The Bhagavad Gita invites you to partake of the power of devotion, bhakti. Modern life magnifies the boundaries that keep you in a state of separateness. Vedanta draws you to experience a vitality greater than your own by identifying with the whole rather than just your little self. It takes you from a deeply entrenched position of antagonism to one of concern, understanding and respect. With Vedanta you move from a feeling of isolation to communication with others. And finally to communion with the Divine. You become God.
What Bhakti is Not
- Bhakti is not praying for things you are unwilling to work for. It is an acknowledgement of nature’s bounty. It is gratitude for all that you have been blessed with.
- Bhakti is not murti puja, idol worship. It is adoration of the murtis created by God Himself.
- Bhakti is not denouncement of anybody who does not concur with your faith. It is acceptance of the diversity of viewpoints that converge to Realisation.
- Bhakti is not assertion of your will against God’s. It is alignment with and submission to God’s will.
- Bhakti is not exclusive allegiance to a particular deity or prophet. It is an inclusive love for all beings.
In an orchestra you see the power of synergy. In the warm-up session each artiste practises his piece separately. The result is cacophony, not symphony. When the show begins the conductor draws sweet melody from the same musicians. What was noise becomes exquisite music. Brought about by performance in unison. Similarly we are all players in the orchestra of life. Align with the Divine conductor and you bring out the melody of life. Without this vision you only create noise.
Magic of Oneness
You admire yourself in different mirrors because you see all images as reflections of yourself. A monkey, denied this knowledge, feels threatened and attacks its own image. Similarly in the mirror of life all beings are reflections of your very own Self. A bhakta sees this and admires himself in all beings. Exults in their achievements. Shares in their sorrow. Not understanding this you feel threatened by others and attack them. The Gita says we are all one. If you see any demarcations it is because of your delusion. The truth is there are no differences.
Isolation – Communication – Communion
When you are body-centric you see maximum differences. You feel inimical towards others. You speak ill of one, attack another, pull down a third. And succeed only in causing harm to yourself. As you identify with the mind you begin to see unison within the family. This gives you joy, strength and courage. A wonderful feeling of oneness with the family members. When you identify with your intellect and have a national ideal you feel harmonious with all Indians. You see a unifying thread that binds people of diverse backgrounds, languages, customs and religions. Finally when you identify with the Spirit you see all creatures as a part of you, not apart from you. You see Divinity.
Love Heralds Success
Love fosters understanding. A mother instinctively knows what her infant child needs even without verbal communication. A doctor who feels for his patients develops the uncanny knack of correctly diagnosing diseases. A marketer with genuine concern for his customer knows exactly what the customer needs. Thus love makes for success.
Team Spirit
Love enables you to zero in on the good and gloss over the bad. When you operate from goodness you contact the good in others. You create a wonderful team of people, all of whom give of their best and make up for each other’s deficiencies.
When there is no love among people the bad qualities come into sharp focus. And the good is ignored. Everyone functions from his lowest, vitiating the atmosphere and ensuring failure. So if you focus on a person’s imperfections it only means you lack the oneness. Change your feelings towards the person and miraculously you find that he is not so bad after all!
Devotion Leads to Realisation
Desire and ego block your vision of Reality. Bind you to the world of finitude and limitation. When you align with the Lord you get purified of both desire and ego. Your attention shifts from thought-of-self to thought-of-God. God takes precedence over the individuality. Desire and ego are no longer fed. They wane away. With constant focus on the Lord you become meditative. Meditation removes the last traces of desire and you merge with God.
Arjuna’s Dilemma
Arjuna is not sure which path to follow – the Path of Devotion or the Path of Knowledge. Whether to worship a form or the formless Reality. The chapter begins with Arjuna’s query to Krsna – which of the two is superior? Krsna answers – both paths lead to Realisation. However form worship is best suited for emotional people like Arjuna, while intellectuals take to formless worship.
Steps to Realisation
Krsna offers a series of graded options to practise. You pick the one that matches your level and slowly graduate to the more difficult practices until you reach the state of Enlightenment.
35 Qualities of a Bhakta
The chapter ends with a brilliant enumeration of the 35 qualities of a devotee. A guide to all spiritual aspirants. The test of spiritual development.
So explore the world of unity among diversity. Realise the power of One that lies within you. And the world is yours.