Love is essential for propitiating Divinity. People may argue that rituals performed meticulously are effective for the same purpose. But the scriptures themselves announce that ritual worship and rites can at best contribute only to the purification of one’s mind and heart. Or, as the promise reads, the rites might raise the person to Heaven. But, one can be there, only as long as his deposit of merit lasts. He has to come back to earth, as soon as the quantity is exhausted by use (ksine punye martya-lokam visanti). Love is the most direct means of attaining God. One must love all without distinction, for the Lord resides in every one and He is the very embodiment of Love. There are three obstacles which stand in the way of the full free flow of Love from man to God. They are man’s inveterate foes – desire, anger and greed. Fortunately ancients in India have devised three holy texts which, when assimilated, can equip man to confront and conquer these wily enemies. They are the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata. – Divine Discourse, Feb 26, 1987