Posted: 12 years ago
I am opening this thread to discuss those devotees of the Lord  who were so advanced in their Bhakti that there name got eternally connected to the Lord

I am giving a list here. It is in random order. The order is only for convenience and is not meant to increase or decrease anyone;s importance

This thread is not a comparison thread. Please do not compare them as all of  them were special and unique in their own way


Radha Rani
Hanumaan
Dhruv
Pralhaad
Kakbhushindi
Jatayu
Bharat
Kevat
Shabri
Lakshman
Balram
Seeta
Rukmini
Manu-Satrupa reincarnated as Kaushalya Dhashrath and Devki Vasudev
Yashoda
Vibhishan
Arjin
Draupadi
Gargacharya
Lalita Sakhi
Narad
Bheeshma
Sudama
Yudhishtir
Maharishi Valmiki
Maharishi Vyaas

Please let me know if I have missed any name.

Please discuss  these characters and their bhakti without comparison


Edited by NandiniPS - 12 years ago
Posted: 12 years ago
How about Devaki, Vasudev, and Nand?😳 Krishna is called Devaki Nandan, Vaasudev, and Nand Laala after all.
Posted: 12 years ago
Devki vasudev are already there I will add Narad and others
Posted: 12 years ago
Beautiful concept Nandini πŸ‘ To be honest though, I think each of these bhakts is SO great and there is so much to say about them, that even a whole thread on each of them would not be enough to discuss them in depth 😍 How about dividing it further somehow so we have more threads like this in our forum and a clearer idea of what to discuss in each of them? It reminds me of an idea I had for a thread a few months ago but then got busy and forgot - I wanted to create one on all the devotees from the bird and animal kingdoms - like Hanumanji, Sugreev, Jambvant, Jatayu, Garud, Gajendra, Bhushandi, Sheshnaag, etc. From the others on your list, a few other such categories could emerge - divine consorts (Sita, Rukmini, Radha, etc), rishis (Valmiki, Vyaas, Garg, etc), siblings (Bharat, Lakshman, Balram, Yudhishtir, Arjun), parents, the poor, child devotees, etc. What say? If not we could keep this and then create a separate thread every time a particular bhakt's discussion becomes interesting and convoluted enough to warrant one. It's your call though :D
Posted: 12 years ago
Its a great idea Lola

We can decide them that way. It will be easier to discuss

But you have to guide as to how that should be done
Posted: 12 years ago
Abhi ke liye to this one is excellent platform. This lovely thread created.πŸ‘ Let the general discussion start here on everyone together. Then create separate threads on each borrowing contents from here only after gathering of significant quantum.
Posted: 12 years ago
There's a story about Narad. I will post it fm comp if Nanda permits.:-)
Posted: 12 years ago

Very beautiful thread, Nandini! Thank you for starting this!

As Lola told about different types of devotees, I think we should now discuss about basic definitions of all types of bhakti at first to understand which devotee has which type of devotion. So here is something I like to share with you all,

 

There are mainly 5 types of devotion. They are,

1)      Shaant bhaav: This is the first type of devotion in which devotee loves God as God ONLY. This devotee worships God as Almighty. Most of the sages have this devotion. Also, the common people have this devotion for God. Shaant bhaav = pure reverence (Shraddha). Example: Shabari (she could love Shri Ram as her son, but she worshipped Him as God only), Garg (In spite of being KulGuru of the dynasty, he could not see Shri Krishna as disciple, always worshipped Him as Almighty from His childhood), Vibhishon, Nisaad raj (in spite of being friends, they had no friendly relation with Shri Ram but only a relation between God & humble devotee), Akrur (after realizing Krishna's divine form/after Kans vadh), Prahallad, Dhruva, Bhisma, Vidur.

2)      Daasya bhaav: In this devotion, devotee understands God as his Lord (Prabhu/Swami) & thinks himself as his servant. In this case, devotee has a sense of sympathy for God if he finds God in distress & he will try at his best to remove all sorrows of his Prabhu as an obedient servant always does for his Lord. So, Daasya bhaav = Shraddha + Daya (sympathy). Example: Shri Hanuman (he became much sympathetic for Shri Ram when found Him in viraha of Sita Maa), Garg before birth of Shri Krishna (worried, as shown in Ramanand Sagar's Shri Krishna), Akrur (before realizing Krishna's divine form), Sugreev (feeling pain in Shri Ram's poor condition during the war).

3)       Sakha bhaav: In this case, devotee knows God as his FRIEND ONLY. This devotee can easily think God at his own place & equal to him. He can demand from God, can show anger with God, can give consolation at His sorrow & even can give Him suggestion/advice in danger, as a true friend does. Sakha bhaav = Sneha (affection). Example: all cowboy friends of Shri Krishna, Arjun.

4)      Vaatsalya bhaav: This is merely parental love for God. This devotee will always think God as own little child, serve Him with full sympathy (for His child-like helplessness), love Him with full care, & be angry with His naughtiness, just like any general parents use to behave with their children. Vaatsalya bhaav = Sneha (affection) + Daya (sympathy). Example: Dasharath, Kousalya (or I should say, Manu-Shatarupa), Nand, Yashoda, Vasudev, Devaki.

5)      Madhurya bhaav: This is a beautiful combination of affection, respect & sympathy. In this devotion, devotee can think himself equal to God, so can behave with Him like friend, can demand, can show anger, can advise, & also, can worship Him too. This means, these devotees can simultaneously LOVE AS FRIEND & WORSHIP AS ALMIGHTY. This is the well known Prem-lakshanaa bhakti. So Madhurya bhaav = Shrddha + Daya + Sneha = Daasya bhaav + Sakha bhaav. Example: Radharani & all Gopis of Vrindavan, Sita Maa (demanding at the time of Agniparikshaa & hidden anger/abhimaan before Patal pravesh, also giving advice in Aranyakand), Bharat, Lakshman, Draupadi (actually according to character & role,

       Lakshman = Radha

       Bharat = Lalita Sakhi.

       Hanuman + Sakha bhaav = Lakshman)

     

 & last but not the least, there is another type of devotion which is known as Virodh bhakti. Most of the villains of our epics & Puranas belong to this     category. I know there can be some hesitation or doubt about adding them in list of devotees, but I have to specify one side of their character. They thought about God, may be as enemy, but whoever thinks about God always be able to achieve Him! Ravan, Kans wanted Him as their enemy, & they also achieved Him as enemy! & they attained mukti at God's feet too, which is a natural desire of any devotee of Lord. If we want to exclude them from the devotee's list then we can do it, but they were implicit devotees, not explicit, so when we are discussing about devotees of God, I think they also should not be avoided.

 

In addition, I can say about one more devotee; he was Taranisen, son of Vibhishon. He was devotee of Shri Ram just like his father, but could not express it. Even he had to pretend as an enemy in order to be killed by Shri Ram as well as to attain mukti. I guess he will be placed in Shaant bhaav as virodh was just his acting!

Edited by Urmila11 - 12 years ago
Posted: 12 years ago
Originally posted by visrom


There's a story about Narad. I will post it fm comp if Nanda permits.:-)

😊  oh my ! how come you are here?

Oh my you need my permission now to post somethingπŸ˜›
Edited by NandiniPS - 12 years ago
Posted: 12 years ago
Originally posted by NandiniPS


😊  oh my ! how come you are here?
You know why I am here...πŸ˜‰ πŸ˜† I was here before too...but you know my recent time constraints. Anyway...let's stop the chat and talk some serious stuff.
 
 
 
This was a story on Narad which I read when I was a kid. I am not sure how many of you have read or heard of it, still thought of sharing.
 
 
Once, Narad visited Lord Vishnu and during the course of the conversation asked Lord Vishnu as to who He thought was His greatest devotee. Lord Vishnu said that for Him all his devotees are equal and He wouldn't differentiate between any of them.
 
Narad had expected Lord Vishnu to mention his name or maybe someone like Prahlad. He was a bit upset to see that Lord Vishnu didn't give him any special preference. He expressed the same to Lord Vishnu. He told Him 'I chant your name whole day and night, yet you don't consider me a favourite bhakta'?  Lord Vishnu said that He would show Narad that there are others who chant His name too.
 
 
So, one day Lord Vishnu and Narad came to earth in disguise and reached the house of a poor farmer. They knocked the farmer's house just as the family was about to have their dinner. They explained to the farmer that they were travellers and needed food and shelter for a few days. The farmer welcomed them and asked them to sit down for dinner. Lord Vishnu decided to test the farmer and started asking for more and more food. The farmer went on serving as much as Vishnu wanted all the time chanting 'Hare Ram, Hare Krishna'. Once the Lord knew that the food was over, He stopped asking for more. The farmer's family went without food that night.
 
Lord Vishnu and Narad were sleeping in the room adjacent to the farmer's family.  They heard the farmer's children crying because they were hungry. They asked their father as to why he had to give all the food to the guests. The farmer said that serving a guest is like serving the Lord and asked the children to chant the Lord's name and go to sleep.
 
At this Lord Vishnu told Narad as to why He considers this farmer a great devotee. Narad laughed it off and said that he himself had gone for several days and nights without food and yet chanted His name non-stop.
 
The next day Lord Vishnu and Narad decided to accompany the farner to the field. There the farmer went on with his work chanted the Lord's name whenever the plough was stuck in the soil and would struggle to come out, when he was tired, when he took a break for rest, before he started his lunch etc. After a few days' stay Vishnu and Narad left the farmer's house.
 
The moment they were back in Vaikunth, Narad burst into laughter...asking the Lord 'is this a great devotee of yours...a man who has a family who chants your name a few times during the course of his work'. The Lord realised that Narad had not got the message and decided to prove it in another way.
 
A few days later after this incident was forgotten, Vishnu summoned Narad and handed him a pot full of oil upto  the brim. He told Narad that if he was a true devotee, he would have to prove it by balancing the pot of oil on his head, walk towards a hill which was at a distance, go around the hill and return back without spilling even a drop of oil.
 
Narad placed the pot on his head and started walking. (This is the cover picture on the Amar Chitra Katha issue) 
 
 
 
He found the task much more difficult than he thought. He walked carefully and with great difficulty managed to return back without spilling a drop of oil. Vishnu congratulated him. Then he asked Narad as to how many times during the walk he remembered His name. Narad honestly admitted that all his concentration was on the pot of oil and he didn't remember the Lord's name even once. And then the message sunk in. 😊 
 
The Lord explained to Narad that the farmer had lots of hard work to do, yet he remembered His name a few times. Narad has all the time in the world to sing Lord's praises, so he managed to think of Him all the time. The moment Narad had to focus on something else, he forgot to think of the Lord. Therefore to HIm, all His devotees are equal.
 
(THE END)
 
 
 
I read this story when I was maybe 10 years old and this story made a very deep impression on my mind. The way I defined 'prayer' has its root in this story.
 
I have always been criticised by many relatives for not knowing sanskrit mantras or not knowing Hanuman Chalisa by-heart or not singing any bhajan at any religious gathering.( I would always shy away from it). Most of my family members chant Vishnu Sahasranam regularly and expect me to learn it too. I never really bothered. I listen to the recording of Vishnu Sahasranam sometimes because it gives peace to the mind, more through the musical effect of M S SubbuLakshmi's voice and not because I understand what each name means. It would take ages to understand the meanings of the 1000 names. I never put in the effort to learn it. Some people almost label me as an atheist.
 
I personally believe that in order to worship God, there is no need learn mantras by-heart and chant them without understanding the true meaning. I pray to God everyday, but what I pray is in normal coversation in my mother-tongue, like I talk to my family members. I am sure He will understand me - no matter what language I speak to Him.
 
I don't mean to rake up a controversy here. I am sure many of you may be of different views. I respect all your views and I know that the Lord considers all of us equal. 😊
 
 
"Narayan Narayan"
Edited by visrom - 12 years ago

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