January 30, 2011: Bhakti

In the enumeration of the sādhana-catuṣṭaya or four-fold means in the pursuit of mokṣa, Śrī Śaṅkarācārya never mentioned bhakti; yet here he says that it is the most exalted of the sādhanas. His explanation of what is meant by bhakti clears this apparent contradiction. Our general understanding of bhakti generally leads us to divide the world into the following groups:

1. Nir-īśvara or people who do not accept the existence īśvara. These are not just modern 'atheists', but also many different groups of people who have historically existed in India, including orthodox followers of the veda. We generally say these people 'have no bhakti'.
2. Those who have 'physical' bhakti by relating to a form through their actions. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says these people are either ārta (relating to īśvara as a refuge in times of difficulty), or arthārthī (relating to īśvara in order to achieve other end). They are not concerned about understanding īśvara as long as their needs are being fulfilled.
3. Jijñāsu or people for whom īśvara has become so predominant in their lives that they cannot go without understanding his reality. They are more inclined to mental actions like meditation, reading stories, and doing japa.

There is no judgment of better or worse between these groups, but definitely they directly related to our pursuit of mokṣa to different degrees. Here Śrī Śaṅkarācārya defines bhakti as 'atma-tattva-anusandhāna' or repeated inquiry into one's true nature as īśvara. Thus he is referring to this final type of bhakti which is the pursuit of mokṣa itself. In the Bhagavad Gītā also Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says that all the types of bhaktas are worthy (udārāḥ sarva evaite), but one who has understood that he is not separate from īśvara, he is 'my ātmā' (jñānī tvātmaiva me matam). Thus bhakti should culminate in mokṣa.

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