The Complete Works of Yogy Ramacharaka. William Walker Atkinson
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phase of Life—some form of human feeling, passion, or thought. They have their gods of war—of peace—of love—of agriculture—of trade—and what not, And they worship and try to propitiate these various gods, not realizing that underneath it all they are obeying the religious instinct that will in time lead the race to a worship of the One—the Absolute. They clothe their gods with human attributes (even after they have evolved from the worship of many gods into the worship of some one particular conception). They imagine that God divided men to two classes, friends and enemies, and rewards His friends and punishes His enemies. They make their C;od do just what they would do if they had ti¿e poiver to reivard and punish. The.y imagine that they are the chosen people and special favorites of God and that He goes with them to battle and will help them to triumph over their enemies. They imagine that Cion delights h blood, and that he commands them to put their enemies to the sword, even to the extent of killing the women and little children, yea, even to the ripping open of pregnant women and the putting their unborn babes to the sword. Their God is a bloody and savage God—because they are bloody and savage themselves. And Absolute—God—on unchanged, and these people are worshipping and loving him the best they know how, calling him this name and that name, according to race and time. And the enemies of these people are likewise worshipping their own conception of God, calling Him by some name of their own, and imagining that He is helping them to fight their enemies and their false God. And yet these two Gods are both products of the minds of the two warring tribes, both being created in obedience to the unfolding “religious instinct."
We may shudder at these tales and thoughts, but are we so very much in advance of this idea of the savage? In modern wars we find the two peoples praying to their God for success over their enemies, each imagining that God their side. In the great war now being waged between Japan and Russia each nation is praying to its particular conception of God, beseeching that He march with them to battle against His enemies. They do not realize that they are both worshiping the same God, under different names, and that this real God loves them both equally well. In the late Civil War in the United States, each side prayed for victory and believed that God must be with them. Churches were rent in terrain by the war, and tand there was thought to be a God of the North and a God of the Sonth—the one hating slavery and wishing to kill those who favored it—the other believing slavery to be a Divine Right and privilege, and wishing to defeat those who would abolish it. And yet, each side was merely seeing God through their own spectacles, and seeing him as themselves. somewhat magnified, And now both sides again agree upon certain conceptions of God, and see slavery as something that had its rise, progress, and fall, in the evolutionary progress of Man. And yet, God has not changed—but Man’s conception of Him has.
Men have persecuted others because they had a different conception of God from the persecutors. And the persecuted, in turn, when they gained power, persecuted weaker men who held to a third conception of the same God. And each thought he was doing his God's will by persecuting, and the persecuted thought they were being persecuted in their God's cause. The Puritans were driven out of their native land because of their peculiar conception of Deity, and when they had themselves in a new land, they proceeded to punish the peaceful Quaker Friend whose conception of Deity offended them. And each thought he was pleasing God by punishing those who did not agree with him in his conception of Him. How childish it all seems to those who have attained the broader view, and are able to see all men as children of God, each doing the best he can, and worshiping the highest conception of Deity possible to them. And yet none are to be blamed for this narrowness and blidness—they, too, are doing the best they can. And all are worshiping God—the one God—the true God—the only God possible—the Absolute. And all are doing this because of the urge of the religious instinct pressing forward for unfoldment and growth. All these people are followers of Bhakti Yogi [sic] (in its elementary forms) although they know it not. They think they are worshiping different conceptions of Deity—different Godsbut they are not—they are all loving and worshiping the One—the Absolute—the Reality. Seen through different spectacles of the mind, the Absolute presents different and often grotesque forms to the viewers, but all the while the Reality remains unchanged—The One—The Eternal OneThe Absolute.
And however crude and barbaric be the forms of worship, it all ascends to the One. Whether the visible objects be stick, stone, image, tree, snake, or some other form of man's desire for an outward form for his inward belief, the real thing worshiped is the One—unchangable-eternal-omnipotent-omniscient-omnipresent. And the man who worships his highest concept of Deity does well. He does the best he knows how, and it is as worthy of respect as his more enlightened brother who also worships his highest conception of Deity. And the conceptions of both the savage and the advanced man, will grow higher and better, year by year, and the mind of each unfolds so as to allow the spiritual knowledge to flow into it. Let us lead our humbler brethren to better things, if we may and if they are capable of receiving instruction. But let us consider them not, for they are our brothers—children of God—all on the Path, and also are we. We are but children in various stages of growth—each doing that which his age impels him to do—each having the understanding that belongs to his age—each doing the best he knows how. Let us not sneer, nor condemn, nor hate—but let our love flow out toward all our brothers, though they may be but infants unborn in spiritual knowledge. This is Bhakti Yoga in one of its phases.
Bhakti Yoga is divided into two great branches or stages. The first is known as Gnani Bhakti, and the second, and higher, is called Para Bhakti, The first, Gauni Bhakti, is the preliminary stage, and consists of the science of the love and worship of God by means of the mental conception of God as a personal being—a “personal God.” The second, or higher stage, Para Bhakti, consists of the worship and love of an impersonal God—the Absolute. Of course the same God is loved and worshiped in both cases, but the mental development of the follower of Gauni Bhakti does not admit of his forming a mental concept of an impersonal God, and he, doing the best he can, forms a mental image of a personal God. There are many sub—stages to both of these main stages, the conception of God depending upon the mental and spiritual development of the man. We will go over the question briefly in order that the student may distinguish the great difference between the two great stages of Bhakti Yoga, and at the same time may recognize that both ideas are of the same stock, the difference being a matter of mental and spiritual growth.
Primitve man feeling the urge of the religious instinct, but being unable to think clearly on the subject, vents his instinctive worship upon crude symbols. He worships sticks and stones—thunder and lightning—the sun, moon and stars—the winds—and other natnral objects. A little later on the race begins to feel that God is some sort of person—some great big man, living somewhere in space—unseen but seeing. The mind of the savage conceives the idea of a God possessing the same characteristics as himself—only much bigger and stronger, The savage being cruel and bloodthirsty can imagine only a cruel and bloodthirsty God. If he is a black man his Cod likewise is black. If he is a Mongolian, his God has slanting eyes, and perhaps wears a queue. If he is an Indian, his God is red, with painted face and feathers, and carries a bow and arrows. If he is an uneducated Hindu, his God may ride a bull or an elephant, and be nearly naked. And so on, the God of every people bearing the characteristics of that people. Each nation, feeling the religious instinct, creates a conception of a personal God—and each conception of a personal God resembles those who create him. Each of these created Gods loves and hates the persons and things loved or hated by his creators. Each of these Gods is an ardent patriot of the country to which he belongs, and hates and despises all other countries and peoples.
These created Gods often are given grotesque forms and shapes. Some have a dozen arms—some have several heads. They are armed with the weapons of the times to which they belong. Some hunt and chase—others indulge in warfare. They are supposed to grow angry, jealous, and to manifest hate, envy, and often change their minds. They are revengeful and, in short, are given all the attributes of a man of low development. And why not? The people who form these mental concepts cannot imagine a God very much in advance of them. These Gods generally demand flattery and sacrifices,’and have a large following of priests and attendants to sing their praises, and to render homage. The priests are supported by the people, under supposed Diviae orders, and claim to have the ear of the Deity, and to dispense favors. They all seem to think it a par of their duty, to chant the praises of their Deity