Bhakti Yoga - The Science of Devotion

Bhakti means devotion to the Almighty. Bhakti yoga deals with devotion to God and achieving the union with him. This is the easiest of all yoga types. This branch of yoga teaches the relation between the devotee and the divine. It does not involve any technical or complicated procedures. There is no need of any intellectual capacity to master this yoga. It has appealed to the common man because it gives him a feeling security and develops a kind of reliance and dependence on the object of his devotion.

Bhakti yoga assumes that there is a higher power that has created the universe and is all-powerful. This power has the capacity to confer grace and mercy on him and thus protecting him from all the harms and evils. The devotee or bhakta is expected to make himself fit for receiving this divine grace. For this, he has to practice devotion and virtue. His ultimate goal should be to unite with this divine power and rest eternally in happiness and peace. The devotee surrenders all his motives and acts to the Divine Power. He renounces all the responsibilities towards the good or bad consequences of all his actions and ascribes it to the will of the Supreme.

Devotion and faith play a vital role in this branch of yoga. The devotee or bhakta is supposed to be highly religious, should adopt a friendly stance towards all the other living beings including animals, read religious texts, concentrate on the symbol of the Divine, think and wish well for the others etc. The beauty of this yoga lies in its simplicity. This has made it one of the most appealing of all the yoga types. Following this yoga develops the peace of mind in an individual. A peaceful individual will always think happy and prosperous thoughts and will thus lead a happy life.

Kevin Pederson, the webmaster for Yogawiz, mentions the importance of yoga and Bhakti Yoga . Bhakti yoga is a devotional branch of yoga which teaches a person to ascribe all the events in his life to Divine Will.g

Bhakti Yoga, The Yoga of Love

Bhakti Yoga, the most direct path to Cosmic Consciousness, to awareness of the Absolute, is the yoga of love and pure spiritual devotion to God, Who is Love. It is the yoga of blissful exhilaration, of purest love. In Bhakti Yoga, the devotee is the lover and the deity, the Divine, the Godhead, is the beloved. Bhakti Yoga causes its devotees to be fully aware, to be fully and ever conscious, of the fact that all is the manifestation of the Divine. It causes the veil of ignorance, the veil of the sense of separateness from the Divine, to fall from the eyes, from the consciousness, of the devotee. It makes the devotee aware of the fact that ego and material consciousness are of no importance whatsoever. Why be egotistic of the petty materialistic body or mind, when of far greater value is awareness of the Cosmic Mind? By overcoming the pull of the ego, of petty personal concerns, the devotee is able to become enthralled in the feeling of being united with God Consciousness.

The doctrine that "God is Love and Love is God" is the base of Bhakti Yoga. It is the bliss of love that will enable the devotee to transcend petty concerns, because the bliss of love will make them seem as unimportant as they really are. What drives the devotee is the feeling that his Self is separated from the divine and the consequent desperation of his wish to achieve union, or, better put, the consciousness of union (for union is always there - it is just that the devotee has forgotten that, that he no longer feels it before practicing Bhakti Yoga) with the divine. When upon his quest for reunion with the Godhead, when filled with love for the Divine, nothing else matters for the devotee, not food, not sex, not wealth, not any earthly pleasure or even responsibility. His love makes his quest by far the most important consideration.

Bhakti Yoga is the fastest way, indeed the most direct way, of attaining God Consciousness. This is because love is the strongest emotion an aspirant can feel and it puts other considerations, even knowledge of the scriptures, into second place. All types of yoga, all forms of knowledge, are based on true faith, true devotion, on true Bhakti Yoga. For without love for the Divine, one hasn't the motivation to make the sometimes incredible efforts to achieve consciousness of the Divine. No amount of intellectual training, no amount of physical training, can achieve this one its own, without love. Love is the highest thing there is and the religion of love is Bhakti Yoga.

The Divine is immanent in all things. The Bhakta, however, may, according to his temperament and experience, find the Divine in one or in another form, but the fact is that all forms of the Divine are magically present in all things. In the bliss of love, the devotee achieves God Consciousness and when that happens, the form, the Divine and the devotee become one. For the reality is that all are One: The devotee and the deity, the subject and the object, the known and the knower.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Yoga

Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga Concepts in the Essay Bhagavad-Gita.

Krishna using the concept Karma Yoga, making an attempt to convince the archer Arjuna to take part in the battle, instructs him that he has no right to results of his actions or “fruit”, he has right only to the actions themselves. Karma Yoga is an equability of mind which is reached by the drawing of the all five senses in, like head and legs of a turtle.

This totally non-consequentialist viewpoint is not a wise instrument to decide right actions. Without taking into account the consequences of our actions we lose the ability to live and act morally. If a society was to take these concepts as instance of proper human conduct, and followed them individually, these people would demonstrate all the characteristics of what psychoanalysts define nowadays as psychopathic. A psychopath, by definition, pays no attention to the physical and emotional influence of their actions on other people they act merely out of self motivation.

The final argument Krishna uses to convince Arjuna to take part in the battle includes the concept of bhakti. In this chapter Krishna tells Arjuna the truth of world around him. The first novel fact involves the immorality of the soul. Krishna has indisputable proof that our souls are immoral, and he says Arjuna that he has lived many lives and Arjuna too, but Krishna remembers them and the archer does not. But Krishna provides no evidence of such statement, he does not even tell about a single event from his past life to show his ability to have complete recollection of all his past lives. The second novel fact is that Krishna is in actual fact god incarnate in human body. He says that in spite of him being unborn and immortal and being the lord of all creatures, he is brought into being through his power.

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Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti Yoga is more of a spiritual concept of the practice of Yoga. Whereas many Yoga techniques orient themselves towards the physical and mental improvements, Bhakti focuses mainly on the spiritual relationship between the individual and God.

The basis of Bhakti can best be summed up as a string. This string begins at the foot of God, Himself, extends throughout all reality, and ends at the heart of the individual. This string is always strong at the point of Gods' feet, as God is omniscient and never changing. On the individuals end, however, life can wear at the string, weakening it. The individual, through Bhakti Yoga, cultivates the nature of the string, bringing it new life and strength. The effect is that of a stronger spiritual relationship with the Maker.

Through this ancient form of Yoga, we come to the realization that God's love is the purest form of love possible, never hurtful, never deceitful, never failing, and never, under any circumstances, vindictive in any way. It is the ultimate love. Bhakti teaches us that man can achieve this love as man is created in the image of God. It is simple to deduce that, with these facts in mind, man can learn, through Bhakti, to love God as He loves us, purely and unselfishly.

The actual word, Bhakti, originates from the word Bhaj, which translates loosely into 'attachment to God.' In the actual practice of this format of Yoga, there are a number of very effective and desirable outlets, such as Sakamya, Nishkamya, Japa, and Upasana, to name a few.

Sakamya is probably the least chosen, in that it is a self-centered form of Bhakti. Sakamya is a quest, through Bhakti, to achieve greater material gains here on earth, and less oriented towards the pleasing of and relationship with God. Japa is also a self-centered type of Bhakti, yet not so much for material wants but for physical needs. For example, if a man suffers from cancer and wants God to heal him, he performs a daily ritual of Japa Bhakti Yoga.

The basic principles of Bhakti are that if you are sincere in your prayers and are willing to go through the process of Bhakti to achieve them, then God will grant your requests as he has promised. However, without a good carved in stone moral standpoint, to perform Bhakti is pointless.

Yoga is a great way to strengthen your mind and body and get in shape as well as a great way to unwind after a long day. Whatever your yoga supplies needs, we have the information and resources to point you in the right direction. We have yoga music, mats, clothes, pants, videos and journals as well as information on the different types, postures and the history of yoga. Yoga supplies, such as a mat and yoga clothing are a good investment for those practicing yoga. Yoga music comes in a wide variety of styles.

Written By:- Sarah Freeland

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Bhakti Yoga is for everyone, no matter what you believe

Hatha and Raja are the most popular forms of yoga at this moment. On of the reasons that this is the case is because these forms of yoga are more physical. Bhakti on the other hand is a form of yoga that is less popular because it more bend towards the spiritual then the other two. When we say less popular we mean less outside of India of course. It deals with the devotion to the Almighty and the union of love.

Reading this you can think for yourself why this form of yoga is not very popular in other countries then India. You can also say that it is quite Hindu centric because of the close connections it has to Hinduism.

A question that you hear very often would be if it is possible for a non-Hindu person to get involved in bhakti but still be loyal to their own believe system. The answer would be yes, some would even go as far as to call it a sectarian form of yoga and a person with an other religion may like the idea of comming together and worship as one. Therefor, if you like to meditate and also pray, sing, maybe even chant the name of god with a group of people then it could be that bhakti yoga is what you have been looking for all along.

God Is omnipresent and because of this no one religion can claim him or her for itself. That should lead you to conclude that anyone from any kind of religion can practice this, in fact, a lot of people from different believes do.

There is more then one form you can practice. There are two forms that are worth mentioning.

Nishkamya Bhakti

This form is most used to give praise to the Almighty one and is a way of telling you accept and appreciate the different situations. It is a way of becoming a finder, instead of a seeker, of the good things in life.

Sakamya Bhakti

A form of yoga to show that you are devoted to the Almighty and that you wish to ask for something. This can be a material item or power but also getting rid of a disease. This is best practised when you want a certain requirement dealt with.

Of course this is a very simplified representation of what this all entails. Once you start reading up on the subject or start going to classes you will see that there much more to it then we can explain in this short piece of text. You should, however, see that this form of yoga is not only for Hindu people, anyone with whatever kind of believe or religion can practice it.

Yoga is for everyone, even the types that are more religion orientated then physical. Sometimes you will have to adapt the routines for your religion and sometimes it has nothing to do with believing in anything and there is no problem at all. Read up on the subject or ask people already practising it.

Writen by :Carol Haily

Yoga, Homeopathy and other old wisdom's is what Carol Haily is looking for. Subjects ranging from insurance for yoga teacher to homeopathy for ear ache and mild fever she addresses it all at here website.