Devotion is the cord that binds the soul to God. God is easily attained through devotion. The formless God takes a transcendental form and appears before the devotee. The soul receives the mystic embrace of the Lord. Give up all scholastic disputation and with faith pray. To realize God and remain under His benign presence, be thou a devotee.
To be a devotee is to be very humble. To be a devotee is to be "poor in spirit." To be a devotee is to empty the "ego." God loves devotion. God reveals Himself to the humble devotee. "I am like a fish out of water," is the cry of the soul of a devotee to God. This restlessness to see God, this pining for the vision of the supreme Beloved, is the key to open the gates of the kingdom of heaven. God has never failed His devotee at any time. Cultivate humility, and be thou a devotee.
A devotee realizes that everything is impermanent and God alone is eternal and permanent. His soul longs to be united with God's feet to have eternal life. So the heart of the devotee sings, "I am Thine, thou art mine forever." He offers all that he does to God. He loves God in everybody and sees God in everything. What a blessing to realize that cosmic love! Take to the path of love, and be thou a devotee.
Oh soul, you are a part of the Divine. You are a drop of the ocean of bliss. It is the ego that has brought the feeling of separation. Meditate on your beloved Father-Mother God and break the wall of ego. Pray and melt your ego. Make the ego participate in worship, in chanting, in making obeisance to God. This is the way to reduce the ego to a zero. Humble the ego through devotion. Be thou a devotee.
Oh man, look at this vast universe created by God. All this is the expression of the love of our beloved God. Just think, when you were born, who placed the milk in the bosom of the mother? When your soul was passing through different stages of evolution, who lifted you up to be born as a human being? Who is taking care of the rotation of planets, movements of galaxies, and the rotation of the seasons? Appreciating the magnificent beauty of the creation, your devotion will grow. Seeing the munificence of the compassionate God, your love shall expand. Meditate on the glory of God, and be thou a devotee.
Oh brother, who is watering millions of trees in the forests and on the mountains? Who is clothing various animals with different colored skin suited to the climate and the place where they dwell? Who supplies the varieties of food to the innumerable animals, birds, reptiles and worms? Who has painted and perfumed the endless varieties of flowers of variegated hues? Who has kept the honey in them for the humming bees? Who has kept an immortal soul in your mortal body? Just meditate on this eternal Beloved, and be thou a devotee.
Oh look at the majestic elephant! Look at the peacock gazing at the clouds, dancing happily, spreading its gorgeous plumage! Look at the awe-inspiring snake with its unfurled hood! Look at the green wings and the red beak of a parrot that speaks so lovingly to you! Look at the mother cow licking the calf when it is striking its mother's dripping udders with its head! Oh, love is lavished by God on His creation! What more do you require as proof of His love than this vast universe spread before you. Bend your head and get on your knees and pray. Be thou a devotee.
Friend, have you observed the factory of your body? From the time of birth until death, a heartbeat is continued rhythmically. Circulation of the blood is constant. Growth of the body is continuous. The process of digestion, assimilation and elimination, the flushing work of the kidneys, the miraculous work of the lungs, the complex structure of the brain--all these coming out of one tiny seed! Just marvel at this wonder of the formation of your own body, which is a veritable instrument given by God for realizing Him. Be thankful for this privilege and be thou a devotee!
Oh brother, God has provided water to a tiny frog in the bosom of a rock. God has provided amnion to the embryo while you were in the womb of your mother. God has created a pouch in the mother kangaroo for her young. God has given the necessary claws and teeth for animals to eat their food. He has given wings for the birds to fly. He has given the power to the pearl oyster to prepare a pearl out of a drop of rain water or from a grain of sand. He has given the patience to ants to build an ant hill and selflessness for the bees to collect the honey in the hive! How beautiful is the structure of the cobwebs which the spider builds with the thread that comes from within its own body! Whenever it wants it can move its house, withdrawing the thread back into its body and rebuilding its web elsewhere. Look at the wonders of creation, marvel at them, and be thou a devotee.
A cat's eye is so designed to see things both during the day and night. And owl's eye is so provided to see only during the night. The nose of the dog is given the power to know anyone by their smell, and the eyes of the cobra are designed to both see and smell things! Oh! The endless varieties of fishes, birds, and their languages! Singing whales and powerful crocodiles--a vast creation itself is in the ocean! Oh God, what a leela, what a play of Thine! And what a glory is displayed in the mineral world! What effulgence is kept in precious stones! How wonderful is the chemical process under the earth to have oil, minerals, gold and diamonds! "Oh God, everything is Thine. I am Thine. Accept me as thy humble servant." Pray thus, and be thou a devotee.
Feel restless like the young birds in the nest, waiting for the mother bird to return to them. Feel like the calf that goes round and round the peg to which it is bound, calling the mother cow to return to it. Feel like the lotus bud waiting desperately for the morning sun. Seeing that alone, it blossoms! Feel like a child that cries in agony for the presence of its mother. Feel like a drowning man desperately struggling for breath and some help to save him. Feel like a forlorn lamb desperately wanting to join its mother. It is this feeling of restlessness without the darshan of God that brings God's darshan to you. Feel and pray--be thou a devotee.
Even an earthly mother rushes to the crying babe to console it. Even a cruel father forgives his children when they repent! Is not God a million times more compassionate and forgiving than any parents? God is the unfailing Mother. God is the merciful Father. Pray for His loving forgiveness.
Be thou a devotee!
NINE TECHNIQUES FOR CULTIVATING LOVE
SRAVANA (LISTENING TO DIVINE DISCOURSES)
Hear the divine stories of God and saints. Develop a deep devotion to hear more and more of the pastimes or lilas of the beloved God during His incarnations. Develop faith in the teachings of the Lord, and suggest to your mind to cultivate that love of saints towards God. By hearing the glories and stories of God, your mind is purified of all its evil propensities. Your heart is rid of passion and fear and therefore pure. God shines in a pure heart. You shall attain mukti or liberation even by practicing the art of listening with devotion to the lives and teachings of God's incarnations. Cultivate this devotion. Be thou a devotee.
KIRTAN (SINGING THE HOLY NAME)
Sing the kirtans or songs of God. Sing and chant and sometimes enter into ecstatic union with God by dancing with love! Sing with faith; narrate the divine stories of Hari (Harikatha) and get absorbed in them. You will attain "bhava-samadhi" easily through this practice. God's lilas attract the mind easily. During narration of God's stories, the mind soars very high. At some point you will invariably feel God's presence, and your mind will enter into samadhi or the super-conscious state. When you return from that experience, you will realize that "all this is God." Enter into this ecstasy. Be thou a devotee.
SMARANA (MEDITATION)
Meditate on the glory of God, the glory of life in Him, and the glory of immortality. See nature and meditate on the cosmic intelligence that has created this vast, beautiful universe! Meditate on the compassion shown by God when He came to protect His votaries. Meditate and feel grateful to God and mentally thank Him for his blessings and gifts. Remember the story of a saint and how God came into his life, and then feel inspired to become such a saint. Keep the goal and strive through meditation. "God, Thou art my everything. I am Thine; Thou art mine." Pray thus incessantly and meditate. Be thou a devotee.
PADA-SEVANAM (WAITING UPON THE LORD)
Meditate on the lotus feet of God. Meditate on those feet in the lotus of your heart. Feel that all the galaxies have emerged from the lotus feet of God. Knead the feet of your parents, your teacher, or a sick person, with the feeling that you are serving God through them. Wait upon a saintly person with the feeling that you are serving God. Visit a temple and offer your flowers at the feet of the holy image there with devotion. Treat this whole universe as the feet of God and offer thy heart, mind and soul to serve humanity. Devotion is the way to peace. Be thou a devotee.
ARCHANAM (WORSHIP)
See the Transcendental Reality in a symbol or an image. Bathe the image, clothe the image, decorate it with flowers and ornaments, feeling God as a Transcendental Person. Howsoever we approach Him, He receives us in His love. God understands our limitations and cares only for our sincere devotion. So, the worship of God is to be done with such a feeling. We should never forget that the worship which we do through symbols is to cultivate a higher consciousness to see and worship God in everything and to worship Him in the Temple of our hearts. It is not the image that you worship, but God in the image. Thus, you burn the incense and light the camphor with the feeling that you are burning your ego and karma. You offer the food and partake of it as "prasad," or sanctified food, which relieves all your pain and sickness. This worship of the Divine is practiced in the devotional mysticism of all the world religions in one way or another. Offer your worship with devotion, and God receives it and blesses you. Be thou a devotee.
VANDANAM (SALUTATION)
See God in everybody, and salute God in all. While you worship God in a Temple, you offer salutations and prostrations. The eight-limbed salutation (sastanga-namaskara) is the most efficacious in bringing God's grace upon us. Where it is practiced with devotion, the sins that have been incurred by thought, word, and deed are forgiven. Such a salutation humbles our ego and we feel God's grace flowing into us. God loves His humble devotees. Salutations make us humble. Practice this bhakti and be thou a devotee.
DASYAM (SERVITUDE)
"Thou art my Lord; my father, mother, relative and everything. Thou art my Master; accept me as Thy humble servant." This is the attitude that makes you a worthy devotee of God. Wherever He keeps you, however He keeps you, whatever He wills, it is accepted by you with the full knowledge that God knows what is good for you. Such total resignation to the will of God is the key to attain His Grace. Be thou a devotee.
SAKHYAM (FRIENDSHIP)
"To whom shall I turn except Thee! Thou art my guide, friend, father and mother. Reveal unto me the right path; lead me towards Thy peace." Meditate on this prayer, and practice friendship with the whole universe, feeling God in all. Consecrate a few minutes every day for "sadhana" or spiritual discipline and talk to God as an intimate friend. The highest blessings came to Arjuna through this bhakti. Lord Krishna revealed to him the sacred teachings of the BHAGAVAD GITA and His universal form. Practice this bhakti. Be thou a devotee.
ATMANIVEDANAM (TOTAL SURRENDER)
Feel like a child that is totally dependent on its mother. Offer one after another all that you have at the altar of love. Self-sacrifice is self-surrender. By offering everything to beloved God, you attain freedom from all the bondages of karma. "Thy will be done," is the meditation on surrender. "Nothing is mine; everything is Thine," is the prayer of the surrendered one. Unquestioningly such a devotee accepts whatever is sent by God to him as a blessing. He attains everlasting peace by such unconditional surrender to God. Surrender thyself to God and attain eternal bliss.
Be thou a devotee!
(Essence of Bhagavad Gita and Bible, p. 105.)