Bhakti Mārga for Moksha
The goal of spiritual pursuit is Mōksha (liberation).
The Bhagavad Gita offers an easy way of achieving liberation through Bhakti Yoga or Bhakti Mārga. In fact, the word “Bhakti” appears around 94 times in the Bhagavad Gita, highlighting the importance of Bhakti.
Shrimad Bhagavatam narrates the stories of several devotees who followed Bhakti Mārga as described in the Bhagavad Gita. Those stories guide us in the path of Bhakti and experience the mystic love between a devotee and the Lord.
Kinds of Devotees
Lord Krishna explains in Gita that four kinds of devotees approach Him. They are: 1. Ārti: the distressed, 2. Jigñāsu: the seeker of knowledge, 3. Atrthārthi: the seeker of wealth, and 4. Jñāni: the wise. Lord Krishna says, “Of these four, the wise, ever steadfast and devoted to Me is the best; for, I am exceedingly dear to the wise and he is dear to Me (Gita 7:17).” So a devote must be the wise that approaches the Lord.
Qualities of a Devotee
In the Bhakti Yoga chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says, “He who hates no creature, is friendly and compassionate to all, is free from attachment and egoism, balanced in pleasure and pain, and forgiving, ever content, steady in meditation, possessed of firm conviction, self-controlled, with mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me (Gita 12:13-14).”
This sloka gives us a clue as to what qualities a devotee must cultivate to be dearer to Him. Importantly, the absence of ego (ahamta—“I-ness”), freedom from ego-centric attachments (mamata—“mine”), and rising above ‘likes and dislikes’ are the three qualities a devotee must cultivate.
Navavidha Bhakti
In the Shrimad Bhagavatam, Prahlada elucidated nine qualities of bhakti or devotion known as Navavidha Bhakti. These nine are not separate from one another but are stepping stones in the Bhakti Mārga. Each of them has two dimensions, one at the physical level and the other at the mental level. At the physical level, they may appear to be ritualistic, mechanical, and mundane, but at the mental level, they are transformative and endow the devotee with spiritual qualities such as humility, kindness, and equipoise.
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam ।
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam ॥
iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā ।
kriyeta bhagavaty addhā tan manye ‘dhītam uttamam ॥Bhagavatam॥
1. Shravana (Hearing) – Listening to the stories and glories of the Lord. This is a process to know the qualities of the Brahman indirectly. Each form, name, quality, paraphernalia, or pastimes of Lord Vishnu transcends the literal meaning and points to the essential nature of Brahman, that is sat-chit-ananda. Puranas weave very intricate stories to explain Vedic messages in story form. Therefore, besides the word meaning (vāchyārtha) of the stories, one should understand the implied meaning (lakshyārtha) and the ultimate meaning (paramārtha).
Example: The first name in Vishnu Sahasra Nama is Viswam.
Viswam = The whole cosmos of gross forms is His own expression. This is what we know as Viswarupa or cosmic form of the Lord. In both Mandukya Upanishad (Omkaara Evedam Sarvam) and Geeta (OM ltyekaaksharam Brahma), we find statements reflecting the same concept in different ways. These two concepts are attributed to Jñāna.
2. Kirtan (Chanting) – Singing or chanting the holy names and glories of the Lord. The process of repetition of the Lord’s names helps to reflect on the deeper meaning of these names and internalize the qualities of the Brahman indicated by them.
3. Smaraṇa (Remembering) – Remembering the Lord and His pastimes. This is a process to recognize the omnipresent nature of Brahman in the world around.
Example: The second name in Vishnu Sahasra Nama is Vishnuh.
Vishnuh = That which pervades everywhere is Vishnu. This is beautifully narrated as the story of Vamana in Puranas who, with His three feet, measured the entire universe. The same principle is stated in Isavasyopanishat as “Eesaavaasyam Idam Sarvam.”
4. Pādasevanam (Serving the Lord’s Feet) – This is a process to recognize the omniscient nature (chit) of Brahman and accepting Him as the master. The “ego” is the biggest obstacle in spiritual pursuit. A devotee subdues his ego before the Lord first and then gradually gains control over his ego and develops humility.
5. Archana (Worship) – Performing deity worship. This is a process to show reverence to Brahman and offering everything one has to the Lord as an offering. This helps a devotee to give up the notion of “mine” and become benevolent towards others.
6. Vandanam (Praying) – Offering prayers to the Lord.
7. Dāsyam (Servitude) – Acting as the Lord’s servant. Dāsyam indicates a process of total surrender to the Lord with unwavering, unalloyed, and undivided devotion. Up until this state, a devotee sees himself as separate from the Lord and as His servant.
8. Sakhyam (Friendship) – Developing a friendly relationship with the Lord. In his mature state of devotion, a devotee develops a friendly relationship with the Lord, understanding the omnipresent and omnipotent nature of Brahman pervading not only the world around him but also within himself as a friend.
9. Ātmanivēdanam (Complete Surrender) – Surrendering oneself entirely to the Lord with the total knowledge that the Lord is the omniscient. This is a mature state of devotion in which a devotee merges himself with the Lord and enjoys the bliss (ananda).
A devotee offers these services to the Lord (“ishṭa daivam”) as rituals with reverence. Over time, a devotee tames “ego (ahamta)” and the notion of “mine (mamata)”, and in such humble state will show the same reverence towards fellow beings. In other words, the mind of the devotee is filled with Sattva guṇa and is freed from the impurities of Rajo guṇa and Tamo guṇa.
Caution to Devotees
A word of caution to the devotee: a guṇa (quality) inherently has the tendency to bind, whether it is Sattva, Rajas, or Tamas. Lord Krishna says, “Purity, passion, and inertia—these qualities, O mighty-armed Arjuna, born of Nature, bind fast in the body, the embodied, the indestructible! Of these, Sattva, which from its stainlessness is luminous and healthy, binds by attachment to knowledge and to happiness, O sinless one! Gita 14:5-6).”
The influence of Sattva guṇa is very alluring, be vigilant about it. A devotee must not become complacent with the achievements or glory gained through devotion and must not fall prey to them. Instead, must continue Bhakti sadhana.
From Sattva arises knowledge (sattvāt sañjāyate jñānam – Gita 14:17).
All actions, O Arjuna, culminate in knowledge! (sarvaṁ karmākhilaṁ pārtha jñāne parisamāpyate – Gita 4:33)
Sattva guṇa is the most conducive to acquiring Atma Jñāna. With the strength of Sattva guṇa, the devotee must pursue Atma Jñāna, which is imminent in Bhakti Mārga.
How Bhakti and Jñāna Converge
The 9 steps in Bhakti Mārga map onto the process suggested by Brihadāraṇyaka Upanishad for Atma Darsana through Jñāna Mārga.
ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyaḥ mantavyaḥ nididhyāsitavyaḥ
The Atman (Self or Brahman) should be heard (step 1 above), contemplated (steps 2 & 3 above), meditated upon (steps 4 to 8 above), and seen (step 9 above).
In this analysis, we find that Jñāna Mārga and Bhakti Mārga finally lead to knowledge of the Brahman and thus uphold the Upanishad statement “jñānād eva tu kaivalyam – Liberation (Kaivalya) is attained only through knowledge.”
Divya Jīvanam
Cultivating the qualities of a devotee deepens the connection with the Divine by seeing Brahman in every aspect of daily life. Remember that Bhakti centres around belief in others’ experiences based on religious teachings, whereas spirituality involves having your own experience of the divine.
The life stories of many devotees in the past show us the path of devotion and inspire us to live a divine life (Divya Jīvanam). Their lives were filled with devotion (Bhaktimaya) and they enjoyed the nectar of devotion (Bhaktiras).
Notable among such noble souls are Mirabai, Narsi Mehta, Annamācharya, and Kabirdas. They all have sung the glories of the Lord in their musical compositions. If we analyse each one’s songs in chronological order, they reveal a continuous progress in their spiritual growth and elevation in their mental make-up. You can see similar patterns in their lives too. Their earlier songs may praise the Lord’s physical characteristics, glories, qualities, but later songs reveal their own experiences and their total identification with the Lord. This kind of transformation is not externally visible to others, nor do they exhibit their experience to others. They enjoy the bliss within and stay nonchalant.
Saint Narsi Mehta (Narsinh Mehta, also known as Narsinh Bhagat), was a 15th-century poet-saint of Gujarat, India, honoured as the first poet, or Adi Kavi, of the Gujarati language. Narsinh became a devotee of Krishna and dedicated his life to composing poetic works described as bhakti towards Krishna.
“To those men who worship Me alone, thinking of no other, of those ever united, I secure what is not already possessed and preserve what they already possess. (Gita 9:22)”
His story is an example of ananya bhakti (unwavering devotion). In his composition called “Shamaldas no Vivah”, it is described that the wedding party of his son Shamaldas departed with meagre means from the groom’s house but arrived at the bride’s house with pomp and grandeur beyond everyone’s expectations. True to the Lord’s declaration in the above sloka, the Lord not only provided what was required in plenty but also attended the wedding in person!
Saint Annamācharya (1408–1503) composed 32,000 songs (sankīrtana) in Telugu in praise of Lord Krishna, who is worshipped as Lord Venkateswara in Tirupati. His songs praise the Lord’s childhood, His exploits, His romance with Padmavathi, and many more. His simple and lucid songs with their simple tunes are very popular in Telugu speaking community. Many of the phrases from his songs are used as proverbs and many of the songs are sung by mothers while bathing, feeding, sleeping and playing with their children even today.
It is said that his lullaby (Jo Atchutānanda Jo Jo Mukunda) was so dear to the Lord, that He personally asked Annamācharya to sing it for Him at bedtime during temple rituals in Tirupathi. As his Bhakti reached its peak, he sang in ecstasy saying “Brahama mokkate, para Brahma mokkate…” meaning “Brahman is only one, and Para Brahma is only one…”, which demonstrates his total identity with the Lord.
May our lives be guided by the exemplary lives of the noble Bhaktas!
Om tat sat.