𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

𝔹𝕙𝕒𝕘𝕧𝕒𝕕𝕘𝕚𝕥𝕒

अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्त: सर्वं प्रवर्तते |

इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भावसमन्विता: || 10.8||

I am the origin of all creation. Everything proceeds from Me. The wise who know this perfectly worship Me with great faith and devotion.

There are many who repeat God’s name, serve Him, and meditate on Him. But very few are capable of pure devotion born of true realisation that He is the source of all things. Pure devotion is therefore the result of real understanding of the creative power of the Lord and His wonderful manifestation. Without understanding how the Lord is present in the universe, it is difficult to cultivate true faith, and without faith pure devotion is not possible. When man knows that the Lord is the final cause of everything, and that there is nothing else but He in all things, he spontaneously offers worship to Him. Such an act of devotion and surrender will be deep-felt, sincere and true. The devotee’s surrender is deep, firm, unalterable and unconditional, for the very reason that he knows the real presence of the Lord in everything and all that takes place in the universe.

This thought (‘bhava’) of the devotee is like the shell in the cannon. Mere powder without the shell can only produce smoke and fire, but the target cannot be shattered. Similarly, unless the devotee combines the thought (‘bhava’) with the japa or meditation or worship, he cannot reach the goal. This point should be carefully noted. Though many people practice Japa and Dhyana, some are not able to make any progress towards the goal, because they are lacking in ‘bhava’. To experience ‘bhava’, pure devotion is essential; for pure devotion there should be true understanding of the Lord and His wonderful manifestation. All these ideas are revealed in this verse.

𝕍𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕜𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕦𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕚

अतोऽस्य जीवभावोऽपि नित्या भवति संसृतिः ।

न निवर्तेत तन्मोक्षः कथं मे श्रीगुरो वद ॥ 193ll

Therefore, due to this (beginningless ignorance and limiting adjuncts), the sense of being a jīva (individual soul) persists, and saṁsāra (the cycle of birth and death) appears to be eternal.This being so, how can liberation ever arise? O revered Guru, please tell me.

The doubt is natural but misplaced. Though ignorance is beginningless, it is not endless.Ignorance has no first moment, but it does have a last moment — the moment of knowledge. Just as:

darkness may be ancient, but a single lamp removes it immediately, beginningless sleep ends the moment one wakes up, similarly, beginningless ignorance ends the moment Self-knowledge (ātma-jñāna) arises.

Hence the Guru will respond:

“Mokṣa is not a product in time; it is your ever-present nature revealed by knowledge.”

🌹𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗔 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗗𝗔𝗬🌹