Bhakta

“ Vairâgya or renunciation is the turning point in all the various Yogas. The Karmi (worker) renounces the fruits of his work. The Bhakta (devotee) renounces all little loves for the almighty and omnipresent love. The Yogi renounces his experiences, because his philosophy is that the whole Nature, although it is for the experience of the soul, at last brings him to know that he is not in Nature, but eternally separate from Nature. The Jnâni (philosopher) renounces everything, because his philosophy is that Nature never existed, neither in the past, nor present, nor will It in the future. ”

“ So to believe that God is in the world and to catch a distant glimpse of Him is one thing; but to come into direct communion with Him, to enjoy His company and taste Divine Bliss is another. No one can set a limit to the various aspects of God which a Bhakta can realize. They rise ever higher and higher. A devotee: Bhagavan, why can some attain to realization more quickly than others? ”

“ Bhakti differs from your Western idea of religion in that Bhakti admits no elements of fear, no Being to be appeased or propitiated. There are even Bhaktas who worship God as their own child, so that there may remain no feeling even of awe or reverence. There can be no fear in true love, and so long as there is the least fear, Bhakti cannot even begin. In Bhakti there is also no place for begging or bargaining with God. The idea of asking God for anything is sacrilege to a Bhakta. He will not pray for health or wealth or even to go to heaven. ”

“ So one portion of Bhakti tells about these various subjects of symbols and words and prayers. Every religion has prayers, but one thing you must bear in mind — praying for health or wealth is not Bhakti, it is all Karma or meritorious action. Praying for any physical gain is simply Karma, such as a prayer for going to heaven and so forth. One that wants to love God, to be a Bhakta, must discard all such prayers. ”

“ Again, as the Latin lactuca became lattuca, so the Primary Prakrit bhakta- became the Secondary bhatta-. In India, the dislike to harsh consonantal sounds, a sort of glottic laziness, finally led to a condition of almost absolute fluidity, each word of the Secondary Prakrits ultimately becoming an emasculated collection of vowels hanging on to an occasional consonant. This weakness brought its own Nemesis and from, say, A.D. 1000 we find in existence the series of modern Indo-Aryan vernaculars, or, as they may be called, Tertiary Prakrits, closely corresponding to the modern Romance languages. ”

“ This mighty attraction in the direction of God makes all other attractions vanish for him. This mighty infinite love of God which enters his heart leaves no place for any other love to live there. How can it be otherwise" Bhakti fills his heart with the divine waters of the ocean of love, which is God Himself; there is no place there for little loves. That is to say, the Bhakta's renunciation is that Vairâgya or non-attachment for all things that are not God which results from Anurâga or great attachment to God. ”

“ They afford a lesson to all Bhaktas for all time. This part of the Lilâ is based upon undying, eternal truths, upon the permanent relations between Jiva and Íshvara. The heart of man is the seat of this Lilâ, which can be reproduced at all times, in the heart of every real Bhakta. The Gopis are the same now as they were when Krishna sanctified the Earth. They are the preservers of the universe, according to Gopi Chandana Upanishad. And their ranks may be increased by devoted Bhaktas who give up all for the sake of the universe and its Lord. ”

“ He who does not depend on anything, who is pure and active, who does not care whether good comes or evil, and never becomes miserable, who has given up all efforts for himself; who is the same in praise or in blame, with a silent, thoughtful mind, blessed with what little comes in his way, homeless, for the whole world is his home, and who is steady in his ideas, such a one is My beloved Bhakta." Such alone become Yogis. ”

“ Those that worship Bhagavat pierce the Brahmânda at will, and rise to the abode of Vishnu. The Ślokas XXVIII to XXXI refer to the piercing of Brahmânda by the Bhâgavatas. Śridhara.
The worshippers of Sri Krishna attain the last state. The deferred path of Liberation is the path of all Bhaktas. It is the path of compassion, of service. The Bhaktas spurn all sorts of Mukti, even if they be offered to them. They become servants of the Lord in the preservation of the Universe. ”

“ He who knowing my injunctions and prohibitions in the performance of one's own Dharma or duties of life, even gives them all up for my sake is the best of all Sâdhus. Those who seek me and nothing else, whether they know or not what I am, are the best of My Bhaktas. ”

“ Its expression is to be found even in their childhood. At that tender age even, they cry for God. There are many examples of such born Bhaktas like Prahlada and others. Ordinary devotion which is confined by scriptural laws of sacrifice and worship is preparatory. ”

“ These last have no recommendation; they possess no special characteristic; they function in no capacity; they render no service to the King; they are useful in no way to him; and they are called 'dependents They have to get their all from the pure bounty of the Lord. They are bhaktas. They receive everything from God; and they have nothing to give in return. ”

“ Bhaga is recognized as an [=A] ditya (luminous deity) and was perhaps a sun-god of some class, possibly of all, as the name in Slavic is still kept in the meaning 'god,' literally 'giver.' In the Rig Veda the word means, also, simply god, as in bhágabhakta, 'given by gods'; but as a name it is well known, and when thus called Bhaga is still the giver, 'the bestower' (vidhart [=á] ) . As bhaga is also an epithet of Savitar, the name may not stand for an originally distinct personality. ”

“ Bhakti is the religion of many millions of India, combined more or less with the conventional externals of sacrifice and offerings and pilgrimages and employment of brahmans, which together constitute the third path of salvation, by karma or works. That ecstatic adoration is religion for many millions of India, although the name bhakti may never pass their lips. We judged the idea of salvation by knowledge, or by intense concentration of mind, to be genuinely felt, because it could override the idea of caste. ”

“ Between singing the song and acting it while singing, the distance in India is little. The explanation of a recent Hindu devotee, Ramkrishna Paramhansa, is: "A true devotee, who has drunk deep of divine Love, is like a veritable drunkard, and as such cannot always observe the rules of propriety." [131] Manifestations of bhakti we would soon have in the Indian Christian Church were the cold moderating influence of Westerns lessened; and as the Church increases and becomes indigenous, we must welcome bhakti in measure. Every religious procession will lead to manifestations of bhakti. ”

“ Salutations to Pradyumna, Aniruddha and to Sankarshana. He who, by knowing these mûrtis in the mûrtiless, whose only mûtrti is mantra makes offerings to Yajna Purusha, is the complete seer." I. 5. 37 "When the Indriyas," said Kapila, "that manifest the objects of external and internal perception, become trained by the performance of Vedic Karma, their spontaneous Vritti (or function) in a man of concentrated mind is in Satva which is the same as Vishnu. This Vritti which is void of all selfishness is Bhakti in Bhagavâna. It is superior to Mukti. ”

“ Lastly, it must be the aim of every man to gain Krishna’s love, and Bhakti is the way that leads to it. Chaitanya defined Bhakti as an uninterrupted tendency of the heart towards God, just like the flow of a river towards the sea.
It is difficult to understand how the followers of Mohammed could ever have been induced to use the name of Krishna for that of Allah, but we know that it was so, and the same religious amalgamation between Hinduism and Islam was attempted by Nânak, the contemporary of Chaitanya. The Sîkhs, though much changed in time, are the followers of that reformer. ”

“ To go and say, "Lord, take care of this thing and give me that; Lord, I give you my little prayer and you give me this thing of daily necessity; Lord, cure my headache", and all that — these are not Bhakti. They are the lowest states of religion. They are the lowest form of Karma. If a man uses all his mental energy in seeking to satisfy his body and its wants, show me the difference between him and an animal. Bhakti is a higher thing higher than even desiring heaven. The idea of heaven is of a place of intensified enjoyment. ”

“ The conception of the all-comprehending impersonal Brahma has, indeed, lost vitality; for the educated also the externals of the popular religion have lost their significance and become puerile. But for them also, the objects of popular bhakti, Ram and Krishna, are as much epical as religious heroes. Hinduism needs an object of bhakti for her educated people. The fact explains several of the novel religious features of the past half-century. The great jogi, Buddha, although not a brahman, was rediscovered as a religious hero for Hindus ”

“ The devotion of Bhakti is indeed a necessary prelude to progress in the religious life, under the guidance of whichever special cult the neophyte may aspire, but it is as it were the outer court of the Temple, and the Holy of Holies cannot be reached by any save those who have attained knowledge. ”

“ It is not Bhakti if we worship God with the desire for a son; it is not Bhakti if we worship with the desire to be rich; it is not Bhakti even if we have a desire for heaven; it is not Bhakti if a man worships with the desire of being saved from the tortures of hell. Bhakti is not the outcome of fear or greediness. ”

“ However transitory the things of Trilokî may be, there are attractions enough for the frail sons of Manu, abounding in passions and desires. What can then bind a man to the higher planes and the highest Purûsha of those planes or Bhagavân? It is only a description of the grandeur and the glory of those planes and of Bhagavân. Such description begets Bhakti or holy attachment, and it is this Bhakti which sets up a real communion with Bhagavân. Frail as man is, the mere performance of duties makes him attached to them, unless he is bound to the higher planes by the tie of holy attachment. ”

“ Image-worship on the whole, with all its elaborate temple ritual, was the almost inevitable concomitant of the bhakti-marga, a response to the human impulse which craves for the sight of the object of hero-worship, whether it be human or divine. Only the philosopher, or those who are under the compulsion of a stern hierarchical decree, can resist the craving. Vedic religion tried to satisfy it by using the sun and moon and nature elements as its symbols, but the Rishis who taught divine wisdom were worshipped as equal to or sometimes even greater than the gods. ”

“ If in going on a pilgrimage a man does not acquire Bhakti, then his pilgrimage is fruitless; for Bhakti is the end of all; it is the one thing needful. Do you know what the vulture and the kite are? They are those who talk on lofty subjects and say: "We have performed most of the works enjoined in the Holy Scriptures," but whose minds are immersed in worldliness and strongly attached to wealth, name, fame, and sense- pleasures. Pandit: Yes, Revered Sir, that is true. ”

“ Some time must have elapsed after the death of Christ before Christianity could present itself in India as an influential doctrine. Also bhakti does not make its first appearance as something new and full grown. The seed, the young plant and the flower can all be found on Indian soil. So, too, the idea that God became man for the sake of mankind is a gradual Indian growth. In the Veda Vishnu takes three steps for the good of men. ”

“ Bhakti is often associated with the doctrine of the playfulness of God. This idea—so strange to Europe [433] —may have its roots partly in the odd non-moral attributes of some early deities. Thus the Rudra of the Śatarudrîya hymn is a queer character and a trickster. But it soon takes a philosophical tinge and is used to explain the creation and working of the universe which is regarded not as an example of capricious, ironical, inscrutable action, but rather as manifesting easy, joyous movement and the exuberant rhythm of a dance executed for its own sake. ”

“ The great quality of Bhakti is that it cleanses the mind, and the firmly established Bhakti for the Supreme Lord is alone sufficient to purify the mind. "O God, Thy names are innumerable, but in every name Thy power is manifest, and every name is pregnant with deep and mighty significance." We should think of God always and not consider time and place for doing so. ”

“ Sincere humility springs from the clear realization of the Presence of God in everything, that the whole universe is formed of the many forms of the One Form and its Radiance. And with that never fading vision before the mind's eye, the devote forgets himself and stoops low at the feet of every one and at everything he sees, for he sees in them all his Deity.
Bhakti is of two kinds, Gnān-Bhakti and Prem-Bhakti. Gnān-Bhakti is devotion aided by culture of wisdom, its Deity is some incarnation of Vishnoo and its goal is the Abode of Vishnoo or the Essence of Vishnoo. ”

“ Kapila replied, "By unselfish performance of duties, by purification of mind, by intense Bhakti in Bhagavân fostered by the recital of His glory, by wisdom based on the knowledge of the Tatvas, by strong dispassion, by austere yoga, by intense concentration on Âtmâ, Prakriti becomes daily subdued and it is finally consumed, even as the wood is consumed by its own fire, caused by constant friction. Given up as already enjoyed and constantly found fault with, Prakriti does no harm to the Purusha centred in Self. Dreams do harm in sleep. ”