Talk:Is the goal of Bhakti different from that of other Yogas
Some scriptures declare that Bhakti is the shortest and easiest path to obtain the supreme goal of Moksha
Whatever is acquired through karma, austerities, Jnāna, dispassion, meditation or charity or through any other means of spiritual progress, My devotee easily attains to it all through devotion to Me, indeed even heaven, Moksha or My abode should he care to have it. Uddhava Gita 15.32-33 But those saintly persons who are of a steady mind and are devoted exclusively to Me, never desire Kaivalya (absolute independence from the material world) even if I were to offer it to them. Uddhava Gita 15.34
This has been discussed earlier in Section 7.2 above in more detail. Later scriptures of Hindu Dharma which deal with the worship of Ishta Devatā talk of 4 different types of Moksha that are progressively superior to the preceding one:
- Sālokya-Mukti: Living eternally in the same abode as one’s Ishta-Devatā. E.g. in Vaikuntha if the devotee is a Vaishnava.
- Sāmīpya or Sānnidhya: Living in close proximity (and not just in the same abode) as one’s IshtaDevatā. For example, as a Sūrī or as an attendant upon Shiva.
- Sārūpya: Attaining the same form as one’s Deity, e.g., Jaya and Vijaya, the two attendants of Vishnu who have the same appearance and form as Him.
- Sāyujya: In this case, the individual soul is eternal absorbed in the Deity and abides in Him forever. However, this absorption does not mean that the individual soul loses its identity in the Deity. Rather, it means that the soul has the same experiences and powers as the Divinity.
- Sārṣhṭi: Sometimes, an additional type of Mukti is enumerated between 3 and 4 above: Sārshti. It means having the same powers as the Deity. In this fivefold scheme, Sāyujya then means being in constant communion with the Lord.
The scriptures of Bhakti Yoga speak of several varieties of Moksha depending on the spiritual practice and mode of devotion pursued[1]:
| Type of Practice | Mode of Devotion | Nature of Moksha | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | External acts of worship | Servant in relation to Bhagavān (dāsya) | Sālokya |
| 2 | Acts of intimate service to Bhagavān | Good son in relation to Bhagavān (apatya) | Sāmīpya |
| 3 | Contemplation and internal worship | Friend in relation to Bhagavān (sakhya) | Sārūpya |
| 4 | Direct knowledge of Bhagavān | Bhagavān as truth (shānta) | Sāyujya |
An everyday example to illustrate the five types of Mukti is given by Professor Arvind Sharma[2]:
“Let us take the case of a student who has been admitted to the university of his choice. The university has a vice-chancellor who is like God on the campus. In such a situation, just being on the campus would correspond to sālokya; being close to the vice-chancellor to sāmīpya; being able to wear the same insignia as he does to sārūpya; being able to exercise his powers to sārshti and being his close confidante and on constant communion with him to sāyujya.”
From a Bhakti perspective, even Sāyujya does not lead to merger of the individual soul with Brahman whereas in non-dualistic schools, it is used to indicate a unity of the individual soul and Brahman. In fact, after the domination of Advaita Vedānta and other schools that taught annihilation of one’s individual identity in the state of Moksha, many Bhakti teachers stated that the goal of Bhakti Yoga is not Moksha. They argued that Bhakti Yoga leads to a state of bliss – so how could one who has no sense of identity or separation from the Divine even experience this. They resolved this conundrum in two ways – the ancient schools stated that even in the state of Moksha, the individual ātmā maintains a modicum of individuality and separation from the Divine so that it can taste or experience Divine Bliss. Other schools stated that in addition to the four Puruṣhārthas (Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Moksha), Bhakti is the fifth one and therefore its goal is different from Moksha. In this formulation, the goal of the Bhakti Yogī is not Moksha, the Bhakta does not even desire Moksha. All the Bhakti Yogī wants is the ability to serve and love the Lord perpetually unhindered by the limitations of his physical body.