First off... It is not a religion. Most people think this and it is a misunderstanding. It is devotion to being.
Devotion definition as per Oxford dictionary - "love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause."
"Bhakti yoga, also called Bhakti marga, is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity. It is one of the three paths in Hinduism which lead to Moksha (liberation), the other paths being Jnana yoga and Karma yoga."
I am talking about the non-dual art of Bhakti yoga. Without the dogma or preconditions around it. Including only the pure essence of loving devotion into your everyday life for all living beings. Your own consciousness can be your personal deity, in this way you don't objectify or limit God, or see it outside of yourself.
There is a major difference between practicing (anything) mechanically versus practicing with love and devotion.
One will lead you nowhere, the other to enlightenment!
The question might arise, 'How do I practice with love?'
By being genuine and honest, by loving your own consciousness or God as much as you can. Each day, be willing to go deeper into this infinite love. Accepting all parts of yourself. Even the parts you don't like or the parts you judge so harshly. It is not easy to do, but so rewarding. Love the liar in you, love the critic in you, love the procrastinator in you, love the hater in you, love the contraction in you, love the sadness in you, love the grief in you, love the joy in you, love the disgust in you, love the awe in you, love the dedication in you, love the love in you.
Why?
Because what's not to love? The True creator (God) loves all these things! He loves the rapest and murderer and thief and fraud and guru and widow and hero and mother and brother all the same!
Earnestness and sincerity are of utmost importance. When every second of your life is dedicated towards Self-realization, you will not waste time in useless endeavors.
Being totally committed is love.
With the focus being infused with love the practice offers one-pointedness, genuine surrender, and all other qualities necessary to further quickly.
Come practice yoga with LOVE!
I leave you with words from Baruch de Spinoza the Dutch philosopher:
"Stop praying.
What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything I've made for you.
Stop going into those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and saying they are my house. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That's where I live and there I express my love for you.
Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don't blame me for everything they made you believe.
Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can't read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son's eyes... ➤ you will find me in no book!
Stop asking me "will you tell me how to do my job?" Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry, or bothered. I am pure love.
Stop asking for forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive. If I made you... I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies... free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are, if I'm the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of god would do that?
Respect your peers and don't do what you don't want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that alertness is your guide.
My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step on the way, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now and it is all you need.
I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record.
You are absolutely free to create in your life. Heaven or hell.
I can't tell you if there's anything after this life but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is not. As if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.
So, if there's nothing after, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won't ask if you behaved right or wrong, I'll ask. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?...
Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don't want you to believe in me, I want you to believe in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.
Stop praising me, what kind of egomaniac God do you think I am?
I'm bored of being praised. I'm tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy! That's the way to praise me.
Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you've been taught about me.
What do you need more miracles for? So many explanations?
The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders."
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