Four Categories of Devotees

According to the Bhagavad Gita, there are four kinds of devotees of the Supreme: aarta (distressed), artharthi (desirous of prosperity), jijnansu (inquisitive about Self Knowledge), Jnani (one who is situated in Self-knowledge). Of these the Jnani or one who is established in Self-knowledge is the highest.


When times are good, life’s journey is smooth, there may not be enough motivation to turn to spiritual quest. But when one is distressed, one’s life is in danger, one’s survival is in question, one is feeling down, one tends to turn to God, asking for help. In good times, the prayers tend to be weak. But at the time of distress, the prayer tends to be much more intense. The all compassionate Divine residing at the heart of the devotee listens to the prayers and provides protection.

The second category of devotee is desirous of worldly prosperity. He is looking for fulfillment of worldly desires and ambitions. He wants God’s help to make his endeavors successful. The creator of the world, when sincerely prayed by a devotee, fulfills his or her worldly desires so that the devotee can make spiritual progress. Without a certain level of contentment or fulfillment, spiritual progress is not possible. No one should take up on a spiritual path because of frustration with the world but because one has developed an understanding of it. It will not take much to arrive at Tagore’s conclusion that “all the sense lamps that are lit by us shoot into worries”.

The third category of devotee is much wiser compared to the previous two. He has made many observations about life. He sees that all things are transient. He sees the dualistic nature of the world. He sees the impermanence of happiness derived from material pursuits. He has developed some level of dispassion toward the world. He has a philosophical mind. Questions such as “who am I”, “what is all this?”, “what is my purpose”, “why do I perceive myself separate from the rest”, etc. are naturally occurring to him. He wants to find out the Truth. He is engaged in scriptural reading, yoga, contemplation, meditation, etc. to develop better understanding about the reality and Truth. He is a seeker. He is in the quest. He is a practicing spiritualist.

The fourth and the highest type of devotee is the one who is situated in the Self-knowledge or the Truth. The knowledge that “I am That and all this is That and there is nothing else but That” is Self-knowledge. Here “That” refers to which cannot be described due limitations in human expressions but can be pointed to as Sat-Cit-Anand or Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. Just as after one finds out what was thought to be an apparent body of water is actually a mirage, he never falls into the delusion again that there is water. Similarly, one who is situated in the True knowledge, it is impossible for him/her to seriously engage in the world. One who is seated in such knowledge is the best of the devotees. His devotion is unbridled and unshakable. He is beyond any doubt. He is in the state of bliss. This is the only kind of devotee that knows the Truth as Truth is and is not deluded by the worldly objects. According to Lord Krishna, there is nothing holier or more sacred than the knowledge of the Truth or Self-knowledge and there is not a dearer devotee than a jnani or one who is established in Self-knowledge.