Good topic,
harmony. And I wholeheartedly agree with
kami, while self inquiry is the essence of Jnana Yoga, without the kind of intense surrender of all aspects of oneself (to whatever may come along in life or may appear within our own mental parameters), it exists as merely an intellectual exercise and is of a conceptual, dichotomous, subject-object dynamic. Thus, from this reference alone and from my own small experiences, such acute mindfulness
in and of itself cannot truly result in Moksha.
The sort of intense devotion and commitment, which Bhakti blissfully exudes, aims towards complete surrender and full immersion, thus naturally allowing the internal witness to release any and all boundaries of self and other. Essentially, it's all about the highest frequency of love that human beings can euphorically/ecstatically merge into the fulcrum therein (causing a dissolving of the self). Like the proverbial moth to a flame... all that remains is
That which holds no form. We can freely infuse ourselves reflectivity within this union, with the Infinite Web/ the Unified Field of Being/ the Divine Spirit.
I believe that the combination of Jnana and Bhakti is not only pivotally necessary, it is an inevitability for any soul who chooses to activate the rise of the Serpent Energy (kundalini) and expand into the state of deep Samadhi. Duality as a frequency of mind, wholly dissolves under such sheer impartiality and steady equanimity. The eclipsing of the two into one. This Grace settles in the epicenter of the mind's heart and so, blooms effulgently!
Thus, the differentiation betwixt this and that, effectively disappears in the shift from a perspective of separate subjectivity, to unified objectivity. Drawn into the fulcrum of the vibration of the Sacred Unity, the isolation of the Jivatman, awakens as the Indivisibility of the Paramatman. The Word made manifest.
That being said, when the finite self merges freely within the Infinite self, just who perceives what? It's all Brahman/God's Lila and no one I can think of can feasibly call their own glance through reality, an individual, isolated condition. Individuality and any permanence of selfhood is a case of mesmerism, for it is surely limited and of an impermanent nature. Oneself is but a dreamscape flashing briefly before the perception of the I-thought, seemingly locked into the
time-space-continuum. Did it really even happen?
Sentient ego is an utter illusion we dream... we all share our experiences as uniquely individuated dream sequences, relative phenomenon which appear to be freely spontaneous,
co-existent with the Absolute Omniscience which holds all of this existential stuff together. And the ONE uses each of us to enact our
one-of-a-kind roles in the Cosmic Dance of Nataraja. Meaning? As everything is truly and unequivocally, Brahman/God... so too are we, That! All is Light and all is Divine. I call this clear point in focus, born of our direct attention and attunement, "a total whiteout experience".
Now, carrying this peak epiphany and breakthrough experience into our daily lives, is the journey of a lifetime! Reality as we have been trained to perceive of it, humanly and conditionally, challenges every spiritual step we attempt to take. The dream of selfhood obscures the truth about the ineffability of the Divine Being and thus, this leaves most sentient entities lost in a mirage of identification with body and mind.
And in a proverbial nut-shell, it seems that more and more, we all are collectively seeking a greater degree of internal harmony with the
All-in-All. This is surely reflected by how much we see the Divine, in all of our independent actions, unique storylines and the dramas of our own life stories.
And I say, "Go for the bliss-response, good people". Is is it not the highest joy to inter-phase directly within the blossoming of the resplendent conscious-awareness of Brahman/God, awakening within us all, with every breath we experience and every simple deed we enact (both, as servant and master)? Yep. It demands that we see the Sacred Face of the Omniversal, in the countless faces we behold upon this journey of soul awakening... and our own apparent visage. For when we look into the mirror of our own quintessential being, we awaken from one dreamscape into another. We are universal awareness, as we are the Omniself transiently pretending to be the many selves, each perfectly incarnated in the great symphony of sheer existence.
Ergo, we are all interdependently entwined together as a seamless whole, each experiencing a view of the living here & now, this present moment in eternal proportions. Serving our greatest good is symmetrically and interconnectedly, service towards all we encounter. Love to you and yours, ours and our own cherished echoes and reflections.
Tat Tvam Asi. Sat Chit Ananda. Hari Om Tat Sat.