113 - Navadha Bhakti Nine Methods of Worship | Swami Tattwamayananda
Title: Navadha Bhakti – Nine Methods of Worship
12th chapter: verse 1, 2, 3, 4
1st verse: Arjuna asks: “Some people worship God with name and form – they chant and pray. Others worship the imperishable, the unmanifest. Which is better?”
Arjuna’s question comes from a conflict he is facing. From earlier chapters, Arjuna knew that there are two ways of looking upon God. (1) God as the creator and protector, who listens to our prayers (2) God as the all-pervading divine spirit, transcending names and forms. Arjuna thought he could choose between God with form or God without form.
It is not a matter of our intellectual choice. It is a matter of our own spiritual evolution. A ten-year-old boy has to attend primary school first – he cannot just choose to go to a university. Similarly, we need to start our spiritual life based on where we stand and what we are fit for. Even Buddha had to evolve through 543 life cycles before becoming Buddha.
2nd verse: To encourage Arjuna and to have him focus on God with name and form, Lord Krishna answers in the second verse. “There are some devotees who put their whole mind on Me, they worship Me, and they are completely dedicated to Me. To them, I reveal My true nature. They are certainly great Yogis.”
Lord Krishna continues with his answer in the 3rd through 20th verse.
3rd and 4th verses: “But those higher spiritual seekers, who have their senses under control, who are even-minded, who are fully focused on the Atman as the divine spirit within them and as the all-pervading divine reality without names and forms – they also attain Me alone.”
Normally our mind flows towards the external world through our senses of perception and action. These advanced seekers, when they think of God, they can keep their mind focused on that divine idea. Swami Vivekananda said: “Standing in the middle of market street in San Francisco, if you can meditate, then you are a Yogi.”
For those who have not reached this higher state, they should set apart some time for spiritual practices in the middle of their secular activities.
There are nine ways of connecting with God, as taught by Prahlada in the Bhagavata Purana. It is called Navadha Bhakti - Sravanam (Hearing about God), Kirtanam (Chanting His Name and Glory), Vishnu smaranam (Remembering Him), Pada sevanam (Serving His Lotus Feet), Archanam (Worshipping Him), Vandanam (Prostrating before Him), Dasyam (Being His Servant), Sakhyam (Befriending Him), and Atma Nivedanam (Surrendering to Him, also known as Prapatti or Sharanagati).
Devotion comes when we give a spiritual orientation to our natural emotions and feelings – we divert these emotions towards God. When we do so, we get a feeling of inner fulfillment and contentment.
Our ego can also be given a spiritual orientation. If we do not direct our ego towards good channels, it will go towards negative ones. Whatever we do, do as an offering. Then spiritual qualities will come to us. Finally, we can transcend ego.
Prapatti or Sharanagati is the highest state of a devotee of God. Prapatti means complete surrender and is composed of the following characteristics. (1) Always having a positive outlook in life, full of sattvic qualities such as serenity, wisdom, compassion, and broad mindedness. (2) Rejecting all the opposing qualities such as skepticism and self-doubt. (3) Strong faith that God will protect me. (4) Total self-surrender.
Such a devotee considers every hindrance as a blessing in disguise. He interprets every problem of life in a spiritual way.
Bhagavata Purana has beautiful stories of devotion. Ajamila’s story illustrates how devotion comes to our rescue at the time of death. Ajamila initially led a spiritual life but had a deviation later. His son’s name was Narayana, synonym of Lord Vishnu. At the last moment, when he uttered Narayana to call his son, his mind went towards Lord Vishnu, and he attained liberation.
In the Ishavasya Upanishad, there is a verse where a dying man pleads to his mind: “O my mind, remember all the good deeds you have done.” At the point of death, we feel helpless and want to hold on to something. We should have a storehouse of good thoughts that can give us a sense of fulfillment at the last moment.
In Pantheism, when we equate nature to God, our mind begins to evolve spiritually. Ancestor worship reminds us that there is something beyond the body and makes us think beyond the empirical. In image worship, one does not equate the image to God. When a spiritual seeker worships an image, he first invokes and projects the all-pervading divine principle in that image.
12th chapter: verse 1, 2, 3, 4
1st verse: Arjuna asks: “Some people worship God with name and form – they chant and pray. Others worship the imperishable, the unmanifest. Which is better?”
Arjuna’s question comes from a conflict he is facing. From earlier chapters, Arjuna knew that there are two ways of looking upon God. (1) God as the creator and protector, who listens to our prayers (2) God as the all-pervading divine spirit, transcending names and forms. Arjuna thought he could choose between God with form or God without form.
It is not a matter of our intellectual choice. It is a matter of our own spiritual evolution. A ten-year-old boy has to attend primary school first – he cannot just choose to go to a university. Similarly, we need to start our spiritual life based on where we stand and what we are fit for. Even Buddha had to evolve through 543 life cycles before becoming Buddha.
2nd verse: To encourage Arjuna and to have him focus on God with name and form, Lord Krishna answers in the second verse. “There are some devotees who put their whole mind on Me, they worship Me, and they are completely dedicated to Me. To them, I reveal My true nature. They are certainly great Yogis.”
Lord Krishna continues with his answer in the 3rd through 20th verse.
3rd and 4th verses: “But those higher spiritual seekers, who have their senses under control, who are even-minded, who are fully focused on the Atman as the divine spirit within them and as the all-pervading divine reality without names and forms – they also attain Me alone.”
Normally our mind flows towards the external world through our senses of perception and action. These advanced seekers, when they think of God, they can keep their mind focused on that divine idea. Swami Vivekananda said: “Standing in the middle of market street in San Francisco, if you can meditate, then you are a Yogi.”
For those who have not reached this higher state, they should set apart some time for spiritual practices in the middle of their secular activities.
There are nine ways of connecting with God, as taught by Prahlada in the Bhagavata Purana. It is called Navadha Bhakti - Sravanam (Hearing about God), Kirtanam (Chanting His Name and Glory), Vishnu smaranam (Remembering Him), Pada sevanam (Serving His Lotus Feet), Archanam (Worshipping Him), Vandanam (Prostrating before Him), Dasyam (Being His Servant), Sakhyam (Befriending Him), and Atma Nivedanam (Surrendering to Him, also known as Prapatti or Sharanagati).
Devotion comes when we give a spiritual orientation to our natural emotions and feelings – we divert these emotions towards God. When we do so, we get a feeling of inner fulfillment and contentment.
Our ego can also be given a spiritual orientation. If we do not direct our ego towards good channels, it will go towards negative ones. Whatever we do, do as an offering. Then spiritual qualities will come to us. Finally, we can transcend ego.
Prapatti or Sharanagati is the highest state of a devotee of God. Prapatti means complete surrender and is composed of the following characteristics. (1) Always having a positive outlook in life, full of sattvic qualities such as serenity, wisdom, compassion, and broad mindedness. (2) Rejecting all the opposing qualities such as skepticism and self-doubt. (3) Strong faith that God will protect me. (4) Total self-surrender.
Such a devotee considers every hindrance as a blessing in disguise. He interprets every problem of life in a spiritual way.
Bhagavata Purana has beautiful stories of devotion. Ajamila’s story illustrates how devotion comes to our rescue at the time of death. Ajamila initially led a spiritual life but had a deviation later. His son’s name was Narayana, synonym of Lord Vishnu. At the last moment, when he uttered Narayana to call his son, his mind went towards Lord Vishnu, and he attained liberation.
In the Ishavasya Upanishad, there is a verse where a dying man pleads to his mind: “O my mind, remember all the good deeds you have done.” At the point of death, we feel helpless and want to hold on to something. We should have a storehouse of good thoughts that can give us a sense of fulfillment at the last moment.
In Pantheism, when we equate nature to God, our mind begins to evolve spiritually. Ancestor worship reminds us that there is something beyond the body and makes us think beyond the empirical. In image worship, one does not equate the image to God. When a spiritual seeker worships an image, he first invokes and projects the all-pervading divine principle in that image.
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