In
this post let us look at the question of what is Bhakti and why it is important in
spiritual growth.
What is Bhakti?
In
the Indian spiritual tradition Bhakti means devotion – to God primarily but also
to a guru or a master.
Bhakti
relates to the heart as against the mind. In Bhakti the devotee’s heart melts
and merges with the one devoted to.
The
another most important aspect of Bhakti is love
– divine, unconditional and desire less love for God.
First
of the Four Paths to Salvation
The
Hindu school of spirituality lays down four paths to salvation – liberation
from the eternal cycle of birth and death.
Bhakti
is the first of the four. The four paths are:
- Bhakti - Devotion
- Karma – Righteous Action
- Yoga – Various techniques including breath control and meditation
- Jnana – Wisdom – reaching the Ultimate Truth through introspection, discrimination – essentially through an intellectual means
God
cannot be attained through Any Path without Bhakti
Even
though four distinct paths to salvation have been given a practitioner cannot
attain God without Bhakti.
Being
of an intellectual type and following the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s Jnana Marga, initially, I totally
rejected Bhakti. I used to think that Jnana
was superior to all other paths. I also thought that there is no need for
Bhakti on the path of wisdom. Of course, I was ignorant. Ramana Maharshi himself
was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and
composed many beautiful poems on Him.
So is
the case with Adi Shankara. Though he
was the tallest proponent of Vedanta and Jnana marga, he invariably exhorted
the seekers to approach God through Bhakti. The song, “Bhaja Govindam…” he
composed is a perfect example. In that song, he addresses people as, “Moodha
Mate”, meaning, “Oh Ignorant” and strongly and even harshly advises to seek God
instead of going after mere knowledge for a livelihood.
In Karma or the path of Action the seeker should surrender all
the fruits at the feet of the Lord and carry on the duties with total devotion
in His name and as His instrument. Therefore Bhakti is an integral part of Karma Yoga. Swami Vivekananda an outstanding example of Karma Yoga was a great devotee of the Divine Mother
Kali.
In
the Yoga path too, Parama Hansa Yogananda in his famous book, “The Auto
Biography of a Yogi”, narrates how one of his masters reminds him as follows:
“You go
often into the silence, but have you developed anubhava?” He was reminding me
to love God more than meditation. “Do not mistake the technique for the Goal.”
All
these examples clearly prove that there is no substitute for Bhakti or
devotion.
The Nine Limbs of Bhakti
The Bhagavata Puranam the ultimate text on Bhakti prescribes the following nine limbs of
the Bhakti Yoga:
- Sravana – listening to stories and songs praising God
- Kirtanam – Singing the glories of God
- Smaranam – Remembering or Chanting the Lord’s Name
- Pada Sevanam – Doing service to the lotus feet of the Lord. We can see Sri Maha Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu, massaging the feet of Lord Vishnu.
- Archana – Worship or doing Pooja with flowers or Kum-kum.
- Vadanam – Saluting the Lord with folded hands.
- Dasyam – Be the servant or slave to God – Lord Hanuman, the great devotee of Sri Rama, calls himself a Dasa or servant of the Lord.
- Sakhayam – Making God your friend.
- Atma Nivedana – Complete sacrifice or surrender.
Source of the picture is http://devotioninformation.blogspot.com/2009/02/navadha-bhakti.html
and the credit is hereby duly acknowledged
Today,
in the modern and fast-paced world, elaborate poojas and rituals are difficult. Making God your friend or as a
slight variation, your parent is the simplest and effective. While chanting, I
visualize myself as a six-month infant, completely naked and chewing the thumb
at Divine Mother’s lotus feet. I also see her lifting me up high and kissing me
on my cheeks, putting me to sleep in Her lap, etc. Tears invariably roll down
my cheeks in emotion.
At
the end of my brief post I repeat that Bhakti is the easiest and direct path to
God. Any other path, on its own, without Bhakti cannot lead us to the Lord.
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