Bhakti Yoga
Also known as: The path of devotion
Sanskrit: भक्ति योग, from bhakti ('devotion' or 'love') and yoga ('union').
Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion, one of the four classical yogic paths described in the Bhagavad Gita, cultivating union with the divine through love, surrender, prayer, chanting, and worship rather than through knowledge or physical practice alone.
Practices associated with Bhakti Yoga include kirtan (call-and-response chanting), japa (repetition of a sacred name or mantra), and ritual worship. It is traditionally considered accessible to practitioners of any background, since it does not require the philosophical study central to Jnana Yoga or the disciplined service of Karma Yoga.
One of four classical paths described in the Bhagavad Gita alongside Karma Yoga (action), Jnana Yoga (knowledge) and Raja Yoga (meditation), Bhakti Yoga is traditionally expressed through kirtan (call-and-response chanting), ritual worship, and surrender to a chosen form of the divine. It is sometimes dismissed as simply 'religious yoga' for the devout, but its core mechanism, redirecting the mind's natural pull toward attachment and longing onto something larger than the small self, has real parallels in secular practices of gratitude, awe, and devotion to a cause or community.
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Related Terms
Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is the path of selfless action described in the Bhagavad Gita, teaching that one can attain spiritual liberation by performing one's duties and work without attachment to personal outcomes or reward, offering the fruits of action rather than grasping at them.
Jnana Yoga
Jnana Yoga is the path of knowledge and discernment, one of the four classical yogic paths, using rigorous self-inquiry and philosophical study to distinguish the eternal Self (Atman) from the temporary, changing contents of body and mind. It is often considered the most intellectually demanding of the classical paths.