Bhakti is the path of devotion, where the soul develops profound love for the Divine. The devotee practices sadhana through which he grows in his love for God. Proportionate to the devotee’s love, God increases His bliss in their heart. The devotee continues on the path by remembering the sweetness of the Lord’s Forms, Virtues, Pastimes, and Abodes. These sadhanas pull his mind, which propel him forward, ever desirous of attaining the Divine.

Maharshi Kapil describes in the Shreemad Bhagavatam:” Just as the holy Ganges flows incessantly towards the ocean, similarly when our thoughts begin to flow towards God, that divine state is called bhakti.” Such sublime thoughts purge the mind of impurities and make it eligible to receive the highest gift—Divine Love (bhakti). On receiving such a pristine present, the soul is liberated but does not merge with God. It enters the eternal pastimes of its beloved Lord and engages in eternal loving service. Hence, the word “bhakti” can be traced back to its root “bhaj”, which means “to serve.”

But how can one cultivate such intense longing to know and serve God? Swami Mukundananda expounds the science of devotion by referring to the divine kirtan “Tum Mere The Mere Ho Mere Rahoge”, composed by his Guru, Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj. The line translates as: “You were mine, You are mine, and You will remain mine forever.”

Swami Mukundananda, in his discourse on this beautiful composition, emphasizes how every soul belongs eternally to God. However, while seeking love, recognition, and material accomplishments in the world, we forget this truth. The journey of devotion (bhakti) is the rediscovery of this forgotten truth. This blog will take you through the stages of divine love as expounded in this kirtan – beginning with faith, passing through the fire of separation, and culminating in the bliss of prema bhakti.

The Soul’s Original Bond

What is the first step to devotion? Swami Mukundananda explains: It begins with the realisation of our eternal relationship with God. We are the eternal soul (jīva), tiny fragments of God’s energy. Just as a spark is never separate from fire, the soul is never separate from God. We may forget Him, but He never forgets us. Have we ever considered what would happen if we didn't have clean air to breathe or water to drink? We forget that we exist because of Him. The sentience in us, the very life force, is not our own creation, but is due to His presence in our souls. Yet, we refuse to accept Him as our own.

In worldly life, we call many relationships our own: my mother, my father, my child, my friend, my beloved. Time separates loved ones, circumstances test loyalties, and even the closest ties fade away. Yet, there is one bond that neither time, nor distance, nor even death can sever – the eternal relationship between the soul and God.

The Two Kinds of Bhakti: Sādhana Bhakti vs. Siddha Bhakti

Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj writes in his Bhakti Shatak: prathama sādhanā bhakti karu, taba mana nirmala hoya milai vishuddhā bhakti taba, guru anukampa toya (verse 9).

Translation:“First, do sadhana bhakti to purify your mind. Then you will receive siddha bhakti by the grace of the Guru.”

Hence, Bhakti is of two kinds:

1. Sādhana Bhakti (Preparatory Devotion) is where the devotee strives with effort – chanting, meditating, to cleanse the mind of impurities.
2. Siddha Bhakti (Divine Love) is the divine power that God bestows by His grace to a devotee whose vessel is ready to receive it.

To make his vessel eligible to receive prema, A devotee must seek to purify his mind through sādhana bhakti. There are eight stages in preparatory devotion, which finally lead to Prema Bhakti.

Stages of Sādhana Bhakti

Śraddhā: The devotee on the path of devotion starts on a note of faith (Śraddhā) that God alone is our eternal Relative and we need to turn towards Him. This is the first stage of bhakti. Maharajji’s kirtan, tuma mere the mere ho mere rahoge, bahakūn nā aba bahakāne se reflects the sentiments of a devotee who believes:

➢   God was mine when I, in ignorance, didn’t believe in Him

➢   He is Mine now, when I have faith in His eternal love

➢   He will forever be Mine, and I shall never be dissuaded from this truth

Sādhu-saṅga: Hearing of God's glories and pastimes from bona fide saints and the Guru, strengthens our faith.

Bhajana-kriyā: And then, one glides into the third stage, Bhajana-kriyā – singing, chanting, and meditating on the Divine Names and Forms. The devotee immerses his mind in these blissful divine Forms and says to God: jaba samajha prema men dūba gai, taba kya hogā samajhane se

Translation:”(Oh Shree Krishna!) No longer can Your Maya deceive me. Since my intellect is drowned in love, it is of no use explaining anything otherwise to me.”

His intellect is convinced that he has an eternal relationship with God and hence, must serve Him with all his might. He pledges that despite the Beloved’s indifference, he shall never waver from the path of selfless love. Whether he is loved or not, his decision to serve God selflessly does not alter.

The soul offers Him his all: tuma ko hī tana mana dhana arapana tuma hī ika mere jīvana dhana

Tr. “You are the only treasure of my life, and I offer my body, mind, and wealth to you alone.”

At this stage of the kirtan, Maharajji introduces the three levels of devotional service, which lead to further cleansing of the mind:

a) Serving in the mind: manasi seva(man)–serving the Beloved in the mind by constantly contemplating on His happiness

b) Serving with the body (tan): engaging in kirtan, decorating the altar, serving the Guru with skills or time

c)Serving with wealth (dhan): offering material resources

Swamiji adds here that as the soul ascends to higher levels of devotion, the preceding stages continue to flow alongside. Yet, at each level, one aspect shines forth more prominently, and that is where the stage derives its name.

Viraha –Burning Away Mental Afflictions

Once, someone asked Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, “Why do you engage in devotion?” He replied simply and beautifully: “It is my very nature.” In the same way, the devotee who has tasted the sweetness of bhakti entreats the Lord in the next stanza:

de do aisī viraha vedanā, miți jāye mama aham chetana

Translation: “Grant me such pain of separation that the ego within my heart is destroyed.”

 Now the devotee dives deeper into the journey of Divine Love. Situated in loving service, he pleads for viraha, the fire of separation. Like every love story, divine love is tested in its crucible: the fire of separation (viraha). Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj explained that the agony of longing (viraha-tāpa) is more elevating than the bliss of union. Why? Because the pain of separation is so intense, it effaces selfishness, ego, and pride. Nothing remains except the desperate cry: “O Krishna! Without You, I cannot exist.”

In the last stanza, the devotee declared that he had drowned his intellect in divine love. However, even beyond the intellect is the ego. It is the final stumbling block in the spiritual path. Caught in the clutches of Maya, we erroneously identify ourselves with the body and mind. We begin to nurture the illusions, “I'm beautiful, intelligent, learned, and prosperous”. These wrong assumptions, confusing the body with the self, give rise to pride.  Pride invokes the enemies of God, like resentment, envy, anger, greed, and so on. How do we then get rid of aham(pride)?

Practicing humility and repeating the thought that “I am a servant of God'' alone can deliver us from the evil of pride. Maharajji writes: aura adhika chamakega sonā, punipuni agini tapānese. The purport is, just as gold shines more and more when placed in fire, a devotee’s soul is purified by burning in the fire of separation. Then, one’s pride of one’s mind and body is annihilated, and he takes pride only in his Master, the Lord, Shree Krishna.

Anartha-nivṛttiḥ is the fourth stage in the soul’s sojourn to realize God. It cleanses the mind of impurities such as anger, greed, anxiety, selfishness, and pride, and makes his love resplendent.  From here, the soul progresses in its path to the higher stages of bhakti.

Niṣṭhā, the fifth stage, denotes steadiness in devotion. Continuing further, Maharajji’s divine verse reflects the soul’s constant yearning for the Beloved. It also illustrates how the pain of separation intensifies the longing for the Lord while refining the soul in its journey: Aa yā nā ā muṟlī vāre, ro ro kar ham tumhe pukāre. Prem baṛhegā chiṇ chiṇ merā, yūn tere taṛpāne se.

Translation:”O Flute-player, whether You come or not, I shall go on weeping for You; the more You make me pine, the more my love will grow.” These lines reveal the essence of true bhakti. The devotee’s love does not depend on reward or response—it flows unconditionally. Whether the Lord appears or remains hidden, devotion continues, for bhakti itself is the goal. Such yearning is not for one’s own joy, but only to behold and serve the Beloved.

Ruciḥ, the sixth stage is the taste and joy in remembrance of God. Now, the devotee begins to thirst only for the sweet nectar of God. This natural inclination toward the divine matures into Āsaktiḥ, a deep attachment to the enchanting Forms of God. At this juncture, the kirtan voices the devotee’s intense entreaty to God: ika bāra laga lo sine se, balihāra jāūñ apnāne se.

In the above verse, the devotee experiences an intense desire to be embraced by God. In this stage of Āsaktiḥ, the senses long for God’s embracing arms, and hence his mind too is attached to the Divine. This stage will lead him to the penultimate stage of acquiring divine love– Bhāv.

Bhāv is the first awakening of transcendental love. When devotion matures, it blossoms into bhāva bhakti, where the heart beats only for God. The devotee no longer remembers the self but only the Beloved. He feels Krishna’s nearness and immerses in a stream of ecstasy.

Here, a devotee may ask: Why does God delay in bestowing darshan (vision)? God does not delay without purpose. He waits for the perfect moment, when the devotee is ready to receive His grace.

The stage of Bhāv exudes the oblique effulgence of prema bhakti where God manifests before the devotee. This stage is like when the sun begins to rise; the darkness of night is gone. At this stage, a few rays of bhav bhakti enter the sadhak’s heart and purify it, until he reaches the final stage of complete surrender.

The Final Stage: Siddha or Prema Bhakti

Here, the journey of the soul culminates in complete surrender, in the manner as God declares in the Bhagavad Gita: Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śharaṇaṁ vraja || 66||

Translation: “Abandon all varieties of dharmas and simply surrender unto Me alone.

After wandering long in the vast ocean of Māyā, the devotee learns to develop a love that is pure and selfless. In this state of total humility and self-effacement, he awaits the Lord’s most treasured gift. His heart, like a vessel now made ready, longs to be filled with divine love, and with yearning he sings:ika dina prema ranga lāyegā, piya! tuma ko bhī tarapāyegā.

Translation: “O my Beloved! One day, my love will have its effect, and it will torment you as well.”

When the receptacle is finally ready, God appears and bestows para bhakti or divine love–His most prized treasure. God is enraptured and enslaved by the love of such devotees who are now in union with the Divine.

Service, the Highest Expression of Love

On receiving divine love, the devotee’s urge to serve the Lord in His eternal pastimes now increases infinitely. Radha Rani is the highest devotee of the Lord and can offer the utmost bliss to Him. Hence, the soul who has entered the Lord’s eternal pastimes now wishes to serve Radha Rani, as the servant of the servant of Her servant in the Das Anudas Bhav. This is the greatest service to Krishna and the highest manifestation of divine love.

Rasik saints like Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj have acknowledged this principle in the pad Sadha Yaha! Puravahu Radhe! Shree Maharajji entreats the divine Mother to endow him with service in the nitya lilas of Radha and Krishna. In these tender lines, the soul prays: “O Radhe! Kindly fulfill this one desire of mine—let me forever remain in Your palace as a humble maidservant, sweeping the sacred Kunj-Mahal where You and Shyamsundar rest at dusk and dawn.” For when a soul offers such loving service, Krishna is most pleased.

Call to Action:

1.  Relish the heart-melting divine bhajan: Tum Mere the Mere Ho Mere Rahonge l Heart Melting Radha Krishna Bhajan l Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj

2.  Meditate on the Sentiment of Divine Love on the Radha Krishna Bhakti App: (21 Days Challenge Day 5) https://youtu.be/u3r0qcHns90?si=JSgXGJIBXXi64Gna

1.   Subscribe and share the Swami Mukundananda YouTube channel: Most Amazing Explanation - What is Devotion to God | Swami Mukundananda

Resources

1. Mukundananda, S. (2024).Spiritual Secrets From Hinduism. Rupa Publications Pvt Ltd: New Delhi, India.
2. JKYog Weekly Satsang | Blissful Kirtans | Tum Mere The Mere Ho Series By Swami Mukundananda | Part 6
3. JKYog Weekly Satsang | Blissful Kirtans | Tum Mere The Mere Ho Series By Swami Mukundananda | Part 2
4. JKYog Weekly Satsang | Blissful Kirtans | Tum Mere The Mere Ho Series By Swami Mukundananda | Part10
5. JKYog Weekly Satsang | Blissful Kirtans | Tum Mere The Mere Ho Series By Swami Mukundananda | Part 8
6. JKYog Weekly Satsang | Blissful Kirtans | Tum Mere The Mere Ho Series By Swami Mukundananda | Part 9