Reflections from Bhaktifest 2011

The round, silver glow of the moon in the sky is reflective of my inner state of fullness from this past weekend at BhaktiFest in Joshua Tree, California.  I arrived a bit busy in mind, hard around the edges and feeling overwhelmed by the continuous stream of emails and unfinished projects.  My nervous system was raw, edgy.  I was sensitive to sound and irritable.  Soon after arriving, the energy of Love from the collective gathered there began to crack through my outer casing.  I began to settle IN and relax.

There is so much in our world that pulls us off center, dulls our senses and distorts our mind.  It is vital to have times where we come together and remember that at the heart of all things is Love.  This lies at the heart of Bhakti Yoga, The yoga of devotion.  When we take pause, and come together in the spirit  of love, we remember its presence within all things and our attention shifts to it.

Bhakti Yoga is the glue that connects all yoga for if you search deeply enough you will find devotion at the core of all dedicated practitioners.  It is this devotion, this love for what we do that brings us to the mat day after day, year after year.  Perhaps the devotion is simply to stay thin and fit, perhaps it is to cultivating peace of mind, or to use the practice as a way to worship and pray.  In the words of the great Bhakti Yogi, Shyam Das, “Put bhakti at the center of all activities and you will be successful.”

My favorite translation of Bhakti is “sharing in divine love.”  My experience of Bhakti Festival was just that.  In every moment, someone was singing the name of God, expressing their love for someone, or practicing yoga in such a way as to remind themselves of their connection to the Earth, to each other and to the Source of all things.

Reflecting on the experience, I am deeply aware that we are the fortunate ones who can come together in this way and celebrate love.  Indeed, simultaneous to this happening there is war in other parts of the world, some are hungry and others are without homes.  All the more reason to be committed to Love in every moment of every day.  What does it cost us to live from a place of compassion and to put love before our petty differences or the need to be right?  It is the moment to moment choice to live in Love that creates the experience of compassion and the circumstances for peace.

So as we become elevated on any level, we have a greater and greater responsibility because we can do more good to the world or we could do more damage to the world.           – Radhanath Swami

One BhaktiFest highlight was listening to Radhanath Swami who shared a story about a simple, yet compassionate Indian woman.  The parable taught that the simple day to day acts of kindness and compassion are what really matter.  A powerful reminder that “how you do anything is how you do everything.”