Dear All,
We continue with the previous sutra.
In the previous post, we have gone through the prerequisite in the path of Karma and Jnana and also saw how a sadhaka can fall in both these path, if he has not understood the purpose clearly.
The sutra says ,"(It [supreme devotion] is again higher than action knowledge and Yoga.)"
We will now move to the path of devotion and see how it is easier and safer than the other 2 paths (according to Narada).
In the path of Karma, the success of actions and the self glorified competency of the person who takes up actions results in inflation of Ego in his heart and he tends to fall in his sadhana.
In the path of Jnana, the knowledge of Upanishads and related treatise itself has the danger of inflating Ego in the sadhaka's heart and he tends to fall.
LESSER CHANCE FOR FALL IN THE PATH OF BHAKTI
If we carefully notice, in both the path - Action and Knowledge, the aspirant actually and deliberately has to take up special efforts for taking up actions or for gaining knowledge.
Both the paths prescribe some pre-qualifications.
In the path of Jnana, the aspirant has to be bestowed with 4 qualifications - Viveka, Vairagya, Shad Sampat and Mumukshatva and has to approach a qualified Guru and take initiation and then practice Guru's instructions.
In the path of Bhakti, however, the Bhakta has to renounce all efforts, all actions, all his individual sense and has to just immerse in God's love.
There is no pre-qualification in this path, there is no education or knowledge required in this path.
In fact this path connects to both the other path.
Only after undertaking actions, the ego level comes down a bit and then the mind settles for focussing on Lord.
Thereafter, the person who takes up action is first a devotee. He must learn to offer all his actions as a worship of his Lord and must perform actions without expecting / conceding about the results of his actions.
BHAKTI CULMINATES IN JNANA
And about the path of Knowledge, the author can share with authenticity through his own personal experience in the last 40 years of Sadhana as to how important it is to be a Bhakta first, a devotee first, to be able to succeed in the path of Jnana.
From 1976 to 2010 in this birth and may be for several births earlier about which he cannot know, the author was a devotee of Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
His expression of devotion was through the medium of Bhajans.
Without a prescribed way of learning music, with absolutely no knowledge of technicalities of Music (even now, he has no knowledge of Music), Divine Lord out of His grace, made him sing from his childhood.
And, when the Lord ultimately commanded from within to take up the path of Jnana in 2010, it was only the devotion, the heart that had melted in devotion, the culmination of all the interpretations which came from within on all the Bhajans taught by him (rather shared by him and learnt by him together with other devotees) was instrumental in taking him to a level where, Knowledge sinked in as and when the Viveka Chudamanis / the Brahma Sutras and the Upanishads and the Moksha Gitas, the main treatise in the path of Knowledge were read and absorbed!!
It is only a heart filled with Love for God which is conducive to succeed in Jnana.
How?
- At the peak of devotee's Love for God, the God and the devotee have both almost vanished and only LOVE glows in the heart. (The above truth has been dealt in great details in the theme "SURRENDER" in this blog.)
- Once a devotee exists as Love, the duality between him and the God is gone already.
- The Bhakta has already turned from seeing God outside ( in form) to experiencing God within ( as Love).
- So, without knowing what is Atman and what is Brahman, he is already experiencing Atman (SELF) as LOVE.
- Here, whether the devotee takes up the path of Jnana or just exists as Love, in both situations, he has / he is able to transcend his individual ego, expand his heart either as Love or upon absorbing the upanishad essence that God is that all pervading Brahman and you are that (Tat Twam Asi).
- When the author was introduced to all vedanta treatise by Sai's grace, the heart had melted and he was existing as Love already. So,when he was exposed to the essential truth which is the essence of all upanishads, all treatise of Jnana -
PURUSHAM EVA IDAGM SARVAM (All is that Purusha, THAT pure consciousness)
or
SATHYAM JNANAM ANANTAM BRAHMAN (Brahman is pure existence, pure knowledge and infinite)
or
ISAVASYAM IDAM SARVAM (GOD AS PURE CONSCIOUSNESS, PERVADES THE ENTIRE CREATION AND BEYOND),
All these srutis aligned so easily with the state of the sadhaka and the only expression which came from within was " AHO AHO, the expression of Janaka in Ashtavakra Gita on realizing God within.
The Sadhaka realized- " Oh, what ever I have been experiencing or rather existing as---- LOVE--- is nothing but the God expressed in all treatise in the path of Jnana as that part of the God or the Pure consciousness or the Purusha or the Brahman, which exists within me as Atman/ Individual consciousness.
The Hither to existence as Love, on finding its true essence, was filled with BLISS and discovered that the same ananda is described in the Jnana path as SAICHITANANDA!!!
Sai's simple declaration which is the most profound truth expressed in all 108+ upanishads came true and the author realized that:-
LOVE
(which he existed as, in and at the culmination of his devotion
IS
(The existence as Love was discovered as Pure existence or SATH or IS)
GOD
(The pure existence IS got concluded as GOD or SELF or ATMAN or BRAHMAN, The true Identity of SAI/ Any incarnation- The supreme purusha)
Swami called on the Humanity
LOVE IS GOD, LIVE IN LOVE
Each and every told and untold truth in this one line from SAI which is a Maha vakya by itself like the mama vakya Aham Brahmasmi or Tat twam asi or Pragnanam Brahma or Sarvam Khalvidam Brhama , got revealed and unveiled in its fullest yet subtlest level upon living / existing as the above Maha vakya itself!!!!
So, to conclude, though not absolutely necessary, still, a heart filled and expanded in Love in the path of devotion, is most conducive to succeed in the path of Knowledge.
SUMMARY
Narada has explained in this sutra that Bhakti is greater than Karma and Jnana and even yoga (Raja yoga).
Author has substantiated this sutra with his own life example.
However, the sutra is not to be taken to undermine the aptitude of those who are wholly in the path of action or those who are able to focus on the unmanifest God in the path of Knowledge.
Previous Sanskaras brought from previous birth and also given by parents in this birth plays a great role in taking an aspirant to a particular path.
There are these beings who cannot sit and meditate on the unmanifest God or shed tears in praise of God in form. They are more keen on serving the society, undertaking all headships to serve the society and for them, Karma is the path.
There are these beings who are men of heart, emotional by nature and easily able to get immersed in praying to their chosen God. Bhakti is their path.
And, there are these beings who prefer head to heart, who seek to examine and enquire about the CAUSE for each EFFECT and can thus get deeper into the CAUSE for this CREATION, THE FIRST CAUSE which was not the EFFECT of any previous CAUSE and take up SELF ENQUIRY. For these men of HEAD (INTELLECT), Jnana is the path defined.
BY WHICHEVER PATH CHOSEN, BY WHICHEVER JOURNEY UNDERTAKEN IN SPIRITUAL PATH, THE DESTINATION (final and common) IS TO REALIZE GOD AND THIS PURPOSE MUST BE CLEAR BY A KARMA / BHAKTI / JNANA / RAJA YOGI!!
LOVE.
Bhakti must be preceded by the knowledge that the object
of one’s devotion and worship is the Lord, who is Omnipotent, Omniscient,
all-merciful, who possesses Infinite auspicious qualities, who is the support
and substratum of all etc. 
