December 2024 Newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami--Bhakti Yoga II
Srivatsa Ramaswami
December 2024 Newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami—Bhakti Yoga II
My book Samkhya Karika published by Inner Traditions (USA) is due to be released on May 6, 2025. It can be preordered on line via Barnes and Noble Amazon or the publisher's website, here is the link
https://www.innertraditions.com/samkhya-karika
Early December I will be in New Delhi to teach in a Yoga Program organized by OmYogashala . In the coming months I may be teaching a 3 day on line program on "Sirsasana with vinyasas" in January (Atmayogashala). I am also likely to teach an in-person program of Vinyasakrama Yoga and lectures on Yoga Rahasya of Sri Krishnamacharya in Mysore (February 2025)
Bhakti Yoga II
chatur-vidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛitino ’rjuna
ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī cha bharatarṣhabha
In the last Newsletter, I quoted the above verse from the Bhagvat Gita. In it the Lord says that His devotees, who follow the law of piety or dharma ( sukritinaH) can be classified into four groups. The first category contains those who are in distress and believe only the Lord could remove the pain and worship Him. As described in the previous letter, they worship the Lord for removal of hardships they face in life
According to Lord Krishna the second group are called jijñāsus or those who are desirous of knowledge and also worship the Lord
What knowledge? The knowledge about the Lord. In fact Arjuna becomes a jijñāsu devotee and wants to see the whole full visual glory of the Lord or viswarupa and the Lord obliges him. Many people who are bhaktas of the Lord would study the various puranas and scriptures detailing the greatness of the Lord like the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana and various other ancient texts. They also regularly do japa or repetition of the mantras, pujas and listen to discourses. The more time they spend on such studies they get more closely related to the Lord. They understand more about the Lord. The Lord would say that only a few undertake the journey of understanding the Lord. And a much lower number succeed and become jnanis. The Lord however assures that all the efforts of the jignyasu does not go to waste even if one does not succeed in one lifespan The jignyasu will be born in a yoga family so that one may pursue the path and achieve success.
Then there are artharthis who form the majority of the bhaktas. Just as the arti the first group desire relief from pain and so worship the Lord, the third group worship the Lord as they want their desires to be fulfilled.
There are examples of such people aplenty. A young kid (kids are young so why say young kid?) would stop by a roadside vinayaka icon, would pray to Lord Ganesa for success in the exams. An industrialist wanting to start a new manufacturing facility would do an elaborate puja and pray for the success of the undertaking. These are aratha arthis, They know that the Lord would give them what they want with sincere prayer.
Here is an oft told story on artharthi. Dhruva the child prince was forbidden by his stepmother to sit on the lap of his father, the king. Upset he however was told that only God could help him. He did penance at the tender age of 5 for a period of time before the Lord appeared before him and granted his wish. This is a classic example of an artharthi with an unshakable faith in the Lord.
Then we have a small group of jnanis who have realized the Lord and have no thought other than the Lord. These bhakti yogis themselves are venerated by other devotees. The classic example is Prahlada meaning the eternal blissful one. He was able to see the Lord in a dust particle floating around or the pillar in the palace. Read his story. These jnanis who have realized the Lord love the Lord intensely during their lifetime. As the vedas and puranas point out they reach different states.
Sarshtita is a state where they are said to attain the same creative power as the Lord. Saloka or they reach the same heavenly abode of the Lord as vaikunta/kailaya/brahmaloka. Samipya or to stay eternally in the proximity of the Lord. Sarupa or attain the same form of the Lord. Perhaps, attain sayujya or completely merge with the Lord. “Samyoga yoga uchyate jivatma paramatmanoH” says Yagnyavalkya. Union of the individual soul with the Supreme is Yoga. These Jnanis are God-Loving. Most others are God-Fearing