[Advaita-l] SolUtion in Bad TIMES-Dabate over Belief/Disbelief

[Venkata sriram P via Advaita-l]

Dear Sir,

Bhagavat Gita 7.16 says:

chaturvidhA bhajantE mAM janAH sukrutinO(a)rjuna
ArtO jignAsurarthArthi jnAnI cha bharatarSabha ........7.16

The above sloka is very profound in the sense the emphasis is laid on the
word "sukrutinaH".  So, depending upon the levels of bhaktAs, the gradations
framed are 1) arthArthi 2) Arti 3) jignAsu 4) jnAni

Going by the sutra "uttara uttara baleeyasi", the jnAni is the supreme among
these four and bhagavan kriSNa identifies Himself with this supreme bhakta (jnAni)
as "jnAnI tvAtmaiva mE mataM".

So, nothing wrong in asking the Omni Potent Lord provided the desires 
are legitimate and fits in the wheel of dharma (dharma chakra).  Afterall,
his level is at the level of "arthArthi".

However, one should not stop at that level but aspire to be a jnAni
which comes with the bhagavat-anugraha again.

If we don't ask the Lord Almighty then whom do we ask? Better to 
place our request before the Lord rather than placing before human 
beings. 

regs,
sriram