On Raman Maharshi and Sri Ramkrishna: Path of realization vs Path of devotion

The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

“What is samadhi?”

“It is the complete merging of the mind in God-Consciousness. The jnani experiences jada samadhi, in which no trace of ‘I’ is left. The samadhi attained through the path of bhakti is called ‘Chaitanya samadhi’.”

“In this samadhi, there remains a consciousness of ‘I’ — the ‘I’ of the servant-and-Master relationship, of the lover-and-Beloved relationship, of the enjoyer-and-Food relationship.”

“God is the Master; the devotee is the servant. God is the Beloved; the devotee is the lover. God is the Food, and the devotee is the enjoyer. ‘I don’t want to be sugar. I want to eat it.”

~ Sri Ramkrishna Paramhans

“It is enough that one surrenders oneself. Surrender…