Talk:From Bhakti to Bhakti Yog: The Different States of Bhakti
By Vishal Agarwal
There are many other different ways of classifying the stages of Bhakti, expressions of Bhakti, types of Bhaktas, practices of Bhakti, emotions of Bhakti, stages of Bhakti, and so on.[1] This philosophy and practice of Bhakti have been examined very elaborately in the traditions of Rāmānuja Ācārya and Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
According to a Vaiṣṇava, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmin (1513–1598 CE) in the tradition of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Bhakti has two stages: The first stage, namely Aparā Bhakti, has two parts – Vaidhi followed by Rāgānugā. After this stage follows the last stage – Rāgātmikā Bhakti (or Parā Bhakti), which corresponds to Bhakti Yoga of the Bhagavad Gītā.
In this first stage, the Bhakta follows the prescriptions of Dharm (do's and don'ts) according to the scriptures and adheres to one or more of the following modes of Bhakti. Once the mind of the Bhakta has been purified in the Vaidhi stage, he develops a yearning in his heart (bhāva or rāga) for the Bhagavān, as He/She were a parent, sibling, friend, etc. This yearning is not a permanent feeling, but an intermittent one. To further develop this yearning, the Bhakta might take as an exemplar a renowned Bhakta of the past, like Ṛṣi Nārada. This advanced stage of Bhakti is termed as Rāgānugā, which means following or conforming to a rāga (passion or yearning-bhāva).[2] In this stage, the mind of the Bhakta has become cleansed and is naturally attracted towards Bhagavān. For this reason, scriptural prescriptions or injunctions (do this or don't do that) no longer apply to him or are irrelevant. Finally, the Bhakti reaches the stage of Rāgātmikā Bhakti, which corresponds to Bhakti Yoga in the Bhagavad Gītā, or Prapatti or Śaraṇāgati in the Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition of Rāmānuja Ācārya.
Swami Sivananda says about these two major stages:
Bhakti is of two kinds, viz. higher Bhakti or Parā Bhakti, and lower Bhakti or ritualistic Bhakti. Ritualistic worship is Vaidhi or Gauṇī Bhakti. It is formal Bhakti. Vaidhi Bhakti is the lower type of devotion depending on external aids. The mind becomes purer and purer. The aspirant gradually develops a love for God through ritualistic worship. He who does ritualistic worship rings bells, adores a Pratikā (symbol) or Pratimā (image), does Pūjā with flowers and sandal paste, burns incense, waves light before the image, offers Naivedya or food for God, etc.
'Mukhya Bhakti or Parā Bhakti is an advanced type of devotion. It is higher Bhakti. It transcends all conventions. A devotee of this type knows no rule. He does not perform any external worship. He beholds his Lord everywhere in every object. His heart is saturated with love for God... He radiates love, purity, and joy wherever he goes and inspires all who come in contact with him. He beholds the whole world as the Lord. The ideas of good and bad, right and wrong, etc., vanish. He sees the Lord in a rogue, dacoit, cobra, scorpion, ant, dog, tree, log of wood, block of wood, sun, moon, stars, fire, water, earth, etc...[3]
In this scheme, Swami Sivananda has omitted the Rāgānugā Bhakti. Swami Vivekananda describes the two stages of Bhakti in the following words:
We will have to begin as dualists in the religion of love. God is to us a separate Being, and we feel ourselves to be separate beings also. Love then comes between, man begins to approach God, and God also comes nearer and nearer to man. Man takes up all the various relationships of life, such as father, mother, son, friend, master, and lover, and projects them on his ideal of love, on his God. To him, God exists as all these. And the last point of his progress is reached when he feels that he has become merged in the object of his worship.[4]
Different schools of Bhakti within the Sanātana Dharm may classify Bhakti in different ways, and the above is a simplified version.[5] There is no hard and fast boundary between the three stages of Bhakti. For example, Bhaktas in the last stage may choose to continue to follow the practices of Vaidhi Bhakti. But the difference is that whereas a beginner Bhakta follows these practices consciously, an advanced Bhakta follows them naturally because they become a part of his intrinsic nature. For example, he does not have to make a conscious decision and effort to indulge in śravaṇa (listening to the words of the Guru or the sacred texts) but does so automatically and spontaneously.
In short, the steps or stages of Bhakti presumed by different traditions may be broken down into three, of which the first two stages are grouped.
References[edit]
- ↑ Sivananda, Swami. Bhakti Yog. Shivanandanagar, District Tehri-Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India, 1986, pp. 67–94.
- ↑ Bryant, Edwin. Bhakti Yoga. North Point Press, 2017, pp. 75–76.
- ↑ Swami Sivananda. All About Hinduism. The Divine Life Society, Tehri-Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India, 1993, pp. 124–125.
- ↑ Vivekananda, Swami. Quoted by Swami Adiśvarānanda, The Four Yogas. Skylight Paths Publishing, Woodstock, Vermont, 2006, p. 3.
- ↑ Some texts apply the term ‘Bhakti’ only to Bhakti Yoga or Parā Bhakti, relegating Aparā Bhakti completely to the category of prerequisite or preparatory step to Bhakti proper.