In pursuit of Bhakti

Source: Madhurya Kadambini written by Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti

What is Bhakti?

Bhakti, short for Bhakti Yoga means literally Yoga of Devotion (Love). It implies the lover (bhakta), the beloved (Bhagavan) and the loving exchanges (bhakti). In all Vedic scriptures this form of yoga is advised for this particular hectic era which is characterised by impatience, hypocrisy, dissension and self-centredness. The practitioner of Bhakti Yoga, the bhakta, places himself automatically in the middle of the balance of life weighing justice and injustice, good and bad, hate and love. The form of yoga challenges the intelligence and the heart rather than the physical condition, it opens up the heart and cultivates higher norms and values while at the same time pursuing a modest inclusive life. While easy to practice, bhakti delivers sublime tangible results.

The loving exchanges between the lover and the beloved (the bhakta and Bhagavan) are based on two practices: mantra meditation and hearing/reading of the Vedic scriptures like the Bhagavad gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam. These sacred sound vibrations, recitations of mantras, have proven to substantially reduce anxiety and stress that one experiences in daily life. Insecurities, doubts, anxieties, depressive moods and feeling lost are typical signs of not taking the time to absorb, reflect and digest matters properly. External influences and reactions lose connection with our inner being; what we value, what we stand for, where we are heading for and who we want to be. This results in a feeling of losing ourselves.

Even a beginner of Bhakti can experience significant increase in inner peace and satisfaction within a short time. A regular practitioner experiences higher levels of consciousness, personal development and uncovering of one’ s spiritual nature which all culminate in divine love for God and all living beings.

Inner journey

How we navigate in our inner journey is briefly described by Suta goswami in SB1.2.6, 16-20 named divinity and divine service. These verses deal with transformation of the heart when we practice bhakti. These verses depict how bhakti transforms our heart. 

Rupa goswami has elaborated this in Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu specifically in 1.4.15-16. He analyses the transformation mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatam further in 9 stages. Srimad Bhagavatam elaborates nine forms of bhakti which, if cultivated and practiced regularly will no doubt lead us closer to the Lord: (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.23).

The nine forms of devotion are:

1. Shravanam – Hearing the names and glories of the Lord
2. Kirtanam – Chanting His glories
3. Smaranam – Remembering the Lord
4. Pada sevanam – Serving the Lord’s feet
5. Archanam – Worshiping the Lord
6. Vandanam – Offering obeisance unto the Lord
7. Dasyam – Serving the Lord as His servant
8. Sakhyam – Developing friendship with the Lord
9. Atma Nivedanam – Total surrender of oneself to the Lord

How to move forward in bhakti?

Bhakti-rasām?ta-sindhu (1.4.15-16), the science of devotional service mentions the following stages: ādau ?raddhā tata? sādhu-sa?go 'tha bhajana-kriyā tato 'nartha-niv?tti? syāt tato ni??hā rucis tata? athāsaktis tato bhāvas tata? premābhyuda?cati sādhakānām aya? prem?a? prādurbhāve bhavet krama?

"In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, ?rī Krishna.

The stages of bhakti are further elaborated by Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti in the Madhurya Kadambini “The Bank of Nectar-showering Clouds.” Sraddha => sadhu sanga => bhajana kriya => anartha nivritti => nishtha => ruci => asakti =>bhava => prema

Sradddha = initial faith that there is something more in life. I am earning money, I am earning position and power, I am pursuing sense enjoyment, I am existing…this is all ok. But there must be something more in life. Sraddha is a favourable spiritual curiosity. Everyone in the world gets sometimes in their life this curiosity. Maybe by seeing the sudden destructive character of nature, or dissatisfaction after achieving our dreams…that starts on the sraddha level leading us to the sadhu sanga. 

Sadhu sanga = association of devotees or spiritually minded people…"what is this spiritual stuff?" In this stage the sraddha, the spiritual curiosity, is further developed.  These stages are like steps in a ladder. The second step is built on the first step and so on. So it is not that when we go on the second steps the first step is over. We build on the previous steps and deepen the previous steps while being in the current step. The stages are overlapping and rising. In the sadhu sanga stage when we come in contact with other devotees, we get confirmed yes there is a higher side of life, there is a process by which we can experience it. That process is bhajana kriya.

Bhajana kriya is practising bhakti. Devotion is not just a feeling, devotion is also a doing. That doing should be done not out of selfish desires but out of selfless interests; as an offering or honouring of the beloved. We cook, we work, we take care of others and ourselves for the pleasure of the one that is in the center of our love, our devotion. When we start doing this we cover the fourth stage which is anartha nivritti. 

Anartha nivritti = love is a doing but in that doing we are also choosing. Like in a relationship when a man loves a woman. That man chooses to not look at other women. Loving someone is not expressed only by doing but a doing that involves a choosing. That means that we choose for those things that bring us closer to Krishna and we choose to reject other things that bring us further from Krishna. When we do that we develop nishtha.

Nishtha = faith. Sraddha and nishtha are both faith yet sraddha is a favourable curiosity whereas nishtha is realized conviction.  Like when I have a cough for a long time and I have tried many doctors. Then someone says there is a very good doctor and I decide to check it out. After I followed his prescription, I get cured, I understand that this is a good doctor, his prescription works. In that case it is not only a curiosity but a realized conviction. During the nishtha level we have seen that the process of bhakti works, we have realized that our hearts get transformed, we have seen our anarthas (vices) going down, we see our attraction for Krishna increases. In sraddha, faith is like a banana tree which gets uprooted in a light storm. In nishtha faith is like a banyan tree with deep roots and can barely be shaken.  Nishtha is strong faith coming from the practice of anartha nivritti and we get convinced that this practice works leading us to ruci.

Ruci = relishing a sweet taste. If we are sick, we get a diet and a medicine. Usually we don’t like the diet or the medicine. Yet we follow it. This is called vaidhi bhakti or sadhana bhakti: we do it because it makes sense to us. We don’t like it. After I am cured I will enjoy tasty meals, I will eat a lot. With bhakti it is like: what is our diet or medicine, that itself becomes our enjoyment. What we do as a regulation that itself transforms into a strong taste of bhakti. From ruci comes asakti.

Asakti = higher spiritual experience. In ruci the focus is on the process. Like the dancing and singing in the temple. But in asakti, we also like the person to whom we are offering the dancing; we are remembering Krishna. Ruci is taste in the process and asakti is attachment to the object of our worship, Krishna leading us to bhava.

Bhava = spiritual emotion. We all experience from time to time some spiritual emotion but in bhava we experience a strong emotional experience. Whenever we receive Krishna stimuli we experience strong spiritual happiness. Bhava is like the rising sun but prema is like the risen sun. Constant and total attraction to Krishna filled with love for him. 

Bhakti, a science

From sraddha to prema is a journey of our consciousness. Modern science is experimental with chemicals, temperature and observation. Bhakti is also a science in which we are the subject of the experiment yet at the same time, we are the performer of the experiment. We are the experiment that we want to experience. Science is experimental, and bhakti is experiential science. It is a scientific process because it is a systematic, traceable and repeatable process.  

Anartha nivritti: 6 additional stages

From these 9 stages of bhakti, Srila Vishvanath Chakravarthi analyses anartha nivritti in 6 additional stages in the madhurya kadambini.

Madhurya kadambini is like a cloudbank of nectar. Is like when you are in a desert and you feel thirsty, parched and then finally, rain falls. You feel uplifted, saved and rejuvenated. This is how this cloudbank is for the sadhaka (the new bhakta).

It will give six kinds of nectarean relieves. These are the stages:

Utsaha mayi = Zeal and pride of a new convert. This is comparable with the feeling whenever we start something new, for example a weight loss program. We start practising and we constantly look at our weight. And when we lose weight we want everyone to know the progress. And then the focus is not on: that I am changing my eating habits of life style, but the focus is on losing weight and showing everyone that I am losing weight. 

Like that in the first stage, there is enthusiasm to show that I have found the right path now. And because I have found the right path I have changed now and I am proud. I am not focussed on the change, but I am full of pride and zeal and less aware of I am being transformed. With that we focus very much on wanting to convince and convert others. Sometimes when we follow weight loss diet, we temporarily follow very strictly the diet. And at that time, we are very judgmental of other diets or people. 

Like that, in bhakti we have first doubts, but when the doubts are over, we become very judgmental of others. We think: aha, you are eating meat, you are watching tv, etc. you are so fallen. We are so judgmental and full of the pride and zeal because we are in the utsaha mayi. Utsaha means enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is good, but enthusiasm should be for our inner transformation not for outer display. Sometimes we fast on nirjala ekadasi (fasting from drinks and food). We are so proud of this fasting and we go around and looking who is eating what. Then we think: oh, this devotee is eating so much, or this devotee is not fasting from sense gratification and in this way our body is fasting yet our ego is feasting. In utsaha mayi, our focus is on showing what we are doing. Because of that, we start thinking that I am the best. In this stage we think my path is the right path, what I am doing is the right way, we are very judgmental. This happens within the bhakti community too. My guru is the best guru, etc. Bhakti is meant to bring destruction to our false ego but at this stage bhakti is simply an extension of our false ego. My guru is the greatest guru, why? because I am great. So, I am great, therefore my guru must be great. I sit erect and chant my rounds but while I am chanting, I look around and look who is not sitting properly. We forget that at that time we ourselves are not attentively meditating on the mantra. 

We think of everything else like who is sleepy, who is not pronouncing well…we think of everything else, except Krishna. Judgmental. What happens is that we don’t advance much because our focus is not on the Lord and that we alienate others. This is especially in the case with our friends, family and other devotees. 

Ghana tarala = Intensity and laxity in bhakti: I will chant 64 rounds on the beads and so I will see Krishna immediately. Next time I think, oh well, 1 round is good enough I should not be so fanatical. Our enthusiasm was before driven by external considerations. Now that we have realized that these external considerations are not so important, we use some internal goals. If the enthusiasm for the internal goal is slackening, we experience laxity. We shift from one extreme to the other. Sometimes we read very diligently every day but after some time we don’t even open the books. There are phases of intense practices and there are phases of almost no practice. This can happen on day to day basis. Here introspection helps us. 

First stage of bhakti is realizing that we are not this body. But we have to also realize that we are not the mind. What does this mind? The mind is inside us, from the bodily perspective the mind is inside us. But from the perspective of the soul the mind is outside us. The mind becomes external from the soul’s point of view. We understand then that there are desires but that is not me. For example: suppose I am working on the computer and a pop-up shows to click a certain link. Normally we don’t click the link. In the case we are working, and someone comes inside the room and asks us to do something else, we will consider it. We will think: who is this person, is this person trustworthy, what does he want, will that entertain me, is it important…we will think about it. But suppose we are on a certain site, and sites pop up which are not according to our desires, we will not click. In that way, we have to see that everything that is not related to our desires we don’t accept although it pops up in our own territory.  

Our mind also has this default programming to propose some default activities and desires. When we are doing certain things, the mind autocompletes. We have to understand that our feelings that pop up are not necessarily me. It is the minds propositions. We should constantly evaluate. The more we dwell on the feeling which is proposed we will follow. If we don’t dwell on it it will go away. Whatever feeling we have, there is certain amount of emotional energy, as soon as we dwell on it we give it more and more energy giving it more strength. When we don’t have any focus, then the mind makes the unimportant important. When there is laxity, we need to remind ourselves why is bhakti important what am I doing. That's why we should hear or read regularly. Otherwise the mind will not understand why to do daily service and chanting. Temptations may come we don’t have to welcome: we can choose to reject. We invest our thoughts in the feelings we want to have.

Vyudha vikalpa = Array of alternatives. We start looking for easy alternatives in bhakti. We want to get attached to Krishna, we want to chant, but we look for easy ways. The mind highjacks your search. The mind deviates your sincerity. The mind paints what we are doing as very difficult and everything else as easy. What we do requires planning, investment, application. We cannot apply an easy mechanical way. We compare ourselves unfavourable with others. For instance: my wife is not good, my boss is not good. We start feeling self-pity. This should not be confused with humility. This is in contrast with utsaha mayi where we think we are so great. The mind wants to flip form one thing to another to find a way to do the easy way. The outside world even starts looking better. Purification is going on. Suppose we are away from temple or devotees, we can associate online or read books. Certainly, other situations can be better but, in any situation, we can do bhakti. Improving the situation becomes the mind’s strategy to not improve the attitude. 

Quite often Maya, the illusory energy of the Lord, works through our mind. we can do what we can with what we have now. You don’t always have to live in a temple to have the best progress in bhakti. Many great saints did not wait for anything spiritual to start their spiritual movement, it requires commitment. If we wait for inspiration, we become 'waiters'. We can’t pause our bhakti because then Maya will take over. Bhakti is our choice, we have to choose not the guru, not anybody else, we choose not anybody else. The mind tricks us to bring sense gratification by giving up our enthusiasm. 'If I had a better health I will practise bhakti, if I had a better room I would practise bhakti…..etc'.

Vishaya sangara = Fighting with the sense objects. Sangram means fight. We blame others: Because of you this happens, that happens. In BG 3.40 Krishna talks about the location of lust. Indriyani manu buddhir… the senses mind and intelligence this is where lust is situated. Lust is not situated in the sense objects but in our own mind and own intelligence. Purifying the mind and intelligence is necessary. We can’t blame others because we are then shifting the responsibility to others. Triggering a desire is only effective when there is lust. Lust is like the bullet. In married life, the husband or wife is not the enemy or temptation for each other, but they are partners to fight temptations in life.  The scriptures are usually written from a man’s perspective. But temptation is gender neutral. If we start blaming others, we lose our partners and we become weaker. Everything in the world can become a temptation and we need partners. Blaming is actually a strategy of the mind to avoid responsibility. We need to recognize that our consciousness goes to different zones: safe zone, danger zone, relapse zone. In dealing with our consciousness there is always some agitation which is usually tolerable. We normally are in the safe zone. 

Especially when our mind is busy with devotional service, busy with Krishna. We need to identify what is our safe zone. We need to identify in bhakti what is helping us to absorb us easily in Krishna. This is called spiritual stimuli: maybe a particular deity, particular tune of a bhajan or a particular devotee. That triggers a spiritual emotion to absorb us. We have to find our uddipan (= stimuli to bring us in the safe zone). The Danger zone is when we are agitated, our desires become stronger or internal activation of past destabilizing memories. This is the danger zone. We need to have some uddipan ready which helps us to go to the safe zone, like sing a song or look at the picture of the deity. We have to also find out what are our triggers too bring us in the danger zone. We all are attacked by lust, pride and anger so that we can work on it. We develop constructive energy to avoid the trigger, destroy the trigger or heal the previous damage. We try to fill our consciousness with Krishna. When we are in the safe zone, our intelligence is stronger than our emotions. It will be easier to discriminate what is good for us and what will harm us, what to give up. 

Like emptying a bottle from air: it is difficult to make a bottle vacuum and if we succeed it is a very sensitive situation because if the lid just has a small opening, the vacuum is lost. An easier way is to fill the bottle with liquid. Then the air is removed. Similarly, we should not empty our consciousness from desires, instead we fill our consciousness with desires to please Krishna. Automatically the temptations will go away. Like on internet: when we are surfing on the internet, we protect ourselves from the triggers. Usually the impulses come very strongly and for those few moments our intelligence become weak. If at that time the sense objects are at hand, we may indulge. But if the desire is not that strong, we can recover from that distraction. We create some blockage like a netfilter. If we don’t have a blocker then all kinds of temptations overwhelm us. Bhakti is not only about chanting the mantra, chanting the mantra is like a machinegun. We have to know how to use it and when. 

We need to know when we use the potency to purify ourselves. As we keep practising bhakti it becomes easier. We start relishing Krishna more and more and the stillness of sense objects; we realise that there is nothing great about it. We don’t become anymore disheartened. We may fall down but we don’t fall away. Fall down means we don’t follow the standards but fall away means we give up bhakti. Sometimes in our consciousness we are having overwhelming thoughts but it is not important what happens during the peaks; what important is what happens before and after. We should not be guilttripping ourselves after it; we should reflect and learn. Otherwise our consciousness gets attached to the weak moments: why did I do that, why did I do that? That is not relevant. If you have a boss: you go and do the requested work and the boss shouts at you: why did you do that!? Well, you told me to do that. Working for such a person becomes difficult. This is the mind: the mind dictates us to indulge and after that, the mind says why did you do that? This is called mind conscious. We should learn not to become mind conscious. The capacity to give up temptation is not automatically bhakti: bhakti is not about battling with temptations. Failure in battling temptations is not a sign that we are not advancing in bhakti. Bhakti is defined by our attachment to Krishna. 

Niyama akshamah. Akshamah means not capable. Niyama akshamah means not capable to follow rules. For example we think tomorrow I will read this book but I find myself not able to do it. Even if we don’t find ourselves fit to stick to resolutions we should not give up the resolutions. We all have to deal with our own mind. Making different resolutions at different times is important to make gradual improvements. One week reading, one week chanting more attentively. Carrying a brick for 5 minutes is not a problem but carrying it for 5 days, it will be a problem. If we know that we have to carry the brick for 5 days, already the first 5 minutes the brick will become a burden. Sometimes we should be careful with making longtime resolutions. We are then improving gradually. The mind looks for newness. If we can't stick to our resolutions, it doesn’t mean we are useless; it just means that we have to find a way to control the mind and how we can access our determination. Bhakti is very subtle. Sometime in bhakti our strengths becomes our weakness and our weakness becomes our strengths. If I resolve I will never take sweets in my life but if I succeed I may become proud and therefor my ego becomes bigger and I don’t come closer to Krishna. Sometimes our strength becomes our weakness. If we take our shelter in our strengths, we don’t take shelter in Krishna. 

For example: if we are good in kirtan but sometimes the singing becomes a substitute of Krishna becomes we take more delight in the singing instead of Krishna. Sometimes we have anarthas we can't overcome, if we pray to Krishna then we see that the weakness is the key to come closer to Krishna. So our weakness becomes the strength because we depend more on Krishna. It is therefor very helpful to have an accountability partner. Memorising a verse is good and if you find a partner who can help you to keep your resolution. Like if when I say I want to do this: it reveals that there is some sense of pride. At our level, if we have an accountability partner, that person can help us to stick to our resolution. It brings at the same time the two devotees closer to each other.

Taranga rangini. Rangini is delighting. Taranga is the waves. Ocean of devotion and diving deep. We delight in the fringe of bhakti. Krishna sends us various tests to remind us the purpose of our bhakti, to attach us to him. We don’t strive for productivity, popularity and purity. These things will not attach us automatically to Krishna only when we remember Krishna. The outer practise would become the tool for our inner reaching to Krishna. We should not think that: because I sing so beautifully people think of Krishna, but because I think so much of Krishna, people think of Krishna. Like humour in a class: humour should not be the grade for a good class, there is a significant intersection between a humoristic class and serious class. That is the intersection that is important to understand the Krishna factor.

Within what we like there are things that are outside of bhakti. We shouldn’t seek only those things and give up bhakti. Similarly there are things in bhakti that are not in our liking zone. If our service requires to do those things we do it. Just like Prasadam, sanctified food. Prasadam has things that we like and we don’t like. It doesn’t mean that we should only eat those things that we don’t like. No we eat what we like and sometimes somethings we don’t like, that is the best. Don’t only go for the material benefits in bhakti. When we do our sadhana we should not avoid the things we don’t like, we should be focussed in our purpose. Chanting is important and is a core devotional service. Another core devotional service is hearing. So these core devotional services remind us what is in the deep ocean of bhakti and what is in the fringe of the ocean, the waves. If an airplane is flying, 95% of the time the plane is off-track. But still the pilot brings it every time back on track. This is how we move onwards. Just keep going forward. We are not specially fallen that even Krishna can’t purify; that is a very big false ego. We should never think that we are too fallen to practise bhakti. My battles are not my battles alone; many have weathered the same storms and by the process of bhakti they have conquered and reached their goal. This proofs that bhakti is a science: it is a systematic, traceable and repeatable process.  

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