Bhakti Yoga Quotes

“After all, how could I be a person if Ultimate Reality were impersonal?”
― David Steindl-Rast, Deeper Than Words: Living the Apostles' Creed

“One important aspect of the Gita which remains is that even though it presents to us some diverse paths as a way of life, such as action, devotion, knowledge and meditation, it does not impose any of these paths on an individual. Rather, it leaves the choice to the people, because the followers of all these paths are essential for the smooth functioning of the world, and any en masse inclination towards only one of them would jeopardize the society by causing an imbalance in its system. The Gita also recognizes that the path that one should follow is determined primarily by the free choice of man as well as his inherent nature, which can be interpreted as a genetic inheritance he is endowed with.”
― Nihar Satpathy, The Puzzles of Life

“What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.”
― A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Bhagavad-Gita As It Is

“For one kiss of Thy lips, O Beloved! One who has been kissed by Thee, has his thirst for Thee increasing for ever, all his sorrows vanish, and he forgets all things except Thee alone. Aspire after that kiss of the Beloved, that touch of His lips which makes the devotee mad, which makes of man a god. To him, who has been blessed with such a kiss, the whole of nature changes, worlds vanish, suns and moons die out, and the universe itself melts away into that one infinite ocean of love. That is the perfection of the madness of love.”
― Swami Vivekananda, Bhakti Yoga: The Yoga of Love and Devotion

“Strebe nach diesem Kuss des Geliebten, dieser Berührung der Lippen, die den bhakta verzückt und ihn in Gott verwandelt. Für denjenigen, der mit einem solchen Kuss gesegnet wurde, verschwinden die Welten, Sonne und Mond vergehen und selbst das Universum schmilzt dahin in einen unendlichen Ozean der Liebe. Das ist die vollkommene Verzückung nondualer Liebe. (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 3, Lectures from Colombo to Almora, The Sages of India) (S. 208)”
― James Swartz, Yoga der Liebe: Naradas Bhakti Sutra aus der Perspektive des Vedanta

“Whether one’s nature is serving the Lord, either as servant or as wife, such a devotion with no sense of distinction between Lord and yourself that alone is to be achieved.

To move towards this experience of our oneness with the Lord, wherein the Lord and His devotee are not two, is to cultivate the path of a servant to the master or a wife to the husband. Such love is expressed in the glory of sages who have realised this fulfilment of devotion. This alone is to be achieved – prema eva kāryam.”
― Chinmayananda Saraswati, Narada Bhakti Sutra

“Loneliness is dependent on not loving very many things. So now I try to love a lot.”
― Charlotte Eriksson, He loved me some days. I'm sure he did: 99 essays on growth through loss

“Most people are meditating on what they like, or don’t like. Most people are meditating on how to be happy, how to have a better life, how to make more money, how to get sex—so don’t be confused. What you give your attention to, IS your meditation. Formal meditation, the ‘practice’ of meditation, is an antidote for these involuntary meditations that people are always engaging in without realizing it. You get to focus on something different, something perhaps of your choosing.”
― Bodhisattva Shree Swami Premodaya

“Attaining It one becomes intoxicated, then silent, delighting in the Self“ (Narada Bhakti Sutras) The state of devotion to which this verse refers is not a simple love of God inspired by blind belief, but an inner transformation, the rebirth of the soul out of the womb of matter into the realm of pure Spirit. It is a spontaneous awakening to the ultimate state of Being, an ecstatic, expansive, dynamic, openended experience that fills the head with wisdom and the heart with love. Unlike „born again“ experiences, which quickly fade, leaving the devotee caught up in the limitations of the old life, the heart merges completely and permanently into the Self. (p. 96)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“Die Schöpfung ist einfach eine Mischung aus einem einzigen, bewussten, unveränderlichen Subjekt und fortwährend sich ändernden Objekten. Richte deinen Blick also auf dich; der sich verändernde Teil bist nicht du und der unveränderliche Teil bist du. Wenn das unveränderliche Gewahrsein, das du bist, sein Licht auf den leblosen Materie-Teil von dir richtet, dann werden dein Körper und Geist belebt. Du verleihst ihnen Leben, nicht sie dir. Das gesamte Universum wird vom Bewusstsein getragen. Auf der Ebene des physischen Körpers wird das Bewusstsein als das Lebensprinzip (prana) erfahren. Solltest du irgendwie daran zweifeln, dann berühre deinen Körper und du wirst Empfindung erfahren und erkennen, dass er vom Bewusstseinsprinzip gesegnet ist. Wenn du aber nicht mehr mit deinem Körper verbunden bist, wird er zur Nahrung für die Würmer. Weitest du dieses Denken auf die kosmische Ebene aus, kannst du nur zum Schluss kommen, dass der Kosmos ein einziges, harmonisches, intelligentes Wesen ist. Der sichtbare, erfahrbare Teil der Schöpfung ist Materie und das intelligente, erhaltende Prinzip ist Gott, Bewusstsein. (S. 70)”
― James Swartz, Yoga der Liebe: Naradas Bhakti Sutra aus der Perspektive des Vedanta

“The Bhagavad Gita presents us with a unitary system of Yoga, one clear and systematic path, wherein all four Yoga techniques of jnana, karma, bhakti and classical ashtanga are - together – all considered crucial for spiritual realization. These four supposedly different paths, in actuality, represent four aspects of one, unified, integral Yoga system. They are akin to the four sides of a square. If one of the sides of the square is missing, then the very structural integrity and being of the square is itself compromised. Indeed, it no longer is logically qualified as a "square" at all. Similarly, the complete
and authentic path of Yoga spirituality must include all these four components of Yoga in order to be fully appreciated.

It is true that these four Yogas are linked by their common emphasis on devotional meditation upon, and the ultimate loving absorption of our awareness in, the Absolute. However, it is also inarguably clear that Krishna considers bhakti-yoga, or the discipline of focused devotional consciousness, to be not merely one component of these four branches of Yoga, but as the very essence and goal of all Yoga practice itself. Unlike the other aspects of the Yoga path, bhakti (devotional meditation) is distinguished by the fact that it is not only a means (upaya) for knowing God, but it is simultaneously also the goal (artha) of all human existence. As the means, bhakti designates devotional meditation; as the goal, bhakti means devotional consciousness. At no time does one abandon the practice of bhakti, even upon achieving liberation. Rather, devotional consciousness focused with one-pointed awareness upon the Absolute represents the very goal of the entire Yoga system.”
― Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way

“Dauerhafte Selbsterkenntnis ist Befreiung und Befreiung ist nonduale Hingabe, denn es gibt nur ein Selbst und seine Natur ist reine Liebe (parama-prema-svarupa). (S. 115)”
― James Swartz, Yoga der Liebe: Naradas Bhakti Sutra aus der Perspektive des Vedanta

“Geboren aus der Bewunderung ist nonduale Liebe vollkommene, gleichbleibende, bewertungsfreie, universelle Liebe zu meinem wahren, ursprünglichen Selbst, meinem erschaffenen scheinbaren Selbst, zur Welt und zum Schöpfer der Welt. Sie ist die vollkommene Überzeugung, dass nichts fehlt. Sie ist mühelose, zweifelsfreie Selbstachtung. Sie ist nicht selbstkritisch. Sie ist unzweideutig; was immer der nonduale bhakta tut, tut er oder sie ohne Zurückhaltung. (S. 119)”
― James Swartz, Yoga der Liebe: Naradas Bhakti Sutra aus der Perspektive des Vedanta

“bhaktā ekāntino mukhyāḥ | Vers 67: Die größten Bhaktas des Herrn sind jene, die sich ausschließlich ihm aufs innigste hingeben.”
― James Swartz, Yoga der Liebe: Naradas Bhakti Sutra aus der Perspektive des Vedanta

“Leben ist Liebe, die Liebe erfährt. Mit der Entdeckung dieser Tatsache ist der bhakta befreit von der Not, in Objekten Liebe finden zu müssen, insbesondere in anderen Menschen. (S. 210)”
― James Swartz, Yoga der Liebe: Naradas Bhakti Sutra aus der Perspektive des Vedanta

“Devotional songs were once written and sung by saints. Now it's being done my marijuana addicts, juvenile eye-candies, delusional fancy dress wearers and so on. Bhakti movement has come full circle.”
― Shunya

“Become a servant of real love, and that means becoming a servant of love in its ultimate purity. Give, share, whatever you have to share. Enjoy sharing, do not do it
as a duty, because then the joy disappears. And do not feel that you are obliged to others. Love never obliges. When somebody receives your love, you feel obliged. Love is thankful that it has been received. 
To become a servant of love does not mean to become a servant of somebody you love. Your love is only pure love and the whole existence consists of pure love. A flower is an expression of the pure love of existence, the
trees is another expression of the pure love of existence and your beloved is also a pure expression of the pure love of existence.”
― Swami Dhyan Giten, The Call of the Heart 

“You have no reason not to be optimistic, actually. Hasn't everything, even the worst and most terrible things, eventually worked out? That's the real reason for a kind of a blanket optimism... If you look back over your life... in a sober, sincere way, you’ll see that it's always worked out.”
― Bodhisattva Shree Swami Premodaya