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What is bhakti?
Bhakti yoga is the yoga of love and devotion. It is devotion to the divine, in whatever form or form you want to see it (or her). It can be devotion to truth, God, supreme, Brahman, absolute, reality or any other definition of the unspeakable. This can be devotion to Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna, Rama, Hanuman, Mahavir, Shakti, Shiva, Vishnu, Kali, Durga, Ahura Mazda. You can express devotion to everything that you consider an embodiment of the divine. It can be a great saint, dead or living. This may be your guru. The concrete form does not matter ... it is the devotion that you personally feel that is important. Without such devotion, great or small, it is impossible to practice bhakti yoga. This method involves the service of a guru or work in the name of the divine. This means the practice of karma yoga, honest work in full measure of their abilities. This practice reduces the power of the ego and makes the mind focused.
The word bhakti comes from the root of bhaj, which means "to bow down, serve, love, be betrayed." And it accurately conveys the essence of bhakti yoga. From the same root comes the word bhakta, meaning a person who practices bhakti yoga, feels loyal.
Bhakti Yoga means two things - path and experience. A person can be on the path of bhakti yoga, but not have a positive experience of deep bhakti. At the same time, one can experience deep bhakti, but not admit that it is on the path of bhakti yoga. Let's illustrate this with two examples for greater clarity:
1. One who is inclined to deep devotion and worship can follow the path of bhakti yoga. This implies the concentration of the whole being of man on the object of worship. This method of bhakti yoga can ultimately lead to a transcendental experience of all-consuming bhakti. This transcendental knowledge is connected with this bhakti. With time and accumulation of experience, such bhakti will become stronger and stronger.
2. If a person is not inclined to service and devotion, he should choose other ways of yoga. These other ways, in the end, will lead to spiritual experience. This, in turn, automatically leads to bhakti, for you will comprehend something that you did not know before. Whichever method you use, the result will be the same. The ways of people located and not disposed to worship, ultimately, converge.
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