Bhakti Yoga: The Path of Devotion - Paperback

by Swami Vivekananda (Author)

Bhakti Yoga, or the path of devotion, is based on the doctrine "Love is God and God is Love". The Bhakti yogi experiences separation and longs to meet or even just glimpse his beloved, God. Nothing else attracts him, nothing else holds his attention, all else is meaningless.

Bhakti Yoga appeals particularly to those of an emotional nature. The Bhakti yogi is motivated chiefly by the power of love and sees God as the embodiment of love. Through prayer, worship and ritual he surrenders himself to God, channelling and transmuting his emotions into unconditional love or devotion. Chanting or singing the praises of God form a substantial part of Bhakti Yoga.

Swami Vivekananda argues that Bhakti Yoga is the most direct and shortest way to experience the divine. There is nothing higher than love and Bhakti Yoga is the religion of love.

Author Biography

He is responsible for revitalizing Hinduism and building its stature as a major world religion. He not only introduced Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the foreign soil but is solely responsible for the enthusiastic response of these Indian spiritual self-improvement techniques in the West. He is none other than Swami Vivekananda - a Hindu monk and chief disciple of Ramakrishna. Born in a noble Bengali family, Vivekananda espoused the path of spirituality early in life. Right from a young age, he was fascinated by ascetics and took to practicing meditation. However, life wouldn't have been the same for this spiritual genius had he not met his mentor and guide - Sri Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna was the powerful force behind Vivekananda who channelized the commanding intellect and power of this young man to unite with God. The two shared an extraordinary bond amongst themselves which became one of the most unique guru-disciple relationships in the history. Vivekananda spent most of his life preaching the Vedanta philosophy to people across the world. A globe trotter, he became a sanyasi at the young age of twenty five and since then devoted his life for the betterment of mankind. He advocated the importance of secular and spiritual education, which he thought was the only way to enrich and inspire the life of the masses.