The Greatest Impediment
Perfect devotion is possible only when all kinds of desires are abandoned. This point requires serious study and reflection, because in Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj’s opinion, it is the reason for our failure to practice preparatory devotion properly and is therefore the greatest impediment blocking our progress.
It is the mind that must practice devotion because the mind alone is the cause of bondage and liberation. If the mind is preoccupied with desires for worldly or celestial attainments, how can you possibly engage it in devotion? You only have one mind. You can either have desires for material attainments or a desire for the divine. It is totally impossible to have both kinds of desires simultaneously in one mind. Most people who believe in God never seriously reflect on this point, but it needs serious consideration.
Firstly, what are the various kinds of desires that need to be abandoned in preparatory devotion? The simplest and most satisfactory answer to this question is any desire apart from the desire for Shri Krishna. These desires are of four kinds: the performance of scriptural duties (dharma), wealth (artha), sensual pleasures (kama) and moksha (liberation). The first three together are also referred to as bhukti because they relate to the material realm, and moksha which is a divine attainment is referred to as mukti. So, in short, we must abandon two kinds of desires: bhukti and mukti.
Some people find the renunciation of mukti quite puzzling. To renounce all material pleasures up to the abode of Brahma is understandable to most, but renouncing liberation seems strange to some people. They should pay heed to what the Rasika Saints declare. For example, Rupa Gosvami says, “So long as the two witches in the form of bhukti and mukti reside in the heart of an individual soul, the supreme goddess of devotion cannot manifest herself.” Between the two, the witch called bhukti is not as dangerous as the witch called mukti, because it is possible to be free from her clutches. If a fortunate soul happens to meet a Rasika Saint, surrenders to him and practices devotion, he can experience the nectar of divine love. However, if anyone falls into the clutches of the witch named mukti, he attains liberation and merges into Brahm. Then there is absolutely no chance of experiencing the nectar of divine love, because once liberation is attained, it is attained forever. There is no question of experiencing duality again.
It is only when the body is given up that the individual soul merges into Brahm, that is, attains liberation. Thereafter, he cannot assume a body, and without a body, it is impossible to experience the bliss of divine love.
In this way, desires up to and including the desire for liberation must be abandoned.
Spirituality in Daily Living, Vol. 4, p40–43
Kripalu Bhaktiyoga Tattvadarshan, Vedic knowledge revealed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj as presented in English by Dr Vishakha Tripathi, president of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.
