Bhakti Yoga is the Yoga of Devotion. The term bhakti comes from the root bhaj, which means attachment to God. Bhajan, worship, Bhakti, Anurag, Prem, Priti are synonymous, and all refer to love and devotion to the Divine.

Devotion to God is developed in nine different ways, and intense love is the common factor in all of them. We cannot develop true devotion to God (bhakti) without a moral conduct and when we are attached to wordly matters and our own desires. Eventually, as devotion to God grows, detachment from all worldly objects also grows. Ultimately, attachment to the world and love for God are opposite, so we have to choose between one or the other, so to speak. This renunciation to the world can be achieved through any of the nine forms of Bhakti.

The nine forms of Bhakti are:

1. Sravana: listening to Divine plays and stories
2. Kirtana: singing the names of God
3. Smarana: remembering the name and presence of God
4. Padasevana: serving the feet of God
5. Archana: worshipping God
6. Vandana: praying and prostrating to God
7. Dasya: cultivating renunciation to be a servant of God
8. Sakhya: cultivating love of God as a friend
9. Atmanivedana: completely surrendering oneself to God

1. Sravana is developed by listening to the stories and glories of God, of Divine beings, or of any form or name of God. This is usually done in the presence of a spiritual teacher who can convey his or her own devotion, as well as the real (symbolic) meaning of the stories. We cannot attain Sravana-Bhakti without the company of saints or wise men, as simply reading from a book may lead to questions and doubts, feeding our mind with fuel for debate and our ego with spiritual pride.

2. Kirtana (Kirtan) is singing the names and glories of God. This can be done in the form of individual mantra chants, group chanting or bhajans (personal songs of love and yearning for God).

3. Smarana is developed by remembering the Lord at all times, whether mentally or out loud: listening to stories, talking or teaching about God, meditating on any form of God, and so on. Japa (mantra repetition) is also remembrance of God and comes under this category of Bhakti.

4. Since no mortal can actually serve the feet of the Lord, Padasevana can be developed by serving any image or any representation of God or by serving those in need. Padasevana is service of humanity at large. Service to the world is service to the Lord: We serve God by serving others.

5. Archana is worship of any form of God. It can be done either through an image, a picture, a yantra, a spiritual teacher, or even a mental form. Worship can be done with external materials or internally with emotional intensity. The purpose of worship is to purify the heart and surrender our ego to God.

6. Vandana is prayer and prostration. Prostration is a sign of humility and surrender. This is developed by touching the earth with faith and reverence before a form of God, or internally prostrating to all beings, knowing them to be the forms of the One God. Prayer and prostration erase the ego or Ahamkara (I-sense) completely and Divine grace descends upon the person with Vandana-Bhakti.

7. Dasya Bhakti is developed by serving God and carrying out His wishes. Serving and worshipping the Murtis in temples, cleaning the temples, meditating on God and mentally serving Him like a slave, serving the saints and the sages, serving the devotees of God, serving those in need, who are also forms of God, are all forms of Dasya-Bhakti. Likewise, following the words of the scriptures, acting according to the Vedas, and considering them to be direct words of God, is Dasya Bhakti.

8. Sakhya-Bhava or Bhakti-Marga is to be always with the Lord, to treat Him as our own dear relative or friend, and to love Him as our own self. This is when all our human love is directed towards God instead of towards people and physical love is transformed into spiritual love.

9. Atma-Nivedana is complete self-surrender. It is developed by offering everything to God, including our body, mind and soul. We see ourselves as nothing but a part and parcel of God. There is the certainty that God will take care of us and that God treats us as Himself. Grief and sorrow, pleasure and pain are seen as gifts sent by God and we do not become attached to them. We consider ourselves puppets of God and instruments in His hands. Any sense of individuality is lost. This is the culmination of all aspiration and love.

Bhakti softens the heart, quiets the mind and removes all negative emotions, including jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, selfishness, pride and arrogance. It promotes joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace and knowledge. It dissolves all concerns, worries and anxieties, fears, mental torments and tribulations. Furthermore, the fruit of Bhakti Yoga is Jnana Yoga, or the Yoga of Knowledge. Jnana intensifies Bhakti. Knowledge or wisdom dawns by itself on those who practice true Bhakti Yoga.

As Swami Sivananda gracefully put it, Bhakti is sweet in the beginning, sweet in the middle and sweet in the end. It brings sweet, expanding and profound bliss. True Bhakti is a pleasant, smooth and direct path to God.

The path of Bhakti Yoga is the easiest of all, as it does not go against the nature of human inclinations and does not demand excessive discipline or sacrifice on the part of the devotee. This is probably why in the West the path of Bhakti Yoga has found many followers, mainly through devotional music and chanting (kirtan).


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