The seeds of Bhakthi which are found scattered in the Vedasamhithas, sprout in the Upanishads, and begin to grow with many a blossom-full branch in the Puranas.

Well, many are yet confused when it comes to deciding what exactly is Bhakthi, what is the nature of the attitude called Bhakthi! It is impossible for any one to demarcate what exactly is Bhakthi and what is not. Bhakthi has infinite facets. Only pure, tender, tolerant, calm and loving souls, the very cream of Sadhus, the Hamsas sporting ever in the company of kindred Bhakthas, can understand its purity and depth. Others will find it as difficult to discover Bhakthi in a person, as discovering softness in rock or coldness in fire or sweetness in neem. The Bhaktha holds the Lord dearer to him than life; and the Lord too is attached to him in equal measure. Some great men even declare that the Bhaktha is superior to Bhagavan; the ryot loves the clouds more than the ocean though the clouds only bring the ocean waters to their fields. The ocean does not come directly over their crops. This is how Tulsi Das describes the relationship between the Bhaktha and Bhagavan. The clouds bring the mercy, the love, the grandeur of the ocean and the fragrance of the atmosphere and shower them over the entire land; so too, the Bhakthas carry these great traits wherever they go. Just as gold is dug out of mines, these virtues also are part of the Divinity in man.

The sage Durvasa arrived one day in the court of Ambarisha, to test the efficacy of Bhakthi. For this purpose, he created out of his anger, Krithya, for his destruction. But the Lord's Chakra, which demolishes the fear in the hearts of devotees, destroyed Krithya and started pursuing Durvasa to the ends of the earth. He fled over hill and dale, lake and stream, and leaped across the seven seas; he tried to take asylum in the heavens; but, the foe of a Bhaktha could get asylum nowhere. At last, he fell at the feet of Narayana in Vaikhunta, an exhausted penitent; the Lord, however, declared that He was always on the side of His Bhaktha, and that He will never give up the devotee who relies on Him as his only refuge. "I follow the Bhaktha as the calf follows the cow, for he gives up, for Me, all that is considered desirable by the worldly-minded."

Once, Krishna told Uddhava thus: "Tapas, Jnana, Vairagya, Yoga, Dharma, Vratha, Pilgrimage, the merit acquired by these is acquired by My Bhakthas with even greater ease". Reflect how great is true devotion! By its means, a Chandala can excel even a Brahmin! A Bhakthiless Brahmin is inferior to a Chandala endowed with Bhakthi. This is elaborated in the Puranas. That which is described in the Vedas as simply, "Nethi Nethi, Not this, Not this," that which is declared as "Beyond the reach of words, far out of the grasp of the Mind," that which is un-reachable by the senses, the mind or the intellect, such an Entity is capable of being felt and experienced by those immersed in Dhyana. Bhakthi brings it into the Consciousness easily, it fills the devotee with bliss.