Bhakti

Bhakti means love of God or pure devotional service to God, which is unmotivated and
unconditional. The Sanskrit root of the word bhakti is bhaj, which means “loving service.” Bhakti is
the essence of the eternal relationship we souls have with Krishna. In material existence, our Bhakti
is covered by our material consciousness and misdirected away from Krishna and toward the
temporary things of this world. Therefore, we are never fully satisfied. We can awaken our natural
Bhakti by practicing Bhakti. In other words, we can awaken our love for Krishna by performing acts
of love for Him. In the Narada Pancaratra, it states:

“sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam hrsikena hrsikesa- sevanam bhaktir ucyate”

This sloak means that one should be free from all material activities and be cleansed of all material
contamination, he should come back to his pure identity, in which he engages his senses in the
service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is called devotional service or Bhakti.

There is a type of bhakti known as Uttama Bhakti and it is described in the Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu:

“anyabhilasita-sunyam gyana-karmadyanavrtam anukulyena krsnanusilanam bhaktir-uttama”

Unalloyed devotion meant for Sri Krishna and performed out of genuine love and affection to Him,
when neither any selfish motives, material desires, fruitive work, or any other unnecessary work, is
known as uttama-bhakti. Devotional service, however, not only puts an end to all materialistic
mundane activities, but also engages one in meaningful devotional activities. Sri Prahalad Maharaja
recommends 9 main ways to practice Bhakti in the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Sravanam, kirtanam, visnoh, smaranam, pada-sevanam, arcanam, vandanam, dasyam, sakhyam,

atma-nivedanam

The nine processes of devotional service are as follows:

- hearing the name and glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead

- chanting His glories
- remembering the Lord
- serving the Lord's feet
- worshiping the Deity
- offering obeisances unto the Lord
- acting as the Lord's servant
- making friends with the Lord
- surrendering oneself fully to the Lord

Sravanam, or hearing, is the first step in acquiring transcendental knowledge of Bhakti. One should
therefore approach the proper person or in other words a bona fide spiritual master and follow their
orders, as recommended in Bhagavad-gita:

tad viddhi praṇipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadeksyanti te gyanam gyaninas tattva-darsinaḥ

"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and
render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen
the truth."
If one practices Uttama Bhakti after seeking shelter from a spiritual master, there are 5 things which
it can give us:

klesa-ghni subha-da moksa-laghuta-krt su-durlabha sandrananda-visesatma sri-krishnakarsini ca

sa

- Klesaghni – destroys suffering

- Subhada – brings all auspiciousness
- Moksalaghutakrit – derides liberation
- Sandrananda visesatma – condensed bliss
- Sri Krsnakarsani – attracts Krishna

Devotional service is klesa-ghni (destroys suffering) even for beginners. This means that it reduces or
takes away all kinds of suffering. The word subha-da indicates that devotional service bestows all
good fortune, and the word krishna-akarsini indicates that devotional service gradually attracts
Krishna toward the devotee. Consequently, a devotee is not subject to any sinful reaction. In the
Bhagavad-gita, Krishna says:

sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma
suchah

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful
reactions. Do not fear.” Therefore, a fully surrendered, sincere devotee immediately receives relief
from all kinds of sinful reactions.

Kleshaghni — Bhakti-devi completely removes all the klesha or distress / suffering of those who take
shelter of shuddha-bhakti.

Klesha are of three types: papa (sin), papa-bija (sins in their seed form), and avidya (ignorance).

Due to the sins committed by the jiva in innumerable lifetimes or the sins which he may commit in
his present or future lives, he has to suffer various types of distress. These sins can be further divided
into two categories: prarabdha and aprarabdha.:

- Prarabdha sins are which the jiva is suffering the reactions in his present life.
- Aprarabdha is the sins whose reactions will be suffered in their next life.

The sins committed by a person in innumerable lifetimes are added to the series of previous
aprarabdha sins and in his next birth it will come out as prarabdha sins.

Hence, within the law of nature, the person is bound to suffer the reactions of the sins he has
committed in his innumerable lifetimes.
The Padma Purana confirms this:

aprarabdha-phalam papam kutam bijam phalonmukham kramenaiva praliyeta visnu-bhakti-

ratatmanam

There are three stages of fructification for sinful activity. At one stage, there is

- Phalonmukha: the fruit of sin / sinful action & suffering [Papa]

- Kuta: the potential for sin / ignorance [Avidha]
- Bija: the seeds of sinful desires [Papa Bija]

Suffering is involved in all three stages. However, Kṛṣṇa is merciful to His devotee, and
consequently He immediately demolishes all three stages—the sin, the seed of sin and the
ignorance that leads one to sin. As a result, the prarabdha or fructified sins are all destroyed.

So, in the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, a person who has completely ended the
reactions of all sinful activities by being fully engaged in pious activities, being freed from the
duality of this material world, becomes engaged in devotional service to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Krishna, will never be affected by any forms of sin. This is what Uttama
Bhakti can provide! If we want to gain Uttama Bhakti, then it is possible by Krishna
consciousness in the association of pure devotees / pure Vaishnavas, for in the association of
great devotees one can be delivered from delusion. That’s why in the Caitanya Caritamrita, it
says:

“Sadhu-sanga, sadhu-sanga sarva-sastre kay, lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi hay”

This verse means that simply by associating with a pure devotee, one becomes wonderfully
advanced in Krishna consciousness – this is because they are the ones who teaches us to chant
the holy name of the lord, sing his praises, do his arcana etc

As human beings, it is our topmost duty to have devotion towards Lord Krishna and be his
devotee, because eternally, we are a part & parcel of Him, and he is our master. Because we are
stuck in the bounds of Maya (illusion) in this material world, we have forgotten what our
relationship is with God. But with the right guidance and blessings from a bona fide spiritual
teacher, we can come to this understanding of sambandha, prayojana and abhideya
(understanding our relationship with God, making Bhakti as a medium to reach him our goal, and
making practice of Krishna Bhakti). In the Srimad Bhagavatam, it states:

“sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje

ahaituky apratihata yayatma suprasidati”

This means that the supreme dharma for all humanity is to have loving devotional service unto
the transcendental Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to
completely satisfy the self.

But the important thing to note is that you cannot be a devotee without having pure devotion.
You may be able to act like one, for example putting on tilak, wearing many tulasi malas around
your neck, wearing rudraksha, putting on saffron garments, taking a bead bag etc but these are
simply just the DECORATION of a devotee. It may bring some wellbeing, but actual devotion
comes from the inside. The inside needs to be good, or else doing all these things is meaningless.
There is one name of Lord Krishna, and it is Bhaabhukraahi – this means, one who accepts only
the mood of our mind. If we want to have Uttama Bhakti, then we need to show our true prema
for Lord Krishna from the inside of us. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says: Man Mana Bhava
Mad Bhakto – “offer your mind to me and be my devotee.”

Bhakti for the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the only thing, which will be able to free us
from all miseries and take us back to Sri Krishna after our death.