Question on different types of Bhakti

Question: "Thinking of the life of Mira or Prahlad, we see absolute fearlessness(abhayam) and willingness to go through anything for the sake of the love of God. be it drinking poison or sitting in fire. In the same lines, we also see freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, etc. who were again fearless and were happy to die for the love of Bharat Mata. On the other hand, we can see terrorists and suicide bombers who also have no fear and die happily for the cause they believe in and killing few others. What is the difference in the type or gradation in their love here?"

Answer: this is a very important question in the minds of several people especially those who are sensitive about the nation and their religion etc.few important things need to be clarified before we go to analyze the terrorists behavior. once our ex-Prime minister ( actually he is real prime minister even though he is not in power because he has shown his capabilities to be a real prime minister]. Vajpayee has said to Pakistan those same people who fight in our parts of the world you call them as terrorists and the same people who fight in India you call them as freedom fighters of Azad Kashmir. What is right?

giving the qualities of a bhakta, one who practices bhakti, Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita says, "advesta sarva bhutanaam maitri karuna evaca nirmama nirahankara sama dukha sukha kshamee...".

bhakti is an ennobled form of love, it is ripened form of love and in the beginning love itself is some thing where hatred anger and possession does not exist. in love you can forgive any thing that is seen as a very important manifestation of love. if love is having those qualities how can an ennobled form of love called bhakti has anger hatred destruction in it? have we truly become embodiments of love to say we have bhakti? if we became embodiments of enriched form of love how can hatred enter into us or thought of injuring some thing enter into us!

that is why I always emphasize bhakti as our nature it is subjective thing and not objective. once I practice bhakti then that bhakti can be on my family on god and on the nation and on inside the temple or outside in side mosque or out side, in side church or outside. inside the school or outside! antara ramahi bahira ramahi....

bhakti is an experience within. once a person practices bhakti he develops love and supreme love in his heart He starts seeing every thing divine. he has no hatred in his dictionary or in his heart. it has nothing to do with out side. There was no animosity in the hearts of Mira or Prahlad. They did not even have disrespect for either Ran in case of Mira or Hiranya kashipa in case of Prahlad. When Prahlad's father asks him do you believe that god is every where Prahlad replies that I don't believe Dad God is every where I know. Believing comes only when you don't know. But because of your grace I could find out that I experienced him being there on hill and valley. in wild beasts and in poison I see the same chaitanya protecting me. therefore I don't require any belief. And I am ever grateful to you. He has no disrespect for his father. Can we separate our love from having hatred can we separate our state of Abhaya, which is freedom from fear, from an act that we do out of brain washing and indoctrination. then we can see that there is no room for hatred or anger, because the root cause of anger and hatred is ego or the boundary that we draw. Our ego can manifest in ever so many ways that we create such boundaries and bind us so many ways and become rigid. our land can be boundary our party can be boundary and our religion can be our boundary. these are all various avatars of our ego. what was India before independence. did it not include Karachi Dhaka and even Kabul. have we forgotten the story of Rabindranath tagore Kabulivalla. what is religion. If this body happens to take birth in Muslim family I am Muslim and if this body happens to take birth in Buddhist family I am Buddhist. it is purely associated with this body and also only because that religion is born. what were the earlier generations of a Muslim before Mohammad was born or Islam was born. Same way what were the earlier generations of a Sikh before Sikhism was born. Look at individual and look at the ignorance individual has that in the name of religion or in the name of any other identity I torture some one and that not only gives me joy or pleasure or in a slang 'kick' . IS there a way I can remove this ignorance of the people and remove the suffering of such a individual. should I give this kick a glorified name as jihad or patriotism etc. I say that man has been blessed with so many great thinkers and visionaries from all over the mankind from times immemorial. who could give us guidance it can be an Aristotle or a Zen master jha zin or a Mevlana the saint from Konya, or a Confucius from china or a vasishta from Bharat. with the birth of religions man has been blocked form taking the message from such great saints. we there by became poorer. Now the new trend started which says my guru only knows and he is the wisest I don't even follow scriptures. Some go to the extent to say I don't even follow anybody I follow my conscience!!! I am my own guru..

About the freedom struggle India is a great nation which has a very unique feature which other nations do not or did not have that is its variety and harmony. this is the message world needs. For giving this message India needed the freedom that is what the diagnosis of Swami Vivekananda. This has to be achieved by satvic rajasic and tamasik means but not by animosity. If some people adapted satvic means some adapted rajasik and some tamasic. some created terror in the heart of British and some frustrated them with non cooperation. Some have wisely convinced them that India can rule itself some have carried masses to show that we are united. I respect all of them I respect their unique way of thinking and tenaciously executing their plans but I am not looking that it is their hatred or anger which has contributed. Because anger comes from weakness hatred comes from weakness. freedom is not that simple. in fact as the efforts of freedom are increasing the resistance also increases. and Any individual as individual can to get freedom To think that one can do is again an egoistic statement It was the grace of god which acted in eh form of several things including the two world wars have contributed

Of course there is always free thinking is available in India because of its deep rooted culture So there is no need for indoctrination of brain washing. But unfortunately the terrorist groups in Islam are brain washed and they are caught up in their belief. Let us understand one ting that the moment we are caught up in belief we refuse to grow and become wise. Pariprashna is always the supreme recommendation in Indian way.

There is a very important difference in the concept of Abhaya and Daring. Bhaya, fear according to our thinking is the most fundamental form of Vrutti. Mental disturbances. Abhaya means one who has given up the last form of mental disturbances. DO you see that all the persons who are daring are they free from all vruttis. Then they have no Kama krodha no dwesha no ahankara. I don't certainly include Azad etc in the category of the people who are suicide bombers. Because suicide bombers are only brain washed they are not even sane human beings!. But I don't also consider Azad at al as saints because their vruttis are temporarily clouded by their mission of violence means of stirring British. Now want we require is alright so many people have given us freedom and the freedom is not for us but for this culture. Why did we stop there why are we not taking the steps to see that this culture which belongs to mankind let us dust it and give it to others in the language that we they are eager to take it. You don't have to push it through somebody's throat. I see that happening in All parts of other world. Muslim countries are no exception.

Let us not stop with freedom workers. let us remember those who have helped this cause after the freedom till today.

now let me say some thing about the types of bhakti and grades.

Bhakti essentially requires a relationship. Indian thinking has given there are different types of relationship. they re the relationship between father and son, mother and son, brother servant, teacher and student. friend to friend. until we develop relationship with god we can not bring him close or intimate to us. we need the relationship which acts like a glue, or the bond. God can not be alien. Then only we can be free with him or her. freer than the freedom we feel with anybody else and infact freer than with self. these are different relationships.different types. each of them again can be practiced according to ones own nature of rajasic or sattvic or tamasic way of practices. there are no grades really. if we have to achieve any thing then there can be grades of higher and lower. but if our goal is to develop humility and if the goal is to surrender and give up 'I' and mine then there is no question of grades. especially the love bhakti yoga talks has nothing to do with the terrorism and killing and fighting.

I hope I have answered your questions which I am happy about and this way I can present some thing in different aspects other than routine ideas of yoga and its streams.
Please don't hesitate to ask me of any doubts.

Love,
Raghuram