- of those who are the lowest of the low, women are lower still; of women again I am the most dull-headed, O destroyer of sin!’ ‘Listen, lady, to my words,’ said Rama; ‘I recognize no relationship except that of faith.

Despite caste, kinship, lineage, piety, reputation, wealth, power, connections, accomplishments and ability, a man without faith is of no more account than a cloud without water.

Now I tell you the nine types (or stages) of devotion; listen attentively and lay them up in your mind. The first in order is fellowship with the saints; and the second, fondness for the legends relating to me.

The third is selfless service to the lotus feet of the guru; the fourth consists in the hymning of all my virtues with a guileless heart.

The repetition of my mystic Name with steadfast faith constitutes the fifth form of adoration revealed in the Vedas; the sixth consists in the practice of self-governance and virtue and detachment from manifold activities, with ceaseless pursuit of the course of conduct prescribed for the good.

He who practises the seventh type sees the entire world equally instinct with me and regards the saints as greater even than myself. He who cultivates the eighth type is content with whatever he has and never dreams of spying out faults in others.

The ninth form of devotion demands that one should be simple and undesigning in one’s dealings with all and should in his heart cherish implicit faith in me without either exultation or depression. Whoever practises any of these – man or woman, animate or inanimate-