| Discourses On Gita By Acharya Vinoba Bhave |
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| Discourses On Gita |
| BHAKTI : SAGUNA AND NIRGUNA |
| Therefore let us attain the qualities of the bhakta 29. Finally, we must admit that it is difficult to distinguish between what is saguna and what is nirguna. What looks like saguna from one point of view may be nirguna from another. We worship saguna by placing a stone in front of us and performing pujaa. In this stone we conceive the presence of God. In our mother and in saints, we see the visible presence of chaitanya, the living spirit. In them jnana, love and warmth of heart shine clear. But we do not regard them as the Supreme, we do not worship them. Such people, filled with the living spirit, are seen by us all. We should, therefore, serve them; we should see in them the concrete manifestation of the Supreme. And yet, instead of doing this, people prefer to see the Lord in a stone. To see Lord in a stone is in a sense the ultimate limit of nirguna. In the saints, in one's parents, in one's neighbors, love and knowledge and willingness to help are manifest. It is easy to conceive the presence of God in them; but it is difficult to conceive it in a stone. The stone that lies in the Narmadaa, we regard as Shiva. Is not this nirguna worship? 30. But, on the contrary, if we do not conceive the presence of God in the stone, where else can we concieve it?
It is only the stone that is fit to be the image of the Lord. It is motionless, full of peace. Light or darkness, heat or
cold, the stone remains the same. The motionless, passionless, stone is best fitted to be a symbol of the Lord.
Father, mother, neighbour, the people, all these are subject to passion and change. Therefore, in one sense, it |
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