Devotion, prayer and being connected

In devotion to God there are three things: Stuti (praise), upasana (being connected) and prathana (prayer).Praising the qualities of God, meaning viewing the wonderful creation of God and being wonderstruck by it. To realize the presence of a creator and say, ‘what a wonderful creation you have created oh Lord!’, and then praising the qualities of the creator that is stuti (praise).

Just because you praise don’t think you are persuading God to grant you some favors. It is to hope that by praising, those qualities would come to you. When you say my grandmother and grandfather were very patient people, won’t you also get that quality of being patient? That is why when we are praising the qualities; those qualities will come to us. This is Stuti (praise).

Upasana means to create a near or a close relationship. To think God is mine.

A close relationship is to be developed with God. To develop a close connection with God, through mother, through father, through Guru, through your favorite Godhead (idol, name, and symbol) is called upasana. Now prathana (prayer); what is prayer? It is a request to God to help you out in something in which you are deficient in. Make up the things in which I am deficient in. Then yes I am thankful to whatever you have given me so far, this is prayer.

~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar