bhakti

My understanding of bhakti, thus far, is that it is the practice of love and devotion, specifically with regards to one's relationship to the divine, however the divine is conceived. In this practice, the love and devotion are valued above ritual and/or pure knowledge, either of which can be approached in a more clinical manner, and with bhakti the heart must be authentically engaged. The object of the devotion is usually god expressed in a form, however, what god means seems more open than what I have typically been exposed to. Still, there are some paths that devote themselves to serving god, and others that believe god is realized within us, in which case a life of service to god results in a merging with the divine, rather than getting to hang out at god's party. In either case, it is a participatory relationship with the divine.