Supreme attachment to God is Bhakti. The bhakta has selfless love for God. This Supreme Love for God is expressed in nine different ways. The bhakta’s love for God is intense and exclusive. Such love is manifested in all the methods of devotion to God. Bhakti automatically indicates a person of morals and ethics. We cannot develop love for God if we are crooked at heart or if we are full of desires and tempted by worldly things, or if we are overly attached to our family and to food or to the body and are egoistic or earn for sake of wealth, name, power and position. Where one is lured by the things of the world, pure love of God cannot exist. Where there is the right knowledge and detachment from worldly things, pure bhakti can exist. “Where there is Rama, there is no Kama” meaning where there is Love for Ram or God there is no Kama or Desires. Kama has to be renounced for attaining Rama. This renunciation or detachment is attained through the Nava Vidhi Bhakti or Nine Forms of Bhakti.
The Holy scriptures of Srimad Bhagvad and the Vishnu Purana describe the nine forms of bhakti. We follow the path as per our inner inclination. Any of the nine paths will ultimately lead to Divine Illumination or Self Realisation.
Sravana means hearing the stories of God’s glories and stories connected with His Divine Name and Form. When we hear the stories of God, our mind merges in the divine love of God and we remember God even in our sleep. King Parikshit attained salvation through sravana.
Kirtana is singing the glories of God. The bhakta is filled with divine emotion and love. He loses himself in the love of God. Meerabai did kirtana or sang about God at all times.
Smaran is remembering God at all times. The mind of the bhakta is always engrossed in the memory of God and meditates all times about the glories of God alone. God is to be remembered at all times. Prahlada and Druva did smaran of God at all times.
Padaseva is serving the feet of the Lord. It is done by Lakshmi Devi or Parvati Devi. Understanding that the Universe is the body of God, we can serve the sick and needy as service to God.
Archana is worship of God. It can be done through an image or picture or even the mental form of God within yourself. Flowers, fruits, incense etc are used in archana. The advanced bhakta leaves the external form and worships the form of God within himself. The purpose of worship is to please God and to purify self through surrender of ego and love of God.
Vandana is prayer and prostration to God. Prostration to God helps overcome ego.
Dasya Bhakti is service to God means the bhakta sees himself as servant of God and loves and serves God. He carries out the wishes of God seeing God as the Supreme Master. Hanuman is the example of Dasya Bhakti. Serving the saints, sages and other bhaktas , serving poor and sick as forms of God is also dasya bhakti.
Sakhya bhava is seeing God as ones best friend. Arjun had this love for SriKrishna. Love at human level is full of expectations and give and take. When God is loved this way it is transformation of mundane love to the Divine.
Atma Nivedana is self surrender. The bhakta offers everything to God – body, mind and soul. He has no personal existence. He is a part and parcel of God and God takes care of him. He becomes the perfect instrument in the hands of God.
Bhakti is supreme Love for God. A bhakta loves God in different ways. Bhakti helps a bhakta to attain the Supreme State of Self Realisation. The nine modes of bhakti are ways in which a bhakta attains the supreme state of life. We can take up any of these modes and reach the highest state. The path of bhakti is easiest and follows the natural inclination of human nature to love God in familiar ways. Bhakti takes us slowly and gradually to God without demanding any extreme behaviour or drastic changes in way of life. It is a progressive realisation of God.
