In the matter of devotion to the Supreme Lord, faith is the primary component that must be there. In all the scriptures, blind faith is not respected. But faith that is supported by proper understanding of scriptural knowledge is very essential. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that sraddha, or faith, is the only rule for those who are established in the level of bhakti, or devotion. So, our acaryas have analyzed that the nine stages of bhakti -- from the very beginning stage of sraddha to the highest stage of prema -- are nothing but transformations of different stages of faith.