Category: Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Bhakti Yoga or the process of rendering devotional service unto God is really very easy. In the process of Bhakti Yoga, one does not require to practice the physical austerities of astanga yoga or renounce the society altogether as in the other yogic processes. Yet one practicing Bhakti Yoga, finally achieves that supreme destination that eludes the practitioners of all the other yogic paths. The Gopis of Vrindavana were simple cowherd girls, who could achieve the supreme treasure of the Lord’s love. Now one might question, as to what their qualification was? They were neither the experts of astanga yoga nor learned scholars of the Vedic scriptures. Instead their qualification was simply an intense desire to serve the Lord and His beloved associates. Their desire was so intense that they could completely overlook their own pleasures or even sacrifice their very existence to serve Sri Krishna. Such was the stature of their devotion, that it bewildered even the Supreme Lord, and made Him wonder ,as to how one could love Him so much. The Supreme Lord hence had to descend again as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to relish and understand the devotion of the Gopis. ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ has covered the appearance pastimes of Lord Caitanya in a separate article entitled – ‘YogPeeth, Mayapur, Navadvipa – The birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’. Though it is not possible for us to imitate the exalted mood of the Gopis, we should hanker for opportunities to serve the Lord and deepen our relationship with Him. This is the very perfection of our lives.

What does the Bhagavad Gita say about Karma, Jnana, Dhyana and Bhakti Yoga? What is the Yoga ladder and which is the best Yoga system? From our previous article entitled ‘Spirituality – Why and What ???’ , we now understand the deep desires of the soul and its eternal connection with the supersoul. We understand how these fundamental hankerings of the soul are the very objectives ,that we try to achieve through the various avenues of this world; albeit unsuccessfully. Hence, ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ shall now discuss about the proper processes which have been well documented in the ancient Vedic scriptures, that guide us to achieve this much elusive fulfillment missing in our lives- by satisfying the very desires of the Soul. The process of uniting the soul and the Supersoul is also known as Yoga.

The Bhagavad Gita, is considered to be one of the most sacred and revered books, that constitute the vast Vedic literatures.It comprises of seven hundred verses spoken by Sri Krishna, the Supreme Lord Himself, who descended in this world about 5000 years ago ,to give us a taste of His eternal sweet pastimes. The Bhagavad Gita encompasses the conversation between Sri Krishna and His friend Arjuna, in the middle of a battlefield, at a time when Arjuna was thoroughly disillusioned and confused as to what was his duty.

Sri Krishna ,first of all, apprised Arjuna of the reality of our existence. All of us, including the various other life forms that exist, are spiritual beings, entrapped in a material body.The soul can neither be destroyed by any weapon, nor be damaged by water, fire or wind. The soul or the spirit ,neither takes birth ,nor does he ever suffer death.

Instead, the soul goes through a process of transmigration, from one body to the next, in a quest of attaining perfection. The soul finally attains a stage of perfection when it is able to rekindle its lost relationship with the Supreme.Thus Lord Krishna taught Arjuna ,how the so called happiness and grief, success and failure, relationships, hankerings for name, fame and prosperity ,etc associated with this world, are actually based out of the assumption, that we are our bodies. Forgetting our eternal identity, we try to build our identities based out of the temporary objects of this material world, and suffer in the process. Instead, we should align our engagements and relationships, in a way to suit our actual (eternal) objective – to perfect our existence.In other words we should stop acting on a bodily platform, and start acting on a spiritual platform. The process of Yoga helps us in achieving this objective and enables us to harmonize our actions with our actual spiritual mission.