Bhakti Preempted
Madhusüdana Sarasvatî on Devotion for the Advaitin Renouncer
Keywords:
Madhusudana Sarasvati, Advaita Vedanta, Bhakti, Devotion, Jnana, Moksha, Sannyasin, Renouncer, Bhagavadgita, Bhaktirasayana, Non-dualismAbstract
The article "BHAKTI PREEMPTED: MADHUSUDANA SARASVATI ON DEVOTION FOR THE ADVAITIN RENOUNCER" by Lance E. Nelson examines Madhusudana Sarasvati's complex attempt to integrate bhakti (devotion) within the Advaita Vedanta framework, particularly for renouncers (sannyasins). The article highlights the historical tension between Advaita's emphasis on knowledge (jnana) for liberation through non-dual realization and bhakti's focus on loving surrender to a personal God. While Madhusudana's Bhaktirasayana seemingly presents bhakti as an independent path to moksha accessible to all, Nelson's analysis of his later work, Bhagavadgitagudharthadipika, reveals a more conservative stance. In the latter, Madhusudana, despite his personal devotion to Krishna, ultimately subordinates bhakti to the path of knowledge and reasserts traditional Advaitic prerequisites like Vedic study and renunciation (primarily for Brahmins) for final liberation, effectively "preempting" universal access to moksha through devotion alone.
