Bhakti Yoga Path | Exhibition in the Hopp Garden

The stages on the path of Bhakti contain yoga poses and thoughts for meditation. By assuming the poses and meditating on the quotes from the Bhagavad Gita displayed on the boards, visitors to the Hopp Garden can try out this form of meditation and gain a glimpse into Eastern practices of clearing one’s consciousness, which greatly influenced the Theosophists. In their understanding, Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of Devotion or Yoga of Divine Love) was in essence and in details the same as Christian Mysticism.

The original meaning of the Sanskrit word yoga is to join, to unite, or to yoke together: by reining in the mind, a yoga practitioner can connect with the Eternal. To obtain control over one’s consciousness, the renowned Indian mystic Patanjali devised a system of eight steps, the third being to practise various postures (asanas). Yoga poses serve two purposes: to provide a physical position for meditation, and to preserve the health of the practitioner.

The Bhagavad Gita, the most famous scripture written in Sanskrit, presents different types of yoga, emphasising Bhakti Yoga. The verses from the text used in this exhibition come from translations by Theosophists. The English was translated from Sanskrit by Annie Besant (1847–1933), International President of the Theosophical Society, who played a major role in spreading the Theosophical interpretation of Indian culture throughout the West. The first Hungarian Bhagavad Gita was by Margit Maróthy Gömöry (1872–1955), an outstanding actress of her era and an important figure in Hungarian Theosophy. Her translations greatly helped to popularise these ideas in Hungary.