Definition
A relationship of participation, love and devotion to a personal divinity, expressed by prayer, singing, service and narrative.
Bhakti can take the form of parental love, friendly, love or service. Poets have sometimes challenged caste and ritualism, but devotional traditions have not all removed hierarchies.
To be retained
- Recognize the deities and lines
- Linking emotion and ethics
- Respecting languages and texts
- Avoid exotation
Origin of the term and context
Bhakti derives from a Sanskrite root meaning to share, participate or be attached. The devotional movements develop over many centuries, languages and regions.
Why does it matter?
Collective singing can reinforce emotion and belonging. The devotional experience remains religious; its social effects do not objectively establish the presence of the divinity.
- Recognize the deities and lines
- Linking emotion and ethics
- Respecting languages and texts
- Avoid exotation
How can it be explored or practised?
- Listen to a bhajan with translation and context
- Read a poet or a poet of bhakti
- Participate only in a welcoming setting
- Transforming devotion into respectful service
Misconceptions and points of caution
- Bhakti is not just a relaxation music.
- Devotion does not justify abusive obedience to a guru.
- Currents have different theologies.
Perspectives from different traditions
- Vai
- Poetry: Criticism of religious and social boundaries according to the authors.
To go further
- The Bhagavad-Gītā
- Poems by Mīrābāī and Kabīr — contextualized translations