SCHOOL OF WISDOM

THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

December 3-14, 2018

DAY 5 – BHAKTI YOGA

LIVING THEOSOPHY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

BHAKTI YOGA

BHAKTI YOGA is the PATH of the HEART

BHAKTI YOGA

ACCEPTATIONADORATIONLOVEBEAUTYCONTEMPLATIONDETACHMENTDIVINEENGAGEMENTFAITHHUMILITYINFINITE

JOYMYSTICPEACEPIETYPRAYERRAPTURESACRIFICESAINTHOODUNIONUNITY. . .

ON LOVE

« Love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation. »

« The path of knowledge leads to Truth, as does the path that combines knowledge and love. The path of love, too, leads to this goal. The way of love is as true as the way of knowledge. All paths ultimately lead to the same Truth. But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us, it is easier to follow the path of love. »

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

RAMAKRISHNA

ON BEAUTY

« Last night, in the silence which pervaded the darkness, I stood alone and heard the voice of the singer of eternal melodies. When I went to sleep I closed my eyes with this last thought in my mind, that even when I remain unconscious in slumber the dance of life will still go on in the hushed arena of my sleeping body, keeping step with the stars. The heart will throb, the blood will leap in the veins, and the millions of living atoms of my body will vibrate in tune with the note of the harp-string that thrills at the touch of the master.»

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

ON UNITY

« In the region of nature, which is the region of diversity, we grow by acquisition; in the spiritual world, which is the region of unity, we grow by losing ourselves, by uniting. Gaining a thing, as we have said, is by its nature partial, it is limited only to a particular want; but being is complete, it belongs to our wholeness, it springs not from any necessity but from our affinity with the infinite, which is the principle of perfection that we have in our soul.»

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

ON HUMILITY

« One can cultivate Truth, and Love also, but to cultivate Humility is to cultivate hypocrisis. The humble is not conscious of his humility. As soon as we think about being something, egoism is there. But if we smash the chains of egoism, and if we merge with the ocean of humanity, we will be part of its dignity. »

« To stop feeling we are something is to become one with God»

MAHATMA GANDHI

ON LOVE

« Love is something that is new, fresh, alive. It has no yesterday and no tomorrow. It is beyond the turmoil of thought. It is only the innocent mind which knows what love is, and the innocent mind can live in the world which is not innocent.»

KRISHNAMURTI

WITNESSES ON THE BAKTI PATH

« God is pure Being, a waste of calm seclusion…much nearer than anything is to itself in the depth of the heart, but He is hidden from all our senses. He is far above every outward thing and every thought, and is found only where thou hidest thyself in the secret place of thy heart, in the quiet solitude where no word is spoken, where is neither creature nor image nor fancy. »

Johann TAULERXIVth Century

WITNESSES ON THE BAKTI PATH

« Let your souls ascend day and night like an « unbroken string » unto the feet of the Beloved whose throne is in your own hearts and let the rest take care of themselves, i.e. the body and everything else. Life is evanescent, a fleeting dream ; youth and beauty fade ; say day and night : ‘Thou art my father, my mother, my husband, my love, my lord, my God – I want nothing but Thee, nothing but Thee. Thou in me, I in Thee, I am Thee, Thou art me. »

Swami VIVEKANANDA 1894 Letter

THE PATH TOWARD THE DIVINE

PRE-REQUISITES

● THIRST

● UNDERSTANDING

● QUALITIES

● NECESSITY FOR A GUIDING PRINCIPLE

● PATH

PRE-REQUISITES : THIRST

● WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR ?

● ARE WE FED-UP WITH MONDAIN PLEASURES ?

● DO WE FEEL THE NEED FOR THE DIVINE ?

PRE-REQUISITES : UNDERSTANDING

● A SINCERE AND THRUTHFULL SEEKING FOR THE DIVINE

« In all the thousand births through which I may doomed to pass, may my faith in thee never known decay ; may passion, as fixed as that which the worldly-minded feel for sensual pleasures, ever animate my heart, always devoted unto thee. »

JNANA BHAKTI

YOGA

BOOK I, Chapt. XX

PRE-REQUISITES : A GUIDING PRINCIPLE

SPIRITUAL IMPULSE

KNOWLEDGE ≠ SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

GURU - SHISHYA

A BHAKTI PATH (SADHANA)

STEPS OF SADHANA – RAMAKRISHNA

1) Staying with pious men (Sadhu-sanga)

2) Faith & Devotion in everything pertaining to spirit (Shradda)

3) Exclusive devotion to proper ideal (Nishtha)

4) Intense love for the Divine (Bhakti)

5) Silent adoration in front of the Divine (Bhava)

6) Intense adoration (Mahabhava)

7) Most intense love for the Divine (Prema)

A BHAKTI PATH (SADHANA)

METHOD & MEANS FOR BHAKTI–YOGA (RAMANUJA)

1) Discerning (Viveka)

2) Mastering of passions (Vimoha)

3) Exercising (Abhyasa)

4) Sacrificing (Kriya)

5) Purifying (Kalyaba)

This Self cannot be attainedby one without strength northrough heedlessness northrough austerity withoutAn aim.

Mundaka Upanishad 3.2.4

A BHAKTI PATH IN CHRISTIANISM

SEVEN DEGREES OF SPIRITUAL LOVE – JAN VAN RUYSBROECK

1) Goodwill, united with the Divine one’s

2) Willing poverty, abandoning any earthly possession

3) Soul purity and body chastity

4) True humility

5) Virtues

6) Clear intuition, purity of mind and memory

7) Contemplation of the Unity of the Divine

DEVOTION

« Devotion to the Blessed Ones is a sine qua non of all spiritual progress and spiritual knowledge, It gives you the proper attitude in which to work on all the planes of life. It creates the proper athmosphere for the soul to grow and flower in love and beauty, in wisdom and power. It tunes the harp of the heart, and thus make possible for the musician to play the correct notes. That is the function of devotion. But you must know the notes you have to play, your fingers must learn how to sweep along the strings, and you must have a musical ear, or better still, a musical heart.

DEVOTION

« And what does devotion mean in life ? It means clearer vision so that we may see the right ; it means deeper love so that we better serve ; it means unruffled peace and calm that nothing can shake or disturb, because, fixed in devotion on the Blessed Ones, there is nothing that can touch the Soul. And ever through thoses Blessed Ones there shines the light which comes from yet beyond Them, and which They focus for the help of the worlds, which they make possible for our weak eyes to bear. »

REACHING THE INNER HEART

LEAVE YOUR BAGAGES BEFORE BOARDING !