Upasana, devotion is the way of a different kind of people, who say there is no importance to soul, only God is. Naturally, we think that sadhana & upasana – discipline & worship- go together, but it is not so. Theists believe in devotion and worship; they don’t believe in effort. They say all one has to do is to go closer and closer to God. The Sanskrit word ‘Upasana’ is beautiful, it means to sit near God, to get close to one’s object of worship. And here the worshiper disappears; his ego evaporates in the process of getting close to God. The theists believe that it is really our ego that separates us from God.
The greater the ego greater will be the gulf between us and God. It is like ice turns into water and water evaporates and joins the clouds. Does the ice have to make effort to melt to become water? No, if the ice puts some effort then it becomes more crystallized, solidified. Sadhana ultimately leads to soul, while upasana leads to God. One who disciplines himself will find his soul first and then the journey to God starts, that is Sadhaka. On the other hand the Upasaka, the devotee, will lose him and find God. The Sadhaka- the man of discipline and the Upasaka- the devotee are opposing concepts like the Jnana Yoga & Bhakti Yoga. While Upasaka will melt and dissolve into God, Sadhaka will be strengthened and crystallized in Soul realization.
In Krishna’s life there is no element of discipline. There is no actual place for Sadhana. It is Upasana or devotion which has the meaning for Krishna. Therefore let us see deeper into Upasana. To understand Upasana, it is necessary first we should know that it has nothing to do with efforts and discipline. Unless we know it clearly, we will continue to confuse the two. And let us also remember that very few people want to take the real path of devotion and worship. Most of us would like to be Sadhaka- doers. A Sadhaka has nothing to lose, he has only something to gain, his Soul. An Upasaka- the devotee has everything to lose, lose himself. Losing himself into God is his only gain. That is why even the ardent lovers of Krishna turn into Sadhaka; they too talk in terms of Sadhana, discipline. The ego loves the words strive, achieve, arrive, it is always after achievement.
Dr Dwarakanath,
Mithran Foundation, the stress management people.
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