If devotion is so important, why does the text say that worship without Brahman-knowledge is meaningless?

This highlights a nuanced hierarchy in spiritual practice as described in Chapter 50. While devotion is the indispensable method for purifying the mind, the ultimate goal is Brahman-knowledge. The text clarifies that while vows are purifying, 'knowledge is more purifying than the purifiers.' Therefore, ritualistic practices like 'bhajan and worship are meaningless' if they do not lead to this ultimate knowledge. Devotion is the crucial means to an end, but the end itself is the attainment of knowledge of one's true form, which is the final, liberating experience, making the preparatory acts meaningful in retrospect.