"Love and devotion to Him are
a bridge across the abyss to salvation."
“Sri Bhagavan spoke and wrote most about the vichara or Self-enquiry,
and therefore the opinion arose that He prescribed only jnana-marga, the Path of Knowledge, which most people find too sheer in this age.
But in fact He was universal
and provided guidance for every temperament,
by the path of Devotion no less than of Knowledge.
Love and devotion to Him are a bridge across the abyss to salvation.
He had many devotees for whom he prescribed no other path.”
(Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge, Arthur Osborne, page 174.)
Though it is true that the path of bhakti (devotion) does not suit the temperament of all spiritual aspirants, it is undeniable that thinking of God, thinking of the “feet of the Lord”, does attract His grace. Whether devotion is achieved through bhakti or jnana, when the grace of God dawns upon us, our devotion deepens into love of Him. The love of God is the key that opens for us all knowledge, peace and purity.
This key is the keen and lively awareness and our patient endurance, while waiting on the Lord, which we have developed by persistently weathering out the storms of thought that mercilessly attempted to turn our attention outwards.*
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* Practical Sadhana, from the Teaching of Sri Ramana Maharshi. Page 83.
