ISKCON – BHAKTIVEDANTA, BHAKTI YOGA
> BHAKTI TV (free) BHAJANS,MEDIA ARCHIVE<
Bhakti (DevanÄgarÄ: भक्ति, Sanskrit: devotion, or portion) in practice signifies an active involvement by the devotee in divine worship. The term is often translated as “devotion”, though increasingly “participation” is being used as a more accurate rendering, since it conveys a fully engaged relationship with God. One who practices bhakti is called a bhakta, while bhakti as a spiritual path is referred to as bhakti marga, or the bhakti way. Bhakti is an important component of many branches of Hinduism, defined differently by various tradtions and schools.
The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit भगवद्गीता, Bhagavad GÄtÄ, „Song of God“), also more simply known as Gita, is a sacred Hindu scripture,considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita comprises roughly 700 verses, and is a part of the Mahabharata. The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Krishna, who is revered by Hindus as a manifestation of God himself, and is referred to within as Bhagavan, the Divine One.
The content of the Gita is the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra war. Responding to Arjuna’s confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu theology and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi describes it as a lighthouse of eternal wisdom that has the ability to inspire any man or woman to supreme accomplishment and enlightenment.During the discourse, Krishna reveals His identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Svayam Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of His divine universal form.
The Bhagavad Gita is also called GÄtopaniṣad, implying its having the status of an Upanishad, i.e. a Vedantic scripture.Since the Gita is drawn from the Mahabharata, it is classified as a > Smṛti text < . However, those branches of Hinduism that give it the status of an Upanishad also consider it a śruti or „revealed“ text. As it is taken to represent a summary of the Upanishadic teachings, it is also called „the Upanishad of the Upanishads„. Another title is mokṣaśÄstra, or „Scripture of Liberation“. Read More: > HERE <
Bhagavad-GÄtÄ As It Is is a translation and commentary of the Bhagavad Gita by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). It is known amongst other translations of the Bhagavad Gita for its strong emphasis on the path of bhakti yoga above all others, in line with the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The book has been widely distributed, largely through promotion by the modern Hare Krishna movement. It was first published in 1968 by Macmillan Publishers, with an unabridged edition in 1972. It is now published by The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and is available in nearly sixty languages. Read More: > HERE <
It is believed that > Prabhupada’s < most significant contribution are his books Within the final twenty years of his life Prabhupada translated over sixty volumes of classic Vedic scriptures (such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam) into the English language. For their authority, depth, and clarity, his books have won praise from professors at colleges and universities like Harvard, Oxford, Cornell, Columbia, Syracuse, Oberlin, and Edinburgh, and his Bhagavad-GÄtÄ As It Is was published by Macmillan Publishers, in 1968 and unabridged edition in 1972 and is now available in over sixty languages around the world and some other books by Prabhupada are available in over eighty different languages.
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust was established in 1972 to publish his works, it has also published massively researched multivolume biography, Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta, that in opinion of Larry Shinn will „certainly be one of the most complete records of the life and work of any modern religious figure“. Prabhupada reminded his devotees before his death that he would live forever in his books, and through them would remain present as a spiritual master or guru. Prabhupada had instilled in his followers an understanding of the importance of writing and publishing not only with regard to his works, but also their own initiatives. His early disciples felt Prabhupada had given them Back To Godhead for their own writings from the very start.
Bhakti Yoga – The Bhagavad Gita introduces bhakti yoga in combination with karma yoga and jnana yoga, while the Bhagavata Purana expands on bhakti yoga, offering nine specific activities for the bhakti yogi.
Bhakti in the Bhagavad Gita offered an alternative to two dominant practices of religion at the time: the isolation of the sannyasin and the practice of religious ritual. Bhakti Yoga is described by > Swami Vivekananda < as “the path of systematized devotion for the attainment of union with the Absolute”. Read More: > HERE <
Comments are closed.
