The path of bhakti is personal, it is not ritualistically automatic. Lord has sent the rope of bhakti to pull all the conditioned soul suffering in dark well of illusion… hold firmly. The ultimate goal of Bhakti is to get Krishna and we get it by taking shelter of the holy name. Is bhakti a feeling that arises spontaneously in the heart, a feeling that some people get and some people don’t? We may think thus when we see some devotees having intense feelings of devotion and others lacking those feelings. Such thinking mistakes the effects of a thing for the thing itself. Bhakti is essentially a relationship with Krishna and the feelings are a result of that relationship. That’s why serious devotees aspire not for the feelings but for the relationship. They know that once they cultivate a relationship with Krishna, feelings will naturally result – feelings that are real and stable. Without a committed relationship with Krishna, whatever feelings we experience will be unstable and possibly unreal. They will be unstable because one moment we may feel attracted to Krishna and the next moment attracted to worldly things that are blatantly anti-devotional and even immoral. They may even be unreal not in the sense that we fake those feelings but in the sense that they don’t really originate in Krishna. They arise because certain activities in the devotional culture being new or unusual for us stimulate us materially. This analysis doesn’t mean that we suspect all the feelings we experience in any activity connected with Krishna. What it means is that we don’t over-rely on feelings, mistaking their presence to be a sure sign of spiritual advancement and their absence to be a sure sign of spiritual stagnation. The Bhagavad-gita (12.09) indicates that even if we presently lack spontaneous attraction for Krishna, we will develop desire for him if we practice sadhana-bhakti steadily. Sadhana-bhakti centers on fixing the mind on Krishna and rendering service to him – both as commitments. This commitment nourishes our relationship with him and gradually floods our heart with enriching devotional feelings. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Text 09 atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram abhyāsa-yogena tato mām icchāptuṁ dhanañjaya “Lord Krishna Said: My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.” In this verse, two different processes of bhakti-yoga are indicated. The first applies to one who has actually developed an attachment for Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by transcendental love. And the other is for one who has not developed an attachment for the Supreme Person by transcendental love. For this second class there are different prescribed rules and regulations, which one can follow to be ultimately elevated to the stage of attachment to Kṛṣṇa. Bhakti-yoga is the purification of the senses. At the present moment in material existence the senses are always impure, being engaged in sense gratification. But, by the practice of bhakti-yoga these senses can become purified, and in the purified state they come directly in contact with the Supreme Lord. In this material existence, I may be engaged in some service to some master, but I dont really lovingly serve my master. I simply serve to get some money. And the master also is not in love; he takes service from me and pays me. So there is no question of love. But for spiritual life, one must be elevated to the pure stage of love. That stage of love can be achieved by practice of devotional service, performed with the present senses. This love of God is now in a dormant state in everyones heart. And, there, love of God is manifested in different ways, but it is contaminated by the material association. Now the material association has to be purified, and that dormant, natural love for Kṛṣṇa has to be revived. That is the whole process. To practice the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga one should, under the guidance of an expert spiritual master, follow certain principles: one should rise early in the morning, take bath, enter the temple and offer prayers and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then collect flowers to offer to the Deity, cook foodstuffs to offer to the Deity, take prasādam, and so on. There are various rules and regulations which one should follow. And one should constantly hear Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from pure devotees. This practice can help anyone to rise to the level of love of God, and then he is sure of his progress into the spiritual kingdom of God. This practice of bhakti-yoga, under the rules and regulations, with the direction of a spiritual master, will surely bring one to the stage of love of God. When we understand our relationship with God then we all will be happy. It is an essential factor for establishing peace in the world. Joy can only be experienced when we offer our love to Krishna. Please accept my humble obeisances All glories to Srila Gurudeva ... All glories to Srila Prabhupada ... Always think of the Lotus Feet of Lord Krishna and you will find no difficulties in executing the tasks allotted to you by Krishna. As you clap your hands in praise for success, similarly clap your hands in Sankirtan movement of Holy Names. Living beings who are entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death can be freed immediately by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Krishna, which is feared by fear personified. — Srimad Bhagavatam, 01.01.15. Chant these names with love and you will feel the ecstasy: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare ... हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे || हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे|| Hare Krishna ... Jay Jagannath ... ~~ Bhakta Sanjay https://facebook/groups/harekrishnaharerama/
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 05:45:38 +0000
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