The fourth path of perfection may be called the path of devotion, a path that cannot be compared in value or in depth with any other path. The reason is that devotion touches the Spirit of God. Not everyone is capable of this method, for in some people the heart is closed by the head quality, by intellect, but in others the heart quality is foremost.

The first step on the path of devotion teaches selflessness; it makes one unselfish.

Devotion is the tuning of the heart to its natural pitch; in other words, the healthiest condition possible in man is that in which devotion has blossomed.

It is devotion alone that buries one's false self, be it devotion to a human being or to God.

If truth is ever to be seen it is in devotion, for the world of heart is a different world from the world in which we all live;

Its law is different.
The weather there is different.
Its sky is different.
Its sun and moon are different.
The nature of that world is different; it is a world in itself.

By devotion, heaven is brought to earth. And yet how very often a person says, "But is it not a simple devotion?" It is in simplicity that the greatest subtlety is to be found; for it is the heart of the devotee which is liquid compared to the one which has become crystallized. It is awakened to sympathy, it is open to appreciate all beauty.

Women are more attracted to devotion than men, for generally the nature of women is to be more respectful towards human beings. This is natural, for if it were not for the love of the mother the world would not go on. This is the principle of devotion; it is in the quality of devotion which exists in women that the secret of the whole creation resides.

Krishna has said, "I am with my devotees."

And therefore if one says, "Where is God? Is He in the sixth heaven or in the seventh, or a certain paradise or palace in which people imagine Him to be," the answer is that the paradise or the palace or the dwelling-place of God is in the heart of His devotee.

No doubt it is not easy for anyone to rise to devotion to God. It is on this account that the Sufis in all ages have practiced devotion gradually, by their sympathy for their teacher, by the devotion to their Lord, and by the culmination of that devotion in God.

It is devotion which raises the object of its devotion, or its ideal, to the highest heaven. It is by devotion that the rocks have been turned into gods.

Someone asked a Hindu, "By worshipping a God made of rock, what do you gain? Do you really believe that you have made a God?" "Yes," said the Hindu, "my hands have made this God of stone, and my devotion has given life to it. If you believe in a formless God and have no devotion, you have not yet reached him. He is far away from you. My God is before me; your God is far away from you."

As the Bible says, "God is love."

If God is to be found anywhere, God is to be found in the heart of human beings. And when is God to be found? When the heart is awakened to sympathy, to love, to devotion.