Acharya Prashant clarifies that true devotion is not about beliefs, rituals, or external practices like fasting and visiting temples. He explains that devotion begins with self-awareness—recognizing one's own fallen state and the helplessness of being trapped in worldly bondages. It is a deep yearning for liberation that arises when one realizes their current reality is unacceptable. The speaker emphasizes that common practices, such as offering milk or water to idols, are often just personal mental constructs and traditions that lack the core elements of devotion: knowledge and agony. Knowledge refers to understanding one's true state, while agony is the refusal to accept that state and the intense desire to merge with one's pure, original nature, which is called God.