Talks on the Gita -Vinoba 140

Chapter 12 SAGUNA AND NIRGUNA BHAKTI 66. Saguna And Nirguna Are Only Apparently Different: To Become A True Devotee Is What Matters 29. Lastly, I want to say that it is not easy to clearly distinguish between saguna and nirguna. What appears saguna from one angle may appear nirguna from another. In saguna worship a stone idol is looked upon as a symbol of God. But it is in the mother and in the saints that divine consciousness is clearly manifest. Wisdom, love, tenderness of affection are palpable in them. Still they are not worshipped as the idols of the Lord. Instead of serving the people full of consciousness, instead of seeing saguna God in them, God is seen in an inanimate stone! To see God in a stone is, in a sense, the height of nirguna. It is easier to see God in the saints, the parents and the neighbours who can be seen to have wisdom, love or altruism. It is far more difficult to see God in a stone. Still we worship the stone idol. Is it not verily a form of nirguna worship? 30. On the other hand, one feels that if God is not to be imagined in a stone, where else can we see Him? A stone is the most appropriate thing to become God’s symbol, as it is unruffled, unmoved, peaceful and undisturbed under any condition. Our parents, neighbours, the people in general, all these have their weaknesses. You are bound to find some or the other weakness or fault in them. Hence, serving them is, in a sense, more difficult than worshipping a stone. 31. To sum up, saguna and nirguna are complementary to each other. Saguna is easier than nirguna. But in another sense, nirguna is easy and saguna is difficult. Both lead us to the same end. In the Fifth Chapter, it has been said that the yogi who does not get attached to karma though he is continually engaged in action and sannyasi, who does all the karma while being apparently inactive, are one and the same. Similar is the case here. Saguna state of karma and nirguna state of sannyasa are one and the same. The Lord therefore faced the same predicament that he faced when he was asked whether yoga was better or sannyasa. Finally, He replied on the basis of comparative easiness. Otherwise, there is no difference between yoga and sannyasa or between saguna and nirguna. 32. The Lord says in the end, “O, Arjuna! You may prefer saguna or nirguna, but be a bhakta (devotee); do not remain untouched by devotion.” And then the Lord describes the characteristic attributes of bhakta. The nectar may be sweet, but we have never tasted it. The verses describing the bhakta’s attributes, however, have a rare sweetness that we can experience directly. There is no need for any imagination. Like the verses describing the attributes of sthitaprajna, these verses too should be read daily, reflected upon, ruminated over. We should try to imbibe these attributes bit by bit and go on enriching our life. In this way, life should be gradually led towards the Lord.