Devotion towards God can be understood as Bhakti, love and commitment to God. It is extremely important in our spiritual journey towards God because it is our expression of our belief, faith and trust in God, our love for God. However, if our goal is Moksha, then we need more than devotion to realize God. Devotion constitutes the first step towards God.
Devotion is a way of expressing that we believe in God. That we trust God. It expresses our love for God. Spending time in temples, doing service or Seva of God, listening to spiritual discourses, Bhajans, praying to God, serving humanity or those who suffer are all instances of expressing our devotion to the Divine. Religious observances and rites including Poojas and havans too are a part of devotion.
Devotion is important because it marks the beginning of our journey towards God. How will we ever attain God if we don’t love God or are devoted to the Divine? However, if we want Moksha, we need to go beyond. We need to realize the truth. We have to be enlightened. We must realize who we are — not the body, mind and ego but the Soul. We have to realize who God is — not a person or a saint but a Power, a Power that is Supreme, Immortal; a Power that is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient. Devotion in itself may not help us realize God. We may continue to believe in a God with a name and a form, like Krishna, Shiva or Ganesha. In reality, there cannot be so many Gods. God is only one. God is formless, nameless. We are all a part of the Divine. God is everywhere, in everything. We are not different from God. We are manifestations of the Divine. Spirituality helps us realize this non duality.
Therefore, we must evolve from devotion to spirituality. On the path of spirituality, we must ask questions and investigate our findings. Only then will we realize the truth. We must also evolve from being in Bhakti to being in Bhakti Yoga. As a devotee, we may pray to God and ask God for material things, for money, name, fame, success, health. But as a Yogi who is in Bhakti — we ask God for God, we seek His Divine Grace to be united with him, to attain Moksha. We realize that prayer is a two-way communication with God — we not only connect with God but also hear the Divine voice. With enlightenment, when we serve people, the poor and needy, it is not for good Karma, or just out of compassion and pity, we care for others, we serve others realizing that they are Divine manifestations, we do it out of our intense love for God.
Devotion, therefore, is important because it marks the beginning of our relationship with God. It can inspire a devotee to evolve to become a seeker and start a spiritual quest to discover the self. And from a seeker, finally evolve to become an enlightened Soul.
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