The Illuminating Dialogue between Bhusundi and Garuda
Kaka Bhusundi the great devotee of Sri Rama lived the latter part of his life in the form of a crow. Though born in Ayodhya, he had no love for Sri Rama and was cursed by Lord Shiva for his arrogance and lack of respect towards his Guru. He lost his human birth and was born as a lazy and fat python and then underwent many thousands of births in lower forms. Due to the plea of his Guru on his behalf, Bhusundi retained his memory of past lives and was able to easily don and cast off countless bodies before he was finally born as a brahmin with great love for Sri Rama. His spiritual journey spanned over many lifetimes and his love for Sri Rama gradually increased. He was then given the human body. He was born as a brahmin with an overwhelming love for Sri Rama.
The Uttarkand of Sri Ramacharitamanas gives a very interesting and informative discussion between Bhusundi the crow and the celestial eagle Garuda. Initially Garuda asks Bhusundi that when he was an enlightened sage, how was it he was still in the body of a crow. Bhusundi gave Garuda his life history spanning many thousands of births and how he finally evolved into a spiritual being with utmost love for Sri Rama. Garuda seeing the high levels of knowledge, wisdom, experience and bhakti in Bhusundi decided to ask him some pertinent questions on the doubts he had about jnana and bhakti, the relation between them and also the differences between them.
Bhusundi replied that there was no difference between jnana(knowledge/wisdom) and bhakti. Jnana was one of the paths of reaching God and so was bhakti. Both of them were equally effective in steering the soul in the right direction towards God. Where a person was full of jnana, bhakti would inevitably reside in his heart and where bhakti was manifest in full, wisdom or jnana would manifest in the person. For example, we can see this in the instance of Sri Adi Shankara. He was a great jnani and later on when jnana peaked in him, bhakti flooded him and he wrote many beautiful compositions on the Supreme Shakti which was full of bhakti. Great saints like Tukaram, Meerabai and others walked the path of bhakti and when they were completely drowned in bhakti, they rose to the heights of jnana or wisdom. There is a close and intimate connection between bhakti and jnana and when one quality exists in full force, the other one will also manifest in all its majesty.
Bhusundi the crow compared jnana and bhakti with male and female qualities. Jnana- wisdom, dispassion, yoga and realisation are masculine. Maya and Bhakti are feminine. Even a strong and resolute man will succumb to the charms of a woman unless he is extremely determined and goal oriented. A woman will never succumb to another woman’s charms. Maya never succumbs to the charms of Bhakti, and where Bhakti exists, Maya will not be present. Bhakti is a royal princess and Maya is called a mere dancing girl. Bhakti is beloved to Sri Rama and where there is no Bhakti, Maya presides. When a man develops Bhakti, Maya cannot touch him. When a man is enmeshed in worldly attractions or Maya, Bhakti will not come near him. Maya is terribly jealous of Bhakti as she will not come near a man who has developed strong devotion in his heart as she cannot influence him.
The strong relation between bhakti and jnana will always exist and they do not exist apart from each other. One leads to the other. Understanding this, one must follow the path in which he has ruchi or taste. Only the path of approach is different in jnana and bhakti and on the way they merge into each other and flow in a strong united current towards the goal of enlightenment. The great Kaka Bhusundi is said to be alive even now, chanting away the Rama Nama and speaking endless of the glory of bhakti and Sri Rama. When we do the japa of SitaRam and meditate, we flow with bhakti and end up with jnana.
