Bhakthi is the Chariot

"Bhakthi is the chariot in which athma travels to reach the divine”

I am going to divide this into three parts:

🌷Bhakthi

🌷Bhakthi as a chariot

🌷Why athma travels on it, to reach the divine.

Bhakthi 🌞

I have always looked at this word and its application and wondered what is the nature of it and why is it so beautiful and pure.

The word Bhakthi according to scholars comes from the word Bhaj - meaning attached to or devoted to.

(i) So bhakthi which is an attachment, it is also the tool for removing all attachments be it attachment to relationships, wealth, food, clothing etc. that is why it is so significant in the athma’s journey to the divine.

(ii) Bhakthi cannot be used to fulfill desires, because by itself it acts as a tool to keep in check all desires.

(iii) Bhakthi is greater than karma and jnana because both karma and jnana need grounds to grow, for eg, in karma, it needs the self to perform the action without the self there is no karma, the athma has no karma, it has because of the body. Likewise jnana is achieved only through knowledge, so jnana needs the base called knowledge doesn't it?

(iv) The self can never be satisfied with knowledge of the divine or be satisfied with service in any form. I cannot fathom anyone saying, I don’t have bhakthi for the divine but I render my service to the divine, because without love for the divine, you cannot appreciate anything around you, the service that one does is mechanical, it is satisfying one’s ego, nothing more, so bhakthi becomes essential and it is a stand alone quality, with bhakthi everything comes together, with bhakthi you can love everyone because you look at them as the divine creation, you can connect with nature, you can serve the needy etc. but the same cannot happen with jnana or karma.

Which brings me to the next point

2. Bhakthi is the chariot🌞

As mentioned above, bhakthi is the base for karma, jnana. Why do I say this?

Say for example i perform my duties without bhakthi towards the divine or i am an atheist, i perform my duties, then what? It is just performance, what is the net result? The end game? Another birth, to work more… so performing duties with the goal in sight is bhakthi. Bhakthi is the driving force without which the self gets into a spiral of work, then happiness, then seeking appreciation if it doesn’t get, then frustration, leading to working more and on and on.

Look at jnana : It is priceless, it is needed but Jnana is like a tree, it needs the soil bed ( knowledge) and it keeps growing and growing to reach the limitless sky (divine). It is always thirsty for more, hence it cannot satisfy the athma’s needs. So the athma cannot ride on it.The question is :is it necessary? - yes; and is it necessary for bhakthi ? Yes, how?

As I said Bhakthi is the chariot, so to move along, bhakthi uses jnana and karma as its wheels and our artha, moha and kama as the horses and rides on the road of life to seek, to travel and reach the destination.

Many of us think with bhakthi we will not need artha, moha and kama, yes we do? Because we understand life with artha, moha and kama, and the athma holds the reins of these horses, it directs them to move on, only with bhakthi you will not move,you will be stagnant, the principles of poojas, decorations for the divine, the abhishekams and aradanas are a way to surrender the artha, kama and moha at the lotus feet of the divine, so that they are all in check. That is why we have all the festivities to say everything is yours(divine). What is important is understanding that living life is having checks and balances, not everyone can become a sanyasi,so living our daily life is always having our ego,desires, jealousy, words,action in check,that is very important, hence I said, athma is travelling in a chariot called bhakthi.

3. Why athma travels on it, to reach the divine🌞

The end game is moksha to reach the divine, to dissolve into the divine, it ends the life cycle isn’t it?

So how does bhakthi help?

With bhakthi we control our senses and direct it towards the divine

With bhakthi we focus our mind towards the divine

With bhakthi all our actions are directed towards the divine

With bhakthi we realise that divine is mukthi; mukthi is the goal; the cycle of births and deaths, begins and ends with the divine.

So understanding bhakthi and travelling life with this understanding helps us to lead a fruitful, meaningful and a peaceful life.

So be happy, be peaceful and reach your destination riding on bhakthi. "Happy Journey ahead."