The Path of Love: Bhakti Yoga

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HARI BOL.

A member of the Caribbean Hindus Network responded to the

post : The Path of Love: Bhakti Yoga

 

Please see below. We would appreciate your response.

 

Dhanyavaad

 

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

Pranaam.

 

Sometimes one cannot help but wonder if these people sometimes stop

and think before they write these messages. Look at the opening

statement in the following--not only does it contradict the rest of

the article, it scoffs at the " intellectual " capacity of ANY

Bhakta.An intellectual cannot be equally as emotional? Or is because

one is emotional--it makes them less intelligent?

 

As for the intelligence of Bhaktas---some of the greatest bhaktas

are Sri Ramakrishna, Srila Prabupada, in present day--the Hare

Krisnas have some of the most educated people in their membership

and who are the greatest bhaktas than them? Dr Frank Morales Ji--a

devoted bhakta--is he lesser in intelligence????

 

Is it infering that " intellectuals " should not/cannot become bhaktas-

-for their intelligence makes them less emotional? Who is to judge

intelligence?

 

Poor Meera--I can imagine her laughter if she heard how

unintelligent she is being considered. Wonder if any of

these " intellectuals " can ever leave such a legacy--all those

songs/poems that she composed to her Lord. No no---Meera was after

all a Prem Diwani--

Hayri maito, prem diwani mehro---she declared so herself (hehe). And

Sant Tulsidas Ji--poor chap--in his state of great emotions he still

had the intelligence to compose the Sri Ramcharitmanas??

 

What is this state of high esteem ? Who is an intellectual? One who

attends University and has gotten a degree or two? I am told that

this is the way to judge a person's intelligence--that unless you

have attended a University--you are a dunce?(hehe) These days one

will say that you have to study Literature and get your degree first-

-then you are capable of writing poems? Composing songs? Thank

goodness Meera and Tulsi lived in ancient times when people didn't

judge your intelligence from your academic background else our lives

would have been empty without their works.

Tulsi was judged because he did not write in Sanskrit (the language

was critized not the writer) and Meera was castigated because she

didn't confirm to the practises of her in laws --these were the sins

of those days and they still exist today in the minds of many too.

 

To be able to love The Supreme is a maha bardaan from The Supreme

alone. We are all born with this bardaan as He exist within all of

us. The onus is upon us as to whether we want that Supreme Self to

be in control of us or we will suppress Him with our egos. The path

of Bhakti is when we suppress our egos and surrender onto Him.

A jnani can be a bhakta. Don't let the ego hold you back into

thinking--Oh I am a professor, I am a doctor, it will look

undignified if I prostrate before The Lord. It will look uncouth if

I bow down before the Lord, it will look backward if I sit on the

floor of the mandir.Some say that one doesn't have to do these

things in order to show that you are devoted or not. Maybe--but how

do you demonstrate love/affection to another? Sure, our Prabhu knows

our every thought and He would know the degree of your affections as

He knows all. But do we know how much we love Him? How much we are

devoted to Him? When we show or outwardly demonstrate our love and

devotion--it is an affirmation that yes--I have now reach

realisation. It is more for our own benefit rather than for

Bhagwan's. A bhakta is one who has surrendered their ego at the feet

of The Supreme. When someone say that they are a Bhakta---it is not

boasting--it is a declaring that you are now dwelling at the Feet of

The Lord

Charan kamal bandow Hari raie, Charan kamal bandow Raghunandan.

 

The ONLY path to saving oneself is through Bhakti yoga--Bhawan

declared so Himself...........

 

Bhagwan uwaach in the Srimad Bhagwan Gita--

 

Listen again to My Supreme word, the profoundest of all.You are

beloved of Me and steadfast of heart, therefore I shall tell what is

for your good. 64-66

 

Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me; sacrifice to Me; prostrate

before Me; so shall you come to Me. This is My pledge to you, for

you are dear to Me. 65

 

Renounce all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone. I shall liberate

you from all sins; grieve not. 66

 

Well this is just the unintelligent thoughts of somone who is just

striving to be a Bhakta so please excuse my ramblings and my daring

to question the writings of a Jnani.....

 

Sri Krishan Sharanam mama.

Hari Bol.

 

Regards,

Member, Caribbean Hindus Network

--

 

 

 

 

Ramakrishna , " O'Connor " <5luckyshamrocks

wrote:

>

>

> The Path of Love: Bhakti Yoga

> For those more emotional than intellectual, bhakti yoga is

recommended. Bhakti yoga is the path of devotion, the method of

attaining God through love and the loving recollection of God. Most

religions emphasize this spiritual path because it is the most

natural. As with other yogas, the goal of the bhakta, the devotee of

God, is to attain God-realization—oneness with the Divine. The

bhakta attains this through the force of love, that most powerful

and irresistible of emotions.

>

> Love is accessible to everyone: we all love someone or something,

frequently with great intensity. Love makes us forget ourselves, our

whole attention being devoted to the object of our adoration. The

ego loosens its grip as we think of our beloved's welfare more than

our own. Love gives us concentration: even against our will, we

constantly remember the object of our love. In an easy and totally

painless way, love creates the preconditions necessary for a

fruitful spiritual life.

>

> Vedanta therefore says, Don't squander the power of love. Use this

powerful force for God-realization. We must remember that when we

love another we are really responding—though unconsciously—to the

divinity within him or her. As we read in the Upanishads, " It is not

for the sake of the husband that the husband is dear, but for the

sake of the Self. It is not for the sake of the wife that the wife

is dear, but for the sake of the Self. " Our love for others becomes

unselfish and motiveless when we are able to encounter divinity in

them.

>

> Unfortunately, we usually misplace our love. We project our vision

of what's true, perfect, and beautiful and superimpose it upon

whomever or whatever we love. It is God alone, however, who is True,

Perfect, and Beautiful. Vedanta therefore says: Put the emphasis

back where it belongs—on the divine Self within each person that we

encounter. That is the real object of our love.

>

> Rather than obsessing on a limited human being, we should think of

God with a longing heart. Many spiritual teachers have recommended

adopting a particular devotional attitude towards God: thinking of

God as our Master or Father or Mother or Friend or Child or Beloved.

The determining factor here is, Which attitude feels the most

natural to me and which attitude brings me closest to God?

>

> Jesus looked upon God as his Father in Heaven. Ramakrishna

worshipped God as Mother. Many great saints have attained perfection

through worshipping God as the baby Jesus or the baby Krishna. Many

have attained perfection through worshipping Christ as the

bridegroom or Krishna as the beloved. Others have attained

perfection through worshipping God as their master or friend.

>

> The point to remember is that God is our own, the nearest of the

nearest and dearest of the dearest. The more our minds are absorbed

in thoughts of Him—or Her as the case may be—the closer we shall be

to attaining the goal of human life, God-realization.

>

> Many people are drawn to worshipping God through love and devotion.

>