Bhakti and “Modern Vedanta”

Param Pujya Rigvediya Purvamnaya Govardhan Peeth Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati once said in a pravachan, that we should maintain Bhakti in our lives and no amount of intellectual "Atma Jnana" is a justification to either discard Bhakti or to be dismissive towards Bhakti.

It is true that one's own Swarupa is Atma/Brahm and the Upanishads proclaim that one who knows Brahm becomes Brahm. Students of Vedanta are but naturally identified as a jeeva since this birth. To claim their Atma Swarupa, a negation of their identity as the jeeva is necessary.

Param Pujya Maharajsri Swami Akhandanandajee Saraswati (Vrindavan) used to say that in the older times, Vedanta was not to be taught from rooftops to one and all.

It is not with an exclusionary mindset that such statements are made. In the Vedantic ideal and the Vedic tradition, no one has been deprived of the results, but qualifications are prescribed. These qualifications are not prescribed for the benefit of the Vedas. After all, even if a nastika assumes that Vedas are a theory - a theory which proclaims that shrishti repeats cyclically, nothing is really lost if no one believes the Vedas. In fact, the very abject loss of Shradhha is a manifestation of one of the Yugas, the Kaliyuga. Therefore, to impute upon the Vedas the favoritism and bias is entirely our own doing.

To an astika, Vedanta represents the highest meaning, the entire purport of the Vedas. To use the statements that to an Atma Jnani, Shastra is of no use (and by implication, the Vedic Gods and Goddesses), to justify the abandonment of one's ritualistic duties is according oneself the title of an Atma Jnani. This is very unfortunate and at best, adds several lifetimes to the Sadhaka. In less charitable terms, it shows a dazzling lack of understanding of the Vedic ideal and a current situation that's a million miles away from Atma Jnana.

Even the Atma Jnanis of yore when before the public had no personal interest in dissuading or even not encouraging Bhakti in the traditionally known sense of the term. After all, what is a Jnani to do, for one has no self interest.

We do well to understand that Gods and Goddesses are not concepts or theories to help get one to another concept called Brahm or Atma. As long as you continue to not challenge the validity of your own existence, one would incur paapa and exhibit incredible intellectual stupidity as a nastika, or even worse, a heightened exhibition of naïveté as an astika Vedanta student.

There are several reasons to continue to worship the Devi and Devatas during Vedantic study. One, it helps with Chit Shuddhi. You worship them for the betterment of everyone. Two, it loosens your Parichhinnta (limited nature of I) when you pray for others. Three, it is by the grace of Parmatma Parabrahm, that it's embodiment Devi and Devatas will bless you with the conditions to continue to pursue Vedanta. So even as a self serving means, it makes sense to seek the protection of Devi and Devatas in our Vedantic studies.