Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 118: Shri Bhakti Priya (OM bhaktipriyAyai namaH)

From Namam 112 to 131, we will see the devotion aspects in the Divine Mother worship

The Divine Mother loves Bhakti or devotion. And She is pleased by the devotee’s devotion.

Bhakti can be explained in many ways. Narada Bhakti Sutras explains the term “Bhakti” very well. A website reference is given below on Narada Bhakti Sutras. It is best to go through the details there for good understanding the meaning of Bhakti towards the Almighty; which we refer here as the Divine Mother.

1.       That timely and certainly is the nature of Supreme Love.

2.       It is immortal bliss of liberation in itself.

3.       Free from all attributes and free from all selfishness, it is a        continuous inner experience ever growing, so   delicate as to be difficult to describe that total bliss.

4.       It is Supreme longing for the Lord.

5.       Devotion is the love for the God, dissolution of mind in God, forgetting oneself.

6.       An enquiry into one’s own true devotion.

There are two kinds of Devotion. Primary type devotion is unending, unbroken devotion. The Secondary type devotion is shown through service to Lord.

The Garuda Purana says that a devotee even if he is a barbarian, he is equal to a  Brahmana if he has right devotion. Such devotional barbarian is like a sannyasi. He is prosperous. He is equal to an ascetic and he is a scholar.

The sign of devotion is service. Service to mankind is the service to God. Kindness towards poor is our duty to God.

According to Bhagavata Purana there are nine stages of devotion to the Almighty; here we refer the Divine Mother. Also in Gita Chapter 12, Lord Krsna,  after his earlier Visvarupa Darsanam to Arjuna, explains the meaning of devotion to Arjuna.

1.       Hearing the glory of the Lord

2.       Singing about Lord’s glory.

3.       Remembrance of the Lord’s name

4.       Service at his feet

5.       Prostration (the action of lying stretched out on the ground)

6.       Worship through offerings

7.       Servitude that is being a slave or completely subject to someone more powerful

8.       Comradeship of the Lord in company and friendship of others with common aims

9.       Surrender of one self.

Love is a feeling and it has to be pure. Never expect anything in return. Expectation can result in reduced devotion. Love expressed through words or action, is of lesser effect. It can be imaginary.

The sages have described devotion as the love for the beloved. This love for the God is similar to one’s own child.

There are peaceful devotion, sweet devotion and devotion of the servant. The Divine Mother is fond of all these forms of devotion

C N Nachiappun           

Singapore, 21 May 2020.

References:

1.       The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.       Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostrom  published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3.       The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai,Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Sithbavandar.

4.       Bhakti Sutras of Narada

http://sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=1122