If you have the habit of drinking
coffee/tea in the morning and if you do not drink it one day, you feel
uncomfortable or restless. Though the habit of drinking coffee/tea is not
giving you an ecstasy, you feel bound. When you feel bound by something or
someone, the immediate thought that arises is – ‘How can I be free?’ This is a
natural tendency of all the human beings.
If you feel bound because of a
disease or an ailment at the body level, you go to a doctor, take medicines,
and feel relieved. When you feel bound by your own emotions and mind, you feel
clueless. That is when you feel the need of a Guru because we never learnt how
to handle our own mind.
The word liberation explained in the
context of spirituality is nothing but the freedom all the distortions of love.
The distortions of love are – attachment, entanglement, lust, obsession, greed,
jealousy, anger, and arrogance. When we are troubled by these distortions, we
feel bound. We seek liberation. In Bhagavad Gita, lord Krishna explained the
path to liberation through the following yogas:
· Karma Yoga: Often when we are tensed, we
worry. If at all, we get into action and do needful, we can be free from
worries. For example, if you are an employee and you are overloaded with work
and stringent timelines, rather than working and doing whatever is possible
through you, you tend to worry about the future. Your mind starts thinking –
- Will I ever be able to finish this work?
- If I don’t finish this work on time, what will be the consequences?
- Will I continue to have my job?
Your mind is bombarded with questions and you end up wasting time in worrying. In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna inspires Arjuna to get into action without worrying about the results. Krishna asks Arjuna to act spontaneously and do needful. This is very relevant even today for everyone – professionals, homemakers, students, and so on.
Bhakti Yoga: Life without love is very dull
and boring. We all experience love but with an expectation. However, when you
are in love with God or nature, you simply rejoice and stay happy. On the
funnier side, you can’t be expecting God to come with you for a movie or party,
answer your messages immediately and so on. So, love for God is hassle free.
Bhakti is synonymous to gratitude.
Whatever you receive from the God or nature, you start nourishing it. Behind
every pleasant/unpleasant event, you start seeing the love of God. All your
complaints simply vanish in Bhakti. Grumbling is taken over by gratitude. That
is Bhakti. Lord Krishna explained the different flavors of Bhakti in Bhakti
Yoga. He asks Arjuna to surrender only to Him and have one pointed devotion
towards Him.
·Gyana Yoga: Bhakti or love for God is very
beautiful to experience. However, love which is devoid of wisdom causes all
problems. So, Krishna emphasized the importance of Gyana or Wisdom in Gyana
Yoga. Wisdom is nothing but seeing the origin of all happenings, thoughts, and
feeling. Knowing more and more about the consciousness which is present all
over and the reason behind all happenings. When wisdom dawns, the duality or
dwaita disappears. For example, a goldsmith sees gold in all the ornaments.
Rather than differentiating the ornament as necklace, bangles, ear ring and so
on, goldsmith says this is all gold. In the same when you dwell in wisdom, you
transcend all the opposites and start seeing everything as a part of one
consciousness. Krishna explained this beautifully in Bhagavad Gita and said –
though a devotee is very dear to me, a gyani (person with wisdom) is even more
dear to me. In fact, there is no difference between me and a gyani because a
gyani is never away from me.
Pondering the
knowledge given in the Karma, Bhakti, and Gyan yogas, one can easily experience
that there is no bondage in reality. It is advisable to read this knowledge in
the presence of a Guru or an enlightened one who can interpret to you
correctly.
