Bhakti - A Collection of Articles on the Path of Divine Love

Everyone is a natural Bhakta-devotee. The difference only lies in the fact as to what we are devoted to. Most people are devoted to earning and accumulating money, in becoming famous and powerful, in pursuits that satisfy their ego and senses and so on. While they are 'devotees' of the 'world', the genuine, real Bhakta is a devotee of the Unchanging Reality, Eternal Beloved called God and wants to pour all his love towards Him and Him alone. Such is the ideal of Bhakti. This book explores the rich Bhakti-traditions and describes various aspects of it.

Everyone is a natural Bhakta-devotee. The difference only lies in the fact as to what we are devoted to. Most people are devoted to earning and accumulating money, in becoming famous and powerful, in pursuits that satisfy their ego and senses and so on. While they are 'devotees' of the 'world', the genuine, real Bhakta is a devotee of the Unchanging Reality, Eternal Beloved called God and wants to pour all his love towards Him and Him alone. The following pages deal with this divine-based love and its various aspects. Divided into three sections, the book is an attempt to document the rich tradition of Bhakti and different forms of its practice and how one can cultivate it in life.

Originally published as the annual number of The Vedanta Kesari, the spiritual and cultural monthly, published from this Math, the handy volume on Bhakti will help the readers to understand the ideal of Bhakti from Hindu as well as other perspectives. The basic approach of the book, of course, is not academic but practical and spiritual. Swami Vivekananda in the ideal of harmony of Yogas that he formulated for mankind, held Bhakti as one of the four Yogas. May Bhagavan, all sacred books of Bhakti and all great Bhaktas bless us to understand and practice Bhakti is our prayer.