Bhakti Yoga
"When you have love for humanity, you like to share your knowledge - which is information, plus experience."
Harish Johari.Bhakti Yoga concentrates and focuses the mind on an object which is both inspirational, beloved and divine. Through out history people have sought freedom from suffering, greater understanding of life and spiritual enlightenment. Many have struggled to find this peace on their own, only to find themselves further entangled in sorrow, with no greater understanding. Eventually, this individual may realize that they are in need of guidance and seek assistance from individuals who they perceive as having successfully traveled the spiritual path. Bhakti Yoga is a tradtion of service and devotion to the one who helps and guides the individual on their spiritual path. It may take the form of devotion to a person, a deity or any uplifting form.
GURUS
It is out of the Bhakti Yoga tradtion that the idea of a Guru-disciple relationship has evolved. The literal meaning of the word "Guru" is heavy. "Gu" means heaviness, darkness or ignorance. "Ru" means the one who dispels. The guru is one who lifts the heaviness of life. One can say that which dispels your ignorance and enables you to see your Self is the guru. In this light we have many gurus or teachers. In our normal day to day life we have individuals who show us how to cook, how to use computer programs, fix our car. These people are dispelling our ignorance in certain areas - they are our "computer guru," "mechanic guru" et cetera.
Having a spiritual guide is very similar. Your spiritual guru answers your questions as to how to approach life and death. Many people do not feel the necessity for a specific spiritual guide. There is nothing wrong with this, just as there is nothing wrong with fixing your own computer. A spiritual guide is a necessity only after one has tried unsuccessfully to secure lasting peace. A guru is necessary only when one does not know. If one understands perfectly his/her reason for being on the planet and has a peaceful mind, there is no reason for a spiritual teacher.
Some people feel that they have found all the guidance they need in books. However, in reading we bring only our own limited understanding to the information. If we misunderstand the words presented to us our teacher will point out to us "Sorry, you have failed. That is not what this information really says." It is similar to why individuals attend universities with living teachers, who understand the information presented in the texts from many angles. These professors are guiding us to a deeper understanding of the information we find in books and pointing out when we have not grasped the information. A spiritual guide is very similar to this kind of teacher - they will point out when we have "failed" and when we have "passed."
One's spiritual teacher or guru acts as a guide to help the individual to uncover the spiritual teacher within you. Swami Satchidananda describes the guru as "...the inner Light or Spirit or consciousness within each person." The guru helps you re-fine and to begin to identify with that part of you which seems to always know what is going on with you. He or she helps you so that ultimately you will not have to depend on any outside sources for your knowledge and information. A guru is a guide to assist the individual in becoming completely free of all outside attachments. The guru's duty is not only to show you that you the inner knowledge, strength, wisdom and bliss within, but to help you begin identifying with it and letting it guide your life.
Chanting "When a sound is mentally repeated with awareness and concentration, the thought takes on the form of that sound, it becomes that sound and the energy inherent in that sound manifests in the mind."
Swami Satyananda Saraswati.Chanting is part of the Bhakti Yoga path. Chanting is a method for focusing the mind on a single point through devotional singing done with deep feeling and strong will. Chanting is primary a healing modality for the emotions and is believed to be the easiest and most powerful way of balancing and strengthening the mind. It is considered a particularly valuable technique for individuals who have suffered psychological trauma, as it is a "yogic tranquilizer."
Chanting causes the brain to change from increased beta waves, which are associated with anxiety states, to slower alpha waves, which are associated with deep states of relaxation. Kirtan is believed to have such a strong effect on emotional states because of the similarity between music and the emotions Chanting in Yoga is usually done in Sanskrit, but can be done in any language.
Benefits of Chanting:
- By holding the sound at the soft palate, the pituitary gland is stimulated; Holding sound vibrations in the chest helps to stimulate the thymus gland.
- Chanting helps us to overcome self-consciousness.
- Singing is an automatic expression of joy - as one's inner being becomes lightened, singing spontaneously occurs. (People who do not have a lot of joy may find this practice initially very difficult).
- A vibration is created by the vocal cords being struck together. These vibrations enter the ear, in turn setting up vibrations in the ear drum and its fluids.
- Vibrations and sounds are relayed to the brain where they are acknowledged and compared to the memory of past sounds and mental images. New sounds (such as Sanskrit) help to stimulate different parts of the brain.
- Chanting relieves tension in different parts of the body (both organs and glands). Notice how different sounds require strength in different parts of the abdomen and throat.
