Bhakti (Devotion) brings all the desired best qualities naturally (सहज ही) & automatically
भगवान से प्रीती ही भक्ति है
और
"भक्ति स्वतन्त्र सकल गुण खानी, बिन सत्संग ना पावे प्राणी"
और
"भक्ति स्वतन्त्र सकल गुण खानी, बिन सत्संग ना पावे प्राणी"
Bhakti (Devotion) brings all the desired best qualities naturally (सहज ही) & automatically
&
bad qualities vanish - no need to make any efforts or निश्चय (whatever we achieve with our efforts - decays or we get fed up/tired in trying to maintain or keep up with our निश्चय
&
bad qualities vanish - no need to make any efforts or निश्चय (whatever we achieve with our efforts - decays or we get fed up/tired in trying to maintain or keep up with our निश्चय
but whatever comes to us naturally as His प्रसाद (like all good qualities by भक्ति) is sustained without effort.
Bhakti comes ONLY through satsang:
Definition of what constitutes Satsang as per Srimad Bhagvat:
sravanam (listening), kirtanam (chanting His glories), visnoh smaranam (remembering), pada-sevanam (serving His feet), archanam (worship of the Deity), vandanam (offering prayer), dasyam(eternal servant of Krshna), sakhyam (eternal friend of Lord), atma-nivedanam (SURRENDER YOURSELF (,i.e., ALL YOUR THOUGHTS, WORDS & DEEDS TO THE LORD – THIS IS THE GIST OF GITA AS SAID BY LORD HIMSELF
As you must have noticed, sravanam (listening) is the first & main step & last step is SURRENDER (which is called the pinnacle of Bhakti)
sravanam (listening), kirtanam (chanting His glories), visnoh smaranam (remembering), pada-sevanam (serving His feet), archanam (worship of the Deity), vandanam (offering prayer), dasyam(eternal servant of Krshna), sakhyam (eternal friend of Lord), atma-nivedanam (SURRENDER YOURSELF (,i.e., ALL YOUR THOUGHTS, WORDS & DEEDS TO THE LORD – THIS IS THE GIST OF GITA AS SAID BY LORD HIMSELF
As you must have noticed, sravanam (listening) is the first & main step & last step is SURRENDER (which is called the pinnacle of Bhakti)
in simpler words:
भगवान की लीला कथा का श्रवण कथन करना, किसी संत की वाणी का चिंतन करना, भगवान के नाम का जप करना, भगवान के रूप का चिंतन करना,पूजा करना, भगवान के धाम में वास करना, , गीता ,भागवत ,रामायण का अध्ययन करना, ये सब सत्संग है
,i.e.,
Listen to Lord’s / His kathas / His bhajans, to listen to His devotees’ devoted love & sayings for Him (,i.e., the systematic hearing of the transcendental activities, qualities and names of Lord Sri Krishna), take Lord’s name repeatedly / devotedly, to contemplate on Lord’s Face / Form, worship & offer prayers, to stay at Lord’s place (Vrindavan), read Gita, Srimad Bhagvat, Ramcharitmanas
Gist is that the necessary & sufficient condition is that if we are devoted lovingly to Lord sincerely (which develops once we start following the above broad guide), you override all the anxieties, worries & विकल्प (multiple options) of the world & easily achieve the goal of life, which is to find our lost relationship of love with Lord & thereby go back to Godhead (,i.e., beyond worldly birth death cycle)
BUT IF WE DO NOT DO HIS LOVING DEVOTION (,i.e., do not surrender to Him, NOT EVEN GOD CAN SAVE US from worldly birth death cycle & degradation to any of the 84 lakh species of lives) & whatever determinations we make with pen & paper, whatever & howsoever many pious & philanthropic deeds we do, are all of NO VALUE at all in achieving the goal of life which is to get out of worldly birth death cycle,old age & disease for ever.
भगवान की लीला कथा का श्रवण कथन करना, किसी संत की वाणी का चिंतन करना, भगवान के नाम का जप करना, भगवान के रूप का चिंतन करना,पूजा करना, भगवान के धाम में वास करना, , गीता ,भागवत ,रामायण का अध्ययन करना, ये सब सत्संग है
,i.e.,
Listen to Lord’s / His kathas / His bhajans, to listen to His devotees’ devoted love & sayings for Him (,i.e., the systematic hearing of the transcendental activities, qualities and names of Lord Sri Krishna), take Lord’s name repeatedly / devotedly, to contemplate on Lord’s Face / Form, worship & offer prayers, to stay at Lord’s place (Vrindavan), read Gita, Srimad Bhagvat, Ramcharitmanas
Gist is that the necessary & sufficient condition is that if we are devoted lovingly to Lord sincerely (which develops once we start following the above broad guide), you override all the anxieties, worries & विकल्प (multiple options) of the world & easily achieve the goal of life, which is to find our lost relationship of love with Lord & thereby go back to Godhead (,i.e., beyond worldly birth death cycle)
BUT IF WE DO NOT DO HIS LOVING DEVOTION (,i.e., do not surrender to Him, NOT EVEN GOD CAN SAVE US from worldly birth death cycle & degradation to any of the 84 lakh species of lives) & whatever determinations we make with pen & paper, whatever & howsoever many pious & philanthropic deeds we do, are all of NO VALUE at all in achieving the goal of life which is to get out of worldly birth death cycle,old age & disease for ever.
