The yoga of devotion is a style of yoga. Why is Bhakti Yoga so Powerful?
Bhakti is one of the most spiritual styles of yoga. It focuses on the following doctrine: “Love is God and God is love.” For this reason, this yoga is known as the yoga of divine love and religious emotion. It uses these feelings as mechanisms to raise consciousness and achieve self-realization.
This type of yoga may not be one of the most popular in the world, and this is because its audience is very particular. Who practices Bhakti yoga? All those people who are believers that the presence of God is in every being and every sensitive person.
Bhakti yoga is widely practiced in the Hindu religion. However, anyone can perform it. In this style of yoga, the asanas and the breathing techniques are not the most primary focus of the student, but the performance of worship, chants, rituals of devotion, and the intonation of mantras through Kirtan.
What is Kirtan?
Kirtan is one of the 9 principles of Bhakti Yoga. The practitioners perform a series of chants and intone mantras. This allows them to worship God and express their devotion.
Participants dilute the tensions through Kirtan. This connects with the deepest part of their hearts where the love of God is found.
The chants of the Bhakti yoga are mainly mantras. In addition, there are phrases that are pronounced to program the mind. To sing to life, the divinity, the soul, the heart, and to oneself. Kirtan allows Bhakti yoga practitioners to connect in a single group. It serves to express and release fears, also to leave the mind clear to enter into meditation.
What you should know about the chants and mantras of Bhakti yoga:
-Those who are in the class have to chant the songs.
-Sometimes there are expressions of joy or overflowed emotion that can be confused with shouting. The part of the Kirtan is the one that transforms the practitioner the most. It also connects to him with his devotion.
-The intonation of the chants and mantras can take a couple of hours, as it can take a whole day. It will depend on whether it is a regular ceremony or a special one.
-The origin of the mantras present in Bhakti yoga is in India.
-The harmonium, the zither, and the drums are the necessary musical instruments in the Kirtan.
-An emblematic mantra of Bhakti yoga is the Maha Mantra. ‘Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare‘
Finally, people who practice Bhakti yoga are not students, yogis, or practitioners. They are Bhakta or devotees because they faithfully believe in the presence of a supreme. A supreme who transcends their lives and therefore experience a higher need for service and surrender. For that reason, they have no shame in crying during acts of devotion to the divinity.