As you know, curry, even if it is prepared with maximum care in all other aspects, can not be treated as a palatable dish if there is want of salt in it. Similarly, all human endeavours to find out a link between the finite and the infinite fail, if there is want of devotion in them.

Take the case of karma. The aspirant is a karma yogii, but all his karmas are sure to fail if there is want of devotion. A karma is glorified only when it remains associated with devotion and love for the Supreme. Otherwise, a karma becomes mechanical, and the little bit of introvertiality that one possesses in the rudimental stage disappears after a short while, and the movement becomes purely extroversive one. That is, human existence itself becomes a machine. So one can not achieve the Supreme Goal by dint of one’s karma, when the said karma is not associated with devotion or love for the Supreme.

And now let us see what happens if one is engaged in tapasyá. “Tapasya” means freely undergoing hardship in order to reach the goal within a short while. Now what does happen if, while doing this “tapasya” there is no love for the Great? Such tapasyá is nothing but a misuse of time. Tapasyá without love is a misuse of time and will have an adverse effect on the physical body and also on the psychic body and the result is definitely bad.

What is yoga? “Yogashcittavrttinirodhah”. Yoga is suspension of all the psychic propensities. Now if, during the suspension, this period of suspension, there is love for God, then all the suspended propensities rest on the Supreme Entity. Suppose, one is a great Yogii but if there is no love for his goal, then those suspended propensities are finally converted into crude matter, that is, the subtle human existence becomes like iron, it becomes like wood, it becomes like sand. What a deterioration! What a downfall! This particular type of yoga where a yogii does not bear love for the Supreme Entity is called “hat́ha yoga” in Saḿskrta. It is dangerous for the human elevation. “Hat́ha” comes from “ha” and “t́ha”. “Ha” represents “súrya nádii or ida nádii” and is the acoustic root of physical force. “Tha” represents “candra nádii or piuṋgalá nádii” and is the acoustic root of the mind. So “hat́ha” implies forcible control of mind by physical force. In popular parlance whenever something happens very abruptly or all of a sudden we use the word “hat́hát” i.e., “Hat́hena kurute karma.” Obviously a practitioner of “Hat́ha Yoga” can not attain liberation.

Suppose, a man has no devotion or love for the Supreme, but he is a jiṋánii, an intellectual. Others recognize the fact that he is a really great jiṋánii, he knows this and he know that. But jiṋána without Paramátmá is like the skin of a banana. It is not the real banana, it is the skin of a banana. One will get no taste from it. His knowledge is not parávidyá, his knowledge is aparávidyá, that is, his relative knowledge pertains to the crude materialism. This type of crude material knowledge concerned with the crude materialism has done much harm to human society during the last one century. It has misguided the entire human society, it has converted human beings into animals. Indeed, animals also have been exploited by the propounders of these crude philosophies.

Preyaskará Yá buddhih sá buddhih pránaghátinii
Shreyaskará yá buddhih sá buddhih mokśadáyinii.

It has been said that all knowledges – “pará” and “apará” – are just like a very big ocean of milk. Now, after churning the ocean of milk, what do you get? You get butter and buttermilk. After churning this type of ocean the butter portion has been enjoyed by the devotees and the buttermilk portion is left for the jiṋániis. Intellectuals fight amongst themselves regarding the ownership of that buttermilk portion. And finally not even that buttermilk is enjoyed by them, because it goes bad before they come to a decision as to who is to enjoy it.

There are many categories of bhakti. Amongst them the main three types are támasii, rájasii and sáttvikii bhakti. Támasii bhakti means static devotion. It is not actually bhakti because the unit’s desire is for his or her enemies to be destroyed. Since Parama Puruśa is not the goal, it is sure that he or she won’t get Parama Puruśa.

Rájasii bhakti means mutative devotion. In this form of bhakti, one wants physical property. So one may or may not, as a result of this bhakti gain prosperity, but it is sure one won’t get Parama Puruśa, because Parama Puruśa is not the goal.

In the case of sáttvikii bhakti, or sentient devotion, the goal is Parama Puruśa. Sádhakas should aspire for Him and Him alone, and this is the Supreme Goal of all human endeavours.