Bhakti and Jnana

Osho, in the last three talks on the Shandilya-sutra, the Ganges of devotion seemed to flow as the Ganges of knowledge. Is the distinction between bhakti and jnana superficial? At depth, are they one and the same?

The difference is merely superficial. It is only on the surface; within there is no difference. Inside means oneness; outside means division. The closer you move toward the center, the more distances dissolve. At the center all distances disappear. At the outset of the journey, the differences are great. The devotee goes one way, the knower another. In the beginning they may even appear opposite—not just different but antagonistic—walking with their backs to each other, denying one another. But as they come closer to truth—as the devotee is absorbed in devotion and the sage is absorbed in knowledge—as absorption deepens, it becomes visible that though our directions were different and our paths passed through different places, the peak we are approaching is one. Upon reaching the summit, all directions become one and all dimensions merge. So as Shandilya goes deeper, devotion will seem to become knowledge. It must be so;…

Osho, Sri Shankaracharya teaches the wisdom of the ultimate (tattva-jnana) and also sings Govinda’s bhajans. Is there an interrelationship between knowledge and bhajan, between knowledge and devotion?

Knowledge is negating; devotion is affirmative. Knowledge is like preparing the soil—removing weeds, adding manure; devotion is like sowing the seed. Knowledge by itself is incomplete. It clears the field, but it does not implant the seeds. It is necessary, not sufficient. For knowledge belongs to the intellect; devotion belongs to the heart. On the path to the divine, all the obstacles can be cut away by knowledge; but the steps are climbed by devotion. So knowledge is negating; it is very effective in breaking the futile, not in giving birth to the meaningful. Shankara speaks of knowledge so that the layers upon layers of ignorance within you are cut away. And once the ground of the mind is clear—no useless rubbish, no trash—then the seeds of devotion can be sown; then “bhaj Govindam” becomes possible. There is no opposition between the two; devotion is the culmination of knowledge, and…

Osho, just as the sage Shandilya calls knowledge (jnana) and yoga the helpers of devotion (bhakti), do the exponents of knowledge and yoga likewise regard devotion as their helper, or not?

The devotee’s vision is more generous than the vision of the knower and the yogi. Because the source of devotion is the heart. The heart is vast; it can include even what is opposed to it. The heart does not worry about coherence; the heart cares about music. Jnana and yoga are not the ways of the heart; they are the ways of the intellect. The intellect is very narrow. The intellect chooses. Then the intellect worries about coherence, not about music—there must be logical consistency. So in Mahavira’s utterances there can be no room for devotion. His is the path of pure thought: samyak jnana, right knowledge. There only what exactly suits knowledge will be accepted. Knowledge selects, sifts; it is orderly; it has a blueprint. The devotee is not so narrow. He does not get flustered by a little inconsistency. The logician, the philosopher, is consistent—but the poet…

Beloved Osho, shankaracharya teaches metaphysics and at the same time he sings the songs of govinda. Is there any interrelation between knowledge and bhakti, devotion?

You can fly in this sky if you make them both your wings. No bird can fly with one wing, no man can walk with one foot, nor can a boat be rowed with one oar; both the oars are needed. There is no contradiction, and those who have told you that there is a contradiction are wrong. They made this error because they did not know this great harmony. They were either mind-dominated people who possessed only dry thoughts and logic and never experienced the dance of the heart, or they were heart-dominated people who could dance but did not have any understanding. It will be a fortunate moment when you can dance with understanding. That moment will be fortunate when you can love with understanding. And never refuse anything which existence has given you, because if you do so you will become disabled to that degree. You are…