Bhakti means love and devotion to God - love and devotion to His Creation, with respect and care for all living beings and all of nature.

Bhakti means love and devotion to God - love and devotion to His Creation, with respect and care for all living beings and all of nature. Everyone should practice Bhakti Yoga, The path of Bhakti Yoga leads us safely and directly to the goal.

Bhakti Yoga includes the worship of God. God is everywhere. God dwells within us and all around us. It is as though we are connected to God by a fine thread - the thread of love. God is Universal love. Love and Divine Grace surround us and flow through us, but we are not conscious of this. The moment this consciousness, this Divine love, has been experienced, one never desires anything more. We then know the meaning of true love for God.

A person lacking Bhakti is like a fish without water, a bird without wings, a night without the moon and stars. All beings need love. Through it we feel protected and happy just like a child in the arms of its mother or a traveller at the end of a long, arduous journey.

There are two types of Bhakti:

Apara Bhakti - egoistic love
Para Bhakti - Universal love

A Bhakta accepts everything that happens to him as a gift of God. There is no desire or expectation, there is simply complete surrender to the will of God. This Bhakta accepts each life situation as placed before him by destiny. There is no resentment, his only Prayer is: “Let Thy will be done”.
However, prior to reaching this level of supreme love for God, our Bhakti is intermingled with egoistic thoughts. This means that we do in fact love God, but also expect something from God. Many people turn to God for help when they are troubled or in pain. Others pray for material objects, money, glory, career promotion. Yet we should always be mindful that when we depart from this earth, we must leave behind all possessions and that is why nothing here has any real or lasting value. Spiritual seekers pray for wisdom and God-Realisation. However, often we create an inner picture of God - what God is like from our point of view, how God should act - and because of this, we are not open and ready for a Divine revelation.

In the Bhakti Sutras, Sage Narada describes nine elements of Bhakti Yoga:

Satsang - good spiritual company
Hari Katha - to hear and read about God
Shraddha - Faith
Ishvara Bhajana - to sing the praises of God
Mantra Japa - Repetition of God's name
Shama Dama - Withdrawal and control of the senses with regard to worldly things
Santo ka Adar - to show honour to people who have dedicated their lives to God
Santosha - Contentment
Ishvara Pranidhana - Devotion to God

There is no spiritual path without Bhakti. If a school student dislikes a subject of study, he is barely able to complete the course. In the same way, it is only when there is love and devotion for our practice, firm adherence to our path and ever mindful of our goal, that we are able to overcome all obstacles. We cannot attain union with God, without LOVE for all living beings and devotion to God.

🌿🍃🌹🌼🍃🌱🌹🌿🌼🌱🌿🌹🍃🌹🌼🍃🌿🌱🌼🍃🌿🌱🌹🌹🌿🌱🌼🍃🌿🌹🍃🌿🌱🌼🌹🌹🍃🌿🌱🌼🌹🌹🌿🌱🌼🌹

Hari Om Namo Narayana ~ Om Namah Shivaya 🌼🍃🌿
Shubh Prabhat 🌿🌹🌱