Bhakti Yoga, one of the many Indian yoga paths, is the path of devotion to the Divine. In Bhakti Yoga, the bhakta (devotee) attains union with God through loving devotion. The bhakta sees devotion not as a sentimental outpouring of emotions, but as a means of purifying and concentrating one’s emotions and love towards the Divine.
The Nine Forms of Devotion
The Bhagavata Purana, one of the most important Bhakti scriptures, mentions nine forms of devotion. They are seen as independent forms of devotion by some, while others regard them as stages leading to ever higher forms of devotion. The nine different bhavas or attitudes reflect the differences of temperaments and approaches in the devotees. However, the intense love for God is the common factor in all of them.
The nine forms of bhakti (devotion) are:
Listening (shravana): Listening to devotional songs, recitations and scriptures can arouse feelings of devotion and love in the listeners.
Chanting (kirtana): Praising the Divine in its various aspects by singing simple songs which are either stories, prayers, divine names or mantras. This is a way of joyfully keeping concentrated on the Divine through music.
Remembrance (smarana): Smarana means to constantly think of the Divine by either recalling the glories and leelas (stories) of the Divine or by constantly repeating the Divine names in a process called japa. Smarana is directly linked to the first step of shravana, listening.
Service at the feet (pada sevana): Worshipping the feet can be a part of the ceremonial worship of a living teacher (guru) or it can also be meant as an attitude of surrender to the guru. The latter has traditionally been outwardly expressed by bowing and/or touching the guru’s feet.
Ritualistic worship (arcana): This is the performance of prescribed devotional rites.
Prostration (vandana): This stage can either be taken literally or symbolically. In the latter case, it would describe an attitude of surrender towards the Divine. As the former, it can be seen as a physical exercise meant to lead to the inner attitude of surrender.
Servant attitude (dasya): This is the stage where the devotee does every act out of service to the Divine Mother or Lord.
Friendship (sakhya): Sakhya describes a very intimate, close state of association with God as the result of long, sincere devotional practice.
Self-offering (atma-nivedana): This is a stage of complete surrender, where the devotee worships and loves God without any thought of reward or personal gain.
The ultimate aim of Bhakti Yoga is the mergence of the individual soul in the Divine Absolute. By merging in the ocean of divine love through the practice of devotion, the devotee attains union with the Divine and is liberated from birth and death.
