And the idea functioning behind ásakti, that is, desire for something limited, something finite, is called káma. And when the mind is withdrawn from all those physical and intellectual objectivities and guided towards that supreme non-causal spiritual entity, then that flow, rather, that mental propulsion, is called bhakti, or devotion. The mentality is called bhakti, and the idea functioning behind it is called prema. So there is hardly any difference between prema and devotion. In the practical field, I say that both salvation and devotion are causal entities. They are not non-causal. They are created within the scope of physicality and intellectuality.

Now, how to attain bhakti, how to withdraw the mind from baser propensities and drive it towards the subtlest entity, the abhiiśt́a? The simplest formula is “action minus jiṋánam [knowledge] is equal to devotion” – “karma minus jiṋánam is equal to bhakti.”⁽¹⁾ Suppose a man has rendered five hundred degrees of social service, selfless service, to society. Now in his stock of karma there is five hundred degrees. Now subtract jiṋánam. Suppose he is an illiterate fellow, he knows nothing, so his stock of jiṋánam will be zero. Five hundred minus zero is equal to [the resultant] devotion. He earned five hundred degrees of devotion. And that’s why you will find that in the case of less-educated people, devotion is developed very quickly. And the so-called intellectuals suffer from the ailment of their intellectuality. They suffer from a sort of mental ailment, mental disease. They think “I know this, I know that, I know this, I know that.” But they know nothing.

Once I said that if a man thinks that he is a master of geography, and in that case I ask him “O gentleman, can you say how many bricks there are in this town of Bangalore?” he won’t be able to give a satisfactory reply. But this question comes within the scope of geography.

Now, suppose a man is an MA in twenty subjects and his stock of jiṋánam is four hundred degrees. But he rendered five hundred degrees of selfless social service to society. In that case his balance of bhakti will be five hundred minus four hundred, equal to one hundred. So in this case jiṋánam is nothing but a liability. And if he wants to acquire five hundred degrees of bhakti, just like that illiterate fellow, what will he have to do? He will have to render nine hundred degrees of social service. Nine hundred minus four hundred is equal to five hundred. So for the jiṋániis – I won’t discourage jiṋánam, although I am not a jiṋánii, but I will ask the jiṋánii to render more selfless service to society.

So this is bhakti. Now, bhakti is withdrawing the mind from crude objectivities. And the psychological principle for attaining salvation is also that – it is withdrawing the mind and guiding it unto the Supreme Self. So fundamentally there is no difference.

Now you know, in the case of bhakti there are so many types, so many varieties. You know there are so-called bhaktis and there are actual bhaktis. Among so-called bhaktis, you know, there are three varieties – static bhakti, mutative bhakti and sentient bhakti, sentient devotion.

What is static devotion? You say: “O Lord, O Náráyańa, Mr. X is my enemy. Please kill him.” [laughter] It will not be possible for a man to get Náráyańa by this type of bhakti. Why? His longing was to kill Mr. X and not to get Náráyańa. So Náráyańa may or may not grant his request, may or may not kill Mr. X, but because his desire was not to get Náráyańa, it is sure that he won’t get Náráyańa.

Now the second type of bhakti is mutative devotion.

Footnotes

(1) Jiṋána, karma and bhakti are forms of spiritual practice which emphasize, respectively, discrimination, selfless action, and devotion. –Eds.