Theos-Talk Archives (August 2008 Message tt00045)

> But the problem is Blavatsky rejects devotion to even Absolute. If you
> read quotations of Blavatsky given earlier by anandam, you find that
> Blavatsky says it is impossible to worship or pray to Absolute. This
> position is against Krishna's path of devotion.
> Best
> Anand Gholap
>

Nor do Blavatsky's and the Mahatma's rejection of an extra cosmic God 
who is creator of universe, and its worship go against Krishna's path 
of devotion.  Please see Jnanadeva's work Jnaneswhari (Commentary on 
Bhagavad Gita) which Anand recommended.  In section IX: 11 Jnanadeva 
has Krishna make the following statements about those people ignorant 
of his true nature.

"Although I am without name, actionless and without body, they ascribe 
to me name, actions and physical activities.  To me who am devoid of 
form, limiting adjuncts and injunctions they attribute to me form, 
offer me worship and perform ceremonial rites. . ." (IX:11) 
". . .Because of this misconception which they have about me, their 
birth is in vain like clouds outside of the rainy season." (IX:12)

In the previous slokas Jnanadeva has Krishna impart a secret to Arjuna 
which will help Arjuna overcome ignorance and attain true knowledge, 
namely, "It is Maya which creates all beings and disolves them." (IX: 
6) Krishna states it is through Prakriti that all beings come into 
being and into which all beings will return - cycle after 
cycle.  "..but people believe [through ignorance] that I create this 
world at the beginning of a cycle. . . .  I am not concerned in any way 
in the creation of this world." (IX: 7 and 8)

(The above is from M.R.Yardi's translation of Jnaneshwari.)

In his excellent work "The Philosophy of Jnanadeva" B.P.Bahirat makes 
the following obsevations based on Jnanadeva's works 
including "Jnaneshwari" and "Amritanubhava".  The following paragraph 
is a very brief summary of Bahirat's comments:

Ultimate reality according to Jnandeva is Pure Consciousness - the 
substratum of the subject-object relation.  This self illuminating 
Reality and its self-awareness form, as it were, a twin which gives 
birth to the whole universe.  These two, though distinguishable, are 
inseparable. The Ultimate Twin in the form of Knowledge and its Self 
Cognition are called by Jnanadeva, God and Goddess... without 
limitation, and parents of the universe.  Jnanadeva's conception of 
Knowledge and it's Self Awareness takes on a very devotional nature in 
the form of God and Goddess, Beloved and Lover, whereby the Beloved of 
his heart and their love is so deep and intense that they swallow each 
other and again emit each other. They are the Divinity appearing as 
sugar and it's sweetness, camphor and it's fragrance & so on.  The 
unity, intimacy and inseparability of the God and Goddess will be 
clearly understood when we bear in mind the identity of God with pure 
consciousness and that of the Goddess with Self Cognition.  Jnanadeva 
calls this "Svasamvedya", Atmarupa, the self cognising Ultimate 
Reality.  (pages 42-49)

The interested reader might recognise that Madame Blavatsky refers to 
Svasamdedya on pages 48 and 53 of volume one of the Secret Doctrine.

regards,
Murthy (A.M.)