You all know the story in Bhagavatam, when Lord Krishna was accused of stealing the Syamantakamani, a very rare gem from the court of King Satrajit.
Upasana means ‘to sit near’. There has to be some object near which one can sit.
Only a few selected persons among them can be called as devotees.
In the first few skandas of Bhagavatamit the answer to your question is explained.
Do service. To you, seva is your lifeline. Did books protect you when you were depressed and sick?
You decide whether you want worldly life or spiritual life. You should try the worldly life approach for some time and then gradually switch to spiritual life.
Among the many misnomers entertained during foreign rule, the most important one was to think that spirituality consists of sitting in a forest, or sitting idle and being incapable of accomplishing anything.
Vedanta is an objective method of reasoning, eliminating and subscribing. In terms of Vedanta, God is not Krishna, or Jesus or Allah.
It is very difficult for me to explain the meaning of liberation to a layman.