There is a new moon today and it is the day in between the equinox and the beginning of the sacred period of Navarātri (the nine nights of the Goddess). It is a time for bhakti and thus today’s post.

What is Bhakti?

Bhakti is the path of loving devotion, faith, and surrender to the Divine or to a Higher Ideal. This is a path of inner and outer working. Inwardly we observe our belief, our devotion and how our worship and service changes us. Our work outside of us guides us to the right community, to service for the betterment of the spaces we are in. It is an accessible path that allows us to live our lives fully.

Bhakti is one of the four paths (chatur marga) of yoga, the other three being: karma marga (the path of action and service), jnana marga (the path of applied knowledge and wisdom) and raja marga (the royal path of meditation, focus, concentration and dissolution). These paths are not isolated but interwoven into the stage of life we are in and the kind of life that we lead.

Ishta Devata

Ishta - “what is good or what is loved”. Devata - “illuminous, Divine”

In Bhakti Yoga, this is our own precious form of the Divine.

I have had various influences during my lifetime and so, at different points in time, I focus on different forms. This has included Mary, Mother of God (I attended a Catholic secondary school), the various forms of the Devi (Lakshmi has always been a favourite), Shiva, my Guru, my mom (since her passing).

Working with Bhakti

1. Explore the following questions:

• Where do you find the Divine?

• What form or aspect are you drawn to?

• How are you inspired or guided by this form?

2. When you have identified the form or ideal that you are drawn to, take time to learn, to fill your mind and space with stories, chants, and images that remind you of the ideal you have chosen to focus on.

3. As you go through your day allow yourself to feel the presence of your ishta devata. Feel their guidance and love.

4. When faced with stressful situations or times of anxiety, bring the ideal/form to mind, observe what you can do with their support, surrender the worry.

5. This is a process we work at throughout the moments of our day. Observe how repeating this process allows your faith to deepen, your worries to lessen and your life to lighten.

peace,