Swami writes,
Brahman or Jnana is the drug for the
un-realization of the falsely realized, the removal of the fog of
misunderstanding or Ajnana. It will burn off the dust that hides the Truth.
Who among men are in urgent need of medical
treatment? Those who are badly ill, is it not?
So too, those who are groping in Ajnana are
first entitled to the teaching and the training leading to the acquisition of
Jnana.
Everyone, whatever the status, class or sex,
can win that Jnana. If it is stated that women are not entitled to it, why is
it mentioned that Siva taught Vedanta to Parvathi? Or how did Kapilacharya, a
great Yogi, teach the Sankhya system to his mother, Devahoothi? Or how did
Yajnavalkya the great Rishi impart the essential principles of Vedantic
philosophy to his wife, Maithreyi, as mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad? The Upanishad cannot be false. The Scriptures wherein these facts
are mentioned speak only Truth.
So, the chief qualification for the path
leading to Jnana is only Sadhana, the Tapas one is enhgaged in, not the
irrelevant consideration of caste, creed or sex. Leaving all other matters
aside, one should concentrate on that Sadhana and that Tapas.
"Jnana is the panacea for all ills,
troubles and travails". This is how the Vedas describe it.
To acquire this Jnana, there are many paths,
and the chiefest of them is the path of Bhakthi, the Path adopted by Vasishta,
Narada, Vyasa, Gouranga and other great persons.
Krishna, who is the Personification of Prema,
and who is saturated with the quality of Mercy, declared in the Gita: "I
am known by means of Bhakthi", "Bhakthyaa Maam Abhijaanaathi".
Why was this declaration made? Because in the
path of Bhakti there are no hurdles. Young and old, high and low, man and
woman, all are entitled to tread it.
What the oil is to the flame in the lamp,
Bhakthi is to the Flame of Jnana. The Heavenly Tree of
the Joy of Jnana thrives on the refreshing waters of Bhakthi. Understand
this well.
(Author’s note - Volumes and
volumes have been spoken and written by the author on the subject - How Bhakti
fructifies into Jnana, how Jnana is the final attainment of Bhakti.
Only after one’s focus, one’s
undivided attention on his chosen God is achieved through Bhakti, it becomes
easy for that bhakta to then focus on SELF / BRAHMAN, which is beyond any name
and form.
Why it is said that Bhakti
culminates in Jnana??
After all what is liberation
or Self-realization?? It is not a new heavenly attainment. In Vedanta, Self-realization
is Self-discovery, the realization that one is always and has always been Gold,
the shining atman, once the dirt covering the Gold, the ego, is removed.
And, what is the ultimate
attainment in Devotion? The Bhakta loses his self-identity and merges with
Lord, in LOVE.
Does this merger not take the
Sadhaka / the Bhakta, directly towards SELF-REALIZATION in shortest time?
Any Jnani who has, in this
contemporary world, attained Self-Realization, must be a Bhakta first, either
in the same birth in which he attained jnana or in some other birth- This is
not given in any treatise, but the author can vouch for this from his own
subjective experience, 100%.
Swami kept him in the path of
devotion for 35 years, before taking him to the path of Jnana and thereafter,
the journey was shortened to 6 years and the pinnacle, the peak journey was in
fact only 6 months!!!)
Love.
