Bhakti yoga

Bhakti yoga is a Hindu spiritual practice. People constantly pray to, and think about, a form of a Hindu god, usually Vishnu. Bhakti is a Sanskrit term. It signifies an attitude of devotion to God. The relation between man and God is imagined as a beloved-lover, friend-friend, parent-child, and master-servant. The Bhakta worships his chosen God by any of these mentalities.

The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine primary forms of bhakti. They are:

• śravaṇa ("listening" to the scriptural stories of Kṛṣṇa and his companions)
• kīrtana ("praising," usually refers to ecstatic group singing)
• smaraṇa ("remembering" or fixing the mind on Viṣṇu)
• pāda-sevana (giving service)
• arcana (worshiping an image)
• vandana (paying homage)
• dāsya (behaving like a servant)
• sākhya (friendship)
• ātma-nivedana (complete surrender of the self)