to God and Guru, to the exclusion of

their> > personal desires. As you know, though by no means easy,

devotion is> > said to be the easiest path to self-realization. The

woman with no> > other attachments can achieve self-realization

through devotion to> > Guru, and the path of the Guru (remember, the

purpose for which we> > recite is perfection in the prasad of the

Guru).> > > > Jai Maa!> > Chris> > > > > > > > --- In

, Kali Kali> > <kaliananda_saraswati>

wrote:> > > > > > Dear All,> > > >

> > > > > > > > Our verse today :> > > > > > > > > > > > 146. One

attains life, freedom from disease, and imperishable> > qualities for

their children and their grandchildren through the> > generations. If

recited by a widow or any woman without desire, she> > may attain

self- realization. > > > > > > > > > > > > Please help us to

understand a bit more by sharing your> > thoughts/insight.> > > > > >

> > > > > > Many thanks to you all.> > > > > > > > > > > > Jai

Guruji ki jai.> > > > > > > > > > > >

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