Book Title: World of Philosophy
Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
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will & perseveresH.Live in the midst of the battle of life. Anyone can keep calm in a cave or when asleep. Stand in the whirl & madness of action & reach the Center (Divinity)'. (6.83.84) 28
According to him Bhakti is also enlightening. He made devotion dignified & love of God heroic. He made moral life indispensible to a devotee. According to him, a devotee should be free from passions & desires (vimoha), should be free from ignorance & maintain purity of means, methods & food (viveka), should keep on reminding him/herself of Divinity abhyasa & should do good to others (kriya). It results into universalization as it sees everything as divine. It is good, selfless action full of love. Prayer, silent meditation & realization of Divinity are the important aspects of bhaktiyoga.
While talking about bhaktiyoga, he has always emphasized two aspects (1) unselfish love & (2) sacrifice of everything belonging to oneself. He says, 'Throughout the history of the world you find great men make great sacrifices and the mass of men enjoy the benefit. If you want to give up everything for your own salvation, you are nothing, but if you want to give up even your own salvation for the good of the world, you are God, think of that!' (6.280) 29
Just as he equated action with selfless unattached action, so also he equated devotion with selfless service to Divinity & said that even this leads to freedom & liberation. He said, 'After so much austerity, I have understood this as the real truth. God is present in every jiva, there is no other God besides that who serves jiva, he serves God indeed' (VII.247) 30
On bhakti & service with utter humility & gratitude, the writes, 'Blessed are we that we are given the privilege of working for Him; not of helping Him. Cut out this word 'help' from your mind. You can't help; it is blasphemy. You are here yourself at His pleasure. Do you mean to say you help Him? You worship'. (4.246) 31
'You can't help anyone, you can only serve, serve the children of the Lord, serve the Lord Himself if you have the privilege. Blessed you are that privilege was given to you when others had it not. Do it only as worship'. (III.246)32 'This is the gist of all worship - to be pure & to do good to others. He who sees Siva in the poor, in the weak & the diseased really worship Siva'. (III.141-142) 33 It is this dignified devotion which leads to freedom.
Through the practical Vedanta & through the emphasis on practice of selflessness, egolessness, love, service & goodness he gave a positive dimension to the Advaita notion of Dharma. It may be said that he tried to establish the unity of pravḥtti & nivhtti.
Śaikara accepted the framework of varnäshrama as a part of pravḥtti leading to abhyudaya i.e. worldly wellbeing. But Vivekananda did not accept
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