Mukthi

Today’s food for thought is :

Bhakthi is the Mother

Jnanam is the Father

With their blessings

The child called Mukthi is born

The key words here are Bhakthi, Jnanam and Mukthi

Let us see this one by one and connect them in the end.

Bhakthi:

Bhakthi is the easiest way to attain mukthi, says narada muni in his narada sutra.I analysed why he says that. Is it because it is dhruva smriti - constantly thinking of the supreme? Ramanuja gives a beautiful comparison, he uses the word thiladhaara (dripping like the oil). If it is only dripping, then will this dripping stop somewhere, maybe when the goal is achieved? If so, what is bhakthi?

Why do I call bhakthi the “Mother of mukthi”?, then does the love of the mother end somewhere?. Mother’s love never ends, it transforms, grows and sustains forever isn’t it?. It doesn’t drip for her child, it flows like a river quenching the thirst of her child, so does bhakthi. Bhakthi is the woman who from being a girl child turns into an adult and then to a being a mother. She prepares herself like a girl child. When bhakthi is felt by a devotee for the supreme, bhakthi in him is a small child, singing, dancing, loving, caring etc. after sometime bhakthi matures, understands that there is a higher purpose, so it goes in search of a truth, reads, understands to find a perfect match to merge its adoring service towards god into more divine and sacred. The adult bhakthi finds its match called Jnanam.

Let us travel towards Jnanam

I said Jnanam is the father of mukthi

What is Jnanam?

Jnanam is investigating the truth, understanding the divine qualities within the person.The origin of this divine quality in you, when it is seen , understood, Jnanam is born. Here i have to quote hanuman a devotee of lord Rama who says so beautifully

‘dhEha budDHyA thu dAsOham jeevabuDHya thvadhamSakah;AthmabudDHyA thvamEvAham ithi mE nischithA mathih.’

Meaning:

“ when I identify myself with my body, I am your servant, when I consider myself as a atma, I am part of you, but when I think myself as the atman I am one with you”

This is the thought that gave rise to the male child called “jnanam”. Now this Jnanam grows as understanding, realisation grows, it becomes an adult, but its journey does not feel complete, it yearns for more, it is searching for something which it yearns for. So the adult- Jnanam is not complete without bhakthi.

The two adults, Bhakthi - Jnanam crosses each other only to find that they feel complete, blissful, comfortable, peace sets in, both are in perfect harmony, the enquiry of bhakthi has reached its destination and the wandering jnanam finds its match in bhakthi and the two together finds its rightful place at the feet of the supreme (ambal)- the state of saranagathi. This saranagathi is the union or the marriage between bhakthi to Jnanam. This unison when complete is blessed with “Mukthi” - the child

Hence i said,

“child called Mukthi is born”

Mukthi is the loving child of Bhakthi and Jnanam. One cannot achieve mukthi without the union of bhakthi and jnanam, one without the other is useless, it leads you no where, hence we should all understand

The blissful state of bhakthi and jnanam is Mukthi

The nature of immortality of Mukthi is the fruit of bhakthi and jnanam

The harmony of bhakthi and jnanam is Mukthi

The amurtha swaroopam of bhakthi and jnanam is Mukthi.

Bhakthi is the mrtha which is asked and jnanam is amrutha which is unasked leading to mukthi which is the product of the two. It is like a yagnam where bhakthi is the log of wood and jnanam is the fire and ahuthi is the self - the product of this yagnam is Mukthi.