The best definition given of Bhakti-Yoga is perhaps embodied in the verse: "May that love undying which the non-discriminating have for the fleeting objects of the senses never leave this heart of mine — of me who seek after Thee!" We see what a strong love men, who do not know any better, have for sense-objects, for money, dress, their wives, children, friends, and possessions. What a tremendous clinging they have to all these things! So in the above prayer the sage says, "I will have that attachment, that tremendous clinging, only to Thee." This love, when given to God, is called Bhakti. Bhakti is not destructive; it teaches us that no one of the faculties we have has been given in vain, that through them is the natural way to come to liberation. Bhakti does not kill out our tendencies, it does not go against nature, but only gives it a higher and more powerful direction. How naturally we love objects of the senses! We cannot but do so, because they are so real to us. We do not ordinarily see anything real about higher things, but when a man has seen something real beyond the senses, beyond the universe of senses, the idea is that he can have a strong attachment, only it should be transferred to the object beyond the senses, which is God. And when the same kind of love that has before been given to sense-objects is given to God, it is called Bhakti. According to the sage Râmânuja, the following are the preparations for getting that intense love.
Full Novel
Addresses on Bhakti-Yoga - The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4
Addresses On Bhakti-Yoga - The Complete Works Of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS The Preparation The First Teacher of Spirituality The Need of Symbols The Chief Symbols The Ishta ...Read More
Lectures and Discourses - The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4
Lectures And Discourses - The Complete Works Of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS The Ramayana The Mahabharata Thoughts the Gita The Story of Jada Bharata The Story of Prahlada The Great Teachers of the World On Lord Buddha Christ, the Messenger My Master Indian Religious Thought The Basis for Psychic or Spiritual Research On Art in India Is India a Benighted Country The Claims of Religion Concentration Meditation The Practice of Religion ...Read More
Writings Prose - The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4
Writings Prose - The Complete Works Of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Is the Soul Immortal Dr. Paul Deussen li On Professor Max Müller Sketch of the Life of Pavhari Baba Aryans and Tamilians The Social Conference Address India s Message to the World Stray Remarks on Theosophy Reply to the Address of the Maharaja of Khetri Reply to the Madras address A Message of Sympathy to a Friend What we Believe in Our Duty to the Masses Reply to the Calcutta Address To my Brave Boys A Plan of Work for India Fundamentals of Religion ...Read More
Writings Poems - The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4
Writings Poems - The Complete Works Of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Kali the Mother Angels Unawares the Awakened India Requiscat in Pace Hold on Yet a While, Brave Heart Nirvanashatkam, or Six Stanzas on Nirvana The Song of The Sannyasin Peace ...Read More
Translations Poems - The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4
Translations Poems - The Complete Works Of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS The Problem of Modern and its Solution Ramakrishna, his Life and Sayings The Paris Congress of the History of Religions Knowledge: Its Source and Acquirement Modern India The Education that India needs Our Present Social Problems ...Read More
Translations Prose - The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4
Translations Prose - The Complete Works Of Swami Vivekanand - Vol - 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS To a Friend The Hymn Creation The Hymn of Samadhi A Hymn to the Divine Mother A Hymn to Shiva A Hymn to the Divinity of Shri Ramakrishna And let Shyama Dance there A Song I Sing to Thee ...Read More