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190
In sections XXV and XXVI of the BR, Madhusudana
discusses the relation of knowledge, non-attachment, and
devotion; he comes to the interesting conclusion that the
higher non-attachment which is a prerequisite for perfect
bhakti cannot exist without knowledge.
"First comes
knowledge of the Lord," he says, "then there arises the
higher non-attachment, and then the devotion which is of the
nature of ecstatic love (preman)."77 He must of course
specify what he means here by knowledge. Is it reverent
awareness of God's greatness (m膩h膩tmyaj帽膩na), as in
Vallabha's definition of bhakti?78 Although such an
understanding of knowledge might be expected in a devotional
treatise, it is not what Madhusudana has in mind. He
describes the realization that must come prior to the
attainment of the highest levels of devotion as follows:
Everything other than the Blessed Lord, because it is
transient, is false (m膩yika) like a dream. It is devoid
of true significance, painful, and to be shunned. The
Blessed Lord alone is real; He is the supreme bliss,
self-luminous, eternal, the one to be sought after.
This is the kind of knowledge spoken of.
79 This is clearly the Advaitins' direct realization of
Brahman. To confirm this, we need only note that, by way of
illustration, Madhus眉dana quotes a series of verses from
both the BP and the BG80 in which the word j帽膩nin
("possessor of knowledge"), a common designation of the
Advaitin who has experienced the truth of non-duality,
appears no less than seven times. Any doubt as to the