Salvation lies in bhakti

[1]

Swami Tejomayananda [1]

Devotion is of the nature of love. It is not mere physical attraction for a person or thing, nor is it an intellectual appreciation of their qualities. The abode of love is the heart. Thus, it is impossible to understand the nature of love through intellectual analysis or logical reasoning alone. Love is a treasure that we already have.
Every person in this world is seeking joy. That is why people run after money, power, sense pleasures and so on. But these joys are transient. What people are really seeking is permanent bliss and that is only to be found in the Lord. He alone is the source of all bliss. Until we develop total love for Him and discover this nectar of joy, our search will continue.
It is said that if spiritual life is a tree, its flowers are self-control and discrimination — the knowledge of right and wrong. Once these are cultivated, it culminates in the fruit — knowledge of the self. Without the juice, any fruit would be tasteless. Similarly, knowledge without devotion is dry and uninspiring. Thus, the nectar of this knowledge is devotion, or bhakti, to the lotus feet of the Lord. Unless this knowledge culminates in devotion, total love for the Lord, it is not complete. Devotion, thus, is the fulfilment of all spiritual endeavours.
There are two kinds of love in this world, attachment (asakti) and devotion (bhakti). Asakti, attachment to material objects or to people, is finite and limited to the objects of our desire. Excessive attachment leads to one’s downfall, as one may even do things that are illegal or immoral in order to acquire what is desired.
Bhakti, on the other hand, is devotion to a higher cause, for something higher than ourselves. The reason we find it so hard to love others is our sense of alienation. We consider ourselves to be superior and different from others. It is only when we begin to think of others as equals that we rise above our personal limitations. It also makes us see the Lord in all. So bhakti, the highest love, is love for the supreme Lord and is the means to progress on the spiritual path.
But why are we unable to love God? It is because we do not know who or what God is. It is difficult to love something or someone whom we do not know. Some people think of God as a judge, while others think of Him as a servant who is supposed to do their bidding. But God is neither! He is the “self” in all beings. He is that without which nothing can exist, the underlying support for the entire creation.
Now, there are innumerable ways in which love for the Lord can be expressed. Some meditate on the self in order to realise God within them. There are some who worship Him with their work and so on. All ways of worship are good, but the most important ingredient in all is love. Worship without love is mechanical. It is the attitude of sincere love that turns any activity into devotion for the Lord.
The beauty of bhakti is that we have the freedom to worship God in whatever way we wish. We can worship God in whichever form we may choose — Rama, Allah, Jesus or the formless and infinite Reality. The only requirement is that we must absorb our heart in the Lord. He then can assume whatever form we want Him to have.
The unique feature of the path of devotion is that no special qualifications are needed for it. Anyone can develop love. Through total devotion to the Lord, devotee arrives at the cessation of mundane thoughts and the mind is saturated with thoughts of the Lord at all times. Actions performed with such a single-pointed mind are a service to the Lord, so they are always unselfish. This leads to purity of the mind. Also, the devotee feels the Lord’s presence in everyone, including himself/herself. This leads to the concept of unity with the Lord and with all beings.

— Swami Tejomayananda, head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, is an orator, poet, singer, composer and storyteller. To find out more about Chinmaya Mission and Swamiji, visit www.chinmayamission.com [2].
© Central Chinmaya Mission Trust.