Bhakti Bali
Bhakti Bali
Bali is an island of devotion. In Sanskrit devotion is ‘bhakti’. Some days on Bali, the air is thick with humidity; exhaust fumes, smoke from burning fires and incense. Yet behind and containing all of these temporary obscurations, just as the vast, empty sky contains the clouds, is Bhakti. This Bhakti is a recognition of and gratitude for the invisible Universal Force vibrating within all matter. Bhakti arises each time Balinese perform their offerings of devotion.
In my life experience, I have come to define devotion as a heart tone. It is a deep desire to develop a relationship of the love of God in all things. Sri Dewi glides into my garden on a daily basis to offer devotions. Sri places the offerings for the earth, for the house and for the garden in their respective temples. The moment she appears I cease my activity. I return to my breath, I feel myself inside of my skin and I slide into my heart. I remember and –re-member that IAM God.
It takes Sri maybe 2-3 minutes to perform this devotional activity. And in that time, just as a bystander, I “catch’ her devotion because I allow myself to receive her love and gratitude in my heart. Her devotion ignites my Bhakti. In those few moments I return myself back to my Self. Sri performs the offering for all of us. With so many Balinese performing devotions, no wonder Bhakti love permeates the air we breathe on Bali.
Bhakti does not arise out of a mind that says we ‘should’ be devoted, dedicated and determined. That is the voice of fear speaking. If we listen to that voice we become sacrificial meat. When we hear this voice take the stage, we simply need to say: ‘AhHa! You are not the voice of my intuitive heart knowing. Step aside! I want to feel my heart tugged by that which I love!” Devotion arises out of an open heart and an empty mind. In this way pure action can ensue. Bhakti is born when we drop seeking and return to that feeling of a child who simply is pure adoration for its parents or a stuffed animal.
Developing the practice of Bhakti, a devotion to the God within all matter, opens our heart and begins to dissolve those fear based thought patterns. When we act from a place of devotion, it arises from the God within us. We call forth from within that which we want to express without. In this way we are not devoted to something ‘outside of ourselves’. Placing our hearts into that which we love expresses the beauty that we are into the world. Bhakti fuels our passion. Passion is the fiercely loving essence of compassion.
Twenty years ago my devotional heart awakened upon reading about the Green Tara of Tibet. This emanation of the Great Mother is one who leads us out of our ignorance and suffering into the victory of living as our True Nature. I was told by a Tibetan Llama that anyone can recite her mantra to attain enlightenment. What he meant was: Tara answers prayers from each one of us, regardless of faith, economic and social status. All that I needed to do was to recite her mantra: Om Tare Tu Tare Ture Soha.
Yes! I wanted to wake up an enlightened mind and quickly, boldly relieve myself of distress and attain victory in all of my accomplishments.
And so, with pure intent and heartfelt devotion I took up the mantra of Green Tara.
My devotion did not limit itself to my meditation cushion. I said Her mantra while receiving change at the grocery store, standing in line at the bank, in a traffic jam, on the subway, on the toilet, when I felt anger arise in me, when I felt myself slipping into despair, when my insecurities arose, when I felt myself ‘less than’ another, and before I closed my eyes to sleep. Om Tare Tu Tare Ture Soha became my breath, my body, and my thoughts. I became a devotee of the invisible compassionate Force named Tara.
One day I walked into Sprint headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas where I worked as a communications specialist. I discovered that I left the magnetic card that allows me entry into the offices at home. I walked up to the Wells Fargo Security desk and asked the guard, a young woman with curly blond hair and big, bright blue glasses, for a temporary card.
“Sure, I can give you a temporary. What’s your name? Oh wait, its Tara isn’t it?
“Um, no. It’s Lisa Forbregd. Tara is a very special name. Why do you say that?
“The past two mornings when I have seen you walk into the building I have had an urge to call out ‘Tara!’.
She created a temporary card, handed it over to me and returned to her papers behind the very tall desk.
I grabbed the card and ran out of the building to the geese pond. The impact of this divinely inspired recognition was made more powerful with my realization that I had taken up Tara’s mantra exactly one year ago to this day.
“Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! Amazing! Now what? Shall I take up Tara’s name? I mean my cells seem to have become Tara. Egads. Tara saved 1,000 people before lunchtime! What a powerful name. I must be in full integrity with pure intention to take on this name.”
With the geese and ducks as my witnesses, I made a vow to align my body, heart and mind with bringing forward the expression of Tara from within me for this lifetime.
This experience was brought about through the power of the motion of devotion-that and the power of sound. In Sanskrit, nada Brahma means ‘God is sound’. The sounds that comprise Tara’s mantra are vibratory capsules filled with Her qualities. These syllables serve to alchemically awaken Her traits within ourselves. Mantras combined with devotion is an alchemical formula that changes the shape of the cells of our bodies, hearts and mind.
The next time you are walking down JL Raya Ubud and an act of devotion is taking place:
Stop. Breathe. Receive.
Allow devotion to enter into your heart.
Be the Beauty you want to see in the world…for just 2 minutes.
And take this home with you and nourish it with your Bhakti.
Om Swastyastu
©Tara Khandro
tarakhadro@yahoo.com
