Bhakti - The Means & End
Bhakti is great love to the extent of fascination for someone great. It manifests as spontaneous & blessed service for our beloved one. It is adoration, emulation and identification all combined into one. The very thought of the 'beloved' transforms the state of our minds. It is an experience of joy & fulfillment. It is very dynamic too, not passive. There is enthusiasm to do something selflessly, and the chance of service for our beloved brings still greater joy, and as the basic nature of love is, there is a natural momentum towards total identification. Our separate identity during such moments is forgotten. The positive or the so called virtuous qualities surface. Egocentricity with all its accompanied negativities is transcended, even though temporarily. Intelligence gets a chance to surface too. As Bhakti becomes natural to our minds, there is greater attentiveness & subtlety in mind. Thinking in details about the beloved is not only natural, but effortless too. There is no tiring whatsoever, and the person keeps going on blessedly. Bhakti thus purifies the mind and effortlessly prepares us for the knowledge of Self. It is therefore a means for the Self-knowledge and once a person is blessed with Self-knowledge then there is spontaneous joy & universal love for one & all, which is the goal, the end. As a means it is called Apara Bhakti, and as an end it is called Para Bhakti. In Para Bhakti there is nothing to do, love has become natural to the person, while in Apara Bhakti it is not yet natural, and therefore something needs to be done, then alone the love & joy get a chance to manifest.
The blessing of Para Bhakti is got by bringing about Self-knowledge. Atma-jnana & Para Bhakti are two sides of the same coin. First is the cause & the second the effect. The fulfillment of Bhakti is in Jnana & the fulfillment of Jnana is in Bhakti. Anyone who speaks about divorcing the two does not know the truth of either of them. How can the knowledge of the truth of our beloved Lord be an impediment in the process of invoking love for him. In fact the natural thrust of love is in bringing about greater understanding about our beloved, then alone we can even serve him properly. The ideal sequence for a completely new initiate will be to start with Satsang, and get some understanding about the existence of God, his qualities, beauty and the consequences of ignoring him. Then leading a life having an intelligent mix of Karma & Upasana. All these things are beautifully given out in the details of Apara Bhakti. Once the fundamentals have been prepared then, one should go to a Sat-guru and get Self-knowledge. The culmination is in being blessed with Para Bhakti - the universal love.
The basic spirit of Apara Bhakti is 'in being happy in the happiness of our beloved' -Tat sukha sukhitvam (Narada Bhakti Sutra). Here the thrust is two fold, initially bringing about the necessary knowledge & samskaras because of which love, positive values & thoughts surface, and also handling conditions which invoke the devil in us. The ability to dedicate ourself in the service of anyone not only shows egolessness, but also helps inculcates in us all what our beloved stands for. Egolessness is very important in all relationships of love. It is not I who is important there, but our beloved. On the basis of this factor alone Bhakti is broadly divided into two kinds. Sakama & Nishkama.
Sakama Bhakti implies that our liking for someone is basically prompted by our own concerns & conveniences. In other words we like someone for ourself rather than for the person. The other person may look after myself out of his or her love for me, but I dont like him for his sake but for my sake. It is in fact a misuse of the word love. Love has to be Nishkama, this obviously implies that we like someone for the person concerned and in the process are somehow not bothered about ourselves. A person blessed with Nishkama Bhakti is obviously very strong, confident and sensitive. Whoever has even a vee-bit of this quality then the process of purification of the mind starts. Purification is nothing but inculcating values & outlooks which reflect a satisfied & full person rather than a weak, dependent, craving, constantly desiring mind. Even though a Bhakta should never mistake a selfish relationship with love, nevertheless, it is the greatness of Bhagwan who says that even if a person comes to me with some selfish reasons, I take him as a Bhakta, for the simple reason that the 'person has come to me'. He or she does have some value for me, he takes me as someone very powerful & capable. With this seed in him, there are good chances that sooner or later the person will discover real love for me. Conditions which are very conducive for bringing about Bhakti in a person are :
1. Reading good literature
2. Going for Satsang preferably daily.
3. Having a friend circle sharing similar convictions
4. Leading a clean, intelligent & righteous life
5. Performing ones duties diligently
6. Maintaing good health
7. Regularly taking out some time for Prayers & Meditation
8. Respecting & whenever possible serving others
9. Taking out time for some selfless social service