Practising Krishna Bhakti

 What is bhakti? Devotion

 Refined state of spiritual wisdom, bhaktisca jnana vishesha:
 Continuous reflection embellished with love – sneha purvam anudhyanam
bhaktirityabhidiyate
 Undisturbed chain of thoughts like a stream of oil - Taila dharavat avichchinna smriti
Santana rupam
 Synonyms with little variation – vedanam, dhyanam, nidhidhtyasanam, upaasanam, bhakti
 A blend of politeness, humbleness, gratitude, love, longing and submission is bhakti
 Bhakti is the means for liberation as per the scriptures.
Bhakti as per Sastras
 Tamevam vidvan amruta iha bhavati – naanya: pantha: ayanaya vidyate – Vedanam or
refined bhakti is the only means for salvation. Not anything else
 This vedanam is not mere knowledge, but a matured state
 Atma va are shrotavya: mantavya: nidhidhyasitavya: drashtavya:, listen reflect meditate
and then see. The first two steps are orders and the last two are by individual choice –
vaidham and raga praptam
 Bhakti burns our prarabdha karma and when they are completely wiped away, results in
mukti
 Karma and jnana are pre requisites for Bhakti
 Learning – sravanam and mananam on Bhagavan, His attributes and past times is a
form of Bhakti. Let us make a humble beginning
Bhakti as told by Sri Krishna in Gita
 Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan maam prapadyate – Janamantara sahasreshu tapo jnana samadhibhi:
naranam kshIna papanam krishne bhakti: prajayate – papams obstruct the practice of Bhakti. Thousands of
years of Karma and jnana yoga would cleanse that obstacle. It is then we can start the practice of bhakti
 Karma yoga is doing ones duty with detachment. Jnana is awareness about the nature of cit acit and
Iswara. 3 tyagams
 The steps involved are – atma jnana,karma yoga, purity in mind, jnana yoga, atma sakshatkara, bhakti
yoga and finally mukti. So karma and jnana yoga result in atama sakshatkara, bhakti yoga results in
Paramatma sakshatkara
 Manmana bhava madbhakta: madyaji mam namaskuru, satatam kirtayanta: mam, bhaktyatu ananyaya
sakya:, jnatum drashtum praveshtum – Bhakti is the only means to know, to see and to reach Me
 Sri Krishna is nostalgic about His Bhakta – Vasudeva: sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabha:
 Learning - Mind speech and body submitted to God (karana traya saarupyam) love Him in the place all
relatives, accept Him as food water and everything (dharaka poshaka bhogya)
Bhakti in Sri Ramayana
 Lakshmana was adamant to follow Rama throughout his life. His goal was to serve
Sita and Rama in all possible ways at all place and at all times – So service was his
way of bhakti

 Unlike Lakshmana, Bharata was separated from Rama for 14 years. He could not serve
Rama physically in the forest. But he obeyed Rama and fulfilled His wish by
protecting the Kingdom. He was intimate to Rama than Lakshmana. Padukasahasram
counts Bharata as the foremost devotee of Sri Rama

 Learning – Service and obedience – (Seshatvam and paratantryam) are effective ways
to practise Bhakti
Bhakti in Mahabharata
 The pancha pandavas were relatives and also beloved friends. They were not ideal devotees. But they
had absolute faith in Sri Krishna

 Arjuna chose Sri Krishna instead of a 10 million strong army – Krishnasraya: Krishna bala: Krishna
nathasca pandava:

 They had the unique privilege of reserving a place for themselves in the mind of Sri Krishna

 Krishna tells Duryodhana – Mama pranahi pandava:

 Learning – Absolute faith on Sri Krishna is a great help to Bhakti. Krishna expects this in the form of
Mahavishwasam. Question out of ignorance but not out of disbelief
Bhakti in Srimad Bhagavatam

 Gopikas and Gopas – They little realised that Krishna was the Almighty. But they had the
longing, love and affection to Sri Krishna
 During Govardhana uddharana – Krishna said that He is one amongst them and not God
– aham vo bandhavo jata:
 All gopis wanted Krishna as their pathi – this apparent contradiction was put to rest by
Sukacharya
 Uddhava visited Brindavan to console the gopis by emphasising Jnana yoga, but to his
surprise he learnt true bhakti from the gopis
 Learning – Love, affection and longing nurture bhakti. We must develop these while
talking and thinking about Sri Krishna
Bhakti in Azhwars Divya Prabandham
 Azhwars were scared of samsara. They were afraid of the heat of Kali. They were very cautious about the
deadly indriyas and sensual pleasure. These fuelled the burning desire of liberation
 Unable to bear the pangs of separation they resorted to sending messengers, assuming the guise of lady
love, imitating, feigned anger and many more. All these actions conveyed they firmness in bhakti. They
believed Krishna Kama to be superior to dharma and moksha
 Their devotional hymns stressed on the deity form (rupa) of Sriman Narayana rather than His very nature
(svarupa). They invited us to serve at Divyadesams where Perumal expects us. This made practising bhakti
easy and practical. Since they were males and female, brahmins and others, and their works were in tamil,
it took bhakti across the barriers of caste, gender and language
 Learning – Divyadesa anubhava and service, Rupa anubhava and suitable modes for practising bhakti in
kali yuga. These are oasis in this hot desert of samsara
Bhakti in Acharya Parampara
 Guided by the Divya Prabandham of Azhwars, the Acharyas dropped bhakti as a means for salvation.
Instead practised Bhakti as an absorbing pastime after unconditional surrender (saranagati) It was no more
a sadhana (sadhana - means – Vedanta and Gita) but a sadhya (sadhya - the goal – Divya Prabandham)

 While the procedure of practising bhakti (vaayinal paadi, manathinaal sindikka thoomalai thoovi
thozhudu) remains the same, the intention and expectation are different. While the goal for sadhana bhakti
is mukti, the goal for saranagati is sadhya bhakti – sarva dharman parityajya…

 To reach the zenith of bhakti (humility) acharyas advised to serve the devotees and not stop with Bhagavan
– madh bhakta bhateshu preetirabhyadhikoo bhavet

 Learning – Bhakti after saranagati in the form of kainkaryam (aradhana, anusandhana and anushthana)
bhagavata and Acharya kainkaryam