weekly definition:Bhakti

[Guest guest]

Bhakti is simply devotion, and love for Ishwara. This love can be

sakaama or devotion in order to obtain things for yourself and

nishkaama which is devotion to the Lord for the sake of devotion alone.

The bhakti that is talked about in a vedantic context is parabhakti -

devotion for the sake of devotion, a severe longing of seeking oneness

with Ishwara - not the bhakti which asks Ishwara to bless me with a

better job, etc.

 

Just like you cannot find love, love finds you - similarly you cannot

find bhakti or love for the Lord - bhakti finds you.

 

There is a beautiful verse in the Narada Bhakti Sutra:

 

" mukhyatas tu mahat-kròpayaiva bhagavat-kròpa-lesat vA "

 

Primarily, however, one develops bhakti by the mercy of great souls,

or by a small ounce of the Lord's mercy.

And it goes on to say that even the association of great souls is

through the Lords mercy alone.

 

What will make me the recipient of the Lords mercy or Grace? My own

prior actions and deeds both in this janma [life] as well as in prior.

 

What kind of deeds will help this happen?

Basic common sense ethical conduct. For the record the following are

listed:

 

Abhyasa or practice of continuous thinking of God;

Viveka or discrimination;

Vimoka or freedom from everything else and longing for God;

Satyam or truthfulness;

Arjavam or straightforwardness;

Kriya or doing good to others;

Kalyana or wishing well-being to all;

Daya or compassion;

Ahimsa or non-injury;

Dana or charity; and

Anavasada or cheerfulness and optimism.

 

Now, with what thought process can I solidify my faith...

 

When you cognize the world what you see around you is pure

intelligence. In and through everything, there is perfection. There is

a perfect order to everything in this universe. This is what makes it

possible for mathematicians and physicists and other scientists to

function because nothing is by chance. Every phenomenon is

reproducibly precise and can be made use of to make things like

rockets which fly us to the moon, electron microscopes and even atom

bombs.

 

When everything you see is in order, you recognize that there has to

be an authorship to this order. There has to be a super-intelligence,

which is able to create this whole show - of galaxies, planets, and on

earth all the interdependent flora and fauna, animals, fishes etc. No

bonds between inert elements like hydrogen and nitrogen could have

written up a genetic code that is faithfully reproduced for billions

of years. Your own human body manifests infinite examples of sheer

intelligence. Once you recognize that this order has to have a

creator, that recognition is faith.

 

Recognizing the infallibility of the order, how it never goes wrong,

how everything is right where it should be, how our eyes are so

beautifully constructed right in the mothers womb to see things, our

ears to hear, etc. then leads to a recognition of our own selves as an

intrinsic part of that order. And that recognition leads to an

attitude of surrender - anything and everything that happens to me

now, in the past or future is always going to be in strict accordance

with that order.

This is what builds faith. This is what builds surrender. From faith,

surrender; from surrender, love; from love, a longing for oneness; and

thence Oneness alone, Oneness alone.

 

There are different attitudes you can use to relate to the Lord

depending on your temperament. These attitudes are of:

Shanti - the lord as an abode of peace,

Dasya - an attitude of servitude,

Sakhya - Lord is my friend, and finally

Madhurya - Lord as a lover - in the sense of wanting to

belong to him, wanting to be one with him - this form of bhakti is

heralded as of the highest form where the only longing one has in life

is to be one with the Lord.

 

As Gibran puts it beautifully

 

" For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, " God is in my heart, "

but rather, " I am in the heart of God. "

And think not you can direct the course of love,

for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. "

 

The same idea is again expressed in the Narada Bhakti sutra:

SA na kAmayamAnA nirodharUpatvAt

Because it is of the nature of renunciation there is no element of

desire in that Bhakti

Tasmin ananyatA tadvirodhishUdAsenatA cha

In the Lord, whole hearted single minded devotion and in all else that

are contrary to it, complete indifference, this is the nature of

renunciation

 

This form of bhakti is not an option. Why? Any option is volitional,

an exercise of my

free will. Bhakti is not volitional. I cannot get up one fine day and

say " You know I am not happy with how my sAdhana is progressing, let

me buy some camphor and incense sticks and start practicing bhakti

today " It does not work that way.

You cannot write an instruction manual of " How to practice bhakti " or

" How to develop bhakti. " You don’t find bhakti - if you are lucky and

God's and Guru's grace is smiling on you, bhakti finds you.

 

The Ganges as it runs along at some point may get an idea that all

this running it is doing is perhaps ultimately going to lead it

somewhere - the closer it gets to its destination it may get a small

glimpse of the ocean and in that glimpse develops a reverential

attitude - to what? - to the very source it is going to lose its

identity in! This reverential attitude that spontaneously develops in

the heart of a seeker as he gets closer to the goal is what is

parabhakti. You cannot cultivate it; you cannot will it; it is not a

matter of choice!

 

The clouds on a really cloudy day mask the sun completely, but as they

start to clear even a little bit, you have an unmistakable glimpse of

the sun. Similar is it in AtmavichAra. What blinds us from Ishwara,

our own self, is our own thick cloud of avidyA in the form of this

five hundred pound Egosense. Once this egosense starts to be cut at by

means of shastra shravaNa and manana, automatically, a faint glimpse

of the destination takes effect in your antaHkaraNa, and this is the

initial sprouting of parabhakti. You cannot will it to happen. If it

has not happened, there is one and only one reason - the ego cloud

cover is still very dense, the destination is still likely very far away.

 

Bhagwan Adi Shankara also describes this beautifully in the Sivananda

lahiri:

 

Ankolam nija bija santhathi rayaskkantho sUchika,

Sadhvi naija vibhum latha kshithiruham sindhussaridvallabham,

Prapnothiha yadha thadha pasupathe padara sindhu dwaiyam,

Chetho vruthi roopethya thishtathi sada sA bhakthirithyuchyathe

 

Like the seed reaches for the mother ankola tree,

[This tree has the characteristic that when its seeds fall from the

tree on the ground and mature, they travel to the base of the tree and

join the roots by their own nature.]

Like the iron needle reaches for the load stone.

Like the chaste woman reaches for her lord,

Like the tender creeper reaches for near by trees,

Like the river reaches for the sea,

If the spirit of the mind,

Reaches for the lotus feet of Pasupathi,

And stays there always,

Then that state is called devotion.

 

[this explanation posted some time ago by Shri Sunder Rajan-ji as an

excerpt from His Holiness Sri Abhinava VidyaTheertha Mahaswamigal,

left a indelible impression on me in terms of it being as beautiful as

it is profound †" (my apologies to Shri Sunder-ji for reproducing

without permission)]

 

In Sivananda Lahiri (Sloka #61 meaning of the sloka is given above),

Sri Shankara has described the stages of devotion and illustrated them

using beautiful similes. Initially the devotee forcibly turns his mind

towards God and holds on to His feet. The seed of an Ankola tree

sticking to its parent tree serves as an example. When the devotee has

turned his mind towards the Lord, the latter becomes intensely

favorable towards the devotee and graces him. It is as if Ishwara is

pulling the devotee towards Him and preventing any departure from Him.

An illustration for this is a needle being drawn towards a magnet.

This marks the second stage.

 

The third stage accrues when the devotee's heart is completely

concentrated on god and the Lord, in turn, is extremely affectionate

towards the devotee. The situation is comparable to that of a chaste

wife showering her husband with love and the husband reciprocating her

feelings of affection.

 

The devotee gradually becomes an ornament of the Lord. In fact, but

for Prahlada, the Lord might not have manifested as Narasimha and

graced the world. So in a way, the devotee adds to the glory of the

Lord. An analogy is a creeper entwining a tree and beautifying it. On

transcending this fourth stage, the devotee attains total union with

the Lord. An example of this is the merger of a river with an ocean.

Once the river has joined the ocean, it cannot be distinguished from

the ocean. The devotee too becomes inseparable from the Lord.

 

Hari Om

Shri Gurubhyo namah

Shyam

[Guest guest]

advaitin , " shyam_md " <shyam_md wrote:

>

> Bhakti is simply devotion, and love for Ishwara. This love can be

> sakaama or devotion in order to obtain things for yourself and

> nishkaama which is devotion to the Lord for the sake of devotion

alone.

> The bhakti that is talked about in a vedantic context is parabhakti -

> devotion for the sake of devotion, a severe longing of seeking oneness

> with Ishwara - not the bhakti which asks Ishwara to bless me with a

> better job, etc.

>

> Just like you cannot find love, love finds you - similarly you cannot

> find bhakti or love for the Lord - bhakti finds you.

 

Namaste,

 

Pandit Satavalekar has given an interesting viewpoint in his

Gita commentary (in Marathi - Purushartha-Prabodhini-Tika) -

 

The root verb for bhakti is 'bhaj', one of the meanings of

which is 'to serve'. Thus service of the Lord ('dAsya'). Service of the

Lord can be best done by following 'dharma' (and 'svadharma'), as

Krishna declares in Gita 4:7-8, the Divine Itself manifests from age to

age for the upholding of dharma by protecting the virtuous and

eliminating the wicked.

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

[Guest guest]

Pranams.

 

Rare indeed is the human birth. Having attained it, one should know

its goal and reach it. Our ancient seers and sages have shown us the

path. They have revealed to us that realisation of the Supreme One;

the Father of the universe is the Purushartha or the prime aim of

human life.

 

There are different paths for achieving it. First is Bhakti, to

stand clinging to God. Next is the path of Yoga of desireless

action, which leads to Bhakti. Third comes Gnana, culmination of the

pursuit along the path of desireless action and clinging to Him- in

being one with Him in Bliss. Each of them again follows three

courses determined by three Gunas or modes of Prakriti or Nature.

 

There are nine ways in which Bhakti can be cultivated. They are:

hearing the glories of God (Sravana); reciting His names and glories

(kirtana); constant remembrance of Lord's names, forms and glories

(smarana); service to all living beings seeing Him in all (pada

sevanam); worshipping His image (archanam); saluting His image

(vandanam); devotion to His servant (dasyam); love as a friend

(sakhyam); and surrender to Him of one's all from the body to the

soul (Atma nirvedanam). These nine are the means and hence

called " sadhana Bhakti " . They lead to nine `Bhakti rasas'. By

performance of `sadhana Bhakti as above, the mind assumes the form

of God.

 

In bhakti, Para Bhakti or higher Bhakti is considered the noblest;

in yoga, Para Yoga or higher Yoga is the best; untrammeled Bliss in

the self is the great height of Gnana or Knowledge.

 

By Bhakti is meant the clinging to the supreme one, giving up all

attachments to the body, life and worldly objects. Shining as the

inner light of conciousness in all beings and illuminating the

entire phenomenal universe, the Supreme Lord is its One Support and

Power behind it. To stand clinging to Him, knowing Him and seeing

Him as immanent in and fully pervading all beings, like ghee in

milk, fire and heat in wood, oil in sesame is called Para bhakti or

higher Bhakti.

Outer and external bhakti or devotion is evidenced in nine well-

known forms such as hearing, singing, and constant remembrance of

Lord's names, forms and glories, service to all living beings seeing

Him in all, image worship, prostration, devotion as a servant, love

as a friend and surrender to Him of one's all from his body to the

soul.

 

To those who have climbed to the height of Para Bhakti, the Supreme

reveals itself by itself and this phase is known as Para Yoga or

higher Yoga.

 

To one who is steeped in Bhakti, the world and its teeming life

appear as God Himself in His Infinite forms. To him all happenings

in the world appear as the sport of the Lord. Worshipping the Lord

in His manifested form within one's heart will efface all thoughts

welling up in one's mind.

You should first integrate your mind, word and thought, make it one-

pointed and visualize your Istadevata as standing before you. Having

done this, you should perform japa by repeating the mantra, which

signifies the particular Devata. It is advisable to do this in

solitude in a room.

To attain divine grace, meditation is more important than prodigious

learning. Yearning is more important than skill in discussion; tears

flowing from eyes are more important than verses recited by the

tongue and worship is more beneficial than research into books.

 

cdr b vaidyanthan

[Guest guest]

Namaste, all.

 

Let me applaud Shyam-ji and Vaiyanathan-ji and the others on the neat

write-ups about Bhakti. I would like to confirm their writings by

recalling to the readers the following posts:

 

#33320: Kanchi Swamigal talks about 'Continuous Contemplating on the

Form of one's own Self' as being the definition of bhakti.

 

#5280, 5282, 5289: My posts on 'Advaita Bhakti'

 

#32284: Sage Kapila in Bhagavatam on Bhakti.

 

PraNAms to all advaitins.

profvk

[Guest guest]

PraNAms to all

 

I was asked to write up on advaita bhakti. Shyamji

has provided an excellent review of Bhakti yoga. I am

adding few lines based on my understanding.

 

True bhakti can only be an advaita bhakti - Bhakti

involves love, and love demands unity as its ultimate

goal. The lover and the loved have to merge into one

if the love is to be fulfilled. If I say I love my

wife, I and she are one in soul. I love her, but - if

that but arises, the love is not pure enough for one's

complete surrenderance.

 

Hence Love demands complete surrenderance. Swami

Chinmayandaji says - 'one can give without love but

one cannot love without giving'. The ultimate giving

is giving all wrong notions about oneself - that

includes the sense of separateness of the lover from

the loved. While Bhakti means sharanNaagati for

VishiShTAdvaitin, it means the complete surrenderance

of ones ego - the surrenderance of false and

identifying with the truth as the ultimate goal of

bhakti - that is true advaita Bhakti. Bhagavaan

Ramanuja says:

bheda bhaavanaa so ha mityasou|

bhaavanaabhidaa paavanii mataa|

Bhakti with the notion that bhakta is separate from

the Lord - in comparison to that - the clear

understanding that 'saH aham iti' I and He are one and

the same or complete unification with the Lord as one

is the supreme bhakti.

 

Hence Shankara says in VivekachuuDaamani:

 

moxa saadhana saamaagryaam bhaktireva gariiyasi|

swa swarrupaanasandhaanam bhaktiH ityabhidhiiyate||

 

swaatmaanubhava sandhaanam bhaktirityapare jaguH||

 

Of all the paths for liberation, bhakti is the

supreme. And that bhakti he defines as one's own

contemplation on one's own nature - that sat chit

ananda swaruupam of one self. The experience of one's

own self is bhakti. Hence experience and knowledge of

ones experience are both identical. This is where

loved and the lover have become one. Hence

Yajnavalkya says to his wife - My dear, no body loves

anybody other than oneself. 'And any body loves

anything that love is only a manifestation of love for

his own self'. 'aatmanastu kaamaaya sarvam priyam

bhavati'.

 

Sometime around 1998 there was one person who said

that he was very intellectual or rational and was

unable to cultivate the bhakti since he read that

bhakti is important for self realization. I am copying

here my response to him since I could not find the

ready reference to this post from archives.

I cannot improvise the discussion and hence posting

again so that I can read again!

 

 

Hari Om!

Sadananda

------------

>Dear Ones,

>

>I've met the following problem and I hope that

whoever is a sincere

>God-seeker. (Of course all of you !!) can help me. I

am naturally an

>intellectual type and also a meditator. Recently I

was told that I should

>develop more devotion towards the Divine in order to

come closer to God.

>Always have devotion to the Divine. Oke. But now you

see the problem: I

>naturally begin to think of this how to solve it, how

to become more

>devoted towards the Divine. But this is a

contradiction. Bhakti is a

>tendency of the heart to have feelings of devotion

towards the Divine. It's

>not an intellectual affair which can be solved by the

intellect. It's the

>well-known heart vs head " problem " . As you all know

Shankara was also a

>great mystic and poet and thus had also complete

" heart-realization " . Now

>so: How can I develop more devotion?? The saying of

it and thinking is not

>the same as actually being devoted. So: Who can shed

some light on this

>problem, I will be happy to hear from you!!

>

 

 

 

My dear

 

You may be surprised - true devotion is not emotional

- it is actually

intellectual. Since you say you are intellectual you

are already a devotee.

What does intellectual means? Intellect is one, which

questions for

rational explanation. When the intellect cannot come

up with a rational

explanation that is where true wonder starts. True

devotion starts.

 

Look at the cosmos. Look at the order in the cosmos -

from planetary motion

to galaxies and supergalaxies and the intellect cannot

comprehend any more

the magnitude of the universe neither the universal

laws and the operation

of these to minutest details - the very questioning

intellect goes blank in

trying to comprehend that which is beyond the

comprehension. Any ordered

system has low entropy and work has to be expended to

create such an order

and to keep it in that order. It can not be done by

just random process

since the laws governing the cosmic system are

universal. You can but

admire that power which is source for such incredible

order in the unlimited

ever expanding limitless universe and your intellect

cannot but bow down to

that superior intelligence - and that is true

devotion.

 

Look at your own body - millions of cells - all

precisely located, every

limb and every organ function in its own sphere and

yet all perfectly

synchronized to a perfect order. We just dump

something into our stomach.

But what happens to the food as it goes into the

stomach - the gastric

juices, the enzymes of the right type and right order

have to act for the

digestion to continue. The digestive system, the

circulatory system, the

distribution system - the excretory system everything

functions so beautiful

without our input. What an incredible machine the body

is. We cannot make an

outside mechanical pump function without a problem for

more than two years -

as one experiences with their cars etc. But look at

the marvelous pump made

of mussels and tissues pumping day in and day out

whether we are awake or

asleep. The process is beyond intellectual

comprehension. We donot know

what life is - yet its manifestation makes just

organic matter to enliven to

the degree that it is nothing short of a miracle. If

there is a creator or

if there is a superior intelligence in the universe, I

do not need any

further proof than what I see - a human being, a

mosquito, a small bug, an

ant or single cell or even a DNA who incredible

information about the whole

human being is stored in an embryo and how it can

multiply itself to produce

such a complex systems. My intellect goes blank -

that is the devotion.

 

You see devotion is not emotional display of feelings

but natural emotional

expressions that arise as a result of intellectual

appreciation. Intellect

cannot but appreciate the incredible order and beauty

in the universal

systems which religions call it as creation. One

cannot but admire looking

at a tree, looking a flower, looking at a simple leaf

- His signature, His

glory, His presence. That is the true devotion.

Recognizing His presence

everywhere - from tinniest bug to gigantic beings,

love of a mother to a

child, growth of baby to adult - life is incredible -

Watching the life

itself is a greatest entertainment one can have if one

is sensitive.

Everyone is selfishly looking after oneself - a local

disturbances in the

total order - yet that is the part of the beauty -

everyone is selfish yet

at the grandeur level that is all within the order. I

get greatest

entertainment watching people, particularly sitting in

the airports and when

I have nothing else to do. It is amazing how people

run around each

concerned with himself and how people try to get what

they want or what one

thinks he deserves - conflicting each other and

complaining about others.

Everyone feels their problems are most severe - yet

the whole universe moves

forward - in perfect harmony. Thousands of years ago,

people must have the

same problems - how to raise their children how to

cope up with competition,

how to make more at the expense of others - Each one

thinking their problems

are the most severe - Some crying for departed souls -

some celebrating for

the arrival of new ones - some enjoying their good

luck while others cursing

for their bad luck - yet everything is in order - Same

thing thousands of

years ago - same thing now and same thing will be

there thousands of years

from now - Everything is in order - some complain that

is also part of the

order - some cause others to complain that is also

part of the order - Just

stand back and enjoy the tamaashha or entertainment -

you cannot but marvel

at His incredible play - just stand apart and enjoy -

that is devotion.

 

You see devotion is not sitting and praying some

imaginary forms or concepts

- but admire the beauty of creation and joy of life.

That is devotion and

that is mediation - you donot want to change the

system you do not want

things to be different from what they are - you just

stand apart and see the

incredible play going on - that is devotion. For

this, one needs incredible

intellectual observation - not a sharp intellect that

divides but subtle

intellect that integrates - in sanskrit it is suukshma

(subtle) budhhi in

contrast to tiikshNa buddhi (sharp intellect). In

Kenopanishad - the true

devotion is defined beautifully: I will give only the

English version:

" That which the mind cannot think, but because of

which the mind has the

capacity to think that alone is Brahman not this

that you worship "

" that which the speech cannot speak, but because of

which one has the

capacity to speak - that alone is Brahman not this

that you worship "

" that which the eyes cannot see, but because of which

the eyes have the

capacity to see - that alone is Brahman not this that

you worship "

" that which the ears cannot hear but because of which

the ears have the

capacity to hear - that alone is Brahman not this that

you worship "

 

Devotion to that is true meditation - that is where

the intellect inquiry

goes stand still at the altar of the Almighty - And

that is true

surrenderance and true devotion.

 

Hence you have the right equipment to develop

devotion. In fact you are

more blessed provide you direct your mind into right

understanding of the

nature of the truth - And that is what is being

discussed as the inquiry of

Brahman in the Brahmasuutra bhaashhya.

 

Seeking of God is understanding of God - One

understands when one realizes

that there is not more to understand and there is no

more to seek and that

is true devotion and true surrenderance - where one is

no more there to

understand or to seek - he has surrendered to HIM.

 

Hari Om!

Sadananda

[Guest guest]

--- kuntimaddi sadananda <kuntimaddisada

I am natorious in misspelling and typos. Here is one -

the sloka below is by Bhagavaan Ramana from

upadesasaara. All errors are at vyaavahaarika level!

 

> bheda bhaavanaa so ha mityasou|

> bhaavanaabhidaa paavanii mataa|

 

Hari Om!

Sadananda

[Guest guest]

H.N.Sreenivasa Murthy

Pranams to all.

 

advaitin , kuntimaddi sadananda

<kuntimaddisada wrote:

 

Dear Sri Sadananda,

Your posting on Bhakthi is simply marvellous.

When I read it my heart was filled with sadananda.

Words fail to express the feelings and the understanding

that arose after the study of your posting.

My heartfelt thanks to you again and again.

 

With warm and respectful regards,

Sreenivasa Murthy

[Guest guest]

hare krishna, namaskarams,

 

every time i read " sri sadananda's " post i get a little jelous about him for not

being able to write like him.bhakthi is supreme of course. fully aware of the

self in jeeva and the self paramatma as one what is wrong in lovingly imagine

that self to be krishna and surrender as thyagaraja did to rama.what is wrong

being fully aware like wise the wave loving the ocean that it is all water

 

sometimes when i think of the uapanishad vakyam " poornama poornamidam " i

always in my own way think of the mother and and her child. the mother poornam

gives birth to the child that is poornam and mother remains poornam and the

whole universe of mothers poornam and all children poornam.this is just my wild

imagination right or wrong.

 

baskaran

 

" kuntimaddi sadananda <kuntimaddisada wrote:

 

Of all the paths for liberation, bhakti is the supreme. And that bhakti he

defines as one's owncontemplation on one's own nature - that sat chitananda

swaruupam of one self. The experience of one'sown self is bhakti. Hence

experience and knowledge of ones experience are both identical. This is

whereloved and the lover have become one. HenceYajnavalkya says to his wife -

My dear, no body lovesanybody other than oneself. 'And any body lovesanything

that love is only a manifestation of love for his own self'. 'aatmanastu

kaamaaya sarvam priyam bhavati'.

Hari Om!

Sadananda "

 

 

 

BASKARAN.C.S

 

 

 

Unlimited freedom, unlimited storage. Get it now

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thank you Dear Sadaji for coming up with such a wonderful

explanation of 'Bhakti' - i had requested two other members Ananda-

ji and Rishji as well ! Anandaji always has a unique way of

interpreting age old concepts with a 'modern' slant and Rishiji , of

course , ia another great writer well versed in Advaitic Approaches!

i hope they will both write something this week!

 

Thanks for rising to the occassion, sadaji , and fullfilling our

wish in spite of your personal commitments and social obligations.

Sreenivasaji and baskarji would go ecstatic if they were to hear

your cd on 'bhakti ! is it possible for you to upload the contents

of the cd to the Advaitin files?

 

We must thank Dr. Shyam for his great introduction to this subject

and all the others who contributed on this great topic!

 

Join me in honoring Jnanamata BhaktiDevi Sri Bhavani !

 

Verse 22 of Saundarya Lahari reads

 

 

Bhavani tvam daase mayi vitara drishtim sakarunam

Iti sthotum vanchan kadhayati Bhavani tvam iti yah;

Tadaiva tvam tasmai disasi nija-sayujya-padavim

Mukunda-brahmendra-sphuta-makuta-nirajita-padam.

 

Kanchi Mahaperiyavaal explains this verse thus

 

Singing the praise of Ambika, Bhagavatpada says in Soundarya Lahari

that so great is the mercy of the Mother that the moment the Bhakta

(devotee) began his prayer with the words, Bhavaani tvam, Ambika did

not even wait till he completed his prayer, but conferred on him

saayujya, viz., the merger of the soul with the Mother.

 

 

When the devotee began saying Bhavaani tvam, he was only addressing

the Divine Mother by calling Her Bhavaani, and invoking Her grace,

though the expression can also be interpreted as meaning, " May I

become You " . It is this merger with the Supreme that the Mother

granted as soon as She heard the words " Bhavaani tvam " . The

significance of this verse is that one imbued with true devotion

gets things unasked.

 

The saayujya the devotee attains by Her grace is the condition of

supreme saanti, like that which rivers attain when they merge in the

ocean. The same condition of peace and bliss is reached by the

bhakta who starting from dvaita bhaava (feeling of duality of

himself and God) reaches saayujya or oneness with Isvara through Her

grace.

 

http://www.kamakoti.org/acall/bhavani.html

 

Join me in honoring Bhakti devi and jnanamata sri Bhavani for her

infinite grace ! ?( kataksham)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In advaitin , kuntimaddi sadananda

<kuntimaddisada wrote:

>

> PraNAms to all

>

> I was asked to write up on advaita bhakti. Shyamji

> has provided an excellent review of Bhakti yoga. I am

> adding few lines based on my understanding.

>

>