Vedas assert that acquiring Jnana (wisdom) alone confers the eternally blissful freedom or liberation (moksha), which is the panacea for all ills, troubles and travails. To acquire this Jnana, there are many paths, and the chiefest of them is the path of Bhakti (love directed towards God). That is the reason why even great and noble men such as Vashishtha, Narada, Vyasa, Jayadeva, Gouranga adopted the path of Bhakti. As the oil is the basis to the flame in the lamp, devotion towards God is the basis to the flame of Jnana (wisdom). The heavenly tree of the joy of Jnana thrives on the refreshing waters of Bhakti. Understand this well! It is for this reason that Lord Krishna, who is the personification of love and who is saturated with the quality of mercy, declared in the Gita: Bhaktya mam abhijnanati (I am known by the means of Bhakti). Why was this declaration made? Because, in the path of Bhakti, there are no dangers. Young and old, high and low, man and woman, all are entitled to tread it. – Ch 6, Jnana Vahini.