Sunday, April 3, 2016

JNANI AND BHAKTHA



                                                                


Jnani and Bhaktha are the two words that are very frequently used in spirituality and Vedanta. Can jnani be a Bhakta and Bhaktha be a Jnani? Jnani concentrate on the supreme being through meditation and tapas where as the Bhakta loses himself in his extreme love for God in some form or other! Jnani is after the formless Absolute that has no beginning, middle or end. On the other hand the Bhaktha propitiates  God with attributes. One is a worshipper of ‘Nirguna Brahman’ while the other is a lover of ‘ saguna Brahman” There is a kind of ego or ‘ahankara’ in the Jnani. But the Bhaktha is docile and submits himself totally to the will of the Supreme Being!  Sri Rama Krishna offers a beautiful example ! In the janana, where Muslim women are present, the husband cannot enter without permission! But children have a free access to the Janana. The Jnani is like the husband while the Bhaktha is similar to the child that is welcome to the mother! Children are innocent and god like!
         The distinction between the Jnani and the Bhakta  can be explained by the two’ nyayas’ called “markata kisora nyaya and “ “marjara kisora nyaya”. The young one of the monkey clings to its mother. and  has to depend on its own strength. The mother is least concerned about it. If the young one loses its hold it falls down and is injured. In other words the Jnani has to believe in his own strength of meditation and the path he has taken to realize the Absolute. But on the other hand, the kitten is helpless and stays where it is kept. There is no risk for the kitten since the mother cat, gently catches it in its teeth and places it in different places.  The Jnani has to depend upon his own effort to achieve salvation. The Bhakta throws all responsibility on God by his selfless love for the Supreme Being!  In true Bhakti there is total and utter surrender to the will of God.
           The Jnani says proudly that he is God himself, the spotless atman! The Bhakta says that every   thing in the universe is His glory. Realization of God can happen when you reach an attitude ‘ All this am I ‘ or ‘ All this art Thou” or “ Thou art the Master and I am the servant”. Devotees of Siva tend to be Jnanis and we see in them the belief that Brahman is real and the world an illusion---“ Brahma satyam Jagan mithya”. The devotees of Vishnu tend to be ardent Bhaktas with faith. To the Jnani the whole world is a dream. He lives in his own Self. The Bhaktha’s love for God moves in different directions.  In his ecstasy or madness for his God, the Bhaktha laughs, weeps, sings and dances! He wants to merge himself in God’s presence  and in that ocean of bliss! “According to the puranas”, says Sri Ramakrishna,  “the devotee is separate from God. Man is one entity and He is another.”  While the body is the vessel,   the mind, intellect and  the ego are similar to water in it and the Brahman is the Sun who is reflected in the water! But to the Vedanti  or Jnani  Brahman alone is the reality and everything else is Maya or illusion. It is like the stick of “ I “ that separates the water into two divisions. When the stick is removed   there is one undivided sheet of water!
            Jnanis need not remain aloof. They can do immense good to humanity by treading the path of Bhakthi. Narada and other sages are examples of Jnanis who did  good to the world though they were realized souls. Says Sri Ramakrishna, “ Jnani is like a man and Bhaktha is like a woman. Knowledge has entry only up to the drawing room of God, but Love can enter His inner apartments.” Sri  Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example of the attitude of the Jnani and the Bhaktha. While passing through a jungle, a jnani and a Bhaktha happened to see a tiger! In his usual way, the Jnani said that they need not be afraid of it and flee from it. The Almighty God will definitely save them. The Bhaktha disagreed with the Jnani and said they should run away. He questioned why they  should  trouble the Lord when they could  achieve a thing by their own effort!

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