Bhakti Yoga

Since there are as many flavors of bhakti as there are human hearts wherein it abides, this course will focus on one prominent expression of bhakti, the Krishna (Kṛṣṇa) bhakti of the 16th century Vraj (Vrindavan) tradition, as a lens into the larger multi-faceted universe of bhakti. 

If we analogize the different bhakti traditions as constellations within the same universe, we find distinctive features within each one, but numerous overlapping features as well. Our assumption and method is that an in-depth study of one tradition (rather than a superficial mapping of multiple traditions) will best serve as a conduit to a profounder understanding of the larger phenomenon of bhakti in general. This focus can then be applied to other bhakti traditions by adding their appropriate flavorings. 

Thus the course consists of an analysis of bhakti yoga through the lens of a medieval devotional tradition that was pivotal to what is sometimes called a renaissance of Kṛṣṇa devotion across the North of the Indian subcontinent, centered in the holy town of Vrindavan, sacred to Lord Kṛṣṇa.