What Is Bhakti Yoga?

Bhakti Yoga, primarily originated in Hindu philosophy, is one of the major areas of Yoga. It represents the path of self-transcendent love and an absolute devotion to the divine power. The primary theme of Bhakti Yoga is to feel and sense of God in the form of life within every animate and inanimate beings.

Being the oldest form of Yoga, as considered by many researchers and philosophers, Bhakti Yoga popularized as a revolutionary devotional movement during 800AD to 1100AD. This movement was known as Bhakti Marga or 'path of devotion'.

Bhakti Yoga is sub-divided into nine forms. These are listed below:

• Sravana: It represents the audible form of God's virtues or mighty deeds in the form of stories and poems.

• Kirtana: It represents the song or chanting music composed and performed in order to praise God.

• Smarana: It represents the conscious recognition of God in all times.

• Padasevana: It represents the process of serving God by means of serving needy.

• Archana: It represents the praise of God through the worship of any symbolical form.

• Vandana: It represents prayer to God.

• Dasya: It represents the state in which the devotee considers himself as an absolute slave of God.

Sakha-bhava: It represents the form in which an individual (devotee) considers God as his friend or family member.

• Atma-nivedana: It represents an absolute self-offering, self-sacrificing and self-surrendering process.

None of the forms are superior to others by any means. According to Hindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy, a devotee can take any of the form in order to continue his journey through Bhakti Marga. The Bhakti Yoga is considered to be the easiest mode of uplifting a soul to its higher state as it takes the soul gradually to the realization of the Supreme without frustrating the human instinct as such.