Devotion ( Bhakti )

In orthodox indian scriptures Knowledge( Gyana) Action( Karma) and Devotion ( Bhakti) have been conceived as three distinct ways of attaining Godhood. These prima facie correspond to the cognitive, conative and affective faculties in human beings. But in some quarters devotion is treated not as a way, but as very goal of spiritual pursuit.

PASSION AND DEVOTION

Things , animate or inanimate bear attraction for each other. The native affinity between any two things is due to the fact that the whole creation is the manifestation of the supreme-consciousness. In course of mundane transactions human beings feel attracted to certain objects and repelled by some. They tend to love those that generate agreeable feelings ( anukula vedana) and seek to hold unto them. This love for the finite is Passion(kama) or attachment (asakti). Unlike passion , devotion signifies love for the Infinite. Passion and Devotion are mutually antithetical. Bratification of passion yields pleasure(sukham) that are finite, discontinuous and punctuated with pain. Pleasure ensures when mind is extroverted and gets attached to the object sought for. In devotion the object of ideation being infinite, the agreeable feeling obtained therefrom is infinite and uninterrupted. One attain Bliss (ananda) when the propensities of mind are introverted and made to flow in the direction of the infinite or God. Rakti means attachment Anurakti means attachment to an object, having understood its meaning. It is of two types Aparanurakti and Paranurakti. The former denotes attachment for the finite and latter, attachment for the infinite.

PUSTI MARGA AND RAURAVA MARGA

The process by which passion(aparanurakti) is transformed to devotion ( paranurakti) is the path of excellence (pusti marga). That is the Yogic way , the way of the Intuitional practice (sadhana). It is the fundamental wont ( dharma) of human beings to seek infinite pleasure(bliss). This has to be distinguished from the path of hell ( raurava marga). Hell is symbolic of the state degenetrate that hinders and retards the progress to the destined goal.

WHAT IS DEVOTION ?

Devotion is ideation on God , neither eulogy nor worship. The devotees see Lord in everything and treat everything as manifestation of the cosmic. For the devotee, the diversities do not exist. Devotional sentiment, goads one to love everything as the veritable expression of the Absolute. Devotion as a cult , teaches the art of sublimating the love for the finite into love for the infinite. When this becomes spontaneous and a part of ones nature, devotion becomes the very mission (brata) of ones life. This results in constant remembrance of the Lord and an exclusive preoccupation with Him.

The latter part of the verse tells us what devotion, is not. Devotion is not extolling the virtues of God in the form of analogies and hyperboles. The reason is that God has infinite virtues and each virtue is infinite, in its semanti import. All descriptions are made in terms of predicates or categories and have finite connotation. Hence any attempt to describe the Indescribable becomes an exercise in futulity. As far as the Infinite is made amenable to verble description, it is finitised. The institution of worship is not to be encouraged. The practice of worship involves physical offerings like flower foliage and oblations to God. This amounts to offering things to God, who rightfully owns everything, nay who virtually, is everything. It should be always remembered that God, being formless and non-physical , does hardly need propitiation in terms of physical offerings. The disply of devotion in form of ostentatious rituals, are very often , divested of sincerity. This is termed as Vaedhi Bhakti. It is devotion of an inferior kind.

 

CULT OF DEVOTION

Devotional ideation has its unmistakable expression in the behaviour and conduct of the devotee. Love for God manifests in form of love for the creation. Nothing or nobody is an alien. Everything and everybody becomes one's kindred. The devotee gets imbued with surging love for the animate and inanimate. To serve the Universe tantamount to serving the Lord. To love becomes ones nature, to serve becomes ones mission. The exclusive attachment for the Lord results in the detachment ( vaeragya) for the rest. Raga means colour. To be a Vaeragi, is to be devoid of Raga to be decoloured. Every object when ideated upon leaves its characteristic colour or impression on human mind. To be decoloured is to be immune to the attractive spell or sway of the object. In fact the love for everyone and everything amounts to attachment for no one and nothing in particular. This results in real detachment. In fact infinite love and infinite deatchment are one and the same.

SURRENDER ( PRAPATTI)

The cult of devotion is based on the doctrine of Prapatti. prapatti is derived from Pra + Pat + Ktin which means to surrender. Whatever happens is ordained by the Lord. He is the real agent of all actions. Human endeavours are set at naught, when they are at variance with the Cosmic-will but they attain fruition, when they are in consonance with it. One should consider oneself as an instrument fulfilling the design of Providence. The so called attainments become worth nothing, if they are not backed by devotion love for the supreme. A zero by itself has no value but its value is increased ten times, when preceded by a number. An electric bulb gives illumination so long as it is in contact with electricity. The moment the contact is lost, the bulb remains no better than an ordinary piece of glass. Similarly the so called achievements of life , otherwise insignificant assume profound significance, when imbued with the devotional sentiment.

DEVOTION- THE QUINTESSENCE

The ways or Action and Knowledge are inadequate by themselves. Action (karma) without devotion , degenerates into mere movement. Bereft of devotion the individual , while performing action might be led to imbibe the sense of ' doer ship' for oneself and thereby remain bound to the reactions of the action. But when the sense of agency is suspended and attributed to the supreme subject, one remains liberated from karmic bondage. Action without devotion generates bondage, whereas action with devotion proves to be liberatives.  The movement of human mind is systaltic. It moves through periods of speed and pause , at alternative intervals. In the moment of pause , unless supplied with a loftier ideation , it tends to degenerate. Ideation on the goal imparts a sense of direction to human endeavour. Similarly knowledge without devotion amounts to mere information devoid of sense and significance. Knowledge pursued for the sake of knowledge neigher benifits the knower nor the society. Moreover one is likely to have a sense of supriority complex and vanity , thereof. That is why in the Upanishads , knowledge has been categories into Para and Apara. The latter takes us to darkness and the former to the kingdom of light and bliss. Through devotion has been extolled as the most potent way to the destined goal, it is not incompatible with the way of action and the acquisition of knowledge. Rathher devotion backed by right knowledge facilates the march to the goal. Penance without devotion is sheer straining of the physical and psychic body leading one nowhere. Yoga without devotion is a mechanical artifice yielding no tangible dividend. Yoga leads to the suspension of propensities but in the suspended state , the mind must be directed to flow with the devotional rhythm with Parama Purusa as the goal. Mind is inherently dynamic. After complete withdrawl of mind, it has to be provided with a goal and thereby , a direction. The goal is the Supreme. Without it the mind tends to relapse to the world of physicality.  

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