Aptavani-4
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who is lost in the rhythm of the Lord. Just doing this in the
Lord’s name accomplishes so much!
Worship: Direct and Indirect
Questioner: In the path of devotion (bhakti), do the
worldly difficulties create a barrier?
Dadashri: There are two kinds of bhakti marg (paths of
devotion). One is indirect (paroksh) worship, which yields
worldly fruit while it gradually elevates you spiritually. The
second is direct (pratyaksh) worship, which is directed towards
the One in whom God has manifested. And it is here that your
work will get done. There are many obstacles in indirect
devotion (paroksh bhakti). One’s own thoughts become
obstacles. The path of bhakti (devotional worship) is good, but
it may disappear according to the changes in one’s circumstances;
whereas Gnan always remains with You.
Questioner: Who bears the responsibility in the path of
devotion? Is it God?
Dadashri: Yes.
Even Narsinh Mehta (a great poet and devotee of Lord
Krishna) used to say, ‘Dear Lord, liberate me!’ All devotees
experience inner suffering (artata). He expressed his inner pain
to the Lord saying, ‘Dear Lord, liberate me from this suffering.’
Even so, such a devotion is still good; his devotion was
exclusively to the Lord. Whose devotion is the highest? The true
devotee’s. He is not worshiping the real God, but he is
worshiping the indirect God. Nevertheless, it is still a true
worship, because it will lead to the direct (pratyaksh) God (the
Self within). But when can one be called a true devotee? When
sankalp-vikalp (worries and doubts) do not seize him, he is
considered a true devotee. He leaves everything to God, saying
that God will do the sankalp-vikalp. Whereas here, when a
man gets his son married, he takes all the credit for it and when