DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEVOTION

"A True devotee of God always submits himself to the will of God!! There are various types of devotion that are enunciated in our Sanathana Dharma! They are Vandanam ,Smaranam ,Archanam ,Padasevanam, Dasyam, Sakhyam, Atmanivedanam  Keerthanam and others! The master -servant feeling is called Dasyam! The devotee is the servant of the Lord carrying out the dictates of his lord!  When he considers God as his mother or father he is the child totally depending on the lord for everything! This is called 'Vatsalya Bhava!! When the devotee goes a little beyond he considers God as the whole and himself a part of the whole or a chip of the same block! He does not want to say that he is the " Brahman' because he wants to retain his identity and enjoy the Supreme Bliss or Ananda! These types of devotion and Bhavas are brilliantly experienced by the azwars and nayanmars of the south! Sri Ramakrishna too considered himself as the child of his Mother Kali whom he worshiped!! His, we can say, is vatsalya Bhava! One of the azwars considers himself as a mother and God as the child and sings a lullaby for HIM!! There is also a nayika -nayaka bhava where the devotee considers himself as a lady love waiting anxiously for the lover and suffering the pangs of " Viraha" separation from the Lover! In every thought, word and action the devotee submits himself to the divine will and chants his name constantly!! Bhakthi after all is intense and extraordinary LOVE for God with different ramifications but with God at the center! Sri Ramakrishna considered his wife Sri Sarada Devi as the personification of his mother Goddess Kali and worshiped her!! Devotional fervour in a person should make him see god in every creature and extend his pure love without any hesitation!!"