Category: Teachings

By Giridhari Das

Bhakti-yoga, as explored in my book The 3T Path, is the most joyful, powerful, and intimate process of spiritual connection with God. Rooted in the ancient tradition of yoga, this path stands out for its essence based on love—the most natural and universal force we all carry. Unlike practices that may seem distant or inaccessible, bhakti-yoga transforms every action into an expression of devotion and bliss. In this text, I highlight three fundamental aspects: its inherent joy, its unparalleled power, and the unique connection it offers with the Divine, while emphasizing that, though driven by the love innate to everyone, it requires the guidance of a spiritual master to master its practical details, from diet to meditation and directed study.

 

The Joy of Love in Bhakti-yoga

Bhakti-yoga is the yoga of love, making it the most joyful process of spiritual connection. In The 3T Path, I write that “devotion is powerful because it is an expression of your ability to love” and that “no ‘connection’ is more important than love.” Unlike views that associate spirituality with sacrifice or extreme austerity, bhakti-yoga celebrates life through loving surrender to God. Whether chanting Krishna’s holy names or offering food with gratitude, the practitioner experiences a spontaneous joy that springs from the heart. This path doesn’t demand rejection of material existence but redirects the soul’s natural love toward Krishna, “the all-attractive.” Thus, the practice becomes an act of divine pleasure, where every moment can be filled with the bliss (ananda) of being connected to the supreme source. Bhakti-yoga is, therefore, a journey of happiness, accessible to all who wish to live love in its purest form.

 

The Unparalleled Power of Love

Bhakti-yoga is also the most powerful of spiritual paths because it utilizes the mightiest force we possess: love. In the book, I state that “devotion will motivate you like nothing else” and that it is “the most powerful tool you have for transformation.” Love, present in each of us, transcends barriers and inspires resilience, becoming the engine of spiritual elevation. While jnana-yoga, with its focus on knowledge, is a natural and essential process that strengthens intelligence and wisdom, bhakti-yoga amplifies this progress by channeling love as a propelling force. The practice of japa—meditation with the Hare Krishna maha-mantra—exemplifies this: the transcendental sound purifies the mind and nourishes the soul, linking it to God’s infinite energy. I write that “in the path of yoga, [devotion] receives the highest importance and is repeatedly presented as necessary to maximize your full potential.” This power lies in love’s ability to transform not only the practitioner but also their relationship with the world, making bhakti-yoga a supreme path to realization.

 

The Most Intimate Connection with God

Bhakti-yoga provides the most intimate connection with God because it is grounded in love—the foundation of all personal and reciprocal relationships. In The 3T Path, I present Krishna as the “Supreme Personality of Godhead,” with whom the soul can cultivate a deeply affectionate bond. Unlike impersonal approaches, bhakti-yoga offers “the two-way path of love,” allowing one to experience “the five flavors of love”—from reverence to friendship and the most intimate affection. This relationship culminates in prema, pure spiritual love, which I describe as “the final and completely perfect state of existence.” Every act, such as offering one’s life to God, becomes a loving service that draws the soul closer to His transcendental abode. The 3T Method, with practices like chanting divine names and consuming prasada, reinforces this living, dynamic connection. Bhakti-yoga is not merely a means to liberation (moksha) but an eternal, loving union with Krishna, marked by the closeness and reciprocity that only love can provide.

 

The Need for a Spiritual Master

Though bhakti-yoga draws on love, a force natural to all, its full practice requires detailed guidance, and this is where a spiritual master becomes essential. In The 3T Path, I stress that “without a fixed daily practice, called sadhana, progress is very slow” and that “it is essential to choose a path and a primary spiritual instructor.” Love, however spontaneous, must be refined with discipline and wisdom to reach its fullest potential. The spiritual master guides the practitioner in practical aspects, such as mantra meditation (japa) with the japa-mala, preparing prasada with ethical food choices and the offering, and studying texts like the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. I write that “the grace of the spiritual master is knowledge,” but the student must apply these instructions earnestly. Without this guide, one risks getting lost in unstructured attempts, diluting bhakti-yoga’s transformative potency. The master is the link connecting the soul’s innate love to the structured method that leads to ultimate realization.

In summary, bhakti-yoga is the most joyful, powerful, and intimate path of spiritual connection because it is driven by love—a universal force that, when directed to Krishna, reveals our highest potential. Yet, to walk this path successfully, the guidance of a spiritual master is indispensable, providing the practices and knowledge that transform this love into a journey of self-realization. As I write in The 3T Path, “devotion is the key to success and the ultimate goal,” and with a trustworthy guide, this love leads us back home to Krishna’s eternal abode.

Renowned Sanskrit scholar Howard J. Resnick, PhD, from Harvard University, offers a compelling rebuttal to the argument that the Bhagavad Gita is a later insertion into the Mahabharata. Resnick, a lifelong practitioner of the path of the Bhagavad Gita and bhakti-yoga, brings a unique blend of academic expertise and personal experience to his analysis, as follows:

Textual scholars don’t, as a group, believe the Gītā to be a later insertion to the Mahabharata. I will list here the main reasons that some scholars believe that. I will also explain why none of these points is very strong.

Argument 1. “The Mahabharata is primarily an epic narrative of war and politics, while the Bhagavad Gītā is a more focused philosophical dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna, discussing concepts like duty (dharma), devotion (bhakti), and knowledge (jnana).”

Bad argument. The Mahabharata (henceforth MBh) contains huge sections which are not ‘epic narratives’, such as the biggest of all sections: Bhīṣma’s deathbed teachings which cover a very wide range of topics such as: on certain auspicious days, is it better to give brahmanas sesame seeds or mustard seeds. Really! The Britannica states that over 80% of the MBh is not about the main narrative.

Argument 2. “The sanskrit style is somewhat more polished in the Gita.”

This is another bad argument since the Gita’s language is consonant with its special spiritual teachings, and is spoken by God, and redacted by Avatāra Vyāsa. Also, the MBh contains many styles of Sanskrit, including that of the Gita.

Argument 3. “Some argue that it is implausible that just before a great war, Krishna and Arjuna would discuss all these topics.”

We should keep in mind that Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada taught that Vyāsa did the final redaction of the Gītā. Also, the Gītā is not even close to making the list of implausible narrations in the MBh. Also, people back then had far superior attention spans and memories, and the generals at Kuruksetra knew there would be tragic loss of life and were probably thankful for the pause occasioned by the Gītā.

Argument 4. “The Gītā gives a unique philosophical perspective.”

In fact, the MBh is often very unphilosophical. It is to be expected that when God Himself speaks, something special occurs. Again, bad argument.

Argument 5. “There are inconsistencies in dating.”

This objection is based on a fabricated general dating system for Sanskrit literature. Here are some points on this topic in particular:

a. Max Muller originally dated chronological layers of Sanskrit śāśtras by applying known chronologies of European languages. The big flaw here is that language is a chief manifestation of culture, and India, for millenia, has been far more culturally conservative than Europe.

b. Further, whereas in the four Vedas, the actual physical sound of the phonemes stores and conveys their power, the power of the itihāsa-purāṇa literature, like MBh, is in the story itself. Thus the more recent Sanskrit in these genres, compared to the Vedas etc, may simply indicate that the language was updated for the stories.

Argument 6. “Some scholars claim that the MBh grew over time and the Gītā is an example of such growth.”

However, this by itself is just an idea, there is no proof that this happened.

Finally, because the Gītā has comparatively few verses, and is so sacred, it was very easily memorized, and brāhmaṇas were highly motivated to memorize it. Much less so for other sections of the MBh. So, whereas the huge MBh defied even the almost supernatural ability of brāhmaṇas to memorize sacred texts, the Gītā was very easy to memorize. The critical edition of the MBh shows very few text variants in the Gītā. The simple fact is that the Gītā is present in the critical edition, meaning it is found in both older and later manuscripts. If Gītā’s text is an “addition”, it’s difficult to argue that it’s a late addition or interpolation.

CONCLUSION: there is no definitive proof, or even serious suggestive evidence, that the Gītā is a later insertion into the MBh.

Yoga philosophy explains the concept of being in a ghost body and even how certain types of meditation can lead the yogi to inhabit such a body for a vast period of time. Here we’ll examine Sutra 1.19 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras where this meditation is described.

There are three aspects of God described in the yoga tradition: Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan.

According to yoga philosophy, one of the biggest obstacles to happiness is having your mind slipping away from the here and now, fantasizing about something in the future. Here we’ll read text 2.7 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, where he directly explains why this happens.

In Yoga, we’re not afraid of the Devil. Instead, we’re afraid of ignorance.

I explain the concept of how spiritual progress is not lost, first by reading the first Bhagavad-gita verse to describe this, which is found in Chapter 2, verse 40. I then present more what Krishna explains in Chapter 6 of the Gita and give examples from the Srimad Bhagavatam to boost.

Krishna explains the 3 gateways to hell in Bhagavad-gita 16.21.

Let’s see here how Patanjali explains how to attain perfection in the Yoga Sutras, in sutra 1.20.

Let’s see here how Patanjali defines detachment in the Yoga Sutras, in sutra 1.15.