Down through the ages highly evolved souls of both the East and West have taught that we can attain perfect pure and eternal love only when we learn to love God. Bhakti-yoga the science of devotion teaches us this art. And there is no greater teacher than the Vedic sage Narada. Narada’s 84 jewel-like aphorisms on devotion known as the Narada-Bhakti-Sutra reveal the secrets of the love of God — what it is and isn’t; what its effects are; what helps or hinders our progress along the path; and much more. For the sincere seeker of life’s ultimate goal the Narada-bhakti-sutra is essential.
• The first translation of this great but little-known path of spiritual devotion written for the modern Western audience. • An insightful commentary aimed at making the path of love immediately accessible to Westerners. • A life-affirming and relationship-positive path of yoga. • Written in the spirit of the kirtans (ecstatic songs and dances) of Narada, sensitively translated by Prem Prakash. Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion, is considered one of the primary paths for spiritual realization in yogic tradition. Its representative, Narada, is the embodiment of the enlightened sage who travels the universe spreading his sacred teachings. Unlike Jnana Yoga, the Yoga of Wisdom, the bhakti acolyte does not discriminate against material phenomena--for him, all phenomena are aspects of God. Within the context of Ananda, blissful love, the temporal is realized as the reflection of the eternal, and the soul is realized as the expression of God.
The Bhakti Sūtra attributed to Nārada is a collection of 84 aphoristic statements in Sanskrit, dating to the tenth to eleventh centuries in India, on the nature of love for Divinity, which the text describes as the highest, most exquisite form of love. Translating, explaining and interpreting 21 of those statements, William K. Mahony brings these teachings into our contemporary world through his thoughtful and articulate extended reflections on the qualities of this love and on the contours of a life oriented toward strengthening, refining and elevating it. The book also includes Mahony’s translation of Nārada’s Bhakti Sūtra in its entirety. Basing his reflections on the understanding that God is absolute Love, Mahony speaks of a divine Heart present in our own human sentiments and expressions of love in all its modes, directions and degrees of intensity. He offers readers guidance into ways a Heart-centered spiritual life can open them ever more fully to the reality of Love itself.
"Prem Prakash's book offers a sensitive introduction to the devotional path by a Western practitioner. He makes the ancient Bhakti Sutras of Narada come alive for all of us who wish to cultivate the beauty and power of the heart. I highly recommend the present book and hope it will widely influence the Western yoga movement." --Georg Feuerstein
Swami Chinmayananda's commentary on Narada Bhakti Sutra dances with the nuances of an ecstatic and enduring relationship with the Lord of ones heart that becomes the bed-rock of a devotees life. This divine love is all-consuming, yet purging and freeing in its impact. The devotee trusts the Lord like a friend, cherishes Him like a child and is faithful to Him like a wife. Where then is the need or the place for any other worldly relationship? Joy or sorrow, it is the Lord alone for him. He will play, pray, fight and frolic only with the Lord in his hearts shrine. Go for it! Get engulfed by a relationship that lasts lifetimes, riding on waves and giant waves of beatific beauty!
The Narada Bhakti Sutra (IAST: Nārada Bhakti Sūtra) is a well known sutra venerated within the traditions of Hinduism, purportedly spoken by the famous sage, Narada. The text details the process of devotion (Bhakti), or Bhakti yoga and is thus of particular importance to many of the Bhakti movements within Hinduism. It has received particular attention among the Vaishnava traditions. Sanskrit scriptures often appear in variant editions which may show differences in organization and verse numbering. For example in the translation by Swami Prabhavananda there are eighty-four verses arranged in nine chapters,[1] whereas in the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust translation by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his disciple Satsvarupa dasa the eighty-four verses are organised into five chapters
In this lecture, Swami Vivekananda discusses some of the crucial and most pertinent issues surrounding the practice of devotion in a succinct way. He brilliantly brings out the rationale of this practice, ignorance of which has been the main cause of the timeless conflict in the religious scenario of the world. This booklet by Advaita Ashrama, a Publication House of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, forcefully justifies the need of Bhakti or Devotion for every man while still in the nursery of religious life.
The Dharma Manifesto is a call to action for those who seek a form of social and political action that has a firm spiritual foundation, but which also challenges the prevailing social and religious order in the postmodern West. It does not merely offer criticism - it is also a blueprint for how a national community founded upon Dharmic principles could operate in the twenty-first century. Its author defines the term "Dharma," which in the ancient Sanskrit language means "Natural Law," in an unconventional way. For those who embrace Dharma Nationalism, Dharma is predicated upon the pressing need for the organic and munificent resacralization of culture and of all human endeavor, as well as the manifestation of the highest potentials attainable by every individual in society in accordance with transcendental principles. Thus, Dharma does not only refer to traditions with which it is usually associated such as Hinduism and Buddhism, but also to the Taoist, Confucian, Zoroastrian, Native American, and European pagan traditions, all of which, this book holds, share a common, basic worldview. This book is therefore a resource for those who want to carry out both an inward, contemplative revolution within themselves as well an outer, social revolution in the world around them, in harmony with one another. It is intended to serve as a systematic program signaling the beginning of a what will hopefully be a new era in humanity's eternal yearning for meaningful freedom and happiness.
