Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Sai Inspires - 12 May 2006

There is no greater quality in man than selfless love, which expresses itself in service to others. Such love can be the source of real bliss. The relationship between Karma and Karma yoga should be properly understood. Karma (action) done with attachment or desire causes bondage. But desireless, selfless action becomes Karma yoga. Our life should become yoga(Divine Communion) rather than a “roga” (disease).

- Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol.XVI., P.48.

Spiritual Path - Bhakti, Jnana & Karma

Dear Ones,

Let us read and contemplate on what Swami says on the three path and on few more relevant questions related to these three paths.

What is the meaning of yoga?

Yoga means union with God, pathway to union with God as well.

How is 'yoga' defined in the Gîtâ?

"karmasu kausalam yoga": Doing the allotted work well to the utmost capacity is Yoga.

"cittavritti niroda yoga": Control of inner and outer senses and stilling the mind is Yoga.

"samatvam yoga muchyate": Maintaining equanimity under all circumstances is Yoga.

What are the principal yogas in the Gîtâ?

Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnâna Yoga and RâjaYoga: Work, Worship, Wisdom and Yoga of Mind Control.

What is Karma Yoga?

Karma Yoga means: Performing one's duties and action without interest in the fruits of action. Performing actions with a spirit of dedication and devotion to God.

How does Swami explain the inter-relationship between Karma, Jñâna and Bhakti Mârgas?

Karma is like a flower, Bhakti is the raw fruit and Jñâna is the ripened fruit, one leading to the other.

(Source- vahini.org, Bhagwan’s answers to questions on Bhagwad Gita)

Dear Ones,

All practices in yoga are a training, consciously given by the seeker to his mind so that it may learn the production, the quality, the quantity and the nature of flow of thoughts in it.

The paths, treading which, the integration of one’s personality can be effectively brought about, are the three path we dealt with in yesterday’s post.

Each human being has his own taste/preference/nature. The great Masters of yore divided the entire humanity into the following groups:

1)    Men of heart, termed in modern psychology as emotional;

2)    Men of head, termed as intelligent;

3)    Men of head and heart, termed as active.

  

Men of heart - emotional

To the emotional, path of devotion is advised. A human being, inherently emotional, is able to/should channelize his emotions as Love towards Lord through constant remembrance and meditation.

An emotional being is able to focus on the form, glory and divine nature of his beloved Lord. Gradually, the focus on Lord’s glory increases and the devotion evolves to single pointed Love for God.

When this single pointed Love is experienced, the mind is integrated with that love and thus, the integrated mind cannot find/cognize anything other than God everywhere.

In an ecstasy of his new found Joy, the devotee walks about in the Love gardens of his mind which is sweetly scented by all-pervading Spirit of Love. This stage is called PARA BHAKTI, Supreme Love. In this stage/state, the devotee sings in all ecstasy – “All around, see the all pervading Lord, I am His love, He is my beloved, I see nothing else, I see only Him”.

Echoing the above state, a poet wrote in tamil “Malargalile pala niram kanden, thiru malavan vadivam adil kanden”.

Same state is revealed in the line “Nayan nayan mein Sai Aum” in a bhajan where, it is not that the eyes see Sai outwardly, everywhere, as 1000s of Sai, clad in orange robe with an enchanting smile, but the secret is, that Sai has been absorbed as the divine essence so completely, that the nayan (nayan, eye, representing all senses) can now apprehend/experience nothing but the ONLY SAI ESSENCE. Every word also loses its importance in that state. Remember, Mind sees physical Sai in all, whereas, the pure inner being experiences the Sai essence in all!

Men of heart - intellectual

For a man of intellect, the above path/ frame of mind is not there. He does not have a heart to melt and flow in an endless gush of Love for a chosen Lord with a form and name.

To such a man, the Rishis gave the essence of reasoning that could burn down even mountainous doubts and carve out a smooth road through the deepest jungles of confusion. Lit by the light of knowledge, given by the shruthis (scriptures), the seeker in the path of knowledge moves steadily forward, higher and higher.

Not in blind faith on God but through reasoning and contemplation on the knowledge showered by scriptures, these seekers work upon themselves, burn all desires, conquer their mind, free the mind of all ignorance and vasanas (impressions) and strive to experience the light within!

But in this path, our scriptures have repeatedly proclaimed and prescribed the need for a Master, one who has worked on himself and has seen the light of the day by realizing his true SELF. Without such a realized Master to guide, the danger is that the knowledge gathered from scriptures is most likely to be interpreted by the self-confident seeker, colored with his own impressions, his own  liking and disliking, his own ego!

  

Men of head and heart - action

There is a great sanction of men, temporarily vacillating between head values and heart principles. They are at one moment emotional and at the other moment, prove themselves to be actually rational.

For such men, path of SELFLESS ACTION or Karma yoga is prescribed.

When the love element of devotion gets mixed well with the non-dual, eternal perfection idea in  vedantha, we have the perfect technique of selfless service.

Now, what happens when either a confused or an incomplete seeker takes up spiritual path??

Our own Lord has apparently stressed the importance of all these 3 paths at different point of time when He said these words:

“Stop meditation, dhyana, move out to the society, do selfless service”

           

“There is no other sadhana greater than Devotion, the worship of Lord in total surrender”

“There is actually no God in any form separate from you who is pure Atman/ SELF”

All these gospels contradict each other, apparently. And, depending upon our own texture of mind, we borrow Sai’s quotes which suits our approach in sadhana- Bhakti or Karma or Jnana and start preaching the same to all others.

To understand Sai’s teachings is to understand and absorb His teachings completely. We cannot fragment Sai and Sai’s teachings to suit our own preferred path.

When an ardent devotee approached Bhagwan and sought His advice on which book written by Swami to be  taken up by the devotee, Swami quickly replied “Buy all Sathya Sai Speaks volumes and go through completely”.

The lesson to be driven home is “DEPENDING UPON OUR NATURE, WE HAVE TO BE CLEAR IN CHOOSING OUR PATH WITH PURE HEART - KARMA OR BHAKTI OR JNANA OR RAJA YOGA OR HATHA YOGA ETC. BUT NEVER SHOULD WE CRITICIZE ANY OTHER PERSON FOLLOWING SOME OTHER PATH AND NEVER SHOULD WE SUFFOCATE THE OTHER PERSON, TRYING TO PROVE THAT THE PATH WE ARE FOLLOWING IS THE ONLY PATH. FOLLOW YOUR CHOSEN PATH AND AT THE SAME TIME, RESPECT ALL PATH FOLLOWED BY ALL. ALL ROADS LEAD TO ONLY ONE ULTIMATE END, GOD REALIZATION”.

Swami sums up this discussion with a wonderful synthesis of all the three path in PREMA VAHINI, thus:

“There is no distinction between Bhakthi and Jnana. Just as Suguna becomes Nirguna, Bhakthi too becomes Jnana. I will not agree that Karma, Bhakthi and Jnana are separate. I do not even like to classify one of these as first, the other as the second and next as the third. I will not accept a mixture of all the three or even a samuchchaya, a merger of the three. Karma is Bhakthi and Bhakthi is Jnana.

A block of Mysorepak has sweetness, weight and shape; the three cannot be separated, one from the other. Each little part of it has sweetness, weight and shape. We do not find shape in one part, weight in another and sweetness in a third. And when it is placed on the tongue taste is recognized, weight is lessened and shape is modified, all at the same time. So too, the Jiva, the Atma, and the Paramatma are not separate; they are one and the same.

Therefore, each individual deed must be full of the spirit of Seva, of Prema and of Jnana. In other words, each group of life's activities must be saturated with Karma, Bhakthi and Jnana. This is verily the Purushothama Yoga. It has to be acted in practice, not merely spoken in words, Sadhana should be done constantly with ever-expanding heart full of Bhakthi and Jnana. The sweetness of nectar or the Lord's name is the charm of life; the internal joy derived from the Name is akin to the external joy of the outer life.

When one performs a kriya as an offering to the Lord, his good, the higher good and the highest good - Swartha, Parartha and Paramartha - all become one. First I and you become we. Next we and He becomes identified. The Jiva (i.e. the Individual soul, I) should accomplish identity, with the Paramatma (i.e. the Prakrithi, You) and then with the Paramatma (i.e. the Supreme Soul, He). This indeed is the significance of the mantra, Om Tat Sat.

Today, yesterday and tomorrow, Om Tat Sat is, was and will be. 'He' and 'I' are there always. The Sadhana is also there always. Just as the sun is inseparable and is never apart from its rays, under no circumstances should any aspirant be without his sadhana. It is only when the sadhaka adheres to his sadhana in such an incessant manner can he be said to be one with Om.”

Hari Aum Tatsat.

Love.

Spiritual Path - Bhagwad Gita

Spiritual path- Bhagwad Gita

Various paths in spiritual journey can not be read/gathered in one single place except in the initial verses in chapter 12 of Bhagwad Gita and the translation of those verses in English are given below:-

Chapter XII - The Yoga of Devotion

    

Arjuna said: 

Those ever-steadfast devotees 

Who thus worship You 

And those who worship 

The eternal unmanifest Brahman, 

Which of these has the best knowledge of yoga? (12.01) 

Krishna said: 

(BHAKTI MARGA/ BHAKTI YOGA)

Those ever steadfast devotees who worship 

With supreme faith by fixing 

Their mind on Me as personal God, 

I consider them to be the best yogis. (12.02) 

JNANA MARGA/JNANA YOGA

But those who worship the imperishable, 

The undefinable, the unmanifest, the omnipresent, 

The unthinkable, the unchanging, the immovable, 

And the eternal Brahman; (12.03) 

KARMA MARGA/ KARMA YOGA

Restraining all the senses, 

Even minded under all circumstances, 

Engaged in the welfare 

Of all creatures, they also attain Me. (12.04) 

FURTHER EXPOSITION OF THE THREE PATH

Self-realization is more difficult 

For those who fix their mind on the formless Brahman, 

Because the comprehension of the unmanifest Brahman 

By the average embodied human being is very difficult. (12.05) 

But, to those who worship Me as the personal God, 

Renouncing all actions to Me; 

Setting Me as their supreme goal, 

and meditating on Me with single minded devotion; (12.06) 

I swiftly become their savior, 

From the world that is the ocean 

Of death and transmigration, 

Whose thoughts are set on Me, O Arjuna. (12.07) 

Therefore, focus your mind on Me alone 

And let your intellect dwell upon Me 

Through meditation and contemplation. 

Thereafter you shall certainly come to Me. (12.08) 

If you are unable to meditate steadily on Me, 

Then seek to reach Me, O Arjuna, 

By practice of spiritual discipline. (12.09) 

If you are unable even to do any Sadhana, 

Then be intent on performing your duty for Me. 

You shall attain perfection just by working for Me (12.10) 

If you are unable to work for Me 

Then just surrender unto My will with subdued mind, 

And renounce the fruits of all work. (12.11) 

The Truth is One, but the paths are many.

The Bhagwad Gita extols three major margas or paths of Yoga which help the aspirant frame his personal nature with the highest goal, realization and union with Brahman, or the all-knowing and pervasive consciousness that governs the universe.

Although each path is different, the destination is ultimately the same. One path is not higher than the other; rather the lessons of each contain its own unique wisdom that provides an integrated and balanced view of one’s relationship to oneself and the higher reality.

KARMA YOGA

BRAHMANY ADHAYA KARMANI

SANGAM TYAKTVA KAROTI YAH

LIPYATE NA SA PAPENA

PADMA-PATRAM IVAMBHASA

One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme God, is not affected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.

Karma Yoga is essentially Acting, or doing one’s duties in life as per his/her dharma, or duty, without concern of results – a sort of constant sacrifice of action to the Supreme. It is action done without thought of gain.

One cannot live in the world without performing actions, and thus a proper mindset should be established when doing these actions.

Karma Yoga purifies the heart by teaching one to act selflessly, without thought of gain or reward. By detaching oneself from the fruits of one’s actions and offering them up to God, one learns to sublimate the ego.

This is the difference between simply performing actions for personal gains, and performing actions without attachment (vairagya) as a spiritual practice where all fruits are given to God. This is the most arduous of all paths as most of us are attached to the fruits of our actions.

SUMMARY LINE- TO TAKE UP ACTION WITHOUT EXPECTING RESULTS, UNATTACHED TO THE FRUITS OF ACTIONS.

BHAKTI YOGA

SRI-BHAGAVAN UVACA
MAYY AVESYA MANO YE MAM

NITYA-YUKTA UPASATE


SRADDHAYA PARAYOPETAS
TE ME

YUKTATAMA MATAH

The Blessed Lord said: He whose mind is fixed on My personal form, always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith, is considered by Me to be most perfect.

YE TU DHARMAMRTAM IDAM

YATHOKTAM PARYUPASATE

SRADDADHANA MAT-PARAMA
BHAKTAS

TE ‘TIVA ME PRIYAH

He who follows this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engages himself with faith, making Me the supreme goal, is very, very dear to Me.

Bhakti yoga is based on the doctrine “Love is God and God is Love”. The Deity is the beloved and the devotee is the lover. In Bhakti yoga, everything is but a manifestation of the divine and all else is meaningless, including the Ego. When the Bhakta is blessed by divine grace he feels an undivided union and non-dual consciousness prevails. Bhakti Yoga is regarded as the most direct method to merge in cosmic consciousness.

This path appeals particularly to those of an emotional nature. Through prayer, worship, chanting and ritual one surrenders himself to God or object of faith, channeling and transmuting his emotions into unconditional love and devotion. Continuous meditation of God or object of faith gradually decreases the ego of the practitioner. Suppressed emotions get released and the purification of the inner self takes place. Slowly the practitioner loses the self  identity and becomes one with God or the object of faith, this is the state of self-realization.

SUMMARY- EVEN WHILE UNDERTAKING ACTIONS, OFFERING ACTIONS AND THE FRUITS OF ACTIONS AT THE LORD’S FEET, EVER ENGAGED IN  WORSHIP OF LORD (Thus, karma is combined with Bhakti and thus combined, all karmas/ actions get sanctified).

JNANA YOGA

UDDHARED ATMANATMANAM


NATMANAM AVASADAYET


ATMAIVA HY ATMANO BANDHUR

ATMAIVA RIPUR ATMANAH

A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

Jnana Yoga is a process of learning to discriminate between what is real and what is not, what is eternal and what is not. Through a steady advancement in realization of the distinction between Real and the Unreal, the Eternal and the Temporal, one develops into a Jnani.

This is essentially a path of knowledge and discrimination in regards to the difference between the immortal soul (atman) and the body.

Jnana Yoga is the process of converting intellectual knowledge into practical wisdom. Jnana literally means ‘knowledge’, but in the context of yoga it means the process of meditative awareness which leads to illuminative wisdom.

It is not a method by which we try to find rational answers to eternal questions, rather it is a part of meditation leading to self-enquiry and self-realization.

Before practicing Jnana Yoga, the aspirant needs to have integrated the lessons of the other yogic paths – for without selflessness and love of God, strength of body and mind, the search for self-realization can become mere idle speculation.

SUMMARY-

Tireless actions taken up in many years/ many births, without  attaching to the fruits of actions  removes the demonic ego in a man.

With reduced ego, tireless, whole-hearted worship of the Lord divine in many years/ many births enables the man to further take his mind away from all objects of the world and to steadily focus on the form of his chosen God.

Incessant meditation/whole-hearted devotion on God with Form results secretly in total devotion transforming into total love.

With unwavering mind, least thoughts flowing, mind withdraws itself within and it is here that a devotee is able to meditate on unmanifest Lord to ultimately discover the Lord/ Truth/ SELF within the cave of his own heart, as shruthis say.

We shall dive further into the three path, how each one’s sanskaras/ nature decide on which of the three paths to be chosen, in further posts.

Love.