All World
Gayatri Pariwar

Bhakti for gains too has value

The Lord has mentioned three categories of bhaktas: (i) one who has desire for some worldly gains, (ii) one who is desireless, but whose bhakti is imperfect and lop-sided, and (iii) Jnani, or the man of wisdom, whose bhakti is perfect. The second type consists of three sub-types: (i) one who is restless and impatient for God's grace, (ii) the seeker of knowledge, (iii) the seeker of the well-being of all. These are different branches of the tree of bhakti.

The first kind of bhakta prays for some gains. I would not despise such bhakti, considering it inferior. Many people take to social service to earn name and fame. What is wrong in it? Give them honour unreservedly; there is no harm in it. That honour would eventually settle them in social service. They would begin to find joy in their work. Why, after all, does a man desire recognition and honour? It is because he is thereby convinced about the utility and excellence of his work. One who has no inner yardstick to judge the worth of his service depends on such external yardsticks. When a mother pats her child, the child gets enthused to do more work for her. This is also true for this type of bhakti. Such bhakta would straightway go to the Lord and ask him to give what he wants. To make demands on God for everything is no ordinary thing; it is something rare. Because of ignorance, he does not seek what he ideally should; but even then his bhakti is not to be dismissed out of hand.

Women take a number of vows with an idea of accumulating merit so that they can have God's grace after death. This may be a silly idea, but they do undergo hardships willingly for that purpose. Great men are born in families with such tradition of piety and devotion. Swami Ramtirtha was a descendent of Tulsidas, the great scholar and poet. He was well- versed in the Persian language, but had no knowledge of Sanskrit. Someone commented, "You are a descendent of Tulsidas, how is it that you do not know Sanskrit?" This comment went straight to Ramtirtha's heart. Reminder of ancestry had a powerful effect. It impelled Ramtirtha to take up the study of Sanskrit. We should not, therefore, make fun of the women's ways of bhakti. The children born in families where tradition of bhakti is built up have a rare brilliance. That is why the Lord says, "Even if my bhakta is desirous of some gains, I shall make his faith steadfast. I shall not create confusion in his mind. If he earnestly prays for the cure of his disease, I shall cure it, supporting his will to health. Whatever may bring him to Me, I shall lovingly encourage him." When the child prince Dhruva [1] was pushed aside from his father's lap by his step-mother, his mother asked him to seek from the Lord a place from which nobody could push him aside. Dhruva started penance in all earnestness. Pleased with his penance, the Lord granted him a permanent abode from which he could never be dislodged. The mind may not be desireless; so what? To whom you approach, to whom you pray is important. It is important to have inclination to beseech the Lord for something rather than prostrating before the world.

Whatever be the ground, do enter the temple of bhakti. Your entry into it will mark a new beginning. Even if the desires are initially there, they will eventually fade away. In khadi exhibitions the organizers urge people, "Please come and just have a look at the fine specimens of khadi available now." People visit the exhibition, get impressed and start thinking about wearing khadi. Similar is the case with bhakti. Once you enter the temple of bhakti, you will discover its power and beauty for yourself.

When Dharmaraj [2] reached the gate of heaven, there was only a dog with him. All of his brothers - Bheema, Arjuna etc. - had fallen by the wayside. Dharmaraj was told at the entrance, "You are welcome; but not the dog." Dharmaraj said, "If my dog is not allowed to enter, I too will not enter."  Even a despised creature like a dog is superior to those who have inflated egos, if it is faithful and serves with total devotion. It turned out that the dog was superior even to Bheema and Arjuna. Even an insect that moves towards God is greater than the worthies who have not turned towards Him. In the Shiva temples, there are images of Nandi, the bull. Everybody bows before the Nandi also. It is not an ordinary bull; it is the Lord's bull which is sitting in front of Him. Hence it is superior to the most intelligent amongst men. Even an idiot with God in his heart deserves respect and adoration from the whole world.

Once I was travelling by a train. When it was passing over a bridge across the river Yamuna, a passenger, visibly charged with emotions, threw a coin in the river. A rationalist sitting nearby commented, "The country is poor; still these people waste money in this way ". I said, "You have not understood the motivation of that man. Look at the feelings with which he threw that coin. Are they not worth even a farthing? We may grant that the coin could have been utilized for a better purpose. But this devout man felt that God's compassion itself was flowing in the form of the river and threw the coin as a mark of sacrifice. Has this feeling any place in your economics? Emotions welled up in that man's heart at the sight of a river in the country. If you could appreciate this sentiment, I would rate you as a true lover of the country." What, after all, does patriotism mean? Does it have to do with material betterment only?  In fact, it is the height of patriotism to feel impelled to offer one's entire wealth to a great river in the country. What we call money or wealth - the pieces of yellow and white metal and the so-called precious stones produced from the secretions of the insects - is, in fact, only worthy of being offered to the river. Consider all that wealth as mere dust before the feet of the Lord. You may ask, 'What is the relation between the river and the Lord's feet?’ Has God a place in your scheme of things? For you, river-water is nothing but the combination of oxygen and hydrogen; the sun is nothing but a bigger-sized gas burner. You find nothing worthy of reverence therein! Should one then bow only before the bread and butter - things of narrow economic utility? But what is bread after all? It is nothing but a sort of white clay. Why do you then relish it so much? If divine presence is not felt in the rising sun or in a flowing river, where else could it be felt? The poet Wordsworth laments: I used to dance at the sight of a rainbow. My heart used to overflow with joy at that sight. Why does this not happen now?  Have I lost the sweetness of my early life? In short, even bhakti rooted in the desire for gains has great value. The feeling of devotion even in an ignorant man has a value of its own. That is why it can generate great power. No matter what sort of a person one is, whatever may be his worth, once he enters the portal of the Lord's mansion, he is redeemed. No matter what sort of wood is thrown into the fire, it burns. Bhakti is an extraordinary way of sadhana. The Lord encourages bhakti even if it is accompanied with desires. In due course it will become desireless and move towards perfection.

Desireless bhakti : Its varieties and fulfillment

Sakaam bhakta (a bhakta who has desire for some worldly gains) is one type of bhakta. Now let us have a look at the nishkaam bhakta i. e. desireless bhakta. As we have seen, his bhakti could either be imperfect and lop-sided, or perfect. The latter type of bhakta can be further categorized into three sub-types.

The bhakta of the first sub-type craves for the love of the Lord and cries for Him like Namdeva. He is restless and desperate to embrace the Lord and lay himself at His feet and have His love showered on him. He examines every action of his to find out whether there is sincere yearning and love therein.

Jnanadeva asked Namdeva, "Will you accompany me on a pilgrimage?" "But why go on a pilgrimage?", asked Namdeva. Jnanadeva replied, "We can thereby meet a number of saints and ascetics." Namdeva said, "Let me ask the Lord." He went to the temple and stood before the Lord. With eyes riveted on the Lord's feet and tears flowing down his cheeks, he asked, "0 Lord! Should I go on a pilgrimage?" Would you call Namdeva an idiot? Not a few people are anguished by separation from their wives, but a bhakta who weeps at the idea of going away from the Lord is out of the ordinary.

The bhakta of the second sub-type is a seeker of knowledge. Presently such seekers are rare in our country. We come across persons who have tried again and again to climb Mount Everest and have perished in the attempt. Some went on Mount Everest and have perished in the attempt. Some went on an expedition to North Pole, noted down their observations and findings on a piece of paper and kept that piece in a bottle for the posterity before embracing death. Some descended into the womb of a volcano to learn more about it. But the Indians are so scared of death! Taking care of the family is for them the greatest achievement; they have nothing better to do. The bhakta who is a seeker of knowledge has an irrepressible and insatiable curiosity. He tries to know the nature and properties of everything. He too would eventually unite with the Lord.

The bhakta of the third sub-type has been called 'artharthi '-one who seeks artha. Artha is commonly translated as money or wealth; but it really means welfare or well- being. Artharthi bhakta judges everything in terms of the good of society. Whatever he writes, whatever he speaks, whatever he does, he sees to it that it is for the good of the world. He dislikes useless or harmful activities. He is indeed a great soul who is always concerned for the good of the whole world! His joy lies solely in the welfare of the world.
Thus, the outlook of the first sub-type of the imperfect nishkaam bhakta is marked with love, that of the second subtype with quest for knowledge and that of the third subtype with concern for the well-being of all.

All those belonging to these three sub-types of the imperfect and lop-sided nishkaam bhakta are no doubt desireless, but their approach is not holistic. They approach God either through work or through love or through knowledge. Lastly, about the perfect bhakta. He is a man of wisdom. Whatever he sees, he sees nothing but different forms of the Lord. In the handsome and the ugly, in the prince and the pauper, in men and women, in birds and beasts - everywhere he has the sacred vision of God. Saint Tukaram’s prayer to the Lord was, “Nara nari bale awadha narayan, aise majhe mana kari deva.” Meaning - “Lord! Orient my mind in such away that I find You alone in men and women and children.”)

In Hinduism, there is worship of serpents, worship of an elephant-headed God [3], worship of even the trees. All this may appear silly. But we find the height of such 'madness' in the perfect bhakta. He sees God in everything, right from an insect or an ant to the sun and the moon, and his heart overflows with joy. “Mag tatha sukha ant nahi par, aanande sagart helavati” (Meaning - ‘Then the bliss knows no bounds, The ocean of joy surges in the heart.’)

You may say, if you like, that this magnificent divine vision is an illusion; but such an illusion is the height of bliss and happiness; it is a treasure of joy. In the serenity, and majesty of an ocean, the man of wisdom sees the glory of the Lord. In a cow, he sees His tenderness. In earth, he sees His forgiveness and the capacity to bear. He finds His purity in the clear sky, His grandeur and splendour in the sun and the moon and the stars, His delicateness in flowers. Even in an evil man, he sees the Lord testing and trying him. Thus he is constantly seeing Him everywhere. Doing so, one day, he ultimately merges into the Lord.

[Reproduced with kind permission of Paramdham Publication, Pavnar from   Chapter 7 of ‘Talks on The Gita’ by Sant Vinoba Bhave, 16th edition (Jan 2005)]

Notes:
1.Dhruva, according to this mythological story, became the polestar which is till shining in the sky.
2.Dharmaraj or Yudhisnthir was the eldest among the Pandavas. After the great Mahabharata war, Pandavas ruled for a few years and then proceeded to heaven to attain salvation. Lord Yama joined them on the way in the form of a dog. During the journey, other Pandava brothers and queen Draupadi died on the way, as they were not fit to enter the heaven.
3.Ganapati, the god of knowledge and the son of Lord Shiva, is elephant-headed