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Showing posts from November, 2021

Bhakti - the unique emotion reserved for the cream!

Bhakti - the very idea is beautiful. It is an emotion that has been a driving force for an entire culture for centuries. It has inspired innumerable  people,  poems, proses, and practices.  The word "bhakti" when translated can mean many things: revere, honor, adore, practice, worship, prefer, enjoy, partake, engage in, relish, supply, furnish, bestow, grant, divide, choose, declare etc. However, there are things that cannot be understood through translation but through personal experience. Bhakti is one such emotion that can be experienced, not understood.  Bhakti involves multiple aspects - a subject (bhakta - the attracted), an object (bhagawan - the attracting) and a process (vidhi). "bhakta" is one who is faithful, loyal, devoted, and to an extent  obsessed. "bhakta" is attracted to the "bhaga" or the opulence in his object of worship, so a bhakta adores or loves or worships and serves his "bhagawAn". Depending on one's inclina...