Bhakti Yoga is a spiritual path or practice focused on loving devotion. It is synonymous with an intimate understanding of the Oneness and harmony of the eternal individual and with the Universal being or Divine. Bhakti yoga involves selfless devotion and recognition of the Divine in everything. It is a practice of using the intensity of one’s emotion to transcend one’s limitations. However, over hundreds of years, Bhakti’s purity and true nature (Bhaj / to serve God) have been lost, and the typical result is mood-making and dogma. As it is, Bhakti does have a special place in the unfoldment of consciousness when seen through the lens of non-duality. A simple recognition that all things are interconnected; singular, cultural, and collective actions lead to global repercussions—climate change, biodiversity, and sustainability are affected, to name a few.
Life by default is for “living,” a natural law of behavior intrinsic to human beings and all species of all organic Kingdoms. In addition, Quantum Physics postulates that the dual nature of light, the wave-particle probability gives rise to energy and motion in all matter; it is a set principle throughout creation. It is seen everywhere, a never-ending momentum towards the progression of more and more.
Life and living go on ever evolving and expanding from the micro to the macro seemingly without interruption. And the inherent design and opportunity of having a human nervous system are to optimally operate the system in a synergistic style, in full complement to the holistic energy level of our vast creation.
What brings about this infinite natural law of behavior that causes everything we know to reach a higher potential? An energy level that can only be described as unseen and divine. Science and philosophy touch upon this divinity from the Higgs boson ‘god particle’ to the experiential metaphysical realities of all religions. Understandably the creator’s divinity cannot be grasped, but we are intrinsically entwined with it as a whole and a part of cosmic life.
Acknowledging a higher power, a divine force guiding all living beings while living life to the fullest, is necessary to advance and enjoy the spiritual value that incorporates all life. Human suffering is predicated on separation, a belief that godliness, holiness, or the divine at most do not exist or are somewhere out there, unattainable, so separate from the human spirit. But divinity is everywhere, in all living things, conscious or not. All around us, no matter where you look, the grace of God is looking back at you. It is self-referral, the Self looking at itself. Acknowledging the divine, the sublime face of grace acknowledges the mystery and the fullness of living life.
There are stages of consciousness or the appreciation of the depth within the conscious perception of a human being that allows a “Oneness” experience. When stabilized, it is commonly referred to as Unity Consciousness. However, seeking a conceptualized target or goal with the expectation that, finally, I have achieved a spiritual milestone takes away from the spiritual nature that is evident right here and now. It’s all spiritual; life and living are spiritual acts, and when seen through devotion, the daily recognition of love to all beings, it brings comfort and happiness and enhances the quest to gain the highest appreciation that consciousness or the divine has scripted for you.
Self-Inquiry methods and deep sustained meditation bring us to a greater appreciation of the Oneness or ‘no-self’ experience, which repeatedly ushers forth this unity into the waking state. However, the case for Oneness has been there since creation’s dawn. The human experience of separation and the vulnerability that comes with it hinders our hearts from expanding to embrace unity in life. Bhakti Yoga, or daily devotion, is a technique to combat the long-standing ingrained conditioning of separation and fear that our ancestors, as a collective, and we have been living life for centuries.
Devotion is simply seeing the divinity in all things and approaching every activity with the respect that you, Oneness, have in all things. Mostly, Bhakti Yoga has been dismissed as a mainstay practice because far too many ceremonies, rights, and idol worship have been misinterpreted. Still, as a pure technique of reciprocal love recognition in all things or a loving relationship with the other, when adopted with meditation self-inquiry, Bhakti can flower consciousness if conceptual expectations are left at the side of the road.