Article Categories"Of all Yogis, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental devotional service, is most intimately united with Me in Yoga and is the highest Yogi of all."
- Bhagavan Sri Krishna, Bhagavad Gita, 6:47
The central message of the Bhagavad Gita, the most important scripture in all of Sanatana Dharma, is that bhakti, or devotion to the Absolute, constitutes the most effective and highly recommended path in all of the Yoga tradition. It is truly unfortunate, however, that despite the almost universally held importance of bhakti in the history of Yoga, there seems to have always been a good deal of misunderstanding on the part of many about what the terms "bhakti" and "Bhakti Yoga" actually mean. I've read even many supposedly knowledgeable authors mistakenly write that bhakti is to be seen as the "Yoga of emotion", or that it somehow precludes any involvement with jnana (knowledge, or intellectualism), philosophy, or serious Yogic sadhana (practice). In actuality, nothing could be further from the truth.
The word “bhakti” is derived from the Sanskrit verb root `bhaj', meaning "to share in, resort to, experience, partake of, cultivate, worship, go to", etc. The object of this “experiencing” or “partaking in” is, of course, God. In this definition, we can begin to recognize in seed form what the foundational basis of Bhakti Yoga consists of.
Bhakti is a trans-emotional state of consciousness that we are meant to cultivate and uncover as the natural essence of our soul, and Bhakti Yoga is a complex and rigorous system of Yoga designed to bring its adherent to a progressively deeper state of meditative absorption (samadhi) in the Divine. Thus, the term “bhakti” denotes both a state of trans-empirical perceptual awareness and phenomenological experience, as well as a philosophical system and praxis designed to bring about such a higher state of awareness of the Divine.
"Devotion" in this correctly understood bhakti sense is radically different from "emotion". Bhakti is a state of consciousness that is transcendent in essence and which reflects the innermost, latent nature of the atman (true self) as being functionally contingent and ontologically sustained by the Absolute. Bhakti, or devotion in this more phenomenological sense, represents the both the true essence and functional nature of our soul. There is nothing material, or emotional, or sentimental about bhakti at all.
Material emotions, for the yogi, are to be transcended. Devotional consciousness (bhakti), for the yogi, is to be cultivated.
This being said, Sanatana Dharma does not teach that emotions are inherently an evil or unwanted mechanism. Emotions in and of themselves are actually a neutral tool. They are a tool that can be used for either good or for self-bondage. The emotive mechanism is just as much a neutral tool as is our mind, body, intellect, etc. Just as is true of our mind, body, and intellect, it isn't that any of these tools are inherently either good or bad. Rather, they're good if they are under our control, and bad if they're not under our control.
When a person has an uncontrolled mind, they're considered to be mentally disturbed. When a person has an uncontrollable body, then they're experiencing some sort of physical illness. In the same way, when a person has emotions that are uncontrolled, they tend to be emotionally unstable and thus not peaceful. And inner peace is the direct manifest symptom of any meaning spiritual transcendence.
To have normal, reactive emotions toward things that happen in our lives is natural. Emotions arise as a result of external things that affect us, which we then perceive as either good or bad. Just like if someone hits us, we feel physical pain, in the same way if someone hurts us emotionally, we then feel emotional pain. Emotions are a natural effect to external stimuli – or at least to our perceptions of such stimuli.
But if we were to cry for the next week because we gently stubbed our toe, then we would be overreacting to a very miniscule amount of physical pain, and we wouldn't really be in control of our physical reactions. In the same way, if we overreact and give in to a sea of uncontrollable emotion with every purportedly traumatizing incident that happens to us, big and small, then we are not serving ourselves, but rather being slaves of our uncontrolled emotions.
So the idea that is espoused in Yoga spirituality is not to artificially repress, ignore, or stifle our emotions, mind, intellect, ego, body, etc., but to see them in their proper place in relation to spirit, our true and eternal self, and to then control and thus transcend their power over us. It is a simple matter of having control over our emotions, rather than allowing our emotions to have control over us.
A prevalent misconception that many have is that God-realized, or enlightened, people are necessarily emotionless people because they have learned to transcend emotion. Nothing could be further from the truth. God-realized people are certainly not emotionless. On the contrary! They can be the most fun people to be with. God-realized sages can laugh, can cry, and can even exhibit anger when appropriate. God-realized people can be emotional; but such emotions are always positive emotions that are used in God’s service, as well as spiritual bhava, or transcendent states of consciousness that the unwise might mistakenly confuse with material emotions. God-realized persons: 1) try not to be ruled by their emotions; 2) tend to focus on more positive emotions (love, compassion, pity, joy, etc.); 3) and ultimately the emotive states that they experience most deeply are the transcendental mellows of love between themselves and God, and not the lower, reactive emotions that arise from sense perception.
About the Author
Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (Dr. Frank Morales, Ph.D.) is universally acclaimed as one of the world's most respected and qualified Dharma teachers and Hindu spiritual leaders alive today. He personifies what it means to be a true and authentic guru.
Dr. Deepak Chopra has exclaimed in 2002: "You've done truly phenomenal work teaching the pure essence of Yoga". In a similar manner, Dr. David Frawley has said about Sri Acharyaji, "Dr. Frank Morales represents the Sankalpa [the will] of the Hindu people and the cause of Sanatana Dharma. I urge all Hindus everywhere to give him your full support, assistance, and encouragement in his crucial work. He needs and deserves our help."
Sri Acharyaji began his personal spiritual journey over 35 years ago at the tender age of ten when he read the Bhagavad Gita for the very first time. He coupled his decades of intense spiritual practice and study with advanced academic achievements, earning a B.A. in philosophy/theology from Loyola University Chicago, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D. in religious studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
He has lectured on Dharma at dozens of top universities, such as Harvard, Columbia, Rutgers, Cornell, and Northwestern. He has also served as a consultant for such Fortune 500 companies as Ford Motor Corporation and Lucent Technology.
Explaining to his doctoral advisor that "I don't want to just study the history of religion…I want to make religious history", Sri Acharyaji eventually left academia to devote himself exclusively to spiritual teaching and to the preservation of the great tradition of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism).
Today, Sri Acharyaji occupies his full time teaching Dharma spirituality to diverse audiences. In addition to leading classes, satsanghas, seminars and lecturing on Sanatana Dharma widely, Sri Acharyaji is a renowned author, as well as a personal spiritual guide (guru) to a rapidly increasing following of enthusiastic students from both the Indian and the non-Indian communities.
Sri Acharyaji was the Resident Acharya (Spiritual Preceptor) of the Hindu Temple of Nebraska (2007 - 2009), which represents the first time in American history that a Hindu temple has ever made such an esteemed appointment. He is the Founder-President of the International Sanatana Dharma Society, a global movement dedicated to teaching Dharma in its most authentic form.
Sri Acharyaji is the real thing: an enlightened guru with the ability to deliver the highest wisdom and spiritual liberation to his sincere students.
Sri Acharyaji's teachings stress the achievement of enlightenment through the practice of meditation, Yoga, and directly experiencing the presence of the Divine. Another overarching aspect of Sri Acharyaji's teachings focuses on the importance of love, compassion and service toward all living beings.
Whether speaking to an audience of thousands, or having a heart-felt discussion with only one person, Sri Acharyaji vividly conveys a deeply moving sense of compassion, peace, humility, and spiritual insight that has endeared him to thousands of students and admirers throughout the world.
Some of his books include:
"Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way"
"Living Dharma: The Teachings of Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya"
"Radical Universalism: Does Hinduism Teach that All Religions are the Same?"
"Taking Refuge in Dharma: The Initiation Guidebook"
"The Vedic Way of Knowing God"
"The Shakti Principle: Encountering the Feminine Power of God"
"The Art of Wisdom: Affirmations for Boundless Living"
His latest book Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way, is scheduled for publication in 2011.
For more information on following the life-transforming path of Sanatana Dharma, please visit his website:
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