The sweetest and surest path

In the Gita, Krishna repeatedly singles out the devotee for special love. He promises that even the simplest offering is received when given with love: “Whoever offers Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even water — that offering of love I accept” (9:26). And he assures the devotee, “My devotee never perishes” (9:31). The path of devotion is open to all, regardless of birth, learning or circumstance.

What devotion really is

Bhakti is not mere emotion or ritual. It is the steady turning of the whole being toward the Divine — love that purifies into longing, and longing that ripens into union. The Gita’s twelfth chapter describes the true devotee: free from hatred, friendly and compassionate to all, even-minded in pleasure and pain, content, forgiving, and ever absorbed in God. Such a one, Krishna says, “is dear to Me.”

Love as the heart of all paths

Devotion is the warmth that brings every other practice to life. Action without love is dry; knowledge without love is cold; meditation without love is mere technique. The Kriya masters teach that bhakti is the indispensable companion of method — for it is love that gives the soul the longing to seek God in the first place, and love that draws the meditating mind inward.

Devotion in the Kriya tradition

The whole Kriya lineage is steeped in devotion — the love between guru and disciple, the surrender of the fruits of practice to God, and the recognition of the Divine within the breath itself. As Sri Ramakrishna showed by his very life, the God-intoxicated heart reaches the same summit as the philosopher — and reaches it singing.

Explore the other paths: Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Dhyana Yoga; or return to the Bhagavad Gita.