Bhakti Yoga: Tales and Teachings from the Bhagavata Purana

by Edwin F. Bryant

“Teachers and students, scholars and practitioners of religion like, will be sure to keep this volume on hand in their research and for the sake of practice.” ―Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University

Bhakti yoga has been by far the most common form of yoga practiced in India for more than two millennia. Although The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali has become the canonical text for yoga philosophy and practice in the West, few in India either presently or historically have actually read or even know about it. Most Hindus across the centuries have gained their yoga philosophy from the stories of great yogi exemplars found in the bhakti literature of the subcontinent.

In simplest terms, bhakti is the heartfelt practice of love and devotion to God. In Western yoga circles, the term is often associated with the increasingly popular practice of kirtana, or chanting in a group or at large gatherings. But bhakti yoga is far more complex and ancient, and embraces many strands and practices. Edwin F. Bryant focuses on one important school of bhakti as a way into understanding this practice in general. He explores a Krsna tradition in depth to show what bhakti is and how it is expressed. He supplies his own translations of central texts from the tradition in the form of tales and teachings drawn from arguably the most influential text on bhakti, called the Bhagavata Purana, or the Beautiful Legend of God. And he compares and contrasts them with the bhakti practices outlined in The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali .

This clarifying study establishes a baseline for understanding bhakti yoga, and will be welcomed by students and devotees of the spiritual heritage of India.

Features of this new
-An extensive introduction to the definition and practices of bhakti
-Original Translations of key tales and teachings from the Bhagavata Purana
-Translations of some of the popular stories from Krsna’s incarnation
-Translation of the Bhakti Sutras
-Translation of the Siksastakam , the eight instructional verses on bhakti by Caitanya Mahaprabhu
-An essay on the Purana and Vedic literature
-A glossary, endnotes, and a bibliography

Genres: Spirituality, Philosophy, Religion, Hinduism, Nonfiction

688 pages, Paperback

Published July 11, 2017

Reviews

[Rama Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practicing bhakti (devotion) in the worship of Lord Krishna

This is a book of 688 pages that describes the teachings of Bhagavata Purana, one of the most commented texts in Hindu literature. This sacred text teaches that bhakti (devotion), the unconditional love for Lord Vishnu, or his reincarnation Krishna as most fundamental to find salvation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The Sanskrit scripture consists of twelve books (skandhas) with 332 chapters that comprises 16,000 to 18,000 verses depending on the recension. The tenth book, with about 4,000 verses is the most popular and widely studied with the philosophical implications of Vedanta, Yoga, and Samkhya. The author offers an introduction to the definition and practices of bhakti, provides translations of key tales and some popular stories from Krishna and other reincarnations of Lord Vishnu. The original text is filled with prayers, hymns of praise, and narratives aimed at inculcating a devotional sensibility in its followers.

The key feature of this book is the description of bhakti yoga, an offering the unconditional love for Krishna. In fact, this is one of three spiritual paths taught in the Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavata Purana, like other puranas, discusses cosmology, astronomy, genealogy, geography, legends & tales, but it also presents a form of religion (dharma) as an alternative to Vedas, wherein bhakti leads to self-knowledge, bliss, and complete unification with the Supreme Lord. The often-quoted verses from Bhagavata Purana 1.3.38-41 are used by the followers of Hare Krishna movement. The Gaudiya tradition of Vaishnavism, founded by Chaitanya (1486–1533), is one of the popular schools in Western hemisphere that inspired the founding of ISKCON (Hare Krishna organization) by Srila Prabhupada. There are several other traditions that interpret this purana differently. For example, the Warkari-tradition (worship of Vitoba and Rukmini) is another tradition of Vaishnavas with notable saints like Jñāneśvar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath, and Tukaram. The Ramanandi tradition emphasizes the worship of Rama and Vishnu, but all Vaishnava sects considers Bhagavad-Gita and Bhagavata purana as the two major texts sacred to their belief system.

The Bhagavata Purana is known to be founded on the principles of Vedanta, Yoga and Samkhya philosophies. Eminent commentators belonging to these schools have interpreted that this purana that supports their school of thought. Of these the oldest and the most respectable annotator is Sridhara Swami of Advaita Vedanta, Sukadeva of BhedaBheda Vedanta, Vallabhacharya of Shuddha Advaita Vedanta and Srila Prabhupada supporting Dvaita School of Vedanta.

Other interesting features of this Mahapurana are the tales of dying that explores many-sided images of death and dissolution. King Yayati seeking to curb aging; the epic heroine, Savitri, refusing to accept her husband’s death, rescues him from Yama, the Lord of Death; and demon kings like Ravana and Hiranyakasipu strive for immortality by drinking amrta (sacred drink of eternity). Another section of significance is the Uddhava-Gita (Hamsa-Gita), the message of which is the same as Bhagavad-Gita is a part of this purana. This is the direct teaching of a Master (Krishna) to His disciple Uddhava who had no other aim in life but to attain union with Him. It is a unique confluence of poetic imagery, eclectic philosophy, and religious mystery.

The English translation of Bhagavata Purana by Srila Prabhupada has many similarities to the translation by Bibek Debroy. And this book is strongly influenced by the interpretation of Srila Prabhupada and bhakti movement of Hare Krishna organization. I recommend other works by Indian scholars like Surendranath Dasgupta, G. P. Bhatt, J. L. Shastri, and G.V. Tagare published in the “Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology” series for an unbiased and broader view of Bhagavata Purana.

[Anmol]

Prof. Bryant really knows how to bring together academic scholarship and spiritual advice in his writings - I say this while reading his commentary of the Yoga Sutras, which is very helpful. In this volume, though, he combines an extremely detailed description of bhakti practices, borrowing largely from the writings of the Goswamis of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, and then translates some practice-oriented tales from the Bhagavatam. This would be a good book to have as a reference whenever you want to go over some of the best tales of the Bhagavatam, in my opinion. As someone who has read most of the Bhagavatam in Hindi translation (and slowly, all too slowly making his way through the tenth canto), I think you have a very good, extremely abridged, practice-oriented translation of the text here.

[Lincoln · Rating 4 out of 5]

The worst thing about this book is that the author takes the so called phenomenological approach in his treatment of this religious text (as opposed to the historical-critical approach common among western academics). He tells us what it teaches, and what the religious tradition which has developed around the text claims, but the author himself refrains from most, perhaps any, kind of "fact checking". I suppose the approach has its virtue, but i hated it.

To illustrate, imagine an academic work written on the Bible in which the author just tells you what Christians believe about such and such passage, and the Bible as a whole. Fine, I guess. But I can go to church for that. And I doubt academics would take any such book, written on the bible, with as much kindness as they look upon such approaches being taken for an Indian Religion. It's even worse since the author himself may in fact be a Bhagavan, giving this whole thing an uncomfortable aura of propaganda, or at least pointless flattery to Gaudiya Vaishnavas (the author's daughter, whose upbringing the author claims is related to the content of this book, is named Mohini--an incarnation of Vishnu like Krishna).

That said, the book is about the Bhagavata Purana. So it's still very interesting and I would recommend it to anyone interested in Indian religions, especially Bhakti.

[Ravi Sony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well studies and compiled compendium of Vaishnava Bhakti concepts and methods. Reading this work, I get a strong feeling that Edwin is not only an erudite scholar of the subject but a true believer of the path. He is compiled this work from many varied sources.
Must read for an entrant into the Vaishnava Bhakti path.
The summary of Srimad Bhargvatam is very beautifully done and an added bonus.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expertly written and referenced, as you'd expect from Bryant. Does for Bhakti what his translation and commentary of the Yoga Sutra does - 'The' text to go to. Covers the Bhagavata Purana, Caitanya's short but highly influential Siksastakam text, and Narada's Bhakti Sutra.

[Rachna · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Try as one may through the stimulation of the body, mind, and intellect, one cannot shake off a deep-rooted sense of existential malaise and lack of deep-level fulfillment. When that Truth dawns irrevocably, one is ready to sincerely seek alternatives. In bhakti, this entails taking refuge of Īśvara, God, and it is this devotional surrender to a Supreme Being that lies at the heart of bhakti yoga. Rather than pursuing other options such as those of the generic yoga or jñāna (knowledge of ātman) traditions, then, the yogī turns to Īśvara, but the motive is the same: one has failed to counteract suffering by other known material means. However, while the practices of bhakti are initially performed out of a desire to avoid suffering, vaidhī bhakti, they eventually develop into unmotivated, spontaneous, and ecstatic love for God, rāgānugā bhakti, as we will see. And it is because of this ultimate result that the Bhāgavata Purāṇa follows the Gītā in unambiguously asserting that bhakti is superior to other yogas (for instance, see Gītā VI.46–47, XII.2, and throughout). This is both because it is an easier path and more joyfully performed (Gītā IX.2) and because it reveals a higher Truth than that revealed by other yoga paths. ”

Excerpt From: Edwin F. Bryant. “Bhakti Yoga.”

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This book is a good resource for anyone interested in the theology of Kṛṣṇa bhakti. The material is readable and provides plenty of background info for those who are new to the subject matter, but those who are familiar with it will still take away a lot.
This is nitpicky but I kind of wish that the translation portion of the book was more comprehensive. It would’ve been nice to have the Sanskrit text with transliteration, a word-for-word translation, and then the translation. Overall worth a read especially for practitioners.

[Jackie Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fascinating introduction. Breaks down the philosophy behind Bhakti yoga super well.

[Neal Javia]

Beautiful

[Nancy McQueen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a yoga student I've often heard teachers discuss bhakti yoga, but with few details.
I found this book extremely informative, especially insofar as how bhakti yoga differs from Advaita Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism and other moksha traditions (as well as Samkha ("Yoga Sutras")).
It's a substantial volume, the reader will need to follow many of the footnotes and perhaps do some peripheral research, but overall surprisingly accessible. I'm so impressed that I now want to read Bryant's thick and well-regarded book on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, even though I now seldom read yoga texts, having already read enough to set the bar extremely high.