Choosing Solid Foundation Over Fragile Support
Shri Maharaj Ji as a young boy was very naughty. With a few boys from Mangarh He used to walk all the way to Kunda on foot to school. On the way to school they used to stop in sugarcane fields, mango orchards and ponds all along the way. They would play in the fields till barely a few minutes were left for the morning bell. Then they would sprint to the class just in time.
Shri Maharaj ji used to be very swift in climbing trees, like a monkey. Once he along with his friends were in a mango orchard. The boys noticed a mango on one of the higher branches which looked ripe. None of them could muster enough courage to reach the mango. Shri Maharaj Ji arrogantly challenged, “I can pluck it.” The other boys requested him to do so as they wanted the mango. Maharaj Ji climbed the tree swiftly and tried to reach it. Sadly it was beyond Shri Maharaj Ji’s reach too, so he stepped on a rather weak branch in order to reach the mango. The mango not being adequately ripe couldn’t be plucked merely by a soft touch. So, Shri Maharaj ji had to step out further to yet another weaker part of the branch. Since the branch was fragile, it couldn't hold His weight and gave way. As He was falling, He tried to catch hold of other branches to stop Himself from falling. But that second branch was also frail thus it also broke. Thereby, Shri Maharaj Ji fell on the ground along with both of those branches and got badly injured.
Moral: The Vedas say- प्लवा ह्येते अदृढा यज्ञरूपाः
plavā hyete adṛḍhā yajñarūpāḥ
“The path of Karma is a very frail bridge to bliss”. It breaks midway therefore don’t tread on it. The most the path of Karma can bestow is heavenly gratification. That is limited happiness for a limited duration. Eventually, one is hurled down to the same cycle of birth and death in rather more inferior species of life. Similarly, the path of gyan frees us from the clutches of ignorance and it dies itself thereafter. In dearth of true knowledge, it just ends up boosting one’s ego and causes devastation in the gyani’s life as well.
It implies all the paths without true devotion are like the frail branches that cannot support your goal of 'Anand prapti' (attaining divine bliss). Thus it's wise to seek the shelter of Bhakti as that is the only path that can take you across the ocean of Maya and provide eternal bliss.