BHAKTI

BHAKTI

Bhakti is often called Fifth way of “Purushartha” irrespective of other four i.e. ‘Dharma’, ‘Karma’, ‘Kaam’, ‘Moksha’. To understand the concept of “Bhakti”, we have to understand the “Pushtimarg”- a way towards Liberation and ‘Path of Grace’.

Bhakti is a very vast subject, Bhakti in short is devotional surrendership to a master where a devotee just serves his master in every aspects to make master comfort and happy. In this case Vaishnav could be that devotee and Krishna the Master. There are two types of Bhakti, Nisha Kam Bhakti and Moksha Kam Bhakti. Both Bhakti is offered to Shree Krishna but the result or that achieved by each one is completely different. In Mokshadi Bhakti will have a return as Moksha and the Nisha Kam Bhakti has no need for Moksha and so as there is not expectation or any desire except Serving Krishna and pleasing Him. The second one is the Bhakti which infuses in Pushtimarg.

First type of Bhakti is known as Mariyada Bhakti. In this Bhakti we see those devotees who desire material life and also imbibe in acquiring Parlokik, the best of Materialistic but at a Spiritual level, and the result is Moksha. These devotee do depict a touch of "Anurag" (love) for God and are also clinging to the material life as well. This is Mariyada Bhakti.

The second type is Known as Pushti bhakti. In this bhakti there is no expectation and only desire is to acquire darshan and grace of Krishna. Because this state and bhakti is such it takes that devotee to "Swabhavanapati" a state where Lord knows the devotee is not seeking any return so Lord will bestow the grace. And in this state both devotee and the God bestow that "Anugraha" (to imbibe in action of appreciation and acknowledgement) and "Anuraga" In this Bhakti the devotee seeks the swaroop anand, darshan of Krishna, and this is Pushti Bhakti. The result is Pushti fal.

About Pushtimarg:

"Pushtimarg" is a 500 year old sect of Sanatan Dharma, founded by Shri Vallabhacharya.

Shri Vallabhacharya is one of the five main Acharyas of the Sanatan Dharma. The other four being Shankaracharya, Shri Ramanujacharya, Shri Madhavacharya and Shri Nimbarkacharya. These acharyas have a very significant contribution towards the upbringing of the Sanatan Dharma. Sanatan Dharma's History is very old, dating back to vedic times.

The four Vedas i.e..
The Rigveda
The Samaveda
The Yajurveda
The Atharvaveda

are treated as very sacred scriptures and the base of Sanatan Dharma is formed on them. Therefore, be it any sect or any Acharya of the Sanatan Dharma, they will always regard the Vedas as the highest authority.

PUSHTI – BHAKTI MARG

Bhagavat defines ‘Pushti’ as under:

“Posanam tadanugrahah”

Meaning: ‘Pushti’ means the grace of Bhagavan.

So, Pushti-Marga is a path of dedication, which could be achieved and followed only by the grace of the Bhagavan. Bhagavan is gracious. He bestows his grace upon numerous beings in a
number of ways. The Teacher in a school may compel a student to sit at the back, if he is inattentive in his study and is not obedient. But he will gladly accord the front row to that student who learns his lessons attentively and who abides by the commands of the teacher. Similarly, Bhagavan, too, bestows His grace upon beings to more or less extent. Let us not forget here that essentially all the beings are equal for Bhagavan. If the grace of Bhagavan is received unevenly, it is just a part of Bhagavan's lila (sport). So, Bhagavan specially favours those people who come to his refuge without any sort of selfishness and bestows upon them the benefit of doing his service.

The beings on whom such grace of Bhagavan has been showered, have nothing to worry about their worldly and transcendental life. Bhagavan Himself takes care of Pushti-beings and does all that is in their benefit. Perhaps, for any reason, if such beings are not in position to do the service of Bhagavan, He does create favourable circumstances for them to perform His service conveniently, and does not let them remain aloof from His service.

Hence, Shri Vallabhacharya in the Book of Siddhanta-muktavali says:

“Anugrahah Pushti-marge niyamakah”

Meaning: The grace of Bhagavan is the sole governing factor for those who are the pedestrians on the path of Pushti, here and hereafter and in seeking after the fruit and the fulfillment of the
fruit.

For this reason, the path in which everything of the devotee is accomplished by the grace of Bhagavan is called the Pushti-sect, the path of the Divine Grace. One cannot enter into this path without the grace of Bhagavan. If we say: “Pushti-Marga is the sect of attaining the grace of Bhagavan”, we are mistaken in understanding Pushti-Marga in its true perspective. Having the
grace of Bhagavan is the fulfilment of the very first condition for our entering into this sect. What other grace remains to be obtained by the blessed being after he has entered into the Pushti-Marga? Now that he is a blessed follower of Pushti-Marga, the only thing he has to do is the divine service of Bhagavan in order to cultivate the divine grace. The persons about whom it cannot be decided whether they are graced or not should not be allowed to initiate into this sect. Such is the clear-cut dictum of great ancient Acaryas which must be followed by all the Gurus of the Sampradaya. In this way, we have come to understand why the path that is propounded by Shri Vallabhacharya is called the PUSHTI MARGA the Path of Divine Grace.

What is meant by Pushti-Bhakti-Marga?

We all wish that we may have all happiness and no pain. This kind of our desire or effort to accomplish this goal is called Purusharatha (the object of the human life). We try our level best to fulfil this desire. Some people perform sacrifices, some do the penance and some others go on pilgrimage in order to get rid of all their sins and to obtain salvation. They make efforts to a mass wealth in order to obtain the object cherished most by them. But he who is the true-hearted Pushti-Devotee desires to obtain neither the salvation nor even the heavenly kingdom. For him, the divine service of Bhagavan is the only Dharma the only object attainable in his life. Bhagavan Himself is his real wealth. The only longing he feels in his mind is to have the Darshan of Bhagavan and to do the divine service, and he believes that his only salvation lies in keeping himself always firmly attached to Bhagavan. A true hearted devotee forgets all his sorrows in his devotion to Bhagavan and experiences divine bliss. For this reason, this Marga is called the Pushti-Bhakti-Marga, the devotional path of Pushti.

Every religious sect possesses certain peculiar established upholding and criteria. These upholding serve the purpose of sound pillars for the Sampradaya to stand upon. Now let us consider these peculiar established upholdings and criteria of Pushti-Bhakti-Marga.

“Pushtibhakti” means ‘path of grace’ and Shree Vallabh has incarnation on this earth only to propagate “Pushtibhakti” or ‘path of grace’ by Shriji’s divine order. “Pushtibhakti” is not for each and everyone. Those who are selected and adhikar, only those on whom Shriji made his grace can undergo “Pushtibhakti”.

“Bhagwat” is a literature form of “Bhakti”. When “Vyasji” was not satisfied after writing all “Puranas”, then “Naradji” persuaded him to write about ‘Lilas’ of Shri Krishna and in “Bhagwat”, God became starting point of salvation and Shri Krishna has showed the way of Liberation by playing an important role for salvation.

“Pushtibhakti” is a Bhakti with facet of “Love” And “Grace” is important part of “Bhakti”. If one can have a natural lover towards God without any selfishness, then he may be entitled to get a grace of GOD. It is “reflex” movement, not conventional movement. When there is natural flow of Grace, there cannot be any obstruction.

How “Bhakti” grows?
For the entire process of Bhakti does God play a very major and vital role?

As God always be bind to take you up, if you also try some. If we want to grow and reach to State of Salvation, then we have to make little but initial efforts. Only thereafter, God will take care of us.

There are three stages of “Bhakti” which is Love, Attachment and Passion. First, Love towards God. One should have or awake the love towards God and should have attraction as loveable person. If love is overflow in the heart of devotee towards God, it is a first stage. In the next stage, once you deeply in love with God, then all other which may be materialistic or all other person looks expendable or valueless and you feel that you cannot live without love of God and one cannot stay without grace of God and in last third stage, when Human and God become one i.e. one can merge himself with God and reach to the “State of Passion”, it is the last stage of “Bhakti”, after that one does not need anything. He will be automatically in the “State of Salvation”.

To understand Pushtibhakti better, let us now have an overview of its features :

It is spontaneous, selfless & motiveless love for God.

It is based on pure love for God.

It is expressed only through service of God.

It is love after realising God's true nature.

The knowledge gained is not a means of liberation.

Liberation, is considered secondary to the enjoyment of God's bliss.

Its aim is God's happiness.

No caste, creed, color, sex or age becomes the criteria, the only criteria is God's Grace.

It does not know any boundaries, be it time, place or anything else.

It does not require a devotee to give up a householder's life. In fact, one can serve Him better, by being a householder.

All the worldly desires are diverted towards God, they are then not required to be suppressed.

World is not looked down upon but is treated as God's creation and thus as real as God himself.

Shri Krishna is the supreme God, all the other deities reside in his form. Therefore total faith is placed in Shri Krishna alone.

In the state of liberation the entity of the devotee merges into God's blissful form, but in Bhakti (especially Pushti bhakti) the devotee does not seek liberation but he enjoys God's bliss
by participating in it as a separate divine entity.

What is Bhakti ?

The term Bhakti comes from the root 'Bhaj', which means 'to be attached to God'. Bhajan, worship, Bhakti, Anurag, Prem, Priti are synonymous terms. Bhakti is love for love's sake. The devotee wants God and God alone. There is no selfish expectation here. There is no fear also. Therefore it is called 'Parama Prem Rupa'. The devotee feels, believes, conceives and imagines that his Ishtam (tutelary deity) is an Ocean of Love or Prem.

Bhakti is the slender thread of Prem or love that binds the heart of a devotee with the lotus feet of the Lord. Bhakti is intense devotion and supreme attachment to God. Bhakti is supreme love for God. It is the spontaneous out-pouring of Prem towards the Beloved. It is pure, unselfish, divine love or Suddha Prem. There is not a bit of bargaining or expectation of anything here. This higher feeling is indescribable in words. It has to be sincerely experienced by the devotee. Bhakti is a sacred, higher emotion with sublime sentiments that unites the devotees with the Lord.

Mark how love develops. First arises faith. Then follows attraction and after that adoration. Adoration leads to suppression of mundane desires. The result is single-mindedness and satisfaction. Then grow attachment and supreme love towards God.

In this type of highest Bhakti all attraction and attachment which one has for objects of enjoyment are transferred to the only dearest object, viz., God. This leads the devotee to an eternal union with his Beloved and culminates in oneness.

Types of Bhakti:

Bhakti is of various kinds. One classification is Sakamya and Nishkamya Bhakti. Sakamya Bhakti is devotion with desire for material gains. A man wants wealth with this motive practices Bhakti. Another man wants freedom from diseases and therefore does Japa and offers prayers. A third one wants to become a Minister and does Upasana with this aim. This is Sakamya Bhakti. Whatever you want the Lord will certainly give you, if your Bhakti is intense and if your prayers are sincerely offered from the bottom of your heart. But you will not get supreme satisfaction, immortality and Moksha through Sakamya Bhakti.

Your Bhakti should always be Nishkamya Bhakti. God has already given you a good position, a good job, wife and children and enough wealth. Be contented with these. Aspire for Nishkamya Bhakti. Your heart will be purified and the Divine Grace will descend upon you. Be in communion with the Lord, you will become one with the Lord and you will enjoy all the Divine Aisvaryas (Divine attributes like wisdom, renunciation, power, etc.). All the Vibhutis (Special forms in which the Lord manifests) of the Lord He will give you. He will give you Darsan. He will help you to dwell in Him. At the same time He will give you all the Divine Aisvaryas also.

Another classification of Bhakti is Apara-Bhakti and Para-Bhakti.

Apara-Bhakti is for beginners in Yoga. The beginner decorates an image with flowers and garlands, rings the bell, offers Naivedya (food-offerings), wave lights; he observes rituals and ceremonies. The Bhakta here regards the Lord as a Supreme Person, who is immanent in that image and who can be propitiated through that form only.

He has no expanded heart. He is a sectarian. He dislikes other kinds of Bhaktas who worship other Devatas. Gradually, from Apara-Bhakti, the devotee goes to Para-Bhakti, the highest form of Bhakti. He sees the Lord and Lord alone everywhere and feels His Power manifest as the entire universe. "Thou art all- pervading; on what Simhasana shall I seat Thee ? Thou art the Supreme Light, in whose borrowed light the sun, the moon, the stars and the fire shine; shall I wave this little Deepa or light before You ?" - thus the devotee recognizes the transcendental nature of God. Para-Bhakti and Jnana are one. But every Bhakta will have to start from Apara-Bhakti. Before you take your food, offer it to God mentally; and the food will be purified. When you pass through a garden of flowers, mentally offer all the flowers to the Lord in Archana (offering flowers in worship). When you pass through the bazaar and see a sweetmeat shop, offer all the sweetmeats as Naivedya to the Lord. Such practices will lead to Para-Bhakti.

Bhakti is also classified into Gauna-Bhakti and Mukhya-Bhakti.

Gauna-Bhakti is the lower Bhakti and Mukhya-Bhakti is the higher type of Bhakti.

Go from stage to stage. Just as a flower grows in the garden, so also gradually develop love or Prem in the garden of your heart.

The enemy of devotion is egoism and desire. Where there is no Kama or desire, there alone will Rama (the Lord) manifest Himself. The enemies of peace and devotion are lust, anger and greed. Anger destroys your peace and your health also. When a man abuses you, keep peaceful. When blood begins to boil, it is impoverished. You lose vitality if you become a prey to fits of temper.

How to Cultivate Bhakti:

It would be a gross mistake if you consider Bhakti as merely a stage of emotionalism, while it is actually a thorough discipline and training of one's will and the mind, a sure means to intuitive realization of God Almighty through intense love and affection for Him. It is a means to thorough apprehension of the true knowledge of Reality, beginning from the ordinary form of idol worship right upto the highest form of cosmic realisation of your oneness with Him. You can achieve this by following the eleven fundamental factors which Sri Ramanuja had prescribed. They are Abhyasa or practice of continuous thinking of God; Viveka or discrimination; Vimoka or freedom from everything else and longing for God; Satyam or truthfulness; Arjavam or straightforwardness; Kriya or doing good to others; Kalyana or wishing well-being to all; Daya or compassion; Ahimsa or non-injury; Dana or charity; and Anavasada or cheerfulness and
optimism.

People put a question: "How can we love God whom we have not seen ?"
Live in the company of saints. Hear the Lilas of God. Study the sacred scriptures. Worship Him first in His several forms as manifested in the world. Worship any image or picture of the Lord or the Guru. Recite His Name. Sing His glories. Stay for one year in Ayodhya or Brindavan, Chirakut or Pandhapur, Benares or Ananda Kutir. You will develop love for God.

Every act must be done that awakens the emotion of Bhakti. Keep the Puja (Worship) room clean. Decorate the room. Burn incense. Light a lamp. Keep a clean seat. Bathe. Wear clean clothes. Apply Vibhuti (sacred ash) or Bhasma, and Kumkum on the forehead. Wear Rudraksha or Tulasi Mala. All these produce a benign influence on the mind and elevate the mind. They generate piety. They help to create the necessary Bhava or feeling to invoke the Deity that you want to worship. The mind will be easily concentrated. Practice of right conduct, Satsanga, Japa, Smarana, Kirtan, prayer, worship, service of saints, residence in places of pilgrimage, service of the poor and the sick with divine Bhava, bservance of Varnashrama duties, offering of all actions and their fruits to the Lord, feeling the presence of the Lord in all beings, prostrations before the image and saints, renunciation of earthly enjoyments and wealth, charity, austerities and vows, practice of Ahimsa, Satyam and Brahmacharya - all these will help you to develop Bhakti.

Bhavas in Bhakti:

When the devotee grows in devotion there is absolute self-forgetfulness. This is called Bhava. Bhava establishes a true relationship between the devotee and the Lord. Bhava then grows into Maha-Bhava wherein the devotee lives, moves and has his being in the Lord. This is Parama-Prema, the consummation of love or Supreme Love.

There are five kinds of Bhava in Bhakti. They are Shanta, Dasya, Sakhya, Vatsalya and Madhurya Bhavas. These Bhavas or feelings are natural to human beings and so these are easy to practice. Practice whichever Bhava suits your temperament.

In Shanta Bhava, the devotee is Shanta or peaceful. He does not jump and dance. He is not highly emotional. His heart is filled with love and joy. Bhishma was a Shanta Bhakta.

Dasa-Bhav centres on serving the Lord without question. Main idea is to serve with love, not servility. Dasa also cultivates humility, resilience, capacity for hard work and flexibility. These characteristics are essential for a good devotee as well as a social worker. The ideal dasa should treat the world as the domain of his Lord, and hence serve everyone with love and devotion. Dasa should serve self-lessly, without seeking rewards or recognition. In recognition of this silent service, the Lord protects his beloved servants with great care. Hanumanji is the ideal DasaMaharaj. His loving service was rewarded by Rama with such fond words as “I am forever indedted to you. You are more dear to me than all my relatives, you are more precious than my soul.” For a dasa, such praises are worth more than all the wealth in the universe.

Sri Hanuman was a Dasya Bhakta. He had Dasya Bhava, servant attitude. He served Lord Rama whole-heartedly. He pleased his Master in all possible ways. He found joy and bliss in the service of his Master.

In Sakhya Bhava, God is a friend of the devotee. Arjuna had this Bhava towards Lord Krishna. The devotee moves with the Lord on equal terms. Arjuna and Krishna used to sit, eat, talk and walk together as intimate friends.

Sakhya-Bhava is the cultivation of the friend-sentiment with God. The inmates of the family of Nandagopa cultivated this Bhakti. Arjuna cultivated this kind of Bhakti towards Lord Krishna.

To be always with the Lord, to treat Him as one's own dear relative or a friend belonging to one's own family, to be in His company at all times, to love Him as one's own self, is Sakhya- Bhava of Bhakti-Marga. How do friends, real friends, love in this world ? What an amount of love they possess between one another ? Such a love is developed towards God instead of towards man; physical love turned into spiritual love. There is a transformation of the mundane into the Eternal.

In Vatsalya Bhava, the devotee looks upon God as his child. Yasoda had this Bhava with Lord Krishna. There is no fear in this Bhava, because God is your pet child. The devotee serves, feeds, and looks upon God as a mother does in the case of her child.

The last is Madhurya Bhava or Kanta Bhava. This is the highest form of Bhakti. The devotee regards the Lord as his Lover. This was the relation between Radha and Krishna. This is Atma-Samarpana. The lover and the beloved become one. The devotee and God feel one with each other and still maintain a separateness in order to enjoy the bliss of the play of love between them. This is oneness in separation and separation in oneness. Lord Gauranga, Jayadeva, Mira and Andal had this Bhava.

A Caution: Madhurya Bhava is absolutely different from conjugality of earthly experience. One should not be mistaken for the other. Earthly conjugality is purely selfish and is undertaken only because it gives pleasure to one's own self. But in love for God it is because it gives pleasure to God and not for the sake of the devotee. Divine love is not selfish. It is born of sattva. But earthly lust is born of rajas and attachment to bodies. Earthly conjugality is the outcome of egoistic self-regarding egoistic feeling, while divine communion is the outcome of other-regarding feeling devoid of egoism. Strong selfishness is the root of worldly passion; divine love is the product of loss of egoism. This is the greatest difference between lust (kama) and divine love (prema). The two are related as darkness is related to light. No development of earthly affection, however perfect it may be, can lead one to supreme joy of divine communion. Lust lurks in the heart due to the passion that burns in the core of things. Divine love is unknown to the man of the world, however religious he may be. The secret of divine love cannot be understood, and should not be tried to be understood, so long as man is only a man and woman only a woman. The austere transformation of the human into the divine is the beginning of true love for God.

Nine fold Devotion (Navdha Bhakti):

There is nine ways of Bhakti. One can practice any one to seek salvation.

(1) Sravana is hearing of Lord's Lilas. Sravana includes hearing of God's virtues, glories, sports and stories connected with His divine Name and Form. The devotee gets absorbed in the hearing of Divine stories and his mind merges in the thought of divinity; it cannot think of undivine things. The mind loses, as it were, its charm for the world. The devotee remembers God only even in dream.

The devotee should sit before a learned teacher who is a great saint and hear Divine stories. He should hear them with a sincere heart devoid of the sense of criticism or fault-finding. The devotee should try his best to live in the ideals preached in the scriptures. One cannot attain Sravana-Bhakti without the company of saints or wise men. Mere reading for oneself is not of much use. Doubts will crop up. They cannot be solved by oneself easily. An experienced man is necessary to instruct the devotee in the right path.

King Parikshit attained Liberation through Sravana. He heard the glories of God from Suka Maharishi. His heart was purified. He attained the Abode of Lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha. He became liberated and enjoyed the Supreme Bliss.

(2) Kirtana is singing of Lord's glories. The devotee is thrilled with Divine Emotion. He loses himself in the love of God. He gets horripilation in the body due to extreme love for God. He weeps in the middle when thinking of the glory of God. His voice becomes choked, and he flies into a state of Divine Bhava. The devotee is ever engaged in Japa of the Lord's Name and in describing His glories to one and all. Wherever he goes he begins to sing and praise God. He requests all to join his Kirtana. He sings and dances in ecstasy. He makes others also dance.

(3) Smarana is remembrance of the Lord at all times. This is unbroken memory of the Name and Form of the Lord. The mind does not think of any object of the world, but is ever engrossed in thinking of the glorious Lord alone. The mind meditates on what is heard about the glories of God and His virtues, Names, etc., and forgets even the body and contents itself in the remembrance of God, just as Dhruva or Prahlada did. Even Japa is only remembrance of God and comes under this category of Bhakti. Remembrance also includes hearing of stories pertaining to God at all times, talking of God, teaching to others what pertains to God, meditation on the attributes of God, etc. Remembrance has no particular time. God is to be remembered at all times without break, so long as one has got his consciousness intact.

(4) Padasevana is serving the Lord's Feet. Actually this can be done only by Lakshmi or Parvati. No mortal being has got the fortune to practice this method of Bhakti, for the Lord is not visible to the physical eyes. But it is possible to serve the image of God in idols and better still, taking the whole humanity as God. This is Padasevana. Padasevana is service of the sick. Padasevana is service of the whole humanity at large. The whole universe is only Virat-Swarupa. Service of the world is service of the Lord.

(5) Archana is worship of the Lord. Worship can be done either through an image or a picture or even a mental form. The image should be one appealing to the mind of the worshipper. Worship can be done either with external materials or merely through an internal Bhava or strong feeling. The latter one is an advanced form of worship which only men of purified intellect can do. The purpose of worship is to please the Lord, to purify the heart through surrender of the ego and love of God.

(6) Vandana is prayer and prostration. Humble prostration touching the earth with the eight limbs of the body (Sashtanga-Namaskara), with faith and reverence, before a form of God, or prostration to all beings knowing them to be the forms of the One God, and getting absorbed in the Divine Love of the Lord is termed prostration to God or Vandana. The ego or Ahamkara is effaced out completely through devout prayer and prostration to God. Divine grace descends upon the devotee and man becomes God.

(7) Dasya Bhakti is the love of God through servant-sentiment. To serve God and carry out His wishes, realizing His virtues, nature, mystery and glory, considering oneself as a slave of God, the Supreme Master, is Dasya Bhakti. Serving and worshipping the idols at home/haveli's, sweeping the temple premises, meditating on God and mentally serving Him like a slave, serving the saints and the sages, serving the devotees of God, serving poor and sick people who are forms of God, is also included in Dasya-Bhakti.

To follow the words of the scriptures, to act according to the injunctions of the Vedas, considering them to be direct words of God, is Dasya Bhakti. Association with and service of love-intoxicated devotees and service of those who have knowledge of God is Dasya Bhakti. The purpose behind Dasya Bhakti is to be ever with God in order to offer service to Him and win His Divine Grace and attain thereby immortality.

(8) Sakhaya bhava utilizes friendship which exist only between equals, God raises the human to His level and becomes one with the soul. As a friends, sakhas look to each others comforts. The “Sakhaya-Bhakta” follows this ideal further by not hurting the Lord and His feelings by words or action. All arguments and friendly tiffs are resolved amicably and quickly.

Sudama is an ideal sakhya-bhakta who did not ask any favours from his divine friend. The central theme / idea is to have friendship for friendship sake. Sakha bhakta see the universe, and all within it, as friends and so works for the universal good without seeking or expecting rewards.

(9) Atma-Nivedana is self-surrender. The devotee offers everything to God, including his body, mind and soul. He keeps nothing for himself. He loses even his own self. He has no personal and independent existence. He has given up his self for God. He has become part and parcel of God. God takes care of him and God treats him as Himself. Grief and sorrow, pleasure and pain, the devotee treats as gifts sent by God and does not attach himself to them. He considers himself as a puppet of God and an instrument in the hands of God.

This self-surrender is Absolute Love for God exclusively. There is nothing but God-consciousness in the devotee. Even against his own wishes, the devotee shall become one with God and lose his individuality. This is the law of being. The highest truth is Absoluteness and the soul rises above through different states of consciousness until it attains Absolute Perfection when it becomes identical with God. This is the culmination of all aspiration and love.

The nine modes of Bhakti are the ways in which a devotee attains the Supreme Ideal of life. A devotee can take up any of these paths and reach the highest state. The path of Bhakti is the easiest of all and is not very much against the nature of human inclinations. It slowly and gradually takes the individual to the Supreme without frustrating his human instincts. It is not direct assertion of God, but a progressive realization of Him.

Fruits of Bhakti:

Bhakti softens the heart and removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride and arrogance. It infuses joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace and knowledge. All cares, worries and anxieties, fears, mental torments and tribulations entirely vanish. The devotee is freed from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths. He attains the immortal abode of everlasting peace, bliss and knowledge.

The fruit of Bhakti is Jnana. Jnana intensifies Bhakti. Even Jnanis like Sankara, Madhusudana and Suka Dev took to Bhakti after Realization to enjoy the sweetness of loving relationship with God.

Knowledge or wisdom will dawn by itself when you practice Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti is the pleasant, smooth, direct road to God. Bhakti is sweet in the beginning, sweet in the middle and sweet in the end. It gives the highest, undecaying bliss.
Kindly love divine in thy heart, for this is the immediate way to the Kingdom of God.

Pray to the Lord. Sing His glory. Recite His Name. Become a channel of His grace.

Seek His will. Do His will. Surrender to His will. You will become one with the cosmic will.

Surrender unto the Lord. He will become your charioteer on the field of life. He will drive your chariot well. You will reach the destination, the Abode of Immortal Bliss.

The Activities of Bhakti:

Being qualified with the requisite faith, the devotee performs the activities of vaidhi bhakti according to the scriptural injunctions. There are many angas or activities of bhakti, but they may be abbreviated as sixty-four. These are: taking shelter of an authorized guru, taking initiation and teachings from guru, serving the guru, following the path of the previous devotees, inquiry about the ultimate truth, renouncing material enjoyment for Krsna, living in a devotional tirtha, accepting what is necessary to maintain the body, observing ekadasi, respect for the asvattha and dhatri trees. These ten angas are the beginning of devotional service, and must be practiced. The next ten are: giving up material association, not making unqualified disciples, giving up big material endeavours, giving up studying of books devoid of bhakti, or superificial study of bhakti sastra, or argumentation on the same, not being miserly in dealings, not falling into lamentation, giving up disrespect to devatas, not giving agitation to other entities by ones work, giving up seva and nama aparadhas, avoiding hearing criticism of Lord Krisna or his devotees. These ten are practiced by avoidance. The chief among all the twenty are taking shelter of guru, taking initiation and serving the guru. Wearing the marks of a Vaisnava, wearing the names on the body, receiving the flower remnants, dancing before the Lord, offering obeisances, standing when the Lord approaches, following the procession of the Lord, going to the temple, parikrama, deity worship, service to the Deity, singing, sankirtana, japa, vijnapti, offering praise to the Lord, tasting prasadam, taking the foot wash, smelling the incense or flowers, touching the deity, seeing the deity, performing aratrika, seeing festivals, receiving the Lord's glance, offering things dear to oneself, putting forth all effort for Krsna's sake, surrender to the Lord's will in all cases, service to tulasi, Bhagavatam, Mathura and Vaisnavas, holding festivals along with the devotees, observance of Kartika vrata, celebration of Janmastami etc. serving the deity, relishing the meaning of the Bhagavatam in association of devotees, association with advanced devotees, nama sankirtana and living in Vraj.

Even with a little practice of the last five items, a person can attain bhava bhakti. Amongst the items, some are engagement for the body, some for the senses, and some for the mind. In other words, vaidhi sadhana bhakti may be defined as the method of engaging the body, mind and senses in Krsna's service. Some devotees reach perfection by practice of one item, and others practice many. The material results which these activities yield are recorded in the scriptures, but these are only meant for encouraging the materialistic person. Actually the main result of any of the items of sadhana bhakti is one-attraction of the jiva to Krishna.

Stages of Development of Bhakti:

· One begins with a preliminary interest in spiritual.

· Advancement and a conviction that material pursuits will never yield true happiness or perfection.

· One then associates with persons advanced in Bhakti.

· In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master.

· By executing devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free of all material attachments and all habits that impede one's spiritual progress.

· Thus, with realized knowledge, one attains unshakeable faith and steadiness.

· And one acquires an insatiable thirst for hearing about and serving the Supreme Person, Sri Krishna.

· Maturation---Gradually emotions for God intensify to the point of spiritual ecstasy.

· Perfection---Finally one awakens pure love for Krishna, which enables one to see Him face to face, to speak with Him, and to live and enjoy with Him eternally.