THE DEFINITION OF
BHAKTI OR DEVOTION
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CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE PATH OF BHAKTI OR DEVOTION?
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ANS : DEVOTION IS THE QUICKEST WAY TO GET THE ULTIMATE, BUT THE WAY PEOPLE HAVE BECOME TODAY, WITH THE INTELLECT BEING BROUGH FORTH TO THIS LEVEL, YOU CANNOT TO A DEVOTEE. A DEVOTEE HAS NO AGENDAN OF HIS OWN. HIS ONLY OBJECTIVE IS TO DISSOLVE INTO HIS OBJECT OF DEVOTION. LET US SAY HE IS A DEVOTEE OF SHIVA. IT MEANS HE HUST WANTS TO MERGE OR DIE INTO SHIVA. THAT IS ALL HE KNOWS. HE IS NOT THINKING OF LIVING WELL OR BECOMING RICH OR GOING TO HEAVEN. ARE YOU LIKE THAT? NO. FOR YOU, DEVOTION IS A CURRENCY FOR AN EASIER LIFE. LOOK AT THE PRAYERS IN THE WORLD. NINETY-NINE PERCENT OF THEM ARE JUST SAYING, "GIVE ME THIS, GIVE ME THAT, SAVE ME, PROTECT ME, ISN'T IT SO?
THIS IS NOT DEVOTION, THIS IS A DEAL, YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE A STUPID DEAL. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BECOME A DEVOTEE, AND ATTAIN TO THE ULTIMATE THROUGH DEVOTION, THEN YOU HAVE NO AGENDA FOR YOURSELF. YOU DO NOT WANT LIFE TO GO YOUR WAY. YOU JUST WANT TO MERGE WITH THE ULTIMATE, THAT IS ALL. IF YOU ARE LIKE THAT, DEVOTION IS THE QUICKEST WAY TO REALISATION. IT IS VERY QUICK.
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BUT TODAY, WITH ALL YOUR EDUCATION AND THIS QUESTIONING MIND, DEVOTION IS OUT OF THE QUESTION. PLEASE LOOK AT IT. ARE YOU CAPABLE OF BECOMING TRULY DEVOUT TOWARDS SOMEONE? NO. SO DON'T TALK ABOUT IT. I AM NOT SAYING THERE IS NO ELEMENT OF DEVOTION AT ALL IN YOU. THERE IS. IT CAN ONLY TAKE SMALL RIDES ON IT - YOU CAN SIT IN THE TEMPLE FOR TEN MINUTES AND SAY, "SHIVA, SAVE ME". AND YOU GET CONFIDENCE TO GO THROUGH THE NEXT TWENTY-FOUR HOURS . TO THAT EXTENT IT WORKS. BUT IT CANNOT BE YOUR ULTIMATE JOURNEY BECAUSE YOUR INTELLECT IS NOT WILLING TO BEND DOWN TO ANYONE TOTALLY, UNLESS YOU COME TO A CERTAIN LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE WHERE YOU NATURALLY PROGRESS INTO BECOMING A DEVOTEE.
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AT THE ASHRAM, HAPPENS THAT PEOPLE COME AS INVESTIGATORS. SLOWLY, THEY BEOCME STUDENTS, THEN THEY BECOME DISCIPLES, THEN THEY BECOME DEVOTEES. THAT IS A NATURAL PROGRESSION OF LIFE. AS THEIR EXPERIENCE BECOMES DEEPER AND DEEPER, THEY HAVE NO OPTION. THEY ARE TOO OVERWHELMED WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING. THEN THEY CANNOT HELP BLOWING DOWN COMPLETELY. JUST BOWING DOWN AND TOUCHING SOMEONE'S FEET IS NOT DEVOTION. YOU ARE BENDING DOWN BECAUSE THERE IS GOING TO BE A BENEFIT. SOMEONE HAS TOLD YOU, IF YOU GET BLESSINGS FROM SOME GURU, THINGS WILL HAPPEN WILL. YOUR BUSINESS WILL WORK WELL OR YOUR CHILDREN WILL HE HEALTHY. SO YOU BEND DOWN. IT IS OKAY, YOU GET THAT ALSO. TO THAT EXTEND DEVOTION WORKS FOR YOU, BUT NOT AS AN ULTIMATE VEHICLE TO TAKE YOU BEYOND.
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YOU HAVE TO USE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU HAVE. YOU ARE RIGHT NOW ENJOYING THE CIRCUS OF THE INTELLECT. YOU LIKE IT. SUPPOSE YOU DISCOVER SOMETHING TODAY, YOU GET VERY THRILLED. YOU SPEND YOUR WHOSE LIFETIME JUST UNDER THAT THRILL. WHAT YOU THINK UP IS NOTHING NEW, BECAUSE IT WAS ALWAYS THERE IN NATURE. IF YOU JUST HAD EYES TO SEE, EVERY DAMN THING THAT YOU DISCOVER HAS ALREADY BEEN THERE. WHATEVER GREAT DISCOVERY YOU HAVE MADE, THE VERY EARTH THAT YOU WALK UPON KNOWS IT. IN AMERICA THEY CALL IT DIRT, DIRT KNOWS BETTER THAN YOUR BRAINS. EVERYTHING THAT YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING THAT YOU RE-INVENT, PLANET ALREADY KNOWS.
DEVOTION AS AN ULTIMATE VEHICLE WILL NOT WORK IN YOUR PRESENT STATE OF MIND. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR YOU. YOU ARE TOO COMMITTED TO YOUR BODY AND YOUR INTELLECT. YOU CANNOT DROP THEM ALL OF A SUDDEN AND BECOME A DEVOTEE. DEVOTION AS AN ACT IS VULGAR.
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DEVOTION AS A WAY OF LIFE IS WONDERFUL. IF YOU GO THE WAY OF DEVOTION, YOU HAVE TO SEE WHETHER IT IS SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR YOU. IT DOES NOT WORK BECAUSE YOU ARE A TALKING PERSON. THINKING PEOPLE CANNOT BE DEVOUT.
INSTEAD OF THAT, IT IS BETTER YOU DEVELOP A LITTLE REVERENCE FOR LIFE AROUND YOU. WHEN YOU HAVE THIS MIND, DON'T TALK DEVOTION. IF YOU COME TO SUCH A POINT THAT THE EXPERIENCE OF LIFE, OR SOMEONE'S PRESENCE HAS OVERWHELMED YOU SO MUCH THAT YOUR MIND HAS JUST SUNK INTO THE BACKGROUND, THAT WHAT YOU THINK AND WHAT YOU FEEL IS MORE IMPORTANT, THAT SOMEONE ELSE HAS BECOME MUCH MORE IMPORTANT FOR YOU - THEN DEVOTION IS A POSSIBILITY.
