When describing Ishvara (God), the teachings of Advaita Vedanta rely on reason instead of faith. This approach removes a huge obstacle for those disinclined to accept religious beliefs. Yet, reason alone doesn’t produce bhakti, feelings of devotion and reverence. So how can bhakti be cultivated without resorting to beliefs?

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When I first encountered Advaita Vedanta, I felt conflicted because it’s spiritual teachings are part of a vast Hindu tradition, a tradition that embraces many religious practices like devotional prayer and ritualistic worship. I was not at all inclined towards those practices, but at the same time, I was strongly attracted to Advaita Vedanta.

I struggled because I couldn't reconcile Vedanta’s brilliant non-dual teachings with its frequent references to Ishvara, a supreme being who creates, sustains and destroys the universe again and again. To me, Vedanta's non-dual teachings seemed highly logical whereas its teachings about Ishvara reminded me of the faith-based religion I had rejected so long ago.

Then in 1981, I attended some lectures on Advaita Vedanta by Swami Dayananda, who would later become my guru. I was stunned when he said that Ishvara is not a matter of faith, but rather, Ishvara is a reality to be understood.

For a clay pot, its material cause (upadana karana), clay, and its intelligent cause (nimitta karana), the pot maker, are completely separate. But according to the ancient rishis, the underlying substratum of the universe and the intelligence that endows it with form and function, are not two different things. The material cause and intelligent cause are one and the same, a single, intelligent fundamental reality, reality that’s called Ishvara.

Yet, even though Advaita Vedanta provides a rational basis for prayer and worship, its teachings don't automatically give rise to bhakti, to feelings of devotion and reverence. After all, it’s hard to have an emotional relationship with a formless, all-powerful being that’s the substratum of the universe and the source of its intelligent order. An intellectual understanding of Ishvara like that is a helpful starting point, but the cultivation of bhakti itself is a distinctly emotional process, not an intellectual one. Fortunately, there are many practices described in a wide variety of scriptures that address our emotions and us cultivate bhakti.

0:00 Introduction
10:34 Cultivating Bhakti

Swami Tadatmananda is a traditionally-trained teacher of Advaita Vedanta, meditation, and Sanskrit. For more information, please see: https://www.arshabodha.org/