[Advaita-l] (Advaita) Bhakti vs. Jnana

[kuntimaddi sadananda]

Subbuji - PraNAms
 
While echoing your statements, I must point out that ultimately even the desire for moksha is a hindrance for moksha, since in essence I am nitya muktahaH. In a simple statement, as Swami Paramarthanandaji puts it, realization of moksha is to realize  that there is nothing to realize -and also there is no need to realize. That is also the culmination of Bhakti too, as well as all other yogas. 
 
When seeker and sought are the same, any seeking on the part of the seeker is bound to fail since in the very seeking one has fundamentally concluded that sought is different from the seeker. This forms the major obstacle for realization for many of us since we (the mind) habitually tend to objectify the moksha or liberation is something to achieve in future. Nidhidhyaasanam is only to remove the misconceptions about the pramaata, the seeker.
 
The same happens in Bhakti too. Bhakta has to dissolve himself at the alter of object of bhakti- that is the true sharaNaagati (of course differently interpreted by Bhagavan Ramanuja since his presumed goal or moksha is defined differently). He may be emotionally getting pleasure in objectifying the Lord and longing for the emotional integrity.  . It still becomes a problem if Lord is away from him when the mind at times is not able to see the integrity. Many bhaktas cry and weep when they are separated from the object of love - you can gather that from the life of Ramakrishna paramahamsa.  The best  songs of Tyagaraja came out when he was separated from this favorite idols of Rama, when his elder brother dumped them in the kaveri river. Of course in the intellectual understanding the Lord is never away from him is the transcendence of that emotional bhakti, whom Lord himself says I am never away from him and he is my greatest bhakta.  
 
Yo maam pasyati sarvatra sarvan ca mayi pasyati- in that vision the identiy is complete. 
 
just my 2c
 
Hari Om!
Sadananda

--- On Sat, 7/30/11, V Subrahmanian <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com> wrote:


Bhagavan and Bhagavatpada would never approve a situation where a person
knowingly shuns the desire for moksha.