Bhakti - Devotional Service to God as the Supreme Path
Bhakti, or devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the central pillar of the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda and the Vedic scriptures. It is not merely a religious sentiment or a ritualistic practice, but the eternal, scientific engagement of the soul in its relationship with the Supreme Lord. Through the purification of the senses and the cultivation of a service attitude, the living entity transcends the temporary designations of the material world and attains the highest platform of spiritual realization, where one can directly understand and associate with Kṛṣṇa.
Definition and Nature of Pure Devotion
Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that bhakti is a state of active engagement, not inertia. It is defined as the employment of one's senses in the satisfaction of the Master of the senses, Hṛṣīkeśa. This process requires the soul to become free from all material designations and motivations, serving the Lord favorably and without desire for personal gain or mental speculation.
- Bhakti does not mean sentimental fanaticism. That is not bhakti. Bhakti means to engage all your senses for the satisfaction of the proprietor of the senses. That is called bhakti.
- Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate: (CC Madhya 19.170) when by our senses (hrsikena) we serve Hrsikesa, the real master of the senses, that service is called bhakti. This is a very simple definition of bhakti.
- Bhakti is activity. Just like personally, up to seventy years, I was practically doing nothing. But at the age of seventy years, by the grace of God, Krsna, there was inspiration; I went to Western country - not to sit down there silently.
- Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects.
Superiority Over Karma, Jñāna, and Yoga
The Vedic scriptures describe various paths for spiritual advancement, including karma (fruitive work), jñāna (knowledge), and yoga (mystic power). However, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that bhakti is distinct from and superior to all these methods. While other processes are material or mixed, devotional service is purely spiritual and independent; it does not require the aid of other paths, yet it is the ultimate goal toward which all other yogas must eventually lead.
- Karma, jnana, yoga and bhakti. There are four primary principles for spiritual realization. So out of the four, karma, jnana and yoga, they are all material, but bhakti is not material. That is spiritual.
- If you do not come to the bhakti platform, then there is no question of liberation. That is not possible. You can get better position by karma, jnana, yoga.
- Bhakti, therefore, is far better then mukti or the impersonalist position.
- Factually the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of all self-realization. Consequently, the goal of all auspicious activities - karma, jnana, yoga and bhakti - is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Scientific Process of Cultivating Devotion
Devotional service is described as a science, not a sentiment. Śrīla Prabhupāda utilizes the metaphor of a creeper (the bhakti-latā) to explain the growth of devotion. This creeper grows from a seed received from the spiritual master and must be watered by the processes of hearing and chanting. A devotee must be vigilant to protect this creeper from "weeds"—unwanted habits and desires—that can stifle its growth as it reaches toward the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
- Bhakti is not a sentiment but a practical science. One may engage in many activities, but in all cases, one's mind must be fully absorbed in Krsna.
- Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as a gardener, poured water on the root of the bhakti tree and thus nourished all its trunks and branches.
- Some unnecessary creepers growing with the bhakti creeper are the creepers of behavior unacceptable for those trying to attain perfection, diplomatic behavior, animal-killing, mundane profiteering, mundane adoration and mundane importance.
- In the discharge of devotional service, an offense to the feet of a pure devotee can create havoc. Thus one has to defend the plant of bhakti by tending it properly and taking care not to commit offenses. If one is cautious, the plant can properly thrive.
Only Way to Understand God
A crucial point in Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings is that the Supreme Lord reserves the right to be known only by His devotees. Academic scholarship, mental speculation, and severe austerities are insufficient to reveal the Personality of Godhead. It is only through the process of bhakti, which is characterized by love and submission, that Kṛṣṇa reveals Himself to the devotee.
- If you want to know Krsna, then bhakti. Bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah (BG 18.55). This is the process.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be understood by any means except bhakti. The Lord confirms this in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 11.14.21). Bhaktyaham ekaya grahyah: "only by executing devotional service can one appreciate Me.
- Actually Krsna is Krsna, and at the same time He is everything. We can understand this by bhakti, but not by any other process. When a bhakta sees a tree, he sees Krsna. As explained in Caitanya-caritamrta - CC Madhya 8.274.
- If we are situated in the transcendental position (bhakti), we can understand Krsna, Krsna cannot be understood by mental speculation; otherwise He would have said that He could be understood by jnana, karma or yoga.
Conclusion
In summary, bhakti is the supreme path of spiritual realization because it re-establishes the living entity in their original, constitutional position as an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Unlike other paths that may be motivated by the desire for material gain or liberation, pure devotional service is unmotivated and uninterrupted. It is a scientific process of purifying the senses and engaging them in the service of the Lord, and it is the only means by which one can factually understand and reach the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Bhakti - Devotional Service to God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.