Further on Anuraag - "Attachment to God "

Dear All,

In today's post, Vyaasa defines Bhakti as "Attachment towards God, through whatever ways one worships God".

Brother Hari, in a talk  reveals that Swami has defined Bhakti in 3 simplest steps that even a normal human being, without the previous background of any literature of Spirituality, without any listening of discourses, without any background whatsoever, can very easily understand, whether he practices it or not.

STEP 1

Devotion is attachment towards God.

Where, we channelize all our stupid attachments towards so many objects, relations etc. in this material world towards God and only God.

STEP 2

Such attachment has only one route - Up and Up

Where, the attachment towards God can not halt and relax, cannot stumble back, cannot go in any other direction but it can only go up and up and up, towards God. 

In real life,  In the path of devotion, we human beings keep swinging from one God, one route, to so many other routes, run to so many other semi Gods / Gurus, take so many halts, start walking backward instead of moving forward towards God, take up so many activities with ego in the name of our Love for God ....... and............

SWAMI / GOD WATCHES US in all these above distractions, AS HE IS OUR PRANA SAKHA, OUR ETERNAL COMPANION, EVEN IN ALL OUR RUNNING AWAY FROM HIM AND SAYS, "YOU CAN LEAVE ME BUT HOW CAN I?!!!!!!

STEP 3

Such an  upward moving attachment to God must be in Total Surrender

Where, the Bhakta surrenders  his very identity at the lotus feet of the Lord. We say, we surrender our thoughts and words and actions etc. Even we say so, we very much retain the identity of "we", our identity as this stupid human being. That "we", our identity, must be surrendered to God, then only we will have nothing to hold on to, except His Lotus feet.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

This small piece of Hari's talk along with author's elaboration which would come from within, was to be taken up in the talk on "Purpose of Bhajan" in Sai centre in Muscat, which was held last month, but due to shortage of time, this was skipped. All His will.

In the 3 simple steps given by Bhagwan, the entire Bhakti treatise of all religions which have come up so far, is contained, in ESSENCE. 

Love.

Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 28

Sutra 16. Poojadishwanuraga iti paaraasaryah.

(Vyasa, the son of Paaraasara, is of opinion that Bhakti consists in attachment to worship of God and other similar acts)

Poojadishu: in worship and like performances

Anuraga: devotion, attachment, ardour

iti: thus

Paaraasarya: son of the sage Parasara ( i.e. Vyaasa)

Ardour in worship and similar performances is the chief characteristic of the love of God or the mark of devotion according to the sage, Sri Vyasa.

In the initial stages in worship, where "The other performances" is referred in this sutra, the worship may be in a ritualistic manner.

However, the ritualistic worship has its own importance, its own significance in the elevation of a devotee.

The lights and beauty of the alter, the fragrance of the incense, the enchanting music in the Hymns and organs employed, the clean cool atmosphere, and the lingering taste of the theertham..... all these come through the attention of all sense organs and arrest them at the sacred alter. The words of the chants and the Hymns, the prayers, the attitude of surrender and faith bring into the mind of the worshipper, a world of Love for the Lord.

It is important to note that all the rituals, like the ones mentioned above, must have the only focus - TO GET MORE and MORE ATTACHED TO GOD (and, one must not get stuck up in the rituals forever, without evolving further towards God)!

When the devotee develops attachment for worship of God, his mind will automatically withdraw itself from the objects of the world.

Those who perform worship of God attain the Supreme, eternal and blissful abode of God.

The devotee establishes identity with the Absolute through rigorous and constant meditation. This is the highest form of worship.

The worship is offered to the Lord within us. This is also internal worship. Internal worship or Manasic Pooja is more powerful than the external worship with flowers, etc. Bheema did manasic pooja. It was more powerful than the external worship done by Arjuna.

Poosalan Nayanar, one of the Tamil saints out of the sixty-three Tamil Saints who are adored in all Siva temples, mentally constructed a temple for Siva in his village, Tiruninnravur. 

It took for him three years to construct the temple mentally. He fixed also mentally the date on which the Kumbhabhishekam ceremony was to be conducted. Lord Siva attended the ceremony.

Anuraga: Anuraga means ‘intense attachment to the Lord’. The word ‘anuraga’ ordinarily means only mere love but in Bhakti scriptures it means the love that arises out of the recognition of the divinity and splendour of God after realisation.

Prahlad says, “O Hari ! May not the ceaseless flow of love and attachment leave my heart, while I am constantly meditating upon Thee.” (Vishnu Purana — 1.20.19).

Devotion comes and goes  in the beginning. When it is fully ripe, the devotee has intense attachment to the lotus feet of the Lord. Even for the infinitesimal part of a second his mind does not stir from the point or Lakshya. This is Anuraga, referred to in this verse and not a simple affection or attachment.

Love.

P.S.: Readers may take out some time and go back to a post dated 24th March 2017 titled "Attach to Detach or Detach to Attach? - Swami teaches us" under the label "Author's Desk".