Bhagavad Gita | The Essence of Vedanta 66 - Bhakti - Supreme Devotion to God | Swami Tattwamayananda
Jan 8, 2021
01:05:30
-6th chapter: verses 46, 47; 7th chapter: verse 1
-The lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda January 8, 2021.
-6th chapter, 46th verse: “This Yogi is superior to the Tapasvi (one who practices extreme asceticism), superior to the Jnani (one who is a mere scholar), and superior to the Karmi (one who follows rituals).”
-Scriptures, asceticism and rituals have their place in spiritual evolution. However, a seeker should not stop there. He should go beyond. After traveling some distance, he should have genuine inquisitiveness about the higher truth – that’s when his real spiritual journey starts.
-6th chapter, 47th verse: “Of all the Yogis, the one whose self and mind is always merged in God with shraddha, devotion, love and sweetness – he is the greatest.”
-The attitude of bhakti (devotion) makes the spiritual journey a sweet and enjoyable experience, even in the midst of difficulties that the seeker may face. Many great mystics had to face difficulties – they were able to withstand them with the love and sweetness of their devotion.
-Mumukshu is one who aspires to enter the path of Yoga. He starts his journey with Karma Yoga, surrendering the fruits of actions to God. However, such surrender is not easy and can involve effort and strain. Combining karma-yoga with devotion, the mumukshu can turn it into a sweet, enjoyable experience.
-Both Narada Bhakti Sutra and Shandilya Bhakti Sutra define Bhakti as the “nature of supreme devotion to God”.
-Sadhana bhakti is the means and sadhya bhakti is the goal.
-Sadhana bhakti is of two types: (1) Vaidhi bhakti, where the devotee is still evolving and performs daily rituals such as prayers and reading of scriptures. (2) Gauna bhakti, which expresses itself through the three gunas, as sattvic bhakti (serene, contemplative), rajasic bhakti (externally expressive) and tamasic bhakti (crude expression of bhakti).
-Sadhya bhakti is of two types: (1) Prema bhakti, where the devotee doesn’t feel any strain. Devotion for him is a sweet, enjoyable experience – he transcends time, effort and strain. (2) Para bhakti, where the devotee feels total identification with God.
-If prema bhakti can be brought to everyday activities, where we can do our work as an offering to God, then that work becomes a means for us to enjoy inner serenity, and to achieve freedom from strain.
-In the 47th verse, Lord Krishna says that the highest devotee is one who is devoted to God in the most exalted sense of the term - who has reached sadhya bhakti, prema bhakti and para bhakti – where life itself becomes an occasion for celebration, every moment becomes enjoyable, and every thought, word, and deed becomes spiritualized.
-7th chapter, 1st verse: “With the mind completely intent on Me, taking refuge in Me, learn from Me and know Me in full, without any doubt”
-“Me” in this verse refers to Brahman in Advaitic tradition - not just one deity, but God as understood and conceived by different traditions. Gita says that irrespective of what path one follows, it leads to the same destination, that is prescribed in Gita itself. Rig Veda says: “Reality is one; sages call it by different names.”
-Gita’s eighteen chapters are divided into three sections. In the first section, Jnanam means knowledge of spiritual practice. In the second section, Jnanam means the knowledge of Bhagavan. In the third section, Jnanam means Atman.
-A devotee should see the world as a manifestation of God’s magnificence. With this attitude, he will evolve and ultimately reach a point, where he understands that the world is relative – he will evolve from duality to non-duality.
-In modern times, it is best to practice karma-yoga, but with a spiritual ideal in mind. It is difficult to practice any of the three yogas – karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga – in isolation. They have to be combined. A karma yogi cannot escape being a devotee of a higher ideal.
-The lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda January 8, 2021.
-6th chapter, 46th verse: “This Yogi is superior to the Tapasvi (one who practices extreme asceticism), superior to the Jnani (one who is a mere scholar), and superior to the Karmi (one who follows rituals).”
-Scriptures, asceticism and rituals have their place in spiritual evolution. However, a seeker should not stop there. He should go beyond. After traveling some distance, he should have genuine inquisitiveness about the higher truth – that’s when his real spiritual journey starts.
-6th chapter, 47th verse: “Of all the Yogis, the one whose self and mind is always merged in God with shraddha, devotion, love and sweetness – he is the greatest.”
-The attitude of bhakti (devotion) makes the spiritual journey a sweet and enjoyable experience, even in the midst of difficulties that the seeker may face. Many great mystics had to face difficulties – they were able to withstand them with the love and sweetness of their devotion.
-Mumukshu is one who aspires to enter the path of Yoga. He starts his journey with Karma Yoga, surrendering the fruits of actions to God. However, such surrender is not easy and can involve effort and strain. Combining karma-yoga with devotion, the mumukshu can turn it into a sweet, enjoyable experience.
-Both Narada Bhakti Sutra and Shandilya Bhakti Sutra define Bhakti as the “nature of supreme devotion to God”.
-Sadhana bhakti is the means and sadhya bhakti is the goal.
-Sadhana bhakti is of two types: (1) Vaidhi bhakti, where the devotee is still evolving and performs daily rituals such as prayers and reading of scriptures. (2) Gauna bhakti, which expresses itself through the three gunas, as sattvic bhakti (serene, contemplative), rajasic bhakti (externally expressive) and tamasic bhakti (crude expression of bhakti).
-Sadhya bhakti is of two types: (1) Prema bhakti, where the devotee doesn’t feel any strain. Devotion for him is a sweet, enjoyable experience – he transcends time, effort and strain. (2) Para bhakti, where the devotee feels total identification with God.
-If prema bhakti can be brought to everyday activities, where we can do our work as an offering to God, then that work becomes a means for us to enjoy inner serenity, and to achieve freedom from strain.
-In the 47th verse, Lord Krishna says that the highest devotee is one who is devoted to God in the most exalted sense of the term - who has reached sadhya bhakti, prema bhakti and para bhakti – where life itself becomes an occasion for celebration, every moment becomes enjoyable, and every thought, word, and deed becomes spiritualized.
-7th chapter, 1st verse: “With the mind completely intent on Me, taking refuge in Me, learn from Me and know Me in full, without any doubt”
-“Me” in this verse refers to Brahman in Advaitic tradition - not just one deity, but God as understood and conceived by different traditions. Gita says that irrespective of what path one follows, it leads to the same destination, that is prescribed in Gita itself. Rig Veda says: “Reality is one; sages call it by different names.”
-Gita’s eighteen chapters are divided into three sections. In the first section, Jnanam means knowledge of spiritual practice. In the second section, Jnanam means the knowledge of Bhagavan. In the third section, Jnanam means Atman.
-A devotee should see the world as a manifestation of God’s magnificence. With this attitude, he will evolve and ultimately reach a point, where he understands that the world is relative – he will evolve from duality to non-duality.
-In modern times, it is best to practice karma-yoga, but with a spiritual ideal in mind. It is difficult to practice any of the three yogas – karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga – in isolation. They have to be combined. A karma yogi cannot escape being a devotee of a higher ideal.