The path of devotion, Bhakti, has certain elements that are significant. There is a practice of Bhakti Yoga, but the real Bhakti comes with Jnana, comes with knowledge, and comes when the knowledge in the head becomes sufficient that the heart opens, when through Karma Yoga, through selfless service to living beings through an attitude of lovingkindness to all beings, and through understanding about the nature of the infinite, a longing arises in the heart to know the great.

At first that longing is an idea; it is in the mind: “I want to be close to the infinite; I want to feel God’s presence.” But then, as one deepens through meditation practice, through reading and contemplation, an understanding of the nature of the infinite begins to dawn. And the mind becomes open to the idea of presence. Then, the heart can take over.

Most often, Bhakti comes because of some intervening grace on the part of Parama Purusha, that most sacred, divine guide of living beings. Through a grand experience, something in nature, something intimate with love, something that awakens the heart, the infinite reaches to you and touches you.

And from that divine touch, whether it be through a spiritual master or an internal experience, one feels the presence and grace of divine being. With this experience of the feeling of presence and grace comes the love. You begin to feel there is something so great, that there is a love that is so profound, so unconditional, there is a presence, “a God presence that is with me and I am with that one.” And with this feeling of proximity and with the feeling that there is such a marvelous one who loves you unconditionally comes an opening of the heart.

So, this opening, this true Bhakti, most often is preceded by some time of exploration and then some profound experience, some intervention by divine presence that allows you to have a sneak preview of the infinite, of the beloved of your heart, your divine father, your divine mother. You begin to see—maybe that one may appear as Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva, Divine Mother, or your Baba. But that one comes to you, and you feel that presence and your heart begins to open, and you feel that you have been touched by a love that is deeper than any love you have ever known, by a presence that is completely profound, leaving you in awe. In this awe, you find devotion. You find that your heart has opened, and what this one is, this divine one, is the true love of your life, the love from which you have come.

And out of this feeling and this communion with the infinite, a love grows that is most profound. At first that love may be transactional: “Oh Lord, you have come to me; you are so beautiful. I love you so much. You will come to me again, please! I want to be near you.” There is a passion in that love, a desire for connection to the infinite and a passion for that connection. That passion bypasses many Samskaras, many attractions of the world. They become uninteresting compared to this love, which has greater attraction, brings greater passion. And with this love, you begin to feel you are in deep proximity to the one, to your beloved.

And at first you just desire that beloved. You want something. You say, “Please, come to me; be with me. I want from you.”

But as the communion continues and you begin to become closer and closer to the divine one, that desire begins to shift and an attitude of surrender begins to develop, and you begin to think, “I love you so much, I just want to give you everything that I am. I love you so much, I just want to melt into you. I want to give all that I have to you.” And when this sentiment comes, the barriers begin to break down. The sense of “I” and “thou” begins to dissolve.
Because when you let go of the striving and the trying and the devotion becomes so strong, that Bhakti is so strong that you only want to please your lord. You only want to give everything that you are so that that one may have the body that you have, the mind that you have, the heart, that it all belongs to your beloved one. When that feeling comes, there begins to be a shedding of attachment to your I-feeling, a shedding of attachment that this is your body—no, this is the body of your lord; this is your mind—no, it is the mind of the lord. Everything belongs to Him.

When you feel this sentiment, that everything belongs to the infinite one, to the beloved of your heart, to Him or Her, then you feel there is nothing of you that does not belong to your beloved. You are ensconced in surrender. And when you surrender deeply, the feeling of grasping goes away, and you realize all forms are the forms of the one. All forms are the forms of the beloved. Your form is the form of your beloved, of your Krishna, of your Shiva, of your Baba, of your Ma.

This is your form is that form. All forms are that form. That there is nothing outside of that infinite one. And you begin to feel that you have let go. Where there has been you, there is nothing. There is only the one, the Baba, the mother, the Krishna, the Shiva. There is only the one.

Names and forms flicker in the one, but the nature of the one never changes. And you realize that your life, your incarnation is but a flicker in the mind of your beloved, a flicker in the heart of your beloved.
And as you let go, as you surrender, all that you have defined as you, all that you have confined in this identity, when you let go into your beloved, real love abides, love that knows no boundaries, love that cannot distinguish self and other, love that is all-encompassing. When you surrender, then the consciousness of the beloved consumes you. The beloved is all that is. Where you have abided, there is only the one.

This is true love, love that lets go, surrenders completely, dissolves separateness into love unconditional. And you return to the true nature of your being. For the dance of duality plays out in the cosmic halls of eternity within the mind of the infinite; within the awareness of the infinite the dance of you is played out: The dance of your life, of those you love, of your separation, of your pain, your fear, your sorrow, your highs and lows. All the dance of duality is playing out in this cosmic dance.

But whose dance, is it? Who is dancing this dance of separation and form? Is it not the infinite finding eternal source? The infinite playing out the Lila, the play, of creation in this form you call your own and being drawn by the attraction of the beloved back to source.

In the end, Bhakti, Karma, and Jnana all become one path, the path of surrender, of letting go, of dissolving that which you have thought as you into the infinite one. When this happens, love has reached its true nature, complete and total sacrifice. Sacrifice of the ego on the altar of love.

So to inspire, you sing songs, you sing Bhavanam Kevalnam, you chant the sacred names, you write your stories of love, you read stories of love, you read and write about the infinite, you sing and dance, until you see God looking back at you in the mirror and your heart is abloom with love.

This is the potential of your human life, to awaken from the dream of form and duality into your real nature, into the presence of the beloved all around you, within you, as the life of your life, the breath of your breath. Your Baba is everywhere. So when Guru leaves the physical form, where can he go, where can she go? There is no place to go. The infinite one is always there. All plays out within that one.

And that one is exerting an intravesical pull on each and every living being, moving them towards the cosmic nucleus, the Purushottama, the very core of existence. And you are being pulled and the nature of that pull is unconditional love. It is through unconditional love that the infinite dances with you, courts you, and brings you home to be one with Him, Her, to be one.

This is the play. Yoga is to yoke, to unite the small self with the infinite. To dance this dance in the dream of creation, to take the hand of the dancer who invites you to dance with Him, to take His hand and dance with Him. Feel His presence day and night. Feel that night. This Him/Her—it is irrelevant, Him/Her—feel the presence of that one. Day and night with you, not only with you, so close, holding you, touching you. And then let yourself go into the arms of love.

This is true Bhakti. Some say that Bhakti is a dualistic approach. There is lover and beloved. But it is only dualistic in the beginning. When Bhakti reaches its depths, reaches its deep movement, there is surrender and there is union; there is letting go entirely.

So, though Bhakti may start as a dualistic approach, it will always finish when followed to its end in unity and wholeness. For there is only the beloved. All else is the dream dreaming in your mind the relative reality of creation.

 If you want to have this true Bhakti, what to do? Allow yourself to have experience of the presence of the infinite. Then let go, surrender, not just worldly things, surrender your ego, surrender your sense of identity, surrender your beliefs about yourself. Feel that presence in you, in the cells of your body, in your breath, in your mind, in all that is. That is the path of Bhakti, the true Bhakti.

All right? Are there questions? No questions? You have it all down? All right. May your hearts be open and filled with the beloved.


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