What is Bhakti
Bhakti (भक्ति), which is translated most commonly as devotion, is the innermost divine power of God. It is the essence of divine love. The bliss of love is above all other kinds of divine bliss. God's supreme power of bhakti is the goal. Also, the path to reach that goal is also bhakti. Veda Vyas reviewed the Vedas in great detail and ultimately declared that the essence of all the Vedas is Shri Krishna bhakti.
आलोड्य सर्वशस्त्राणि विचार्य च पुनः पुनः ।
इदमेकं सुनिष्पन्नं ध्येयो नारायणो हरिः।। स्कंद पुराण व लिङ्ग पुराण
Ālōḍya sarvaśastrāṇi vicārya ca punaḥ punaḥ.
Idamēkaṁ suniṣpannaṁ dhyēyō nārāyaṇō hariḥ.. Skanda purāṇa va liṅṅga purāṇa
आलोड्य सर्वशस्त्राणि विचार्य च पुनः पुनः ।
इदमेकं सुनिष्पन्नं ध्येयो नारायणो हरिः।। स्कंद पुराण व लिङ्ग पुराण
Ālōḍya sarvaśastrāṇi vicārya ca punaḥ punaḥ.
Idamēkaṁ suniṣpannaṁ dhyēyō nārāyaṇō hariḥ.. Skanda purāṇa va liṅṅga purāṇa
Creator Brahma also came to the same conclusion: Bhakti is the supreme path. Other paths such as karma (कर्म), jñāna (ज्ञान) or yoga (योग) cannot grant us the realization of God without the addition of bhakti, but bhakti can grant this realization without the addition of any other practice.
Karmas (actions) practiced by themselves only produce consequences and once these consequences have fructified, then both the actions and consequences are exhausted. Karmas can cause us to realize God only if they are combined with selfless bhakti or devotion. Jñāna (knowledge) removes ignorance and enables one to realize the existence of the soul or atma, but not the existence of God. The necessity of bhakti on the path of jñāna was pointed out by the greatest exponent of the path of jñāna, Adi Jagadguru Shankaracharya,
Karmas (actions) practiced by themselves only produce consequences and once these consequences have fructified, then both the actions and consequences are exhausted. Karmas can cause us to realize God only if they are combined with selfless bhakti or devotion. Jñāna (knowledge) removes ignorance and enables one to realize the existence of the soul or atma, but not the existence of God. The necessity of bhakti on the path of jñāna was pointed out by the greatest exponent of the path of jñāna, Adi Jagadguru Shankaracharya,
शुद्धयति हि नान्तरात्मा कृष्णपदाम्भोज भक्तिमृते |
"śuddhayati hi nāntarātmā kṛṣṇapadāmbhoja bhaktimṛte"
"śuddhayati hi nāntarātmā kṛṣṇapadāmbhoja bhaktimṛte"
This means the mind is fully purified not by virtue of one's efforts in practicing jñāna, but through the grace one receives through bhakti or devotion to God. Thus, bhakti alone is the means to know God and it is the final perfected goal of a devotee as well. The ultimate goal of an individual being is to attain divine bhakti, which will grant him selfless divine love, so he may be able to serve God eternally.
Other definitions of bhakti include:
The gist of all these descriptions is: Bhakti is total engrossment in the divine love-bliss of God. You can read a complete description of this philosophy in "Prem Ras Siddhant" (The Philosophy of Divine Love) by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.
- भजनं भक्तिः (bhajanam bhakti) - Bhakti is the continuous loving remembrance of the names, forms, pastimes and attributes of the Lord;
- भागो भक्तिरिति (bhago bhaktiriti) - Bhag means "part". Bhakti is having the firm knowledge that “As a soul, my true identity is that I am a fractional part of God”;
- भंजनम् भक्ति: (bhanjanaṃ bhaktiḥ) - Bhaṃjanaṃ means to burn away. Bhakti purifies the heart of a devotee by burning away the paṃca kośa (पंचकोश), the gross and material sheaths that envelop the soul;
- भज्यते भक्तिरिति (bhajyate bhaktiriti) - Bhakti is the complete engrossment in sweet feelings of love for God;
- भज सेवायाम् (bhaja sevāyām) - As explained by Ved Vyas Ji, the meaning of the Sanskrit verb bhaja from which the word bhakti is formed, is seva (सेवा) or service. Hence the simple definition of bhakti is to serve God wholeheartedly.
The gist of all these descriptions is: Bhakti is total engrossment in the divine love-bliss of God. You can read a complete description of this philosophy in "Prem Ras Siddhant" (The Philosophy of Divine Love) by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.
