Essence of Bhakti yoga
by Swami Sivananda

The Essence of Bhakti Yoga coming as it does from the inspired pen of Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj is, therefore, a rare opportunity for the reading public and the surest guide for the Bhakti Yogi aspirant. It unfolds in the simplest language the secrets of the emotions of "Bhakti" or Divine Love. It analyses the whole psychology of Bhakti and explains the significance of every element of it. It gives ample guidance in the difficult art of building those elements which constitute the psychosis of God-consciousness. It makes the practice of God's presence easy. It also makes the study of the poetics and rhetorics of emotions a very serene affair. This study chastens and subdues the mind instead of making it turbulent as in the case of the study of the usual Rasas or poetic sentiments, in literature. As such it solves the difficult educational problem. It combines religious study with meditation. It leaves ample scope of exercise to the teacher and the taught alike to find out apt illustrations from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Purana. The essence of Bhakti Yoga can, therefore, be easily adapted as text-book for the benefit of the young.