Shirdi Sai Baba Stories,Leelas and Teachings.: Inner Voyage To Explore Sai-Bhakti Marg.

Dear all,
Today I am uploading 8th chapter from the book "Inner Voyage To Explore Sai ".Devotees are requested to follow the link given at the end of this post if they miss on any part/chapter of the book .Jai Sai Ram.

Chapter VIII
BHAKTI MARGA

Bhakti must be made a way of daily life. It leads to perfection and stimulates desire-less- ness. The shortest and most suitable path for God-realisation in this Kaliyuga is bhakti marga. Bhakti marga is an attachment to the Divine and it liberates one from the mundane bondage. This yoga continues to nurture one’s devotion and love for God as the devotee gets convinced that whatever God gives, He gives it for the ultimate good of the bhakta. Bhakti envisages a deeper import. Devotion begins with an attitude of gratitude for what all God has given us.
A man of bhakti would always be calm, humble and ever emerged in service attending to the needs of his fellowmen, however small such service may be. He would be carrying out his duties as service rendered to his Guru-Sri Sai Baba.

The man of bhakti will be ever ready to share with others whatever he has and so he always welcomes an ‘Athithi’ with love and kindness. Such bhakti knows no caste, barriers or status and inculcates ‘samatvam’. In bhakti, there is no place for conceit or pride or overlording. Bhakti exemplified by H.H.Narasimha Swamiji and Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji connotes surrender, complete surrender to the Guru.

Bhagawad Gita says: Seek refugee in the attitude of detachment and you amass wealth of spiritual awareness. Without intensive devotion spiritual seeking will be of no use.
Bhakti is induced and fostered by the control of mind and restraint of senses through Vedanta (knowing) dhyana (meditation) Dhruvasmriti (unceasing thoughts of the Lord) and Viveka (power of discrimination). Surrender is the only way for those who are otherwise not so equipped to set foot on the path of Bhakti as a means to salvation.

Bhakti is elevated to the fifth Purusartha (objective in life) above the four accepted purushastras, dharma, artha, kama and moksha (liberation).

The path of Bhakti is thorny and full of pits and ditches and thus difficult to traverse and if you, relying on ‘Sadguru Sai’, avoid pits, thorns and walk straight, it will take you to the destination (God). The path of bhakti yoga is easy to tread and quick in results. Bhakti, (the pinnacle of Shubhra Marga of Sai Baba) is the bedrock of spiritual progress.

THOUGHT – CONTACT

Sri Narasimha Swaimji, emphasizing the need for bhakti of supreme order, has said “Let us develop communion with God, Gurudev and if we constantly develop this through contact, we are with the Lord and the Lord takes over all our actions and guides our destiny. We must develop this Achanchala Bhakti and the fruit of this is our ultimate liberation.

“The end of Bhakti is not achieved by the offer of money to God or by mere learning or by age or by beauty of a person etc. God does not want any of them. God wants only your heart, that is yourself and He will not be satisfied with anything else. God is captured by Prem and Love. One’s profession or conduct, education, wealth – none of these are reasons for God’s help.”
Swami Chidvilasananda of the Gurudev Siddah Peeth, Ganeshpuri, writing on bhakti tradition says: “The purest love of all, the feeling called devotion is, even brilliant than the millions of stars scattered across the sky”. The love of God helps universal fellowship. In bhakti, the mind melts in love for God.

Narada Bhakti Sutras describe bhakti as a transcendental experience in which ego is completely dissolved and absorbed in Divine.

The nature of devotion is indescribable and indefinite. A spirit of renunciation and self-control is the essence of Bhakti. Narada Bhakti Sutra, describing devotion as of supreme love in (directed towards) God, has said that some basic qualifications are necessary for the practice of devotion. According to Sri Ramanuja, the teacher of Visishtadvaita, there are seven basic needs for a devotee.

They are 1. Discrimination in food (viveka)
2. Freedom from desire (vimukha)
3. Practice (abhyas)
4. Habit of doing good to others (kriya)
5. Purity in thought, word and deed, non-violence. Charity and such other virtues(kalyan)
6. Cheerfulness (Anavasada) and
7. Absence of excess hilariousness (Anuddharasa)
It is said in Narada Bhakti Sutra that this devotion is indeed of the nature of supreme love in God. This supreme devotion to the Lord, called Devotion Divine, is one of the natures of immortality. Having attained this stage of devotion one cares for nothing, never grieves, never hates, never delights in anything as he has lost all desires, urge or enthusiasm for sense enjoyment. Thus he gets intoxicated in silence ever enjoying in the Self.

DESIRE DRIES UP

This love devotion leads to renunciation and the element of one’s desire gets dried up. This renunciation also means total giving up of all secular activities. It becomes almost impossible for a devotee to undertake any activity which is detrimental to his love divine. Even if such an act were prescribed by the Vedas or by the secular laws of the nation he will not obey them if it is contradictory to Prema Bhakti.

“In the worship of the Lord with deep love and firm attachment”, Sri Veda Vyasa says: “Deep love with ardent attachment to the worship of the Lord if Love-Divine, Bhakti. The statement ‘in the worship of the Lord’ as employed means to include “all engagements with the world around that encourage the unbroken flow of thoughts towards the Lord”.

Maharishi Garga has said that a great attachment to listening to the glories of the Lord is Bhakti. This is what our Sai insisted on His devotees.

But according to Devarishi Narada “total dedication of all actions at the Altar of Lord, and at all moments of forgetfulness of the Lord, excruciating pangs is Supreme Love Divine-bhakti. But Narada Bhakti Sutra is against Divine love without knowing the true nature or glory of the Lord.
Bhakti is held nobler of all other yogas because it is surely more effective for realisation.

Devotion alone is considered superior because of the Lord’s love for meekness. Bhakti emerges out by itself readily and naturally flooding the entire personality of the devotee with throbbing and irresistible love. It is in everyone of us. It cascades forth by itself and grows feeding upon itself to develop Love Divine. Devarishi Narada has suggested the means to attain a heart of love is to sing masters of Lord Divine, to give up sense objects and even the desire for them and keep on hearing the Lord and glorifying Him in all things of the world.

The sources of devotion are explored and exploited through renunciation of sense objects and giving up attachments. But there should be attachment to the Supreme through a devoted selfless total surrender unto Him. It can be attained by hearing and singing the glories of the Lord even while engaged in worldly activities.

But mainly pure devotion is obtained by the grace of the Self-realized souls, i.e., one’s own Guru. And great souls can be attained only by the grace of God only. Viveka Choodamani says “The aspiration for spiritual enlightenment and the protection of a Godly man (one’s own Guru) are only caused by the blessings of the Lord.

A spiritual seeker should completely avoid evil companionship, though seems to be a ripple in the beginning, can become an ocean in the end.

Having reached the supreme love, the devotee sees (feels, comprehends) That alone, speaks of That alone and thinks (contemplates) upon That alone.

Coming up in Next post :

GURU BHAKTI – SAI MARGA

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