Karma, Bhakti and advaita

[Gregory Goode]

At 09:45 AM 4/24/98 +0530, Dr. M. Giridhar wrote:
>> And reading standard texts of Advaitam leaves one with little doubt that
>>from the standpoint of Advaita Vedanta tYhe other two paths, bhakti and
>>karma, as they're commonly interpreted, are lesser forms of sadhana.
>
>        Maybe you should re-read some of the advaitic texts, read works by
>Madhusudhana Saraswati and works of the present Shankara-acharayas before
>making such statements. I would recommend 'The voice of God' by Kanch
>periyava, who will explain to you why karma yoga and bhakti yoga are
>essential and integral parts of ones sadhana. In jivanmuktiviveka,
>the author says that upasana should not be neglected until one has taken
>sannyas.

Thank you, Dr. Giridhar, for this insightful post.  This is indeed the
teaching, based on sruti and human experience as well, and as you implied,
there's no escaping it.  There's no "lesser" or "greater," but there IS
what is necessary for a particular sadhaka.

--Greg Goode