The term Bhakti, derived from the root “Bhoj”, means to share or to participate in, is generally rendered as ‘devotion’ or ‘love’. Bhakti yoga is thus the yoga of loving self-dedication to, and to love-participation in, the divine person. It is the way of hear.
Sandilya, the author of the Bakti Sutra defines bhakti as “Supreme attachment to the Lord”. It is the only kind of attachment that does not reinforce the egoic personality and its destiny. It is such energized love attachment that Bhakti yogins consciously harness in their quest for union with the divine.
Bhakti is of three kinds:
(a) Vaidhi Bhakti : determined by procedural restrictions and feasibility is the Vaidhi Bhakti.
(b) Ragatmika : Infusing sense of devotion the Bhakti which absorbs a sadhaka (practitioner) in a particular attachment is called Ragatmika.
(c) Para Bhakti : The Bhakti providing supreme bliss (paramananda) is called Para Bhakti, which a yogi adept in yoga obtains in the Samadhi, the Supreme Bliss.
In Bhakti Yoga, the practitioner is always a devotee, a lover, and the divine is the Beloved. There are different degrees of devotion, and the nine stages of devotion according to the Bhagavatta Purana (9th Century A.D.) – i. Shravana (distening)
ii. Kritana (chanting)
iii. Smarana (remembrance)
iv. Pada Seva (service at the feet)
v. Arcana (ritual)
vi. Vandana (prostration
vii. Daasya (slavish devotion
viii. Sakhya (feeling of friendship)
ix. Atma Nivedan (self offering) |
