The Vedas and Hindu philosophy with their path of knowledge [jñãna Yoga] has been very difficult to understand and follow for the illiterate mass. The Devotional path of surrender [Bhakti Yoga], with prayers and music in local languages along with the stories of Ithihãsãs and Puranãs [ancient history? or Mythology?] came to the rescue to explain the practice to the common devotees. Here the Supreme God takes the forms and interact with the devotees to protect the righteous to be happy, to destroy the anger, confusion and sorrow and to establish the tranquility and peace of mind in each individual as He sets the world right. Here the expression of one's attachment and surrender of the individual soul with ignorance [jiva] to Paramãtma is established through "Bhãvas" creating a strong feeling of identity of the self with the Divine.

The great Yogis and Jñãnis with their Divine knowledge and total surrender are able to identify self with the Supreme, the Formless God. Some devotee may consider himself or herself as a child attached to God as a Mother with pure love. This is the Sakthi form of worship. The Supreme God appears as a Master to some devotees who serves God as a humble Servant in Dãsya bhava. The same Divine appears as a dear friend and companion to one in Sakhya bhava. The devotee may consider God as a Child and worship with all devotion and love like a mother in Vãtsalya bhava. In other instances of intense devotion, the devotee considers the self [both men and women] as a young girl who is in Divine love with the Supreme as she is with the man she loves, with a playmate or with her husband as in Mãdhurya bhava and Kãnta bhava.

In all these, total surrender with all love and affection without the sensuality is expressed. It is pure friendship without degenerating into familiarity. Here the supreme Lord takes all these manifestations, as is His choice sport, to bless the devotees. The Divine Grace will elevate the individual soul and wash off the effects of karma as the Jiva discards all the Upãdhis of ignorance covering them. These are explained in the "stories" of Ithihãsãs and Purãnas. Whether all these stories appear as factual narration of histories of remote past or a pure fictional stories of one's imagination, it gives us the message to get a better understanding of the faith and its principles in simple words with anecdotes as philosophy explained through the manifestations.