Bhakthi Yoga : The Path of Love

In It is believed that the Ishtam is expressed through different incarnations. Hence, the need for a guru to determine the Ishtam of the devotee. The guru discovers the Ishtam for the disciple and give himthe mantram, or name, by which he is to address his Ishtam. With love and faith the disciple repeats the name of his Isthtam, the name of God. Gradually, by the repetition of the mantram, many things are revealed to the disciple. The highest realization is brought nearer and nearer to him. Suppose that a casket of jewels has been sunk in the Atlantic Ocean. And that is not a bathtub! You want it, but you do not know just where it is. When your yearning for it reaches a certain state, the guru comes. He is an expert. You are standing on the shore of the ocean and he dives in, finds the casket, and attaches a chain to it. When he comes up out of the ocean he gives you the end of the chain and says, “Pull! Then you will get hold of the casket of jewels.” In considering the Ishtam of the disciple, the guru takes into account the disciple’s past. He analyzes the tendencies in the disciple. He may have talks with him, may make a few “experiments,” and may also meditate in order to discover the correct Ishtam for the individual.

One-pointed devotion to the Ishtam is absolutely necessary for a bhakta. This is called ishta-Nishtha. We shall discuss this a little later. Philosophy, learning, the power of reasoning, logic and so on, are like the tusks of an elephant – both for show and for protection. But Ishta – Nishtha is like the elephant’s set of teeth which he uses to eat his food to sustain and nourish himself. Polish your “tusks” of philosophy and learning and be proud of them, but realize that the aim of life is to nourish and sustain your true Self. In yoga the aspirant is called an adhikari, a fit recipient,a container. The adhikari of bhakti yoga has been described in the Bhagavad-Gita in Chapter12, verses 13-20. the main characteristics of a bhakta are purity, loyalllty, trust, and spontaneous devotion. There should be no “ifs” about his devotion; it must be whole-hearted. There are three types of adhikari: fast, medium, and slow. The “fast type” can understand the intentions of the scriptural injunctions, as well as the teachings of the guru, even without being told. He can grasp instructions as soon as they are presented to him. The “medium type” is one who understands and assimilates the instructions as soon as they are presented to him. The “medium type” is one who does not understand, though he is told over and over again. He fails to assimilate the teaching for a long time. All three of these types are sincere. They are all struggling to advance, but some have to struggle more than others.

Men are not born of equal caliber. They should, of course, have equal opportunity; but they are not “born equal.” Each has behind him a storehouse of karma that directs his present life. It shows up as tendencies, talent or lack of talent, capacity for understanding, and so forth. Dry firewood catches fire quickly. Like wise, some adhikaris can easily understand the teachings and incorporate the disciplines into their lives more readily than others. But you cannot set fire to a banana plant. It only smoulders and raises a screen of smoke. Sri Ramakrishna once said of someone: “What can I do with him? He is like the trunk of a banana plant. I cannot set it on fire even if I try; it will only smoke and smoulder. His eyes will be sore and so will be mine!” Human beings are characterized by tamas, rajas, and sativa, one or more being prominent in the character. Each must follow the path according to his own nature. In spiritual life it is not necessary or advisable to try to keep up with someone else. Don’t waste your time trying to figure out what someone else is doing. It is not necessary to keep pace with anyone else.

In dealing with the emotions, as we are doing in bhakti yoga, we find that some people are overwhelmed by a sudden and strong devotional feeling, but then are quick to lose it. They are like flowers that bloom only for a day, and then fade. Others are like the giant redwood which grows slowly and steadily, but never stops. There is really no way to expedite bhakti except to let it grow, to allow it to grow by removing the obstacles to its expanding nature. After an adhikari has formed an unshakable comprehension of his Ishtam, he sinks, like an oyster, into the ocean of sadhana, or spiritual practices and slowly and patiently develops the pearl of his bhava. Sadhana means “Practices or disciplines” ; bhava literally means, “state of being.” In the literature of bhakti it means the attitude of an aspirant towards his Ishtam, in the form of a consistent relationship. If you were given the power to make a form which was absolutely perfect, expressing your highest Ideal in that shape ( as you would mould a figure in wax) the emotion with which you would adore it would be bhava. Bhava should be strictly personal and confidential. Do not interfere with others by trying to impose your idesas and ideals upon them. in some instances, bhava develops from one stage into another, like a bud blossoming into a beautiful flower. However, a good deal of practice and much discipline are necessary. Don’t simply be a “time-server.”  Read Previous   Read Next