Bhakti, Bhajans Sahasranama,
and Laksharchana
Bhakti & Bhajan
Bhakti is an important component of many branches of Hinduism, defined differently by various sects and schools.
Bhakti emphasizes religious devotion and sentiment above ritual and orthopraxy, an emphasis on conduct, both ethical and liturgical, as opposed to faith or grace.
The Classical Sanskrit term bhakti has a general meaning of "attachment, devotion, fondness for, devotion to" etc. also in terms of human relationships, most often as beloved-lover, friend-friend, parent-child, and master-servant. It may refer to devotion to a spiritual teacher (Guru) as guru-bhakti, to a personal form of God, or to divinity without form (nirguna).
The Sanskrit noun bhakti is derived from the verb root bhaj, whose meanings include "to share in", "to belong to", and "to worship" It also occurs in compounds where it means "being a part of" and "that which belongs to or is contained in anything else."
Bhajan, or devotional singing to God, is also derived from the same root. "Devotion" as an English translation for bhakti doesn't fully convey two important aspects of bhakti—the sense of participation that is central to the relationship between the devotee and God, and the intense feeling that is more typically associated with the word "love".
An advaitic interpretation of bhakti goes beyond "devotion" to the realization of union with the essential nature of reality as ananda, or divine bliss. Bhakti is sometimes used in the broader sense of reverence toward a deity or teacher. Bhaktimarga is usually used to describe a bhakti path with complete dedication to one form of God.
A more literal translation of bhakti would be "participation"; the sage Narada defines Bhakti as "intense love" for God. Similarly Sage Shandilya defines Bhakti as "intense attraction" for God. One who practices bhakti is called a bhakta, while bhakti as a spiritual path is referred to as bhakti marga, or the bhakti way.
Lord Ayyappa is referred to Bhajana Priyan, because most devotees use Bhajans as a form of expressing their devotion to Him. Bhajans, unlike the Vedic Mantras, are easy for the common man to follow. We recite the names of the Lord when singing the bhajans without even realizing it.
Sahasranama
Many religions include
praise of the Divine Name as an important part of their tradition. In Hinduism
all of the most widely-known forms of the divine have sahasranama stotra devoted to them. Recitation and study of these
often constitute part of the daily routine of formal worship both at home and
in temples.A sahasranama (Sanskrit:सहस्रनाम; sahasranāma) is a type of Hindu scripture in which a deity is referred to by 1,000 or more different names. Sahasranamas are classified as stotras, or hymns of praise, a type of devotional scripture. Sahasra means a thousand, or more generally, a very large number. Nama (nāman) means name. The literal translation of sahasranama is "a thousand names".
A sahasranama provides a terse but encyclopedic guide to the attributes and legends surrounding a deity. There are also many shorter stotras, called ashtottara-shata-nāma stotras, which have only 108 names.
Among the Nine Expressions of Bhakti, usually elaborated in Hindu tradition, four have relevance to the use of sahasranamas:
- shravana, listening to recitals of names and glories of God
- nama-sankirtana (nāma-sankīrtana), reciting the names of God either set to music or not
- smarana, recalling divine deeds and teaching of divine deeds.
- archana (archanā), worshipping the divine with ritual repetition of divine names.
Laksharchana
A Lakshārchanā involves
the repetition of names one hundred thousand times. Laksha, in Sanskrit,
means one hundred thousand. This is an intensive version of the Sahasra-nāma-archanā.
It involves the repeated chanting of sahasranamas, multiplying the number of
the performances by the number of the people who joined in the chorus.
To achieve this goal several
people sit together and perform repetition of the names in chorus. This
continues for a fixed time duration, usually for several days, chanting for a
certain number of hours each day. The recital of the different participants for
the several days adds up to at least 100,000 repetitions of divine names.
There are occasions when a Koti archanā is also performed to the deity by counting up to 100 Lakshārchanās. Koti (crore, in English) is one hundred lakshas; that is, ten million.
Such elaborate devotions
usually mean a good deal of expense and so they are usually done in temples or
public organizations which can obtain the necessary sponsorship.
(source: Wikipedia)
