Jnana & Bhakti

[Hemant]

           Sri Ravisankar Mayavaram in his two dispatches has clarified much and his point wise summary of the issues involved has a ring of authenticity from the true Advaitic point-of-view which I have seen for the first time on this list. Regarding Ramkrishana, I may add the following. He was not an intellectual at all but was a homo psychicus. In his life he seems to harmonise the Absolutism of advaita and the Theism of of viSishTAdvaita while starting his spiritual career as a simple Bhakta of Kali in the purely dualistic fashion. His followers believe that in synthesising the various experiences he went beyond the teachings of the various schools of Vedantic philosophy. I may point out that he also underwent extensive tAntrik descipline under a bhairavi brAhmaNi. In addition he experimented with the teachings of Semetic religions and arrived at their respective realisations. For these and other reasons his followers address him as the varishTha avatAra.
             He however cared little for logical consistency. There is no coherent philosophy which formulates all his teachings. So when the question of a philosophy arises, his followers take refuge in Sankara's advaita, accepting some traditional ideas, rejecting others and considerably modifying the rest; all on a purely pragmatic basis. 
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