Thursday, January 26, 2012

Welcome to the 2012 Saraswati Puja issue of e-Sanai


by Sri Sandip Dasgupta


Welcome to the 2012 Saraswati Puja edition of e-Sanai. This is a very auspicious occasion for us as Sri Sri Babathakur had chosen to come down to our mundane world on this day, to spread the Absolute message of Oneness amongst all of us. We, the devotees of Sri Sri Babathakur, feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to come in contact with Him, receive His blessings and listen to His teachings. We are also extremely thankful to Him for having given us the opportunity to begin this blog and share our spiritual experiences with each other.

On the day of Saraswati Puja, we pray to Lord Saraswati for knowledge and wisdom. Everyone does this in their own way. Parents do “Haathe Khori” for tiny toddlers. School-going children place their books at the feet of Ma Saraswati. College going students place their textbooks at her feet, and so on. The process of learning and gaining knowledge is a lifetime experience, and hence adults too are seen praying to Ma Saraswati for their intellectual development.

Sri Sri Babathakur has reminded us on multiple occasions that these forms of knowledge sought are “limited” knowledge, based on certain aspects of nature. While terming them essential for material life, he has incessantly urged us to go much beyond this to realize our True Self and live life in “Sama Sar” instead of “Samasar”. He has repeatedly pointed out to us that this is the only panacea for mankind’s sufferings and for Absolute peace in this world. Hence on this auspicious occasion when Sri Sri Babathakur chose to come to this world and spread His Absolute Knowledge, we should all re-dedicate ourselves to the quest for this Absolute Knowledge. Recently, Saccidananda Society published several CDs containing His lectures – namely “Guru Vaad”, “Karma Yog”, “Dhyan Yog” and “Bhakti Yog”, and more such publications are forthcoming. These CDs contain His speeches wherein we can hear His powerful messages being delivered in His typical style. Listening to them again and again allows one to reflect on His words.

The next step for all of us is to contemplate on His words and teachings and apply them to our everyday life. Through the process of contemplation and sharing our spiritual experiences by means of this blog, we can help each other. In my humble opinion, that was His objective in getting us started with e-Sanai. Also let us pray sincerely to our Divine Mother to enable us to make slow, sincere and steady progress towards the Absolute goal that Sri Sri Babathakur has shown us. Let us begin by seeing in our daily lives, that Absolute One in each of us – whether that person is our adversary, our best friend, our managers in the corporate world, the servicemen who serve us, or anybody else. That’s what He meant when He stated – “Accept all, Reject None”.

Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur!

Satsang in New Delhi to Commemorate Sri Sri Babathakur's Second Punyatithi: Part 1





by Smt. Champa Dasgupta


The following is the first of two parts of an article describing the satsang event held on the 18th of November at the Sanatan Dharm Mandir in Greater Kailash - Part 2, New Delhi to commemorate the second anniversary of Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur's departure from His mundane existence. Other commemorative events organized on the same day to mark the occasion included those held at Sri Sri Babathakur’s memorial at Moksh Dham in Nehru Place, New Delhi, and at Sri Pijush Chakraborty’s residence in Kolkata.



The satsang proceedings commenced shortly after 6:30 pm on November the 18th, 2011 at the Sanatan Dharm Mandir, with Mr. P.C. Lahiri facilitating the event. Mr. Jyotirindra Ghosh (Lyttonda) coordinated the audiovisual recording of the event. The stage was adorned with beautiful floral arrangements and held a wonderfully inspiring photograph of Sri Sri Babathakur (featured at the beginning of this article). After welcoming the audience and the speakers invited to address the event (Dr. Dipak Patranabis, Advocate D.K. Rustagi, Film director Karamjeet Singh, and Chief Guest Dr. Kinkar Samananda Maharaj), Bapida (Mr. P.C. Lahiri) proceeded to observe how apt it was for the satsang to be held at the Sanatan Dharma Mandir. For ‘Sanatan’ refers to that which is ‘eternal’ and ‘everlasting’ (one that neither has a beginning nor an end, and will never cease to be), while ‘Dharm’ refers to that which encompasses, holds and sustains all. And the essence of Sri Sri Babathakur’s teachings is undoubtedly, both eternal and all-encompassing.

Bapida next introduced the president of Saccidananda Society, Dr. Dipak Patranabis as someone who has not only forged a distinguished career in academics (being widely recognized as a leading light in the field of instrumentation, and having authored several pioneering textbooks on the subject), but has also made great strides in his spiritual endeavor by dedicating himself completely to service and teachings of Sri Sri Babathakur. Bapida invited Dr. Patranabis to come on stage and share with the audience some of the spiritual insights and experiences he has gained over the years through his association with the Master.

Addressing the gathering, Dr. Patranabis began by expressing a wish likely to be shared by all of Sri Sri Babathakur’s devotees – that of the Master still being physically present amongst us. The audience was reminded though that Sri Sri Babathakur Himself on numerous occasions had acknowledged the inevitability of the grand fate awaiting all living beings – that of the perishing of the physical body.

Dr. Patranabis stated that Sri Sri Babathakur’s followers share a conviction of Him being the embodiment of Self Knowledge and a Perfect Realizer. In his close to twenty years of association with the Master, Dr. Patranabis had the opportunity to attend many of Sri Sri Babathakur’s discourses, which he always found to be both very logical and spontaneous. The brightest of intellectuals found it impossible to refute the logic presented by Sri Sri Babathakur, while devotees found His discourses to live up to the highest spiritual standards. What ensured this was His Devine Love, and it is this Devine Love that has attracted His numerous devotees to Him. Conventional spirituality places great emphasis on the Guru-Shisya parampara. However Sri Sri Babathakur always maintained that He is neither the Guru of anyone, nor the disciple of anyone. This is because Sri Sri Babathakur recognized the Oneness in All. How could He be anybody’s guru or anybody’ shisya if He was one with everyone and everything in the universe (i.e.’ I’ am ‘He’, and ‘He’ is ‘I’)

And yet numerous individuals regard Sri Sri Babathakur as their Guru. Sri Sri Babathakur Himself had pointed out the four modes (i.e. nescience, science, prescience, and conscience) through which a Guru reveals the Divine Science to the people. Dr. Patranabis mentioned that Sri Sri Babathakur referred to the Devine Science (or ‘Adhyatma Vidya’ as it is called in Sanskrit) as the ‘Science of Oneness’, and His devotees accept Him as their Guru for having imparted this Devine Science to them. The Master used to say that amongst all the classes of Guru (Mahaguru (i.e. parents), Guru, Param Guru, Parameshthe Guru, Paratpara Guru, Atma Guru), it is the Atma Guru who imparts Adhyatma Vidya, i.e. the highest form of Knowledge, just as Lord Krishna did for Arjuna through the deliverance of the Bhagavad Gita.





Dr. Dipak Patranabis addressing the gathering

Dr. Patranabis next spoke about the need for a seeker to understand the difference between religion and spiritualism (which often are considered to be the same by the common man), and how Sri Sri Babathakur insisted on Self Realization to be ultimate objective in life as opposed to mastery over religious rituals which emphasize plurality and duality. The Master once narrated a beautiful story in this regard. Normally one meditates with objective of attaining something from God. It so happened that a man deep in meditation finally attained siddhi, upon which God appeared in front of him and said ‘I am God. Now what is it you want from me?’ The person in turn replied, ‘Who is God? I do not want anything from Him!’ God asked him, ‘Then why did you meditate?’ to which the person replied, ‘I wanted to know who I am!’ Sri Sri Babathakur would refer to four maha mantras or maha vakyas in the Upanishads in regards to one attaining Self Realization. ‘Realizing that I am Brahman, the Self should be the ultimate quest of all’ is what Sri Sri Babathakur would say. Yet one does not automatically get to become ‘Self Realized’. The Master established an eligibility criteria consisting of various stages one has to go through to be accepted as being ‘Self Realized’. The first step in this process is to be able to perform work without any expectations of results to be attained. This will set the stage for one to accumulate the virtues that ultimately leads him/her to being considered as Brahman.

It is however utopian for the common man to work without caring about the fruits of his labor. Dr. Patranabis referred to Sri Sri Babathakur providing His followers with several means (in the form of formulas) to overcome this challenge. One of these formulas revolves around the concept of roop, naam, bhava and bodh. A bhakta initially meditates on the form (i.e. roop) of God, then moves on to reciting the name (i.e. naam), leading up to the attainment of reverential ecstasy (i.e. bhava), followed by bodh (a sort of realization). Instructions to progress through these various stages come by means of the mind – however the mind is always restless. So how does one control the mind to ensure one’s Realization of the Self? Upon mentioning that the mind is always unsettled to Sri Krishna and asking Him for ways to control the mind, Arjuna was told that ‘abvyas’ (i.e. practice) and ‘vairagya’ (i.e. renunciation) are what’s needed to control the mind. Practicing to work with ‘vairagya’ (i.e. without any attachment or expectations concerning the results) shall surely ensure one’s progress on the spiritual path. Another formula prescribed by Sri Sri Babathakur is to ‘Accept all and Surrender’ – i.e. accept all for who they’re, what they say and do, and conduct yourself in a way that enables others to accept you for who you are as well. Another way the Master has phrased the same formula is as follows: ‘Adopt’, ‘Adjust’, ‘Accommodate’, ‘Achieve’.

Dr. Patranabis stated that the aforementioned formulas are just a few amongst many spiritual jewels left behind by Sri Sri Babathakur for his followers to attain the ultimate goal of Self Realization. He next referred to the five primordial elements (earth, air, water, fire and ether) as well as three primordial gunas (i.e. satva, raja, tama) of which we all are composed of, and how the mind controls the primordial gunas. In order to realize the Self, one has to control the mind by going beyond the gunas (I.e. become ‘gunatita’). Sri Krishna had said to Arjuna that it is only by transcending the gunas that one can become detached and see the Self. Sri Sri Babathakur used to draw his followers’ attention to the fact that only the Self can lift the Self to establish one in the Self, and not even God can be relied upon to help in this regard. When one reaches the stage of being the Supreme Self, then everything becomes nothing at all to one. That’s the ultimate goal we all must strive for.

Concluding his speech, Dr. Patranabis mentioned that he considers Sri Sri Babathakur to be a Perfect Realizer. Despite one not being Self Realized, she/he can through close observation of His deeds and reflection upon His teachings arrive at clues that point to the Master being a Perfect Realizer. Sri Sri Babathakur’s huge volumes of spiritual work are there for all interested to read and listen to repeatedly on their spiritual journeys. However the Master has stressed upon the fact that mere reading/listening of His words aren’t enough. One must reflect upon these words, try to grasp their inner meaning, and apply the messages contained therein in his/her day-to-day life. Over time, one will progress to dwell in the Knowledge of Knowledge, unity, serenity, equality, tranquility, infinity, immortality and eternity. ‘We have found that every word He has uttered is a drop of nectar and we want that nectar in our life. That is what we strive for’, said Dr. Patranabis. Finally, Dr. Patranabis recited a beautiful self-composed poem dedicated to Sri Sri Babathakur:

Hail to Thee Sri Sri Babathakur, the Master Divine
You taught us to seek I-ness, and not what is Mine
You told us the Truth, which is really everyone’s goal
It is the Self Supreme, none else in there to play any role
You have told about devotion, love, and then I-Reality
We shall not have within us, the feeling of malice or enmity
‘Accept all, Embrace all’, You ordained as our deed
‘Surrender completely’, You told us, as that is what we need.
Your lessons are easy we have to practice them with care
Lessons of love, devotion and knowledge, we must all share
We have to start with form, move to name, ecstasy and perception
The travel is then seamless, leading at the end to Realization
You lived on this mundane plane, but with a Divine Entity
You told us to comingle with the Self that is the Identity
‘All Divine For All Time, as It Is’ in this the essence we get
We forget this more often than not, then later we regret
Self is the ultimate, Truth, Eternal Consciousness and Bliss
With Your Grace, we would attain this as also tranquil peace

Bapida thanked Dr. Patranabis and urged the audience to commit themselves to the practice of ‘Accepting All’, or as is said in Bengali, ‘mene maniye chola’. Much as a postal clerk stamps all articles of mail passing through his office (irrespective of shape, size, weight, content) without discrimination, so must we accept all who we come across, completely and unconditionally (i.e. accept them for who they are, just the way they are). ‘Accept All’ is a concept that most initially would find daunting, but through honest effort, dedicated practice and with the grace of a Sadguru, it can eventually be mastered by one and all. He then proceeded to introduce Advocate D.K. Rustagi, an eminent lawyer serving in the Supreme Court and dedicated to providing legal counsel to those who otherwise wouldn’t have access to quality legal services owing to financial constraints. Bapida described Mr. Rustagi as a lawyer by profession, but an earnest spiritual seeker at heart, who first came in contact with Sri Sri Babathakur through his friend, Mr. Gautam Guha. Listening to the Master’s speech for the very first time, Mr. Rustagi became convinced that what he heard represented the ultimate in spiritual discourse, that the entire mankind was in acute need for such spiritual wisdom, and that he was committed to do all within his powers to help spread the Master’s message. Bapida then invited Mr. Rustagi to share his spiritual experiences and insights with the gathering.




Advocate Rustagi addressing the gathering


Mr. Rustagi began his speech by mentioning that we all had congregated to honor a great Soul who taught us ‘a way to understand ourselves’. This is important, for it is only when we understand our selves, that we’re able to understand others. He recounted how upon listening to Sri Sri Babathakur for the very first time in 2007 at the ISKON temple in New Delhi, he had gathered critical insights into the nature of the challenges confronting him at work, and the solutions for them. Mr. Rustagi mentioned that the genesis of 90% of the cases pending in court lay in greed and arrogance, and that he was both frustrated as well as resigned to finding solutions to resolve legal disputes only through the process of adjudication. This was because he felt he had no control over either the greed or the arrogance of the conflicting parties. After listening to Sri Sri Babathakur, Mr. Rustagi realized that gist of what he had heard could be summarized as the merging of four words: ‘I’, ‘Mine’, ‘You’ and ‘Yours’. When we have ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ one side pitted against ‘You’ and ‘Yours’, greed, arrogance and conflict are bound to arise. A part of this problem is solved when the ‘Mine’ merges into ‘I’ and the ‘Yours’ merges into ‘You’. However the critical understanding in resolving (or even avoiding) conflicts comes with the merger of the ‘I’ with the ‘You’. Mr. Rustagi concluded his speech by mentioning that over the last couple of years he had diligently put into practice Sri Sri Babathakur’s lessons on how to merge the ‘Mine’ with the ‘I’. Consequently, he has experienced enormous tranquility and happiness not just within himself, but with his surroundings as well. And when one is in contentment and at peace with his surroundings, one experiences the ultimate in happiness.

Following Mr. Rustagi’s speech, Bapida complimented him for his unique yet effective internalization of SrI Sri Babathakur’s teachings and for his success at finding much happiness in his life. No matter who we are, where we live or what we do, the desire to find happiness is of primary importance to all, and yet so few amongst us can lay claim to being truly happy.

Bapida next talked a bit about Saccidananda Society, its mission, and how Sri Sri Babathakur’s views drive the way that the Society conducts its operations. Founded on May 14th, 1989, the Saccidananda Society was set up to be an ‘Institute of Supraculture’. Many institutions advance the cause of culture, an endeavor that requires the mind, intellect and ego to come into play. A special science is therefore needed to help individuals interested in going past the mind, intellect, and ego, and hence the need for an institute of supraculture. Saccidananda Society’s mission is to assemble, publish, and present (not propagate) to anyone interested, the self-revealed bhajans, words and discourses of Sri Sri Babathakur. Bapida reminded the audience that Sri Sri Babathakur has repeatedly stressed upon the point that Atma Vidya is knowledge that can only be ‘presented’ to one and all, but never be effectively ‘proselytized’. This belief has largely influenced the way that Saccidananda Society works. Just as the host presents a buffet of food items, and leaves it up to the guests to choose which item(s) to sample and how much of each item to partake, so does the Saccidananda Society simply present to any and all interested, Sri Sri Babathakur’s body of spiritual work. It is up to each individual to decide how much (if any at all) of the Master’s teachings does he or she want to explore, reflect upon, and imbibe. Saccidananda Society doesn’t conduct any drives to recruit members nor offers any membership. Sri Sri Babathakur used to say that by default, any individual living anywhere in the world is a member of Saccidananda Society, given that the Society is dedicated to the attainment of Atma Vidya, and that the Atma doesn’t discriminate amongst individuals.

To be continued…………………………….

The concluding part of this article shall be published in the next (i.e. the 2012 Buddha Purnima) issue of e-Sanai and will talk about: Mr. Karamjeet Singh’s s speech, Revealed Bhajans of Sri Sri Babathakur rendered by Ms. Shaoni Mitra and Sri Kedar Narayan Bodas, Keynote speech delivered by Dr. Kinkar Samananda Maharaj ji.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Ode to Sri Sri Babathakur


by Sri Dipak Patranabis






You showed us the path we should tread
As a Preacher par excellence saying what to shed
Ego is primary, in line are intellect and mind
We should move forward keeping all these behind.
You told us to adopt, adjust, absorb, accommodate
Love and endear all, have devotion and never hate
Even whom we consider enemy, for there is none
We should attain the state of the sky and of the sun
'Man' is naturally immortal, we have to bring that out
There are norms for that which we follow by being devout
To 'All Divine For All Time' You added 'As It Is'
We must identify ourselves with Truth, Consciousness and Bliss


In His Own Words: A Conversation With Eager Followers



The following conversation was recorded in English and appears as it was in the original:

[In early 1968 Sri Sri Babathakur moved into the residence late N. C. Chakraborty (Senior Advocate, Calcutta High Court) and his wife, late Srimati Bani Chakraborty and lived there until 1996. Srimati Bani Chakraborty, with the active support and encouragement of her husband, dedicated her life at the service of Sri Sri Babathakur. As a fiercely protective mother she took care of Him, as Iswar Atma Brahma Guru, with utmost love, affection, care and dedication. Srimati Chakraborty, however, was already spiritually initiated by Srimad Hansha Baba Abhadut when she met Sri Sri BabaThakur. Single-handedly fulfilling the responsibility of His bodily care, Srimati Chakraborty meticulously recorded the sayings, lectures, revealed songs (bhajans), the Divine ecstasies, and the numerous spiritual experiences of Sri Sri Babathakur for almost three decades. Her memoirs capturing her experiences with Sri Sri Babathakur first came out as a series in the spiritual quarterly, Sri Sanai, from 1982 onwards and were subsequently published in two volumes, SmritiGantha Volumes I (2003) and II (2009)].

13th January, 1974, Sunday: Many people come to see Sri Sri Babathakur in the weekends. Today the visitors are Suhrid Dasgupta, Saroj Kar, Uma Raychaudhuri (the writer's cousin), Mr. Menon, and Mr. Khandelwal. Sri Sri Babathakur engaged in a spiritual conversation with them and answered their questions. In course of the dialogue, Babathakur responded to a question posed by Mr. Menon as follows:

‘Though all individuals are potentially divine, yet they are not all conscious and aware of their true divine nature, owing to the fault of their own intellect. Intellect is inner nature which gets qualified by triple gunas, namely tamas, rajas, and sattva. Like gunas like samskaras. Of the three gunas the predominant one characterizes the samskaras. Innate nature of life is called swabhaba which is constituted by the guna which is predominating. That is why every individual differs from others and the cause of difference is the characteristic of predominating guna or quality. Other gunas remain subservient. Characteristic of guna is to dominate others. There is a triangular fight among them in order to get preponderant. According to the nature of guna, samskar of life takes shape and thereby individual behaves.

‘Men of tamasic nature characterize tamasic qualities mainly, those of rajasic nature characterize rajasic qualities mainly and men of sattvic qualities qualify sattvic qualities mainly. Human society consists of innumerable individuals of varying qualities according to their constitutional nature. Each individual strives to attain higher and better qualities. For that he/she has to struggle hard against so many contradictions, oppositions and demerits, which are verily the products of triple gunas. Of the triple gunas, rajasic and tamasic ones constitute the outer and lower nature called prakriti of life, while the sattvic one constitutes the inner nature called swabhava of life. Outer nature/prakriti constitutes the physical body and senses of life together with diversities of innumerable names and forms, which are the objects of enjoyment as well as the field of actions of the individuals. Hence, swabhava dwells on and rules over the lower nature/prakriti. Swabhava has got double functions, one with the lower nature called prakriti and the other with the upper nature, which is called swabodha, the inmost Self of life individual. In ordinary life swabhava is predominant. Among them some individuals, though small in number, tend to serve the upper nature swabodha in stead of lower one, prakriti. They characterize mainly trait of sattvic qualities. They possess superior qualities, divine qualities and act and behave with the help of such qualities. Seekers of truth, perfection and realization of life develop from men of all such sattvic divine qualities.

‘Besides the men of above mentioned nature, the rest or other men of the society, prompted by their inner-desire nature, follow the doctrine of action according to the integral need of their inner nature. They are mostly struggling agents meaning struggling for survival. Out of them, by natural course, men of refined qualities develop and they follow the super human and divine nature in and through the culture of darshan, vijnan, and dharma, the three in one and one in three, called the ultimate reality. By such culture they are capable enough to attain integral truth, perfection and realization. Realization means supreme Self identity and oneness with the Absolute.

‘Human nature, conditioned by triple gunas, gets refined very slowly in and through normal evolutionary process of both outer and inner nature. Evolutionary development of the physical nature follows that with the inner spiritual nature. Spiritual nature, being subtler than the outer physical nature, gets refined and purified rapidly in and through the cultivation of spiritual discipline under the guidance of a perfect Realizer (Sadguru). Those who are prompted by inner spiritual nature, seek perfection, realization and absolute freedom from the relative process of life. Individual life follows the relative process of life till the development of perfect dispassion, detachment and intensified urge for the perfection and realization of its infinite eternal immortal true divine nature, which is real identity with the Absolute Reaity ‘at-one-ment’. ‘

Menon — It is very difficult to attain such realization and perfection in the worldly life.

Babathakur — Yes, perfection and realization is always for the seekers of the best qualified nature and order no doubt, yet the supreme divine grace can make that difficult task easily accessible in and through regular attending real satsanga and most honestly and sincerely following the instructions and guidance of a perfect Master, who unfolds the supreme science of Divine Oneness in his own unique process in such a methodical and scientific way that the perfect and real seeker, only through listening to the words of the Master, immediately can grasp the implied meaning of the same and gets fully enlightened. Very rare is such a Master and such a seeker no doubt, the supreme realization and identity dawns on the heart of the seeker without any difficulty and rigorous sadhana. In fact, realization by no means is the result of sadhana but is already with each individual life as their true nature — ‘Self identity is I-Reality’ which is ever perfect, ever realized. But the individual has forgotten that owing to the fault of his own intellect. Only a perfect Master unfolds such Reality and makes the true seekers realize That instantaneously. Blessed is such a great soul who realizes His/Her real self-divine nature only through Guru’s grace. Real Guru alone is supreme Divine Self — verily Absolute I. Thus Self-I begets Self-I. This is the supreme glory of the Absolute Self-Guru, the eternal I-Reality.

At noon Babathkur took his leave and the rest left one by one after partaking of prasadam.

The passages above are excerpts from Smritigantha Vol. II (Garland of Memories), memoirs of Late Srimati Bani Chakraborty (Calcutta: Saccidananda Society, Manashi Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-81-86571-30-9; pp. 204-206)



The Concept of Bhakti in Hinduism


by Sri Ajit Halder

In Hinduism, Bhakti is an expression of love and adoration centered upon one’s personal God, Ishtadevata. Bhakti signifies the path preferred by a devotee as his/her religious act of worshipping the chosen God. Stated simply, Bhakti is the active involvement of a devotee in the worship of the divine. Two important ’Bhakti Texts’ may be cited to focus our attention on the true connotation of bhakti: sage Narada in his text ‘Narada Bhakti Sutra’ defines ‘bhakti’ as “intense love” for God and sage Shandilya in his ‘Bhakti Sutra’ defines ‘bhakti’ as intense “attraction” for God.

Bhakti emphasizes religious devotion and sentiment above ritual. As a devotional practice, it offers the convenience of gaining spiritual experience anywhere, at any time, by anyone who feels confident to receive the blessing of God. The ease with which God may be worshipped and reached following the path of bhakti may so influence the devotee to be wholly absorbed in adoring the deity, that he/she may miss out on other aspects of Bhakti. So the author attempts in this article to point out features of the Bhakti cult that makes the religious experience more rewarding.

It may be mentioned that the Bhakti movement developed in South India among the Vaishnava Alvars (3rd to 9th Century) and later on in Bengal (intensified by Sri Chaitanya in the 16th century) emphasizes the emotional attachment and love of a devotee toward his/her beloved deity. And it does not merely entail the act of worship performed by the devotee fervently wishing to receive the blessing of God (which is assured).

The Sanskrit word Bhakti is derived from the verb root bhaj, meaning "to worship". ‘Devotion’ is often used as an approximate English translation for Bhakti. However to gain a proper sense of Bhakti, the understanding of the English word Devotion should be expanded to include an important aspect of bhakti—the involvement of both the worshipper and the object of adoration, i.e. God. This sense of participation of the human and the divine is central to the relationship between the devotee and God. It stresses the direct personal experience of God to be gained by a devotee, and is typically associated with the word "love". Bhajan, or devotional singing to God, is also derived from the same verb root bhaj.


Bhakti as a fond expression is sometimes used in the broader sense of reverence toward a spiritual teacher (Guru Bhakti) as it also appears in the compound word ‘Bhakti Marga’ used to describe a way for bhaktas (devotees) to reach the deity through prayer, singing of Bhajans or Nama Kirtan (devotional chanting of the holy name of the Lord). Thus the interpretation of bhakti goes beyond the act of "devotion", as Bhakti leads to the spiritual union with one’s chosen deity. In the following paragraphs the concept of Bhakti will be elaborated with reference to the Gita, the Bhagavat Purana, and the spiritual renaissance in Bengal initiated by Sri Chaitanya.

Bhakti in the Gita:

The Bhagavad Gita is the first expression of bhakti, with its concentration on the adoration of Vishnu (who appears in the work in the person of Sri Krishna). Bhakti as designating a religious path is the central concept in the Bhagavad Gita for union with God through Devotion. The Gita introduces bhakti yoga in combination with karma yoga and gnana yoga. The Gita asserts that bhakti towards Sri Krishna is the path to reach the highest goal of life, which is to be released from the rounds of ‘rebirth’ and gain union with God.

Sri Krishna utters in Chapter 9, verse 31 of the Gita - ‘Na me bhakta pranashyati’– he who adores me, i.e. Krishna, with bhakti will never perish. This profound yet simple formula (as words of promise received direct from the Lord) thereby assures the attainment of Moksha (salvation) by following the path of bhakti. Chapter 12 of the Gita provides a discussion on the practice of Bhakti Yoga as a religious act for worshiping God. In verses 6 and 7, Chapter 12 of the Gita, Lord Krishna offers clear guidance to Arjuna (and through him, the entire humankind) on how to attain Salvation: ‘Those who, lay all their actions on Me, intent on Me, meditate on Me, worship Me with unswerving devotion and those whose thoughts are set on Me, I straightway lead them to the attainment of union with the Absolute’. This is a convincing assurance from Lord Krishna that in Bhakti lies true Mukti, i.e. Release or Salvation from the misery of re-births into this world.

The Bhagavat Purana:

Aside from Bhagavad Gita, the other equally important text presenting bhakti beliefs is the Bhagavat Purana. This text expands on bhakti yoga, offering nine specific activities of a bhakti yogi.

These are: (1) shravana (‘listening’ to the scriptural stories of Krishna and his associates, (2) kirtana (chanting songs in praise of the Lord), (3) smarana (remembering or fixing the mind on Vishnu), (4) pada-sevana (rendering caring service), (5) archana (worshipping an image); (6) vandana (paying homage), (7) daasya (servitude), (8) saakhya (friendship) and (9) atma-nivedana (self-surrender). These nine facets of bhakti describe the path of systematized devotion to attain the highest spiritual goal, i.e. union with God. More on this will be found in the following discussion on Sri Chaitanya’s contributions to promote the cult of bhakti in Bengal

Sri Chaitanya – Chetana, Consciousness of Bengal:

Sri Chaitanya’s religion, bhakti and sweetness are relished as rasamrita, i.e. holy nectar. Our joy of tasting that nectar however will only be complete upon gaining an appreciation and understanding of Sri Chaitanya’s contributions to the rise of Vaishnavism in Bengal.

Sri Chaitanya was born as Bishambhar, the son of Jagannath Mishra and Sachi Devi of Navadvip, Bengal. Bishambhar grew up to be a great scholar of Nyaya Shastra, becoming known as Nemai Pandit and opening his own Tol (i.e. a school to learn the Shastras). Nemai’s fame as a learned man spread beyond the boundaries of Navadvip and attracted many students to his Tol. But a great change came to Nemai’s life during a trip he made to Gaya at the age of twenty-two. He went there to perform the ceremonial offering to the spirit of his departed father at Lord Vishnu’s temple, There he met Iswar Puri, accepted him as his Guru and became a Vaishnava – a man devoted in heart and life to the service of Krishna. At the place of Lord Vishnu in Gaya, there arose a great Vaishnava through a transformed Nemai.

Following his return to Navadvip, Nemai became the central figure of the local Vaishnava group and devoted himself wholeheartedly to chorus singing in praise of Krishna with the accompaniment of Khol (a type of percussion instrument) and Kartal (an instrument similar to a cymbal). Notice that the words Krishna, Kirtan, Khol and Kartal, all four ingredients of nama-kirtan, begin with the first two consonant sounds Ka and Kha of the Bengali alphabets. Does not this imply that nama-kirtan should be our first and foremost religious offering when worshipping Krishna with bhakti?

Through the introduction of nagar-sankirtan, Nemai created a new religious wave that swayed and almost submerged Shantipur, while the whole of Nadia was completely swept over by this religious current – ‘Shantipur Dubu Dubu Nadey Bhese Jaai’.

When Nemai was twenty-four years of age, he was initiated into sanyas by Madhava Puri in Katwa and assigned the new name of Krishna Chaitanya. – one who is full of Krishna consciousness. The Vaishnava community of Navadvip overwhelmed by Chaitanya’s bhakti and love for Krishna accepted him as their Mahaaprabhu - the great religious master. Chaitanya’s personality, his burning devotion to Krishna added much vitality to the bhakti cult and to Vaishnavism in Bengal and made it into a living movement which is still felt in the eastern part of India.

Sri Chaitanya restored religious, spiritual and social consciousness during the 15-16th century, a period of great religious decline in Bengal. By virtue of his personality and character, he revived the bhakti movement and introduced Harinam-samkirtan as a devotional act. Harinama-kirtan soothes the heart and purifies the soul, and the constant chanting of the Lord’s name creates a divine bond between the devotee (bhakta) and Lord Krishna. Singing Harinam with devotion enables the Bhakta to perceive Lord Krishna before him/her.

It is sincerely hoped that this article will inspire devotees to worship deities with bhakti, receive the bliss of God and feel spiritually uplifted.