May 29, 2012

Why do they say that Bhakti Yog is easier than Gyan Yog?


Question:  Everyone says that Bhakti Yog is easy, while Gyān Yog is difficult.  What is the reason for this? 

Answer:    Understand this by comparing a baby kitten and a baby monkey. The kitten is tiny in size and delicate in build.  Yet if it is to be moved from one place to another, it does not need to worry. Its mother holds the kitten with her mouth and carries it.  On the other hand, in the case of the baby monkey, the onus is not taken by the mother.  While she jumps from one branch of the tree to another, it is the baby monkey's responsibility to hold its mother tightly, else she will fall.


In the above analogy, the path of Gyān Yog is comparable to the monkey and its baby.  It is based on self-effort.  Since the premise is that the soul itself is the ultimate Supreme Entity, there is no concept of surrender to God or dependence upon His Grace. Hence, the aspirant strives on his or her own strength.  
Bhakti Yog is comparable to the cat and its kitten. In Bhakti Yog, the aspirant learns to surrender to the Lord, and thus attracts His Grace. Through Grace, God assists and protects the devotee. Thus, the path of Bhakti Yog becomes easy compared to Gyān Yog.  
In Gyān Yog, the danger of pride is enormous.  The poor conditioned soul gets trapped in the ego of being God. In comparison, the path of Bhakti involves practicing humbleness before God, and hence the pitfall of pride becomes marginalized.

2 comments:

  1. Meditation exercises explained by swamiji are wonderful and helps us to get near to God. They will also helps to increase our focus of mind,concentration and will be able to manage even in difficult situations of our life.

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  2. Also thinking of attaining Gyan by studying the Vedas and other Spiritual books is virtually impossible in Kalyug...It is through Bhakti of the Lord and a Brahm nishth and Shrotriye Guru and their grace upon us that that we receive Gyan in its purest state...

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