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wigswest
USA
115 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 20 2009 : 01:15:19 AM
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Hi guys, another forum, another question ;
I'm trying to get a grasp on the concept of bhakti. I understand it's the transfer of emotional energy, but I can't quite make the leap from, say, wanting a lover, to wanting The Light (which has been my ishta since I was a child, just didn't know it till I found AYP :)
Concrete to abstract? How do you guys manage it?
Even more difficult for me is the idea of transmutation of negative energy - if I'm angry at my boss, how on EARTH could this be translated to emotional energy toward one's ishta?
Not looking for theory here so much, just practical pointers and how y'all manage this ;)
Thanks in advance.
Gayle |
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yogani
USA
5242 Posts |
Posted - Feb 21 2009 : 11:50:15 AM
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Hi Gayle:
All of our desires (and frustrations) are for wholeness, and the central "technique" of bhakti is favoring a gradual recognition of this, and, most importantly, acting on it. We have to begin somewhere, putting one foot in front of the other, and we keep going. Yoga practices will accelerate the process. Then emotions of all kinds will increasingly coalesce around the formation of our ideal representing our wholeness. It is called our "ishta," our "chosen ideal."
Over time, every feeling we have is increasingly redirected toward our ideal, and our ideal also gradually expands as we expand within. It is not all or nothing at any point in time. It is a gradual shift we find occurring in our life. Like all yoga practices, the growth of bhakti is gradual and cumulative. Which is not to say it cannot be momentous at times. Like all other practices, bhakti requires some self-pacing to even out the ups and downs, so our steady progress can continue over the long term.
Many of the discussions around the forums deal with bhakti, the translation of emotions, how it drives our practices and life choices, self-pacing, etc. You are on your path, and you will witness your process with more clarity with every passing month. As you do, the mystery of redirecting emotional energy will become much more clear. It is more about seeing than applying a mechanical technique. We will know it when we see it, and act accordingly. This is the process we favor.
Take the bhakti you have now and act on it. In time it will expand to encompass everything you do. The rise of inner silence is what facilitates this. Bhakti is the first manifestation of stillness in action. From that, all the rest will flow.
The AYP Bhakti and Karma Yoga book provides a layout of the path of bhakti, and how it relates into our actions, which is the karma yoga aspect -- the movement of our inner silence as a divine outpouring in daily living. Step-by-step, bit-by-bit, this is what happens.
"From a small acorn does the mighty oak tree grow."
Bhakti is like that. More experiential than conceptual. 
Enjoy!
The guru is in you.
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wigswest
USA
115 Posts |
Posted - Feb 22 2009 : 01:28:40 AM
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| Thx, Yogani - Namaste to you, and all :) |
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grihastha
USA
184 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2009 : 4:34:51 PM
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Good question. I've been wrestling with this for ages.
I love my Goddess - really love her, almost unbearably sometimes. I carry the yearning in my heart and the pit of my stomach like a hot coal. I percieve Her as absolutely real - so this is dualistic - and I'm somewhat certain she even revealed Herself to me once.
BUT I also understand, almost as deeply as the yearning, that God and I are indivisible - as the sayings go, like milk and its whiteness or fire and its capacity to burn. This is beginning to open out for me now that I'm reading Sri Ramakrishna, who was, basically, the living embodiment both of dualist bhakti (at least superficially) and total non-duality.
It's not easy, this stuff, is it? Personally, I love the struggle to reconcile my emotions (yearning for Her) with the increasing pull towards realizing total unity (to discover Her as milk discovers its whiteness). Basically, the interface between the supernatural and the metaphysical, I suppose. I got into AYP through bhakti, and as I said on another thread I sometimes feel disloyal, as if I'm denying Her, but at other times I understand with quite scary clarity that there are no boundaries, no real forms. As Ramakrishna says, God yearns for God, and existence is God dancing - with God...
Love! |
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cosmic
USA
821 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2009 : 02:17:23 AM
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Hi Gayle,
Luckily this is a circular process. Meditation will increase your bhakti, and that will drive you to more meditation. Rinse, repeat 
But also keep in mind that bhakti expresses itself in a variety of ways. It doesn't have to feel like a burning passion for the divine. You don't have to roll on the ground in tears like St. Francis. Maybe later...
Whatever gets you on the meditation seat 2x daily without fail, rain or shine, in sickness and in health, etc. is good solid bhakti. For me, not meditating just isn't a possibility anymore. It's just what I do and there's nothing dramatic about it.
As for transmuting negative energy, I just try to stay mindful and not feed or indulge emotions like anger. Don't actively participate, in other words. Just watch. Sorry if that doesn't answer your question.
Peace
cosmic |
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SeySorciere
Seychelles
1571 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2010 : 02:05:53 AM
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| This passion and longing is getting to be too much and it's scaring me... It feels like I've diverted all my passion into a passion for God, for inner silence. Plus I'm not sure if this does not fall into the cathegory of "getting attached" to inner silence. Is this a good thing or bad thing? |
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adamantclearlight
USA
410 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2010 : 10:49:26 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by SeySorciere
This passion and longing is getting to be too much and it's scaring me... It feels like I've diverted all my passion into a passion for God, for inner silence. Plus I'm not sure if this does not fall into the cathegory of "getting attached" to inner silence. Is this a good thing or bad thing?
You balance that passion with meditation which is releasing the passion and the rise of dispassion. These two combine to increase one another in a virtuous circle until both encompass the Cosmos.
Adamant |
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SeySorciere
Seychelles
1571 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2010 : 01:03:18 AM
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| Thank you Adamant - The thing is, this longing makes me want to go and meditate in the middle of the day; I can't wait for my usual evening time and I know I will overload if I do that. Is it ok to just sit in the silence for sometime during the day without saying the mantra, just to satisfy the longing. Does this count as meditation time? |
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wigswest
USA
115 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2010 : 1:25:56 PM
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Hi Sey, it's like being head over heels in love with a human, is it not? :)
I know where you are, I've been there several times in my life (am there now ;) - I can't speak to what particulars you "should" or "shouldn't" be doing, but I would say, look upon your passion as a gift, which it is, a precious one. Don't struggle against it - learn from it, and enjoy it, and be thankful for it.
It will pass soon enough (I don't think humans are built to sustain passion like that indefinitely ;), and you'll be scratching your head wondering where it went...that's when the hard part comes |
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SeySorciere
Seychelles
1571 Posts |
Posted - Feb 24 2010 : 04:27:55 AM
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 Thank you Wigwest.
Well, yes, my longing has abated somewhat and is now manageable, but now I long for its intensity again..
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Edited by - SeySorciere on Feb 24 2010 04:29:54 AM |
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bhakti questions
