karma-jnana-bhakti Re: sachibasu@yahoo.com
From the Bhakti List Archives
• December 9, 2002
sachi basuwrote: Please clearly describe the relation with Karma,Gnyan & Bhakti Sachibasu I've been grappling with the same question and have so far formulated the following relationship i.e. <.....karma.....><.....jnana.....><....bhakti....> activity-sacrifice-fruits-relinquishment-devotion I'd appreciate it if more knowledgeable readers could embellish/correct the following: The progression of souls towards moksha could be viewed as points in a cone, (points being jivas) where the lowest life forms start at the base and the more evolved life forms at points closer to the tip. "Karma" governs all action, starting with the position at birth, the direction of subsequent movement and the obstacles along the way. It is beginingless. Being born as a human is a result of having built good karma over the ages through multiple other births. All human beings need to "act". na hi kascit ksanam api jatu tisthaty akarma-krt karyate hy avasah karma sarvah prakrti-jair gunaih No man can, even for a moment, rest without doing work; for everyone is caused to act, in spite of himself, by the Gunas of nature. (BG 3.5) All human beings need sustenance, which stems from "sacrificial" activities. annad bhavanti bhutani parjanyad anna-sambhavah yajnad bhavati parjanyo yajnah karma-samudbhavah From food arise all beings (i.e., their bodies); from rain food is produced; from sacrifice comes rain and sacrifice springs from activity. (BG 3.14) Sacrifice, which gives man fruits, is the intersection of "jnana" and karma, and is personified by Agni: agnimILe purohitaM yajñasya devaM RtvIjam hotAraM ratnadhAtamam I Laud Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister of sacrifice, The hotar, lavishest of wealth (RV 1.1.1) "Faith", the intersection of "bhakti" and jnana, which stems from relinquishing the fruits of actions is exhorted by Sri Krshna as: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah Completely relinquishing all Dharmas, seek Me alone for refuge. I will release you from all sins. Grieve not. (BG 18.66) Bhakti derives from the root Bhaj is devotion which is the means to attain moksha: ye tu sarvani karmani mayi sannyasya mat-parah ananyenaiva yogena mam dhyayanta upasate tesam aham samuddharta mrtyu-samsara-sagarat bhavami na cirat partha mayy avesita-cetasam For, those who dedicate all actions to Me, hold me as their supreme goal, intent on Me, and worship Me meditating on Me with exclusive devotion; Of those whose minds are thus focussed on Me, I become soon their saviour from the ocean of mortal life. (BG 12.6-7) Yoga i.e. "the way" introduces time. Acting in a *given* way over time i.e. karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga is an arduous undertaking, given that one would need to stay completely focussed, exclusively on Sriman Narayana *all* the time. Time- which would include obstacles set forth by karmic residues. Prapatti or a complete relinquishment is an action that is taken at a given point in time (in one fell swoop) and as such is more accessible. Finally, a pasuram of Kurugur Satakopan Nammalvar's Tiruvaimoli that in 4 lines encapsulates the relationship between to act, to know and to love with a directive in a plea of poetic splendor. IthE yaan unnaik koLvathe NYNYaanRum, en mai thOy sOthi maNivaNNa enthaay, eythaa_nin_kazal yaan eytha, NYaanak kai thaa kaalakka kazivu seyyElE. O, my dark effulgent Lord, here is all I ask for at all times - grant me the hands of knowledge, that I may grasp your precious lotus feet. (Tiruvaimoli 2.9.2) BG Translations - Swami Adidevananda, DP Translation - Srirama Bharati ---- My rudimentary understanding is book-based without the privilege of tutelage under a qualified acharya, so may be filled with subjective & conceptual inaccuracies. Thanks Srinivasan Sriram --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------------------------------------------- - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH - To Post a message, send it to: bhakti-list@yahoogroups.com Group Home: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bhakti-list Archives: http://ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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