虔信
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中文
虔信（Bhakti）
（在旁遮普省锡亚尔科特演讲）
应旁遮普与克什米尔之邀，斯瓦米·辨喜（Swami Vivekananda）游历了那些地区。他在克什米尔逗留了一个多月，他在当地的工作深得大君及其兄弟们的赞赏。随后他用数日时间参访了穆里、拉瓦尔品第和查谟，在这些地方都发表了演讲。此后他访问了锡亚尔科特，发表了两场演讲，一场用英语，一场用印地语。斯瓦米吉印地语演讲的主题是虔信（Bhakti，梵文Bhakti），其摘要英译如下：
世界上存在的各种宗教，尽管在礼拜的形式上各有不同，其实是同一的。在某些地方，人们建造庙宇并在其中礼拜；在某些地方，人们礼拜火；在另一些地方，人们在偶像前顶礼膜拜；而有许多人根本不相信上帝的存在。所有这些都是真实的，因为若你审视其中每一者的真实精神、真正的宗教以及其中的真理，它们都是一样的。在某些宗教中，上帝不受礼拜，不，其存在甚至不被相信，然而善良而值得尊敬的人却被像神明一样崇拜。在这种情况下，值得引用的例子是佛教（Buddhism）。虔信（Bhakti）无处不在，无论是指向上帝还是指向高尚的人格。作为虔信之形式的礼敬（Upasana），无处不至高无上，而虔信（Bhakti）比智慧（Jnana）更容易获得。后者需要有利的环境和刻苦的修习。若不是身体极为健康、完全脱离世俗束缚，瑜伽就无法得到恰当的修习。但虔信（Bhakti）可以更容易地被处于各种生活状况的人所修习。撰写关于虔信论著的仙人（Rishi）商笛利耶（Shandilya）说，对上帝的极度之爱即是虔信。帕拉拉达（Prahlada）也表达了同样的看法。若一个人有一天没有食物，他便感到困扰；若他的儿子死去，那对他是何等的痛苦！真正的虔信者（Bhakta）在渴慕上帝时，心中感受到同样的苦楚。虔信（Bhakti）的伟大品质在于，它净化心意，而对至高之主牢固确立的虔信（Bhakti），单凭其自身便足以净化心意。"噢上帝，祢的名号无量无数，然而在每一个名号中，祢的力量都彰显，每一个名号都蕴含深邃而宏大的意义。"我们应当时常想着上帝，不应考虑这样做的时间与地点。
人们用以礼拜上帝的各种不同名号，表面上是不同的。一个人认为他礼拜上帝的方式最为有效，另一个人则认为他的过程是获得救赎的更为有力的途径。然而看看一切事物的真实基础，它是合一的。湿婆（Shiva）的信奉者称湿婆最为有力；毗湿奴（Vishnu）的信奉者执守他们全能的毗湿奴；提毗（Devi）的礼拜者在认为她是宇宙中最全能的力量这一点上，绝不让步于任何人。若你想拥有持久的虔信（Bhakti），就放下敌意的念头。憎恶是大大阻碍虔信（Bhakti）之流的东西，而不憎恨任何人者，便能到达上帝。即便如此，对自身理想的奉献仍是必要的。哈努曼（Hanuman）说："毗湿奴（Vishnu）与罗摩（Rama），我知道，是同一个，但毕竟，莲目的罗摩（Rama）是我最珍贵的宝藏。"一个人与生俱来的特殊禀性，必然会保留在他身上。这是世界不可能只有一种宗教的主要原因——愿上帝禁止只有一种宗教的情形——因为那样的话，世界将是混沌而非宇宙。一个人必须遵循其自身特有的禀性；若他得到一位导师（Guru）的帮助，沿着自己的路线前进，他将进步。我们应当让一个人按其意愿走他自己的路；但若我们试图强迫他走另一条路，他将失去已经获得的，并将变得毫无价值。正如一个人的面貌与另一个人的不同，一个人的本性与另一个人的不同，为何不允许他按此而行？一条河流沿一定的方向流淌；若你将其引导进一条正常的渠道，水流变得更加湍急，力量也增强了；然而若你试图将其从其正常河道转移，你将看到结果：水量和力量都将减弱。这一生极为重要，因此，它理当按照一个人的禀性所驱使的方向被引导。在印度没有敌意，每种宗教都不受干扰地自由生长；所以宗教就这样活了下来。应当记住，关于宗教的争吵，源于认为只有自己独占真理，而不照自己所信仰的人是愚蠢的；而另一个人认为另一方是伪君子，因为若他不是，他就会跟随自己了。
若上帝希望人们遵循同一种宗教，为何会涌现出如此众多的宗教？历史上曾尝试以强制的方式将一种宗教加诸所有人，然而皆徒劳无功。即使当剑被举起，试图让所有人都跟随同一种宗教，历史也告诉我们，其位置涌现出了十种宗教。一种宗教无法适合所有人。人是两种力量的产物——行动与反应——这两种力量使他思考。若这些力量不锻炼一个人的心意，他将无力思考。人是会思考的生物；马努西亚（Manushya，人）是具有玛纳斯（Manas，心意）的存在；一旦他的思考能力消失，他便不比动物好。谁会愿意要这样的人？愿上帝禁止印度民众出现任何这样的状态。合一中的多样性，是使人保持为人之所需。多样性应当在一切事物中得到保存；因为只要有多样性，世界就将存在。当然，多样性并非仅仅意味着一个渺小而另一个伟大；但若所有人在生命中各自的位置上都同样发挥其作用，多样性依然得到保存。在每一种宗教中，都曾有善良而有能力的人，从而使他们所属的宗教值得尊重；而由于每一种宗教中都有这样的人，对任何教派都不应有任何憎恨。
于是或有人问：我们应当尊重那倡导恶行的宗教吗？答案必然是否定的，这样的宗教应当立刻被驱逐，因为它是有害的根源。一切宗教都必须以道德为基础，个人的纯洁要被视为高于正法（Dharma）。在这方面应当明了，所谓"行仪"（Achara）是指内外的纯洁。外在的纯洁可以通过以水和经典所建议的其他方式洁净身体来获得。内在的人必须通过不说谎、不饮酒、不做不道德之事、以及善待他人来加以净化。若你不犯任何罪，若你不说谎，若你不饮酒、不赌博、不行窃，这是好的。但这只是你的本分，你无需为此受到称颂。还须对他人有所服务。正如你善待自己，你也必须善待他人。
关于饮食规定，在这里我要说一些话。所有古老的习俗都已消逝，我们同胞中只剩下一个模糊的不与这个人同吃、不与那个人同吃的概念。触摸而得的纯洁，是数百年前制定的那些良好规则所留下的唯一遗迹。经典（Shastras）中禁止三类食物。第一，本质上就有缺陷的食物，如大蒜或洋葱。若一个人过多食用，会产生激情，可能导致他犯下令上帝与人都厌恶的不道德行为。第二，受外部不洁之物污染的食物。我们应该选择一个相当整洁干净的地方来存放我们的食物。第三，我们应当避免食用被邪恶之人触摸过的食物，因为与这样的人接触，会在我们内心产生不好的念头。即使一个人是婆罗门之子，但若他行为放荡、品行不端，我们也不应从他手中接受食物。
然而这些遵守的精神已经消失了。留下的是：我们不能从任何非最高种姓者的手中接受食物，即使那人是最为智慧而圣洁的人。对那些古老规则的漠视，在糖果商的店铺里随处可见。若你在那里看，你会发现苍蝇在糖果上空盘旋，路上的尘土飘落在甜食上，而糖果商本身的衣着也不是非常整洁干净。购买者应当异口同声地声明，他们不会购买甜食，除非甜食被保存在卤瓦依（Halwai）店铺的玻璃柜里。这将产生有益的效果，防止苍蝇将霍乱及其他瘟疫细菌带到甜食上。我们应当进步，但不但没有进步，我们反而退步了。摩奴（Manu）说我们不应在水中吐唾沫，而我们却向河里投掷各种污秽之物。考虑到这一切，我们发现外在自我的净化是极为必要的。经典（Shastrakara）的撰写者对此深有了解。然而现在，关于饮食纯洁这一观念的真正精神已经消失，只剩下字面的条文。小偷、酒鬼和罪犯可以是我们种姓的同伴，然而若一个善良高尚的人与一位出身较低种姓的人——后者与他同样令人尊敬——同桌进食，他就会被逐出种姓，永远失去社会地位。这一习俗一直是我们国家的祸患。因此，必须清楚地明白：与罪人为伍即是沾染罪恶，与善人为伍则增添高尚；而远离邪恶者，就是外在的净化。
内在的净化是一项艰巨得多的任务。它包括说真话，善待穷人，帮助有需要的人，等等。我们是否始终说真话？往往发生的是这样的情形：人们因自己的某些事情而去到一个富人家里，奉承他，称他为穷人的恩人等等，即使那个人可能正在掐那个到他家里来的穷人的喉咙。这是什么？不过是谎言。而这正是污染心意之物。因此，真理确实是这样说的：凡一个将自身内在净化了十二年、在此期间没有怀有一个邪恶念头的人所说的话，必定会成为真实。这就是真理的力量，而那同时洁净了内外自我的人，才唯独有能力修习虔信（Bhakti）。但美妙之处在于，虔信（Bhakti）本身在很大程度上净化了心意。尽管犹太人、穆斯林和基督徒并不像印度教徒那样重视身体的过度外在净化，他们仍然以某种形式保有之；他们发现，在一定程度上，这始终是必要的。在犹太人中，偶像崇拜受到谴责，但他们有一座庙宇，其中存放着一个箱子，他们称之为约柜，约柜中保存着律法版；箱子上方有两个张开翅膀的天使形象，据说神圣的临在就在两者之间以云彩的形式显现。那座庙宇早已被摧毁，但新的庙宇完全按照旧有式样建造，箱子中存放着宗教书籍。罗马天主教徒和希腊基督徒某种程度上保有偶像崇拜的形式。耶稣的形象及其母亲的形象受到崇拜。在新教徒中没有偶像崇拜，然而他们以人格化的形式崇拜上帝，这也可以被称为另一种形式的偶像崇拜。在帕西人和伊朗人中，拜火在很大程度上延续下来。在穆斯林中，先知和伟大高尚的人物受到崇拜，他们祈祷时面向麦加（Caaba）。这些事实表明，处于宗教发展初级阶段的人，必须使用某种外在的东西，而当内在自我得到净化，他们就转向更为抽象的观念。"当个体灵魂（Jiva）被寻求与梵（Brahman）合而为一时，此为最高；当冥想被修习时，此为中等；重复神名（Mantra）是最低的形式，而外在礼拜是最低中的最低。"但应当清楚地明白，即使在修习后者之中也没有任何罪过。每个人都应当做他有能力做的；若他被劝阻于此，他将以某种其他方式来达到其目的。因此我们不应对礼拜偶像的人说坏话。他处于那个成长阶段，因此必须拥有这些；智者应当努力帮助这样的人前进，引导他们做得更好。但争论这些各种各样的礼拜方式，是毫无用处的。
有些人礼拜上帝是为了获得财富，另一些人是因为想要儿子，然而他们自以为是薄伽瓦塔（Bhagavata，信奉者）。这不是虔信（Bhakti），他们也不是真正的薄伽瓦塔。当有一位萨杜（Sadhu，圣者）来了，声称他能炼金，他们便奔向他，然而他们仍然自视为薄伽瓦塔。若我们以渴望一个儿子的欲望来礼拜上帝，这不是虔信（Bhakti）；若我们以渴望富有的欲望来礼拜，这不是虔信（Bhakti）；即使我们有渴望天堂的欲望，这也不是虔信（Bhakti）；若一个人以避免地狱折磨的欲望来礼拜，这也不是虔信（Bhakti）。虔信（Bhakti）不是恐惧或贪婪的产物。真正的薄伽瓦塔说："噢上帝，我不要一个美丽的妻子，我不要知识或解脱（Moksha）。让我出生和死亡数百次。我所渴望的是，我能够永远投身于对祢的服务之中。"正是在这个阶段——当一个人在一切中见到上帝，在上帝中见到一切——他达到了完美的虔信（Bhakti）。正是在那时，他见到毗湿奴（Vishnu）化现于从微生物到梵天（Brahma，创造之神）的一切之中，正是在那时，他见到上帝在一切中彰显自身，正是在那时，他感到没有任何东西是没有上帝的，也正是在那时，在那时，将自己视为一切存在中最为卑微者，他以真正的虔信者（Bhakta）的精神礼拜上帝。在那时，他将圣地（Tirthas）与外在的礼拜形式远远地抛在身后，他将每一个人都视为最完美的庙宇。
在经典（Shastras）中，虔信（Bhakti）以多种方式被描述。我们说上帝是我们的父。同样地，我们称祂为母，等等。这些关系被构想出来，是为了强化我们内心的虔信（Bhakti），它们使我们感到与上帝更为亲近、更为亲密。因此，这些名号在一种意义上是合理的，那就是：这些话语不过是爱称之语，是真正的薄伽瓦塔（Bhagavata）对上帝所感受到的深情之爱的流露。以罗陀（Radha）和克里希纳（Krishna）在罗娑里拉（Rasalila）中的故事为例。这个故事不过是虔信者（Bhakta）真正精神的例示，因为世间没有哪种爱能够超越存在于男女之间的爱。当有如此深挚的爱，便没有恐惧，也没有其他依附，唯有那将这一对以不可分割、全然专注的纽带连结在一起的那一种爱。然而对于父母的爱，爱中伴随着因崇敬而生的畏惧。我们为何要在乎上帝是否创造了任何事物，我们与祂是否是我们的守护者这一事实有何关系？祂只是我们的挚爱，我们应当抛开一切恐惧的念头来崇拜祂。一个人只有在没有任何其他欲望、不思任何其他事、并为祂而癫狂的时候，才真正爱上帝。一个人对他所爱之人所拥有的那种爱，可以说明我们对上帝所应有的爱。克里希纳（Krishna）是上帝，罗陀（Radha）爱祂；阅读描述那段故事的书籍，然后你就能想象你应当怎样爱上帝。然而有多少人理解这一点？那些本质上十分堕落、根本不知道道德为何物的人，又如何能够理解这一切？当人们将各种世俗的念头从心中驱除，生活在清明的道德与灵性的氛围中，正是在那时，他们才能理解最深奥的思想，即使他们没有受过什么教育。然而这种性情的人又有多少！没有一种宗教是不能被人所扭曲的。例如，一个人可能认为真我（Atman）与身体完全分开，因此当他以身体犯罪时，他的真我（Atman）是不受影响的。若宗教真正被遵循，那么无论是印度教徒、穆斯林还是基督徒，世上就不会有一个人不是全然纯洁的。然而人是被自身的本性所引导的，无论善恶；这是不可否认的。但在世界上，始终有一些人，在听说到上帝时便陶醉其中，在读到关于上帝的文字时便流下喜乐的眼泪。这样的人才是真正的虔信者（Bhakta）。
在宗教发展的初始阶段，一个人将上帝视为他的主人，而将自己视为祂的仆人。他感到自己欠祂供给日常所需之情，等等。将这样的念头放下。只有一种吸引力，那就是上帝；正是在服从那吸引力的过程中，太阳、月亮以及一切事物才在运行。这世界上的一切，无论善恶，皆属于上帝。我们生命中所发生的一切，无论善恶，都在将我们带向祂。一个人因为某种私心而杀害另一个人。然而背后的动力是爱，无论是对自身还是对任何其他人的爱。无论我们行善还是行恶，推动力是爱。当老虎杀死一头水牛，是因为它自己或它的幼崽饥饿了。
上帝是爱的化身。祂在一切事物中彰显。无论他是否知晓，每个人都在被引向祂。当一个女人爱她的丈夫时，她并不明白正是她丈夫内在的神圣，才是那巨大的吸引力。爱之上帝是唯一值得礼拜的存在。只要我们仅仅将祂视为创造者与守护者，我们便只能向祂献上外在的礼拜；然而当我们超越了这一切，将祂视为爱的化身，在一切事物中见到祂、在祂之中见到一切事物，正是在那时，至高的虔信（Bhakti）得以达成。
English
BHAKTI
(Delivered at Sialkote, Punjab)
In response to invitations from the Punjab and Kashmir, the Swami Vivekananda travelled through those parts. He stayed in Kashmir for over a month and his work there was very much appreciated by the Maharaja and his brothers. He then spent a few days in visiting Murree, Rawalpindi, and Jammu, and at each of these places he delivered lectures. Subsequently he visited Sialkote and lectured twice, once in English and once in Hindi. The subject of the Swamiji's Hindi lecture was Bhakti, a summary of which, translated into English, is given below:
The various religions that exist in the world, although they differ in the form of worship they take, are really one. In some places the people build temples and worship in them, in some they worship fire, in others they prostrate themselves before idols, while there are many who do not believe at all in God. All are true, for, if you look to the real spirit, the real religion, and the truths in each of them, they are all alike. In some religions God is not worshipped, nay, His existence is not believed in, but good and worthy men are worshipped as if they were Gods. The example worthy of citation in this case is Buddhism. Bhakti is everywhere, whether directed to God or to noble persons. Upâsâna in the form of Bhakti is everywhere supreme, and Bhakti is more easily attained than Jnâna. The latter requires favourable circumstances and strenuous practice. Yoga cannot be properly practiced unless a man is physically very healthy and free from all worldly attachments. But Bhakti can be more easily practiced by persons in every condition of life. Shândilya Rishi, who wrote about Bhakti, says that extreme love for God is Bhakti. Prahlâda speaks to the same effect. If a man does not get food one day, he is troubled; if his son dies, how agonising it is to him! The true Bhakta feels the same pangs in his heart when he yearns after God. The great quality of Bhakti is that it cleanses the mind, and the firmly established Bhakti for the Supreme Lord is alone sufficient to purify the mind. "O God, Thy names are innumerable, but in every name Thy power is manifest, and every name is pregnant with deep and mighty significance." We should think of God always and not consider time and place for doing so.
The different names under which God is worshipped are apparently different. One thinks that his method of worshipping God is the most efficacious, and another thinks that his is the more potent process of attaining salvation. But look at the true basis of all, and it is one. The Shaivas call Shiva the most powerful; the Vaishnavas hold to their all-powerful Vishnu; the worshippers of Devi will not yield to any in their idea that their Devi is the most omnipotent power in the universe. Leave inimical thoughts aside if you want to have permanent Bhakti. Hatred is a thing which greatly impedes the course of Bhakti, and the man who hates none reaches God. Even then the devotion for one's own ideal is necessary. Hanumân says, "Vishnu and Râma, I know, are one and the same, but after all, the lotus-eyed Rama is my best treasure." The peculiar tendencies with which a person is born must remain with him. That is the chief reason why the world cannot be of one religion — and God forbid that there should be one religion only — for the world would then be a chaos and not a cosmos. A man must follow the tendencies peculiar to himself; and if he gets a teacher to help him to advance along his own lines, he will progress. We should let a person go the way he intends to go, but if we try to force him into another path, he will lose what he has already attained and will become worthless. As the face of one person does not resemble that of another, so the nature of one differs from that of another, and why should he not be allowed to act accordingly? A river flows in a certain direction; and if you direct the course into a regular channel, the current becomes more rapid and the force is increased, but try to divert it from its proper course, and you will see the result; the volume as well as the force will be lessened. This life is very important, and it, therefore, ought to be guided in the way one's tendency prompts him. In India there was no enmity, and every religion was left unmolested; so religion has lived. It ought to be remembered that quarrels about religion arise from thinking that one alone has the truth and whoever does not believe as one does is a fool; while another thinks that the other is a hypocrite, for if he were not one, he would follow him.
If God wished that people should follow one religion, why have so many religions sprung up? Methods have been vainly tried to force one religion upon everyone. Even when the sword was lifted to make all people follow one religion, history tells us that ten religions sprang up in its place. One religion cannot suit all. Man is the product of two forces, action and reaction, which make him think. If such forces did not exercise a man's mind, he would be incapable of thinking. Man is a creature who thinks; Manushya (man) is a being with Manas (mind); and as soon as his thinking power goes, he becomes no better than an animal. Who would like such a man? God forbid that any such state should come upon the people of India. Variety in unity is necessary to keep man as man. Variety ought to be preserved in everything; for as long as there is variety the world will exist. Of course variety does not merely mean that one is small and the other is great; but if all play their parts equally well in their respective position in life, the variety is still preserved. In every religion there have been men good and able, thus making the religion to which they belonged worthy of respect; and as there are such people in every religion, there ought to be no hatred for any sect whatsoever.
Then the question may be asked, should we respect that religion which advocates vice? The answer will be certainly in the negative, and such a religion ought to be expelled at once, because it is productive of harm. All religion is to be based upon morality, and personal purity is to be counted superior to Dharma. In this connection it ought to be known that Âchâra means purity inside and outside. External purity can be attained by cleansing the body with water and other things which are recommended in the Shâstras. The internal man is to be purified by not speaking falsehood, by not drinking, by not doing immoral acts, and by doing good to others. If you do not commit any sin, if you do not tell lies, if you do not drink, gamble, or commit theft, it is good. But that is only your duty and you cannot be applauded for it. Some service to others is also to be done. As you do good to yourself, so you must do good to others.
Here I shall say something about food regulations. All the old customs have faded away, and nothing but a vague notion of not eating with this man and not eating; with that man has been left among our countrymen. Purity by touch is the only relic left of the good rules laid down hundreds of years ago. Three kinds of food are forbidden in the Shastras. First, the food that is by its very nature defective, as garlic or onions. If a man eats too much of them it creates passion, and he may be led to commit immoralities, hateful both to God and man. Secondly, food contaminated by external impurities. We ought to select some place quite neat and clean in which to keep our food. Thirdly, we should avoid eating food touched by a wicked man, because contact with such produces bad ideas in us. Even if one be a son of a Brahmin, but is profligate and immoral in his habits, we should not eat food from his hands.
But the spirit of these observances is gone. What is left is this, that we cannot eat from the hands of any man who is not of the highest caste, even though he be the most wise and holy person. The disregard of those old rules is ever to be found in the confectioner's shop. If you look there, you will find flies hovering all over the confectionery, and the dust from the road blowing upon the sweetmeats, and the confectioner himself in a dress that is not very clean and neat. Purchasers should declare with one voice that they will not buy sweets unless they are kept in glass-cases in the Halwai's shop. That would have the salutary effect of preventing flies from conveying cholera and other plague germs to the sweets. We ought to improve, but instead of improving we have gone back. Manu says that we should not spit in water, but we throw all sorts of filth into the rivers. Considering all these things we find that the purification of one's outer self is very necessary. The Shâstrakâras knew that very well. But now the real spirit of this observance of purity about food is lost and the letter only remains. Thieves, drunkards, and criminals can be our caste-fellows, but if a good and noble man eats food with a person of a lower caste, who is quite as respectable as himself, he will be outcasted and lost for ever. This custom has been the bane of our country. It ought, therefore, to be distinctly understood that sin is incurred by coming in contact with sinners, and nobility in the company of good persons; and keeping aloof from the wicked is the external purification.
The internal purification is a task much more severe. It consists in speaking the truth, sensing the poor, helping the needy, etc. Do we always speak the truth? What happens is often this. People go to the house of a rich person for some business of their own and flatter him by calling him benefactor of the poor and so forth, even though that man may cut the throat of a poor man coming to his house. What is this? Nothing but falsehood. And it is this that pollutes the mind. It is therefore, truly said that whatever a man says who has purified his inner self for twelve years without entertaining a single vicious idea during that period is sure to come true. This is the power of truth, and one who has cleansed both the inner and the outer self is alone capable of Bhakti. But the beauty is that Bhakti itself cleanses the mind to a great extent. Although the Jews, Mohammedans, and Christians do not set so much importance upon the excessive external purification of the body as the Hindus do, still they have it in some form or other; they find that to a certain extent it is always required. Among the Jews, idol-worship is condemned, but they had a temple in which was kept a chest which they called an ark, in which the Tables of the Law were preserved, and above the chest were two figures of angels with wings outstretched, between which the Divine Presence was supposed to manifest itself as a cloud. That temple has long since been destroyed, but the new temples are made exactly after the old fashion, and in the chest religious books are kept. The Roman Catholics and the Greek Christians have idol-worship in certain forms. The image of Jesus and that of his mother are worshipped. Among Protestants there is no idol-worship, yet they worship God in a personal form, which may be called idol-worship in another form. Among Parsees and Iranians fire-worship is carried on to a great extent. Among Mohammedans the prophets and great and noble persons are worshipped, and they turn their faces towards the Caaba when they pray. These things show that men at the first stage of religious development have to make use of something external, and when the inner self becomes purified they turn to more abstract conceptions. "When the Jiva is sought to be united with Brahman it is best, when meditation is practiced it is mediocre, repetition of names is the lowest form, and external worship is the lowest of the low." But it should be distinctly understood that even in practicing the last there is no sin. Everybody ought to do what he is able to do; and if he be dissuaded from that, he will do it in some other way in order to attain his end. So we should not speak ill of a man who worships idols. He is in that stage of growth, and, therefore, must have them; wise men should try to help forward such men and get them to do better. But there is no use in quarrelling about these various sorts of worship.
Some persons worship God for the sake of obtaining wealth, others because they want to have a son, and they think themselves Bhâgavatas (devotees). This is no Bhakti, and they are not true Bhagavatas. When a Sâdhu comes who professes that he can make gold, they run to him, and they still consider themselves Bhagavatas. It is not Bhakti if we worship God with the desire for a son; it is not Bhakti if we worship with the desire to be rich; it is not Bhakti even if we have a desire for heaven; it is not Bhakti if a man worships with the desire of being saved from the tortures of hell. Bhakti is not the outcome of fear or greediness. He is the true Bhagavata who says, "O God, I do not want a beautiful wife, I do not want knowledge or salvation. Let me be born and die hundreds of times. What I want is that I should be ever engaged in Thy service." It is at this stage — and when a man sees God in everything, and everything in God — that he attains perfect Bhakti. It is then that he sees Vishnu incarnated in everything from the microbe to Brahmâ, and it is then that he sees God manifesting Himself in everything, it is then that he feels that there is nothing without God, and it is then and then alone that thinking himself to be the most insignificant of all beings he worships God with the true spirit of a Bhakta. He then leaves Tirthas and external forms of worship far behind him, he sees every man to be the most perfect temple.
Bhakti is described in several ways in the Shastras. We say that God is our Father. In the same way we call Him Mother, and so on. These relationships are conceived in order to strengthen Bhakti in us, and they make us feel nearer and dearer to God. Hence these names are justifiable in one way, and that is that the words are simply words of endearment, the outcome of the fond love which a true Bhagavata feels for God. Take the story of Râdhâ and Krishna in Râsalilâ. The story simply exemplifies the true spirit of a Bhakta, because no love in the world exceeds that existing between a man and a woman. When there is such intense love, there is no fear, no other attachment save that one which binds that pair in an inseparable and all-absorbing bond. But with regard to parents, love is accompanied with fear due to the reverence we have for them. Why should we care whether God created anything or not, what have we to do with the fact that He is our preserver? He is only our Beloved, and we should adore Him devoid all thoughts of fear. A man loves God only when he has no other desire, when he thinks of nothing else and when he is mad after Him. That love which a man has for his beloved can illustrate the love we ought to have for God. Krishna is the God and Radha loves Him; read those books which describe that story, and then you can imagine the way you should love God. But how many understand this? How can people who are vicious to their very core and have no idea of what morality is understand all this? When people drive all sorts of worldly thoughts from their minds and live in a clear moral and spiritual atmosphere, it is then that they understand the abstrusest of thoughts even if they be uneducated. But how few are there of that nature! There is not a single religion which cannot be perverted by man. For example, he may think that the Âtman is quite separate from the body, and so, when committing sins with the body his Atman is unaffected. If religions were truly followed, there would not have been a single man, whether Hindu, Mohammedan, or Christian, who would not have been all purity. But men are guided by their own nature, whether good or bad; there is no gainsaying that. But in the world, there are always some who get intoxicated when they hear of God, and shed tears of joy when they read of God. Such men are true Bhaktas.
At the initial stage of religious development a man thinks of God as his Master and himself as His servant. He feels indebted to Him for providing for his daily wants, and so forth. Put such thoughts aside. There is but one attractive power, and that is God; and it is in obedience to that attractive power that the sun and the moon and everything else move. Everything in this world, whether good or bad, belongs to God. Whatever occurs in our life, whether good or bad, is bringing us to Him. One man kills another because of some selfish purpose. But the motive behind is love, whether for himself or for any one else. Whether we do good or evil, the propeller is love. When a tiger kills a buffalo, it is because he or his cubs are hungry.
God is love personified. He is apparent in everything. Everybody is being drawn to Him whether he knows it or not. When a woman loves her husband, she does not understand that it is the divine in her husband that is the great attractive power. The God of Love is the one thing to be worshipped. So long as we think of Him only as the Creator and Preserver, we can offer Him external worship, but when we get beyond all that and think Him to be Love Incarnate, seeing Him in all things and all things in Him, it is then that supreme Bhakti is attained.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。