What is bhakti? How can it be defined? Sankara Bhagavadpada gives an example to explain bhakti. Suppose there is a newly wed couple. When the husband is away at work, the young wife waits eagerly for his return. Such is the attachment of a true bhakta towards the Lord. Ramanujacharya too gives an example to help us understand bhakti. Suppose there is a pot with a hole in it. Pour oil into this pot, and it flows out evenly through the hole. Likewise, the true bhakta’s thoughts about the Lord flow evenly and constantly. He is steadfast in his faith in the Lord.
However, such bhakti does not come easily, said V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse. Before we can develop bhakti, we must first understand ourselves. We must do our duties without expecting anything in return. When one does bhakti yoga, one experiences indescribable joy. Vedanta Desika says that this joy far surpasses the joy one experiences in Sri Vaikuntha.
The significance of bhakti yoga is explained by Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna is a confused man at the beginning of the battle. He is unwilling to kill those who oppose him on the battlefield because they are his relatives, his gurus. On the other side there are people who showered their affection on him. How can he attack them, he asks. Krishna tells him the importance of doing one’s karma, the difference between the atma and the body, how to do jnana yoga, how jnana leads to bhakti, how to do upasana, the different stages in bhakti yoga, the three gunas. He shows His Cosmic form to Arjuna, enabling him to see it, by giving him the required divine eyesight. He finally says that the best way to attain liberation is saranagati — total and unquestioning surrender to Him. It is only after this, that Arjuna picks up his weapon.
