Thus Spake the Divine - Bhakti Without Expectations

Thus Spake the Divine

Bhakti Without Expectations

Though Bhakti is practiced for many reasons, the greatest objective is to only attain the state of Moksha. As per views of all Advaita Acharyas including Sri Shankara, “Liberation (Mukti) occurs only with the aid of wisdom and not through Bhakti”. Liberation is from what? This liberation is from the ties of samsara, the cyclical reincarnation of this worldly life, so that one experiences the state of eternal and absolute truth. As long as the mind exists, one will definitely bond with worldly substances. Once mind vanishes, there is liberation from all bonding.

As long as there are physical forms and corresponding attributes, the mind will want to experience and enjoy them. When we are doing Bhakti to God, we adore the form and attributes of God through our mind and the mind is engrossed with different emotions. When the mind immerses itself with the substance, which forms the source, and that source alone exists, only then we can reach the state of liberation. This is what is called the Jnyana Marga, the Path of Wisdom through which we constantly self-inquire as to what is the source of this Atma, the soul.

Gopalakrishna Bharati says, “We can reach the state of Moksha or liberation if we do Bhakti”. His version of Mukti, the Moksha, is not to reach Kailasa or Vaikuntha. If a person worships his God of choice, then, with that God’s mercy, he can reach Vaikuntha or Kailasa. This kind of Mukti is enunciated in the Dvaita and Visishtadvaita philosophies. In such a Mukti, there will still be the distinction between God and the devotee. The oscillation of the mind, which experiences this Advaita Mukti, is different. Though Gopalakrishna Bharati is a follower of Advaita, he stills believes in Bhakti in this form.

Not only Gopalakrishna Bharati, even Advaita Paramacharya Sri Shankara himself, who strongly propounded that wisdom is the direct route for attaining Moksha, has composed many shlokas (verses) on Bhakti. He has gone on pilgrimage to many holy temples and has bathed in holy rivers. He is the one who established the six modes of worship (Shan Matha) viz. Ganapatya – worship of Ganesha, Koumaara – Worship of Kumaraa or Muruga, Saiva – Worship of Shiva, Vaishnava – Worship of Vishnu, Saaktha – Worship of Ambaa and Soura – Worship of Surya. We, the descendants of Acharya, also conduct several types of Poojas for hours together. All these are for what?

Though the very mind (manasu) has emerged from Atma, the mind is not able to identify how an Atma (soul) looks like. Only when the mind vanishes away, the Atma will come out sparkling in its glittering light. Therefore, we have to assimilate our thoughts, which are wandering in an erratic manner, to bring our wandering mind under control. Bhakti is the means to do this. All worldly matters keep pulling the mind in every direction. But if we constantly keep meditating on God, the mind becomes focussed on Him and completely integrates with Him. It is like when oil flows like a string. Once the mind starts integrating itself, at some point, the very mind will vanish away. Bhakti acts as a vital aid to attain this state of wisdom. That is why Sri Shankara Bhagavadpada has propounded Bhakti as a stepping stone to wisdom.

Mukti or liberation is not one that occurs after one’s death. The Atma exists eternally and never dies. Therefore, when this body is alive, we should experience the Atma and that is what the state of Mukti is. Attaining this state is possible. There are Brahma Jnyanis, who have attained Moksha, but are still with us alive. They are known as “Jeevan Muktan” (ones who have attained Mukti while being alive).

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.