The performance of ritualistic ceremonies, according to Vedic injunction, may—just like here they are doing—they may get promotion to the heavenly planet. That much. They are not devotees. They are not eligible for entering into the kingdom of God. Therefore Nārada says: "What is the benefit?" Suppose if one performs a ritualistic ceremony and is elevated to the heavenly planet, Satyaloka, Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka . . . there are so many higher planets, up to Brahmaloka. But Kṛṣṇa says, ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokān punar āvartino (BG 8.16). He has to come back again.
But once you understand Kṛṣṇa in fact—janma karma me divyam (BG 4.9)—once you remember Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, Kṛṣṇa's form, in pure devotion, he immediately becomes liberated. The karma-kāṇḍīya, they cannot understand this. Therefore pure devotion should be freed from the contamination of karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa, sakali viṣera bandha (Prema-bhakti-candrikā): "Either you become pious or you become very learned philosopher, they are all poison pots, because by cultivating such things you cannot become liberated from this material condition."
Therefore pure devotion means anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Brs. 1.1.11). Pure devotion means one should be freed from all material desires, even from the desire of being elevated to the heavenly planet or Brahmaloka, Satyaloka—that is karma—or to try to understand, just like the philosophists, they do. By speculation, by philosophical speculation, they try to understand what is God. So they are not pure devotion. They are karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa.