A spiritual seeker asked a question "How to unify Bhakti and Jnaana in
life?" Here is an attempt to answer the question.

     First to start with, we have the example given by Sri Ramakrishna. "In the
infinite ocean of Sat-Chit-Aananda, by the cooling effect of the Bhakti of a
devotee, the ocean forms into an ice block taking the shape that is worshiped
by the devotee. Again, by the rising Sun of Jnaana, the ice block melts into
the formless water of the ocean."

     Always the worshiper and the worshiped can be of the same nature only. When
you are in a mood of Jnaana, you see yourself as the Pure Conscious Subject and
being so is the way to worship the formless attributeless aspect of God. When
you are in a mood where you are very much aware of your body and mind, you
worship the Lord also in the form of your Ishta with qualities like love,
compassion, etc. This is called Bhakti. Thus they don't contradict. They are
just different ways to worship the Lord.

     When talking about Bhakta in Gita, Krishna classifies them as four types.
(7.16) The first two are lower types - aartha and arthaarti - seekers of
worldly ends by means of worship of God. The third is of medium type - jijnaasu
- one who seeks God as the Goal of life. The fourth is the highest type -
jnaani - one who knows God. Thus Krishna talks about Jnaana as the highest form
of Bhakti.

     The Sat-Chit-Aananda that is "known" as the Self at the height of Jnaana is
not different from the Ishta. In Gita, Krishna tells this at several places. "I
am the string that runs through this wonderful maala of pearls that is the
world." (7.7) "Know that I am the Self who knows himself as the Subject in all
embodied beings." (13.2) Thus God is the Subject, the Conscious entity in you.
This is the ParaaPrakriti nature of God. Jnaana is the way to worship Him thus.

     God also has become the manifested Object or Nature or Prakriti. This is
the AparaaPrakriti nature of God. Everything that you see as objects - living
and non-living - tangible and intangible - they are all the manifestations of
the Lord by his Maaya. Everything that happens is by this Maaya only. Krishna
tell this in several places also. "Everything is done by Prakriti by its
Gunaas. The egoistic deluded person thinks 'I am the doer'." (3.27) One way to
overcome this egoism which is called Ignorance or Maaya is surrender to the
Lord. God is everything. vaasudevah sarvam (7.19) And everything that happens
is by His Will. Maaya is just another name for His Will. There is nothing that
exists other than Him. And everything happens by His sweet Will. This is a
variation of Bhakti where the Lord is worshiped as the world - Vishwarupa. The
world is seen as the manifestation of the Lord.

     Now, how to live everyday life with this attitude? Having known the Lord as
everything, live a life treating everything and everyone as His aspects and
every incident in life as a manifestation of His Will. Swami Chinmayananda puts
it beautifully "Your life is a gift from the Lord. How you live is your gift to
the Lord." Do whatever you do as an offering to the Lord. Krishna says "by
worshiping Him by doing your duty" (18.46). And take whatever happens as his
prasaada. This is also Bhakti - the Karma Yoga way. When you are outside the
puja room or temple, this is the way to worship the Lord.

     When your mind is extrovert, see the Lord as the manifested world. Take a
position as the servant of the Lord, because the body and mind are His
servants. When your mind is introvert and when you identify yourself with the
Subject, see the Lord as the Eternal Conscious Existence that is your own Self.
When your mind is neither very extrovert nor very introvert, you worship the
Lord in the form of the Ishta with attributes. Thus depending on the identity
you take for yourself, your view of the Lord changes and the way of worship
also changes.


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