From a satsang with Pt. Jaidath Maharaj, M.Ed., President, SWAHA and Spiritual Leader, SWAHA Gyaan Jyoti Mandali
What is bhakti? It is a Sanskrit word that comes from the root bhaj, which means ‘to adore or worship God’. Whenever we engage ourselves in bhakti in some form, we are adoring and worshipping Bhagavan. Based on the teachings of Shree Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, there are different types of yoga (pathways to reach God). Bhakti yoga is the path of love for love’s sake. True bhakti does not involve praying to the Lord for the fulfilment of desires; it is just an expression of love for God. It is different from performing vrat or sacrifice because that practice involves the achievement of a goal. Scriptures say that if there is a legitimate desire in the heart, then we should pray to God for that desire. However, bhakti is that selfless offering of the self. When we pray to the Lord, we express that love that is in the heart for that Divine Being. It is love for love’s sake. It is union through love and devotion. Through such bhakti, we achieve divine union through love.
What is union? For union to exist, there must be more than one being, jivatma and Paramatma. Bhakti is just one of the forms of yoga and one of the pathways to self realisation. It is the recognition that there is one God and non-duality. Through bhakti, we can transcend duality and understand the oneness of nature and the world.
There are many persons who have related their experiences with bhakti. A musician, Jai Kuttal said that bhakti is about having a personal relationship with God. There are different types of relationships: mother, father, son, enemy, etc. No one else can define that relationship for us. In whatever way I can feel that love and connection to God, whatever awakens that love inside me, can happen in various ways. We can connect to God by sitting and offering a flower and prayer, saying a mantra, listening to a bhajan, performing puja or havan. In whatever way we can connect to the Divine, that is bhakti. Yoga scholar David Frawley, in his book Yoga, the Greater Tradition, says that the ultimate expression of bhakti is surrender to the Divine as one’s inner self. It is not an external action but an inner connection.
Who is a bhakt? A bhakt is a person who practises bhakti. In every field there are legends and icons who we love, admire and respect. They are a standard or benchmark for our own lives. They show us the sacrifices they make to reach that Divine Being and the grace and blessing of Bhagavan:
- Shabari Maa, one of the greatest bhakts of Shree Raam
- Meerabai, beloved of Shree Krishna
- Surdas, famous for his devotional bhajans
- Tulsidas, author of the Shree Raamcharitramaanas
- Hanuman Baba, Raamdhoot, greatest bhakt of Shree Raam
- Vibheeshan, who remained spiritually pure even while living in a place of sin and negativity until the day he was accepted by his Lord, Shree Raam
- Narad Muni, sage and bhakt of Satyanarayan Swami
- Prahlad, greatest bhakt of Shree Vishnu
- Ravan, the expression of evil on earth but also a great bhakt of Bhagavan Shiva; he was blessed with being destroyed by the Lord Himself.
