RE: "By repetition of His name and by cultivating * Ananya Bhakti, single-hearted devotion to Him, your ego-sense is eliminated and you realise that you are the Immortal Spirit. After this exalted experience, you get the vision of God everywhere. Verily, the whole universe is seen as His form. Once you have this experience, you are no more subject to lust, greed and wrath. You will ever remain above all dualities."

Comment:

* Ananya Bhakti: This, categorised as rAjasic bhakti, is the exclusive devotion of a deity irrespective of anything else. The classic example is that of Tulsidas, the author of rAmcarita-mAnas. In every line of this monumental work we find the ananya bhakti of Tulsi reverberating

The Power of Sincere Bhakti is talked about here, by Sri Ramakrishna:

"The [worldly] wife"

– all come under the control of one who has sincere bhakti

Thakur comes to the western part of the northern verandah of his room while talking and stands there. Mani is beside him. Thakur says again and again, “You can not reach Bhagavan without developing discrimination and dispassion.” Mani is married. He says to himself earnestly, “What will happen to me!” He is twenty-eight years old and has received an English college education. He asks himself, “Do discrimination and dispassion mean renunciation of ‘lust and greed?’ ”

Mani (to Sri Ramakrishna) — What should one do if one’s wife says, ‘You are neglecting me. I shall commit suicide.’

Sri Ramakrishna (in a grave tone) — She who is an obstacle in the way to the Lord, let her commit suicide or anything she likes! Such a wife should be shunned.

“She who is a hurdle in the way of the Lord is an avidya (worldly) wife.”

Absorbed in deep thought, Mani leans back against the wall worried. Narendra and the other devotees stand there without speaking a word.

Thakur continues talking for some time. He suddenly comes and stands near Mani. Alone with him, he softly says to Mani, “But if one has sincere love of God, all come under his control – whether it is the king, wicked people, or a wife. If you have sincere bhakti for the Lord, the wife also comes gradually to this path. If you are good, God willing, she can also become good.”

These words extinguish the fire in Mani’s heart. He had been thinking that if his wife committed suicide, it could not be helped.

Mani (to Sri Ramakrishna) — How dangerous it is to be a householder!

Sri Ramakrishna (to Mani and Narendra) — That is why Chaitanya Deva said, ‘Listen, brother Nityananda. There is no salvation for a man of the world.’

(Alone to Mani) “There is no salvation for him who doesn’t have pure love for the Lord. He who lives a family life after God-realization need have no fear. If one practices spiritual disciplines at times in a solitary place and thus develops pure love for God, there is no danger in family life for him. Chaitanya Deva also had family men as his devotees. But they lived as householders only in name – for they lived without attachment.”

Om Tat Sat

Thank you Tom for drawing the parallels from the Gospel. Pure love of God and sincere Bhakti can bring transformation around!

Location: U.K.

Dear brother Vriju,

One would naturally assume, that this
'Ananya Bhakti',
being the the 'exclusive' devotion of a
Deity, irrespective of anything else,
would lead to notions of intolerance;
whereas, the opposite is indeed the case.

The Devotee loves the Deity with such intensity;
that he/she is able to see the same Divinity,
in other manifestations as well; leading to an
attitude of tolerance and understanding towards
other beliefs.

I believe this to be the essence of Hinduism's
ability to absorb 'apparently' diverse
ideas and elements....

Have a nice day :)

Further.....

One may ask, "Why is there such trouble
in the world, when the Prophets of Hindustan
can see the 'answer to peace' so clearly?"

Ah, the problem rests with 'me and mine'.
Religion is essentially a highly personal
issue. When folks band together, with the feeling
that 'my religion' contains the only true belief;
that's when the trouble starts.