Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c10.s3.13

c10.s3.13

But the doctrine is not unmoral in the sense that it predicates an unmoral or attributeless deity. The Bengal theistic faith conceives of its personal god as possessed of divinely human qualities, and fashions its man-like god in the light of human relationships. The Bhakti, in this system, is not an austere concentration of the mind on absolute reality, but the loving contemplation of a benign and blissful personal god, who is felt to be remote, but whom the worshipper desires to bring nearer to his feeling than to his understanding. It is also an experience capable of ascending scale of emotions. From this point of view, the mystic feeling resolves itself into a series of exceedingly familiar and authentic sentiments of a human being as a parent, friend, servant or lover. But the danger of such an attitude is also clear. If the object is the attainment of some kind of intimate relationship, whatever the nature of the relationship may be, it is a matter of great importance how the god is conceived. The problem is not merely religious but also ethical. In other words, the god should be fully ethicised, and not merely placed in a sportive surrounding of merely emotional or sensuous appeal.