Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale said that He started practicing Bhaktiyoga at the age of 80 : H.H. Sandeep Alshi provides the implied meaning

  My spiritual practice on Bhaktiyoga really began on 13.4.2023 : Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale

1. Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale’s sadhana was initially more of Jnanyoga and Karmayoga

After completing my medical education, from the age of 30 till I turned 40, I practiced as a Hypnotherapist. In this period, Hypnotherapy failed to answer many of my questions that arose in my mind out of curiosity; hence, I commenced reading spiritual texts, though not extensively. I then realised that performing sadhana (Spiritual practice) is essential to obtain answers through the medium of Spirituality. Hence, I started performing a little sadhana. Consequently, I started getting answers to my questions; therefore, I started advising seekers to perform spiritual practice.

I used to contemplate on the sadhana that would help me obtain answers to my questions. I started getting answers to various questions at the intellectual level through Jnanayoga and Karmayoga; hence, I started studying these two Paths. My sadhana as per Bhaktiyoga was restricted to advising my patients to chant God’s Name. However, I too felt like performing sadhana for increasingly more time. Bhaktiyoga does not include answers at the intellectual level, and hence, I used 30 years of my life (from the age of 50 to 80) in studying Jnanayoga and Karmayoga.

2. Introduction to Bhaktiyoga

In 2003, negative energies started attacking Sanatan’s seekers. I started looking for remedies at various spiritual levels to protect seekers from the negative energies. I discovered that the constituent  of bhav (Spiritual emotion) in the individual is very effective in fighting negative energies. Upon realising that negative energies cannot trouble seekers when they have bhav, I compiled Texts with the aim of  awakening the bhav in seekers.

Further, to educate the society on the importance of Scriptures, I compiled Texts on – ‘Worship of Deities’,  ‘Science underlying various rituals’ – under the series – ‘Why do Dharmashastras say ?’

3. Bhaktiyoga filling the void in sadhana after following the Paths of Jnanyoga and Karmayoga

Since Jnanyoga and Karmayoga did not provide answers to all my questions, I started studying Texts on Bhaktiyoga with the hope of finding answers to some of my questions. On 13.4.2023 I realised that till now I had studied more of Jnanyoga and Karmayoga, but I knew very little about Bhaktiyoga; hence, I started studying it with intense curiosity.

Then, I realised that by reading Texts on Bhaktiyoga, one does not get answers like one does in Jnanyoga; the learning is at the level of the mind only. Most importantly, Bhaktiyoga helps awaken bhav. Since awakening of bhav is important in sadhana, I started studying Texts on Bhaktiyoga more. Later, I started getting answers to some unanswered questions; but instead of obtaining knowledge, I began to experience the awakening of bhav.

I know where there is bhav there is God, and hence, now I am reading Texts on Bhaktiyoga only instead of Texts on Jnanyoga and Karmayoga to help me stay more and more in a state of bhav.

Thus, by the grace of my Guru, on 13.4.2023 (at the age of 80) my practice of Bhaktiyoga commenced. Most of the articles collected so far for compiling about 5,000 Texts in the future are mostly on Jnanyoga and Karmayoga. Now many of the articles and Texts that I will write will be related to Bhaktiyoga.

Maharshi Vyas composed the Vedas and Puranas while performing sadhana according to Jnanyoga. Finally, when He wrote the Bhagavat Purana, He experienced true satisfaction. To some extent, I am now getting similar spiritual experiences.

My Guru has made me aware of the importance of Bhaktiyoga; as a result, He has brought Absoluteness in my sadhana. Hence, I am deeply grateful to my Guru.

– Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Jayant Athavale (3.6.2023)

• Individual spiritual experiences of seekers published in SanatanPrabhat are according to the Principle – ‘Where there is bhav (Spiritual emotion), there is God’. It is not that every individual will have similar experiences.
• According to the ancient and profound Nadibhavishya, the Saptarshis have written the future of every individual.