|
by Jayaram V
It may be surprising to many to know that the concept of bhakti
came to us from Vedic sacrifices and is deeply associated with
the ritual
terminology of the Vedic period. As time passed by the idea
became more refined and sublimated as the highest expression of
love and self-sacrifice to God. The bhakti movement emerged in India in the later
Vedic times with the internalization of Vedic rituals and its
elevation as a yogic practice. Symbolically it is deeply
associated with Vedic rituals and may be even animal and human sacrifices
and the ascetic practice of self-mortification as the means to
escape from the bonds of Nature. Bhakta means food, the
sacrificed; bhakti is the act
of sacrifice; and bhokta is the recipient of the
sacrifice. In a ritual sense, a bhakta is one who offers himself
or who is offered as a sacrifice in a sacrificial ritual. Bhakta (devotee)
also means he who offers sacrificial food (bhakta)
as an offering to God, who is the final recipient and the
Enjoyer (bhokta) of all material things. He is also the
devourer. Bhakti (devotion)
is thus a sacrificial offering to God. God's
mercy or grace (prasadam) is the leftover or the
outcome of this sacrifice or offering. It is customary to
redistribute the remains of the sacrifice or the food that
is left over from a sacrifice among the worshippers. It is known
as prasadam or God's mercy, food that is touched and
purified by the effulgence of God. Whoever eats it is purified
of sins. Thus devotion is a sacrificial act of offering in which
you earn the grace of God by offering either yourself or what
you have as the sacrificial material or food.
In a general sense, bhakti means having
devotion, attachment or loyalty to God. Every Hindu who
participates in a ritual worship receives prasadam and knows
that it signals the end of the ritual. However, few people know
what it means and what it signifies. The ideal represented in a
ritual worship is one should live by sacrifices, making
offerings to God, who is the source of all, rather than
accumulating things for oneself. What you accumulate becomes
your burden. In end, you have to account for it because you have
taken what does not actually belong to you. You cannot wash it
away with a few temple rituals or dropping a part of your wealth
in the temple coffers (hundis). You must take the sacrifice or
the ritual everywhere. You must make your whole life a ritual
offering, a continuous worship. In truth, we do not accumulate
wealth, name or fame through our selfish and egoistic actions.
We accumulate sin. When you take what does not belong to you, it
is called stealing (aparigraha). You should therefore return
what does not belong to you to the One to whom it actually
belongs. An offering is therefore an important act of liberation
and a right solution to the problem of karma. Every offering
that you make to God is returned to you in the form of God's
mercy. As the Bhagavadgita declares, when you eat food for
yourself without offering it to God you eat sin. It means it
binds you through your selfish actions (karma); but when you
offer it to God and eat it as His mercy, no sin will incur to
you. A devotee worships God with single-minded devotion as if
nothing else matters. Out of unconditional love, he offers Him
reverence, homage and service. His offerings lead to his
liberation, as he remains untouched by his actions.
Bhakti is a sattvic feeling whose location is in the heart
region, the
seat of the Self. True devotion of the purest kind, which leads
to liberation, arises in those who have discerning wisdom
(buddhi vikasam), and disinterest (virakti) in material things,
and who are free from attachments arising from the impurities of
rajas and tamas. The gross body does not experience devotion as
much as the subtle ones. It arises in those whose minds and
bodies are filled with the radiance of sattva. Therefore, the
practice of devotion is considered an advance practice of yoga
not possible for everyone. Bhakti leads to freedom (vimukti) or
liberation (mukti). If you are attached to Nature and have
passion for material things, you cannot attain liberation (mukti).
How such devotion arises in people? According to the
Bhagavadgita, true devotion arises after one achieves perfection
in the yoga of action (karmayoga) and knowledge (jnanayoga). A
devotee exemplifies divine qualities. He surrenders to God and
remains ever absorbed in His thoughts and contemplation. His
devotion is free from the impurities of egoism, vanity, desires
and expectations. It is characterized by an attitude of
reverence rather than craving. It is devoid of attachment and
demonic passions. It is free from the impurities of egoism and
delusion. It liberates rather than binds. It is not sustained by
fulfillment but by sacrifice. You should not worship God with
selfish attitude. Deluded people may worship Him for material
gains; but it does not qualify as true devotion. Sacrifice is
the basis of true worship. Devotion is an act of offering, not
receiving. A true devotee makes an offering to God without
expectations. When you worship God, you give Him whatever you
have. You surrender to Him unconditionally and make your life an
offering; and you do it selflessly out of profound love,
reverence and gratitude. You do not eat the fruit of your labor.
You offer it to God and live freely... (In complete)
Source: From the Essays on the Bhagavadgita by
Jayaram V
Suggested Further Reading
|
