Devotion
What is devotion? It is the steady flow of love towards God. When
your love flows towards individuals or towards
transient, worldly things it cannot be called devotion; it is really only a
form of attachment. But when your love flows unceasingly towards God, the one
unchanging principle behind this world of change, then your love becomes
devotion.
Initially, you develop your devotion by turning towards God and
approaching him. Then, you strengthen your love for God by cultivating the
attitude that you are his devotee or his servant
and you surrender yourself to his will. As your love for God deepens, you
progress to the stage where you feel an intimate closeness to God and
experience his presence continuously. Finally, you reach the consummation of
your spiritual journey when you fully realize the truth, "I am God. God
and I are one."
In practice, devotion takes two forms. First, there is the type of
devotion which involves various devotional practices and rituals engaged in by
devotees, such as the traditional practice of worshipping the Lord with ritual offerings,
making pilgrimages to spiritual centers and attending spiritual functions,
singing devotional songs and studying devotional literature, and so on. These are the ordinary
types of devotion. In the Gita the Lord taught that these various practices can
be considered to be of a lower type. But, when your worship expands into a total absorption in
God, when your love for God enters into every activity of your daily life and
you develop a flawless, sacred character, then you are expressing the
higher devotion which very much pleases the Lord.
There is a clear distinction, therefore, between this devotion which is
particularly dear to the Lord and the more ordinary type of devotion. The latter
uses the things of the phenomenal world to worship the Lord, such as flowers,
for example. Where have these articles come from? Have you been able to
manufacture them? Have you created these flowers? No. They have all been
created by the Lord. Where, then, is the sacrifice in offering to the Lord
things which he himself has created? Such offerings will not get you very far
on your spiritual path. But to offer to the Lord the sacred flowers of your
heart, which are not related to
the world, and to offer these in loving worship to the one who is seated in
your heart, that is the highest form of devotion. That is the devotion you
should aspire for.
PARABHAKTI
sai gita
kindly sent by brother mukundan
Sathya Sai Gita VIII pg 71
