VI. BHAKTI YOGA OR THE YOGA OF LOVING DEVOTION

 

He who with unwavering devotion (BhaktiYoga), does God service, has crossed Beyond the strands, and is fit for salvation.

 

BHAGAVAD GITA

 

It is a yoga of worship with a loving and living faith, absolute and steadfast, ones Isht Deva or the object of ones reverent adoration. It is a very popular path, most suited to those who are endowed with an emotional bent of mind. Selfless devotion is the keynote to success on this path. A bhakta or a devotee delights in rapturous strains, and is ever engaged in singing hymns in praise of his Lord and never gets weary of them. He tends to differ from a jnani both in his outlook on life and approach to God, for instead of seeking the true self, which is also the Brahman, he sets up a dualism between himself and his God, whom he adores as a separate and superior being. But this dualism is not necessarily ultimate; the bhakta knows the secret that one becomes that which one adores.

 

The cult of bhakti occupies an important integral place in all the yogic sadhnas. In a Jnani, it provides a substancial support in the form of devotion to the cause of self-knowledge. In a Karma yogin, it manifests itself in the form of an effect, and finds it's efflorescence in acts of loving devotion for the common weal of all creatures, for they are the creation of God.

 

The path of bhakti is characterized by three salient features: japa, prem and the symbolic representation of the object of veneration.

 

(1). Japa: It connotes the constant remembrance and repetition of Gods name; in the beginning orally, by means of the tongue, and then mentally. All the devotees engage in this practice irrespective  of their religious orders. The practice of telling bead is widespread in the world. The Hindus name it mala, the Christians “rosary” and the Muslims tasbih. Unless it is performed with the devotion and concentration, it defeats it's purpose for it runs the risk of becoming mechanical. Thus in some countries the whole practice has resolved itself into a mere rotating of a wheel on which are inscribed various prayers, only the hand being kept busy, while the mind instead of being fixed on God is left free to wander in worldly thoughts.

 

(2). Prem bhava or love-attitude assumes multitudinous forms with a bhakta. Sometimes he assumes the role of a child, and clings to God as one does to his Father or mother, and at other times altogether reverses the process and sports with him as one does with his child. At times, he adopts an attitude of a friend and a companion (sakha-bhava), of a lover pining for his beloved spouse, of a devoted slave for his Master, or a tippler for the saqi, as we find in the quatrains of Omar Khayyam. It all depends on ones varying moods and predilections. Christ always spoke of God as the Father, Paramhansa  Ramakrishna adored him as the mother, Arjuna the warrior prince, and Meera, the Rajput princess, always regarded him as a Sakha or a friend and companion, while the Gopi sang songs of poignancy and grief as any love smitten maiden would do for her lover.

 

(3). Next comes the chosen symbol of the Lord. Everyone has his own conception of incarnations and Gods manifestations. As a nameless assumes many names, so does the formless appear in many forms according to the desires of his devotees. One may find him in a stone as sadna did, another in an idol, for he is immanent in all forms and answers to the prayers of all his sincere bhaktas and never lets them down. One can of course, serve the Lord when he appears as a Goodman, a teacher of humanity like Buddha, Christ, Kabir, Guru Nanak, teacher of humanity like Buddha, Christ, Kabir, Guru Nanak, who by their very presence illumine the world. The process of bhaki gradually widens the outlook of a bhakta until he sees the light of his chosen idol pervading everywhere in and around him, and he begins to feel himself expanding with love, till he embraces the entire creation of God. This is the climax to which love brings him. The process was powerfully illustrated in our own time by the life of Sir Ramakrishna. At first he worshiped the Divine Mother as the idol in the Dakshineswar temple, then as the principle that manifested itself in all things good and holy, and finally, as the spirit that pervaded everything, the evil no less than the good, considering even the courtesan as it's manifestation. The stages of the progress of a true bhakta from dualism to monism, from a limited individuality to universality, are traditionally termed as under:

(a)     Salokya: The stage where the devotee desires to dwell in the same region as his Beloved.

(b)     Sampriya:  The stage where he not only wishes to dwell in same region but also in close proximity to his Beloved.

(c)     Sarup: The stage where the devotee wishes for him-self the same form as that of his Beloved.

(d)     Sayuja: The final stage when the devotee is content with nothing less than becoming one with the deity.  

When a bhakta has reached the end of his journey, he no longer sees any duality, but beholds the one Deity pervading everything and everywhere. He may continue to speak of it in the manner in which he used to do as, a Father or a Mother, but he no longer knows any difference between that Being and himself, and so we read of Christ saying: “I and my Father are One.”