There are different colors of love. Though some only love themself, this is mostly seen as a negative. "You only love yourself!" is the cry, "...selfish!"...
Yet there are yogis who say, to fix on your inner soul, and sometimes they say "love your inner self (being, etc)" ...
But then there is a color of love, where in some aspects it is like the love for a beloved... there are two for this love to exist.
Bhakti is a form of this shade of love. But it is very intense, and can incorporate all the rasas of different shades of love, yet it is a love that is sitting "between" two, that is you as the devotee and your Divine or Lord or Mother Goddess.
Now I suppose some could say, that you can have bhakti for your inner self, and there is that Divine in that inner self, and this knowing is knowledge or jnana.
Probably that is true ....
... but I notice that the most intense love, of these many different colors and though many rasas still each is very, very bright and intense and stunning and shocking with force, is this Bhakti of Two where the devotee looks OUT and not in, and says "Where are you? I see You. I want to See you always" ...
This is THE Bhakti.
Bhakti is Love. That love.
There is something called "misplaced love". Have you heard of it? But this Bhakti, it seems whatever was lost, or misplaced, is found.
Some say knowledge is reason.
But I noticed when this Bhakti really happens, you are sort of insane. You are not the typical "reasonable person" anymore. You might wander here and there, looking, "oh! THERE is the Lord overthere! ... oh, the Lord is in the Temple, and the bells for some reason make me cry! There is the Lord right in front of me (murti)! So why do I also want to cry, it is like a wonderful feeling of separation... "
Then you friend says, "you are not being very reasonable! Now stop acting that way, sit dpwn here and drink a nice cup of tea and be reasonable like me. Very smart. Let us discuss the nature of the universe and be smart and, well, like reasonable gentlemen of reason!"
The Bhaktar crys, "No! I am crazy in love. All I want is MORE!"
Your friend says, "Bhakta, then if you only want MORE, you are selfish... look inside only, not OUT, not MORE... look at the self!"
The Bhaktar doesn't care what the friend says. "No, you are the selfish one. You will never know this love, this nectar. Look OUT and see the source of this most intense LOVE."
Both have their ways. But Bhakti is a slender thread. Very slender but sharp and strong like a wire. It ties to your little toe. Once tied, if you try to leave it, it cuts into your little toe. It is tied on the other side to Lord. You do not want to leave, the blood comes out as it cuts into your little toe, the pain of leaving it is too much even though it is a slender thread. To leave that intense LOVE is too painful.
That bhakti is Bhakti with a capital B. I think you will be a bhakta for a very long time, and to heck with "book worms".
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