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Still consider a few such illustrations. Maitreyi, one of the foremost Bhakthas among women, compared the mind of a Bhaktha to a still lake, that is to say, all agitation is stopped, the mind becomes Jada, inactive, ineffective so to say, worn out into nothing. Kapilamaharshi, speaking of the same Bhakthi, compares it to a flowing stream. Streams and rivers like Ganga and Godavari, flow uninterruptedly without rest or any other thought towards the sea; so too from the very moment of birth, the Bhaktha yearns to reach the sea of the grace of the Lord. Bhakthi is that unbroken relationship. Whatever the task on hand, whichever road is trod, the mind dwells on the goal alone, the goal of attaining the Lord. Again in the Devibhagavatham, it is said that Bhakthi is as the flow of oil, from one vessel to another, thailadharavath. This is more or less like the image of the river. Sankara characterises Bhakthi differently, in the Sivanandalahari. Like the piece of iron that is drawn towards the magnet, the Jivi is drawn towards the Lord and it attaches itself firmly to the Lord. All modifications of the mind get merged in the Feet of the Lord. Ramanuja explained that Bhakthi as well as Dhyana done through Prema are essentially the same. Though each interprets it differently, all interpretations are correct, for they are all based on actual experience, which cannot be negated. These statements do not exhaust the types; there are many more, for Bhakthi is of thousand forms; it flows along a thousand streams, to reach the ocean of the Lord's Grace. The goal of all the forms is the merger of Jiva and Brahma, an absorption which is an experience.

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