Bhakti yoga

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Bhakti yoga is a Hindu spiritual practice. People constantly pray to, and think about, a form of a Hindu god, usually Vishnu. Bhakti is a Sanskrit term. It signifies an attitude of devotion to God. The relation between man and God is imagined as a beloved-lover, friend-friend, parent-child, and master-servant. The Bhakta worships his chosen God by any of these mentalities.

The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine primary forms of bhakti. They are:

  • śravaṇa ("listening" to the scriptural stories of Kṛṣṇa and his companions)
  • kīrtana ("praising," usually refers to ecstatic group singing)
  • smaraṇa ("remembering" or fixing the mind on Viṣṇu)
  • pāda-sevana (giving service)
  • arcana (worshiping an image)
  • vandana (paying homage)
  • dāsya (behaving like a servant)
  • sākhya (friendship)
  • ātma-nivedana (complete surrender of the self)