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The Path of Devotion: Bhakti Yoga in Kali Yuga

A spiritual discourse on Bhakti Yoga and its relevance in the modern age.

"Bhakti is the word in Sanskrit or in the Hindi language. Bhakti means devotion."

"In Kali Yuga, now is devotion, bhakti yoga... Kali Yuga Kevala Nāma Ādhāra, there is only one hope: the name of God."

A speaker at the Yoga and Daily Life Center in London gives an evening talk on Janmāṣṭamī, the celebration of Krishna's birth. He explains the two types of devotion—selfish and selfless—and emphasizes Bhakti Yoga as the most accessible spiritual path for the current age. Drawing from the Bhagavad Gītā and other traditions, he discusses the worship of God with and without form, the nature of divine incarnation, and the importance of surrender and reducing attachment to overcome life's various pains.

Filming location: London, UK

Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān kī, Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān kī, Satyāsana Tandar Vākī. Salutation to the cosmic light, God of our hearts, omniscient and omnipresent, in the divine presence of that Lord. Good evening, all dear brothers and sisters. Welcome to this program. Today, the evening is dedicated to yoga. Yoga is yoga. But how to achieve that goal in life? There are different ways to come to this Yoga and Daily Life Center in London. There are many different ways which lead us here. Bhakti is the word in Sanskrit or in the Hindi language. Bhakti means devotion. And there are two kinds of devotion. One devotion is selfish. Selfish in that way, that we have so many wishes, and we would like that all our wishes come true. And when our wish is fulfilled, we forget God. It means we are very selfish. Second, we just pray for mercy. Mercy for all beings, for the entire planet. Peace, love, harmony, for the creatures which are living on this planet. This planet is a home for so many creatures. And these all creatures are light of one God, that God which has no form. You cannot see him with these eyes, you cannot smell him with this nose, you cannot touch him with this physical body, but he is there. That is the God in which we believe, Īśvara. You can say Īśvara, you can say Holy Father, you can say Allāh, you can say Śiva. But the Īśvara is that which has no form. But he is here. He is with us now. He is in our heart, omniscient and omnipresent. The twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, if you read it or not, if you know the book or you don't know, I don't know, the Bhagavad Gītā. Bhagavad means Bhagavān, God. Gītā means the song, the glory of God, which is written as the glory in the form of the teachings. So, there are 18 chapters in the Bhagavad Gītā. These 18 chapters indicate different kinds of yoga. 18 different kinds of yoga. It is a wonderful book. It is a holy book. And the speciality of this book is that it is written in the original Sanskrit language in such a perfect way that no one can change even one alphabet, one letter. If you change it, it's completely different. So, it is like in the form of poetry, perfect language, the Sanskrit, the grammar. But in different languages, commentary is written by many scholars according to their understanding, according to their language, their mentality, their culture. So, commentary can be different. For example, London is London. But now, different tourist guide books and different tourist guide persons give commentary about the city of London, and it is different. It is impossible to give the history of London now. But the form of the poem, you can put all inside. That means in one pot you can fill the whole ocean. Gagar me sagar. And that is the miracle of the language. The one word, when we say God, you see the entire universe is in this one word, God. In every language, there is only one word for God. When you said about Īśvara, it is impossible to divide Īśvara, or you said Allāh. Impossible to see in the form, but he is there. Everything is here. So, in the 12th chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, Kṛṣṇa was asked by one of his disciples, Arjuna. Now, it is a very interesting thing. Every holy book is created or written or spoken between master and disciple. What we call the Gītā, the Upaniṣads, the essence of the Vedas, the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Bhagavad Gītā, and the Bible. In the Bible are the stories of what the master was talking to his disciples and what the disciples were asking him. There are 16 miracles in the Bible, all in all. Or the Quran, where Muhammad is telling his experiences as a prophet. And so these words are the words of the truth. And when these words are the words of the truth, we believe, we trust. And these words are for us the highest truth that we can say, the holy. And that's why it's called a holy book. Sikh tradition, now they call the Sikh religion, is a part of Hinduism. And now they have this, after several gurus, now finally they have one book called Gurū Granth Sāhib. The holy book, Granth. Granth means book. Where there is a lot of knowledge inside the Grantha. And finally, Guru Nanak Sahib said very nicely, when the book was completed, I think, or in which chapter he spoke, that I don't know. But there is one beautiful poem: "Guru Grantha ko jānīye, pragyat gurū kī de. Jiske hirde saach hai, khoj usi me le." The holy book, this Grantha, you should accept it, take it as the embodiment of Gurudev. That's not this paper written; the book is speaking to you. This book is not a book. It is that Gurudev himself, and in whose heart there is love, for love is truth. That one will realize that realization of that embodiment of the Gurudev or the truth. So to understand these books, we need devotion. And we need to be free thinkers, and not only one way. Otherwise, again, you are in a blind street, or you are in that traffic circle. Traffic cycle, you are going round and round. So, in the twelfth chapter, it is written, Arjuna is asking a question to the master. Master, God, Kṛṣṇa, what's better, to worship a personal God or an impersonal God? Means, God as a form or God as the universal? Krishna's answer is this: both are good, both are good. But as human beings, we are in this physical body. Our knowledge, our intellect, our experiences, our abilities are limited. And the formless God, that the universal one, what we call, is limitless. So we are limited, and that one is limitless. So, how can the limited one understand the limitless one? The senses, our feelings, for our intellect, for our emotion, it is easier if we go through the form. That's personal God, Iṣṭa Devatā we call in Hindi. Devotion means oneness. Devotion means relation. What kind of relation? Like an embryo in the body of the mother, what relation does that embryo have to the mother's body? If there is a conflict and there is some kind of disturbance, then that mother will lose the child, or the child will lose the mother. There must be perfect balance, perfect harmony, perfect union. Perfect balance in that way, that frequency, the waves of the energy must be the same. For 24 hours constantly, for 9 months, the embryo has this relation, this connection. Then the child is born. Though it is separated from the mother's body, there is still nourishment from the mother's body; it drinks the milk. And when it's grown, you can now have the solid food. Still, lifelong, there is a relation, a feeling of the mother's love. If there is a conflict, then both of them are suffering. Similarly, a devotee, a devotee who believes in that God, that personal God or in the Gurudev, must have the same relation. You are not two. The body is two, but this one understanding is there, oneness. If you make a mistake, you come in doubt, conflict, and abortion is there. Therefore, it is said, one poet, Rahim Das, was a great poet. He is writing one poem. The thread of love is so fragile, so gentle. Don't break it with your ignorance. If it is broken, you can't join it again. But if you still try, if you bring it together again, there will be a knot. The pulse will not go through. There will be a knot on the way. So, unconditional love to God, that's called Bhakti Yoga. In Satya Yuga, it was tapasyā. In Dvāpara, yoga was the yajña. In Treta, yoga is jñāna, philosophy. But in Kali Yuga, now is devotion, bhakti yoga. So finally, the decision was this: that in this time, in this iron time, in this age, people have no time, and people have very little age. At that time, it is said, people were living for thousands of years. And now, for us to live 70 years, 80 years is a very big achievement. Hardly someone will reach 100 now. And our grandchildren, I think 40, 50 maximum, 35. Going down, we see how the illnesses, what kind of food we are eating, what kind of air we are inhaling, what kind of water we are drinking, what kind of clothes we are using, what kind of equipment, electric waves, all this, it does reduce our life. So, they knew what would happen now. What is happening today, in this year, everything was already predicted thousands of years before. Those saints, holy persons were known as the seers, Trikāla Darśī. Tri means three. Kāl means time. The number of past, present, and future, what is with us? We don't know what was in the past. We are not sure about the present. And what will be after seconds or minutes? We don't know anything. We have a thick wall in front of us. That wall is a wall of ignorance. So, Kali Yuga is based now; the only hope is the name of God, meaning Bhakti Yoga. Which God? That's your choice. Who am I to tell you to believe in this God? You know, to choose God and the spiritual path is a subject of the heart. Therefore, in religion, in love, in devotion, one should be free. If someone tells you and forces that you must love me, not others, then it will be different. We cannot force someone to love someone. Yes, it can happen, but it is not long-lasting. Again, you have to go there. So, Kali Yuga Kevala Nāma Ādhāra, there is only one hope: the name of God. Your mantra, your prayers, your devotion. Śūnya Śūnya Nāra Hoī Bhava Pāra. Meditate or repeat, repeat your mantra. O human, then you will be able to cross the ocean of ignorance. Bhakti Yoga. And in every religion, there is devotion. Where there is a human, there is culture. And where there is culture, there is a human. Where the human is going, bringing culture with. Culture is moving with you. I originally was born in India. I come here. I have been living nearly 40 years now in Europe. But still, I am carrying Indian culture. There are Africans living here for generations. But they have African culture. So, a place like London is a multi-culture, and this multi-culture together makes the beauty of the humans. And from every culture, we learn something. So, similarly, where humans are moving with the culture, there is one part of the culture they call religion. But the real religion, real God is only one, only one. Approaching is a different thing. So bhakti yoga is the part which is best for us, and this is the only way to come through now in this. But of course, besides this, we should also use our brain, jñāna yoga, the philosophy, the intellectual way. When I tell you something, then you should also think it over. There may be many of you who are sitting, but I am telling you, do not accept, do not agree. Yes? You have freedom to think, and you have freedom to decide. That's beauty. What I am talking about is my experience. What I am talking about is my feelings. What I am talking about are those words which were spoken by great saints in different cultures that I know. But at the same time, we are human, and we can see and we can feel it. If one hungry person is sitting here, very hungry, our duty is to give something to eat. So just serve, give that which one needs in the right place, on the right things. And so when you come to some master, when you come to someone, you listen first, then try to understand. And when your heart and your brain both accept, then think over furthermore, and then you follow. Otherwise, it becomes just an emotion, and emotion means motion. You are in the motion; it is emotion. And that motion is so high, waves, you have no chance to get out. But those high waves on the ocean, they are not forever. The hurricanes will finish very soon. And again, the ocean will become calm, no emotions. And it means you are out of that emotion. So all the worldly relations are emotion, and these emotions can be good or can be bad. Therefore, we have to use that vivekā, that sense, or if we can see some animal is suffering on the road, we know. If there is an accident with humans or with animals, we have to take care of that. Because of the pain, every creature feels the pain. It's not a question of death, but it's a question of suffering. To take away the pain of someone is a great thing. I would say the person who invented or researched anesthesia has done a great karma, good karma. You know, when you go to the dentist, it's a little bit boring, drilling. Dr. Said moment, please, can I give an injection? Sometimes you sleep and things are done: operation, kidneys, heart, livers, many, many things. I, for me, this is one who brought this science, this knowledge about this, has done a good, good karma, many good karma. So similarly, we should remove the pain of others. That is a good karma. Now, there are different kinds of pain. Physical pain, that's easier. But there is some mental pain, emotional pain that causes wounds in our heart, sometimes lifelong. There is also intellectual pain, attachment pains, property, money, loss—these many, many things. Humans got the intellect very good. That is the best thing that a human could get from God. It is a powerful tool. But with this intellect, we get hundreds of thousands of problems. If someone takes away your house, you will suffer for life. If someone takes a bird's nest away, the birds will fly and make a new nest in another tree. That world will not suffer so much. So, we got that kind of intellect, but with that we got attachment. And that attachment and greed, greedy. So, greed and attachment, these two, have made the human brain paralyzed. They are completely paralyzed. So, there is an intellectual pain. How to heal that one? Which anesthetist will help there? And there he said, "The love, the devotion, bhakti yoga, give it to God in His hands, in divine will." And try not to create attachment. As many things we collect, that many sufferings we will have. And that's why my master used to say, "Enter the kingdom of the Lord through the gate of sacrifice." Mahātmā Gandhījī said, "Renounce and enjoy." And Jesus said, "Thou shalt not carry." Trust in your faith, in your kiśmat, in your luck. You will get what you need. Why are you carrying unnecessarily? So, everywhere we see the divine message is the same: Bhakti yoga. So, similarly, today is the day, the day of that bhakti yoga, the day of the yoga. And that means the day of the incarnation of God, Kṛṣṇa. In the spiritual language, we call it incarnation. In normal language, we call it birth. And on another, higher level, we will say manifestation. And for a holy sense, we will say embodiment, day of embodiment, but the meanings are the same: he is born. Only the one who was Śiva, who was not born, He himself manifested it, is called Svayaṁbhū. And Krishna is known as one of the greatest incarnations ever incarnated on this planet. And he said, his disciple Arjuna is asking. It is on the fourth chapter. I have today printed out the eighth and seventh ślokas or mantras. Arjuna is asking Krishna something, and Krishna said, "Yes, Arjuna, the cause or the purpose of my coming," incarnate, holy sense or holy incarnation is then. He said, "I am not here for the first time." From time to time, I manifested myself through my yoga māyā. Time to time, I incarnate, manifested through my yoga māyā. Who said? That cosmic consciousness, that God, yoga, māyā, the power, the śakti of the yoga. And this yoga means not that you have head standing and bhujaṅgāsana, the cobra pose, and this pose, and that posture, and one leg up and one leg down. Yeah, it's good for our health, stretching this, that. That's not yoga. Yoga is that which balances the entire universe. That energy between matter and consciousness. That energy, the universe is like a frozen space. Within it is a consciousness, but it is paralyzed. It can't do anything. So, the consciousness, chaitanya, has no desire. It's feeling without feelings, and the matter can't do anything. Now, between these two, nothing is happening. And when nothing will happen, then Hari-yoga. And therefore, between these two is one power, energy, śakti. That's called māyā. Māyā means not only illusion. Maya means not only ignorance, so that śakti, that power, the feelings. One is very lazy, doesn't want to work, and just sleeps and does nothing, sleeps and sleeps. God was thinking, "That's not good." I must make something demand that he is working on something. At least he should get up and go somewhere, so then he ordered the fire. That's called digestive fire, jāṭharāgni. Go into his stomach. Went to the stomach, and then a hunger. So, very lazy boy. Slowly got up and looked, "Where is the kitchen?" Is there some piece of bread or this? He goes and walks, and then takes and eats. So what God has done, everything in this creation, it was done purposely. There is a long story: why this world is created? And God said, "I want to create some, but then they will just go and do nothing. It was lying like rocks, the stones. What is the purpose of that?" Then he said, "They should eat something, fire." Fire came, but they said, "Then what will they eat?" Then he said, "Jīva-bhakṣate," life will eat life. Then he said, "Oh God, that's terrible." He said, "Yes, it is terrible." That's why they will create karma, and then the cycling process will begin, recycling. Oh God, that's terrible. There is no chance to come out, but they said, "Yes, there is one chance." What? The human body. How will humans come out? Because we will give them intellect. Will they use it? They will come out. If they will not use, make the same mistake, they will again be the victim of these 8.4 million different creatures created on this planet by one creator. 8.4 million different kinds of creatures, divided into three categories, Jalchar, Thalchar, Nabchar: creatures in the water, on the earth, and in the space. All this, how the karma is created, coming, going, where the action is a reaction, where the action is a reaction. And so, many, many functions are given to us by that nature, that creator. Okay. So, between consciousness and matter, this is the Shakti. That's called Māyā, Yogamāyā, uniting. So, it is that Śakti unites these two, brings this between, and that's how the creation begins. Ekoham bahu syāmi. I am one, and now I will multiply. I am one, and now I will have children. It's also a desire of multiplying, of continuity. And in this way, so life begins, the creation begins. That's why God Kṛṣṇa said, "Time to time, I incarnate through my yoga māyā." All holy saints and holies, what we call incarnations, they come with a special energy, with a special mission to help, and they just go. Like clouds come, it rains, and it goes. You will never see them when the cloud is just all rain and there is nothing left. It is raining, and clouds are moving. Similarly, saints are coming, and they are showering their blessings for us, and they are moving; they are going. If you are there, you get it. So, again he is asking Arjuna, "What is that which brings you here time to time?" Why does that divine consciousness, that universal consciousness, try to minimize itself into one person? Now, we can't understand how to understand the entire universe, that energy, that power in one person. That is very hard for us. So, it's not a quantity, it's a quality. Let's say there was a big fire, a very big fire, burning many, many houses and bushes. Now, it means not that in London there is no fire anymore. We think all fire went there. No. Still, we have fire here too. And this small fire, this fire spark which we have, has the same capacity to become bigger than that fire which is burning somewhere. Similarly, the quantity, the power in this, do not measure it with your eyes. Oh, is that very big or very small? It is there. And that becomes, it is said in the Bhagavad Gītā, in the fourth chapter, when my devotees, sādhus, are tortured, are in trouble, that time I incarnate to destroy the negative energy, the rākṣasa energy, to establish again the right auspices. The dharma and sambhavim, yogī, yogī. In every yuga, that is why I make myself come to this planet. So whenever such troubles appear in the world, and the discrimination happens. Tadātman sarjāmyam. That time, I manifest it and save the planet and save the pure souls in this world. Now, the life of all holy saints and incarnations was not so that you will think, "Oh, beautiful." He had to come because certain things happened which we can't accept. And now things are happening like that. So I hope it's a time, the Kali Avatāra, the incarnation of the Kali, must come and will come soon. But soon? We don't know when that soon is. Tomorrow in evening satsaṅg, we will speak about the time that's called yugas, kalpas. How many yugas, or billions or trillions of years of human years, is the life of one Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa? And how many billions of years it takes him just to put his eyelids down and open. Our time on this mortal planet, and there is a big, big, big difference. So tomorrow we will speak a little bit about that. So today is the day of bhakti and yoga. Actually, yoga, because Krishna is known as a yogendra, and Krishna is also known as a karma yogī. Krishna said that nothing is impossible for me in this universe. Everything is available to me, whatever I wish. But still I work, still I act, because all will do what other bigger ones are doing, or greater ones are doing. He was against laziness, and against judging anyone without knowing the truth. Better you judge yourself that yes, you are in ignorance, and you can't understand. You try to understand, you surrender, and you serve. Best way is to surrender. So, there are many, many beautiful stories about Kṛṣṇa. He is a loving God, a very, very loving God. Everyone loved him very, very much, and he gave great teachings, a great message. But he is coming, why? Very painful. What happens to his mother? What happens to his? Why does he have to come finally? And that we have one video for you to see. You will maybe have pain to see this. Or you will understand now, finally, yes, why God has to come on this planet. So, I wish you all the best. We call it happy Janmāṣṭamī, happy Kṛṣṇa's incarnation night today. And I pray to God to bless you with good health, happiness, and a long life. So finally, one devotee of Kṛṣṇa, his disciple, his best friend—Kṛṣṇa's best friend, because he had also many friends. And after, when he went, one of those saints was praying. Govind, merī prārthanā hai. The song which our Madhuram was singing just now. Govinda is the name of Kṛṣṇa, a protector of cows. Protector of the other creatures too, not only the humans. My request to thee, O Kṛṣṇa, is that I will never forget your name. This is your name, O Lord Kṛṣṇa, day and night I chant or sing your name, Govinda Kṛṣṇa. My one prayer, Lord, My one request, Lord: at the time of my death, when I leave this body, please appear in front of me. Play your sweet flute. Attract my consciousness and my mind, that I merge into you in one day. O my brothers, O my Lord, for what I came into this world, and what am I doing? And what I brought into this world when I was born from my mother's body. When you were born, you had not even one centimeter of cloth over your body. There was no credit card with you, no? So, what did you bring when you were born, and what will you take with you when you die? Even this body will not go with you. Everything that belongs to us will remain here. Then why are we attached to this? Only one thing, Lord: that this should be my last birth and that I become one with that cosmic divine light. So, wish you all the best and many blessings. Deep Nayan Bhagwānakī. Thank you, Jay.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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