"Vishnudevananda Upadesa: Teachings of Swami Vishnudevananda."
One must struggle to reach meditation and struggle even harder to reach samadhi, the superconscious state, through self-surrender. In all religions Truth becomes diluted, and for the masses it becomes an external object to be sought after rather than an inner state of consciousness which is its true nature. The essential attitude to be taken in any religion is one of taking refuge, of confession, prayer and ultimate surrender to a higher power. It is with this inner state of consciousness that Bhakti Yoga(yoga of devotion) matures. Without its presence all of the paths of yoga and any true spiritual progress will fall short of the mark.
God is not an external object. People think that that is the yoga of devotion but the Bhakti Yogi knows that the God he is worshipping is not outside, He is within. Although he is not seeking God outside, yet he offers flowers and follows all of the nine steps so that he can realise God's presence everywhere, always, in all. All of the techniques of Bhakti Yoga are a means to an end. Eventually the means become important and you forget the end, and that is why religious people fight.
Don't stop at ritual. Move on and on until you reach self surrender, 'Everything is His will; the world moves because of His will; I exist because of His will; even duality exists because of His will; non-duality exists because of His will. Everything is; there is no more care, no more worry, and God, you are the one devoted.' That is called Bhakti Yoga. A Bhakti Yogi makes use of gross forms and rituals as aids to self-surrender but altars, statues and pictures are not in themselves objects of worship. Like the Christian cross which stands for Jesus, they are symbols of the omnipresent Lord. The Lord is as present in the image as everywhere else. The image is merely used as a focal point for worship. Symbols like altar pictures are only necessary in the beginning of Bhakti Yoga. The highest devotion is self-surrender.
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