Yoga
Different Styles of Yoga
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Bhakti yoga
Definintion Of Bhakti Yoga Or Yoga Of Divine Love
The yoga of divine love or
Bhakti yoga is considered to be the shortest path
towards attainment of divine God. This form of
yoga believes that the path to God is strewn with
various difficulties that present themselves in
the garb of worldly affairs. And if one wants to
truly unite with the divine he or she has to
overcome these difficulties with single-minded
attention. Bhakti yoga is a way of attaining God
through pure love towards God.
The word Bhakti is derived from
the Sanskrit word 'Bhaj' meaning to pray. This
form of yoga is practiced by diverting all
attention to achievement of fulfillment through
the divine. The yogi or the devotee considers God
to be an almighty ocean of everlasting love and
beauty and prays and worships him in the hope that
He will give him a place in His divine
consciousness. It is believed that human soul has
a chord that unites him with the God
consciousness. This is the voice of human
conscious. Bhakti yoga should not be interpreted
in terms of religion alone, because it is about
strengthening this chord of consciousness and
ultimately feeling an unbreakable bond with God.
Almost all the different religions have a way of
telling this reality through their religious
scriptures. The message always remains the same.
It is all about invoking the God consciousness by
way of whichever medium the devotee chooses to
practice. Bhakti yoga is the base of this kind of
Godly devotion. It is about developing a direct
communication with the creator.
The devotee or the yogi
believes in the purity of his love and uses it as
a channel to reach the divine. This is based on
the foundation that love is the purest feeling
experienced by human beings. It is also the
highest form of emotion which is reserved
exclusively for the humans. Some animals belonging
to higher degree of intelligence also feel and
respond to love in some ways. But the feeling of
love experienced by humans is truly a gift
bestowed upon them by the divine consciousness in
order to raise them over and above the rest of the
plant and animal kingdom. Love in its best way is
experienced in a succession of faith, attraction
or admiration and then adoration. Love is a
feeling that is experienced in all human
relationships. It is even existent between human
and animal relationships. It is also existent
between human and inanimate objects example a
human being may be very much in love with his
material possessions. Love is a chord that binds
everything that exists in this world. Love is a
creative force. Love is an energy that generates
the necessary inputs for all creations. Love
between human creates new life. Love between human
and inanimate objects creates beautiful art,
poetry, literature even technology. Yes,
technology is the ultimate creation that comes
into a reality by the creator's passion for new
development. In fact the force of love has made
the world survive all calamities and made it move
in the direction of future through the ages.
Bhakti yoga relies on love for
the attainment of ultimate enlightenment. The love
of God is the purest form of all love because it
is not driven by any negative feelings or
emotions. It is love with no attachments. It is
love for the divine without any greed, jealousy,
fear, expectancy of rewards or even sense of
achievement. Love for God is the passage and it is
the destination also. Love of God is the means
and it is the ultimate reward. Bhakti yoga
propagates this kind of love and devotion to God
that the person indulging in it rises above the
rest and attains supreme satisfaction of his being
one with the divine consciousness. Different
religions and different cultures propagate it in
different formats but the essence remains the same
for each and every one of them.
The essence of Bhakti yoga
should not be interpreted as pure emotion based
practice. It is thorough discipline of controlling
the mind and body to achieve purity of soul. It is
an experience of deep soul-searching. It is
developed with great regulation and sense of
supreme obedience to the will of God. It is about
submitting one's desires, commitments,
responsibilities and aspirations to the will of
God. This is certainly not an easy process and
requires complete surrender to the almighty
denouncing all that is evil. It is a path that
starts generally with idol worship and culminates
at the realization of oneness with God.
The ancient texts describe the
path to be followed keeping in mind the following
actions:
Abhyasa: It means practice. This step is about focusing the mind that ordinarily has numerous thoughts, concentrated on the thoughts of God only.
Viveka: It means discrimination or wisdom to decipher the right from the wrong.
Vimoka: Developing a sense of yearning for God and liberating the mind of all other desires.
Satyam: It means truthfulness in all thoughts and actions, always and every time.
Arjavam: It means straightforwardness in all thoughts and actions.
Kriya: It means actions free of greed, selfish desires and goodness towards others.
Kalyan: Thoughts of well wishes for every individual under all circumstances.
Daya: It means kindness towards all.
Ahimsa: It means non-violence and not hurting anyone emotionally and physically.
Daan: It means indulging in acts of charity towards the poor and deserving.
Anavasada: It means cheerfulness and optimism towards life while doing all the above.
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