Bhakti as connection necessitates one to define the division that allows one to connect in the first place and the recipient of the connection. In other words, when one performs bhakti, one needs to know who is at the other end of the divide we perceive long enough to experience bhakti in the first place. If one is sharing, then there is another party to share. If one is serving, there is another party to serve. And if one is devoting oneself, there is another party who receives that devotion.
Bhakti as a practice necessitates this understanding, as the experience of separateness is what allows one to experience union. But just because bhakti as a concept necessitates the existence of the concepts of separation and unity, it does not define the nature of that division, its cause, or its outcome. Just because we feel bhakti or wish to perform it does not automatically define to or for whom we do it.
Seeking the Divine is the seeking of an understanding.
So we must make an honest attempt to answer these questions ourselves first. Or rather, we must be able to recognize the answers that we are holding at the beginning of the journey. And there are a variety of reasons to do so. First of all, in our seeking, we see the development of these questions. Perhaps the seeking is the question and the answer. So the path forward in bhakti too is to more deeply understand how we connect to Divinity. That requires us to develop a deeper understanding of Divinity itself.
I have mentioned a few times now that the intention often shapes the path. This is because our intentions act as the guides along which we ourselves take the next step and ask the next question. So when working in bhakti yoga, it is crucial that we know what our answers are to these questions when we start, not because there is a right or wrong answer but so that we can understand our development and Divinity more deeply and with greater clarity.
Who or what is the Divine?
When you are cultivating your relationship, who are you cultivating it with?
What are its characteristics?
It does seem unfair to ask these questions so soon. I think it helps to accept that over our lifetimes, our answer to these questions can change. In fact, as we develop our relationship and deepen our understanding, our answers to these questions should change. Our initial answers to these questions and revisiting our answers throughout our journey reveals a lot about our expectations and imagination.
There are lots of reasons why we overlook answering these questions. Many try to evade them because they neither want to be wrong nor to be challenged. They are happy to not think about who the other party in this relationship is and what they are really like. Sometimes, we delude ourselves by thinking that ignorance is the same as objectivity or open-mindedness. In other words, if we have no knowledge or claim no knowledge about these questions, then we are the blank slate of a seeker. But this is just ignorance masquerading as wisdom.
The foundation of spiritual practice is the courage and bravery to seek the answer, because the seeking is the connection itself.
By recognizing our pre-existing expectations and thoughts, our framework for the Divine, we are building our awareness–the same awareness that will allow us to deepen our connection with Divinity. Dodging answering these questions from the beginning and honoring our own beliefs with our acknowledgement robs us of the opportunity to grow or change.
If one is serious about cultivating any relationship with Divinity, then one will necessarily have to think about the other party, who or what they are and what they are like. Without this clarity, the goalpost will just keep moving. But beyond that, there is no firm ground on which to establish the future of your spiritual practice. It may seem daunting to suggest that your answers here will be the foundation, but explicitly, it is not the answer that is the foundation.
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