Bhakti (, ,
devotion or
portion) in practice signifies an active involvement by the devotee in divine worship. The term is often translated as "devotion", though increasingly "participation" is being used as a more accurate rendering, since it conveys a fully engaged relationship with God. One who practices
bhakti is called a
bhakta, while
bhakti as a spiritual path is referred to as
bhakti marga, or the
bhakti way.
Bhakti is an important component of many branches of
Hinduism, defined differently by various sects and schools.
Bhakti emphasises devotion and practice above ritual. Bhakti is typically represented in terms of human relationships, most often as beloved-lover, friend-friend, parent-child, and master-servant. It may refer to devotion to a spiritual teacher (Guru) as guru-bhakti, to a personal form of God,
or to divinity without form (nirguna). Different traditions of bhakti in Hinduism are sometimes distinguished, including: Shaivas, who worship Shiva and the gods and goddesses associated with him; Vaishnavas, who worship forms of Vishnu, his avatars, and others associated with; Shaktas, who worship a variety of goddesses. Belonging to a particular tradition is not exclusive—devotion to one deity does not preclude worship of another.
The Bhagavad Gita is the first text to explicitly use the word "bhakti" to designate a religious path, which the Bhagavata Purana develops more elaborately. coloring many aspects of Hindu culture to this day, from religious to secular, and becoming an integral part of Indian society. Bhajan, or devotional singing to God, is also derived from the same root. "Devotion" as an English translation for bhakti doesn't fully convey two important aspects of bhakti—the sense of participation that is central to the relationship between the devotee and God, and the intense feeling that is more typically associated with the word "love". The Bhagavad Gita is the first text to explicitly use the word "bhakti" to designate a religious path, using it as a term for one of three possible religious approaches. The Bhagavata Purana develops the idea more elaborately, An early sutra by Pāṇini (c. 5th century BCE) is considered by some scholars as the first appearance of the concept of bhakti, where the word "vun" may refer to bhakti toward "Vasudevarjunabhya" (with implied reference to Krishna Vasudeva). Other scholars question this interpretation.
The Bhakti Movement was a rapid growth of bhakti beginning in Southern India with the Saiva Nayanars (4th-10th century CE) and the Vaisnava Alvars (6th-9th century CE) who spread bhakti poetry and devotion throughout India by the 12th-18th century CE.
Like the Alvars the Saiva Nayanar poets softened the distinctions of caste and gender. The Tirumurai, a compilation of hymns by sixty-three Nayanar poets, is still of great importance in South India. Hymns by three of the most prominent poets, Appar (7th century CE), Campantar (7th century) and Cuntarar (9th century), were compiled into the Tevaram, the first volumes of the Tirumurai. The poets' itinerant lifestyle helped create temple and pilgrimage sites and spread devotion to Shiva. Early Tamil-Siva bhakti poets quoted the Black Yajurveda specifically.
By the 12th to 18th centuries, the bhakti movement had spread to all regions and languages of India. Bhakti poetry and attitudes began to color many aspects of Hindu culture, religious and secular, and became an integral part of Indian society. It extended its influence to Sufism, Sikhism,
Bhakti Yoga
The
Bhagavad Gita introduces bhakti yoga in combination with
karma yoga and
jnana yoga, while the
Bhagavata Purana expands on bhakti yoga, offering nine specific activities for the
bhakti yogi. Bhakti in the Bhagavad Gita offered an alternative to two dominant practices of religion at the time: the isolation of the sannyasin and the practice of religious ritual. In the twelfth chapter of the Gita Krishna describes
bhakti yoga as a path to the highest spiritual attainments. In the ninth chapter, he says,
Fill thy mind with Me, be My devotee, sacrifice unto Me, bow down to Me; thus having made thy heart steadfast in Me, taking Me as the Supreme Goal, thou shalt come to Me. (B-Gita 9.34)
Shandilya and Narada produced two important Bhakti texts, the Shandilya Bhakti Sutra and Narada Bhakti Sutra. They define devotion, emphasize its importance and superiority, and classify its forms.
Types and classifications
In Valmiki's
Ramayana, Rama describes the path as ninefold (
nava-vidha bhakti):
Such pure devotion is expressed in nine ways, . First is satsang or association with love-intoxicated devotees. The second is to develop a taste for hearing my nectar-like stories. The third is service to the guru (...) Fourth is to sing my kirtan (communal chorus) (...) Japa or repetition of my Holy name and chanting my bhajans are the fifth expression (...) To follow scriptural injunctions always, to practice control of the senses, nobility of character and selfless service, these are expressions of the sixth mode of bhakti. Seeing me manifested everywhere in this world and worshipping my saints more than myself is the seventh mode of bhakti. To find no fault with anyone and to be contented with one's lot is the eighth mode of bhakti. Unreserved surrender with total faith in my strength is the ninth and highest stage. Shabari, anyone who practices one of these nine modes of my bhakti pleases me most and reaches me without fail.
The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine similar facets of bhakti, as explained by Prahlada:
(1) śravaṇa("listening" to the scriptural stories of and his companions), (2) kīrtana ("praising", usually refers to ecstatic group singing), (3) smaraṇa ("remembering" or fixing the mind on Viṣṇu), (4) pāda-sevana (rendering service), (5) arcana (worshiping an image), (6) vandana (paying homage), (7) dāsya (servitude), (8) sākhya (friendship), and (9) ātma-nivedana (self-surrender). (from Bhagata Purana, 7.5.23-24)
Bhavas
Traditional Hinduism speak of five different
bhakti bhavas or "
affective essences".
Bhavas are different attitudes that a devotee takes according to his individual temperament to express his devotion towards God in some form. Several saints are known to have practiced these
bhavas. The nineteenth century mystic,
Ramakrishna is said to have practiced these five
bhavas. The attitude of
Hanuman towards lord
Rama is considered to be of
dasya bhava. The attitude of
Arjuna and the shepherd boys of
Vrindavan towards
Krishna is regarded as
sakhya bhava. The attitude of
Radha towards Krishna is regarded as
madhura bhava. Caitanya-caritamrta mentions that Mahaprabhu came to distribute the four spiritual sentiments of Vraja loka: dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and
sringara.
Sringara is the relationship of the intimate love.
Notable proponents of bhakti
Narada
Nayanars 3rd to 10th century CE
Alvars approx. 6th to 9th century CE
Adi Shankara 788 CE to 820 CE
Ramanuja 1017 CE 1137 CE
PEEPANAND JI 1238 CE to 1317 CE
Dnyaneshwar 1275 CE to 1296 CE
Jayadeva 12th century CE
Nimbarka 13th century CE
Kabīr 1398 CE to 1518 CE
Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya (శ్రీ తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్య) or Annamayya (May 9, 1408-February 23, 1503)
Tulsidas 1497 CE to 1623 CE
Kancherla Gopanna (Telugu: కంచెర్ల గోపన్న) ( 1620 CE - 1680 CE), popularly known as Bhadradri Ramadasu or Bhadrachala Ramadasu(Telugu: భద్రాచల రామదాసు)
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 1486 CE to 1533 CE
Tyāgarāja died 1847 CE
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada 1896 CE to 1977 CE
Vallabha Acharya 1479 CE to 1531 CE
Poonthanam 16th century CE
Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri 1559 CE to 1632 CE
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa 1836 CE to 1886 CE
Shirdi Sai Baba 19th Century CE
See also
Sringara
Archana (Hinduism)
Devotional movements
Love of God
Mantra
Rasa (theology)
South India's 75 Apostles of Bhakti
Notes
Further reading
Swami Chinmayananda, Love Divine – Narada Bhakti Sutra, Chinmaya Publications Trust, Madras, 1970
Swami Tapasyananda, Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, 1990
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam (12 Cantos), The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust,2004
Steven J. Rosen, The Yoga of Kirtan: conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting (New York: FOLK Books, 2008)
External links
Bhakti Poets: A History of Bhakti by Doris Jakobsh
The full text of the Bhagavata Purana (Srimad-Bhagavatam)
English Translation of Narada Bhakti Sutra
Category:Hindu philosophical concepts
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Category:Religious behaviour and experience
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