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Talk: Your Bhakti-Karma Cocktail
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– Br. Shankara
June 30, 2019
Click for NOTES & QUOTES from the talk (PDF)
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June is a month for study of Bhakti Yoga. A bhakti yogi (bhakta) establishes a devotional relationship with God through study, prayer, ritual, and worship. As a bhakta, you practice giving every action, thought, emotion, perception and tendency “a Godward turn.” All your energies and attributes, both positive and negative, are offered to the Divine Presence. Your prayer is for self-surrender and, ultimately, union with your Belovèd.
“After so much austerity I have known that the highest truth is this: He is present in every being! These are all … manifold forms of him. There is no other God to seek for! He alone is worshipping God, who serves all beings! …
“Let all our passions and emotions go up unto Him. They are meant for Him, for if they miss their mark and go lower, they become vile; and when they go straight to the mark, to the Lord, even the lowest of them becomes transfigured. All the energies of the human body and mind, howsoever they may express themselves, have the Lord as their one goal …” — from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
From The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: “The English people always exhort us to be active. Isn’t action the aim of life then?”
Sri Ramakrishna: “The aim of life is the attainment of God. Work is only a preliminary step; it can never be the end. Even unselfish work is only a means; it is not the end.” (P. 453)
Your Bhakti-Karma Cocktail
A close friend of the Center takes a daily “cocktail” of drugs to treat his Parkinson’s Disease. Cocktail has become a common term for a prescription of two or more medicines. We’re giving the word a “Godward turn.”
Sri Ramakrishna once said to some visitors: “Go and enjoy the world. When you are sick of it, come back to me. I have the cure.” As we read elsewhere in his Gospel, the Master’s prescription often was a “cocktail” of bhakti and karma.
This Sunday morning, we’ll explore the connection between the deep reverence that comes from practice of Bhakti Yoga and the abandonment of selfishness that arises from Karma Yoga.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#828282″ divider_position=”bottom” _builder_version=”3.25.3″][/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.25.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”30px||”]Note: There is silent meditation in the Chapel from 10:30-11am, before each Sunday’s talk. After the talk, devotees and friends meet in the Monastery from noon to 1:30pm, for tea, coffee, snacks and a continuation of our spiritual fellowship.
Spiritual talks and classes are open to the public and free of charge.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”3.25.3″][/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https://vedantaatlanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/bhakti-karma-cocktail.jpg” _builder_version=”3.25.3″ animation_style=”fade”][/et_pb_image][et_pb_sidebar area=”sidebar-1″ _builder_version=”3.16.1″][/et_pb_sidebar][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.25.4″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px||4px|||” _builder_version=”3.25.4″ background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25.4″][et_pb_post_nav in_same_term=”off” _builder_version=”3.25.4″ title_font=”|600|||||||” title_text_color=”#2a597c” title_font_size=”16px” background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” border_radii=”on|3px|3px|3px|3px” border_color_all=”#cccccc” prev_text=”%title” next_text=”%title”][/et_pb_post_nav][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]