Bhakti Marga (organisation)

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This article is about the neo-Hindu organisation. For the spiritual practice, see Bhakti yoga.
  • Bhakti Marga
Formation13 June 2005 (18 years ago) (2005-06-13)
FounderVishwananda
TypeReligious organization
Legal statusFoundation
HeadquartersShree Peetha Nilaya Ashram, Germany
Area served
Worldwide
AffiliationsVishishtadvaita, Kriya Yoga school, Warkari, Shaktism, Shaivism, Sri Vaishnavism, Sant Tradition (Hinduism)
Websitewww.bhaktimarga.org

Bhakti Marga is a neo-Hindu organisation founded by the Mauritian-born guru Vishwananda. It views itself as being part of a new tradition founded by Vishwananda, the Hari Bhakta Sampradaya, which represents a combination of certain Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta philosophies. The followers do not adhere to one particular set of scriptures or philosophy but rather on the "personality of Paramahamsa Vishwananda", similar to the Sant tradition.

History[edit]

Bhakti Marga means "Path of Devotion".[1][2] Hari means 'God' (more specifically Vishnu), Bhakta means 'devotees' and Sampradaya means 'lineage of teachings'. The sampradaya has been viewed as a combination of the teachings of various vedantic saints, mainly Mahavatar Babaji, Ramanujacharya and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, including other Hindu denominations.[3]

Vishwananda arrived in the West in the year of 2004 and settled in a house in Steffenshof, Germany, with a small group of followers. He later established the organisation on 13 June 2005 at the age of 27. He began the movement by travelling the world to give darshans, lead pilgrimages, build communities, and to initiate monks into the Bhakti Marga spiritual lineage.[4][5] The first Bhakti Marga commune, Shree Peetha Nilaya, opened to the public in 2013 in Heidenrod, Germany.[6] Following Paramahamsa Vishwananda’s lead, additional ashrams have been built by the organization's swamis around the world such as ashrams in India (Vrindavan),[7] Latvia (Riga) and Russia (Moscow). By the end of 2022 Bhakti Marga had around 10,000 followers[8] and between 30 and 50 ashrams worldwide.[9]

Religious practices[edit]

Bhakti Marga followers follow Sadhana or 'spiritual practice', which can be carried out in any form or sequence. However, the main practices are japa, the reciting of the holy names, meditation with Atma Kriya Yoga,[10] daily prayer in worship through puja and yajna. Encouragement is also made to take up at least one verse of the Bhagavad Gita daily.[10] Devotional arts are also seen as ways to express bhakti towards Hari, such as painting, Sri Yantra composition, singing, dancing and theatre plays.[11][12] Om Namo Narayanaya is described as a powerful maha-mantra which is considered that all other mantras are contained within it, which is chanted multiple rounds a day.[3][13]

Narasimha
Narasimha, a fierce avatar of Vishnu, is prominently worshipped in Bhakti Marga ashrams

Roles[edit]

Bhakti Marga swamis/swaminis wear orange clothing, who are seen as "spiritual advisors and emissaries of Paramahamsa Vishwananda". They are tasked with caring for the spiritual needs of the sangha (community members). The organization's rishis/rishikas wear red, and are tasked with spreading the teachings of the organisation. They are also seen as "swamis-in-training". Both the groups are personally initiated by Paramahamsa Vishwananda. The brahmacharis/brahmacharinis of the organization wear yellow. Their clothing are usually in the form of kurtas, dhotis, and saris. All are initiated devotees who take additional vows of celibacy and voluntarily take part in all the organization's activities.[12]

A Bhakti Marga follower performing japa with a mala bag.

Some of the monks and nuns live in the ashramas. They are often taken care of by the community, which allows them to focus on supporting Paramahamsa Vishwananda and the Bhakti Marga mission. Others support the sanghas in their countries while carrying out their household lives, known as grihasta.[12]

Ashrams[edit]

Every Bhakti Marga ashram has at least one temple, which in turn often contains several idols representing deities. In addition to various Hindu deities, Vaishnava and non-vaishnava, Babaji and Ramanuja are worshipped as gurus in the main temple in Springen.[9] The main deities in Sri Vaishnava are Narayana and Lakshmi,[14][15] who are also worshiped in the Bhakti Marga temples.[16] However, many other deities are also worshiped, some of which belong to the Vaishnava pantheon (Radha and Krishna), but some of them do not. This worship of non-vaishnava gurus and deities, like Shiva and Durga,[17] distinguishes Bhakti Marga from other Vaishnava religions, like Shri Vaishnava, or Gaudiya Vaishnava, which is known in western countries mainly through the Hare Krishna movement.[18]

In addition, the ashram in Springen contains a Russian Orthodox chapel, in which there are also relics of Christian saints.[19] It is not uncommon in the syncretistic system of Hinduism for Christ to be viewed as the avatar of Vishnu. However, there are currently no liturgical services in the chapel. Building of the temple has cost more than one million euros. The movement claims to have between 30 and 50 centres or temples worldwide, some of them rather small.[9]

In November 2020 it became known that Bhakti Marga in Kirchheim in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district of Hesse wants to set up its Hindu Germany center in the area of the Seepark Kirchheim holiday complex, which includes its own lake.[20]

In January 2022 Bhakti Marga purchased a former Catholic Church in West Elmira, New York, the former Our Lady of Lourdes parish, to become its first ashram and temple in America.[21] According to Swami Tulsidas, Bhakti Marga's representative in North America, the main deity in the new ashram will be that of Narasimha, the Hindu man-lion, an Avatar of Vishnu.[22] In October 22, 2023, In the small town of Elmira, New York, Swami Paramahamsa Vishwananda completed the inauguration of the Paranitya Narasimha Temple and ashram on September 3, 2023. It was the culmination of a massive undertaking by a mere handful of his American devotees and monks. Hundreds of people from around the world made the pilgrimage to attend. Devotees from Russia, Brazil, Canada, India and Africa all landed in the small town of Elmira to be volunteer and help at this historic event.[23]

Just Love Festival[edit]

Since 2015, Bhakti Marga has held a large, multi-day festival in Germany every year, the Just Love Festival, which attracts up to 3,000 visitors. The duration of the festival varies between three and ten days. During the festival, various spiritual music bands from different countries play, mainly bhajans and kirtans, but these can be interpreted differently, such that Sanskrit hymns could also be rapped. The event is usually in the summer, the focus of the festival is Guru Purnima, a Hindu festival held every year in honor of the guru, spiritual or academic, on a full moon day. As a supporting program there are exhibitions of arts and crafts, a bazaar, a vegan restaurant, and various teaching lectures and workshops by Bhakti Marga initiated members.[9] "Just Love" is also the slogan of Bhakti Marga. It is meant to express the ideal of the movement, which places love at the center of life, love for God, but also love for the guru or the community.

Controversial activities[edit]

On December 10, 2016, Bhakti Marga carried out a group chanting at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Critics accused Bhakti Marga of exploitation and relativization of the holocaust.[24][25]

On March 17, 2018, Bhakti Marga carried out a group chanting at the Buchenwald concentration camp, which led to protests.[24][25]

The head of the Jewish community in Thuringia state, Germany, Reinhard Schramm, had no issue meeting with the organization and even referred to them as 'partners' in the fight against racism and xenophobia. In Austria, the interior ministry responsible for memorial sites says they are open to anyone who respects “the dignity of the place.” Willi Mernyi, chairman of the Mauthausen Committee that oversees the memorial there, said he saw the om chanting session as one of many ways to pay respect and he did not want to judge the chanters.[26]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Hindu spiritual group moves into former West Elmira Catholic Church". WETM - MyTwinTiers.com. 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  2. ^ "Hinduism - Karma, Samsara, Moksha | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  3. ^ a b Vishwananda, Paramahamsa Sri Swami (2017-01-12). Shreemad Bhagavad Gita: The Song of Love. Bhakti Marga Publications. ISBN 978-3-940381-70-5.
  4. ^ "Meet Paramahamsa Vishwananda, Revolutionary Guru Who Is Travelling All Around World Giving Darshans Since Age of 15 Years | 🌎 LatestLY". LatestLY. 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  5. ^ "Darshan with Sri Swami Vishwananda in Guwahati". Assam Times. 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  6. ^ "Paramahamsa Vishwananda's enlightenment and his early years". APN News. March 24, 2023.
  7. ^ "Kriya Yoga And Spiritual Guru Paramahamsa Vishwananda To Visit India, Here's How You Can Seek His Blessings". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  8. ^ Focus-Online staff (19 August 2023). "Mitten im Taunus baut Hindu-Guru via Tiktok seine Sekte auf" [In the middle of the Taunus, the Hindu guru is building up his sect via Tiktok]. Focus-Online. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d Maus, Robert (10 September 2018). "Der Ashram im Taunus" [Ashram in Taunus]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German).
  10. ^ a b Deep, Ajay (2023-05-22). "Parmahamsa Vishwananda says, "Atma Kriya Yoga is like a universal highway to develop your personal relationship with God". Chandigarh Metro. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  11. ^ "Paramahamsa Vishwananda says "India feels like home to me."". www.ibtimes.sg. 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  12. ^ a b c "What is the Lifestyle of a Hari Bhakta?". blog.bhaktimarga.org. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  13. ^ "Project Mantra". Bhakti Marga Mauritius. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  14. ^ Tapasyananda, Svami (1990). Bhakti Schools of Vedanta. Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math. pp. 31–33. ISBN 81-7120-226-8.
  15. ^ Tapasyananda, Svami (1991). "Introduction". Sri Ramanuja Gita Bhasya. Translated by Svami Adidevanand. Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math. pp. 9–40. ISBN 81-7823-290-1.
  16. ^ Shree Peetha Nilaya staff (August 2023). "Serve a deity program". Shree Peetha Nilaya. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  17. ^ Vasconcelos, Catarina Maldonado (20 April 2021). ""Ele é um avatar de amor." A comunidade hindu do Porto que adora o guru de Rui Patrício como deus" ["He is an avatar of love." The Hindu community in Porto that worships Rui Patrício's guru as a god]. TSF (in Portuguese).
  18. ^ Dimock, Edward C. Jr. (2000). "Adi Lila, Chapter 17, verses 33 ff". In Steward, Tony K. (ed.). Caitanya caritamrta of Krsnadasa Kaviraja: a translation and commentary. Harvard Oriental Series. Vol. 65. ISBN 0-674-00285-7.
  19. ^ Eißler, Friedmann (January 2020). "Bhakti Marga in der Kritik" [Bhakti Marga in criticism]. Zeitschrift für Religion und Weltanschauung [Journal of Religion and Worldview] (in German).
  20. ^ Löwenberger, Bernd (18 November 2020). "Seepark Kirchheim verkauft: Aus für das Hotel, Hindu-Religionszentrum geplant" [Seepark Kirchheim sold: Planned out for the hotel, Hindu religious center]. Hersfelder Zeitung.
  21. ^ Aldinger, Carl (September 7, 2022). "Hindu spiritual group moves into former West Elmira Catholic Church". MyTwinTiers.com.
  22. ^ ELMIRA: New Ashram and Mandir Announcement, YouTube Video
  23. ^ "Paranitya Narasimha Temple Dedicated – Hindu Press International". Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  24. ^ a b Niewendick, Martin (3 March 2018). "Spirituelle Gruppe will KZ-Gedenkstätte mit Ritual "heilen"" [Spiritual group wants to heal concentration camp]. Die Welt (in German).
  25. ^ a b Sommer, Philipp (2 March 2018). "Dieser Kult will in Konzentrationslagern meditieren" [This cult wants to meditate at concentration camps]. Vice (in German).
  26. ^ Heneghan, Tom (2018-03-30). "Hindus chant to 'purify' former Nazi concentration camps". Religion News Service. Retrieved 2024-02-19.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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