Step 7:
The Depth of Bhakti Yoga
Philosophical Lessons with Swamiji
Make sure you have worked through Step 6: The Guru - Your Guide to Wisdom before starting Step 7.
We encourage you to move through these teachings sequentially for the best learning outcome. Click on the name of the class to be taken to your video on-demand lesson. Move at your own pace. Take some time to reflect, journal, walk. Return when you are ready for the next lesson.
When you have completed all 7 Steps, you might be interested in joining our Satsang community of students.
1: Do Not Fear God, Love Him!
The heart of Bhakti revealed
Our bhakti masters advise that love and fear are incompatible. Thus we should not fear Bhagwan, God, but love Him. The secret to overcoming fear is to strengthen your sense of relationship with Him. In Bhakti Yoga there are five personal relationships that an individual soul can experience during meditation. This talk explains the first three.
35 Minute Lesson
2: Vatsalya Bhakti
The intimate, charming parental love for God
Once, the Sage Narad Muni saw the Supreme Lord (Who had assumed the form of a young boy) begging to be taken into the lap of a soul who had attained God-realisation through the relationship of parental love. Narad commented that, normally, it is the soul who begs to be taken into the lap of God, not the other way round. He sang praises of the soul’s extraordinary good fortune, expressing how rare such divine blessings were. In this talk Swami Govindananda gives us insight into the charm of this sublime realisation.
35 Minute Lesson
3: Madhurya Bhakti
The most profound love
Loving the Supreme Lord as your Beloved is to experience the essence of love itself. The Bhagawatam explains that this realisation is the most exalted of all. Nothing surpasses it. This most intimate of loving relationships is called madhurya bhav bhakti. Hear Swami Govindananda give a remarkable account of souls who have attained this rarest of achievements.
35 Minute Lesson
4: Selfless Love
The deepest expression of madhurya bhakti
This expression of love is the highest that a soul can experience. According to the Bhagawatam, the ultimate authority on the devotional path of love, nothing surpasses it for intimacy in loving relation with Bhagwan, God. It is known in Sanskrit as samartha rati bhav bhakti; it is the most exhilarating expression of love. Swami Govindananda’s Guru Dev, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, encourages and wishes for all souls to aspire for this sublime experience. The knowledge given in this talk is so profound, so rare to hear, it is your great fortune to learn of it. Repeated listening is advised since it will take time to fully appreciate its subtlety, the beauty and the depth of it.
35 Minute Lesson
5: Madhurya Bhakti Gives Everything
Focus on it. Dedicate to it.
By now, you will have understood the speciality and uniqueness of madhurya bhakti. Love is the divine power that upholds everything, and from it, everything flows. By following this path exclusively, everything is attained. In this talk, Swami Govindananda explains why dedication to this path, while giving respect to all others, is essential.
35 Minute Lesson