Those who are voluntarily accepting the laws of God and giving service to the Supreme Lord, they are called devotees

Expressions researched:
"those who are voluntarily accepting the laws of God and giving service to the Supreme Lord, they are called devotees"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

The free citizens means who are voluntarily abiding by the laws of the state. Similarly, any living entity is under the laws of God. There is no doubt about it. But those who are voluntarily accepting the laws of God and giving service to the Supreme Lord, they are called devotees. And those who have revolted, and being forced by māyā to abide by the laws of God, they are called nondevotees.

690917 - Lecture SB 05.05.02 - London:

Yāvad-arthāś ca loke, just to deal with other persons as much as necessary, not more than that. But to keep friendship with devotees, that is necessary. Not that I shall not intimately mix, intermingle with the devotees. That is required.

A devotee has got four business: īśvare prīti, love for God, Kṛṣṇa; friendship with devotees; and kindness to the neophytes; and rejection to the non-devotees. These four principles. A devotee's only lovable object is Kṛṣṇa. His only friend is devotee, another devotee.

īśvare tad-adhīneṣu

bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca

prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā

yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ

(SB 11.2.46)

Iśvare means kṛṣṇa-prema, love, to love Kṛṣṇa. Maitrī means friendship. Maitrī with whom? Tad-adhīneṣu, those who are under the control of Kṛṣṇa. Everyone is under the control of Kṛṣṇa by this way or that way, but those who are given to Kṛṣṇa voluntarily, surrendered soul, I am speaking of them. Tad-adhīneṣu.

Everyone is . . . just like any citizen in the state are under the control of the state, rules and regulation. But some of them, they say, "I don't care for the government." So they are forced to obey the government laws in the prison house. And the free citizens means who are voluntarily abiding by the laws of the state. Similarly, any living entity is under the laws of God. There is no doubt about it. But those who are voluntarily accepting the laws of God and giving service to the Supreme Lord, they are called devotees. And those who have revolted, and being forced by māyā to abide by the laws of God, they are called non-devotees. This is the difference between devotees and non-devotees.

But both the devotees and non-devotees, they must obey the laws of Kṛṣṇa. There is no exception. There is no exception. This is māyā. He is being forced, the non-devotee is being forced to act. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). He's under the spell of the modes of material nature, and he's being forced to act under the spell of material nature, but he is thinking, "I am free. I don't care for God." This is called māyā. He is being kicked by māyā, but he'll not agree to abide by the orders of Kṛṣṇa. He'll agree to be kicked by māyā. That is his business. That he will agree: "Yes, let me be kicked by māyā."

So nobody is free. By constitutional position nobody is free from the laws of God. But those who are voluntarily accepting, they are devotees. And those who are not accepting, falsely declaring themselves independent, they are non-devotees. This is the difference.