Types of Bhakti and how they affect the interpretation of scriptures -Srini

[Guest guest]

OM NAMAH SIVAYA

 

there is so much truth in what you write. thank you for this. i am

no scholar nor that advanced but to me it seems the key to all these

categories/labels is the intention. women = desires/attachments or

gold = resources needed to fulfill these desires, depends on our

intention. Is it absolute? does sattvic devotion really imply purity

over sperm? are they even comparable? i think Purity is about the

heart. Purity is about Love and about intention. worship/sadhana is

to bring us closer to the Love of Creator. Creation is part of the

creator. Sperm is a large factor in the ability to create. so maybe

sperm is more pure than you think. a fire can also have these same 4

qualities. What makes a fire sattvic? to me, it's the intention of

user of fire, not the fire. what is more important, the type of

bhakti/devotion we have for our beloved or the devotion itself? i

think it's a process and can't be compartmentalized. for me anyway.

 

i not sure about you but it is a struggle for me at times no doubt.

Shree Maa and Swamiji have shown me that sadhana takes me to The

Pure Love of The Beloved. my experience has been The Love is leading

me towards the purity not the other way around. isn't The Love

ultimately beyond(greater) than duality, ie. 3 gunas, pure vs impure?

 

JAI MAA

 

 

, "srini_sadhu" <srini_sadhu

wrote:

>

> Dear Family

>

> A few weeks ago we were all discussing "Devotion" on the group -

do

> you remember? Swamiji said that the Devi Gita defines four types

of

> devotion:

>

> Tamasic: the object of your prayer is negative, e.g., you pray

that

> your enemies suffer.

> Rajasic: the object of your prayer is to fulfill your own selfish

> desires.

> Sattvic: The object of your prayer is to purify your self.

> Para Bhakti: You pray because you love Her. You feel that it is a

> privilege to worship and pray. You are not asking Her for anything.

>

> Every person has a mix of the three gunas. When we read

scriptures,

> we interpret them in accordance with the guna that is predominant

in

> us. Similarly, when Sadhus translate scriptures, they choose

> meanings and interpretations based on their ideals and goals. For

> example, in most of Thakur Ramakrishna's books we frequently see

> Thankur talk about "kamini" and "kanchan" -- these words are often

> translated as "woman" and "gold". In Maa and Swamiji's book on

Sri

> Ramakrishna, "kamini" is translated as "desires and attachments"

> and "kanchan" as "resources needed to fulfill these desires".

>

> Similarly, in every Sahasranama there are several meanings for

each

> sanskrit name. For example, in Kali Sahasranaam, we find many

names

> containing the word "Shukra". If you look in the Monier-William's

> Sanskrit - English Dictionary, you will find several inches of

> meanings for Shukra -- pure, bright, resplendent, spotless ... and

> name of a month, the planet Venus, sperm, a good action, and so

on.

> If we are Sattvic Devotees, which meaning would we use? I would

> think "pure" as opposed to "sperm"!

>

> The main point is that the translator chooses that meaning that is

> consistent with Her ideal of perfection, the type of Bhakti that

She

> feels for Her Beloved. It is also important that the translation

> be consistent throughout the scripture -- Here again we see that

> Swamiji consistently translates Shukra as purity and we have so

many

> beautiful names coming forth - which inspire us to rise higher

and

> feel pure love for our Beloved.

>

> I look forwrad to your comments on this.

>

> with love and prayers

> srini

>

[Guest guest]

some of the names of Shiva ... it would be nice to know what they are

about ... the particular one in question, i think we should know how

to interpret it. anybody know the story there?

 

re: categorizing devotion ... my feeling is, when any concept is being

discussed, it might be useful to categorized in order to further study

it ... and, to motivate to the highest possibility ... but for the

individual, it is usually not useful to dwell on "what kind of

devotion do i have?" ... unless the person is going through a real

eye-opening life change, discovering his devotion is really about

getting things for himself, etc.

 

 

, "ecjensen_us" <ecjensen_us wrote:

>

> OM NAMAH SIVAYA

>

> there is so much truth in what you write. thank you for this. i am

> no scholar nor that advanced but to me it seems the key to all these

> categories/labels is the intention. women = desires/attachments or

> gold = resources needed to fulfill these desires, depends on our

> intention. Is it absolute? does sattvic devotion really imply purity

> over sperm? are they even comparable? i think Purity is about the

> heart. Purity is about Love and about intention. worship/sadhana is

> to bring us closer to the Love of Creator. Creation is part of the

> creator. Sperm is a large factor in the ability to create. so maybe

> sperm is more pure than you think. a fire can also have these same 4

> qualities. What makes a fire sattvic? to me, it's the intention of

> user of fire, not the fire. what is more important, the type of

> bhakti/devotion we have for our beloved or the devotion itself? i

> think it's a process and can't be compartmentalized. for me anyway.

>

> i not sure about you but it is a struggle for me at times no doubt.

> Shree Maa and Swamiji have shown me that sadhana takes me to The

> Pure Love of The Beloved. my experience has been The Love is leading

> me towards the purity not the other way around. isn't The Love

> ultimately beyond(greater) than duality, ie. 3 gunas, pure vs impure?

>

> JAI MAA

>

>

> , "srini_sadhu" <srini_sadhu@>

> wrote:

> >

> > Dear Family

> >

> > A few weeks ago we were all discussing "Devotion" on the group -

> do

> > you remember? Swamiji said that the Devi Gita defines four types

> of

> > devotion:

> >

> > Tamasic: the object of your prayer is negative, e.g., you pray

> that

> > your enemies suffer.

> > Rajasic: the object of your prayer is to fulfill your own selfish

> > desires.

> > Sattvic: The object of your prayer is to purify your self.

> > Para Bhakti: You pray because you love Her. You feel that it is a

> > privilege to worship and pray. You are not asking Her for anything.

> >

> > Every person has a mix of the three gunas. When we read

> scriptures,

> > we interpret them in accordance with the guna that is predominant

> in

> > us. Similarly, when Sadhus translate scriptures, they choose

> > meanings and interpretations based on their ideals and goals. For

> > example, in most of Thakur Ramakrishna's books we frequently see

> > Thankur talk about "kamini" and "kanchan" -- these words are often

> > translated as "woman" and "gold". In Maa and Swamiji's book on

> Sri

> > Ramakrishna, "kamini" is translated as "desires and attachments"

> > and "kanchan" as "resources needed to fulfill these desires".

> >

> > Similarly, in every Sahasranama there are several meanings for

> each

> > sanskrit name. For example, in Kali Sahasranaam, we find many

> names

> > containing the word "Shukra". If you look in the Monier-William's

> > Sanskrit - English Dictionary, you will find several inches of

> > meanings for Shukra -- pure, bright, resplendent, spotless ... and

> > name of a month, the planet Venus, sperm, a good action, and so

> on.

> > If we are Sattvic Devotees, which meaning would we use? I would

> > think "pure" as opposed to "sperm"!

> >

> > The main point is that the translator chooses that meaning that is

> > consistent with Her ideal of perfection, the type of Bhakti that

> She

> > feels for Her Beloved. It is also important that the translation

> > be consistent throughout the scripture -- Here again we see that

> > Swamiji consistently translates Shukra as purity and we have so

> many

> > beautiful names coming forth - which inspire us to rise higher

> and

> > feel pure love for our Beloved.

> >

> > I look forwrad to your comments on this.

> >

> > with love and prayers

> > srini

> >

>