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That the author of the Gudhartha-dipika is interested in bhakti is obvious from the outset. In the introduction, he proclaims that devotion is essential at every stage of spiritual development, since it removes the obstacles that 18 stand in the way of progress. Elsewhere he says that, while bhakti is the means to success in the paths of both knowledge and action, it is at the same time the end of both, 19 being Krsna's highest teaching. 20 We have already noted that the Gudhartha-dipika accepts the possibility of devotion in the state of jIvanmukti. Madhusudana asserts this belief emphatically at several points in the work, most notably in verses 37-39 of the introduction. In that passage we again encounter Bhagavata-purana 1.7.10 and Bhagavad Gita 7.17:

333 In the state of liberation-in-life there is no idea that devotion has any further end [i.e., it is experienced as an end-in-itself]. Worship of Hari is natural to such persons, like the virtues such as lack of hatred, and so on, [enumerated at Bhagavad Gita 12.13-20]. "Sages who delight in the Self, who are free of the knots [of ignorance], practice selfless devotion to the Wide-strider [Visnu-Krsnal, such are the qualities of Hari!" [Bhagavata-purana 1.7.10] "Of these, the person of knowledge (jnanin), constantly disciplined, who has single-minded devotion, is the best" [Bhagavad Gita 7.17]. According to such declarations, he is the foremost of those who are devoted with ecstatic love. 22 At several points in the course of the Gudhartha-dipika, the author refers to the example of devotees such as Sridhaman, Ajamila, Pralada, Dhruva, Ambarisa, and the gopis, all of whom are prominent in the Bhagavata-purana but rarely mentioned in the writings of other Advaitins. For a more detailed explanation of the experience of these individuals, Madhusudana refers his readers to the discussion of devotional theory in the Bhakti-rasayana 23 The text of the Gudhartha-dipika is embellished with devotional verses found, for the most part, at the beginning and end of each chapter. Some of these have already been quoted; other choice examples include: Some persons who are pure in body and mind strive [for liberation] by restraining their senses, abandoning worldly enjoyments, and resorting to yoga. But I have become liberated [simply byl tasting the essence of the ambrosia which is the endless and limitless glory of 24 Narayana. I adore that darling son of Nanda, the supreme bliss itself, who is worshiped by all the yogins and without devotion to whom there can be no liberation.

334 These should suffice to show that the devotional tone of the work is at least comparable to that of the Bhakti-rasayana