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Chapter 15
THE INTEGRAL YOGA: SEEING THE LORD EVERYWHERE
83. Bhakti Makes The Effort Easier
6. I cannot cut up life into pieces. I just cannot conceive that karma, jnana and bhakti are disconnected from each other; and they are really not so. Let us take the example of cooking in this jail. Some of us do this job. If a man does not know cooking, he would make a mess of it; food will either be undercooked or burnt. But even if a man knows cooking, he would still not be fit for the job if he has no love or devotion for the work; if he does not feel, “This food is meant for my brothers, that is, for the Lord Himself. I should prepare it as best as I can. This is service of the Lord Himself.” Thus, cooking needs knowledge as well as love. Food would not be tasty unless there is bhakti in the heart while cooking. That is why nobody can cook better than the mother. Who else can do it with equal love and care? Cooking needs hard work or penance as well. It is thus clear that love, knowledge and effort, all three are needed for any job. All the activities in life are supported on this tripod. If one of the legs of the tripod is broken, it cannot stand. All the three legs are necessary. The very term ‘tripod’ conveys this meaning. The same is true of life. Jnana, bhakti and karma—that is, ceaseless effort—are three legs of the tripod of life. Life should be built on these three pillars. Logically, you may take jnana, bhakti and karma as different things, but they cannot be separated from each other in practice. The three together make one great entity. |
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