"I ask not for wealth, nor followers,
Nor beautiful women, nor for poetry or wisdom.
All I ask, O Lord of the Universe,
is that I may have unmotivated devotion
to you, God, birth after birth."
[Sikshastakam (4) by Sri Krsna Caitanya,
translation by Jan Brzeziński (Jagadananda Das Pandit)]
Devotion (bhakti) it is what I practise (yoga). Bhakti yoga – practising devotion to God. The way of this practice I use is worship (bhajana). I’m learning to offer my everything in service (seva) to God. My ideas, my mind, my body and activities. This all MY, given by God, belongs to God – the source of everything - and I try to offer it back to God – the object of my worship.
Generally, the main part of my everyday practice is to worship God by music, by remembering the holy names and by worshiping deities. As for music, I prefer gospel songs by the choirs. For remembering, use bij-mantra and maha-mantra, and Sikshastakam by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in various translations. For my personal deities, make a puja once a day with the items like singing, paraphernalia and mantras accordingly to the deity, and do the simple worship during the day.
Peculiarly, for my specific meditations as a student of Raganuga-bhakti Marg, I use Sri-Sri Radha-Krsnayoh Asta-kaliya-lila Smarana-mangala Stotram by Sri Rupa Goswami in Neal Delmonico’s translation, together with Sri Gauranga-Lilamrita by Sri Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur in the own translation. Presently, my favourite period described there is Madhyana. To successfully performing this kind of bhajana I use also few other books for the students of Raganuga-bhakti Marg, especially the one manual (of paddhati-traya) received from my Raganuga-bhakti Marg teacher.
My worship has much in common with Gaudiya Vaishnavism – a Hindu tradition. I assimilated the techniques of remembering the holy names and of worshiping deities to practise devotion to God. Being bred in a Polish family and accustomed to the Christian tradition, also by deep experience caused by Christianity, I have not rejected it, and its language, symbols or means. However, to practise devotion to God, I use Bhakti-yoga as the valid supplement of my religious interests. Religion, yoga or practice it is the ship we travel our journey. But not religious is the goal of it.
Some ask do I worship Jesus or Krishna and who is God or who isn’t for me then. Well, for me Jesus is Jesus and Krishna is Krishna. Who or if I worship more as God or less, it is my own realization. And what is your own?
If you're looking for the spiritual emotions, don’t become religious, stay spiritual.