Vedantic way of life : Karma Yoga || Bhakti Yoga || Gyana Yoga || Dyana Yoga

The Path of devotion

Devotion (Bhakti) and the spiritual practice based upon it, is Bhakti Yoga. In Bhakti Yoga,devotion is the medium for gaining the spiritual end. Bhakti is a sentiment like love and respect for ones parents. If devotion/surrender is to be our spiritual path then we must be devoted to its pursuit. All paths are essentially the same but garbed differently and the goal of each is the same.

Bhakti is for those, who have an inborn love for the almighty and feel a natural reliance on Him. Often the people who take to the Bhakti path are neither dispassionate nor passionate. They will not have any appreciable detachment to the world nor attachment to it.Their minds will therefore be open to absorb spiritual knowledge and lessons. Generally it so happens that they accidentally go to a spiritual discourse, find it appealing, continue to attend these talks this marks the beginning of a new life and for them. They do not renounce worldly life but spend a portion of it on devotional spiritual pursuits - such people are for Bhakti Sadhna.

The ideal of devotion is seeing of god in everything in fortune, misfortune. To birth and death, in success and sorrow. The practice of devotion may be begun any time. Even a young boy or girl may take to it, you can begin by chanting gods name, you can supplement it with the performance of worship (Pooja). Whatever be the outward practice the intention should be to gain a clearer vision. The thought of god must always remain in the mind. And you must be convinced about the nature of this god. Through enquiry (Vicara) the devotees will arrive at the meaning of god and where it resides. It is the power that activates the body, mind and senses. Only when you are convinced about the existence of God will your mind work towards God realization. As long as you remain in confident to say I am god, as is everything and everyone in this world, your devotion shall remain, rudimentary crude and undeveloped. If omnipresence of God is a fact then you must be able to feel His presence in your body too.

Thus the realization of oneness or non-dual knowledge. To love god is to love everyone, everything, hatred towards anybody is hatred towards God.

Just as a Karma Yogi who is to be equanimous in face of altering situations so a devotee must be equal minded in praise and blame. In this world dualities freely exist and play, only in such a situation can a person have the occasion to progress spiritually to perfection, dualities are to help us evolve on the right path.

Every moment of your life is carrying you to fulfillment. Everything that comes to you does so to improve, correct or alter your nature thereby leading you to a greater perfection. This is an unfailing truth about life and its progression.

One simple method of cultivating devotion is to recite devotional songs, poems, know the meaning of what you say or recite, then a powerful harmony and solace will be felt. This is Yoga too. Reciting verses, songs on a regular basis will fill your body with sounds and a mystic energy. The Devotee (Bhakt) who finds a natural love towards the almighty will experience pleasant sensations of delight. In such moments he may sing loudly, cry and weep profusely or even dance in ecstasy when in devotion they may be lost in thoughts of the lord. The body and the mind gets completely attuned to the lord and all bonds of ignorance and desire get destroyed. The communion with the lord (whatever His name may be) dwells within their body and gains for them freedom from the cycle of births and death. It makes their mind pure and non-dual. The ultimate purpose of devotion is to lose yourself in the embrace of the lord within you That embrace itself is the state of uninterrupted contemplation (Samadhi) where the mind dissolves itself fully.

The end is the same the Bhakt achieves it by reciting the name of the lord, the Jnani (seeker of knowledge) through introspection and contemplation on his own self.

If you are a Bhakt, find God in everything around you. This is the first and last lesson for a devotee.



Vedantic way of life : Karma Yoga || Bhakti Yoga || Gyana Yoga || Dyana Yoga