A devotee should be wise (or) Bhakti Yogi should be a Gnani . Is it true?
Yes, it is true. A Bhakti Yogi should be a Gnani (or) a devotee should be wise.
H.H.Bhanu Swami Maharaj of ISKCON, Chennai is an expert in explaining every big concept in the form of brief formula/ Capsule like statements. He recently said beautifully in a lecture:
“Bhakti without gnana is just a sentiment.”
Just wow!
(THREE CATEGORIES OF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE (BHAKTI) – READ HERE!)
In today’s post, Srila Prabhupada explains the words of Sri Rupa Gosvami with similar concept of why a Bhakti Yogi should be a Gnani (or) a devotee should be wise. Read that below:
Without being elevated to the position of a jnani, or wise man, one cannot
stick to the principle of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The less intelligent or those whose intelligence has been taken away by the spell of maya are attached to different demigods on account of the influence of the modes of nature.
The wise man is he who has thoroughly understood that he is spirit soul and not simply a body. Because he realizes that he is spirit and Krsna is
the supreme spirit, he knows that his intimate relationship should be with
Krsna, not with this body.
The distressed and the man in want of money are in the material concept of life, because distress and need of money are both in relationship with this body.
One who is inquisitive may be a little above the distressed and the man in need of money, but still he is on the material platform.
But a wise man who seeks Krsna knows perfectly well that he is spirit
soul, or Brahman, and that Krsna is the supreme spirit soul, or Parabrahman. He knows that the spirit soul, being subordinate and finite, should always dovetail himself with the infinite and supreme soul, Krsna.
That is the relationship of the wise man with Krsna.
It can be concluded that a person who is freed from the bodily concept of
life is an eligible candidate for pure devotional service.
It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita that after Brahman realization, when one is freed from material anxieties and can see every living entity on an equal level, he is eligible to enter into devotional service.
(This conforms that a devotee should be wise.)
(Why Krishna is attracted by Pure Devotional service only? READ HERE!)
THREE TYPES OF HAPPINESS – WHICH IS ETERNAL?
As stated before, there are three kinds of happiness–material, spiritual and
devotional.
Devotional service and the happiness due to its execution are not possible as long as one is materially affected. If someone has desire for material enjoyment or for becoming one with the Supreme, these are both
considered material concepts. Because the impersonalists cannot appreciate the spiritual happiness of association and the exchange of loving affairs with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, their ultimate goal is to become one with the Lord. This concept is simply an extension of the material idea.
In the material world, everyone is trying to be the topmost head man among all his fellow men or neighbors. Either communally, socially or nationally, everyone is competing to be greater than all others, in the material concept of life. This greatness can be extended to the unlimited, so that one actually wants to become one with the greatest of all, the Supreme Lord. This is also a material concept, although maybe a little more advanced.
However, the perfect spiritual concept of life is complete knowledge of one’s constitutional position, in which one knows enough to dovetail himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. (So, a devotee should be wise)
(Why the Only way to get Real Happiness is Krishna Consciousness? READ HERE!)
WHY BECOMING ONE WITH THE LORD IS IMPOSSIBLE?
One must know that he is finite and that the Lord is infinite. Thus it is not possible to actually become one with the Lord even if one aspires for this. It is simply not possible.
Therefore, anyone who has any desire or aspiration for satisfying his senses by becoming more and more important, either in the material sense or in the spiritual sense, cannot actually relish the really sweet taste of devotional service.
Srila Rupa Gosvami has therefore compared possessing these bhukti (material) and mukti (liberation) desires with being influenced by the black art of a witch: in both cases one is in trouble.
Bhukti means material enjoyment, and mukti means to become freed from material anxiety and to become one with the Lord. These desires are compared to being haunted by ghosts and witches, because while these aspirations for material enjoyment or spiritual oneness with the Supreme remain, no one can relish the actual transcendental taste of devotional service.
(Should the devotees aim to mingle one with Krishna? READ HERE!)
WHY A PURE DEVOTEE NEVER CARES FOR LIBERATION (MUKTI)?
A pure devotee never cares for liberation. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu prayed to Krsna, “My dear son of Nanda, I do not want any material happiness in the shape of many followers, nor immense opulence in wealth, nor any beautiful wife, nor do I want cessation from material existence. I may take birth many times, one after another, but what I pray from You is that my devotion unto You may always remain unflinching.”
The attention of a pure devotee is so much attracted to glorification of the
Lord’s pastimes, name, qualities, forms, etc., that the devotee does not care
for mukti.
Sri Bilvamangala Thakura has said, “If I am engaged in devotional service unto You, my dear Lord, then very easily can I perceive Your presence everywhere. And as far as liberation is concerned, I think liberation stands at my door with folded hands, waiting to serve me.”
To pure devotees, therefore, liberation and spiritual emancipation are not very important things.
(Why the Only way to get Real Happiness is Krishna Consciousness? READ HERE!)
In this connection, in the Third Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Chapter Twentyfive, verse 36, Kapiladeva has advised His mother, Devahuti, as follows:
“My dear mother, My pure devotees are charmed by seeing My different forms, the beauty of My face, the structure of My body so enchanting. My laughing, My pastimes and My glance appear to them so beautiful that their minds are always absorbed in thoughts of Me and their lives are dedicated fully unto Me. Although such people do not desire any kind of liberation or any kind of material happiness, still I give them a place among My associates in the supreme abode.”
This evidence from Srimad-Bhagavatam gives assurance to the pure devotee of being elevated to association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srila Rupa Gosvami remarks in this connection that one who is actually attracted by the beauty of the lotus feet of Sri Krsna or His service, and whose heart, by such attraction, is always full with transcendental bliss, will naturally never aspire after the liberation which is so valuable to the impersonalists.
(MUKTI or MOKSHA or DEVOTIONAL SERVICE – WHAT IS THE TARGET OF DEVOTEES? READ HERE!)
A similar passage is there in the Third Canto, Fourth Chapter, verse 15,
of the same book, wherein Uddhava addresses Lord Krsna and says, “My dear Lord, for persons who are engaged in Your transcendental loving service there is nothing worth obtaining from religiousness, economic development, sense gratification or liberation–although happiness from these different sources can be very easily had by them. In spite of such facilities, my dear Lord, I do not aspire to achieve any such results. My only prayer is that I may have unflinching faith and devotion unto Your lotus feet.”
A similar passage appears in the Third Canto, Twenty-fifth Chapter, verse 34, wherein Kapiladeva instructs His mother and says, “My dear mother, devotees whose hearts are always filled in the service of My lotus feet and who are prepared to do anything for My satisfaction, especially those fortunate devotees who assemble together to understand My qualities, pastimes and form and thus glorify Me congregationally and derive transcendental pleasure therefrom, never desire to become one with Me. And what to speak of becoming one with Me, if they are offered a post like Mine in My abode, or opulence like Mine, or even personal association with Me with similar bodily features, they refuse to accept, because they are satisfied simply by being engaged in My devotional service.”
In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Fourth Canto, Ninth Chapter, verse 10, King Dhruva says, “My dear Lord, the transcendental pleasure derived by meditation upon Your lotus feet, which is enjoyed by the pure devotees, cannot be approached by the transcendental pleasure derived by the impersonalists through self-realization. So how can the fruitive workers, who at most can aspire to promotion to the higher heavenly planets, understand You, and how can they be described as enjoying a happiness similar to the devotees’ happiness?”
Hope you are now clear about why a devotee should be wise.
(FIVE TYPES OF MUKTI (LIBERATION) AND CHOICE OF DEVOTEES! READ HERE!)