18 Dec 2016
Dr. Nikhil asked (on phone): You said that atheist does sins since he does not believe in the existence of God. An Advaita philosopher also feels that he is God and hence, does not agree in the existence of God other than himself and hence, can we say that he also does sins like an atheist?
Swami replied: There is difference between Advaita philosopher and atheist. Atheist believes in his existence and believes neither that God other than himself exists nor believes that he himself is God. The Advaita philosopher believes in the existence of God and also believes that he is that God. There is difference between these two people. An atheist does not fear for God or hell since both are non-existent in his view. He only fears to the police and courts in this world and hence, fears for punishment existing in this world. It is true that an Advaita philosopher also fears for the punishment in this world like an atheist. You may also say that Advaita philosopher also does not bother about the hell since he himself being God, can’t go to hell. Fear for hell also does not exist in the atheists since hell does not exist. Hence, the backgrounds may be different, but, the fear for hell on doing sin does not exist in both. You are true that in this way Advaitin misunderstood truth and the followers of Advaita philosophy were spoiled due to lack of fear for hell and continued to do sins. Moreover, Advaitin misunderstands that world is unreal for him (God) and hence the sin is also unreal in his feeling. For the unreal sin, subsequent unreal punishment exists, which is real for the unreal sinner (since unreal world is real for unreal soul)! Shankara established this by saying that His run on seeing unreal elephant is also unreal! To rectify this misunderstanding of Advaita philosophy, Ramanuja and Madhva came subsequently.
The above misunderstanding of Advaita philosophy should be rectified by taking- 1) the founder of Advaita (Shankara Himself) as an example in the concept and 2) the point that practical experience (Anubhava) is the final authority among authorities of knowledge like primary scripture (Shruti), secondary scripture (Smruti), logic (Yukti) and practical experience (Anubhava). This world is unreal to the absolute reality called God since world is the relative reality. The human being (soul+body) is a part of this unreal world and hence, the human being is also unreal to God. For the unreal human being, the rest unreal world can’t be unreal. Both human beings and world are unreal to the real God only. Shankara with whom the real God is merged becomes absolute reality or God. Hence, Shankara could pass through the bolted door of Mandana Mishra since bolted door (part of the world) is unreal for the real Shankara. If every human being is God, it should pass through any bolted door even if it does not know that it is God. Even if the fire thinks itself as water, anything thrown in fire is burnt only and not quenched. Hence, even an ignorant human being (not knowing that it is God) should pass through the bolted door. At least, a human being instructed that it is God, shall realize itself as God immediately and hence, such a realized human being should pass through the bolted door. Neither ignorant nor realized human being is able to pass through the bolted door. Hence, the practical experience opposes that any human being (in which God or soul is merged) can pass through the bolted door. Now you may say that the ignorance is very strong and sometime is needed to realize fully that every soul is God. O.K. You have agreed that no soul is God even after realization and that there is a period of time in which the human beings have not become God. All the human beings in this world continuously exist in such period only for births and births together. In such period of non-removal of total ignorance, no soul or human being is God. During such period of ignorance, all the human beings experience the world as equal reality only and hence, sins and hell must be also real in such period because sins and hell are part of the world. Therefore, during such period of ignorance, till the soul is transformed into God like Shankara, the soul did not become God as proved by the above practical experience. Therefore, during such period of ignorance (vyavahara dashaa), the soul shall not do sins to avoid the punishments in the hell or even here (in the case of intensive sins). Therefore, an Advaita philosopher misunderstanding Shankara can be rectified through the logic, whereas an atheist can never be rectified. Shankara agreed to the reality of hell, heaven and corresponding deeds of the soul as long as this period of ignorance exists.
An atheist and Advaita philosopher coincide only at one basic point, which is that there is no God at all (for atheist) or no God other than the soul (for Advaita philosopher). These two concepts of atheist and Advaitin coincide at one partial-basic point like the point at the bottom in a letter ‘V’. After that point, these two philosophies are totally different in opposite directions, which are upwardly extending slant lines of the letter ‘V’. This basic common partial point that there is no God for both philosophies was inevitable for Shankara because you have to become friendly by nodding your head to the opponent so that the opponent will at least hear your argument in return patiently. This is the psychology to agree the point of opponent to some extent at least (at least partially). In fact, the point that there is no God is partial only since there is no God at all for atheists and there is no God other than the soul for Advaitin. Just half of a point (there is no God) is common to both. Therefore, Advaita philosophy of Shankara understood with careful analysis shows that Shankara is hundred percent theist and not atheist at all. Lack of patience in doing careful analysis of the highest intellectual theory of Shankara alone misleads the Advaitins to become atheists. Due to this misunderstanding only, Shankara was called as Buddhist or atheist in disguise (prachchanna bauddha) by foolish people. Even Buddha was misunderstood as an atheist. Buddha was the incarnation of Lord Vishnu among the ten famous incarnations and is it not shameful to call Buddha as an atheist? Buddha never negated the existence of God. He only kept silent about God because the absolute God is beyond words and even imagination. Silence is the correct indication of the absolute God and this misunderstood silence ends in atheism to think that silence means absence of existence of God.
[Questions by Shri Anil]
Padanamaskaram Swami
With regards to Your recent discourses kindly elaborate on following points
At Your Divine Feet, anil
1) 'It is very very difficult to cross the sixth wheel because nothing can go beyond itself! Even Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was unable to cross this sixth wheel and his preacher (Totapuri) pierced this wheel present in between two eyebrows with a piece of glass'
Swami Replied: All the six wheels constitute all the components of this creation. Matter in three states (solid, liquid and gas) and energy in three states (visible range, invisible range and specific work form in a specific nervous system called as awareness) are the 6 principal components of this creation. You cannot go beyond this world to understand the unimaginable God by any amount of intensive analysis of intelligence (seventh wheel). Going beyond world means going beyond yourself since you are a part of this world containing all the six components assembled as yourself as a micro-model representing the macro-cosmos. Hence, crossing yourself is nothing but going beyond the creation. This results in going beyond five inert elements and yourself as awareness indicating the realization of the existence of the unimaginable absolute reality or God. In the seventh wheel, the information you can achieve is that the unimaginable God exists and you can imagine the absolute God as unimaginable. Getting this much information is achievement of the unimaginable God, which means that you have to imagine the existing absolute God as unimaginable only. Getting this much knowledge of unimaginable God is represented by the merge of Kundalini (power of imagination) with Shiva (attaining information that the unimaginable God exists).
2) God is very much pleased by sacrificing right knowledge in spiritual path than in materialistic path like knowledge of science.
Swami Replied: Science helps the soul to have a peaceful life in this world, which is also essential for the spiritual path. The fruit of science disappears once you leave this world. The fruit of spiritual knowledge benefits you here as well as there after leaving this world and for any number of births. Hence, it is more important than science.
3) Jesus also accepted the concept of rebirth in some special cases and this point was suppressed! (The Father of heaven or Lord Datta present in Jesus is also existing in this Datta Swami and hence, Lord Datta knows the fact. There may be defect in recording or this point might have been suppressed in the revised scripture.)'
Swami Replied: The concept of rebirth has both positive and negative sides. If rebirth is accepted for every soul infinitely, the disadvantage is that every soul becomes lazy in the spiritual path postponing the spiritual effort to old age and the old man postpones to the next birth! In view of this negative disadvantage of humanity, the honourable scholars of Christianity (called as Fathers) suppressed this point in view of the welfare of humanity only and not with any other ill intention. Such suppression is good for the spiritual aspirants.
On the other hand, if you make it as a rule that no soul can have the opportunity for rebirth, it results in the lack of power of omnipotent God to sanction rebirth to even a deserving soul, which is unable to complete the effort in this birth, in spite of utmost sincerity. This results in saying that God is not omnipotent since He cannot change the rule of inevitable absence of rebirth.
As the middle golden path of Aristotle, the truth is that God is omnipotent to sanction rebirth to a deserving soul as a special case to continue and complete its spiritual effort. By this, you cannot also generalize that every soul gets the opportunity of rebirth infinitely. Both extremities are wrong. In Hinduism, rebirth to every soul infinitely is spoken, which is wrong. In Christianity and Islam, “no rebirth to any soul and even the omnipotent God cannot sanction rebirth to any deserving soul also” is spoken and this is also wrong. Jesus told the truth that exists between these two extremities, which is the ultimate truth and also the real heart of the spiritual knowledge of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.
4) Regarding: Idol worship-worship of human incarnation -'Training and actual employment' as per Christianity. ..'no training no war' as per Prophet Mohammad.
Swami Replied: Training means worshipping idols, which are in human form before worshipping the actual human form of God. Actual employment is worshipping God in human form called as contemporary human incarnation like Krishna, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Mahavir Jain, etc., in their corresponding times. Hinduism recommended the training to the freshers (ignorant and not eligible for employment due to their ego and jealousy towards co-human forms) and the actual employment after training (the worship of human form of God) to any trainee after successfully completing the training. The period of training need not be uniform to every trainee. Hinduism recommends both the stages (training and employment) one after the other. Christianity refers to the trainees always sitting in the training only throughout their lives by condemning their sitting in the training only forever. Christianity says to such everlasting trainees to stop the training (idol worship) and come to the actual employment (worship of human incarnation like Jesus) as early as possible. Coming to the Islam, in the actual employment, the successful trainee was killed and hence, Prophet Mohammed took this as very very serious sin. Hence, He condemned and cancelled both training (shooting inert goals) and subsequent employment (war in which alive enemies are shot). How much love is there for Jesus in the heart of Mohammed! The difference in these three religions is only due to the different behaviour of people in different regions and in different times. To control such terrible sin, difference is essential and blind uniform following is to be avoided. Since such most cruelest sin did not occur in India, Hinduism allowed both training (worshipping idol of Rama or Krishna) and subsequent employment (worship of contemporary human incarnation). Understanding the background behaviour of people in different regions and in different times, one can easily realize the oneness in these three religions. Without looking into the oneness of the background, ignorant fools will quarrel with each other finding only the superficial difference that arose due to unavoidable circumstances of different contexts of time.
[Questions by Shri Kishore Ram]
1) Dear Swami - I am going through this agony from past few months. I read your discourses daily and love them, whenever find time I try to propagate them through Social Media. But the worst part is, the intention behind this propagation is some cause/desire(Veshya or Vaishya Bhakthi whatever you name it). You did explain in several discourses about the initial failures while practising your divine knowledge(increase the dose). But in my case, its not really happening, day by day I am more inclined towards the desire tree, relating to the service (the little propagation I do). Why is it so? This is really killing me. Please suggest a solution to get rid out of this mental agony. I feel ashamed of myself.
At the Lotus Feet of JagadGuru Dattaswami!!!,
kishore ram
Swami replied: This is very very important doubt of practical spiritual knowledge. The same question was put by Arjuna to Lord Krishna in the Gita, “Why I am forced to do the sin even though I do not want to do the sin (Anichchannapi…balaadiva…)?” Before explaining the answer given by the Lord, I will give some initial clarification. All of us shall agree that the sin is done by a living being with awareness only and not by mere inert item like a stone or statue. A living being may also have the inert materials as body, but the doer of the sin is only the awareness and not the inert material of the body. There are three stages in the process of sin:
i) Wish (sankalpa) to do the sin by which one becomes doer (karta)
ii) The inert process of deed (karma)
iii) Enjoyment of its corresponding fruit by which one becomes enjoyer (bhokta)
In these three stages, 1 and 3 are related to awareness. When one throws a big stone on a person and kills him, the middle process of killing by stone, which is 2, is inert process only because even a stone slipping from the hill by force of wind falling on a person kills him in the same way and here, there is no agent of awareness. But when a person throws a stone with intention to kill somebody, the intention initiating the inert process is related to awareness. Subsequently, the fruit of sin given as punishment by death-sentence pains the killer and hence, the enjoyment of fruit is again related to awareness only. Therefore, the sin starting with 1 and ending by 3 is totally related to the awareness only. This awareness is stored in the soul in the form of several impressions of thoughts of violence existing as a specific functional mode called as chittam (one of the four internal instrumental modes of awareness). These impressions were done in the past millions of births (which may mean even previous days of this birth) and this stored psychological pattern of violent thoughts forces any soul to similar sins in the present birth. Such storage of thoughts provokes the sins with unassuming force. Hence, Lord told that the storage of thoughts (chittam) called as para prakruti is responsible for the sins (mind, intelligence and ego are categorized under apara prakruti and hence, the fourth instrumental mode is inevitably taken as para prakruti). The Lord said that the awareness as functional mode of storage (para) or prakruti is provoking the deed of sin by creating the wish with tremendous force (prakrutim yaanti..., prakrutistvaam..., prakruterguna sammudhaah... Gita). The Lord said that there are three main gates to hell, which are the main sins:
i) Violence in killing living beings for food, killing human beings including terrorism, etc. (krodha)
ii) Greediness, which is stealing others’ money by corruption, etc. (lobha)
iii) Illegal sex other than wife or husband (kama)
The Lord also said that kama and krodha are responsible for the main sins (kamaesha krodhaesha…). You may doubt that the Lord missed lobha here. It is not so because the word ‘kama’ stands for two senses: i) sex and ii) general desire. Therefore, the word kama as general desire indicates lobha also.
What is the solution to control this? The only solution that Lord suggested is divine spiritual knowledge, “The spiritual knowledge burns all sins (jnanaagnih…), all the sins can be crossed by simply knowledge (vrujinam samtarishyasi…), the inert deed ends without fruit by the spiritual knowledge (jnanee parisamaapyate…), nothing other than jnana is pious to purify the soul (nahijnanena…).”
I am explaining this. We have already seen that the sins are related to awareness and its thoughts only, which is wrong knowledge. The wrong knowledge can be smashed by right knowledge only. A diamond can be cut by another diamond only. The spiritual knowledge gets impressed very well by its force and frequency of memorization called as ‘manana’. Other than this, there is no second path to control the sin. The right and complete divine spiritual knowledge given by God alone can bring you the success. You are already in the path towards success. You are only lacking some patience. You must realize the force of this wrong knowledge stored in your memory about which you are not even aware and such memory is called as subconscious state of awareness. This will be destroyed by the power of right and complete knowledge given by human incarnations like Krishna, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Mahavir Jain, Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Sai Baba etc. Seeing the duration of the stored wrong knowledge, you must maintain some patience, which is the first requisite of a spiritual aspirant as told by Shankara (Shamadamaadi…).
2) On recent question from Karthik regarding Continuum thoery and Purnam versa from Upanishad, a person in FB has commented on that. Can you please pass this query to Swami for more elaborative answer?
===========Swami Explanation=========
Q) Please explain the meaning of the mantra, ‘Om Purnamadah Purnamidam’.
Also, someone on the internet has asked the following question - Is the meaning of the Sanskrit shloka Om Purnamadah Purnamidam very similar to the continuum theory?
https://www.quora.com/Is-the- meaning-of-the-Sanskrit-shloka …
Swami replied: Puurnam means completeness. This is different from continuity as in the case of propagation of energy as continuous waves, which is different from the quantised theory of energy. Completeness is different from continuity. Continuity may be endless......further explanation not pasted here......
======USER COMMENTS Below===========
Infinite is infinite ...anything added or deleted from it , does not make it any more or less...the Infinite being infinite always remains the same....or ..Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Purnnam-Udacyate
Puurnnashya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||
That is Full, This is Full, From Fullness comes that Fullness, anything added or deleted from it does not make it any less or more , Fullness Indeed Remains.
And yes it is the same as the continuum theory suggests....but it is a matterof understanding/realization and not a matter of debate or arguments.
Swami replied: Infinite means that you can never reach its boundaries. Let us assume that somebody reached its boundaries (an assumption only). For Me, it is infinite and for that somebody, it is finite. Completeness is different from infinity. I say that My statement is completed. It does not mean that My statement is infinite. Infinity is a relative concept taking the importance of the angle of observation of a particular reference. Somebody like a villager standing on earth may say that the earth is infinite. For a scientist, this finite earth may be realized as finite only. For such a relative infinity, it is not correct to say that addition and subtraction will not change its infinite nature. It only means that for the same reference, feeling it as infinite, the addition and subtraction affecting the infinite can’t be noted by that specific referred observer. But, for the observer, who can find the boundaries of such infinite, the addition and subtraction affecting the value of the finite (considered as infinite by the other reference) changes and this change is well noted. If you take the existence of absolute infinity (which is infinite for any reference), the very steps of addition and subtraction cannot be even uttered, which can never be noted by anybody. Addition or subtraction affecting the real infinity can’t be observed at all since the boundaries are really infinite. Hence, addition and subtraction to real infinity can’t be even uttered by mouth so that you can say that the real infinite is unchanged and complete by such addition and subtraction!
Therefore, treating this infinite universe as real infinite (for which additions, etc. are prohibited even for utterance) may not be correct since this infinite universe may be infinite for human beings and simultaneously may be finite to God. Hence, human beings may be unable to note the changes of addition and subtraction to this relatively infinite world also. Additions and subtractions and their changes to this world can be simultaneously noted by God. You need not say that God Himself said that His own creation is infinite (nantosti mama… Gita). You have to take this statement of God in the angle of Arjuna, a human being only. If you say that the creation is also infinite in the angle of God, you can’t say that God is Creator of this world. Before creation, world did not exist and the subsequent creation can’t make this created world to become infinite to the Creator Himself!
Finite and infinite concepts are applicable only to imaginable items. You can say that this imaginable earth is finite and this imaginable universe is infinite with reference to yourself. The entire imaginable world is finite with reference to God and simultaneously infinite to the human beings. This world cannot be infinite to both God and human beings so that the world becomes absolutely infinite with reference to any observer including God, its Creator also!
The above verse applies to unimaginable God only. When different energetic or human incarnations exist side by side in the same time (like Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in the upper world or like Sai Baba and Akkalkot Maharaj in this world), the same unimaginable God exists completely in all these incarnations because addition, subtraction, multiplication and division cannot affect the completeness of the unimaginable God. It only means that unimaginable God is divided in two simultaneous incarnations, but, since both Gods are complete individually and one only, the division is not affecting the completeness of unimaginable God. Division is true, but simultaneously completeness of each half is also true. This only means that the unimaginable God is beyond logic of imagination.
You cannot apply the above Vedic verse to relative infinity, which is the characteristic of the imaginable domain only like this world. In such imaginable domains, if logic of mathematics is applied, the result is such application correlates our practical experience and becomes meaningful. But, if you apply this mathematics to the unimaginable domain or God, our practical experience is contradicted, which goes beyond climax capacity of our imagination. The theory of continuum (wave mechanics) and the theory of corpuscular nature (quantum mechanics) are related to the imaginable domains, which are only dealt by science. You cannot bring the above verse to explain these worldly imaginable domains of science. All the above verse means only that the goal described is simply unimaginable ... simply unimaginable only. You can find such other Vedic verses like ‘it does not move at all, but, moves with fastest speed (Anejadekam manaso javiyah…).’ Application of the statements regarding unimaginable God can’t be applied to the imaginable items or even to the entire imaginable world and vice versa is also not possible.
3) A muslim devotee in FB has requested Swami to explain - How are ISLAM and YOGA connected?
Swami replied: Yoga means joining the contemporary human incarnation of God on this earth, which is the relevant address of God given to humanity by God Himself. The first energetic incarnation called as Father of Heaven was given to the souls in the energetic bodies present in the upper world. Of course, Father of Heaven also exists in human incarnation since unimaginable God enters human form through the divine Father of Heaven only. The human form of God has both birth and death. But, the first energetic incarnation of God (Datta or Father of Heaven) has beginning but no end. Since the energy and the energetic form were created by God, first energetic form had the beginning. Since unimaginable God entered it and never destroys it, this form is eternal and has no end. It can have end if unimaginable God wishes. But, it will never have end because unimaginable God never wishes so. The human form has both beginning and end. The first energetic form had no time to become devotee of unimaginable God and hence, such Father of Heaven is never a devotee and all the devotees are His devotees only. The moment the first energetic form is created, it became God. Human form of God was selected by God only through its sincere and real devotion only. Catching the contemporary human form of God is called as Yoga, which contains Father of Heaven including unimaginable God. Prophet Mohammed Himself is such contemporary human incarnation of God. But, He removed this concept of Yoga due to the most unfortunate crucifixion of Jesus, another human incarnation of God. The Prophet limited the spiritual path up to the success in pravrutti like passing the ultimate tenth-class examination in a school. He thought that after passing tenth, the college can be introduced in course of time instead of introducing the college to the school student leading to confusion. If Allah is taken as the Father of Heaven, Yoga is attained after death only. If Allah is taken as the unimaginable God, the Yoga is completely hidden till the proper time of joining the college comes. Had that crucifixion been absent, the Prophet could have opened the whole field from school to college to university.
4) One of my friend asked - Is it really possible to live in this world without commiting a single Sin in the boundary of Pravrutti? Also can you please elaborate on Why Rama killed King Vali hiding from a tree? Did Rama commited a sin kiiling Vali in that approach? Kindly explain.
Swami Replied: Already I have explained that ends justify means especially in the deeds of human incarnation of God. Vali was killed by Rama in that way because Vali has a boon to get half of the strength of the opponent, which makes him to defeat any enemy. Rama did not kill Vali for the sake of getting back Sita. Rama killed Vali only for his unjust deeds. However, this concept should be very carefully adopted by human beings in special cases without misusing it for selfish purpose. Hence, human beings are always bound by the rule that means justify ends.
[Questions by Shri Kishore Ram continued …]
Padmanamaskaram Swami!!!
My humble request to clear my confusion and answer the below query
Q) Swami, from reading your divine discourses over a period of time, I would like to summarise three paths for a human soul.
a) Path of Karma - This is related to Wordly Action or desire driven action. This will not help soul to achieve salvation since he is not detached to gross and subtle body resulting in cycle of births.
b) Path of Jnana(Atma) - This as I understand from your discourses related to Knowledge of Self(Atman or Pure Awareness), referring to Jnana Yoga subject as preached by Lord Krishna in Gita. This will help the soul to fix 'I' to Casual body detaching Gross and Subtle Body. This soul(Atma Jnani) experience 'Rasa' and 'Ananda'(enjoyment of Good and Bad equally unaffected).
c) Path to Please God - This is the subject of Nivrutti, where the divine souls forms a new bond to GOD, detaching even 'I' of self. Through this the soul may achieve the state of 'Kaivalya' through selfless service and sacrifice to Lord in Human Form.
I have couple of questions on this
1) Is my understanding on above a,b and c correct?
2) If yes, then what is the fate of Souls for b(Path of Atma Jnana)? What is the problem if they are in that state for ever, though they take birth on this world again and again or they stay in upper worlds(hell/heaven). They should remain unaffected. What is need to follow path (c) - Path to please GOD when path (b) is peaceful?
Swami, apologies for putting this question to you again but in a different way. I see in most spiritual discussion or debates in social network the current generation seems to be fixing Self as goal and finally claim self as God.
At The Divine Feet of JagadGuru Dattaswami!!!
Kishore Ram.
Swami Replied: The process A is pravrutti and the process C is Nivrutti. The intermediate process B is self-realization, which is a temporary facility given to human being in the process of service to God in human form. The service to the contemporary human incarnation needs lot of sacrifice of all the worldly bonds including even one’s own life! If the soul is attached to the body by superimposition (adhyaasa) to think that body is the meaning of the word ‘I’, it becomes impossible to detach even a little from the worldly bonds. The bond with life partner, issues and money for the happiness of the body only show that unless one is detached from body and fixes the awareness as the meaning of the word ‘I’, such sacrifice cannot be even imagined. Hence, the process B is also a limb of the process of Nivrutti. Even the process A (pravrutti) is a limb of the process of Nivrutti only, if you control yourself from the sins not because that you fear for the punishments in the hell, but, because you do not like to displease your beloved God, who is against the sins. Thus, pravrutti (A) based on devotion to God (C) also becomes a limb of Nivrutti. Hence, one must start with Nivrutti only and make A and B as parts of C. Then only, it becomes a straight train from the place where you exist up to the goal of Nivrutti beyond which there is no journey. If you follow A and B without reference to C, they have short-ranged, temporary intermediate goals only with high risk of slip. If you are not attached to C, you are independent and you are totally responsible for your grip and slip in the journey even in A and B. If you start with C, God will take care of you and leads you up to the highest goal (C) without any intermediate slips in the process A or B. In the path B, you can get only peace since you are detached from the body and attached to your inherent awareness. Awareness by itself does not have immense bliss. If awareness by itself has immense bliss, no human being will do any work in this world, either good or bad. Immense bliss comes only from God. For example, you can see the immense bliss in the unimaginable knowledge given by God. Attainment of self (atma yoga) or awareness gives only peace (shamah karanamuchchyate… Gita), which gives you salvation from the worldly bond-tensions. Salvation means simply liberation from worldly bonds and does not mean bond with God.
Lot of effort is to be put for the salvation from worldly bonds by attaining neutral self or awareness, which has no attraction and hence, there is no bliss at all except peace. On attaining God, very high attraction with immense bliss is experienced and in such path of nivrutti, salvation from worldly bonds is spontaneous without any effort. Self-attainment (B) and success in pravrutti (A) are inevitable intermediate stations in the path of nivrutti and need not be considered as separate goals. Salvation from worldly bonds can’t be eternal in the case of self-attainment or success in pravrutti through fear and falling back towards worldly bonds often takes place.
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