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Shri Chaitanya Sridhara Sangha
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
0039 339 1776150
ADDRESS:
Vocabolo Madonna degli Angeli snc - 02046 Magliano Sabina (RI) - ITALY
E-MAIL:
info@scsridharasangha.org
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti means “love for God” or “pure devotional service to God.” The Sanskrit root of the word bhakti is Bhaj, which means “loving service” and has many other meanings, such as: to distribute, to divide, to give, to possess, to practice, to cultivate, to worship, to love.
We are eternal spiritual souls, endowed with our own individuality, of joyful nature, full of knowledge and happiness. The soul is the vital force imprisoned within the material body, surrounded by the miseries of this perishable world.
Its origin and final destination is the spiritual world, where there is no suffering but only complete satisfaction, in the company of the Lord. In fact, there is an eternal loving relationship between God and every individual soul.
Bhakti yoga is the set of practices that awaken this indissoluble relationship. It is a natural process, the simplest and most direct, and is addressed to all human beings precisely because of its ease of practice, which does not require great erudition or particular skills and can be applied at any time of our days, whatever our occupation.
Among the countless forms of God, all complete and Absolute, the most attractive is that of Sri Krishna, which literally means “the most attractive and the most fascinating!”
The sacred scriptures describe Him as the most beautiful! With His enchanting beauty of unparalleled splendor and grace, with His carefree and easygoing ways, as a transcendental rascal, He fascinates and conquers the heart of everyone!
Since Sri Krishna is the personification of love, every individual soul, being an infinitesimal part of Him, has the natural tendency to love. It follows that the easiest way to reach Sri Krishna is to love Him. To love Him with a transcendental, intense, and deep love that must be developed progressively.
Like a child who gradually, but spontaneously, rediscovers within himself the ability to walk and strives to perfect it automatically, first staggering, then walking, and finally running at full speed, never stopping!
That ability is already present in him! It is his nature! Otherwise, it would not be possible to perform it so simply!
Just as parents guide the child in rediscovering this ability, so too the practice of Bhakti Yoga must be carried out under the loving guidance of an authentic Master who constantly lives the loving relationship with God and who perfectly follows the method revealed in the Vedic Scriptures!
To awaken love for Sri Krishna it is necessary to purify the senses and detach from the results of one's actions. The attitude of the practitioner is to offer the fruit of all his actions to the Supreme, with a spirit of affection and deep devotion, without other aims or interests.
To purify the senses means not to try to use them for one's own selfish pleasure but to put them at the service of Sri Krishna, in whose pleasure every soul is included and participates joyfully.
Since the ecstasy that comes from the spontaneous exchange of love with Sri Krishna, without fear and with full confidence, is the most intoxicating experience of all, whoever experiences this love will see nothing but this, will no longer listen to or speak of anything else but this, because he will constantly think only of the Object of this love, Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and will gradually lose all attraction for worldly activities.
The bliss that comes from being conscious of having acted for His will and for His pleasure is indescribable, always new and ever-increasing, because on the spiritual plane there is no loss or decrease! Everything is eternal and limitless!
Whoever reaches the level of pure devotional service has attained the highest perfection of existence and has no more needs or afflictions; he has no attraction for the objects of the senses, is always satisfied, and is equal toward all beings, friends and enemies. His mind is always absorbed in Sri Krishna because he has fully awakened in himself exclusive devotion for Him.
Devotional service is carried out in nine main activities, briefly listed below:
1) sravanam: hearing about the Lord;
2) kirtanam: glorifying the Lord with words, songs, and mantras;
3) smaranam: remembering the Lord;
4) pada-sevanam: serving the lotus feet of the Lord through service to His pure devotees;
5) arcanam: worshiping the Lord according to the handed-down traditions;
6) vandanam: offering prayers to the Lord;
7) dasyam: serving the Lord
8) sakhyam: befriending the Lord;
9) atma-nivedanam: completely surrendering to the Lord.
Among these, hearing (sravanam) is the most important, especially in the initial stage of the spiritual path.
Hearing topics concerning Sri Krishna and the spiritual world from an authentic source, always absorbed in devotional service, will elevate our consciousness to the spiritual level, through the pure vibrations of words just as the note of a piano makes the same note of another piano placed nearby vibrate by resonance!