World of Philosophy

Book Title: World of Philosophy
Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

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Page 687
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CONCEPT OF BHAKTI IN THE VEDAS
- Prof. Dr.Shashiprabha Kumar The present paper proposes to expound and examine the idea of bhakti as available in the four Vedic Samhitās.
I
The word Veda literally connotes knowledge and it is usually held that the Vedas follow the path of knowledge and do not have much to offer in the field of bhakti. This view is also supported by the fact that the term bhakti is not explicitly mentioned in the Vedas. But on a closer study, it becomes very clear that besides and beneath the shell of Vedic ritualism, there is ample material in the Vedas which reflects bhakti in its various aspects.
Etymologically bhakti is the loving faith in God and surrender to him. It means either 'the highest form of bhakti is affection fixed on God' or bhakti is the highest affection fixed on God”? It is also explained as the state of mind having the Supreme being as its object. According to Nārada, bhakti consists in intensive love directed towards God, It is blissful in character and on its fruition the devotee attains perfection and immortality, being thoroughly satisfied.
The concept of bhakti' or celestial love is in fact foundational and underlying in all the Vedic prayers. The triple manifestation of Vedic smhitās known as trayī denotes three types of verses, namely Rk, Yaju and Sāma. The etymological derivation of these three terms signifies that all of them imply prayers to the Divine expressed in following ways:
rg arcani yajuh yajateh gītisu sāmākhya
i.e., the rk verses are meant for eulogizing, yaju verses are employed in the sacrificial act while sāma verses are for singing/chanting.
11
The very basic idea of bhakti presupposes that there is a deity or a personal god being addressed or adored and a bhakta who is the devotee. The idea of bhakti as available in the Vedas expresses supreme celestial love between an impersonal God and the many jiva-sas devotees. From this point of view, prayer is the essential expression of bhakti and almost all the Vedic verses are evidently prayers, so it goes without saying that the inherent sources of bhakti are abundantly available in the Vedic philosophy. But it must be emphasized that the God described or suggested in Vedic verses is not a per
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