Namaste Jopmala ji,
Sorry I didnt knew. I thought it is a matter of respect to call Prabhuji to the followers of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ji
As said by Kalok ji, We have seen in Gita that Krishna asks Arjuna to be a Karma yogi and not a SanyAsin, even though Sri Krishna has himself Glorified Jnana.
Hence Krishna has asked us to do what is best for us and not what is THE BEST.
We Advaitins consider names and forms under the realm of mAyA. Though Ishvara himself is above mAyA as he is the controller of mAyA, it is the art to see Pure consciousness in the names and forms, to attain complete non-duality and complete destruction of ego.
IMHO, the easiest path is bhakti, this is what Sri Krishna is pointing out. But according to us, the final destination has to be non-duality, where Ishvara exists as Pure Consciousness, full of Bliss and peace.
when one chants Sri Krishna's name, and one gets darshan, still one is in duality. But the devotee has given heart and soul to his beloved God, hence it is the duty of the Lord to take you to the highest form. It happened in the case of Sri Ramakrishna (via a Guru) and to Narasimh Mehta.
Bhagavan has given two options. Difficult means difficult to majority of people. There are some souls, who are called as Yoga BrasTa JivAtmA, who are either born in rich family or in poor but pious family. Advaita can be taught to them, as they have already walked 80 kms out of total 100 km in their past life / lives.
Advaita is direct path, while the path of bhakti is indirect means to realize non-duality. There is no difference between Krishna Tatva and his form, technically speaking and Krishna can exist without name and form as pure consciousness.
The edge of bhakti marg is that anyone can follow it, but for Jnana marg, the pre-requisites are renunciation and strong desire for liberation.
Bhagavan has not said that since Jnana marg is difficult, it should not be followed.
We can see in Gita in various places where Jnana and Jnani is praised. We see the use of words like 'those who know', 'Jnani is my Atman (out of 4 types of devotees)'. Hence Bhagavan has also said that one can practice Advaita / Jnana Marg.
Another instance is Bhagavan considering himself as OM. OM is given high importance in all 10 upanishads and other famous and not-so-famous upanishads. An entire Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad, is dedicated to explaining OM. Meditation on OM is always that of NirAkAra Brahman. Bhagavan cannot go against upanishads. Bhagavan's teachings cannot be different from Upanishads.
Advaita is also bhakti, but bhakti of NirAkAra, nirguNa Brahman, bhAva is abheda. what we get is peace.
As one progresses on the path of Advaita by chanting OM, ego melts and one experiences detachment and sense of awareness heightens. There is a flow of peace and bliss. A person becomes very humble from within, as ego melts.
This is my understanding.
Both paths are very different in approach. Hence I can understand what Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said. After one becomes mature, except God and guru, nothing can affect you. when the surrender is strong, being in company of anyone will not matter as you have surrendered to that supreme reality, who controllers the whole of the universe. He can easily protect you. Hence there is no fear to lose bhakti here.
Hari OM
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