Reinvent The Self!

स्वयंफलरूपतेति ब्रह्मकुमारः ।।३०।।
Love is its own reward-thus opine Brahma Kumaras

The above verse is from Narada Bhakti Sutra. Bhakti begets Bhakti! It is independent. It is the fruit of itself!

The choiceless awareness that I briefly tried to describe in the blog on freedom, is nothing but the witness. It is actually who I am. It is my own nature. This nature manifests in different forms in different Yogas. Witness seems to have an addiction towards manifestation. It loves to or can’t remain without expressing itself. It continues experiencing its Bliss indefinitely. However, it’s different from samsara which although unending, is a suffering after all!

In Karma Yoga, the yogi becomes witness to His Creation by being His servant. The yogi wants to do His work selflessly. As described in Hanuman Chalisa, Hanuman is ever ready and eager to do His work. Ram kaj karibe ko aatur! This longing, made Hanuman a Chiranjeevi meaning, immortal. Therefore , his bliss lies in doing Lord’s work. Forever! Such a fascination it is! Yogi continues to perform actions in the pursuit of perfection, which is Yogah karmasu kaushalam! He wishes to please the Lord with his actions. It’s not that he doesn’t encounter failures, or his actions are infallible, but he strives to overcome them with unflinching determination. Incessantly.

In Bhakti Yoga, the yogi becomes witness to His everlasting, unconditional, pure love. Thus his bliss lies in experiencing Lord’s love everywhere and in every moment. That’s why Narada says Bhakti is a reward in itself. This longing to experience Lord’s love is manifested in the form of gratitude. Devotee remains grateful and continues to praise him wherever he goes by spreading awareness about His omnipresent love. However the love he feels about the Lord is “never enough“! Not perfect!

In Jnana Yoga, the yogi becomes witness to His sheer incomprehensibility! And therefore his bliss lies in contemplating about Lord’s all pervading nature, appreciating the facts and the laws (Rita). Yogi wonders about many facts like anthropic principle for example. He tries to define the Lord in his own way by using logic and knowledge. He loves to be humbly falsified by Lord’s infinity. And he continues to build another explanation, another theory in pursuit of the perfection. Incessantly. This longing to know the Lord is manifested in the form of yogi’s curiosity and passion.

In Raja Yoga, the yogi becomes witness to different Vrittis arising in his mind with the intention of contaminating his eternal state of perfection which is Peace. He tries to control these tendencies, vrittis, by waging a battle against them, with a king like valor. Always ready for a battle. In his quest to control the mind, he faces lot of challenges and entrapments posed by his mind. He never falls prey to them. The highest form of entrapment, to me, could be “Aham Brahmasmi”, or a feeling of omnipotence! However, he overcomes all of them. He loves to be challenged. Continuously. All the time. The reward of fighting is more fighting!

Continuity is its expression. And Bliss is its nature. And perfection is its goal. This is the way by which Awareness becomes aware of itself!

Shri Paramahansa Yogananda, interprets the famous proclamation in Gita somewhat similarly.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥४-७॥

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥४-८॥