Liberation for All

Who pursues the spiritual path and why? In the Bhagwad Gita, Krishna says that ‘only one out of thousands of men tries to attain me; and from amongst those who try to attain me, only a rare person really understands (realises) me’. Sant Jnaneshwar, in his commentary on the Gita, says that Arjuna asked why do only some engage in spiritual pursuit while others do not, and Krishna replied, “This yogabhyas is indeed one that leads to moksha. But then, even an ordinary thing cannot be achieved without qualification.” The Gita specifically mentions that the less privileged are also are entitled to pursue the path of liberation through bhakti. Krishna clearly indicates that varna is not inherited as a family legacy, but is decided by every individual’s makeup and actual occupation undertaken by him. The Gita refers to the different categories of people in terms of their occupation in worldly life. In olden days, those engaged in laborious occupations did not have the facility or environment conducive to pursuit of spiritual practice. Yet, Krishna assures that even they can attain Self-realisation by being God-conscious. A guru was pestered by a disciple to show him God. Finally, one day, the guru took the disciple to the river and forced the disciple’s head under water till the disciple started to get breathless. Then he let the disciple come up above water. When the disciple asked the guru why he did that, the guru answered that the disciple would see God when he would be as desperate for Him as he was for air when under water

Source: Economic Times, 9/11/2018