Replies

  • Thank you prabhu

  • Volunteer

    Hare Krsna,
    My obeisances to all devotees, guru and gauranga.

    Out of thousands and even millions of ignorant people who are wasting their time simply gratifying their senses, one may come to the platform of knowledge and understand higher values of life. Such a person is called a Jnani.. The jnani knows that fruitive activities will bind him to material existence and cause him to transmigrate from one kind of body to another. As indicated in Srimad Bhagavatam by the term sarira-bandha (bound to bodily existence), as long as one maintains any conception of sense enjoyment, his mind will be absorbed in karma, fruitive activity, and this will oblige him to transmigrate from one body to another. Thus a jnani is considered superior to a karmi because he at least refrains from the blind activities of sense enjoyment. This is the verdict of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

    However, although a jnani may be liberated from the ignorance of the karmis, unless he comes to the platform of devotional service he is still considered to be in ignorance
    (avidya). Although one may be accepted as a jnani, or one advanced in knowledge, his knowledge is considered impure because he has no information of devotional service and thus neglects the direct worship of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

    When a jnani takes to devotional service, he rapidly becomes superior to an ordinary jnani. Such an advanced person is described as jnani-vimukta-bhakti-parama. How a
    jnani takes to devotional service is mentioned in Bhagavad gita (7.19), wherein krsna says:

    bahu janmanam ante
    jnanavan mam prapadyate
    vasudeva sarvam iti
    sa mahatma sudurlabha

    "After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." Actually a person is wise when he surrenders unto the lotus feet of Krsna but such a mahatma, great soul, is very rare.

    This info is from Nectar of Instruction.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    My understanding (relating to your question as well prabhu) is devotional service with knowledge is a great combinaion. Its hard to take to devotional service if one doesnt have the knowledge on what/to whom he is doing the service for. So, without the boat/ship one cannot cross the ocean and that boat/ship is the knowledge. To navigate/steer the boat/ship through the waters, we still need knowledge and the sastras give us this knowledge and by surrendering ourselves to the guru we become the captain of this ship/boat. It will then be easy to cross the sea of sin. If we have the boat and less knowledge on how to steer the boat, we will still get into trouble (by being over confident of our abilities or arrogance of our sadhana). So surrendering to the guru is a very big (read IMPORTANT) part to cross over.

    Hope I was able to give some meaningful response to your question prabhu. Plz excuse me if the info didnot help you in anyway.

    Srila prabhupada ki jai..

    Hare krsna

This reply was deleted.