From Form to Formless: Transcending Duality in Devotion

It's an important episode because I talked about it the other day and we talked about how we would look at some of the pitfalls in bhakti and how we can get to nirgun bhakti . The whole point of bhakti is not to stay stuck on the form , but to get us to transcend

the form , and that form can be anything that we find a close affinity to , where we find divinity just emanates so easily from that form . And that can be your guru , that can be your Ish Devta , that can be your Gul Devta , that can be any of the devis and devtas , it can even be the elements you know , like surya devata and so on .

So we can have that , we can have Ishvara , we can have Saguna Brahman . That's all good , and we will look into each of things where people can get stuck and we'll look at how Advaita Vedanta deals with it . So we will start .

The first point is persistent duality . Now , you know , we have this constant feeling of well , I'm the devotee , you are God , or you are my Ishtiv , you are the form that I worship , and what happens is that that then becomes an ego thing of . One , gets identified as , oh , I'm the devotee , and that's God . Only God can do it .

I can't do it , and that is obviously . If you look at Advaita Vedanta , that's a big no-no In the one can entertain this because you know one's building up confidence in spirituality , so it's needed , but the ego should not be surviving here .

So what happens is we then become the worshiper has a new , like a renewed ego where it's like oh well , I'm the devotee , only you know , I've got to seek blessings , I've got , yeah , and I've got to seek forgiveness , I've got , and you know that .

Not that that's bad , but it's certainly not advantageous eventually , because are we going to keep being in the victim mode in bhakti or are we actually going to go into full-on worship where there's oneness in that worship ? You're going to go into full-on worship where there's oneness in that worship .

So with Advaita we would ask the question well , who is the I that is devoted ? When someone says I am the devotee , who's the I am here , and we would explore that and we'll find out what is actually devoted , and then we'll see that both the devotee , the idea of the devotee , the concept of the devotee and God will arise in awareness and we'll realize .

Actually , you know , there is no difference between me and God , it's oneness . We're not separate , it's not two here . And this devotion actually kind of transcends the duality and transcends mere identity when we understand our true nature . So bhakti can get us to do that .

So , instead of you persisting with this duality and being consistent with this duality of I'm the devotee and you are God , eventually we've got to merge the two together and that will bring oneness and that is non-duality and that's Parabhakti , parabhakti , the highest bhakti .

Now , as I mentioned , you know , when we say that I'm the devotee and you are God , we can get stuck in the names , the forms , the rituals and the emotional

heights . And definitely , if you've ever been part of an arati , whenever you've been part of a jagran where they do a jagrata for the whole night , there's a whole night of Mahashivratri . There's a whole intense energy that's accumulated in that moment . You go to a Sufi , sangeet or anything where there is praises of the divine .

That can get you emotionally high and that is an amazing feeling . It's beautiful . But should that get us stuck . Should that make us feel ? Should we keep chasing those emotional highs or should we be trying to find this emotional high in our life now ?

It's an inner state , this bliss that we achieve when we or feel , when we are meditating on the divine , contemplating on the divine , worshiping the divine . It does bring an immense energy to it , but at the same time , are we just chasing the energy or are we merging with the energy ? That's one thing we have to see .

So here , if we're constantly just thinking this is the image that I worship and my image is better than that , or the name and form that I worship as a guru that's better than yours , that then becomes a problem , because we have to understand that any image , any name , any ritual , any emotional high , these are all mental states or physical states and therefore

it's ultimately just maya , a projection of maya . But these what we could say higher states of maya are there to kind of get us into the mode of devotion . They're not meant to be the full , highest form of devotion . This is meant to be a stepping stone into the nirgun , into the formless .

So we have to turn our attention to that formless substratum , the fund , the underlying substance that's there . That's formless and that's the witness of all names and forms . So what happens is you're worshipping , but you're being aware of the worshipper and the worshipped and that's what you capture .

So that's where bhakti matures , when you're just from loving the form to actually the formless . And when there's the formless , think can there be any boundary to your devotion ? Can there be any boundary to your devotion ? Can there be any boundary to your love ? Can there be any condition to your love ? No , it grows and grows and grows .

And sometimes we get so stuck on the forms we forget what they're representing , which is the formless . Yeah , and that's very important .

Then , you know , bhakti can also , strangely enough , create a fear of ego , death . Now , we may have this resistance to just not existing . Imagine if I don't exist , and how can I worship god ?

And if I , or if I disappear , then my worship to God disappears and we , you know , cling to that personal God because we want to protect this I-ness that we have this Humgada , that we have . The Humgada cannot have devotion . Yeah , that can never have devotion . The Humgada would make that devotion into a game that it in order for it to survive .

But Bhakti , true Bhakti , is about getting rid of the Hama Gada , getting rid of the ego . So what would happen here is that we would say look , ego , death is not the end , it's your freedom , don't be scared to lose yourself in devotion , it's okay , remove your existence . Then what will remain ? Only god will remain , and that's the highest form of devotion .

So what happens here and the funny thing is it's not that you disappear or you dissolve away . No , the I dissolves away , the false I , the false self , and only Satchitananda alone remains , because that's our true nature , that's the true nature of Brahman , that's who we are , and so we should never shy away from that .

So what happens here is that if you feel in that moment of bhakti that if I go any further , it's going to remove my whole existence and I may die , just remember that you will remain after this . You will not physically die , you will not even have a full on ego death , because ego still has a function .

But what will happen is you will no longer identify with the ego . The jiva identifies with Satchitananda , and that's the true essence of bhakti . I've alluded to this before , but let's go a bit deeper into this . One Is when we identify as a bhakti

, as a devotee . You know we cling to this self-image , that you know I'm a Das of this Prabhu , I'm a Das of this Bhagavan . And what happens ? There is a subtle ego . You know , I'm the Das and that Das can become an ego , that Das can become an issue where we just say the words but we don't actually feel that we are .

So imagine if you say that you are a das , then are you a das just for a particular clan , community , people , or are you a das for everyone in existence ? See , you can't be a das for , uh , one person , you have to be adast for all . Then there's no high and low .

But if you are a servant of this Prabhu , this Nirakar , this Shiva , whatever you worship , narayan , then you have to see everyone as that form . So even being ad Das is very difficult , but it should not become our ego and we get stuck in .

Well , I'm a servant of the Lord and a Guru comes to you and says you are the Lord and you say , no , I'm the servant of the Lord . The Guru is pointing you to the highest and we are saying , no , I'm the Das , I'm the Das . What's happened ? Identity , so even the identity , the idea that I'm a bhakti , is a thought .

So we have to drop all these roles and we have to investigate well , what is saying that I am a das ? Who is the das here ? And yes , if you are truly the divine , you will worship all , because all is the divine . There is nothing but the divine . It's the omnipotent , omnipresent , omniscient . It's the only one here .

But for that we have to dissolve every self-image that we have , even the one that I am a devotee , I am the servant of the Lord , even that . And what should remain for us is just this pure , formless consciousness . And from there we do bhakti .

My guru often says and it's a very important line she says that bhakti begins once you know what God is , once you attain God , godliness , then you know , then bhakti begins . And this is very deep , because can we do bhakti in ignorance ? No , if there's a deal going on , then it's not bhakti . Bhakti is not a deal with the divine . Bhakti is beyond that .

Bhakti is where the divine only is , where we get so lost in this fervor of devotion that we lose ourself and we never return

the ego . I'm talking about the Om Gara . I'm talking about that is devotion , this other one that you know . I often hear people say this and they may claim to be Jnanis and all this . And , frankly , the Brahma Kumaris say this a lot .

They say everything is a drama , a lila , a play , and therefore they don't want to deal with the actual problem of duality , which is the real problem , but they rather deal with the whole , kind of not dealing with it properly , without going beyond . Well , what is behind this play ? What is behind this drama ?

You know , they just keep saying everything is a drama . Is it really ? You know somebody in abject poverty ? You say that their poverty is a drama that the Lord has put onto them . What ? How is that even Justifiable , you know ?

Or , instead of actually people dealing with their problems , you say everything is drama , it's a leela , it's the Lord's leela , it's the Lord's drama . But Does that really work ? Does it actually help us transcend our emotions , our body and mind identification ? Does it help us to rest in formless awareness ? No , because there's still something .

But actually we're double layering it . First we're saying there's a God that's separate to me , then there's a play that God , god that is separate to me , then there is a play that God has written that is separate to me . So the question is Do we even have free will in this matter . So then , can you have free will to even do bhakti ?

Is it your choice to do bhakti ? So , yes , you can honour that . Somewhat the world looks like a stage . Yeah , you can honor that . You can definitely say you know , some part of it is a lila , but go deeper . What's the reality behind all this play ? Is this play even happening ?

It's like a beautiful example that Advaita uses that when the wave realizes it's the water , leela continues . What happens ? The wave no longer fears dissolution , it knows that it's going to keep appearing as a wave and that's fine , but its substance is the same it's water .

So therefore , we're that same one reality , and this drama of the world is just a wave in the whole Leela . It's a wave in the reality . That's what the Leela is and that's the way to see it . And then another point , and this is the last point , one of the last points we're going to be making is actually there's a few more points .

One is when we surrender , we think we've done it , that's it , this is the end , we're finished , we're done . I've surrendered to the Almighty . How many people I've heard say to me oh , I've surrendered to the divine ? No , they haven't . If you surrendered to the divine , you would actually go with the flow of life .

And I'm telling you , none of them go with the flow of the divine . They have one little desire . They're impulsive and they chase that desire . But they say they're surrendered , nothing of surrender . And when you say emotionally that you surrender or you know , I've given up on life , does that mean you've surrendered to the actual divine ?

No , or you say , god , I'm so upset I surrender everything to you . But when you get happy , what happened to your God in your surrender ? And this happens , so true surrender is not , oh , I give myself to God .

It's true surrender is the dissolution , the disappearance , the annihilation of the I-ness , of the I-making , the Ahamkara , because that is what surrenders when you surrender the true I , when you say I have no identity , that is of a name and form , or body and mind . I am this pure consciousness . I surrender to this , I surrender to Aham Brahmasmi .

That's the true meaning of I am brahman . When you surrender all identity and only aham brahmastmi remains , not as a statement to be made , but an ex , but the continuous uh , you could say experience to be lived , because that's the only experience we actually are living , that's the only reality you're living in Is Aham , brahmasmi .

We just create layers Instead of being Aham , brahmasmi or Tatva Masi or whatever , mahavakya or Shivoham . So it's only when that surrender becomes total , when we totally surrender our body and mind and our identity , only then is that surrender , because only Brahman should remain , only this Nirakara , this Shiva should remain , nothing else .

That is true surrender , not an emotional one . Oh , I give myself to God , I give myself to God , but I will harm the humanity as much as I can . I keep hold of my power . Imagine there's a priest who runs a church or runs a temple and he says oh , I've given myself to God , I've given myself to Dharma .

And they do such acts which make you think how can they ? How have they given themselves to God ? They're the most corrupt people on the planet . But people will say that I'm being devoted , that's what they will call . So these little things we have to be very alert of . And then there's devotional distraction , and this is a big

one . Actually . You know , we constantly would go to satsang , to kirtan , to do seva , to do rituals , just to keep our mind engaged outwardly . But are we doing any work internally ? That's the question . And sometimes that's not happening . We are not going for that , that . We are just doing the actions . We can week out .

We can week out and we're not thinking who is the one behind all these actions , who is the one that's the witness of all these actions ? In which awareness is this occurring in ? Where is this Brahman ? How is this Brah Brahman ? Am I this Brahman ? That inquiry has not begun , but we keep doing the run of the mill .

Yeah , I keep going to satsang , I keep doing seva , I keep doing the rituals , I keep going to kirtan , I keep going to the temple . But is anything happening ? Are we learning anything ? Are we progressing ? Are we moving forward ? See , you can't call this bhakti . Bhakti is a true is when you are fully into this .

It's not based on external circumstances , it's on the internal circumstance . How much of the mind are you analysing and checking these little things ? And this is for the beginner of the path . I'm not talking about people who've reached the end of the path . This is for the beginner . This episode is for the beginner .

I've been there , all the things that I mentioned today . I've been there and I've had to deal with it . So it's not like and I know it can be done . It can be done and it will be done . So that's one thing you know .

Devotion leads you and this is a really , really important point it leads you to an immense silence where , when there's oneness with Brahman , when you understand , there is nothing but formless awareness and you feel that ananda , you feel that bliss , you're in that continuous , constant flow of bliss , shall I say . Silence is there .

Neither do you need to confirm anything , neither do you need to deny anything , neither do you need to attain anything , neither do you need to surrender anything . There's just this equipoise , centeredness that you have . That is experienced in true devotion . True devotion is a dissolution of all pairs of opposites . That's true devotion .

So if you want to do the highest seva , the highest satsang , the highest girtan , then abide as Brahman , abide as Formless Awareness . That is the most sacred one you want to . You want to listen to the best girtan , then listen to the inner sound of silence , listen to the Aum that is there in the background all the time .

Wake up at 3am in the morning , 4am , and you'll hear it . When you hear that , no worldly music can come close , no lyrics can come close , it can be experienced . And these are just good signs to say keep on going in this bhakti , keep dissolving yourself , remove yourself as much as possible .

And the conclusion of this is and the massive point of why there is this blindness that can come with bhakti is that there's an absence of jnana

. Jnana and bhakti are two wings of the same bird . You get rid of one , it can't fly . That's what I've learned in my devotional and jnani practice is that one has to have both , and karma is the bird that is flying in between , because your actions must reflect your bhakti and your jnani , your knowledge . So devotion .

Without that inner self , inquiry into that inquiry into what am I , what is this awareness , what is Brahman ? It only leads to stagnation . You'll be doing the same thing again and again . You'll do good karma for sure , you'll probably get a nice , favorable birth in the future , but it won't lead you to Jivan Mukti , which is a point of Bhakti and Jnana , both .

Jivan Mukti is the solution , sorry , is the end goal . That is the point of Bhakti . That is the point . So , combine Bhakti with your Jnnana , do not let go of either of them . And , you know , let that devotion , that emotional ride that bhakti brings . Put that into the inquiry into what is real , what is here , what is now ? What is this awareness ?

What is this witness ? What's this sakshi ? Get absorbed in this Seek , that union when there is no way you can unmerge , you combine completely , like sugar into water , salt into water , where the salt Cannot be seen anymore , the sugar granules Cannot be seen anymore , the sugar granules cannot be seen anymore . Don't be like oil and water . That is not devotion .

So that union disappears , that two-ness , that remains , only oneness remains , and that's true bhakti , that's true jnana . So what you could say is , in the beginning , bhakti begins with oh , I love God , I love my guru , I love my ishtivta , beautiful , amazing , good . Then it matures into what am I ? You know , this formless , this nirakara .

Then it matures into a what am I ? This formless , this nirakara , this God is amazing . Only this remains . And then it ends with I am this formless awareness , I am Brahman , I am God , but not as an ego . Remember it's the most humbling experience , moment in your spiritual journey and it's that humility that remains afterwards .

So I hope you enjoyed this episode . It's not so much of the pitfalls of bhakti , it's about how to utilize bhakti effectively . And yeah , I hope you enjoyed this episode . Let me know your thoughts . Do ask questions like , don't . If you have something that you disagree with or want to explore more , write a comment , write me an email , get in contact with me .

The whole point is to continue the discussion . Okay , do like this video ? Comment , subscribe . Join me on Discord . You know all the rest . Anyway , take care , have a good weekend . Take care , namaste Bye .