Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated in ancient India, aimed at controlling ('yoking') and stilling the mind, and recognizing the detached 'witness-consciousness' as untouched by the activities of the mind (Citta) and mundane suffering (Duḥkha). There are a broad variety of the schools of yoga, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and traditional forms and modern methods of yoga are practiced worldwide.
Bhakti literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity". It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to devotion and love for a personal God or a representational god by a devotee. In ancient texts such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the term simply means participation, devotion and love for any endeavor, while in the Bhagavad Gita, it connotes one of the possible paths of spirituality and towards moksha, as in bhakti marga.
The Bhakti movement refers to the trend that was brought forward by a number of Hindu saints in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation. It was prominent in eighth-century south India, and spread northwards. It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.
Bhakti yoga, also called Bhakti marga, is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity. It is one of the three classical paths in Hinduism which lead to Moksha, the other paths being Jnana yoga and Karma yoga.
Kirtan is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent.
Sādhanā is a generic term coming from the yogic tradition that refers to any spiritual exercise that is aimed at progressing the sādhaka towards the very ultimate expression of his or her life in this reality. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.
The Bhagavata Purana, also known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana or simply Bhagavata, is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (Mahapuranas). Composed in Sanskrit and available in almost all Indian languages, it promotes bhakti (devotion) to Krishna, integrating themes from the Advaita (monism) philosophy of Adi Shankara, the Vishishtadvaita of Ramanujacharya and the Dvaita (dualism) of Madhvacharya. It Is believed that this was spoken by Sri Shukacharya to King Parikshit, the grandson of Yudhishtira for getting Moksha.
Prayer is considered to be an integral part of the Hindu religion; it is practiced during Hindu worship (puja) and is an expression of devotion (bhakti). The chanting of mantras is the most popular form of worship in Hinduism. Yoga and meditation are also considered as a form of devotional service.
Gaudiya Vaishnavism, also known as Bengali Vaishnavism, Chaitanya Vaishnavism, the Chaitanya/Gaudiya Sampradaya is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu". Specifically, it is part of Krishnaism—Krishna-centric Vaishnavite traditions. Its theological basis is primarily that of the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana, as interpreted by early followers of Chaitanya, such as Sanatana Goswami, Rupa Goswami, Jiva Goswami, Gopala Bhatta Goswami and others.
Ramananda was a 14th-century Vaishnava devotional poet saint, who lived in the Gangetic basin of northern India. The Hindu tradition recognizes him as the founder of the Ramanandi Sampradaya, the largest monastic Hindu renunciant community in modern times.
Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India. The Naths have been a confederation of devotees who consider Shiva, as their first lord or guru, with varying lists of additional gurus. Of these, the 9th or 10th century Matsyendranath and the ideas and organization mainly developed by Gorakhnath are particularly important. Gorakhnath is considered the originator of the Nath Panth.
Edwin Francis Bryant is an American Indologist. Currently, he is professor of religions of India at Rutgers University. He published seven books and authored a number of articles on Vedic history, yoga, and the Krishna tradition. In his research engagements, he lived several years in India where he studied Sanskrit and was trained with several Indian pundits.
Bhakti Charu Swami was a spiritual leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and a disciple of ISKCON's founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Jagadguru, literally meaning the guru of the universe, is a title used in Sanātana Dharma. Traditionally, it has been bestowed upon or used for ācāryas belonging to the Vedānta school who have written Sanskrit commentaries on the Prasthānatrayī – the Brahma sūtras, the Bhagavad-gītā and the principal Upaniṣads. Historically, jagadgurus have established a lineage, established an institution to spread dharma, who have been based in Varanasi, the centre of Sanskrit study.
Jai Uttal is an American musician. He is a Grammy-nominated singer and “a pioneer in the world music community with his eclectic East-meets-West sound.”
The Jivamukti Yoga method is a proprietary style of yoga created by David Life and Sharon Gannon in 1984.
Jim Gelcer is a Canadian jazz drummer, singer, musician, composer, and producer, also known for blending traditional kirtan, a genre of spiritual music from India, with modern influences like R&B, jazz, and rock.
David Gordon White is an American Indologist.
Bhakti Without Borders is a Mantra Music charity album by Madi Das. It was released May 12, 2015 and nominated for a Grammy award that year in the "Best New Age Album" category. At the time, this was only the third kirtan album received this honor. Bhakti Without Borders was listed as one of the "10 Best Yoga Tunes of the Year" by Yoga Journal. It also ranked third in the "Top 20 Conscious Music Albums for 2015" competition by Soul Traveller.
Jahnavi Harrison, also known by her spiritual name, Jahnavi Jivana devi dasi, is a British musician known for her mantra meditation music (kirtan). She regularly appears as a presenter on BBC Radio 4's Something Understood programme and BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought.
