{"id":52548,"date":"2017-10-28T16:12:15","date_gmt":"2017-10-28T14:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dandavats.tumblr.com\/post\/166878962436"},"modified":"2017-10-28T16:14:41","modified_gmt":"2017-10-28T14:14:41","slug":"bhakti-pure-devotional-loving-service-to-god-the-great","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=52548","title":{"rendered":"Bhakti: pure, devotional, loving service to God.The great…"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Bhakti: pure, devotional, loving service to God.
\nThe great medieval theologian, Rupa Goswami, defined bhakti as pure, devotional, loving service to God that is free from any selfish desire, including impersonal moksha \u2013 the merging of the soul with Brahman \u2013 and desires for personal profit, in this life or the next. Such love for God, he wrote, frees one from all suffering, bestows good fortune, and fills the heart with an inexplicable joy. It is rarely attained, and is so powerfully attractive that it even attracts God Himself.
\nHis nephew, Jiva, continued his work by writing books on the theology and practise of bhakti. In one book he writes of eleven essential practises of Bhakti. I reproduce it here with the addition of a few notes of explanation.
\nEleven Elements of Bhakti
\nFrom Jiva Goswami\u2019s Bhaktisandharbha
\n1. Guruseva \u2013 service to the guru<\/p>\n

\u2013 a guru is one who knows the shastra, practices the same, and teaches it to sishyas (disciples)who also practice it . He appears in an authentic parampara and is fixed in spiritual consciousness. He is friendly, compassionate, and always helping others to understand and take shelter of God.<\/p>\n

2. Sharanagati \u2013 resorting to God as the only refuge<\/p>\n

(a) Accepting things favourable for God\u2019s service (b) Rejecting things unfavourable \u00a9 Confidence in His protection (d) Embracing His guardianship (e) Full self surrender (f) Humility<\/p>\n

3. Shravanam \u2013 listening to the name and qualities of God<\/p>\n

\u2013 through personal japa, kirtan, classes, discussions, reading<\/p>\n

4. Kirtanam \u2013 chanting the name and qualities of God<\/p>\n

\u2013 through chanting japa, kirtan, giving classes, teaching, preaching,<\/p>\n

5. Smaranam \u2013 remembering God<\/p>\n

\u2013 through many different means<\/p>\n

6. Padasevanam \u2013 service to the feet of God<\/p>\n

\u2013 bowing down and performing menial or even uncomfortable acts of devotion<\/p>\n

7. Archanam \u2013 worship<\/p>\n

\u2013 rituals, ceremonies, personal home puja, and temple worship and festivals<\/p>\n

8. Vandanam \u2013 prayer and paying homage<\/p>\n

\u2013 personal prayer and recitation of the prayers and songs of great devotees<\/p>\n

9. Dasya \u2013 feeling of servitude<\/p>\n

\u2013 understanding and developing an inner mood of your natural place as a servant<\/p>\n

10. Sakhya \u2013 a sense of friendship to the Lord<\/p>\n

\u2013 understanding and developing the mood and behaviour of a friend<\/p>\n

11. Atmanivedana \u2013 complete surrender of the self<\/p>\n

\u2013 making a \u2018deposit\u2019 of oneself, as if making a deposit in a trusted bank \/ making a \u2018consignment\u2019 of the self as in delivering a precious package. Still further, understanding that He owned you always, and that the power of giving yourself to Him also came from Him.<\/p>\n

Top Additional Tips for Bhakti in today\u2019s world<\/p>\n

\u2018Early to bed and early to rise\u2019 \u2013 will make your bhakti strong
\nMinimise distractions, especially in the morning hours
\nArrange your life so your mind becomes attracted to Krishna \u2013 somehow
\nRead every day \u2013 and make notes. Then tell it to someone
\nAsk questions of other Vaishnavas \u2013 even if you know the answers
\nMake at least three Vaishnava friends and spend time with them
\nChoose someone to be your guide; be someone\u2019s guide yourself
\nHave regular kirtan and discussion with a group of at least five others
\nAt least once a month, go on sankirtan
\nKeep your mind, body and relationships clean and pure by following moral principles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Bhakti: pure, devotional, loving service to God.
\nThe great medieval theologian, Rupa Goswami, defined bhakti as pure, devotional, loving service to God that is free from any selfish desire, including impersonal moksha – the merging of the soul with Brahman – and desires for personal profit, in this life or the next. Such love for God, he wrote, frees one from all suffering, bestows good fortune, and fills the heart with an inexplicable joy. It is rarely attained, and is so powerfully attractive that it even attracts God Himself.
\nHis nephew, Jiva, continued his work by writing books on the theology and practise of bhakti. In one book he writes of eleven essential practises of Bhakti. I reproduce it here with the addition of a few notes of explanation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10650,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recent-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52548"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52550,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52548\/revisions\/52550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}