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XXXIII] Nature of bhakti
419 as identity between the self and God, as in the case of the so-called Brahma-vādins; and with a certain kind of duality, as in the case of devotees. For this reason, though bhakti consists of knowledge and action, it is to be regarded as nirguna, because it refers to God alone, who is beyond all guņas. Bhakti is thus obviously a transcendental process. It is no doubt true that sometimes it is described as being associated with guņas (saguna); but in all such cases such a characterization of bhakti can only be on account of its association with intellectual, volitional or emotional qualities of the mind?. Bhakti really means “to live with God”; since God Himself is beyond the gunas, residence with or in God must necessarily mean a state beyond the gunas. There are others, however, who distinguish bhakti as worshipful action and as God-realizing knowledge, and according to them it is only the latter that is regarded as being beyond the guņas (nirguna). But, though the actual worshipping action is manifested in and through the gunas, the spiritual action determining it must be regarded as outside the material influences.
A question may here naturally arise, that if God is always of the nature of pure bliss, how is it possible for the devotee to please Him by his bhakti? This has already been explained, and it may further be added that bhakti is a mode of the self-realization of God's own blissful nature; its mode of operation is such that here the hlādini power of God works itself by taking in the devotee as its constituent and its nature is such that it is blissful not only to God, but also to the devotees. The appearance of bhakti in a devotee is due to God's will manifesting His self-realizing power in him, and such a manifestation of His will is to be interpreted as His mercy. So God is the real cause of the appearance of bhakti in any individual. It is to be remembered that not only the rise of bhakti but even the functioning of the sense-powers is due to the influence of God;.thus God realizes Himself through men in all their conduct, though in bhakti alone His highest and most blissful nature expresses itself for the highest satisfaction of the devotee, and this must therefore be regarded as an act of His special grace. It is said in the scriptures that even a short recitation of God's name is
yat tu śrí-kapila-devena bhakter api nirguna-sagunāvasthāh kathitās tat punaḥ puruşāntahkarana-gunā eva tasyām upacaryante iti sthitam. Ibid. p. 520. 2 Ibid. p. 522.
3 Ibid. p. 523.
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