Devanagari: साधना भक्ति ISO15919: sādhanā bhakti
Preliminary devotion - the means to cleanse the heart so that the Guru can bestow siddha bhakti.
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Sadhana bhakti is mainly of two kinds: vaidhi bhakti and raganuga bhakti. The most acclaimed and widely accepted means to practise sadhana bhakti was propounded by Prahlada. He mentioned nine ways of doing bhakti, collectively called navadha bhakti. Out of all these, three are most important for spiritual growth: shravanam - hearing, kirtanam - congregational chanting and smarana - remembrance. In these three practices of devotion, smarana is the life force of all devotion.
Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj states that smarana of the divine form of your Beloved Shri Radha Krishna is called rupadhyana. Some acharyas of bhakti further divide sadhana bhakti into two more stages: sadhana bhakti - practising to meditate on your chosen Deity and bhava bhakti - one's practise has started to yield results and the practitioner can effortlessly meditate on his chosen Deity.
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REFERENCE
Bhakti Shatak - Hundred Gems of Devotion - an in-depth analysis
