Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti Yoga is the path of love. Love of the Ideal – the highest, the most beautiful, all-consuming loveliness, which is God in Vedanta. Where Jnana Yoga can be seen as "backing into" the Self by dissociating from the objective world, from the body, and from the mind, Bhakti Yoga can be seen as "diving into" the divine, like the drop plunging into the ocean of fullness, or like the moth plunging into the flame. But here the flame is the fire of love; the ocean is the sea of immortal bliss. In this course we will study Bhakti Yoga from the standpoint of practice: how to cultivate devotion, awareness of God, and surrender; how to pray, worship, and meditate; and we will learn the details of mantra practice.

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Session 1

Cultivating Devotion to God

October 29, 2020 6.00pm PST

Pacific Standard Time

Who and what is God to me? How do I make “God” real - more than a word or concept? How can I cultivate devotion?

Session 2

Engaging with God

November 5, 2020 6.00pm PST

Pacific Standard Time

In this session, we will explore worship, starting with the creation of a personal altar. We will discuss Imaginative engagement with God, or “lila dhyana.”

Session 3

Methods of Prayer

November 12, 2020 6.00pm PST

Pacific Standard Time

What is prayer? Are there “methods,” as in any practice? What is the process of experiential evolution along the path of prayer?

Session 4

Practicing the Presence

November 19, 2020 6.00pm PST

Pacific Standard Time

This practice, described in the spiritual classic by Brother Lawrence, is “devotional mindfulness.” We will define the practice and describe aids to the practice.

Session 5

Details of Mantra Practice (Japa)

December 3, 2020 6.00pm PST

Pacific Standard Time

What is initiation and what does it do? What are the stages of development, and how do we move from stage to stage? What are the “externals” of practice, such as counting, using a rosary, written japa, etc.?

Session 6

Surrender to God

December 10, 2020 6.00pm PST

Pacific Standard Time

This is the last word in the path of devotion. It is also a practice with a method, which we will learn. We end this session with brief concluding remarks to the series, “The Heart of Yoga.”