Page 162 - Wisdom Unfurled
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and the various ills of earthly existence all enhanced due to the cruel Kali age.
The word bhakti is derived from the root ‘bhaj’ which has several meanings among which one-‘to serve’, ‘to honour’, ‘to love’, ‘to adore’- has given the expression its current meaning of devotion to God, though its earlier meanings have been ‘ornamental’ and ‘relationship’. The sages Narada and Sandilya the authors of bhakti sutras have given their own definitions of it, Narada stating that it is the whole hearted and supreme love of God, obtaining which a man feels that he has gained the highest attainment in life, he rises above fear of death, is blissful, indifferent to everything else except God and depends upon nothing but God. Bhakti is characterized by absorption in His worship and remembering His excellences. Its most conspicuous sign is complete self-dedication to Him and the feeling of intense anguish whenever the mind slips away from Him. Sandilya describes it as ‘para anuraktirisvare’- highest form of ensuing and ever continuing attachment to God, the prefix ‘anu’ meaning ‘ensuing’ or ‘following’ emphasizes that bhakti or this great attachment follows the understanding through imperience of the greatness and glorious and auspicious attributes of God, His loveability and dependability in particular. Narada states this consciousness of the greatness of God (mahatmya anubodha) continues to persist in the devotee after triggering the very devotion itself. There is another meaning of ‘anu’ which denotes ‘unabating or unslackening’ which points to the fact the genuine and deep- rooted love for God continues in its intensity and freshness in the heart of the devotee despite the most severe, adverse and life-threatening situations which may visit the aspirant. The great examples of Bhakti Dhruva, Prahlada of puranic times and Meera in the recent history of India stand testimony to what has been said above. The Bhagavata defines Bhaktias that state in which all energies of the mind including the jnana and karma indriyas become concentrated as a unified mental mode directed to the Supreme Being spontaneous like an instinct, implying thereby naturalness and the person has no other extraneous motives. Abhyasis of the Natural Path would note that the Commandments 5 and 7 of the Master can be followed only by those who have traveled well in the knot of devotion, namely the 3rd and are thereby well established in devotion of the higher kind.
There is also a classification of vaidhi bhakti- namely ritualistic bhakti consisting of hearing, singing praises, remembering, devotional service, worshipping, prostrating and prema bhaktior loving devotion which is constituted by dasya (servitude), sakhya (loving intimacy) and atmanivedhanam (surrendering one’s body, mind and soul to God). The Master always refers to love and devotion meaning essentially the higher kind of devotion or prema bhakti attained through the following of the ritualistic bhakti. The Master Himself says as much when He states that ‘constant
































































































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