Devotion: the divine path to All Knowledge

by Karen

Knowledge supreme

Devotion complete culminates in knowledge supreme.

Ramana Maharshi

Devotion is seated in the heart. This may seem a strange notion, since on the surface devotion seems to describe an act of attention, focus and will. From past-participle stem of the Latin devovere which means to “dedicate by a vow, sacrifice oneself, promise solemnly,” it is intentional and decisive. Devotion involves the intellect. It begins as a choice. But, quite the opposite of having to hold something by our will alone, it is a choice of letting go, to surrender control. It is a release and relaxation of the will into a more natural posture of alignment.

The literal translation of the Latin devovere is de– for “down, away” with -vovere for “to vow,.” Vovere is from the Sanskrit vaghat  “one who offers a sacrifice.” Devotion is a sacrifice of the self, really the limited understanding of self, the egoic self, to something higher.

True strength lies in submission which permits one to dedicate his life, through devotion, to something beyond himself.

Henry Miller

I am reminded of the story of the sacrifice of Odin All Father to himself. Since he was the highest god in the Norse pantheon, he could only offer himself to himself. Like all of the ancient Norse mythology, this is at first amusing, but really is so deeply profound. For who else should we sacrifice ourselves to? In this tale, Odin is searching for all knowledge. He hangs himself upside down by one foot from a branch of the great tree of life, Yggdrasil. He stays there just hanging until he obtains knowledge. Finally, after quite a long time, he sees twigs on the ground and he finds that he can read meaning in the shape and placement of the twigs, the first runes. With the knowledge to graphically and abstractly represent sound, he felt he could cut himself down. Later, in another story, he sacrifices his eye for knowledge.

In sacrificing ourselves, our limited mind and understanding, we give in to the calling of the heart. Sacrifice, surrender and devotion to God is often depicted by the feminine aspect in the Hindu concept of Divine consort. This should not be in any way confused with being born physically female or a woman’s role in marriage or society as subservient. The divine feminine lives within everyone, regardless of gender. In the Hindu pantheon, gods do not stand alone, but exist in pairs. Each pair is an incarnation of the primordial couple, Shiva (male) and Shakti (female). I tell their story in Devotion is Shiva and Shakti. The Divine couple relationship explains the quality of devotion that is heart-centered, ecstatic love.

When we experience the feelings and emotions associated with love, or falling in love with another, the ardor, the single-mindedness, the obsession, the elation and giddiness, we are experiencing a small contracted form of Divine love, a taste of Divine union. The phrase “fall in love” is itself a description of devotion. Remember devovere, where the prefix de- means down, quite similar to “fall.” Sita, often viewed as the pivotal character in the Ramayana, an epic from ancient India, through the story of earthly love represents godly devotion.

Calling on you to give up control of the outer world and gladly accept control of your inner relationship with God, devotion is essential for fully realizing your soul’s calling.

Debbie Ford

In addition to the ability to fall in love, Mother Nature also willingly provides more roadmaps to supreme knowledge. Divine devotion is modeled for us in the animal world, in one of our closest animal companions, dogs.

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.

Unknown

Humans are so intimate with dogs and for so much of our prehistory that it is postulated that we learned culture and communication from dogs. There is evidence of our relationship as far back as 26,000 BCE from Chauvet Cave in southern France where still preserved in the Earth are footprints of a young child walking beside a canine. Dog burials were also found in the Goyet Caves of Belgium dating to 36,500 years ago. It really is question of who domesticated whom. Shouldn’t we then adopt their nature of devotion, as we have also learned from them all else about how to live as earthly beings?

Through devotion, your family cares become more peaceful, mutual love between husband and wife becomes more sincere, the service we owe to the prince more faithful, and our work, no matter what it is, becomes more pleasant and agreeable.

Saint Francis de Sales

Children are born knowing devotion as survival completely depends upon surrender to the circumstances we are born into, the family and home. As they age, and beginning at about the age of 9, children begin to question this devotion to family, they begin to see the cracks in their kingdom. Instilling a relationship with a higher self early on, a power greater than their parents and a kingdom far greater, ensures a strong spiritual foundation and ultimately a life of satisfaction and well-being. This lesson is full of activities to support that relationship. More activities can be found in the Related Posts section at the end.

At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

Matthew 11:25

Affirmation: I am devoted to love and I lay down anything that is not love

Chakra engaged: Heart

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Activity 1: Tell a story of great devotion

The lion’s whisker is a folk tale from Ethiopia. It tells of a mother’s incredible devotion to win the approval of her step-son. I have told this story often to instill devotion and tenacity for a task which at first glance seems insurmountable.