Let Me Approach You Not as a Puzzle to Be Solved but as a Person to Be Loved

tadīyeśita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvam

He showed the wise who knew his power,
That love alone wins his heart’s favor.
The Lord of all, by none subdued,
By devotees’ love his heart was wooed.

(Damodarashtakam — Verse 3, Line 3)

My dear Lord, though you are impartial and equal to all, you reciprocate personally according to what I offer and how I approach you.

If I approach you merely with my intellect, treating you as a puzzle to be solved, then that’s what you remain—an intellectual curiosity, perhaps even an intellectual perplexity. For you, O Almighty, can never be fully grasped by any intellect, however mighty.

Bless me, O supreme lover, to approach you as a person to be loved. Let me offer my whole heart to you in love, and in service of that love, let me use my head: not to figure you out, but to fit myself into your plan for me. May my head seek to understand how you love me, how deeply you love me, and how I can love you in return—and how incomparably and irresistibly wonderful a life of love with you truly is.

Bless me, O merciful Lord, with the revelation that moves me to offer my heart to you. May such an offering please you, that you may conquer my heart and reign upon its throne—now and forever.