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Need for devotion

CHENNAI: Devotion to God (Bhakti) is prescribed for all in spiritual tradition as the means to realise God. To dispel the wrong notion that it is not given as much emphasis in Advaita Vedanta because Jnana (knowledge of the Self) is the direct means to liberation in this school, preceptors have highlighted its importance wherever it is necessary. Sankara in his seminal work Vivekachudamani stresses the role of Bhakti to drive home that it is the foundation on which the entire spiritual edifice rests.

In his discourse, Sri Goda Venketeswara Sastri said only the performance of the enjoined daily duties along with devotion would cleanse the mind of its latent tendencies, which impede spiritual growth. A spiritual seeker must remember that it is not possible for one to exist even for a second without divine grace. The Supreme Being is all-pervasive and also immanent in all. In devotion the attitude is important and not ostentatious ceremony. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna has said that He is pleased even with the simple offering of a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water with devotion. Only when devotion takes root will the desire for liberation become intense.

The Vivekachudamani describes devotion as “continuous contemplation of one’s essential nature,” which is the blissful Self (Atman). This arises from the knowledge that God is not far but within, as the Self. So devotion is equated with contemplation (Nidhidhyasana). Another form of devotion is meditation on the Self as the Absolute arising from the understading of the identity of the Atman with the Absolute Self (Brahman). An aspirant who has the necessary prerequisites to pursue the spiritual path intensively should approach a Guru, who is Self-realised, with humility and serve him, and beseech him to impart Self-knowledge.

The example of Narada is often cited to underscore the necessity of a Guru. The sage was well-versed in all the disciplines, yet, spiritual knowledge eluded him and it was only after he approached Sanatkumara for learning it that he became enlightened. Only a Guru can impart Self-knowledge because unlike other disciplines this is experiential in nature.

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