knowledge is also gained for the Bhakt Yogi in stages or not .or he moves in direction of devotion in God only

Question

or a gyan yogi devotion in God is also gained in stages or not . stages means in progress of his Yog.or He just gain the knowledge and knowledge without devotion.please explain too for your answer .

Answer 1

Bhakti yoga which talks of devotion and servitude to god, is the basic step of Bhakti.

The real Bhakti yoga starts when one is established in servitude to God.

A true Bhakta gets all the knowledge which is sufficient for him.... and he becomes a Gyani too (example Hanuman, Meera Bai, Guru Nanak)

In fact those who see Gyan, Bhakti and Karma as 3 different yogas, are ignorant. These three develop together.

A gyani may not become devotional...but when he gets the real gyan, he tends to love the God, because he knows his beauty and greatness

I must say these three roads of Gyan, Bhakti and Karma... meet together at divine Love.. from where the next journey starts

So a gyani, without divine love, or a bhakti without gyan or a karma yogi without gyan and bhakti... are still on the path and have not reached the junction of Divine Love

Answer 2

Lord Sri Krishna tells in the Bhagavat Gita about this topic very elaborately.He says that a Bhakti Yogi is above all the other yogis,because he is more intelligent & knowledgeable.Because Bhaki yoga involves devotional service to the Lord.So a person who is knowledgeable only can deliver his service to Him.Blindly also some do seva to Him,but devotional service with knowledge yields faster result.

In this Fifth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä, the Lord says that work in devotional service is better than dry mental speculation. Devotional service is easier than the latter because, being transcendental in nature, it frees one from reaction. In the Second Chapter, preliminary knowledge of the soul and its entanglement in the material body were explained. How to get out of this material encagement by buddhi-yoga, or devotional service, was also explained therein. In the Third Chapter, it was explained that a person who is situated on the platform of knowledge no longer has any duties to perform. And in the Fourth Chapter the Lord told Arjuna that all kinds of sacrificial work culminate in knowledge. However, at the end of the Fourth Chapter, the Lord advised Arjuna to wake up and fight, being situated in perfect knowledge. Therefore, by simultaneously stressing the importance of both work in devotion and inaction in knowledge, Kåñëa has perplexed Arjuna and confused his determination. Arjuna understands that renunciation in knowledge involves cessation of all kinds of work performed as sense activities. But if one performs work in devotional service, then how is work stopped? In other words, he thinks that sannyäsa, or renunciation in knowledge, should be altogether free from all kinds of activity, because work and renunciation appear to him to be incompatible. He appears not to have understood that work in full knowledge is nonreactive and is therefore the same as inaction. He inquires, therefore, whether he should cease work altogether or work with full knowledge. [As-They-Surrender-Unto-Me ]
Hope my answer is clear to you,need more info visit www.Krishna.com

Answer 3

Bhakti yoga and Gyana yoga and other branches of yoga cannot be strictly compartmentalised. Rajaji, in his brief introductory speech to the Bhaja Govindam of Adi Sankara immortalised by the divine voice of MS, emphasised the importance of Bhakti yoga. He cited the example of Adi Sankara, the epitome of a Gnani singing the hymns in praise of various deities like Govinda, Devi etc for the benefit of the Bhakti yogis. Bhakti yoga is the easy path for many common men. Total surrender to God and singing his praise is all one needs to do to attain God, in the path of Bhakti. As you have said, as you progress on your path, you attain the wisdom, that wisdom by which you realise that there is no better knowledge in the universe than the knowledge of God. A Yogi in Gnana yoga, despite his enquiring mission in search of God, at some stage needs the grace of God, to cross the final barrier that separates him and Him. He must perforce seek the aid of Bhakti to transcend the wall that separates him from God. Thus, Bhakti is also an essential tool, in the hands of a Gnani, for the realisation of God and moksha. The path is tortuous and one needs to tread this path only with a lot of struggle on the way.

Answer 4

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.7, "By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world."

Purport to above verse by, A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of ISKCON
(International Society for Krishna Consciousness)

Those who consider devotional service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna to be something like material emotional affairs may argue that in the revealed scriptures, sacrifice, charity, austerity, knowledge, mystic powers and similar other processes of transcendental realization are recommended. According to them, bhakti, or the devotional service of the Lord, is meant for those who cannot perform the high-grade activities. Generally it is said that the bhakti cult is meant for the sudras, vaisyas and the less intelligent woman class. But that is not the actual fact. The bhakti cult is the topmost of all transcendental activities, and therefore it is simultaneously sublime and easy. It is sublime for the pure devotees who are serious about getting in contact with the Supreme Lord, and it is easy for the neophytes who are just on the threshold of the house of bhakti. To achieve the contact of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna is a great science, and it is open for all living beings, including the sudras, vaisyas, women and even those lower than the lowborn sudras, so what to speak of the high-class men like the qualified brahmanas and the great self-realized kings. The other high-grade activities designated as sacrifice, charity, austerity, etc., are all corollary factors following the pure and scientific bhakti cult.

The principles of knowledge and detachment are two important factors on the path of transcendental realization. The whole spiritual process leads to perfect knowledge of everything material and spiritual, and the results of such perfect knowledge are that one becomes detached from material affection and becomes attached to spiritual activities. Becoming detached from material things does not mean becoming inert altogether, as men with a poor fund of knowledge think. Naiskarma means not undertaking activities that will produce good or bad effects. Negation does not mean negation of the positive. Negation of the nonessentials does not mean negation of the essential. Similarly, detachment from material forms does not mean nullifying the positive form. The bhakti cult is meant for realization of the positive form. When the positive form is realized, the negative forms are automatically eliminated. Therefore, with the development of the bhakti cult, with the application of positive service to the positive form, one naturally becomes detached from inferior things, and he becomes attached to superior things. Similarly, the bhakti cult, being the supermost occupation of the living being, leads him out of material sense enjoyment. That is the sign of a pure devotee. He is not a fool, nor is he engaged in the inferior energies, nor does he have material values. This is not possible by dry reasoning. It actually happens by the grace of the Almighty. In conclusion, one who is a pure devotee has all other good qualities, namely knowledge, detachment, etc., but one who has only knowledge or detachment is not necessarily well acquainted with the principles of the bhakti cult. Bhakti is the supermost occupation of the human being.

Answer 5

Bhakti has stages. the fruit of devotion is Lord. The fruit of good karma is gyana or knowledge. the gyani if he just accumulates knowledge through concentrating on the bhrahmn(the absolute spirit) and performing karma, penance ,austerities, meditation and so on cant really be called a non devotee. Since he too is worshipping the nirguna brahmn which means God. For the one who wishes to become the gyaani the knowledge starts emanating because of the good karma of his present and previous life. he progresses in stages.(not all of a sudden). for example the viveki(who knows the right from the wrong) will decide that he must seek the truth ie God, he will try to improve his karma,meditate, seek knowledge from saints,scriptures etc and try to follow the principles.As he becomes more knowledgeable and detatched he will progress until he becomes a gyana yogi or a karma yogi. this yoga will make him gyani and liberate him. "Harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha"(-Brhan Naradya). it means that "in the age of kalyuga the only way to attain liberation is to chant the holy name,chant the holy name of the lord, no other way, no other way." The scriptures lay a lot of emphasis on Bhakti especially in Kalyug. Bhakti means the devotion to the saguna lord such as Raama, Krishna or any other of the lords avtaara. The age of kalyuga is so degraded that devotion to the lord remains the only way to salvation because the other ways or routes are next to impossible TO BE FOLLOWED properly in kalyuga. there is another reason- the man of kalyuga is alpayu( has less age) and (alpbuddhi) less intelligent and the influence of negativities is very strong hence only the devotion to the supreme lord can deliver him. in kalyug the fruit of bhakti is quick nd one can attain liberation in one life through bhakti only. whereas in other yugas it takes millions of years and numerous births to achieve the same through penance, meditation, austerities, gyana and so on. so they say: "kalyuga mein naam adhara". only chanting the name of lord can take one across this ocean of ignorance and sin. LORD VYASADEVA COMPILED ALL UPANISHADS, THE VEDAS, THE PURANAS, THE MAHABHARATA AND EVEN THE BHAGVAT GITA YET HE REMAINED DISSATISFIED AND UNHAPPY. WHEN HE TRIED TO FIND THE REASON FOR HIS DISCONTENT THE LORD TOLD HIM: WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN CONTAINS EVERYTHING YET IT REMAINS UNCOMPLETE BECAUSE THERE IS NO PRAISE AND DEPICTION OF THE LORDS SAGUNA AVTARAS AND HIS BHAKTI. THEN VYASADEVA WROTE THE SRIMADBHAGVATAM AND ONLY THEN HE COULD REST IN PEACE.SO ONE CAN SAY THAT BHAKTI IS AN IMPORTANT ESSENCE OF HINDUISM. SO IT IS WISE AND ADVISABLE TO FOLLOW THE PATH OF BHAKTI IN THIS AGE. ESPECIALLY SINCE THE FRUIT OF BHAKTI IS ALSO GYANA.THE INITIAL STEP OF BHAKTI IS TO CHANT THE HOLY NAME(FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN AWAY FROM SAGUNA BHAKTI TILL NOW). THE LORDS NAME IS EVEN MORE POWERFUL THAN HIMSELF IN COUNTERACTING SINS(THE RAMAYANA AND SRIMADBHAGVATAM SAY A LOT ABOUT IT). IT IS WISE TO HOLD ON TO GYANA AND ALSO BECOME A BHAKTA FOR PROTECTING ONESELF SUFFECIENTLY.