Ammachi says:

"Crying to God for five minutes is equal to one hour of meditation. If tears are not coming by themselves, try to cry by thinking, "Why am I not able to cry?" Try to develop devotion. That is the easiest way."

Ammachi - Awaken Children, vol. 2

Ammachi says:

"The state that we attain by calling and crying to God is equal to the bliss that the yogi experiences in samadhi."
Ammachi - Awaken Children, vol. 3

In the Bhagavad Gita we read:

ARJUNA: Those who in oneness worship thee as God immanent in all: and those who worship the Transcendent, the Imperishable - Of these, who are the best Yogis?

LORD KRISHNA: Those who set their hearts on me and ever in love worship me, and who have unshakable faith, these I hold as the best Yogis.

But those who worship the Imperishable, the Infinite, the Transcendent unmanifested; the Omnipresent, the Beyond all thought, the Immutable, the Neverchanging, the Ever One; who have all the powers of their soul in harmony, and the same loving mind for all; who find joy in the good of all beings - they reach in truth my very self.
Yet greater is the toil of those whose minds are set on the Transcendent, for the path of the Transcendent is hard for mortals to attain. But they for whom I am the End Supreme, who surrender all their works to me, and who with pure love meditate on me and adore me - these I very soon deliver from the ocean of death and life-in-death, because they have set their heart on me.

The Bhagavad Gita
translated by Juan Mascaro

Jesus said:

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."

Jesus - Mark 12:30, KJV

Sri Ramakrishna said:

"If a man acquires the firm knowledge that Brahman (absolute formless existence) alone is real and the world illusory, then his mind merges in samadhi (ecstasy, trance, communion with God). But in the Kaliyuga (the present age of materialism) the life of a man depends entirely on food. How can he have the consciousness that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory? In the Kaliyuga it is difficult to have the feeling, 'I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the twenty-four cosmic principles; I am beyond pleasure and pain, I am above disease and grief, old age and death.' However you may reason and argue, the feeling that the body is identical with the soul will somehow crop up from an unexpected quarter. You may cut a peepal-tree to the ground and think it is dead to its very root, but the next morning you will find a new sprout shooting up from the dead stump. One cannot get rid of this identification with the body; therefore the path of bhakti (devotion) is best for the people of the Kaliyuga. It is an easy path."

Ramakrishna - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Translated by Swami Nikhilananda

For those of us who have grown up in a Western world that emphasizes intellectual prowess, the mention of devotion draws blank stares. It is not something we immediately relate to or understand. It is just a word. Few of us have ever seen, much less experienced, pure selfless love of any kind. We have read about Mother Theresa and other saints but their point of view seems distant, unobtainable and inaccessible as a way of life for ourselves.

Devotion offers very little for the intellect as it arises from the world of feeling - the world of the heart - and so it seems difficult to grasp at first. For the same reason, devotion is difficult to talk about or explain. With devotion there are no intricate cosmologies, no levels of awareness to contemplate, no puzzles to solve, there is no consideration for the past and the future and there is nothing to gain for oneself. It is hard to grasp because there is nothing for the intellect to hold in its hand.

The path of devotion is simply love. For those of us who have become more cerebral in orientation, the mind may recoil in horror and fear at the prospect of devotion and cry out with a tone of dismay and desperation, "Is that all there is? Is love it?!" So an effort must be made to revitalize and awaken our lost legacy of loving and feeling.

First, one must select a form of God that feels comfortable. Later, we will realize that it was that form which chose us. The Divine Mother is obviously well suited for this because She taps primal feelings and experiences that are embedded in our psyche from our own birth mother. When we were hungry our mother fed us. She cuddled us when we cried. She loved us under any circumstance and no matter what mischief we invoked. She carried us in the warmth and security of her womb until we were ready to touch the light of day. Thus it is easy to feel that a Divine Mother is immanent and accessible.

The Divine Mother is the primal devotee and so She is also the ultimate teacher of devotion. Out of sheer devotion She has created all of the myriads of universes - every blade of grass, rivers, moons, people, plants, gems, wind and so on - as an adornment for the Absolute. Creation is Her poetry of love, Her painting of self-realization, Her dance of ecstasy - all of it fueled by the blazing light of Her unimaginably intense devotion. All of it is offered to Her beloved who is pure formless being. Can we comprehend how intense is Her devotion that it would give rise to the vastness of all of this! She will teach us the path of devotion so that we too may realize the Absolute. Perhaps this is Her ultimate gift. Or, maybe She is just getting warmed up.

Ammachi says:

"Cry and pray to God. Sing His glories. Don't overstrain yourself to try to sit in lotus posture or hold your breath to mediate on His form. Meditation is remembrance of God, constant and loving remembrance. Consider Him as your beloved or just consider yourself as His child. Or consider Him as your father or mother. Simply try to think of Him just as we think of our father or mother or beloved. How does a lover remember his beloved? Certainly not by sitting in lotus posture. The remembrance simply happens in him while he is lying down, walking or sitting on the banks of a river, or it may happen while he is at work. It does not matter where he is or what he is doing. Likewise, remember your beloved deity whenever you can, no matter where you are or what you are doing.

Contemplate Him as your creator, protector and the final abode to where you will return. Try to feel Him with your heart; try to feel His presence, grace, compassion and love. Open your heart and pray to Him, 'O Lord, my creator, protector, and final resting place, guide me to Your light and love. Fill my heart with Your presence. I've been told that I am Your child, but I am totally ignorant of my existence in You. My most beloved Lord, I do not know how to worship You, or how to please You or meditate on Your form. I have not studied the scriptures: I know not how to glorify You. O Compassionate One, show me the right path so that I can return to my real abode which is nothing but You.'

Children, pray and shed tears as you think of Him. That is the greatest sadhana (spiritual practice). No other sadhana will give you the bliss of divine love as effectively as sincere prayer. You don't have to undergo any academic training to love God. You don't have to be a scholar or a philosopher to worship Him or to call out to Him. Just call out, but let the call come from your heart. Just as a child cries out for food or to be fondled or cuddled by his mother, call out to Him with the same intensity and innocence. Cry and pray to Him. He must reveal Himself. He cannot sit silent and unmoved when somebody calls Him like that.

Children, innocent prayer, calling out to the Lord, is a very powerful way to please the Lord. You don't need to be a scholar to do that. Even for an unschooled layman or an illiterate forest dweller, the Lord's grace can be attained if one is really determined to achieve the goal."

Ammachi - Awaken Children, vol. 5

Ammachi says:

"Question: How should one meditate upon Bhagavan's (the Lord's) form:

Ammachi: You should imagine that you are offering flowers at His Feet. When the form fades away, you should imagine that you are mentally embracing the Feet saying, "Father, why are You going away leaving me alone?" Mentally write 'OM' at His Feet. Otherwise, repeat your mantra and imagine binding the Beloved Deity from toe to head with the rope of japa (repeating the divine name or mantra). Then, imagine that you are

undoing this rope. this should be repeated whenever the form fades away. Imagining that the Beloved Deity is standing in front of you, try so see each and every part of the Lord's body. Imagine that you are bathing Him with different things like rose water, coconut water, milk, yogurt, flowers and sacred ash. Adorn His head with a golden crown and put garlands on His neck. Mentally decorate Him with bangles and anklets. Just as the image is decorated in temples, we should adorn our own Beloved Deity. If your Beloved Deity is Devi (the Divine Mother), you should adorn Her with a crown, nose ring, necklaces and other ornaments. She should be dressed in silk clothes. If you do this, the Beloved Deity's form will not escape from your mind. The mind will not get a chance to think about other things. All other thoughts will be restrained. Thus it will become possible to consistently meditate on the Lord's form."

Ammachi - Awaken Children, vol. 2