Bhakti yoga is the path of love,compassion, devotion and service to God and mankind. All actions in Bhakti yoga are performed to remember the almighty. Bhakti yoga is a spiritual path practiced to cultivate love and devotion towards God.
It motivates you to please God without any hope for divine reward or fear of punishment. It leads you to a state of oneness with God. Bhakti as a concept originated from the Hindu Upanishads. The Bhagvad Gita and the Puranas explain the philosophy of Bhakti yoga.Following are some of the aspects of Bhakti Yoga.
Sravana
Sravana is a word with a deep meaning. It is listening to the Lord’s glory. It not only implies hearing the spiritual conversations of saints, holy stories but it also means listening to your inner self and facing the truth.
While interacting with different people, we behave differently. There is a mask that we all wear and it changes from person to person. In this process, we lose our true self. So, the first and foremost step of coming close to God is knowing our inner self.
Kirtana
Kirtana means to chant about the glories of God. But if we go into the core meaning, it is discovering the good in mankind. It is said God lives in our hearts. Then why do we search for God in temples. The Godly nature and the positive qualities in human beings make them God. You have to identify and appreciate the good in humans, creatures, plants and all objects.
Smarana
Smarana means to remember the presence of lord constantly.The ancient saints always pointed out to adhere to the teachings of the gurus without any alteration. But we often accommodate ourselves to the way world wants to see us. In the tough times you should stand by your principles and moral values.Smarnam will change your attitude.
Padasevana
Touching feet is giving respect to someone. Reasons for respect can by numerous – like age, knowledge, experience etc. Touching the feet doesn’t mean you are inferior to anyone but you are acknowledging the qualities and other traits of that particular individual. In nutshell, you prove your humbleness.
Archana
Archana is the worship of Lord throughhawans and holy rituals. Flowers, food, light and incense are offered to God. It is the path to attainMoksha. You need to have faith in worship. Once an unquestioned faith is developed on any subject or object, you will remember it without any effort.
Vandana
Vandana means praying to God in the form of idols or images chosen to represent the almighty. Everything in Nature is a form of God. You must show respect to all ignoring your ego and self pride.
Dasya
Dasya Bhakti means to serve everyone believing that almighty is present among all of us and in every particle of the world. By serving humanity, you serve God. Make it a habit to serve people irrespective of the fact whether you know them or not. This is the way of coming close to God.
Sakhya
Sakhya represents the relation between the divine and the devotee. In order to be friends with God, learn to share your joy with him without expecting any gain in return. You may fight with him but you cannot blame him for anything that affects your life.
Atmanivedana
Atmanivedana means surrendering yourself completely to God. You surrender your ego, insecurities, facts and everything. You will be freed from the cycle of birth and death.
Bhakti yoga, as the name indicates, is a path of love, compassion, empathy and complete sub mission to God. In nutshell, it is service to God, all its creatures and mankind.
