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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Bhakti. (Discuss) Proposed since May 2011.

Bhakti yoga (Devanāgarī: भक्ति योग) is a spiritual path described in Hindu philosophy which is supposed to be for fostering love, utter faith and surrender to God.^[1] It is a means to realize God,^[2] and is the easiest way for the common person because it doesn't involve extensive yogic practices.^[1]

The Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavata Purana and Puranas^[2] are important scriptures which expound the philosophy of Bhakti.^[3] Hindu movements in which bhakti is the main practice are called bhakti movements—the major schools are Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism.^[4]

Philosophy[link]

Bhakti is a Sanskrit term that signifies an attitude of devotion to a personal God that is similar to a number of human-human relationships (difference is that in bhakti relationships is soul-Supersoul, soul-God) such as beloved-lover, friend-friend, parent-child, and master-servant.^[3]

The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine primary forms of bhakti, as explained by Prahlada:^[5]

(1) śravaṇa ("listening" to the scriptural stories of Kṛṣṇa 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(complete surrender of the self). (from Bhagata Purana, 7.5.23-24)

These nine principles of devotional service are described as helping the devotee remain constantly in touch with God. The processes of japa and internal meditation on the aspirant devotees's chosen deity form (ishta deva) are especially popular in most bhakti schools. Bhakti is a yoga path, in that its aim is a form of divine, loving union with the Supreme Lord. The exact form of the Lord, or type of union varies between the different schools, but the essence of each process is very similar.

The Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba states, "Out of a number of practices which lead to the ultimate goal of humanity – God-Realization – Bhakti Yoga is one of the most important. Almost the whole of humanity is concerned with Bhakti Yoga, which, in simple words, means the art of worship. But it must be understood in all its true aspects, and not merely in a narrow and shallow sense, in which the term is commonly used and interpreted. The profound worship based on the high ideals of philosophy and spirituality, prompted by divine love, doubtless constitutes true Bhakti Yoga.^[6]

The Bhagavad Gita[link]

While it has an extensive list of philosophical and religious associations, the Bhagavad Gita is also seen as a cornerstone for Hindu Bhakti theism, especially within Vaishnavism. However, it has been interpreted by many as being a manual not limited just for devotees of Krishna. Whatever be the case, it is adamant, in Krishna's words, that love and innocent pure intention is the most powerful motive force in a devotee's spiritual life. It is a very succinct and comprehensive statement on the mindset of the Bhakta (loving devotee) of Krishna, Svayam bhagavan:

Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me. (B-Gita 9.34)^[7]

One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God. (B-Gita 18.55) ^[8]

Branches[link]

A large statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating

The main schools of bhakti in Hinduism are five vaisnava sampradayas, among them very popular are speculative philosophers (advaita bhakti as taught by Sankaracarya, avatara of Shiva): Shaivas who worship Shiva, and the demigods and goddesses associated with them. On the other hand, the traditional bhakti school as explained in bona-fide scriptures like Bhagavad-Gita etc., does not worship Shiva above Vishnu or on the same level as Vishnu, but considers Vishnu above such demigods as Brahma and Shiva. Those who worship forms of Vishnu, his avataras, and others associated with him are known as Vaishnavas. Of apasampradayas, non-bona-fide schools of 'bhakti' are Shaktas who worship a variety of goddesses. Such schools are very popular because they can protect Vedas and Vedic demigods from the influence of other non-dharmic or non-vedic religions like monotheistic Christianity, Islam, Judaism etc.; thus speaking about Vishnu as God and not as some "demon" etc., like other non-vedic philosophers and religions/dharmas may do. These schools are not always exclusive of each other—a bhakti's devotional practices to one form of demigod does not preclude worship of another form.^[4]

The bhakti movement is eternal, but on Earth, in visible history, it began in South India and moved north, with an emphasis on devotion vs. ritual. It also opposed the caste system, with prominent bhakti poets Ravidas and Kabir both writing against the hierarchy of caste.^[9] Altogether, bhakti resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music, dance and art that has enriched the world and gave India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing unnecessary ritual and artificial social boundaries.

Notable proponents of Bhakti[link]

• Narada Muni
• The Alvars approx. 2nd century to 8th century
• The Nayanars 5th century to 10 century
• Adi Shankara 788 AD to 820 AD
• Ramanujacharya 1017 AD to 1137 AD
• Madhvacharya 1238 AD to 1317 AD
• Jayadeva 12th century
• Nimbarka 13th century
• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 1486 AD to 1533 AD
• Tyāgarāja died 1847 AD
• Bhaktivinoda Thakur 1838 AD to 1914 AD
• Ramana Maharshi 1878 AD to 1950 AD
• Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada 1896 AD to 1977 AD
• Jagadguru Kripalu Maharaj 1922 AD
• Vallabha Acharya 1479 AD to 1531 AD

See also[link]

• Narada Bhakti Sutra

References[link]

External links[link]

• English Translation of Narada Bhakti Sutra

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011)

Stephen Knapp
Stephen Knapp assembling a lightpainting, 2006.
Birth name	Stephen Knapp
Born	(1947-10-15) October 15, 1947 (age 64) Worcester, Massachusetts
Nationality	American
Field	Architectural installation, mixed-media sculpture, photography, and ceramics
Training	Hamilton College
Movement	Lightpainting

Stephen Knapp (born 1947, Worcester, Massachusetts) is an American artist best known for his use of the medium of lightpainting He has gained an international reputation for large-scale works of art held in museums, public, corporate, and private collections, which are executed in media as diverse as light, kiln-formed glass, metal, stone, mosaic, and ceramic.

Knapp has written and lectured on architectural art glass, the collaborative process, and the integration of art and architecture. His work has appeared in many publications including Art and Antiques, Architectural Record, ARTnews, Ceramics Monthly, The Chicago Sun Times, Honoho Geijutsu, Identity, Interior Design, Interiors, The New York Times, Nikkei Architecture, Progressive Architecture, Sculpture (magazine), and 90+10.

Life and work[link]

Stephen Knapp was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1947, graduated from Worcester Academy in 1965, and received his B.A. from Hamilton College in 1969. For nearly a decade after graduating from college, he worked as a fine art photographer, selling his work to corporate and private collectors in the United States and abroad.^[1] During this early stage in his career Knapp worked closely with Polaroid Corporation on their 20x24 camera, creating large scale instant photographs.

Soon enough, though, photography was not enough. Knapp began to look more closely at permanent materials. Various types of ceramic, mosaic, metal, stone, and glass filled his studio as he developed the innovations for which he is known today—combining mediums and processing techniques and working craftsmen, fabricators, and manufacturers from around the world on an increasingly grand scale.

Stephen Knapp (right) at work on a ceramic mural in Shigaraki, Japan, 1985.

Research took Knapp to Japan in 1985 where he created some of the world’s largest glass-glaze ceramic murals. He had come upon a factory in Japan that made huge photo-ceramic murals, a technique used by Robert Rauschenberg in the early 1980s. Though the photo decal technique seemed tailor made for him, he became fascinated with a thick glass glaze—a crackle glaze—that had been developed for architecture. Changing surfaces to reflect the light was to become a major influence on later work.

The following year he used photo-transfer techniques to define the images to be etched and anodized in aluminum, creating one of the world’s largest etched-metal murals—a 14’ x 72’ piece for the Hamilton County Justice Complex in Cincinnati.

A pattern was now forming—Knapp used the research for one project to enhance the next. When it came time to create two large etched stainless-steel murals for McDonnell Douglas’s Douglas Center in California, he developed a new technique of mixing paints to change the look of the surface depending on the angle of light. The kinetic force of these murals lent a palpable energy to the work. A closer look at the murals reveals his interest in creating illusions of space, which he would later explore in his lightpaintings.

During the 1990s, his increasing fascination with light led Knapp to kiln-formed glass—the heating of glass to take on the shape of a form below, resulting over the decade in large installations across the United States. An acknowledged expert in his field, he frequently wrote and lectured on architectural art glass, the collaborative process, and the integration of art and architecture. In 1998 he authored The Art of Glass for Rockport Publishers.

Also during the 1990s he started spending more time on personal work, creating sculpture as well as furniture from kiln formed glass and steel and hanging pieces of dichroic glass and stainless steel.

Done for the Night, 2008, light, glass, stainless steel, 13' x 12' x 10'.

In 2002, after nearly a decade of development, Knapp introduced his lightpaintings.^[2] No longer hanging glass and steel structures, in these new works the glass was attached to walls with a single light fixture illuminating the entire piece. The light that passed through the various pieces of glass was no longer an effect in space, as it was in the sculptural lightpaintings, but was now simultaneously collected and dispersed on the wall.

In a series of solo shows in 2004 and 2005 Knapp experimented with new coatings and laminating techniques that took him beyond dichroics and increased the range of his palette and gave him greater control in painting with light.

In 2005, he received his first museum commission from the Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan. Temporal Meditations, a 9’x 30’ installation, became the first lightpainting in a museum collection.

In 2006, Knapp’s first major exterior lightpainting, Luminous Affirmations, a permanent 60’x 100’ exterior installation, was installed on the north face of Tampa, Florida’s City Hall as part of their "Lights on Tampa” program. Large-scale commissions followed throughout 2006, including his Seven Muses, a 35’x 95’ commission for The Charles W. Eisemann Center, in Richardson, Texas, and First Symphony, for the Sursa Performance Hall at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Installation view at night of First Symphony, 2006, at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

In early 2007, "Stephen Knapp: Lightpaintings" opened at the Alden B. Dow Museum in Midland, Michigan, before traveling to the Butler Institute of American Art, in Youngstown, Ohio, followed in 2008 by the Dennos Museum Center, in Traverse City, Michigan,^[3] and the South Dakota Museum of Art, and in 2009, by the Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City, South Dakota. The exhibit firmly placed lightpaintings at the intersection between painting and sculpture. 2009 saw a commissioned installations and a solo lightpainting exhibit at the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia,

Throughout Knapp's career there have constants—a continuous research into materials, a commitment to the techniques and processes involved in enlarging his designs, and an exploration of the historical, cultural, and technical precedents which are the basis for both his personal and commissioned pieces, and, above all, light.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Stephen Knapp website
• Lightpaintings website
• Exhibits Development Group website

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Anodea Judith (born Judith Ann Mull, December 1, 1952, Elyria, Ohio^[1]) is an American author, therapist, public speaker and expert on the Chakra system, bodymind (body/mind integration), somatic therapy, and Yoga. Judith is best known as the author of Wheels of Life: A User's Guide to the Chakra System.

Her book Waking the Global Heart: Humanity's Rite of Passage from the Love of Power to the Power of Love was the winner of the 2007 Nautilus Book Award Best Book of the year for Social Change and of the 2007 Independent Publisher Award Silver Medal for Mind/ Body Spirit.^[2]

Judith's academic background includes a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from Rosebridge School of Integrative Therapy (a distance learning school), a doctorate in Health and Human Services (focused on mind-body health) from Columbia Pacific University (an unaccredited, though state-certified, nontraditional distance learning school in California), and additional doctoral work in Systems Theory at Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center.^{[citation needed]} Judith's studies in healing have included Bioenergetics, trauma recovery, yoga therapy, hypnotherapy, acupressure massage, Gestalt therapy, standard psychotherapy, clairvoyant reading and Reiki.^{[citation needed]} Her shamanic spiritual training led to ordination in 1985 through the Church of All Worlds. She has maintained a private practice for over twenty years and presents workshops nationally and internationally at holistic retreat centers, yoga studios, Neo-Pagan and New Age events and training institutes.

Bibliography[link]

• Wheels of Life : a User's Guide to the Chakra System. (1987) Llewellyn Worldwide ISBN 0-87542-320-5, ISBN 978-0-87542-320-3
• The Sevenfold Journey : Reclaiming Mind, Body & Spirit Through the Chakras (with Selene Vega). (1993) Crossing Press ISBN 0-89594-574-6, ISBN 978-0-89594-574-7
• Eastern Body, Western Mind : Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self. (1996) Celestial Arts ISBN 0-89087-815-3, ISBN 978-0-89087-815-6
• Contact: The Yoga of Relationship. (with Tara Lynda Guber) (2006) Insight Editions ISBN 1-933784-02-4, ISBN 978-1-933784-02-1
• Waking the Global Heart: Humanity's Rite of Passage from the Love of Power to the Power of Love. (2006) Elite Books ISBN 0-9720028-9-8, ISBN 978-0-9720028-9-9
• The Truth About Chakras.(2002) Llewellyn Publications ISBN 0-87542-362-0
• The Truth About Neo-Paganism. (2002) Llewellyn Publications ISBN 1-56718-567-3
• Chakra Balancing Kit: A Guide to Healing and Awakening Your Energy Body. - Workbook and cards (2004) Sounds True ISBN 1-59179-088-3

Audio[link]

• The Chakra System: A Complete Course in Self-Diagnosis and Healing. - Six-tape audio course (Sounds True, Inc. 2000)
• The Beginner's Guide to the Chakras. (Sounds True; Abridged edition 2002) ISBN 1-56455-920-3, ISBN 978-1-56455-920-3
• The Gaia Conspiracy. (ACE)
• The Energetics of Magic. (ACE 1993)
• Wheels of Life: A Journey Through the Chakras. - With Rick Hamouris (Cassette) (ACE/Llewellyn Collection, 1987) ISBN 1-59157-001-8; also released by same publisher on CD in 1992 with ISBN 1-59157-000-X
• What IS the Conspiracy, Anyway? - Panel discussion with Robert Anton Wilson, Robert Shea, Rev. Ivan Stang & Jeff Rosenbaum (ACE)

Video[link]

• The Illuminated Chakras - A Visionary Voyage Into Your Inner Worlds (DVD) Sacred Centers 2004 ISBN 0-9742425-1-9, UPC 882157-930016

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Bond, Lawrence & Ellen Evert Hopman (1996) People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out. (reissued as Being a Pagan: Druids, Wiccans & Witches Today in 2002 Destiny Books ISBN 0-89281-904-9) Interview.
• Carol, Shawna (2003) The Way of Song: A Guide to Freeing the Voice and Sounding the Spirit. St. Martin's Griffin ISBN 0-312-31037-4, ISBN 978-0-312-31037-0
• Collins, Cynthia Jane & Jane Raeburn (2002) Building a Magickal Relationship: The Five Points of Love. C Trade Paper ISBN 0-8065-2306-9, ISBN 978-0-8065-2306-4
• Croft, Candice A. (2005) Growing Good Hearts: The Rooting Years. Trafford Publishing ISBN 1-4120-4492-8, ISBN 978-1-4120-4492-9
• Drew, A. J. (2002) Wicca for Couples: Making Magick Together. New Page Books ISBN 1-56414-620-0, ISBN 978-1-56414-620-5
• Dunwich, Gerina (2001) The Modern Witch's Complete Sourcebook. Kensington Publishing ISBN 0-8065-2293-3
• Seale, Alan (2001) Intuitive Living: A Sacred Path. Weiser Books; Revised edition ISBN 1-57863-200-5, ISBN 978-1-57863-200-8
• Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon (2004) Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard. New Page Books ISBN 1-56414-711-8, ISBN 978-1-56414-711-0

External links[link]

• interview at smartpeoplepodcast.com
• Anodea Judith's Sacred Centers website
• Waking the Global Heart website