Tracing the roots back to the ancient scriptures of Vedic literature, if not older, bhakti, a religio-psychological phenomenon, has always been an important core of the social and spiritual life of India. The etymological root of the word is bhaj which means ‘to partake’, ‘to participate’, and ‘to share’. Rig Veda differentiates between bhaktam and a-bhkatam. Yaska, in his Nirukta with reference to the verse, uses the term ‘bhaktini’as the share of agni. Traditional Vedic commentator Sayana interprets the terms bhaktam and a-bhkatam, as sevamana and a-sevanamana (those who serve and those who do not). Serving and sharing are related in Vedic verses and are thus traditionally associated with bhakti. Hence, often the Western and colonised.

Indologists who approached bhakti as a kind of monotheistic evolution from a polytheistic natural religion considered the term differently than the meaning in which the term is understood in Vedic literature. Nevertheless, the etymological root bhaj is used in Rig Veda by Rsi Dirghatama in the context of partaking and sharing the results of collective praising of the Divine (in this case, Vishnu): ‘Hymners, propitiate that ancient Visnu the indweller of Rta (rtasya garbham); realising His greatness we celebrate His name; Visnu, may we share the receiving of Your blessings (sumatim bhajamahe).’

Here Vishnu as indweller of Rta is also associated with the phrase in Aitareya Brahmana, which speaks of Vishnu as being born with Yajña (yajño vai visnuh:). Bhakti, as derived from bhaj, has not only a linguistic connection but also a deeper conceptual connection. It is the sharing of benevolent blessings (sumatim). If Yajña is co-creation, then when the Divine punishes those who hoard, He shares the auspicious wealth (bhajati sunaram vasu) with those who give through Yajña (dasuse). The later term Dasa associated with bhakti, also shows a conceptual connection, even if not an etymological link, with dasuse, which is an act of giving to the Divine.

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