I seem to be undergoing somewhat of a bhakti transformation recently. For those of you that don't know, bhakti yoga is the yoga of devotion. Swami Vivekananda describes bhakti yoga as "the path of systematized devotion for the attainment of union with the Absolute". It has been said that in this age of the Kali Yuga, all that one needs to do to achieve moksha (liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth) is to sing the holy names of God/dess. Bhakti is an ecstatic path of worship, and in its most advanced stages, the devotee goes literally insane burning with love for his chosen deity. One example of such a bhakta was Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who lived in Bengal about 500 years ago..
I first learned about Caitanya Mahaprabhu from Elahn at Shekinashram (http://www.shekinashram.org/), a beautiful bhakti and karma yoga ashram in Glastonbury, where I lived for two months last winter and return to frequently. When recently asked by my friend Mandy what we do at this ashram, I flippantly replied, 'Oh, we just sit around and sing kirtans (devotional songs) and cry.' Her eyes lit up and she said, 'Wow, I want to go!' Admittedly, it's not quite like that all of the time, but I do like to exaggerate somewhat, and besides, I have lived through a most extra-ordinary three days there in January during which I was crying near-continuously and was having the most intense visions of and satsangs with Lord Shiva. Such is the power of bhakti! It's perfect for emotional people in particular, and for those who need to melt their hearts.
.Anyway, back to Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Elahn, a great devotee of Lord Krishna and Radharani himself, was, at the time, very fond of showing a film depicting Caitanya's life to the karma yogis that passed through the ashram. I was one of them. 'You must watch this film', he said, eyes sparking with eager enthusiasm. 'Ok', I said, surrendering to my destiny. 'Nimai of Nadia' and its sequel 'Nilachala Mahaprabhu' is a black & white Bengali film shot in 1959 in India and depicts the extra-ordinary story of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the person, who, if one was cynically inclined, could accuse of bringing the Hare Krishna movement into existence.
.Caitanya Mahaprabhu was thought to be the reincarnation of Krishna and Radha in one body, in inseparable union. Spending his younger years as a respected and erudite scholar, he changed his direction when he travelled to Gaya to perform a ceremony for his deceased father and met his guru, the ascetic Ishvara Puri. From him, he received initiation, and upon his return to Bengal, things changed significantly in his life when he began to live not as a scholar, but as a devotee. For several years thereafter, Caitanya Mahaprabhu travelled all over India, chanting the divine names of Krishna constantly and ecstatically. He was also something of a social reformer, because he mixed with and defended India's so-called 'Untouchables' and told them that there was no difference between them and the high-caste Brahmins, because they all chanted the 'Holy Name' and that made them equal in the eyes of God. He rejoiced in singing and dancing, swaying with his arms high up in the air, chanting 'Haribol'.
.The first half of the film is a little boring, with unnecessary slights at the 'tantrics' which are sensationally portrayed as permanently intoxicated brutes ready to sacrifice virgins. However, there is a classic, must-see moment in which one of the tantrics hits Caitanya Mahaprabhu over the head with a pot. Injured, CMP sinks to his knees, with blood dripping down his face, then gets up again and begins to sing dramatically: 'You hit me with the pot, in return I will give you love', whilst the astounded tantrics look on with grim faces. CMP continues to implore them to 'chant the holy name', which, of course, they eventually do. (You can see the whole film for free at: http://connect.krishna.com/node/413)
.Now the real treat is 'Nilacala Mahaprabhu', the sequel to 'Nimai of Nadia'. This is where it gets interesting. The film is divine: evocative, eerie, fascinating. Much of its appeal rests with the haunting quality of the main actor, a detached, ethereal, luminous, otherworldly figure. It's the last twenty minutes that make the film, in which Caitanya Mahaprabhu goes into a divine ectatic form of samadhi. He returns from his home town after seeing his mother for one last time, in which he movingly thanks her for the gift of his body, saying 'The human body is the best temple. Mother, you are the Goddess of this temple'. After that, he goes into the extreme bhakti state and just wanders around in a daze, recognizing noone, crying 'Oh Krishna', 'Oh Krishna', while Krishna appears to him in fleeting visions. At this point, I challenge you to remain detached. It is heartbreaking. I tend to start crying at the point he goes to see his mother and don't generally stop until... oh, maybe the next day. It is profound. In the end, Caitanya Mahaprabhu disappears, probably consumed by the fires of eternal bhakti, united with his beloved Krishna.
.You can see a scene here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLVAyGIozwM, however, it's not the best one of the film.
.Of course, you may wonder what the point of such extreme emotional states is. For the outside observer, it just seems plain mad. But, in a nutshell, bhakti yoga is about union with God/dess, in which the soul returns to its original state of bliss. Of course, we are already in bliss and this separation is only perceived because we often can't recognize it, so the practice of bhakti brings us into harmony and closer to feeling it again. And, ultimately, the purpose of all sadhana (spiritual practice) is to develop real love. Nothing more, nothing less.
.Vimalananda, in Svodoba's classic 'Aghora' book, describes true devotion as such:
.Once, an Aghori told his disciple, 'Take this pot and fill it with water, but don't go near any lake or river.' The disciple thought to himself as hard as he could, and then he wandered around awhile before returning with an empty pot. The guru looked up at him and said, 'There is only one way to fill this pot - with your tears. When you love your deity so much that you cannot bear to be without Him, that you cannot exist unless you have a glimpse of Him, that you are ready to kill yourself unless He shows Himself to you, and when you cry continuously until the pot is full, then only are you fit to do Aghora sadhanas; not until then.'
.Another day the guru told the same disciple, 'Build me a fire without wood.' The disciple made an effort, but to no avail. When he confessed his failure to the guru, the latter shook his head and said, 'Until your heart catches fire with the intense longing for your deity; until you burn yourself to ashes and continue to burn even then; until you become flame yourself, you can never succeed at Aghora.'
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