Bhakti Means Engaging Senses in Devotional Service to God
The concept of bhakti is frequently misinterpreted as a passive emotional state or a cessation of activity. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda consistently emphasizes that bhakti is the most dynamic form of existence, defined specifically as the active engagement of the senses in the service of the Supreme Lord. It is not the destruction of the senses, as proposed by some paths of renunciation, but their purification through contact with the Divine. By directing one's sensory activities toward the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, the Master of the senses, the soul is liberated from material contamination and situated in its constitutional position of eternal service.
Service to Hṛṣīkeśa, the Master of the Senses
The technical definition of bhakti is grounded in the understanding that our senses belong to the Supreme Lord, Hṛṣīkeśa. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that true devotion is not sentimentality but the practical utilization of one's faculties—eyes, ears, tongue, and hands—for the pleasure of their original proprietor.
- Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate: (CC Madhya 19.170) bhakti, devotional service, simply means engaging our senses (hrsika) in the service of the master of the senses - hrsikesa.
- Bhakti means engaging all the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Hrsikesa.
- Bhakti means to serve Hrsikesa by the hrsika. Hrsika means senses. Krsna is the master of the senses, and therefore, whatever senses I have got, the master is Krsna, proprietor is Krsna.
- Bhakti means to engage all your senses for the satisfaction of the proprietor of the senses. That is called bhakti.
Purification Through Active Engagement
A common misconception is that spiritual life requires stopping all activities to achieve peace. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that bhakti does not mean negating the senses, which is impossible for a living being, but rather purifying them. When the senses are engaged in spiritual activities, they are cleansed of material designations and restored to their original, liberated nature.
- Bhakti means that you are not required to destroy your senses, but you have to purify your senses. And when you purify your senses, then you can serve Krsna.
- Bhakti means to come to our original consciousness by purifying the senses. How the senses can be purified? This bhakti-yoga process.
- Bhakti means purificatory process. We are impure. Because we are impure, therefore we are undergoing so many tribulations, so many miserable condition of life.
- Bhakti means the process of purifying the senses. That's all. And as soon as your senses are purified, transcendentalized, you see God face to face.
Replacing Material Desire with Spiritual Service
The distinction between material life and spiritual life lies in the intent behind the action. Karma involves working for one's own sense gratification, while bhakti involves working exclusively for Kṛṣṇa's pleasure. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that as one advances in this service, the taste for material enjoyment naturally ceases, being replaced by a higher, spiritual taste.
- Actual bhakti means minus all material desires.
- Advancement of civilization means advancement of sense gratification. That's all. So bhakti means just the opposite. So, so long we are, I mean to say, very much interested in sense gratification, there is no question of bhakti.
- Karma means to fulfill my desires, and bhakti means to fulfill Krsna's desires. That is the difference. Now you make your choice, whether you want to make your desires fulfilled or if you want to make Krsna's desire fulfilled.
- Bhakti means one who advances in bhakti, he becomes..., he has no more any taste for material enjoyment. The more one increases in bhakti cult, he decreases his tendency for material enjoyment. That is the test.
Personal Reciprocation of Love
Ultimately, bhakti is a personal transaction between the devotee and the Lord. It is not an impersonal realization or a mechanical ritual, but an exchange of love called prīti. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that for bhakti to exist, there must be two distinct persons: the server (bhakta) and the served (Bhagavān).
- Bhakti can be applied only to Bhagavan. Bhakti means the business between Bhagavan and bhakta. That is bhakti. If there is no Bhagavan then where is bhakti? And where is bhakta? If Bhagavan is zero, then where is bhakti? Bhakti means the transaction between Bhagavan and bhakta.
- Bhakti is not official transaction. Bhakti means priti, real love. When I actually love Krsna, that is called priti.
- Bhakti means three things: bhakta, Bhagavan, and the service. That is bhakti. They're individual.
- Bhakti means to satisfy Krsna. Bhakti cannot be applied to anyone else. If somebody says that "I am a great devotee of Kali, goddess Kali," that is not bhakti; that is business. Because any demigod you worship, there is some purpose behind.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda defines bhakti not as a theoretical philosophy but as a practical science of action. It is the process of transferring our attachment from matter to spirit by engaging the senses in the service of their true owner, Kṛṣṇa. Through this engagement, the senses are purified, material desires are vanquished, and the soul is re-established in its eternal relationship of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhakti is, therefore, the seamless union of action and devotion, where every sensory activity becomes an offering of love to the Divine.
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