Devanagari: अभिधेय ISO15919: abhidhēya also written as abhidhey
The means to attain the ultimate goal. Every individual soul seeks eternal happiness. The scriptures describe three paths to attain it: karma, jnana and bhakti. To determine the validity of a path, the following five conditions must be fulfilled:
- anvaya - the path must directly lead to the goal,
- vyatireka - the goal cannot be attained without following this path,
- anyanirapekshata - the path must be independent and not rely on any other,
- sarvatrakita - the path must be accessible to all and
- sadatanatva - the path must be eternal and everlasting.
Upon careful examination, it becomes clear that both karma and jnana are dependent on bhakti. In fact, on their own, they cannot even grant their intended results—karma leads only to celestial abodes, and jnana results in atmajnana (self-knowledge), neither of which fulfils the soul’s longing for happiness. Thus, the only genuine abhidheya is bhakti—devotion to Shri Krishna.
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