How does devotion lead to Self-realization?
While devotion is the means with which Self-realization can be attained, it is also the result of Self-realization. A spiritual aspirant starts with the worship of a particular God and then gradually begins to experience that God is everywhere. As he progresses, his love which is restricted to the object of worship, becomes not only purer but also boundless in scope. It is extended to everything animate as well as inanimate and the final stage of oneness with God is attained. This oneness with God is oneness with the all-pervading Self. In other words, it is Self-realization.
