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seekeroftruth
USA
23 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 22 2008 : 4:06:16 PM
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Hi fellow AYPers,
I've been practicing AYP for about 4 months and realized what seems to me a contradiction in the lessons. In lesson 67, Bhakti- The science of Devotion, yogani talks about cultivating desire/bhakti towards our ishta. He cites Ramakrishna, who was crazy with bhakti, as an example. From this, it seems that we should try and have a strong, intense desire for our ishta. However, on the forums, a common phrase is that AYP should be like brushing one's teeth. You simply do it without any emotional fuss. And, in lesson 120 Getting Enlightenment, Yogani says we should, "Let go of the very thing we have been cultivating- intense desire for God." This seems contradictory. Why should we cultivate bhakti only to throw it away? I guess it serves a purpose, but is it even necessary to cultivate bhakti? If one is simply content to do one's practice and live peacefully, wouldn't that be enough for one to achieve enlightenment (though one can't "achieve" enlightenment but I won't go there  ) Or maybe bhakti is simply a tool to help get us to enlightenment, and we cultivate it when we need it, and don't bother with it when we don't need it?
Anyway, sorry for such a long post. I'm confused and wondering if any forumites or Yogani could clear some things up.
Thanks. |
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yogani
USA
5242 Posts |
Posted - Feb 22 2008 : 5:35:29 PM
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Hi SeekerofTruth:
If we have desire, we can use it to advance ourselves on the path by aiming it at a high ideal -- our ishta (chosen ideal). Of course, we must be willing to act also, and practices are a direct manifestation of our desire.
To form the habit of a regular routine of practice is important, because it is regular practice over the long term that will make the difference, whether we have strong spiritual desire or not. In that sense, our daily routine may be like "brushing teeth," performed like clockwork.
If we have strong desire for advancement, it should not affect the procedure of our practice. However, the presence of bhakti (spiritual desire) in general will make all of our practices more powerful.
So ongoing bhakti and a regular habit of practice are both beneficial. At times we may be obliged to use self-pacing with both, but that is another story.
The long run scenario is that practices will continue according to habit, and the results and influences of practice will show up more and more in daily life (see my other post today touching on that). A central part of this evolution will be increasing bhakti on a higher level, which can reach far beyond our person. This will become known as an outpouring of divine love. So personal bhakti gradually becomes universal bhakti -- this is a "letting go," but the bhakti becomes even more. By then, it has become a constant pouring of love for the divine, coming from the divine. It is the melting of the heart to become a pure channel of divine love in the world, which is anything but wishy-washy. Mountains can be moved with such love, and entire civilizations can be illuminated from within.
So it is good to bring our bhakti along with us all the way to the end, while keeping our daily routine of practices intact... 
Bhakti comes in many forms. It can be very quiet and determined, or gushing all over the place. Bhakti might even seem selfish. It is a personal thing, as is our choice of ishta. Anyone who is engaged in regular spiritual practices has bhakti. Without spiritual desire there can be no spiritual practice. And spiritual practice brings more bhakti, spiraling higher and higher. Meanwhile we just keep doing our daily practices without fanfare. So it goes...
The guru is in you.
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seekeroftruth
USA
23 Posts |
Posted - Feb 22 2008 : 7:56:06 PM
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Thanks. That clears everything up a lot.  |
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Suryakant
USA
259 Posts |
Posted - Feb 27 2008 : 7:54:31 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by yogani
Hi SeekerofTruth:
If we have desire, we can use it to advance ourselves on the path by aiming it at a high ideal -- our ishta (chosen ideal). Of course, we must be willing to act also, and practices are a direct manifestation of our desire.
To form the habit of a regular routine of practice is important, because it is regular practice over the long term that will make the difference, whether we have strong spiritual desire or not. In that sense, our daily routine may be like "brushing teeth," performed like clockwork.
If we have strong desire for advancement, it should not affect the procedure of our practice. However, the presence of bhakti (spiritual desire) in general will make all of our practices more powerful.
So ongoing bhakti and a regular habit of practice are both beneficial. At times we may be obliged to use self-pacing with both, but that is another story.
The long run scenario is that practices will continue according to habit, and the results and influences of practice will show up more and more in daily life (see my other post today touching on that). A central part of this evolution will be increasing bhakti on a higher level, which can reach far beyond our person. This will become known as an outpouring of divine love. So personal bhakti gradually becomes universal bhakti -- this is a "letting go," but the bhakti becomes even more. By then, it has become a constant pouring of love for the divine, coming from the divine. It is the melting of the heart to become a pure channel of divine love in the world, which is anything but wishy-washy. Mountains can be moved with such love, and entire civilizations can be illuminated from within.
So it is good to bring our bhakti along with us all the way to the end, while keeping our daily routine of practices intact...
Bhakti comes in many forms. It can be very quiet and determined, or gushing all over the place. Bhakti might even seem selfish. It is a personal thing, as is our choice of ishta. Anyone who is engaged in regular spiritual practices has bhakti. Without spiritual desire there can be no spiritual practice. And spiritual practice brings more bhakti, spiraling higher and higher. Meanwhile we just keep doing our daily practices without fanfare. So it goes...
The guru is in you.
When one realizes one is experiencing the habit of regular practice, one realizes grace and self-effort have met in a blissful embrace of divine love.
I was blessed with a mini-epiphany while driving home from work today: when the day comes when one realizes that one is brushing one's teeth out of love for one's ishta, one may be assured that one's bhakti is blossoming like the blossoms in the garlands one's ishta is placing around one's neck on the subtle level.
All you need is love - everything else is impermanent technology that passes away forever in each successive present moment. |
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question regarding bhakti
