“Bhakti yoga, also called Bhakti marga is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards a personal god”

… This is Wikipedia has to say. So, let’s start from this explanation itself. As we complete the analysis here, you will be able to awaken your bhakti and take that to the extreme stage too, and you will not take more than 2 minutes to do that.

Spirituality: What it is?

Wiki says that Bhakti is all about spirituality and spiritual practice. What is Spirituality then? University of Minnesota throws light here about spirituality in a broader sense:

“In general, it includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it typically involves a search for meaning in life.” 

So, it essentially means that the feelings that life is not confined within our body only and it has a bigger connection with something bigger – this is the moral of Spirituality. Now returning back to the definition of Wikipedia about Bhakti Yoga. It states that Bhakti is devotion towards Personal God… What they want to mean by saying “Personal God”, is very much confusing, as God is universal… however, the thought is superb, while it is said “Personal God”.
Basically, while the word, “Personal God” is mentioned, that says about “When that Infinite God is made finite” by someone. Wikipedia, also states, a detail about this “Someone” and refer it as “Devotee”. ,,, So, the outcome here comes like this –

Someone, who can be called as “Devotee” focuses, or strongly believes that the “Infinite God” is “Finite” to him/her.

Now, comes ahead the debate lovers and the so-called Atheists, who have to claim and say – “How much ignorant these fellows are!!… They are onto believing that infinite as finite!!… You call it Bhakti!! Again, you call it as spiritual practice!! Oh! Mercy comes to those poor fellows!! We can say it nothing more than a foolish act!”
Yes Atheist, you are right at least in some ways, or at most to the level, where wisdom fences ignorance, but the bad news here is for you – You are marginally at the side of ignorance! Your breathes have accelerated with my words, right!! Hold your nerves a bit, and take tour around some easy logic, which you are fond off.

Locating Bhakti in Spiritual Practice

Let’s start with your concept – “there exists no God but an infinite energy, whom can be referred to as God” – this is what you think as the word or of a Wise. Correct!!
Okay! Now, you have the feelings that the supreme energy or whom you won’t bother to call as God, is infinite – right! Right, you are too!! Now come to the point – “Infinite” what do you mean by this term??

Meaning of Infinite –

Infinite nature of some object/energy essentially refers which has no limit
Why? Because of the simple logic – the object that will limit the infinite, will simply make it finite… henceforth, that will never remain infinite… Isn’t it??
Now, according to you, the infinite cannot be made finite… So, to retain its infinity nature, there cannot be any second object or energy… You prefer to say energy, than object. So, its better to use the term energy itself. Now, if that energy cannot be two or cannot be finite, how can it happen that at some places the same energy is converting to kinetic energy, and at some places its remaining as potential energy?
You will say, that its just transformation of energy… But the question here is – that energy is infinite, hence cannot be two. If that is split into two energy forms, that also is making it two – so, is that making the energy finite? Yes, it is and No, it is not – both these answers stands strong. “Yes” is the straight forward answer and needs no explanation, but “No“is the answer, on what basis! Now get deeper into it… to understand the mystery of the universe.

The mystery of Universe –

Before actuating the mystery of universe, let’s go through a basic thing that happens with you in daily life. You dream in your sleep – okay! In your dream, you find yourself, your wife /husband, who is actually sleeping beside you, and many others, some of whom you know in your life, and some whom you won’t know – okay!
Now, tell me one thing! Which husband/wife is real – the one who was in your dream, or the one who is sleeping beside you!! Your answer will definitely be the one, who is sleeping beside you, then my question is who is that wife/husband, who was in your dream? It is actually you alone, who is inseparable, who is infinite within your mind – am I correct! So, can the infinite be finite!
The same thing is applicable for the universe – It is actually the dream of the God, whose dreaming energy is the infinite energy of your Atheistic knowledge and it is actually that dreaming energy that is running the universe, which is just an expression of God’s dream. Mind it – it is God’s dream and not yours or mine, and this dream has been referred in Vedanta.

Vedanta never refers yours and my dream to be the source of universe; Rather it refers the dream of God

However, we will not spend our time here on Vedanta. We will cover it up in our next article, for you, as it needs some elaborate analysis again. However, this is the actualization of mystery of universe. Now, remind about any one of your dreams – have you not backed up any of the character in your dreams! Most of the time, it is you yourself, but whosoever that is, you have done it. This backing up is Bhakti, where the infinite God has been brought down to finite ground. Hence, the Atheists, this is for you and if you have kept the windows of your wisdom open, then definitely, you crossed the fence of wisdom and ignorance by now, and standing in the better half of wisdom, at present.

Understanding the horizon of Bhakti

Well, the Atheists has been answered and even those devotees, who were unaware about what they are doing, things are cleared, but the main theme of the article reveals from here. The righting of the wrong is what you need to check out to learn Bhakti Yoga and once you crack the same, you have nothing more to learn to be a Bhakti Yogi. To be infinitesimally on the target, there are Three main things that confines a real Bhakti and that integrates a real devotee. They are –
(1) Never ask anything from your Lord,
(2) Never deny a gift from Lord
(3)Never allow your relation with your lord to turn clumsy

Just mentioning the two major guidelines will not do the magic for you. You need to get through a deeper understanding of the same. Hence, I have created two other articles for explaining the above two guidelines and linked them with this article. You have cleared your views about Bhakti, by now. So, it’s time to be perfectly steady in the journey, which you will be, as you go through the next two articles. You can also click on the two guidelines above. I have linked both of them with the respective article, for your ease of access.

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