Popular Culture Review Vol. 10, No. 2, August 1999 | Page 126

120 Popular Culture Review the perfect stage. If, however, you are unable to work in this con sciousness of me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated. If you cannot take this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowl edge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renun ciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can 19 attain peace of mind. It is thus clear that the conception of Bhakti is closely tied to Sankhyayoga and Karma-yoga. In the subsequent chapters. Lord Krishna also mentions that all material and spiritual activities are undertaken by people in one of the three modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. Bhakti, also, is performed in the re spective modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance and is rewarded accordingly.^® Bhakti, the Tradition, and the Social Order Bhakti is dissociated from the bondages of both the Shastracharas (scripturally prescribed and sanctioned conduct) and the Lokacharas (traditionally pre scribed and accepted conduct) in the folk tradition and becomes a matter of love, faith, devotion, reverence, duty, and persistence. The Bhakti tradition also does not recognize the bondages of the social order, caste system, and social norms. It respects the tradition and goals and ideals of life, but is restricted by neither. The tradition remains tolerant of different paths to self-realization and Moksha and it is stressed that these goals may be achieved through the available numerous paths in the mode of Jnana (Knowledge), Karma (Actions), or Bhakti (Devotion) — each path being equally valid and yielding the same results. In Mahimna Stotra, this sentiment has been eloquently stated as follows: “All these paths, O Lord,...lead but to Thee, like the winding river that at last merges into the sea.” The BhagavadGita also emphasizes the same. A Closing Remark Over the centuries, many saint-poet-philosophers have tried to instill in the people love and devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the Vishnu, Krishna, Rama, Shiva, and Shakti deities. The folk tradition has also played an important role in this regard. Successions of foreign invasions threatened the Hindu civilization in a determined and ruthless manner, starting with the 8th cen tury A.D. invasions and lasting into the eighteenth century. Hindu civilization, nevertheless, has survived these attacks and a significant credit goes to the saintpoet-philosophers of India and the Bhakti movement. The Bhakti movement has brought greater unity and understanding among people of different faiths and creeds and bridged the gaps among religious sects. The movement enriched the Indian