Bhakti Yoga refers to a spiritual practise of offering utmost devotion (Bhakti) to God. Bhakti is a series or succession of mental efforts at religious realization, beginning with ordinary worship and ending in a supreme intensity of love for god. The movements wherein Bhakti Yoga is practised are called as Bhakti movements. And this yoga is generally considered as the easiest way to liberate oneself. In order to practise Bhakti yoga, it is very important for the practitioner to surrender himself to god by channeling his emotions into unconditional love for god, turning into devotion. The Bhakti Yogi is motivated chiefly by the power of love and sees God as the embodiment of love. However, this path appeals to those very emotional natured individuals since, chanting or singing the praises of God forms a substantial part of Bhakti Yoga.

The goal of this yoga is far different and difficult apart from just the love for god. Bhakti yoga is a real and genuine search of god, wherein a Bhakti yogi searches for happiness and moksha. His search begins, continues and ends in Love, since it is matter of only a moment that the madness of extreme love to God brings eternal freedom. When a man practices bhakti, he loves everyone and he becomes satisfied forever, since all his cravings for the earthly benefits gets reduced. However, what is important to realize is the importance of Bhakti in its individual sense. Bhakti is greater than Karma and Yoga, because the latter two are practiced for a purpose, whereas Bhakti is its own means and its own end. The one great advantage of Bhakti is that it is the easiest and the most natural way to reach the great divine end in view.

Bhakti is practised in a higher as well as its lower form. The former has been explained above, but the latter has a great disadvantage since it often degenerates into - hideous fanaticism. From the genuine worshippers, however, every sect of religion does have many fanatics who are always exclusively recruited from these worshippers on the lower planes of Bhakti. These fanatics tend to get attached to their god or ideal but denounce every other form, resulting in becoming a howling fanatic as soon as he sees or hears anything of any other ideal. But this danger exists only in the preparatory stage (Gauni) of Bhakti. Bhakti Yoga has two levels; the first is called "Gauni," or preparatory and includes all the preliminary practices; the second is "Para," or the state of supreme love and devotion to God.

A beginner in Bhakti Yoga should first of all free his heart from attachment to earthly objects and pleasures; then realize divinity and consciousness of god in this life. When Bhakti ceases to be in that stage and passes the supreme (Para), there is no fear of these hideous manifestations of fanaticism; Infact here, the soul is overpowered by the higher form of Bhakti to such a level near to God and love that it discontinues to become an instrument for the diffusion of hatred.

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Love and Renunication in Bhakti yoga