bhakti

enUK

bhak·ti

B0223600 (bŭk′tē)n. Hinduism A path to achieving salvation through loving devotion to a particular deity, open to all persons irrespective of sex or caste.

[Sanskrit bhaktiḥ, devotion, from bhajati, he apportions; see bhag- in Indo-European roots.]

bhakti

(ˈbʌktɪ) n (Hinduism) Hinduism loving devotion to God leading to nirvana[from Sanskrit: portion, from bhajati he allocates]

bhak•ti

(ˈbʌk ti)

n. (in Hinduism) selfless devotion as a means of reaching Brahman. [1825–35; < Skt: devotion]

Thesaurus

Noun

bhakti - (Hinduism) loving devotion to a deity leading to salvation and nirvana; open to all persons independent of caste or sexdevotion - (usually plural) religious observance or prayers (usually spoken silently); "he returned to his devotions"Hindooism, Hinduism - a body of religious and philosophical beliefs and cultural practices native to India and based on a caste system; it is characterized by a belief in reincarnation, by a belief in a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils

bhakti

enUK

bhakti

(bŭk`tē) [Skt.,=devotion], theistic devotion in Hinduism. Bhakti cults seem to have existed from the earliest times, but they gained strength in the first millennium A.D. The first full statement of liberation and spiritual fulfillment through devotion to a personal god is found in the Bhagavad-GitaBhagavad-Gita
[Skt.,=song of the Lord], Sanskrit poem incorporated into the Mahabharata, one of the greatest religious classics of Hinduism. The Gita (as it is often called) consists of a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna on the eve of the great battle of
..... Click the link for more information. . The Puranas (from the 1st cent. A.D.) further elaborated theistic ideas. Devotion to ShivaShiva
or Siva
, one of the greatest gods of Hinduism, also called Mahadeva. The "horned god" and phallic worship of the Indus valley civilization may have been a prototype of Shiva worship or Shaivism.
..... Click the link for more information. and VishnuVishnu
, one of the greatest gods of Hinduism, also called Narayana. First mentioned in the Veda as a minor deity, his theistic cults, known as Vaishnavism, or Vishnuism, grew steadily from the first millennium B.C., absorbing numerous different traditions and minor deities.
..... Click the link for more information. and to the latter's avatara (incarnations), Rama and KrishnaKrishna
[Sanskrit,=black], one of the most popular deities in Hinduism, the eighth avatar, or incarnation of Vishnu. Krishna appears in the Mahabharata epic as a prince of the Yadava tribe and the friend and counselor of the Pandava princes.
..... Click the link for more information. , continues to be practiced throughout India. Intense love for God and surrender to Him, reliance on His grace rather than on rituals, learning, or austerities, and the continuous repetition of His name are the means to the goal of His constant presence. The devotee may worship the chosen deity as child, parent, friend, master, or beloved. The bhakti tradition has tended to stress authentic inner feelings as opposed to institutional forms of religion and to disregard caste distinctions. Great devotees and saints such as the Alvars of S India (a Vaishnavite group of wandering singers), Mirabai, Tukaram, Tulsidasa, KabirKabir
, 1440–1518, Indian mystic and poet. A Muslim by birth, he was a weaver in Benares (Varanasi) and early in life may have become the disciple of the famous Hindu saint Ramananda.
..... Click the link for more information. , and ChaitanyaChaitanya
, 1485–1533, Indian mystic, also called Gauranga ("the Golden"). He was born of Brahman parents in Nabadwip, Bengal, a center of Sanskrit learning. As a young man he attained prominence as a scholar, but at 22 he underwent a profound religious conversion and
..... Click the link for more information. have continuously inspired the cults, founded their own sects, and produced a great literature of songs and poems in their vernaculars.

Bhakti

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

To follow a Hindu spiritual path is to follow Bhakti, or dedication to a personal deity of love, mercy, and grace who calls for devotion and surrender. This concept is similar in practice, if not in theology, to the Christian concept of salvation. Hindus prefer the word devotion, a personal response to the feeling that one is separated from the ground of one's being. Although the Hindu concept of "God" is far different from the traditional Western understanding, in Bhakti a chosen deity manifests itself to the individual and calls for personal devotion. The deity is only one expression of the divine, which is unknowable and impossible to define.

Bhakti

a popular religious sectarian movement in India, widespread between the 12th and 17th centuries. One of the religious doctrines of Hinduism underlies the teachings of the ideologists of bhakti; this doctrine is encountered in the ancient classics of Indian religious philosophical literature under the name “bhakti.” The doctrine of bhakti received a particularly full formulation in the Bhaktiratnavali, a work of the late 14th century. The followers of bhakti believed that boundless love of god was itself sufficient for the “salvation” of a person, that it was not necessary to either honor priests or perform rites. The bhakti movement proclaimed the equality of all people before god and rejected caste divisions. Sikhism was one of the latest ideological forms of bhakti.

REFERENCES

D’iakov, A. M. Natsional’nyi vopros i angliiskii imperializm v Indii. [Moscow] 1948.
Piatigorskii, A. M. Materialy po istorii indiiskoi filosofii. Moscow, 1962.
Radhakrishnan, S. Indiiskaia filosofiia, vols. 1-2. Moscow, 1956-57 (Translated from English.)

A. M. OSIPOV

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Words related to bhakti

noun (Hinduism) loving devotion to a deity leading to salvation and nirvana

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