Shastra Quiz 49

Jnana or knowledge related to bhakti is also part of bhakti. In fact, hearing, which includes studying shastra, is the first limb of bhakti. Learning, followed by consolidating and then testing our knowledge in the form of a quiz is a fun and effective way to help us retain information.

This quiz is in multiple-choice questions format. (MCQs). If you see the response that you anticipated simply click on it. The quiz will immediately show which answers are correct or incorrect so we can learn as we go.

1 / 10

Can attachment and detachment coexist simultaneously?

(A) They cannot coexist; it’s always one or the other.

(B) They can coexist, but one is unmanifest while the other is manifest.

(C) They can coexist, and it’s possible for them to manifest simultaneously.

Attachment and detachment can coexist simultaneously. It is also possible that they both exist in a manifest state. We tend to think in black and white terms—e.g., “wherever there is light, there is no darkness”. But that is not always true. At dawn, both light and darkness are manifest. First, there is complete darkness, then light gradually appears and darkness gradually disappears. When the sun has fully risen, there is no darkness. So, you can think that the sum total of darkness and light is 100 percent. The extreme points manifest when darkness is 100 percent and light is zero percent, or light is 100 percent and darkness is zero percent. In between, there is a mixture of percentages.

Similarly, in the beginning, a sādhaka may have a strong desire for material enjoyment and a weak desire for detachment. As he progresses, the percentage of desire for enjoyment reduces and the percentage of desire for detachment increases. At the bhāva stage, he has 100 percent detachment and zero percent desire for enjoyment. Anyone who is actually practicing bhakti has experience of this.

Attachment and detachment can coexist simultaneously. It is also possible that they both exist in a manifest state. We tend to think in black and white terms—e.g., “wherever there is light, there is no darkness”. But that is not always true. At dawn, both light and darkness are manifest. First, there is complete darkness, then light gradually appears and darkness gradually disappears. When the sun has fully risen, there is no darkness. So, you can think that the sum total of darkness and light is 100 percent. The extreme points manifest when darkness is 100 percent and light is zero percent, or light is 100 percent and darkness is zero percent. In between, there is a mixture of percentages.

Similarly, in the beginning, a sādhaka may have a strong desire for material enjoyment and a weak desire for detachment. As he progresses, the percentage of desire for enjoyment reduces and the percentage of desire for detachment increases. At the bhāva stage, he has 100 percent detachment and zero percent desire for enjoyment. Anyone who is actually practicing bhakti has experience of this.

2 / 10

Who is a Nirgranthāḥ?

(A) One who has passed beyond the rules and regulations of the scriptures.

(B) One whose knots of attachment have been severed.

(C) One who is indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard.

(D) All of the above.

Nirgrantha means, “a person who, having attained the goal of the scriptures, has transcended the binding injunctions (grantha) of scripture.”

Such a person no longer has any purpose to attain by following or flouting scriptural injunctions. Thus, they are called nirgranthā (free from granthas). Alternatively, granthi means “knot,” and thus nirgrantha also refers to one whose heart is free from the knot of ego, or in other words, a liberated being. Knots in the heart refer to the false identification of the self with the body-mind, and claiming the extensions of the body as one’s own.

The word “knot” may also refer to the knots in the sacred thread and in the kaupina (the loincloth). So in this case, nirgranthā could mean an avadhūta like Śukadeva, who did not bother to adorn himself even with a sacred thread or kaupina.

“The sages, though freed from the knot of ego, and though delighting in the Self alone, engage in causeless devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the majestic player. Such are the entrancing qualities of Śrī Hari. (SB 1.7.10)”

Śrīdhara Svāmī comments: “Nirgranthāḥ means ‘beyond the rules and regulations of the scriptures,’ as stated in Gītā 2.52, ‘When your intelligence has passed beyond the impenetrable fortress of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard.’ Alternatively, grantha means ‘the knots of attachment’ (granthi), and nirgrantha means ‘whose knots of attachment have been severed.’

Nirgrantha means, “a person who, having attained the goal of the scriptures, has transcended the binding injunctions (grantha) of scripture.”

Such a person no longer has any purpose to attain by following or flouting scriptural injunctions. Thus, they are called nirgranthā (free from granthas). Alternatively, granthi means “knot,” and thus nirgrantha also refers to one whose heart is free from the knot of ego, or in other words, a liberated being. Knots in the heart refer to the false identification of the self with the body-mind, and claiming the extensions of the body as one’s own.

The word “knot” may also refer to the knots in the sacred thread and in the kaupina (the loincloth). So in this case, nirgranthā could mean an avadhūta like Śukadeva, who did not bother to adorn himself even with a sacred thread or kaupina.

“The sages, though freed from the knot of ego, and though delighting in the Self alone, engage in causeless devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the majestic player. Such are the entrancing qualities of Śrī Hari. (SB 1.7.10)”

Śrīdhara Svāmī comments: “Nirgranthāḥ means ‘beyond the rules and regulations of the scriptures,’ as stated in Gītā 2.52, ‘When your intelligence has passed beyond the impenetrable fortress of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard.’ Alternatively, grantha means ‘the knots of attachment’ (granthi), and nirgrantha means ‘whose knots of attachment have been severed.’

3 / 10

Do devotees in śānta-rasa worship Bhagavān in His Brahman form?

Yes, they exclusively worship Bhagavān in His Brahman form.

(B) No, all rasas are related to Bhagavān, the personal aspect of Tattva.

(C) Yes, but only when they are in a deep state of meditation.

(D) No, they are primarily interested in sāyujya mukti.

All rasas are related to Bhagavān, the personal aspect of Tattva. There is no rasa in Brahman-realization because in Brahman-realization, there is no distinct identity between the jīva and Brahman.

Śānta rasa means that the devotee has an understanding that Bhagavān is the personification of Brahman, is full of all opulences and does not need anything. Thus, he thinks that Bhagavān is perfect and that he, the devotee, has no ability to do anything for Him. Moreover, there is no such need on the part of Bhagavān. The śānta bhakta likes to meditate on Bhagavān and remain very detached from everything else. He knows that mukti is not possible without bhakti. But he is not interested in sāyujya mukti

Learn more: Shanta-rasa is not Brahman-realization

All rasas are related to Bhagavān, the personal aspect of Tattva. There is no rasa in Brahman-realization because in Brahman-realization, there is no distinct identity between the jīva and Brahman.

Śānta rasa means that the devotee has an understanding that Bhagavān is the personification of Brahman, is full of all opulences and does not need anything. Thus, he thinks that Bhagavān is perfect and that he, the devotee, has no ability to do anything for Him. Moreover, there is no such need on the part of Bhagavān. The śānta bhakta likes to meditate on Bhagavān and remain very detached from everything else. He knows that mukti is not possible without bhakti. But he is not interested in sāyujya mukti

Learn more: Shanta-rasa is not Brahman-realization

4 / 10

What is the concept of sayujya-mukti in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism?

(A) Sayujya-mukti is not accepted in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism as there is no conception of serving the Lord in that state of existence.

(B) As per Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, being within brahmajyoti is service, as there is no difference between Krsna and Brahman.

(C) None of the above.

Just as if you decorate the temple with a flower, then the flower is doing service. So being within brahmajyoti is service, and there is no difference between Krsna and Brahman – vadanti tat tattva-vidah.

Learn more: Sayujya-mukti, Divisions of Bhakti, Subhadra

Just as if you decorate the temple with a flower, then the flower is doing service. So being within brahmajyoti is service, and there is no difference between Krsna and Brahman – vadanti tat tattva-vidah.

Learn more: Sayujya-mukti, Divisions of Bhakti, Subhadra

5 / 10

What is krama mukti?

(A) It means gradual liberation.

(B) It means that the jīva goes to brāhma-loka before entering into the spiritual world.

(C) Both A & B.

(D) None of the above.

Those who are devotees and are interested in krama mukti (gradual liberation), go to Brāhma’s planet.

At the end of Brāhma’s life, they enter into the spiritual world.

Those who are devotees and are interested in krama mukti (gradual liberation), go to Brāhma’s planet.

At the end of Brāhma’s life, they enter into the spiritual world.

6 / 10

Which of the following statements accurately describes the relationship between the jīva, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān?

(A) The jīva possesses all the qualities of Bhagavān, just as a drop of ocean water contains all the qualities of the ocean.

(B) The jīva has some of the characteristics of Paramātmā in a minute degree, but cannot claim to be the shelter or source of well-being for all existence.

(C) The jīva is completely independent of Bhagavān and can be an object of worship on its own.

(D) All of the above.

(E) Both A & B.

Learn more: The Nature of Atma and Its Relation with Bhagavan

7 / 10

Is getting a spiritual body a modification of the ātmā?

(A) Yes, it is a vikāra (modification).

(B) Yes, it is a parināma (modification).

(C) No, it is neither a vikāra nor a parināma (modification).

(D) None of the above.

Getting a spiritual body is not a modification of atma, just as getting a material body is not a modification. Modification is of two types. One is called vikara, like milk turning into yogurt. The other is called parinama, like a piece of gold being shaped into an ear-ring. In modern science these are called chemical and physical changes respectively. Atma does not undergo any of these two types of changes.

Learn more: Relation between Jiva and Siddha Deha

Getting a spiritual body is not a modification of atma, just as getting a material body is not a modification. Modification is of two types. One is called vikara, like milk turning into yogurt. The other is called parinama, like a piece of gold being shaped into an ear-ring. In modern science these are called chemical and physical changes respectively. Atma does not undergo any of these two types of changes.

Learn more: Relation between Jiva and Siddha Deha

8 / 10

If every jīva is inherently devoid of bhakti, what determines a jīva’s choice for one type of bhakti and not another?

Personal preference and previous karmas.

(B) Association with a specific type of bhakta.

(C) A jīva’s anadi inherent nature.

(D) The varṇa of the jiva.

Learn more: Questions on Jīva-tattva

9 / 10

How detrimental is the regular association of non-devotees (in terms of family, and business associates)?

(A) It is not detrimental if you are fixed in your goal of devotion to God, rather you will influence them.

(B) Regular association with non-devotees promotes asuric bhāva and will take one away from bhakti.