Raganuga - 1.1: General Overview of Bhakti

The word rAgAnugA literally means "to follow loving attachment", love directed towards God. To gain a deeper understanding of the concept, let us first examine the concept of bhakti, loving devotion for God, in general.

Bhakti is divided into three main categories in accordance with its development.

sA bhaktiH sAdhanaM bhAvaH premA ceti tridhoditA || (brs 1.2.1)

"This devotion is said to be of three kinds, namely practice (sAdhana), feeling (bhAva) and love (prema)."

The initial stage of practice (sAdhana) is the time when the aspiring servant of God begins to cultivate his relationship with God. Practice is understood as follows:

kRti-sAdhyA bhavet sAdhya-bhAvA sA sAdhanAbhidhA |

nitya-siddhasya bhAvasya prAkaTyaM hRdi sAdhyatA || (brs 1.2.2)

"That, which is accomplished through the functions of the senses, and through which a loving devotional feeling (bhAva) is attained, is called devotion in practice (sAdhana-bhakti). The appearance of an eternally perfected feeling within the heart is called the stage of the attainment of perfection."

As the practice ripens, it culminates into specific loving feelings (bhava) towards God.

zuddha-sattva-vizeSAtmA prema-sUryAMzu-sAmya-bhAk |

rucibhiz citta-mAsRNya-kRd asau bhAva ucyate || (brs 1.3.1)

"A distinct manifestation of divine existence, akin to a ray from the sun of prema, the cause of tenderness of consciousness experienced as different tastes - this is called bhAva."

Foundational feelings of love of God are known to be of five kinds, namely (1) a peaceful, neutral relationship, (2) the affection of a servant, (3) the affection of a friend, (4) the affection of a parent, and (5) the affection of a consort, either as a wife or as a paramour lover. As the foundational feeling is further cultivated, it ripens into a wholesome rapturous experience of love for God (prema).

samyaG-masRNita-svAnto mamatvAtizayAGkitaH |

bhAvaH sa eva sAndrAtmA budhaiH premA nigadyate || (brs 1.4.1)

"When bhava softens the heart altogether, endowed with an abundance of possessive feelings towards Him, being very intense by nature, the wise call it prema."

God, being the infinite reservoir of love, is naturally the object of varieties of individual loving feelings. He appears to each individual devotee in that very form in which the devotee sincerely longs to see Him. This being the fact, there is a need to examine the two prominent varieties of practice of bhakti which lead to two distinct perfections.