The Essence is Lost
Devotion alone is the easiest and most accessible path to realise God. However, it must be from the heart and not merely performed by our senses. Engaging your senses is alright; they are your helpers after all, but it must be in tandem with the mind. This is mandatory.
When you drive in a busy city, you remember where you have to go. On the way to your destination, you move aside for a car behind you, are conscious of the motorcycle on your left and stop when you sense danger. Throughout you are fully alert because the slightest mistake or carelessness could have serious ramifications. In this way, you are cautious when you give importance to your body, but you give no such importance to God, and therefore, you are careless in practicing devotion.
The essence is being lost. People are doing kirtan, bhajan, going on pilgrimage, chanting on beads, reciting scriptural texts and engaging in prayer. So-called babas instruct, Chant on your beads so many times; read the Ramayana aloud, the Gita, the Bhagavatam, the Vedas. What is the use of mere recitation of letters? It says in the Gita, mamekam saranam vraja, “Surrender to Me.” Who is saying this? Shri Krishna. Who is He saying it to? Arjuna. Why is He saying it? To make Arjuna surrender to Him. Okay, now you go and repeat mamekam saranam vraja. Who are you saying this to? We are just reciting it. Why are you doing that; are you crazy? Shri Krishna was not saying this in a state of madness. He was telling Arjuna to take His shelter. Who are you asking to take shelter of you? In other words, you are simply reciting what is written in the scriptures verbally.
Writing and reading are both equally useless until you practice what the scriptures say. This verse of the Gita declares that you should practically surrender to God. It does not mean that you should keep on saying, “I am surrendered, I am surrendered.”
Sadhana or upasana means to take your mind closer to God. If there is fire 50 feet away and you are feeling cold, move 10 feet towards it. “I did and yes the cold has reduced.” Now move 20 feet towards the fire and get the benefit of the temperature even more. But if you stood 50 feet away from the fire and extended your arms, you would doubt the presence of fire. You would say, “I have kept my hands up for such a long time and the cold has not subsided.” You have to go close to the fire to feel its warmth.
In the same way, you must take your mind closer to God to derive the benefit.
Spirituality in Daily Living, Volume 2, p28–30
Kripalu Bhaktiyoga Tattvadarshan, Vedic knowledge revealed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj as presented in English by Dr Vishakha Tripathi, president of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat
https://www.jkpliterature.org.in/en/product/spirituality-in-daily-living-set-of-4
