Chapter 26 contrasts different forms of worship. What does it teach about internal devotion versus external rituals?

Chapter 26 champions the practice of internal worship, presenting it as superior to external offerings. The author explains that a devotee's true worship involves making Baba's constant company their scriptures, listening to His life story their sacred reading, and chanting His name their daily meditation. The chapter details a beautiful internal ritual: washing Baba's feet with tears of joy, applying the 'sandalwood paste of pure love,' clothing Him with 'true faith,' and offering the 'eight-petaled lotus of the eight-fold sattvic emotions.' This form of worship, focused on pure feeling and a focused mind, is described in Chapter 26 as the way to truly please the Guru and achieve the real fruit of life, surpassing any physical or external ceremony.