Bhakti and Sankirtan by H.H. Sri Swami Sivananda (PDF)
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Dedication Letter by Swami Sivananda Introduction Foreword Prayer for Darshan Prayer of a Devotee God is Truth Live Wisely Glory of God’s Name Peace Chant The Spiritual Path Spiritual Conquest Contents Chapter I–BHAKTI SADHANA 1. God Exists 2. Power of Prayer 3. Importance of Worship 4. Pratima or Symbol 5. Bhajan 6. Upasana 7. Puja 8. Manasika Puja 9. Four Kinds of Bhavas 10. Yearn for God-vision 11. Self-surrender 12. Stages in Bhakti Chapter II–PHILOSOPHY OF LOVE 1. What Is Love? 2. Gospel of Love 3. Faith 4. The Lover’s Path 5. Viraha 6. Gopis’ Love for Krishna 7. God Becomes a Slave of Bhaktas 8. Avataras 9. Philosophy of the Word Radha 10. Glory of a Bhagavata Chapter III-ESSENTIALS IN BHAKTI 1. Drink the Essence 2. Sow the Spiritual Seed in Youth 3. Anyone Can Become a Bhakta 4. Do Not Bargain With God 5. Ishvarapranidhana 6. Sweet Are the Uses of Adversity 7. Method of Combination Chapter IV–SANKIRTAN 1. What Is Sankirtan 2. Science of Sankirtan 3. Benefits of Sankirtan 4. Sankirtanists, Wake Up! 5. Canker in Sankirtan 6. Akhanda Kirtan Chapter V–BHAKTI SUTRAS OF SANDILYA Chapter VI–AUXILIARIES TO BHAKTI 1. Importance of Guru Bhakti 2. Bhakti Yoga in a Nutshell 3. Prema Yoga 4. Puja or Worship 5. Prasad Mahima 6. Worship of Lord Subrahmanya 7. Worship of Lord Ganesa Chapter VII–INSPIRING DHVANIS Chapter VIII–LIVES OF BHAKTAS 1. Life of Prahlada 2. Life of Narada 3. Life of Dhruva 4. Life of Ratnakar 5. Life of Jagai and Madhai 6. Story of a Thief 7. Life of Namdev 8. Story of Puja with Two Cats 9. The Story of Ambarisha APPENDIX 1. Bhakti Yoga Prasnottari 2. Bhakti Yoga Alphabets 3. Glory of Ram Nam 4. The Maha Kumbha Mela 5. Origin of “Sri Ram” Mantra 6. Divine Namapathy 7. Glory of Ekadasi 8. The Four Stages of Sound Dedication Om Dedicated to all Aspirants Treading the Path of Devotion Om OM Ananda Kutir, 6th August 1941. Dear Narayan, Bhakti is supreme love of God. It is the Kohinoor in the crown of devotees. It blossoms afterwards into Jnana. It leads to immortality or God-realisation. Cultivate it through Satsanga, Japa, Kirtan, Prayer, Meditation and Service of Bhaktas. Life without devotion is real death. Remember Prahlada, Dhruva. You will draw inspiration. Worldliness, Vasanas, cravings, pride, attachment, egoism and lust are enemies of devotion. Kill them. Do total self-surrender unto the Lord. May your heart be filed with devotion? May you abide in the Lord forever and ever. OM Ananda Kutir 8th August 1941. Beloved Govind, Kirtan is singing Lord’s Name. It is the easiest, surest and safest way for attaining God. Kirtan is nectar. Kirtan is divine food for the soul. Kirtan can make you immortal. Sing the Maha-Mantra, Hare Rama Hare Rama,Rama Rama Hare Hare; Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,Krishna Krishna Hare Hare. May you attain God through Kirtan. INTRODUCTION The world is now passing through a great crisis due to the present wars. Rajasic evil forces of materialism are flying aloft in the sky deluding the people with fears and anxieties and keeping them in the dark about the existence of the inner Atmic treasure and Supreme Bliss within. People look upon religion with contempt. Ignorance prevails everywhere. There is lack of faith in the Vedic scriptures or there has been a misunderstanding of it in some quarters. People interpret religion to suit their taste and convenience. They pretend to know everything. In fact, there is no spiritual growth in most of the people now-a-days. There is no real education. There is no culture. There is no ethical training. When the lamp of knowledge–the lamp of devotion to God–is lit up then all these dark forces of Rajas will fly away and there will be peace, harmony, good understanding and universal brotherhood. Sattva will reign supreme and there will be happiness everywhere. The book “Bhakti and Sankirtan” contains very useful instructions for the students in the path of Bhakti Yoga. First of all, I have proved with practical illustrations the existence of God for the conviction of rank materialists and atheists. The first chapter contains the essence of Bhakti Sadhana. I have stressed the importance of worship, Bhajan, Upasana, Manasic Puja, etc., as a means to develop highest devotion. In the second chapter I have dealt with the subject of “Love” in detail,–the various methods for developing love, the glory of true universal love, etc. Here I have also shown that faith is the primary requisite in the development of Bhakti. In this chapter, Viraha or separation of the devotee from his Lord, the sufferings the devotee will have to undergo before he gets God-vision and the various methods of Sadhana suited to achieve this end, have been clearly shown. The third chapter contains some of the essentials in the path of devotion. The efficacy of practical Sadhana to the exclusion of all vain discussions have been pointed out here. The qualifications of a devotee, when and how devotion should be practised, how adversity or pain alone can give real spiritual progress and a stimulus for the continuance of Sadhana, etc., have been shown in detail. The science of Sankirtan, the benefits of Sankirtan and how to conduct Akhanda Kirtan have all been discussed with many instructions for Sankirtanists in the fourth chapter. The condition of the present day Sankirtan is also reviewed here briefly. Chapter five gives the Bhakti Sutras of Sandilya with text, meaning and commentary. Chapter six and seven deal with songs and Sankirtan Dhvanis. The essence of devotion, Bhakti, the necessity for treading the spiritual path and other subjects have been dealt with, in the songs which will be much helpful to the aspirants because they can assimilate things in the form of songs very easily. The last chapter gives an account of the lives of some great devotees of the past like Prahlada, Dhruva and Narada, which will be a source of inspiration to all the aspirants. Stories and lives of great personages inspire a man to magnanimous heights, especially when the forces of Rajas overpower the aspirant. He will have extreme disgust, depression, delusion and doubts in his spiritual pursuit. He will begin to doubt the very existence of God. At such moments especially, if one goes through the lives of great men and knows how they conducted themselves in such circumstances, how they got over the various difficulties in the path, he will also have the same strength and will-power to get over all difficulties one by one and attain the goal of life, immortality or perennial joy. I hope the present book will be a boon to the aspirants who wish to attain the goal of life by treading the path of devotion. All Sadhakas meet on the platform whichever path they may proceed. God or Brahman is the only reality. This world is a mere show. Realise this and become free in this very birth. May you all tread the path of devotion and ever rest in the state of divine ecstasy and unalloyed bliss of Joy and happiness! Sivananda ANANDA KUTIR, 11th May, 1941. FOREWORD The Bhakti Sutras of Rishi Sandilya are as much useful to the aspirants in the path of devotion as the Bhakti Sutras of Narada. Each Sutra is a gem of incalculable value. There is depth of thought in every Sutra. These Sutras treat in a beautiful manner about the nature of devotion, culture of devotion, the forms of devotion, the Adhikaris or persons who are fit to tread the path of devotion, the object of devotion and the fruit of devotion. There are 84 aphorisms in Narada Bhakti Sutras.Sandilya Bhakti Sutras contain 100 aphorisms. A Sutra is a terse short verse in Sanskrit which is pregnant with deep meaning. Great philosophical thoughts are condensed in a Sutra. A Sutra is a string on which are studded deep philosophical gems of thoughts. Rishis of India have all expressed their thoughts and spiritual experiences in the form of Sutras. Realised souls only with deep inner sight and clear intuition can write Sutras. We cannot understand these Sutras without the help of a lucid and exhaustive commentary. Rishi Narada shows in his Sutras that there is difference between Jiva and God but Rishi Sandilya points out their oneness. The Bhakti Sutras of Sandilya contain three chapters. Each chapter has two parts. In the first part of chapter I, Rishi Sandilya gives a definition of devotion and states that devotion is different from knowledge and that supreme devotion or Para Bhakti leads to the attainment of Oneness and Immortality. In the second part of chapter I, he discusses about the nature of Bhakti, Yoga and Jnana and their inter-relations. In the first part of chapter II, he points, out that knowledge is the internal means and the lower kind of devotion is the external means of Bhakti. In the second part, he gives an elaborate description of the secondary acts of devotion (Gauna Bhakti) which are the causes of supreme devotion (Mukhya or Para Bhakti). In the first part of the third chapter, he deals with the object of devotion. In the second part he points out that the Jiva or the individual soul realises the oneness with the Lord through supreme devotion and attains the final emancipation. Should we not then devotedly express our keen sense of gratitude to our venerable Rishi Sandilya who has churned out the butter of Bhakti Sutras from the ocean of Bhakti literature for our assimilation and easy absorption? Glory to our revered Rishi Sandilya who has shown us the easy way to develop Bhakti and attain the final emancipation.