Definition: When we wish to develop our innate capacity for devotional service, there are certain processes, which, by our accepting and executing them, will cause that dormant capacity to be invoked. Such practice is called sädhana-bhakti. [NOD]
Bhakti-yoga is the purification of the senses. At the present moment in material existence the senses are always impure, being engaged in sense gratification. But by the practice of bhakti-yoga these senses can become purified, and in the purified state they come directly in contact with the Supreme Lord. In this material existence, I may be engaged in some service to some master, but I don't really lovingly serve my master. I simply serve to get some money. And the master also is not in love; he takes service from me and pays me. So there is no question of love. But for spiritual life, one must be elevated to the pure stage of love. That stage of love can be achieved by practice of devotional service, performed with the present senses. This love of God is now in a dormant state in everyone's heart. And, there, love of God is manifested in different ways, but it is contaminated by material association. Now the heart has to be purified of the material association, and that dormant, natural love for Kåñëa has to be revived. That is the whole process.
Two divisions of Sädhana-bhakti
Sädhana-bhakti, or practice of devotional service, may be divided into two parts.
Rägänugä Bhakti: Spontaneous Devotional Service
Vaidhi Bhakti: Service according to Regulative Principles
When there is no attachment or no spontaneous loving service to the Lord, and one is engaged in the service of the Lord simply out of obedience to the order of the Spiritual Master or in pursuance of the scriptures, such obligatory service is called vaidhi-bhakti.
To practice the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga one should, under the guidance of an expert spiritual master, follow certain principles: one should rise early in the morning, take bath, enter the temple and offer prayers and chant Hare Kåñëa, then collect flowers to offer to the Deity, cook foodstuffs to offer to the Deity, take prasädam, and so on. There are various rules and regulations which one should follow. And one should constantly hear Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam from pure devotees. This practice can help anyone rise to the level of love of God, and then he is sure of his progress into the spiritual kingdom of God. This practice of bhakti-yoga, under the rules and regulations, with the direction of a spiritual master, will surely bring one to the stage of love of God.
By continuously rendering service through the process of vaidhé bhakti, one’s natural inclination is gradually awakened. That is called spontaneous attraction, or rägänugä bhakti.
For example a person engaged in devotional service may be ordered to rise early in the morning and offer ärati, which is a form of Deity worship. In the beginning, by the order of his spiritual master, one rises early in the morning and offers ärati. When he gets this attachment, he automatically tries to decorate the Deity and prepare different kinds of dresses and thinks of different plans to execute his devotional service nicely. Although it is within the category of practice, this offering of loving service is spontaneous. Those who have not attained the platform of spontaneous attachment in devotional service, render devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master according to the regulative principles mentioned in the revealed scriptures.
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