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Bhakti Number: Kalyana Kalpataru

$32
Item Code: NAN299
Publisher: Gita Press, Gorakhpur
Author: Keshoram Aggarwal
Language: English
Edition: 2017
Pages: 394 (8 Color Illustrations)
Cover: Paperback
Other Details 8.0 inch X 5.5 inch
Weight 320 gm
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Shipped to 153 countries
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Book Description
Editorial Note

A human being is the best creation of God. Upanisad says a man is 'अमृतस्य पुत्र:' meaning he is an immortal child of God. Bible says, God has made man in His own image. Gita says "ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूत: सनातन:।" meaning that "Man is an eternal part of Myself." Tulasidasaji in Ramayana writes "ईस्वर अंस जीव अविनासी । चेतन अमल सहज सुख राशि ।।" This means Jiva is an integral particle of Divinity; hence he is immortal, conscious, untainted by Maya and blissful by nature. This goes to prove that a human being is not the body. He is the soul, an expression of God Himself. Hence this world is not the home for human being. It is a foreign land for him. Ultimately he will attain peace and happiness only in divine abode. As a particle of sand must eventually merge in earth, as a drop of water must mingle with the ocean. Otherwise they would keep revolving, they would never be at rest. Similarly a human being, truly a part of God, can find peace and bliss only in God."

In the world human beings are quite deluded. Everyone is seeking something material for the happiness, he hopes world will give, but people don't find true happiness because every avenue of material gain ends in a blind alley. You want a wordly thing only until you have it. When you get it, the pleasure diminishes until the joy is gone. Most people think there is nothing more to life than to be born, to marry to produce children, to make money, to make their sons established in some lucrative job or business, to build house or bungalows to live in. Thus, grasping at elusive pleasures and finally to die. But that is not so. God being their father, is not at peace, as his children are not finding fulfilment. And what is God longing for our love, our attention. He is pursuing every heart waiting for His children to spurn His creation the world and turn towards Him. But He gave men free will to seek Him or reject Him. He has bestowed them with the faculty of discrimination, freedom of choice, power to think, power to do, power to believe and power to discriminate. God knows that there is no permanent pleasure in the world. Our body may be beautiful, but suddenly disease visits it and nothing can heal it. One may be very wealthy but suppose some unexpected event comes, one may lose everything. Human being faces tremendous problems in this world; as hatred, prejudice, selfishness. Thus, wallowing in miseries, God feels that why my children being part of Myself, should suffer like this. Why should they suffer these disappointments.

Well, God is similarly disappointed because he wants us, and we have denied Him our love, our Bhakti, our devotion. He too is suffering for us. In Gita (XVI. 20) He expresses such feelings ‘मामप्राप्यैव’ meaning not attaining Me he is sinking towards hell. God realizes that a man has forgotten his divine nature. The man should realize that he is God's own and God is his own. In other words unless a man cultivates Bhakti towards God, he would continue wandering in the world of life and death. This universe is a foreign land for a human being. He can never be at peace here. He can never enjoy bliss as God alone is all source of Bliss, Consciousness and Peace. Human beings are made in the image of God, but by the identification with the physical world, we feel miserable. Until this human consciousness of mortality is removed, we cannot return to God's abode.

A prince ran away from his palatial home and sought shelter in a slum. As a result of intoxication and mixing with persons of bad character, he gradually lost sight of his true identity; not until his father found him and took him home to the palace did he remember that he was actually a prince. Similarly we, all children of the king of the universe, who have run away from our spiritual home, we have left ourselves caged in human bodies for so long we have forgotten our divine heritage. How to retain our divine heritage, we can do this only when we surrender ourselves to God, we merge our will with the will of God, we regard God as our own. These sentiments are the real Bhakti towards God. Without Bhakti towards God, we can never be at peace. Only Bhakti or devotion to God can give lasting happiness and bliss. No individual, nothing, no circumstances of the world can give us that. The worldly pleasures give us only transitory satisfactions. Ultimately they end in sorrow and bitterness.

God has given us free will. We can develop Bhakti towards Him. Lord Krsna in Gita (Chapter VII verse 17-18) says that I consider My Bhakta as My own self and he is exceedingly dear to Me. What more a man should expect of God? Further to a Bhakta Lord Krsna says, "Through single-minded devotion (अनन्य भक्तया), however, I can be seen in the form with four arms, nay, known in essence and even entered into, 0 Valiant Arjuna". How compassionate God is to His Bhaktas! He calls not only the perfected Bhakta but even aspirants for Bhakti as महात्मन: (Gita IX. 13).

From the above it may be seen that a human being is given a golden opportunity to call God as his own and to devote himself wholeheartedly to Him and enjoy everlasting bliss in this very life. There is no bar of caste, colour or sex.

Kalyana-Kalpataru is publishing 'Bhakti Number' this year for inculcating the spirit of devotion among its readers and people at large. How fortunate a human being is that he can be one with God!

Articles on various types of Bhakti as described in Ramayana, Bhagavata and Gita are also included in this issue.

In this issue an article of one exalted soul is also included before whom God in four armed form appeared of his own accord. God inspired him to propagate Bhakti among masses. These means through which Bhakti can be cultivated, are mentioned in this article.

Also articles on experiences of many Bhaktas are given here. Various aspects of Bhakti are discussed by spiritually exalted persons and contributors in this issue.

Our co-editor and our staff took very painstaking efforts to prepare this issue, without their help it was not possible for us to get it in its present form.

God is the sole source of inspiration and power. We cannot even breathe, we cannot lift even one little finger by ourselves. Every moment we are totally dependent on the Divine. Whatever has been written in this, is by the will and inspiration of God. We wish our readers will peruse it attentively and live a richer spiritual life while sharing their experience to inspire others.

CONTENTS

1 Pure Love Melts God 9
2 Editorial 10
3 Srimadjagadguru Sri Sankaracarya 14
4 How to Cultivate Bhakti 15
5 A Revelation by Sri Odiya Swamiji 20
6 Glory of Prayer 22
7 God Is Our Own 26
8 Love for God 28
9 How to Develop Bhakti 31
10 Love of God 34
11 Para Bhakti 36
12 Be Steadfast in One’s Own Ideal 38
13 An Outline of the Method Of Bhaktiyoga 41
14 Bhakti: The Highest Goal of Human Life 55
15 Wisdom Makes Devotion Fruitful 62
16 Name of God: Wondrous Name 68
17 Chanting Divine Name: Your Unfailing Refuge 74
18 Listening of Life Character of Devotees- The Sole Means of God-Realisation 82
19 Bhakti’s Prime Importance in Gita 87
20 Bhaktiyoga in Gita 90
21 Love of Gopis 94
22 What is Bhakti 97
23 The Ecstatic God-Love 100
24 Divine Grace and Divine Love 104
25 Bhaktiyoga in the Gita 107
26 Bhakti as Divine Love 115
27 Bhakti and Bhakta 125
28 Qualities of a Devotee 135
29 Householder and Devotion 148
30 The Path of Devotion 151
31 Power of Lord’s Name 155
32 Bhakti of God 157
33 How Pure Love Brings Forgiveness of Sins 164
34 Real Happiness is the God 171
35 Gita on Bhakti 173
36 Bhakti-What, How and for Whom? 178
37 Nine Ways of Bhakti 188
38 Categories of Bhaktas 197
39 Bhakti an Unconditional Love for God 199
40 The Divine Surrender to God is Bhakti 204
41 Who is a True Devotee? 210
42 God-Realization through Bhaktiyoga 213
43 Bhakti in Ramayana 216
44 Bhakti and Jnana-Jnani Bhakta 219
45 Bhakti 221
46 Saguna Bhakti 224
47 Could I Happen to be a Devotee 228
48 The Real Happiness 231
49 Bhaktiyoga and the Order of Sri Ramakrsna 234
50 Supreme Bhakti 239
51 Bhakta is Foremost Dear to God 243
52 The Importance of Cultivating Bhakti in Children 245
53 What Devotion is? 250
54 Bhakti-The Unique Unifier 251
55 Devotion in Islam 259
56 Prayer of a Devotee 264
57 Bhakti-Total Dedication 265
58 The Jnani Bhakta 268
59 Bhakti in Women Devotees 272
60 Salvation is Subservient To Bhakti 276
61 Sentiment of Bhakta 283
62 Stay Patches of Navadha Bhakti in Adhyatma Ramayana 284
63 Shades of Bhakti 288
64 Importance of Bhakti in God-Realisation 291
65 Bhakti is a Self-Sufficient Discipline 298
66 Conception of Bhakti-its Orders and Kinds 303
67 Sufism and Bhakti 307
68 Psychological Evolution of Bhakti (Devotion to God) 310
69 Bhakti in Education 313
70 Bhakti is Attachment to God 317
71 The Mystery of Bhakti in Buddhism 321
72 Bhakti as Described in Bhagavadgita 324
73 Devotion: The Divine Art of Living 326
74 Bhakti: A Step before Realizing Ultimate 330
75 Lord’s Devotion in Upanisads 335
76 Idol Worship and Devotion 338
77 Bhakti in Vedas 341
78 Lord Hanuman-The Paragon of Dasya Bhakti 343
79 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu-Prema-Bhakti Incarnate 350
80 Devotion of Sri Ramanujacarya 353
81 Paramahamsa Ramakrsna 356
82 Saint Jnaneswara Speaks to Humanity 360
83 Where is My Bridegroom? 362
84 The Great Devotee Saint Cokhamela 365
85 Dharama Devi 368
86 Experiences of Bhakti 374
87 Poet Bhakta Vidyapati 377
88 Incidents with Bhakta 380
89 Sufi Muslim Saint Vasali 385
90 Bhakti of Muslims of Arab and Rama-Bhaktanau Gaja Pira 386
91 Kunti’s Bhakti 387
92 Bhakti of a Muslim Princess 388
93 Story by St. Francis to Be Fit For Love of God 393

 











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