Bhakti Yoga: The Path of Love — Swami Avikarananda

From Vedanta Society of Western Washington · 54:07

Show by Vedanta Society of Western Washington

Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on April 21, 2019.In this lecture, Swami Avikarananda explores Bhakti Yoga, the path of love and devotion, through the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. He explains how the natural human capacity for love, often directed toward ourselves, other people, and the changing objects of the world, can gradually be transformed into supreme love for God. Drawing on the Narada Bhakti Sutras and examples from everyday life, he examines the role of worship, prayer, repetition of God's name, and religious symbols in cultivating devotion. These practices help establish a personal relationship with God and gradually purify the mind, allowing love to expand beyond the limitations of selfish attachment toward a more universal and unselfish expression.Swami Avikarananda emphasizes Sri Ramakrishna's teaching that Bhakti Yoga, combined with spiritual discrimination, is particularly suited to the present age. By cultivating devotion while recognizing the impermanence of worldly possessions and desires, spiritual seekers can deepen their attachment to God and loosen their attachment to transient things. He discusses the different devotional attitudes through which God may be approached—as mother, father, master, friend, or beloved—and explains that genuine love seeks nothing in return and is free from fear. Through examples from the lives and teachings of great spiritual figures, he presents Bhakti Yoga as a gradual transformation of ordinary human affection into boundless love, culminating in the experience of God as supreme love.

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