What is bhakti?

loving devotion to God — the path open to everyone, regardless of learning, wealth or birth.

Bhakti comes from the root bhaj, “to share, to belong, to adore”. The Nārada Bhakti Sūtra defines it as supreme love for God. It is one of the great paths of the Gītā, alongside karma yoga (selfless action) and jñāna yoga (knowledge), and many teachers say it is the easiest and sweetest, because it uses the heart we already have.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa lists nine forms of bhakti: hearing about God, singing his names, remembering him, serving his feet, worship, offering salutations, serving as a servant, friendship, and complete self-surrender. Any one of them, done sincerely, is enough to begin. The great bhakti saints — Mīrā, Tulsīdās, Kabīr, Āṇḍāḷ, Tukārām, Caitanya, the Nāyanmārs and Āḻvārs — came from every background, which shows the path is truly open to all.

Start with something small and daily: a lamp, a name repeated with love, one bhajan. Bhakti grows by being practised.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.5.23; Nārada Bhakti Sūtra · Navadhā bhakti: nine forms

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