Vaishnavism, the purese form of Sanatana Dharma .

March 26, 2010

Hare Krishna ! Pranams to Bhagavan Sri Krishna and Bhaktas ,

Bhakti means to offer with love and devotion anything one does in life to Bhagavan Sri Krishna the Supreme God . Bhakti means love of Bhagavan or, pure devotional service to Bhagavan. (The Sanskrit root of the word bhakti is bhaj, which means "loving service.") Bhakti is the essence of the eternal relationship we souls have with Sri Krishna. In material existence, our Bhakti is covered by our material consciousness and misdirected away from Krishna and toward the temporary things of this world . Therefore we are never fully satisfied. We can awaken our natural Bhakti by practicing Bhakti. In other words, we can awaken our love for Krishna by performing acts of love for Him. Since yoga means "connection, " the process by which we connect with Krishna through acts of love is called Bhakti yoga.

There's much more to loving Bhagavan than just saying, "I love Bhagavan." We attain pure love for Sri Krishna through a gradual process that takes us through progressively higher realms of Bhakti. Fortunately, we can begin the process at any point in life or wherever we are in our spiritual journey.

The Bhakti process is systematic and is laid out in detail in books such as Srimad Bhagavatam and Narayaneeyam . These books provide not only instructions but also guideposts by which the student of Bhakti can evaluate his or her progress.

The awakening of Bhakti takes place in three progressive stages: (1) regulated practice, (2) attachment, and finally (3) pure love.

Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism can be described as devotion to Sri Krishna, or any of His divine incarnations. It is monotheism in which worship of a personal Bhagavan is the focus.

There are ancient texts that form the basis of this satvic faith : the Vedas, the Puranas, the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavad-gita, the Ramayana, and the writings of great teachers). Some of these texts date back to the second century B.C., with an oral tradition that goes back to antiquity.

Vaishnavism in reality is the purest form of Sanatana dharma, or "the eternal function of the soul." And it is also referred to as a bhakti-yoga, or "the devotional path through which one can link with the supreme."

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!!!!

SriKrishnaDasa Rajeev