[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]
DAILY READINGS
Day 1006
In Bhakti Yoga there is love – love of God. In Jnana Yoga, there is love also, love of the Self [universal soul]. But these are only a play of words – both of them. [Swamiji chuckles] Because Sri Krishna Bhagawan says in the Bhagavad Gita, 'I am seated in the heart of my devotee'. I am seated in the?... heart. And if he is seated in the heart and he says that 'I am the seed of the whole Universe, and the jnani on the other side says, 'I am worshipping the Self [Universal soul or Atman],' - the Self of everything - is it not the same thing? The bhakta says that God is seated in my heart – he is my life – he is my Mother, he is my Father, he is everything. The jnani says, 'the Self is everything – he is the Self of myself.' Where he says, 'Self of myself,' 'myself means this body, this mind and this intellect. The Self [capital 's'] of it, is the Soul - God.
And whilst the bhakta thinks that God is only his self and is everything to him, on realising that self he realises that just like the base material of one clay pot is clay, then the base of all clay pots must be clay. He realises that. The only thing (difference) with the jnani, he tries to from the beginning to have this One that is God, the Self of all selves. And everything that exists is apparent – it only appears to be something else but in reality it is the Self.
The bhakta also says the same thing. He says, 'God is seated in my heart. I am here as his servant, I am a devotee'. What am I?...a devotee. And whatever I do, I do it for that God, that Lord, the Self of myself. It is also written in the scriptures that the highest bhakti and the highest jnana are synonymous – they are one and the same thing. But both are ignorant. The bhakta is ignorant, the jnani is also ignorant. Why are they taking the path? What is the use of taking the path? Because they are ignorant. Why do you go to school? Because you are ignorant. Why will a jnani say, 'cover everything up with God?' Cover what with God? How can you cover everything with God, when everything is already God?
'Isavasyam idagung sarvam, yat kin cha jagatyam jagat.' [Meaning: 'whatsoever moves on the earth should be covered by the Lord' - Isa Upanishad, Chapter 1, verse 1] That's only an instruction. You are still ignorant. With what must I cover now? I must cover this up with what? With God? With the Self? Try it then – try it. Cover all this up with God. You must know God to take God and cover other things. But how can you do that? How can you cover the world with God? You can't do it. Ignorance is there. The jnani has ignorance so the bhakta also has ignorance. To clear this ignorance, there is a means given – a method is given. And the method is this. 'Isavasyam idagung sarvam.' All this that you see, cover it with God. What must you do? Cover it with God.
It is rightfully said in the Kena Upanishad, that 'What you can see, what you can observe, what you can touch, is finite. So take that finite-ness away and say, 'No, in reality, this is infinite.' In reality this is omnipresent. In reality. You must see the infinite thing. If you didn't see the infinite thing, how can you perceive a finite thing? On the other hand if you didn't see the finite thing, how can you see the infinite thing? So this is a method that the first verse of the Isha Upanishad gives you a method, to?...that is the big question. Not to the man who already has jnana but who is trying to get that jnana. Do you get the subtlety of that? So there's ignorance there too. In a bhakta, too, it's also ignorance – why ignorance? He says, 'I am a devotee and I want to reach that to which I am devoted'. But at the time he realises That, he will find that he is not different from that God himself.
On the other hand you find that the jnani has got love. The bhakta also has love. The jnani, by which I mean the student, also has ignorance. The bhakta, too, has ignorance. And when love and knowledge get together, what does love do? It intensifies the search. What does love do?...intensifies the search. Intensifies the thirst. And when this occurs, what happens? You seek knowledge. Without love there is no knowledge. Without knowledge, there can never be love.
In my mind love is like the great ocean and knowledge is like a ship that sails across the man-made world and reaches eternity. So both are necessary. In the case of the jnani, he has realised that all this that I see is perishable. What is it? All that which I touch, feel, see – is perishable because it's only limited – a ray of light coming out of my senses. But that light itself, must not be perishable. So I want to get hold of that light - that is not perishable. Who knows this? The jnani. And the bhakta on the other hand he has also realised one thing. That all that I get, hold and see, is perishable. Because my father died, my great grandfather died, their children's children died and one day I too shall die. So what to hold on to? That which is not perishable – what? Ishwara [or Ishvara], God. Both realise the same thing. So both want to cling on to something which is, leave the word, 'infinite,' leave the word, 'imperishable,' – that which is immortal. That is deathless. That is painless. That is always bliss. So the bhakta and the jnani are only travelling by different paths – the goals are aiming for the same result. Hari Om Tat Sat.
1) Care should be taken by the reader to understand and take Swamiji's words in these postings, in context. Every teaching or instruction that he gave was specific to the people who were with Swamiji at the time.
2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in red in the posting for further explanation or links.
There are currently available, 150 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.
For more about the Holy Trinity, and also the founding Swamis of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, please mouse over their names below:
Sri Ramakrishna Sri Sarada Devi Swami Vivekananda
Swami Nischalananda Swami Shivapadananda
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - read online
Reference websites - please mouse over the name and click to connect:
Ramakrishna Math and Mission Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa Ramakrishna Dham
