Re: Please help me with Bhakti?
Namaste ILoveGod,
The others have given you good advice and reading resources. I would tend to agree with EM that mixing faiths can be confusing, but I also believe that some are very much capable of holding a unitarian/universalist view of God without having to formally quit their current religion. It is clear you love God deeply, and are open-minded enough to be willing to explore your relationship with Him better.
1) The nature of God is pure love, right? Is that the correct view of God in Sanatana Dharma, that God is our loving Creator and Sustainer?
From God are all things created and maintained, although you are missing one final component in the view of Sanatana Dharma. God is often understood to be a tripartite entity of: Generator, Operator and Dissolver (GOD). From Him do all things come into being, in Him are all things anchored in this existence, and in Him do all things eventually return. This is why Hindus often call God "One without a second" - as there is nothing else but Him. Absolutely is God pure Love. A neverending stream of love flows from Him to every single being in the universe.
2) Is our relationship to God that He is our Lord and that He lives within each one of us, that we are His temples?
Yes, God is present within each of us, as the Soul of souls, called the Self in Hinduism. He is the Supersoul that lies dormant in each being in the universe, waiting to be awakened by knowledge, discipline and Self-realisation. When one is finally able to achieve that universal consciousness in which soul is finally established firmly in God, individual consciousness and experience is left far behind. This is the incomparable bliss that is moksha, union with the Supreme Being, the ultimate goal of all bhaktars (devotees).
Om namah Shivaya
"Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."
ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
Om Gam Ganapataye namah
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ।
Lokaah SamastaaH Sukhino Bhavantu
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