Swami Krishnananda Shashtyabdapurti Mahotsava Commemoration Volume

A Souvenir released on Swami Krishnananda's 60th Birthday

On Bhakti Yoga Sadhana

by Sita Frenkel

Bhakti stands for devotion, love of God, love of the ultimate goal of life. In spite of fact that our nature is the birthplace, deathless Atman, the Being that is Satchidananda Brahman, we experience ourselves caught up in the body-mind-ego context, and find ourselves in a helpless condition subject to all the changes. In this unavoidable condition of helplessness in ignorance, every human being is looking for help and love, strength and support. This inescapable psychological condition makes us most suited for the path of devotion and love, the approach that centres round a personal God suitable to our emotions and inclinations. Thus our concept of God stands as that source of love, strength and support; and the devotee, according to the ability of his understanding and level of development, feels inclined to a concept of God that satisfies his needs and tries to establish a relationship with that God.

With the help of his own concept of God and his established relationship with Him, the devotee tries to live a God-oriented life.

In the path of devotion, prayer, the practice of the Name of God, meditation on the form of God or mental worship, worship of God with material things, association the holy, company of devotees, dedication of all activities, and self-surrender are the various disciplines that lead to love of God.

Prayer is one of the most effective tools for developing the personality. It involves a psychology, a way of working with our own mind and can be seen, from this perspective, as an instrument to change our attitudes rather than an appeal to receive something. It is a surprisingly effective technique for reshaping personality. In prayer, the devotee opens his heart to God, exposes its content to God, cleanses it of all impurities, and reinforces it with healthy resolutions which he acts upon with the help of God's grace. Thus he relieves himself of the burden of impurities acquired by daily acts of omission and commission, and strengthens himself with a firmer commitment to virtues and righteous living.

With the practice of God's Name he quiets his mind, makes it one-pointed and slowly develops love of God. This discipline, if practised regularly, leads to meditation and a deeper absorption in God. This love of God expresses itself also through mental worship of God with material things.

Study of holy books and scriptures, and hearing religious talks and sermons, can be considered as an important kind of keeping holy company. But the company of a holy man has a very different effect. In him the spiritual teachings become living, pulsating realities. Since love of God in a holy man suffuses his whole personality and goes out as a powerful current, it awakens the potential but dormant divine love in those around him. Service to the teacher rendered with great humility and love, and service to the devotees of God establish a spiritual fellowship which becomes mutually encouraging and inspiring to all participants. The devotee considers himself and everything that he owns as belonging to God. As God is the supreme goal of his life, as he knows and feels that God is the creator and thus the real owner of everything, he considers himself just an agent or a custodian holding in trust the things that really belong to God. He therefore dedicates everything to the Lord, surrenders himself, his everything, all his actions and all the results to God, his Supreme Lord.

In that dedication, he maintains an equanimity of mind without being affected by the outcome of his activities in the form of pain or pleasure. He transfers everything to God and remains calm in God-thought. He remains in humility and detachment, performs all his duties and responsibilities to the very best of his ability, and offers them all unto God. This is called surrender.

As his practice and disciplines become more steady and regular, he develops a great love for God's Name. He sees God's hand in everything and takes life as it comes without being affected. He may get some visions and experiences as indications of his progress, of the correctness of his path or as assurances of the reality of Godhead. Strengthened by these he becomes more and more established in his spiritual path and begins to feel God's presence.

Such a person lives, moves has his being in God.