Hari Om.
I was recently reading an online book by Swami Krishnananda, disciple of Swami Sivananda called "The Path to Freedom". He was praised as a great jnani by his Guru Sivananda.
In the book, he talks about the mind, the forceful nature of desires, the inner asuras anger and desire, the true nature of moksha, the essential qualities required in a spiritual aspirant and so many interesting things besides. It is a truly excellent book of jnana written by a great jnana yogi who was also a great bhakta (see link below).
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/freedom/freedom_15.html
After reading it, I felt gratitude to Swami Krishnananda for clarifying some important concepts in yoga.....he writes with such clarity and wisdom. At the same time, I felt a certain frustration....it's like reading about the ingredients of chocolate, how to make chocolate, the pitfalls in making chocolate, the different flavours of chocolate....but never actually tasting chocolate. (I'm referring to moksha being like chocolate here...pardon the very simplistic example but chocolate makes sense to me, unlike moksha which is a very difficult concept to grasp- mainly because it is not a concept at all but an experience that cannot be described in human language).
And also one is daunted by the sheer effort needed to tread the path of jnana as described by Swami Krishnananda......complete mind-control almost from the start....mastery over the senses, mastery over the mind, utmost discipline at every moment of one's life, tremendous power of concentration.....after reading this book, the feeling I had was feeling utterly daunted, almost bereft of any hope that this can be achieved....Ultimately theory is very nice....but quite useless until we can translate it into practice.
I compared the feeling I had to reading this great book of jnana with reading a few pages of the "Sayings of Sri RamaKrishna" that I had read previously that day (see link at end of page). After reading that book which is an exquisite blend of bhakti and jnana (with an emphasis on bhakti as the way to moksha), I feel hopeful, optimistic, motivated.
Like many Gurus, Sri RamaKrishna praises the Name of God as the philosopher's stone....it can convert the cold hard heartless ignorant human being into an embodiment of kindness, divine love and wisdom.
An amazingly, this Name is easily available. Simply by possessing human vocal chords and a human mind (both gifted free of charge by God), one is able to avail oneself of this fine gift, the Name of God....after reading books by bhaktas, one feels "Ok, I can do this....it's not easy by any means, but yes, I can do this type of sadhana....it's definitely do-able". No doubt one must strive to cultivate discipline and self-control on the path of bhakti too, but one has one's Ishta Devata to turn to for help at every step....
Bhakti and jnana are equally valid and true paths as per the Gurus, in the sense that both lead to the Supreme. But most Gurus say that in this modern Kali yuga, the path of bhakti is supreme because it can be practiced more easily by the people of today. The practice of jnana requires supreme self-mastery by will at the very beginning....one has to have conquered a great number of one's desires even to be able to start on this path. In contrast, the path of bhakti involves surrender to God, invoking the Grace of God, and this Grace leads to one's desires falling away....one does not fight alone to conquer one's lower self, one invokes the help of God in this fight....thus victory is certain eventually.
Sivananda and RamaKrishna say the beginner bhakti yogi and beginner jnana yogi are like a baby kitten and a baby monkey. The former mews for its mother who promptly arrives and takes it off with her; it places itself in her care and she ensures its welfare. The baby monkey clings by its own strength to its mother as she leaps and bounds through the wildnerness....if it lets go, it will fall...it relies on itself not it's mother to stay safe. The bhakti yogi relies on God for his/her progress in spiritual life (one must feel one is making a genuine self-effort of course...though actually, even this can be seen as the Grace of God)...while the jnana yogi, relies on him/herself mainly.
Another example comparing the two paths by Sri RamaKrishna is that the bhakta wishes to taste sugar (God/the bliss of God), while the jnani wishes to become sugar (merge in God). This is only the wish at the beginning of the spiritual path....of course, in the the end, the true bhakta also becomes a jnani, and a true jnani becomes a bhakta....love of God and knowledge of God are interdependent as the yogis say.....
As a beginner on the spiritual path, much as I like reading books by jnanis, I must say, there is something special about reading the books of bhaktas....such as Swami Sivananda, Swami Chidananda, RamaKrishna Paramhamsa and others. Reading the books by such beings makes one marvel at the greatness of the Soul, of God....one cannot help but respond to the call of these great beings to take up sadhana actively and strive to attain the Supreme as they did.
Coming back to Swami Krishnananda's book, after reading this, I felt my mind reeling with the sheer effort of trying to understand That which is beyond the mind/intellect. Reading his book is like reading the Upanisads....how can one understand these concepts when one does not have the equipment needed to understand?
It is like trying to explain mathematics to a snail......it would just look at you blankly, not knowing what sounds you are making (assuming it can hear you). I feel like the snail when jnanis talk of the Brahman of the Upanisads, beyond speech, beyond mind, Who is the eye behind the eye, the ear behind the ear etc, Who is here, there and everywhere....! These are beautiful concepts certainly, but by definition, impossible for the human intellect to comprehend.....no wonder the mind reels in dismay....
However, when the bhaktas speak of Krishna/Shiva/Durga/Radha, Their Lilas, Their Names, Their Grace, how accessible They are, how Their Name is a bridge between worldly consciousness and God consciousness, the many yogis who have succeeded on the path of bhakti.....well, that is so much better, positively enjoyable to listen to in fact. Yes, Lord Krishna/Shiva/Durga are all-pervading and are the Brahman of the Upanisads too, but They are much more accessible to our human minds in Their personal forms (rather than the impersonal Brahman).....by attaining Them, one attains everything that is to be attained in spiritual life. No doubt, Krishna being equal with Brahman, is the eye behind the eye, the ear behind the ear. the foundation of this entire world, and is present, here-there-and-everywhere, but it is so much more pleasant to contemplate Him or Lord Shiva or the Divine Mother than the impersonal Brahman (in my view anyway)....
The sadhana prescribed by bhaktas is do-able....whereas that prescribed by jnanis feels almost impossible (for most people anyway) ....I guess this is the key. What sadhana is actually do-able....and each of us is different....no doubt there are some for whom jnana is the right path, but for the majority of us, it seems bhakti is indeed the suitable path.....
Representing the views of many lovers of God since time immemorial, the great advaita yogi, bhakta and jnani, Sri Madhusudana Saraswati composed the following lines:
"I know of no other Reality than the lotus-eyed Lord Krishna, of dark hue like the rain-laden clouds, lips like the red bimba fruit, His face shining with the brilliance of the full moon, wearing a yellow garment and His hands adorned by the flute."
A beautiful rendition of the above lines by the great musician Pandit Jasraj:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QenwYPCmlf4
This book "Sayings of Sri RamaKrishna" is simply superb.....reading even a few lines occasionally infuses one with spiritual strength and motivation to keep going on the spiritual path....
http://www.estudantedavedanta.net/Sayings%20of%20Sri%20Ramakrishna.pdf
Hari Aum Tat Sat
I was recently reading an online book by Swami Krishnananda, disciple of Swami Sivananda called "The Path to Freedom". He was praised as a great jnani by his Guru Sivananda.
In the book, he talks about the mind, the forceful nature of desires, the inner asuras anger and desire, the true nature of moksha, the essential qualities required in a spiritual aspirant and so many interesting things besides. It is a truly excellent book of jnana written by a great jnana yogi who was also a great bhakta (see link below).
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/freedom/freedom_15.html
After reading it, I felt gratitude to Swami Krishnananda for clarifying some important concepts in yoga.....he writes with such clarity and wisdom. At the same time, I felt a certain frustration....it's like reading about the ingredients of chocolate, how to make chocolate, the pitfalls in making chocolate, the different flavours of chocolate....but never actually tasting chocolate. (I'm referring to moksha being like chocolate here...pardon the very simplistic example but chocolate makes sense to me, unlike moksha which is a very difficult concept to grasp- mainly because it is not a concept at all but an experience that cannot be described in human language).
And also one is daunted by the sheer effort needed to tread the path of jnana as described by Swami Krishnananda......complete mind-control almost from the start....mastery over the senses, mastery over the mind, utmost discipline at every moment of one's life, tremendous power of concentration.....after reading this book, the feeling I had was feeling utterly daunted, almost bereft of any hope that this can be achieved....Ultimately theory is very nice....but quite useless until we can translate it into practice.
I compared the feeling I had to reading this great book of jnana with reading a few pages of the "Sayings of Sri RamaKrishna" that I had read previously that day (see link at end of page). After reading that book which is an exquisite blend of bhakti and jnana (with an emphasis on bhakti as the way to moksha), I feel hopeful, optimistic, motivated.
Like many Gurus, Sri RamaKrishna praises the Name of God as the philosopher's stone....it can convert the cold hard heartless ignorant human being into an embodiment of kindness, divine love and wisdom.
An amazingly, this Name is easily available. Simply by possessing human vocal chords and a human mind (both gifted free of charge by God), one is able to avail oneself of this fine gift, the Name of God....after reading books by bhaktas, one feels "Ok, I can do this....it's not easy by any means, but yes, I can do this type of sadhana....it's definitely do-able". No doubt one must strive to cultivate discipline and self-control on the path of bhakti too, but one has one's Ishta Devata to turn to for help at every step....
Bhakti and jnana are equally valid and true paths as per the Gurus, in the sense that both lead to the Supreme. But most Gurus say that in this modern Kali yuga, the path of bhakti is supreme because it can be practiced more easily by the people of today. The practice of jnana requires supreme self-mastery by will at the very beginning....one has to have conquered a great number of one's desires even to be able to start on this path. In contrast, the path of bhakti involves surrender to God, invoking the Grace of God, and this Grace leads to one's desires falling away....one does not fight alone to conquer one's lower self, one invokes the help of God in this fight....thus victory is certain eventually.
Sivananda and RamaKrishna say the beginner bhakti yogi and beginner jnana yogi are like a baby kitten and a baby monkey. The former mews for its mother who promptly arrives and takes it off with her; it places itself in her care and she ensures its welfare. The baby monkey clings by its own strength to its mother as she leaps and bounds through the wildnerness....if it lets go, it will fall...it relies on itself not it's mother to stay safe. The bhakti yogi relies on God for his/her progress in spiritual life (one must feel one is making a genuine self-effort of course...though actually, even this can be seen as the Grace of God)...while the jnana yogi, relies on him/herself mainly.
Another example comparing the two paths by Sri RamaKrishna is that the bhakta wishes to taste sugar (God/the bliss of God), while the jnani wishes to become sugar (merge in God). This is only the wish at the beginning of the spiritual path....of course, in the the end, the true bhakta also becomes a jnani, and a true jnani becomes a bhakta....love of God and knowledge of God are interdependent as the yogis say.....
As a beginner on the spiritual path, much as I like reading books by jnanis, I must say, there is something special about reading the books of bhaktas....such as Swami Sivananda, Swami Chidananda, RamaKrishna Paramhamsa and others. Reading the books by such beings makes one marvel at the greatness of the Soul, of God....one cannot help but respond to the call of these great beings to take up sadhana actively and strive to attain the Supreme as they did.
Coming back to Swami Krishnananda's book, after reading this, I felt my mind reeling with the sheer effort of trying to understand That which is beyond the mind/intellect. Reading his book is like reading the Upanisads....how can one understand these concepts when one does not have the equipment needed to understand?
It is like trying to explain mathematics to a snail......it would just look at you blankly, not knowing what sounds you are making (assuming it can hear you). I feel like the snail when jnanis talk of the Brahman of the Upanisads, beyond speech, beyond mind, Who is the eye behind the eye, the ear behind the ear etc, Who is here, there and everywhere....! These are beautiful concepts certainly, but by definition, impossible for the human intellect to comprehend.....no wonder the mind reels in dismay....
However, when the bhaktas speak of Krishna/Shiva/Durga/Radha, Their Lilas, Their Names, Their Grace, how accessible They are, how Their Name is a bridge between worldly consciousness and God consciousness, the many yogis who have succeeded on the path of bhakti.....well, that is so much better, positively enjoyable to listen to in fact. Yes, Lord Krishna/Shiva/Durga are all-pervading and are the Brahman of the Upanisads too, but They are much more accessible to our human minds in Their personal forms (rather than the impersonal Brahman).....by attaining Them, one attains everything that is to be attained in spiritual life. No doubt, Krishna being equal with Brahman, is the eye behind the eye, the ear behind the ear. the foundation of this entire world, and is present, here-there-and-everywhere, but it is so much more pleasant to contemplate Him or Lord Shiva or the Divine Mother than the impersonal Brahman (in my view anyway)....
The sadhana prescribed by bhaktas is do-able....whereas that prescribed by jnanis feels almost impossible (for most people anyway) ....I guess this is the key. What sadhana is actually do-able....and each of us is different....no doubt there are some for whom jnana is the right path, but for the majority of us, it seems bhakti is indeed the suitable path.....
Representing the views of many lovers of God since time immemorial, the great advaita yogi, bhakta and jnani, Sri Madhusudana Saraswati composed the following lines:
"I know of no other Reality than the lotus-eyed Lord Krishna, of dark hue like the rain-laden clouds, lips like the red bimba fruit, His face shining with the brilliance of the full moon, wearing a yellow garment and His hands adorned by the flute."
A beautiful rendition of the above lines by the great musician Pandit Jasraj:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QenwYPCmlf4
This book "Sayings of Sri RamaKrishna" is simply superb.....reading even a few lines occasionally infuses one with spiritual strength and motivation to keep going on the spiritual path....
http://www.estudantedavedanta.net/Sayings%20of%20Sri%20Ramakrishna.pdf
Hari Aum Tat Sat
Thank you for this post. I, too, started learning with Swami Krishnananda's text. It is so clear and lucid, but I also felt that demand of discipline that I felt I could not bring forth.
ReplyDeleteThen I have found as you the path of bhakti, and the relatable sri hanuman sits in my heart offering me help when I ask, chiding me when I am lazy, coddling me when I am despondent.
Reading your posts feels good because I see the words of someone who is experiencing similar frustrations and similar love for this path. Thank you very much.
I will keep that book, "Sayings of Sri RamaKrishna" on my kindle for strength.
Hi Divv,
DeleteGlad to hear that you can relate to the post. I also feel the deity in the heart a comfort in many different scenarios as you do. :) Nice to hear from someone who also has experience of the path of bhakti...thank you.
Hello Vishnupriaji,
DeleteThe link to Ramakrishna's book isn't working for me. I have S S Vivekananda's correspondences, I'll look for his teachings there for now.
Namaste,
ReplyDeleteYes, the path of "bhakthi" is easier but again in the modern world there are many who don't believe in a concept called God. For them "jnana" - path of studying about Brahman, contemplating and meditating on the unmanifested form is a better approach. Each to their own. But for me personally, it is a combination of both the paths that has helped. I love to listen to Upanashadic teachings from renowned saints on YouTube and I contemplate a lot on the essence but then I also adopt the path of "bhakthi" (prayers/japa/chanting) towards Divine Mother in various forms (Adi Shakthi, Maha Lakshmi, Radha, Sita) and Lord of the universe in various forms (Shiva/Narayana/Krishna/Rama). I understand that the unmanifested form (Brahman) is same as the manifested form (God) and so there is no confusion in my mind. I just want to be able to do everything related to my spiritual sadhana with utmost sincerity and leave the rest to the Divine who is both the unmanifested and the manifested. Yes, there will be challenges on every path including the path of "Bhakthi" or "Jnana" but we must come out even stronger from each of these challenges and never stray away from our goal - God/Brahman realisation. My humble prayers to the Supreme Brahman that is same as all the various Gods with form.