Swami Prakashanand Saraswati explains that devotion is not a ritual, a mantra practice, or a religious formality. It is a pure longing of the heart for the Divine Beloved, Krishn. Quoting the words of Lord Chaitanya and the Bhagwatam, he emphasizes that real devotion is a heartfelt, selfless connection with Krishn. This divine love is not bound by religion, culture, or tradition. It is an eternal path revealed in the Vedas, and it grows only through grace and surrender.
According to Swami Prakashanand Saraswati…
Devotion (bhakti) is not a spiritual formality, or a ritual, or any kind of worshipping practice. It is neither a repetition of mantra in your mind, nor making a lot of rounds on jap beads while repeating a mantra. It is not just a Deity worship or taking initiation into a religion. Apart from these, devotion is entirely different and relates only to your heart and your Divine Beloved God, and nothing else. Devotion is a self-expressed affinity when your heart selflessly tries to lovingly unite with your supreme Divine Beloved. As Lord Chaitanya explained in the Shikshashtak, “Oh, my Lord, my Beloved Krishn, I am longing for that day when my heart will feel intense longing in Your separation.” A devotee longs to receive more love, desires to see Him in his imagination and likes to conceive a relation with his Divine Beloved more deeply. He tries to develop his affinity for Him.
➡️ Purchase Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s book online – Towards the Love Divine
” युगायितंनिमेषेणचक्षुषाप्रावृषायितम्।
शून्यायितंजगत्सर्वंगोविन्दविरहेणमे॥” (गौ. महा.)
Lord Chaitanya says that in the higher stages of divine-love-consciousness, a devotee remembers his Beloved twenty-four hours a day without a break. Shedding tears of love, he longs for Him, and in many situations, his heart and mind remain only with his Beloved. In His separation, the whole world seems meaningless and only His love bears meaning in his life. This is ‘devotion.’ It is not a practice. It automatically sprouts in the heart of a selflessly dedicated devotee with the Grace of a Divine Guide, and then slowly grows.
➡️ Purchase Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s book online – The Philosophy of Divine Love
The Bhagwatam says,
” भक्त्याहमेकयाग्राह्यःश्रद्धयाऽऽत्माप्रियःसताम्।
भक्तिःपुनातिमन्निष्ठाश्वपाकानपिसंभवात्॥ “
(भा. 11/14/21)
It means that through selfless devotion anyone on this earth can find Krishn love. There is no question of religion, culture or nationality because ‘devotion to Krishn’ is not a religion. It is the unity of your heart and mind with the supreme power of Divine love.
We must know that the devotional practices, which people learn through a particular religion, are entirely different from the divine love devotion I speak about. Pure devotion is not a religion. It is beyond religion. Religions were formed in the name of a prophet or Saint after he left this earth. Let us suppose a Saint appears on this earth and propagates the path of devotion to God. After his expiry, his devotees form a religion. It is nature’s axiom that every beginning has an end. So, religions also come to an end. However, the path of ‘pure devotion’ is eternal because it never began. It was there at the very first stage of civilization. It came from the Vedas at a time when there was no religion at all. The Vedas are the original scriptures which give the knowledge of ‘divine love devotion.’ Truly speaking, it is the only eternal and universal religion.
➡️ Purchase Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s book online – Amazing Facts About Hinduism
In this speech I described Krishn as the supreme form of God. We need to know more about Krishn, and in this reference I would like to quote a verse from the Upnishad. It says:
“नारायणोऽखिलब्रह्माण्डाधिपतिरेकोंऽशः।”
” परमान्तरङ्गभूताराधा।कृष्णेनआराध्यतइतिराधा।”
It means that Krishn is the supreme power and supreme form of God. He has many kinds of almighty powers and all of them have Their personified form and they all represent a particular almighty aspect of Krishn. There are innumerable Brahma, Shiv, Vishnu and Their Goddesses in the universe. They are all governed by highest power called Maha Vishnu, Who is a part of Krishn’s power. In this way Krishn is the supreme power. This is only one aspect of Krishn’s personality.
➡️ Purchase Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s book online – The Science of Devotion, Divine Love and Grace
The other aspect of Krishn’s personality is more important, which is that Krishn Himself is the power of Divine love. That is why our scriptures sometimes say that the power of Divine love governs all the Divine phenomena, and sometimes say that Krishn governs all the Divine phenomena. Radha is called the Soul of Krishn because Radha is the absolute original power of Divine love, unaffiliated with any kind of almightiness. However, for devotional purposes we should know that Radha and Krishn Both are one and in two forms. Devotees worship Both, Radha and Krishn, with the same love and dedication. Now we understand that our soul longs for that Divine love which, in fact, is Krishn Himself.
➡️ Purchase Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s book online – Biographies of Rasik Saints
Conclusion:
In this profound message, Swami Prakashanand Saraswati reminds us that Krishn is not only the supreme form of God but also the essence of Divine love Himself. True devotion means loving Krishn from the heart and uniting with Him beyond all religious boundaries. This eternal path of divine love devotion is the highest and truest purpose of life.
➡️ Purchase Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s book online