What about philosophy, training, and discipline? If bhakti is not dependent on scholarship or stoicism, where does the practitioner gain the wisdom that dispels ignorance?
Readings
Bg. 10.11
तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तम: ।
नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता ॥ ११ ॥
teṣām evānukampārtham aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā
Synonyms
teṣām — for them;
eva — certainly;
anukampā-artham — to show special mercy;
aham — I;
ajñāna-jam — due to ignorance;
tamaḥ — darkness;
nāśayāmi — dispel;
ātma-bhāva — within their hearts;
sthaḥ — situated;
jñāna — of knowledge;
dīpena — with the lamp;
bhāsvatā — glowing.
Translation
To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.
Purport
When Lord Caitanya was in Benares promulgating the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, thousands of people were following Him. Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, a very influential and learned scholar in Benares at that time, derided Lord Caitanya for being a sentimentalist. Sometimes Māyāvādī philosophers criticize the devotees because they think that most of the devotees are in the darkness of ignorance and are philosophically naive sentimentalists. Actually that is not the fact. There are very, very learned scholars who have put forward the philosophy of devotion. But even if a devotee does not take advantage of their literatures or of his spiritual master, if he is sincere in his devotional service he is helped by Kṛṣṇa Himself within his heart. So the sincere devotee engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be without knowledge. The only qualification is that one carry out devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
The Māyāvādī philosophers think that without discriminating one cannot have pure knowledge. For them this answer is given by the Supreme Lord: those who are engaged in pure devotional service, even though they be without sufficient education and even without sufficient knowledge of the Vedic principles, are still helped by the Supreme God, as stated in this verse.
The Lord tells Arjuna that basically there is no possibility of understanding the Supreme Truth, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, simply by speculating, for the Supreme Truth is so great that it is not possible to understand Him or to achieve Him simply by making a mental effort. Man can go on speculating for several millions of years, and if he is not devoted, if he is not a lover of the Supreme Truth, he will never understand Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Truth. Only by devotional service is the Supreme Truth, Kṛṣṇa, pleased, and by His inconceivable energy He can reveal Himself to the heart of the pure devotee. The pure devotee always has Kṛṣṇa within his heart; and with the presence of Kṛṣṇa, who is just like the sun, the darkness of ignorance is at once dissipated. This is the special mercy rendered to the pure devotee by Kṛṣṇa.
Due to the contamination of material association, through many, many millions of births, one’s heart is always covered with the dust of materialism, but when one engages in devotional service and constantly chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, the dust quickly clears, and one is elevated to the platform of pure knowledge. The ultimate goal, Viṣṇu, can be attained only by this chant and by devotional service, and not by mental speculation or argument. The pure devotee does not have to worry about the material necessities of life; he need not be anxious, because when he removes the darkness from his heart, everything is provided automatically by the Supreme Lord, who is pleased by the loving devotional service of the devotee. This is the essence of the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā. By studying Bhagavad-gītā, one can become a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura - Sārārtha Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā
11. To show favor to them, situated in their mental functions, I personally extinguish the darkness born of ignorance with the shining lamp of knowledge.
“Without the functioning of knowledge and other such elements, how can they attain you and how can they even strive for that goal?”
All this is not at all necessary. Having the intention of giving them mercy by all means, even without their having to worry about attaining my mercy, since I myself make the endeavor to give them mercy (teṣam eva anukampārtham), I, being situated within the functioning of their intellects (ātma-bhāvasthaḥ)--by the lamp of knowledge, knowledge arising from bhakti which is beyond the guṇas, not sattvic knowledge, since bhakti alone can reveal me--destroy the darkness born of ignorance in them alone, and not in other persons such as the yogīs. I alone (aham eva) do this, all on my own. Why should they strive for this purpose? I have already said that I carry the responsibility of their spiritual and material welfare (yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham). I accept responsibility to supply all their material and spiritual requirements. These famous four verses which have been narrated are the essence of all topics in the Gītā, removing the misery and producing complete joy for the jīvas.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa- Gītā Bhūṣaṇa
To show favor to them, I, by Myself, situated within them, extinguish the darkness born of ignorance with the shining lamp of knowledge.
“Since they have been existing in the darkness of ignorance for such a long time, how is it possible that You can illuminate their hearts?”
Not for the saniṣṭhas1, but for those who cannot maintain their lives without Me, for My unalloyed devotees alone (teṣam eva), since they are worthy objects of My mercy (anukampārtham), I, situated with attachment for those souls (ātma-bhāva-sthaḥ), like a bee in the lotus flower, reveal in their ātmās My dazzling form and qualities. I destroy darkness in the form of desires for objects other than Myself born from ignorance in the form of beginningless karma which covers knowledge (ajñāna-jam tamaḥ), by means of the glowing lamp of knowledge (jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā) concerning My form and qualities. I, who am satisfied with their exclusive devotion to Me, who bear the responsibility for bestowing and preserving whatever they need (yoga-kṣema), elevate their intelligence and destroy the ignorance within. I bear the responsibility for all this. They do not have to take pains for this at all. This has already been stated (with yoga-kṣema vahāmy aham (BG 9.22). The intelligent people understand that what is proclaimed in the ninth and tenth chapters, the very womb of the Gītā,2 is the essential meaning of the Gītā.
Vocabulary quiz
The saniṣṭhas are those who follow the path of niṣkāma-karma-yoga, then jñāna-yoga and aṣtāṅga-yoga and finally perform bhakti yoga while at the same time practicing varṇāśrama rules without desire. (Basically they progress because they are in the Vedic/Hindu culture, rather than those who are intentionally devotees, I made an IG short about it)
They occur at the exact center of eighteen chapters.