How many ways?

≪ back | 1 | 2 |

One may argue that in the Gita there is a separate chapter entitled ‘Bhakti Yoga.’ How then can there be only a two–fold yoga? Each chapter of the Gita is given a title based on the predominant topic therein. And each one is called a yoga with an adjective to distinguish a given chapter from the others. Again, by a wrong translation, we have eighteen yogas starting with the ‘Yoga of Arjuna's sorrow.’ This is due to lack of knowledge of the Sanskrit word yoga which has different meanings. The word yoga is used here in the sense of a topic. Anyone who looks into the Sanskrit thesaurus (amara kosha) will find the word sangati (‘connection’ or ‘in connection with’, meaning ‘topic’) as a synonym for yoga. The predominant topic of the first chapter is Arjuna's sorrow; of the second chapter, knowledge; of the third, karma; of the fourth, renunciation of action by knowledge; the fifth, renunciation; the sixth, meditation; and so on. The topic of the twelfth chapter is bhakti. It is not bhakti yoga. Even if there is a mention of the compound bhakti yoga, it means only karma yoga or jnana yoga according to the context.

Therefore, Lord Krishna's statement that there are only two nishthas is nowhere contradicted in the Gita. That is why Shankara, introducing the Gita, mentions two life-styles (margas), pravritti and nivritti. Whether one takes to a life of sannyasa or leads a life of karma yoga, one has to have the required inner maturity in order to gain clarity in this knowledge. Because sannyasa without inner maturity is not advised in the Gita, a life of karma yoga becomes a necessity for gaining that maturity. The problem being ignorance and error, the solution is knowledge alone; in this there is no choice. If at all there is a choice, it is only in terms of the appropriate life–style. The contention that there are many paths to gain moksha is false. An integral approach involving all four ways is also meaningless because there are not four in the first place to be integrated.

When the shastra says that knowledge alone is moksha, it does not amount to fanaticism. If I say that the eyes alone see colours, I am not a fanatic. There is fanaticism only when I propagate a belief, which is subject to negation, as the only truth; or hold on to one means as true while there are many equally valid options.

When the self is mistaken for a limited being (samsari), nothing other than knowledge can save the person. There can be different forms of prayer because prayer is an action (karma), and action is always open to choice. There can also be a choice between a life of sannyasa and that of karma yoga. But there is only one way of correcting the samsaritva (the life of becoming) of atma and that is by self–knowledge, for which we require a means of knowledge. That is why the Bridharanyakopanishad states that atma has to be known, for which one has to do shastra vicara.

‘Teaching Tradition of Advaita Vedanta’ p9, Swami Dayananda © Copyright Arsha Vidya