Which am I?

It is helpful on whatever spiritual path one follows to ask the question: am I in the first instance a person with a jnani orientation or a bhakti orientation? It is sometimes possible to be a person with a jnani orientation who is involved with a mainly bhakti religion, Master, or teaching; or vice versa. The understanding of this mismatch can be a way out of an apparent spiritual deadlock or crisis. Ultimately however it is important to understand that the distinction disappears.

'We are spiritually 'gendered' as either jnani or bhakti. In the beginning it may not be clear, and in the end it may make no difference, but for most of the spiritual journey it is vital to know the distinction'

The gender analogy: it may be obvious from the definitions of bhakti and jnani given in the introduction to this section that a gender or sexual analogy can be useful. Be warned that an analogy is only an analogy however! In this analogy the jnani orientation is masculine, while the bhakti orientation is feminine. There is no correlation with physical gender however.

The use of sexual metaphor in the spiritual literature abounds in both East and West, and has led to misunderstanding by the lay public. Both Rumi and Kabir used the metaphor of the lover (God) and his mistress (the aspirant); both were great bhaktis, and both were men. For bhaktis the sexual metaphor implies that the devotee is feminine — Kabir for example talks of preparing the bed for the lover — while the divine principle is masculine.

In traditionally bhakti religions the feminine nature of the calling may cause problems for the men in that tradition; for example Christian nuns are sometimes called 'brides of Christ', but no equivalent term can be found for Christian monks. Another problem arises when the spiritual love of a male disciple for a male Master is misunderstood by the lay public as a homosexual love, though of course the two forms of love could coincide in the same relationship. Socrates, Rumi, Walt Whitman and Ramakrishna have all been misinterpreted because of their spiritual relationships with men, and in an increasingly secular world other interpretations are losing currency.

The sexual analogy is useful however because in contemporary Western thinking one's sexual orientation is not a matter of choice, but somehow a deep part of one's personality, if not necessarily physiology. There is also a conscious effort in the Western mind to extend equality to both genders and all sexual orientations, and there is an equivalent need in spiritual thinking. For many intelligent and educated individuals the bhakti orientation may seem a lesser road than the jnani orientation. This assumption is to be resisted as fiercely as outmoded views on gender and sexual orientation.

Which am I? This question may already be answered in your mind, or you may find that the material in the rest of the site guides you towards the answer. Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) used to say that if, after some enquiry and reflection, you still cannot decide, then know this:— you are probably jnani! Why? because doubt and uncertainty are characteristics of the jnani in the early stages.

(continue)