What is true “Devotion”?
Devotional Practice in Vogue
As you find in the world and practiced by most people, Devotion essentially involves ritualistic practices for self-appeasement. Something like visiting temples, shrines or mosques, worshipping Gods and Goddesses, offering prayers/namaz, formal worship with lit wicks soaked in clarified butter, chanting hymns, donating money, and going on pilgrimage, with the aspiration to attain peace, health and wealth.
What do we do?
People, often in the name of worship or Devotion, indulge in acts of bartering, like getting desires fulfilled in return for acts of worship or chanting of hymns. Sometimes it is like an act of bribery offering sweets and other offerings in exchange for meeting one’s needs. Some bribery acts offer money, gold etc., to the deity expecting worldly favours from the deity in return. Some indulge in a sort of blackmailing like fasting and torturing oneself to get material and worldly benefits or to fulfil desires.
In the present iron era (Kaliyuga), Devotion has become limited to flattering Gods, decorating places of worship, offering beautiful clothes and ornaments to the deity etc.
Missing the Forest for the Trees
We perform all these as acts of true Devotion. However, we forget that somewhere along the way, we have missed the forest for the trees. What is overlooked is the bigger picture of Pure Love as the act of True Devotion. Instead of wasting time on infructuous ritualistic Devotion, we should indulge in Pure Love for the Supreme, the fountainhead of Absolute Sublime Love. Meditate on that Supreme Lord with pure love. In that process, one merges with the Lord, merging the microcosmic and macrocosmic consciousness. Indulge in pure love with the Lord and exhibit love for His creation. One can feel the vibrations and sway with ecstasy and bliss when indulging in pure love for the Lord.
Devotees Who Indulged in Love-Filled Devotion
Many a soul had got lost in the sublime love of the Lord; may it be any of their avowed forms. Who doesn’t know the Devotion of Meerabai and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu? Both indulged in the love-filled Devotion towards Shri Krishna, an incarnation of one of the Creator God’s volitional divine creations, Vishnu. Both Guru Nanak and Saint Ramdassji had Devotion to the one supreme, known as ‘wahe guru’ in Sikhism. Think of Kabir, an ardent love-filled devotee of the Supreme Lord, who shunned all ritualistic or Shariat worship and often chided both Hindus and Muslims for their misplaced acts of worship. All his ‘dohas’ were pregnant with deep meaning, usually indicative of a higher realm beyond this mundane world. They all believed in selfless service to humanity and all the creations of the Lord. Regarding reverence to a Supreme and service to humankind, who can overlook Shri Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi?
The Correct Path
It is time for all of us to come awake and follow the path of love-filled Devotion, leaving aside all ritualistic modes of worship and Devotion. And that is the true path to attain that Supreme Lord.
