Bhakthi and Upasana

Upadesa Saara – verses 4,5&6

Verse no.4 of Upadesa saara reads as:
कायवाङमनः कार्यमुत्तमम् |   (Kaaya Vaang manah kaaryam uttamam)

पूजनं जपस्चिंतनम क्रमात् ||  (Pujanam japah chittanam kramaath)

Action of worship can be done with the body, words and mind. The action done with body is Puja, the action done with words is chanting and action done with the mind is meditation. Each is superior to the other in ascending order. (The action done with words is superior to action done with the body. The action done with the mind is superior to action done with the words.) 

In this verse Ramana Maharishi elaborates about Ishta Devata Bhakthi, Bhakthi in respect of one’s chosen Deity of worship. Bhakthi  is defined normally as reverential devotion to a superior - object, person or ideal.  Here we are referring to Bhakthi as a religious action, reverential devotion to God, the Cosmic Supreme.  This action can be divided into kayikam (physical), vachikam (verbal), and manasam (mental).  Physical action is doing Puja, by offering flowers. lighting a lamp, chanting slokas or Mantras etc., to one’s Ishta devata or visiting the temple and participating in the worship there or going on a pilgrimage to holy places.  Here all the three instruments of body, mind and speech are employed and this is called here Poojanam.  Verbal action consists of singing Lord's glory, reciting slokas in praise of the Lord, reading of religious texts containing the glory of the Lord, including Ithihasas and Puranas and repeated chanting of His Name or a Mantra, regularly.  Here mind and speech only are involved and so this requires more mental concentration than physical action.  This is referred to as Japa.  Mental action is meditation on Lord and this is called Chinthanam.  Manasa puja is also called Upasana. This requires a high mental discipline, much greater than that of physical puja and verbal worship.  All the three actions qualify as Yoga when action is done selflessly surrendering the ego in respect of a single Devata, adopted as one’s Ishta Devata.  It is this Bhakthi that transforms Karma as Karma Yoga. And when this Bhakthi is done for Bhakthi’s sake alone it becomes Bhakthi Yoga. In Bhakthi Yoga  reverential devotion yields place to unqualifed Love of the Lord to whom one surrenders one’s total will and ego.

As Bhakthi matures, the Love expands to embrace the whole creation as Bhaktha sees Lord in all and all as the Lord.  This is called Viswarupa Bhakthi.   Maharishi talks of this Viswarupa Bhakthi in the next verse, verse no.5.

जगत इशधीयुक्तसेवनम् | (Jagada Ishadee yukta sevanam)
अष्टमूर्तिभ्रिददेवापूजनं ||  (Astha murthy brid deva poojanam)

Service of the world is service of God having eight-fold form, with the idea that everything is God alone.

The eight-fold form of God consists of the five elements; space, air, fire, water and earth, the sun (representing all stars), the moon (representing all planets and satellites), and the Jivas (all living beings).  In verse 9 of Sri Dakshinamurthy stotram Sri Sankara describes specifically the Viswa Rupa of Lord Dakshinamurthy in the same way as eightfold form i.e. comprising the earth, water, fire, air, space, sun, moon and Jiva; the manifested Universe of all movable and immovable objects.  Sri Krishna also talks of His eight-fold Prakriti in Gita  (7 – 4), “This Prakrti of Mine is divided eight-fold thus: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and also egoism.”  Further the very first nama of Vishnu Sahasranamam  is “Vishwam” – which means one who has entered into all beings, inert and sentient, movable and immovable -“Vishathi ithi Vishwam”.  Again Isavasya Upanishad also in the very first line states “Whatever is here in this world, everything is pervaded or covered by God”

Understanding Universe itself as nothing but a form of God is the essence of this Bhakthi.  Initially, the understanding was that God as creator is only the intelligent cause for the Universe.  As one’s knowledge of God grows, understanding expands and one has the knowledge that God is both intelligent cause and material cause of this Universe. As material cause of Universe, God pervades all objects of creation, both movable and immovable, just as gold pervades all ornaments of gold.  A Viswa-rupa Bhaktha sees God in all and all as God.  From Viswa rupa Bhakthi, with expansion of vision and maturity of understanding one grows to appreciate Abhedha-Bhavana and gain Advaitic Jnanam, which Maharishi will discuss later.

In verse no.6 Maharishi elaborates on verbal worship.

उत्तमस्तवादुच्चमंदतः |    (Uttama stavaat uccha mandathah)
चित्तजं जप ध्यानमुत्तमम् || (Chittajam japa dhyaanam uttamam)

Singing of Lord’s glories is good, but better than that is loud chanting in japa, while superior to loud chanting is soft chanting in japa. However, best of all is silent, mental japa.

Japa means repetition of a mantra or Lord’s name.  In Japa one should always focus on the mantra or the nama. Focus on the deity is done before the japa begins, as an invocation, and not during the chanting.  Japa produces a vibration which is supposed to be beneficial. The importance of Japa as a sadhana can be seen from Sri Krishna’s words in Gita (10-25) “Among the Yajnas, I am Japa Yajna”.  Japa can be done in a loud voice or in a soft voice or mentally.  The most effective chanting is mental and least effective is loud chanting.  Mental chanting is as good as meditation and so is a form of Upasana.  So Maharishi calls it as Dhyana Japa. 

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