Relation between Jñāna and Bhakti

Path of knowledge is the ultimate path according to Śaṅkara. That path is made by doing the self enquiry (ātma vicāra). Lord Kṛṣṇa in Gīta asks us to blend Karma and Bhakti. Karma can take the meaning of any word like fate, rites, rituals or any activity. Bhakti means ‘action prostrated by duty’. We are expected to do right activity as a human being. Lord krisna uses the word ‘Karma’ in his unique philosophy of ‘Niṣkāma Karma’. Śaṅkara also upholds the very same idea in his Bhajagovinda. Union with virtuous people helps to promote Bhakti and it helps to gain ultimate liberation. It makes one free from passion and desireless action will lead to clarity of vision.

Bhakti once aroused will never leave the devotee. It proves contacts with sages. With sages and purity of mind highest spiritual attachement leads to Advaitic experience. This great experience requires some pre-requesites which will depend on Divine Grace–he upholds in ‘Vivekacudāmaṇi’. We get three rare things by Divine Grace. They are ‘human bits’, a burning longing for liberation and the ‘protected’ saint. When Bhakti got intensified, the Divine Grace starts flowing through us. Then the Divine consciousness descends on us and man ascends to divinity. Śaṅkara repeats that ‘Ātma’, ‘realisation of advaidic experience ‘and ‘liberation’ are all synonyms. He drives home the point that spiritual development leading to liberation is possible with Bhakti.

Śaṅkara was the great propagator and exponent of Advaita philosophy. But he advises people to continue in the path of Bhakti and he himself was a Bhakta. Bhakti and supreme advaitic state are found everywhere in Śaṅkara’s work, Śivanandalahari, Soundaryalahari and Bhajagovindam, Vivekacudāmaṇi etc. Thus he shows integrated triple path of ‘Bhakti’ Niṣkāmakarma and jñāna to mukti (liberation). Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin clearly points out these aspects.

Śivanandalahari is a stotra ascribed to Śaṅkarācārya by tradition. The hymns have been written in a beautiful form and content with double meaning expressing the feelings of the Lord to his maiden. On the other hand, the relationship between God and the devotee is expressed with deep devotion. The Śivanandalahari is a hymn which establishes the greatness of Śiva by using stories and legends found in the Puranic literature. Śiva is projected as the supreme God, the saviour of souls and giver of good things. Bhakti described by Śrī Śaṅkarācārya in this hymn is specific with an emphasise on spiritual discipline. It involves the orientation of mind in its thinking, feeling and willingness towards God constantly making the mind to get absorbed itself in God. All categories of the mind like citta, buddhi, manas, drsti and hrdaya which are considered as reflective organs of the mind are to be diverted towards God as their goal. The devotees has to concentrate his mind on God alone, this is compared to the longing of the swan for the tank, cakravāka bird for the sun, and cātaka bird for the rain cloud.^[1]

Saundaryalahari is a poetical treatise on the beauty of the Goddess Uma. There is a legend which says, while coming down from Kailāsa along with Liṅgas Śaṅkara was stopped by Nandikeśvara, the guardian of Kailāsa who snatched away a part of the manuscript. Śrī Śaṅkara was left with the first 43 verses. He then later completed the hymn by adding the rest of the 59 verses. The first 41 verses consists of the subtle form of the goddess and meditative procedure and the way of worship of Divine Mother. The next 58 verses contains a description of her physical beauty from head to foot. The last verse portrays the humility of Ācārya.

The Bhajagovindam is a hymn composed by Śaṅkara in praise of Govinda, the God Viṣṇu. All the 31 verses of the Bhajagovindam start with the word Bhajagovindam. The main theme of the hymn is to teach the disciples the true knowledge of Brahman, which gives liberation. The disciples are classified into two kinds: pure and impure. It is said that there is no use in disputation, therefore disputes among the followers of different scholars are to be avoided or discouraged. Advaita Vedanta gives importance to non-duality and the teachings of Bhajagovindam makes one to become perfect and ultimately leads into mokṣa. It is a work intended to the disciples to instruct them in the fundamentals of Vedanta. Actually Bhajagovindam asks people to worship Govinda, renouncing all karmas. Śaṅkarācārya interprets Govinda as the highest reality^[2].

Śaṅkara’s Dakṣina-mūrti-stotra contains 10 hymns addressed to Lord Śiva. There should not be any distinction between the teacher and the taught, as per the spirit of Advaita (non-duality). The teacher is considered as God and pupils as self. The Dakṣina Murti is the Lord Śiva who is represented as a world teacher with his youthful face teaching the disciples about the unity of the individual self and Supreme Self.^[3]

The stotra carries the following Advaita principles blended with the God head.

-) To Dakṣina Mūrti, the Māya is like a dream and He sees the universe as a city reflected in the mirror, when He rises in the morning, He Himself a teacher.

-) Dakṣina Mūrti through his will, created the universe of name and form.

-) The world seems to be different from Supreme Self but not so, He gives Mokṣa for those who realises that, that is there in the world is there in the individual self; tat tvam asi.

-) The knowledge of Supreme Self pass through every individual and universe like the light rays of a lamp when covered by a pot with many holes.

-) People, who consider the body, the senses and ego as the self are blind, deluded in māya; those who come out of this illusion attain mokṣa.

-) One who comes out breaking the power of māya and controls sense organs will shine like a sun or moon after eclipse.

-) The Lord with his blessing hand appears to the disciple as their own self in all states.

-) People who are deluded by māya witnesses the universe with its manifold difference like a man who dreams in sleeping and waking states.

-) The Supreme Lord encompasses the whole universe and is all pervading nothing exists out of Him.

-) By hearing, reflecting and meditating the Supreme Self can be realised as the self in all.

Dakṣina Mūrti stotra tries to inculcate in man a devotion to the Lord by keeping in mind the percepts of the great mahāvākyas of the Upaniṣads like tat tvam asi. Therefore it may be pointed out that Dakṣina Mūrti stotra does not differ from the main teachings of Vedanta, but is a hymn of faith and devotion with reference to the oneness of Ātman and Brahman.^[4]

In this context it is notable that Vivekacudāmaṇi gives much inspiration to the Advaitic tradition for the propagation of the theology of Śaṅkarācārya through a form of teacher-student (Guru-śiṣya) relationship. The fundamentals of Advaita Vedanta are presented in a dialogue form between teacher and a student. It teaches how to attain moksa through discrimination between eternal and non-eternal. This work lays down remarkable pre-requisites to attain the knowledge of Brahman on the part of the student and teacher. The student should posses Jijñāsā (desire), adhikāra (competence), vinaya (discipline) and vairāgya (unattachment). The teacher must be a Sadguru (perfect teacher) and bestow anugraha (compassion) upon the disciple.^[5] Though Nirguna Brahma is the ultimate truth, Vivekacudāmaṇi describes Saguna Brahma also. This implies at the vyavahārika satya (empirical level) the role of the saguna Brahma cannot be denied. Vivekacudāmaṇi does not mention any essential forms of the worship of a personal God. Bhakti (devotion) is also counted as the prominent factor along with others to attain liberation. Śaṅkara defines bhakti as meditating on the essential nature of the soul.

Śaṅkara visited many pilgrim centres and founded many temples. Several stotras are attributed to him. According to him Gods and Goddesses were symbol of the all pervading innermost soul. He believed that faith in gods and goddesses will lead one to spirituality. He was a devotee of Madhura Mīnākṣī. He says: I remain everbowing to that (goddess) Mīnākṣī a manifestation of the sacred knowledge (Śrīvidyā), who always remains on the left side of Lord Śiva and is shining in the sacred syllable of Him, residing in the small circle in the middle of the sacred circle or Śrī Cakra, the queen gracing the Court of the Lord (Sundareśa) and is also the mother of the six faced one or Ṣaṇmukha and of remover of obstacles and also who enchants the world.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

T.M.P. Mahadevan, The Hymns of Śaṅkara, Delhi: Motilal Banarasidas, 2002, P.79

[2]:

George Victor, Life and Teachings of Adi Sankaracharya, p. 110.

[3]:

Ibid., pp.107-108.

[4]:

Ibid.,

[5]:

George Victor, Life and Teachings of Adi Sankaracharya, p. 99.