Miscellaneous - Religion   

Quality of Bhakti

CHENNAI: Practice of Bhakti is difficult because of the imperative demand of total humility and sincerity, but also easy because it does not demand scholarship, learning or knowledge and is capable of leading to God realisation with all certainty. Bhakti is the essence of God realisation and lies beyond knowledge and reasoning. Bhakti is not mere outward show or ostentation but springs in one’s inner consciousness. Lord Krishna extols Bhakti Yoga as most efficacious and of His special regard for His devotees.

Swami Vimurtananda drew attention to the way of living of saints and seers such as Sri Ramakrishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or Ramana Maharshi, who exemplified the rare experience of God during their lifetime and have helped many in realising the ultimate truth of God. These saints manifest the quality of Bhakti in its pure state when the experience of oneness with God is achieved and hence a sincere seeker of truth can be successful to a certain extent in the company of those who have realised God. Ultimately, the purpose of life is to realise God and it is in one’s individual interest to develop awareness in God.

Mere learning and scholarship, even knowledge of the Vedas or the Puranas, is of no avail without discrimination and non-attachment. These traits continue to remain as mere words if one has not internalised their real value and incorporated them into active practice. Spiritual teachers guide humanity beyond the bounds of knowledge into the realm of inner experience through the path of love and devotion that leads to the ultimate truth. Once this is known, the real value of worldly attachments as merely evanescent is clear and renouncing all this for permanent salvation becomes possible. The pure soul knows that knowledge and ignorance are within every Jivatma, but learns to remain unaffected by both of them. He who has attained the knowledge of the ultimate truth is liberated in this very life. He rightly realises that the body and the soul are separate.

The entire creation with all its grandeur and mystery is enough to kindle interest in the one who has created it. This probing is the basis of spiritual quest.

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