Bhakti Sadhana: The Gentle Power of Devotion at Linga Bhairavi

How Bhakti Sadhana Transforms You

As Sadhguru explains, “Bhakti Yoga is a way of transforming your emotion from negativity to utmost pleasantness.” Emotional intensity is certainly evident here; a glimpse into the Bhakti Sadhana space will show meditators sitting with eyes closed and tears rolling down their cheeks, even after sessions have ended.

The sadhana itself may seem simple enough to participants, but it is carefully structured. The process runs on a fifteen-day cycle for the Devi Sevaka[1] batches, and each evening has a different quality.

One Sadhanapada participant’s experience shows this variety: “The first night spurred a deep connection between my body and my surroundings as I saw that both were manifestations of the same, all-pervasive five elements. The next night, it was the source of creation’s pure expression within everything around me that left me no choice but to bow down.” New batches of Devi Sevakas attend all the sessions; however, ashram guests and volunteers can also join any session they wish to.

The effects of Bhakti Sadhana can be seen in surprising places. A volunteer named Harsha Jalla recalls one early morning when an ashram guest accidentally spat on his hand in the wash basin. To Harsha’s own surprise, he was able to hold back an unconscious reaction and simply smile at the other guest. Harsha says, “Bhakti Sadhana helps me respond properly so that I fix myself before trying to fix situations.”

A Sweetness Through the Day

Looking deeper into the words of Sadhguru, we see why Bhakti Sadhana is especially beneficial for those serving Linga Bhairavi. “If Devotion has melted your Heart, Devi will yield and serve you in a million different ways; in ways that you cannot understand.”

To begin Devi Seva, each Devi Sevaka goes through three days of silence and a period of instruction, which some may find daunting. Fortunately, once Bhakti Sadhana began in its current format, coordinators of Devi Seva noticed the volunteers acclimating quickly to their new seva. Program coordinator Mayur says, “The impact is apparent just in the way they greet guests – namaskar is done with a deep sense of reverence for the life within each person who enters the consecrated space of Linga Bhairavi.”

“Those who participate regularly begin to understand that their emotions are within their control, and they try to bring the sweetness of emotion they feel during Bhakti Sadhana into other times of their day,” he explains. While Mayur needs to focus on conducting the session, when it ends and he sees participants in tears, a wave of emotion hits him as well. Even after a Devi Sevaka batch finishes, he sees many participants return and bring more people with them each night to share in the experience of Bhakti Sadhana.

The same pattern can be observed beyond Devi Sevakas. In a Sadhanapada group meeting, one participant shared that he had persistent struggles within himself and with external situations. While attending Bhakti Sadhana, he genuinely bowed down to something for just one moment, and the barriers within himself crumbled. Since then, he has come to peace within himself. After he shared his experience, nearly 60 new participants came for Bhakti Sadhana, and, for many, their emotions burst in a way they could only compare to how they felt in Bhava Spandana (an advanced meditation program designed by Sadhguru).

‘This is not a place for logic – it is a place for magic’

Zeynep began daily practice of Bhairavi Sadhana – a devotional practice to receive Devi’s grace – online over a year ago. However, she could not move past the logical block of seeing something mundane, like a pair of slippers, as higher than herself. Once she came to the Isha Yoga Center and practiced Bhakti Sadhana, the true experience of devotion came through. She understood what her instructor had said beforehand, “This is not a place for logic – it is a place for magic.”

Bhakti Sadhana also helped her discover a deep connection with Devi that permeates her entire day. Coming from Turkey, a culture that tends to only worship the masculine, it was a new idea to celebrate feminine divinity. Yet, moved by her experience with Linga Bhairavi, she wrote a poem during her Devi Seva:

By devoting herself to Devi, Zeynep finds her perspective has changed, and she now sees the masculine and feminine dimensions of life as complementary and equal.

Meanwhile Abhinav, who has been volunteering at Linga Bhairavi, says he used to be seriously focused on spiritual exploration to the point that he disregarded social and other seemingly ordinary parts of his day. His Devi Seva experience has brought feminine energy back into his life, balancing his focus with compassion and making him more aware of the people around him. “Just my frequency of greeting people has changed. Because I’m feeling happy, it is naturally finding expression.” His inner state is even reflected in a new wardrobe preference. “I used to wear only black and blue clothes,” Abhinav admits, “But now I’m in orange, red, yellow, and even pink!”

A Fresh Eye for Life

Bhakti Sadhana is a beautiful way to end your day. No matter what situations you encounter in the day, pleasant or unpleasant, here is an opportunity to leave all your identifications and accumulations aside and connect to everything around you. By looking at creation with a fresh eye, seeing it just the way it is – far bigger than yourself – and naturally bowing down to it all, sweetness of emotion and a sense of devotion arise naturally. Ashramite Amit sums it up in his poem: