The Nature Of Devotion

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The Nature Of DevotionDevotion in Hinduism is known as bhakti. It is an entire realm ofknowledge and practice unto itself, ranging from the child-like wonderof the unknown and the mysterious to the deep reverence which comes with understanding of the esoteric interworkings of the three worlds. Hinduism views existence as composed of three worlds. The First World is thephysical universe, the Second World is the subtle astral or mental plane of existence in which the devas, or angels, and spirits live, and theThird World is the spiritual sphere of the Mahadevas, the Deities andthe Gods. Hinduism is the harmonious working together of these threeworlds. Religion blossoms for the Hindu as he awakens to the existenceof the Second and Third Worlds. These inner worlds naturally inspire inman responses of love and

devotion and even awe. They are that wonderful.Devotion in Hinduism occurs on many levels and at different cycles of time in the evolution of the soul. All forms of devotion are equally valid,and none claims itself as the only proper form of worship. There isdevotion to the tribal Deities, to the scriptures, to the saints and tothe satguru. But the most prevalent _expression of worship for the Hinducomes as devotion to God and the Gods. In the Hindu pantheon there aresaid to be 330 million Gods. Even so, all Hindus believe in one SupremeBeing who pervades the entire universe.The many Gods are perceived as divine creations of that one Being. These Gods, or Mahadevas, are real beings, capable of thought and feeling beyond the limited thought and feeling of embodied man. So, Hinduism has oneGod, but it has many Gods. There are only a few of these Gods for whomtemples are built and pujas conducted. Ganesha, Siva,

Subramaniam, Vishnu and Shakti are the most prominent Deities in contemporary Hinduism. Ofcourse, there are many others for whom certain rites or mantras aredone in daily ceremony, often in the home shrine. These include Brahma,Surya, Sarasvati, Lakshmi, Agni, Chandra, Ayyappan, Hanuman, Mariyammanand others.The Hindu traditionally adopts an Ishta Devata. This is a personalDeity chosen from the many Hindu Gods, often according to the devotee'sfamily background or the feeling of closeness to one form of divinemanifestation. It is the unique and all-encompassing nature of Hinduismthat one devotee may be worshiping Ganesha while his friend worshipsSubramaniam or Vishnu, and yet both honor the other's choice andfeel no sense of conflict. The profound understanding and universalacceptance that are unique in Hinduism are reflected in this faculty for accommodating different approaches to the Divine, allowing for different

names and forms of God to be worshiped side by side within the templewalls. It may even happen that one may adopt a different personal Deitythrough the years according to one's spiritual unfoldment and inner needs.

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