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Bhakti means... (Books)

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 1 - 6

Real sannyāsa-yoga or bhakti means that one should know his constitutional position as the living entity, and act accordingly.
BG 6.2, Purport:

Real sannyāsa-yoga or bhakti means that one should know his constitutional position as the living entity, and act accordingly. The living entity has no separate independent identity. He is the marginal energy of the Supreme. When he is entrapped by material energy, he is conditioned, and when he is Kṛṣṇa conscious, or aware of the spiritual energy, then he is in his real and natural state of life. Therefore, when one is in complete knowledge, one ceases all material sense gratification, or renounces all kinds of sense gratificatory activities. This is practiced by the yogīs who restrain the senses from material attachment. But a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has no opportunity to engage his senses in anything which is not for the purpose of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is simultaneously a sannyāsī and a yogī.

"Bhakti means devotional service to the Lord which is free from desire for material profit, either in this life or in the next."
BG 6.47, Purport:

Bhaktir asya bhajanaṁ tad ihāmutropādhi-nairāsyenāmuṣmin manaḥ-kalpanam, etad eva naiṣkarmyam. "Bhakti means devotional service to the Lord which is free from desire for material profit, either in this life or in the next. Devoid of such inclinations, one should fully absorb the mind in the Supreme. That is the purpose of naiṣkarmya." (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.15)

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 2

Vedānta means self-realization, and bhakti means realization of the Personality of Godhead, to some extent.
SB 2.6.35, Purport:

Lord Brahmā is the first living being, who directly learned the Vedic wisdom from the Lord (tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye (SB 1.1.1)). Therefore, who can be a more learned Vedāntist than Lord Brahmā? He admits that in spite of his perfect knowledge in the Vedas, he was unable to know the glories of the Lord. Since no one can be more than Lord Brahmā, how can a so-called Vedāntist be perfectly cognizant of the Absolute Truth? The so-called Vedāntist, therefore, cannot enter into the existence of the Lord without being trained in the matter of bhakti-vedānta, or Vedānta plus bhakti. Vedānta means self-realization, and bhakti means realization of the Personality of Godhead, to some extent. No one can know the Personality of Godhead in full, but at least to a certain extent one can know the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, by self-surrender and a devotional attitude, and by nothing else.

SB Canto 4

"Bhakti means engaging all the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Hṛṣīkeśa."
SB 4.24.44, Purport:

We have various senses—the powers of seeing, tasting, smelling, touching, etc.—and all the propensities of our senses can be satisfied when the senses are engaged in the service of the Lord. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: "Bhakti means engaging all the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Hṛṣīkeśa." (Nārada-pañcarātra) These material senses, however, cannot be engaged in the service of the Lord; therefore one has to become free from all designations. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tatparatvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). One has to become free from all designation or false egotism and thus become purified. When we engage our senses in the service of the Lord, the desires or the inclinations of the senses can be perfectly fulfilled.

SB Canto 5

Bhakti means engagement of the purified senses in the service of the Lord.
SB 5.1.17, Purport:

Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, gṛhe vā vanete thāke, 'hā gaurāṅga' bale ḍāke: whether one is situated in the forest or at home, if he is engaged in the devotional service of Lord Caitanya, he is a liberated person. Here this is also repeated. For one who has not controlled his senses, going to the forest to become a so-called yogī is meaningless. Because his uncontrolled mind and senses are going with him, he cannot achieve anything, even by giving up household life and staying in the forest. Formerly many mercantile men from the up-country of India used to go to Bengal, and thus there is a familiar saying, "If you go to Bengal, your fortune will go with you." Our first concern, therefore, should be to control the senses, and since the senses cannot be controlled unless engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, our most important duty is to engage the senses in devotional service. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: (CC Madhya 19.170) bhakti means engagement of the purified senses in the service of the Lord.

SB Canto 6

Bhakti means śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ, chanting and hearing about Lord Viṣṇu.
SB 6.9.47, Purport:

Another name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is Uttamaśloka, which means that He is offered prayers with selected verses. Bhakti means śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23), chanting and hearing about Lord Viṣṇu. Impersonalists cannot be purified, for they do not offer personal prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even though they sometimes offer prayers, the prayers are not directed toward the Supreme Person. Impersonalists sometimes show their incomplete knowledge by addressing the Lord as being nameless. They always offer prayers indirectly, saying, "You are this, You are that," but they do not know to whom they are praying. A devotee, however, always offers personal prayers. A devotee says, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **: "I offer my respectful obeisances unto Govinda, unto Kṛṣṇa." That is the way to offer prayers. If one continues to offer such personal prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is eligible to become a pure devotee and return home, back to Godhead.

SB Canto 7

Bhakti means engagement in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not of anyone else.
SB 7.5.23-24, Purport:

The Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad says that the word bhakti means engagement in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not of anyone else. This Upaniṣad describes that bhakti is the offering of devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To perform devotional service, one should be relieved of the bodily conception of life and aspirations to be happy through elevation to the higher planetary systems. In other words, work performed simply for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, without any desire for material benefits, is called bhakti. Bhakti is also called niṣkarma, or freedom from the results of fruitive activity. Bhakti and niṣkarma are on the same platform, although devotional service and fruitive activity appear almost the same.

"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."
SB 7.10.8, Purport:

As soon as one has material desires, one cannot properly use his senses, intelligence, mind and so on for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Māyāvādī philosophers want to become impersonal, senseless and mindless, but that is not possible. The living entity must be living, always existing with desires, ambitions and so on. These should be purified, however, so that one can desire spiritually and be spiritually ambitious, without material contamination. In every living entity these propensities exist because he is a living entity. When materially contaminated, however, one is put into the hands of material misery (janma-mṛtyu jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9)). If one wants to stop repeated birth and death, one must take to the devotional service of the Lord.

sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-
sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate
(CC Madhya 19.170)

"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. One is freed from all material designations, and, simply by being employed in the service of the Lord, one's senses are purified."

SB Canto 9

Bhakti means to engage the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Kṛṣṇa, who is called Hṛṣīkeśa or Acyuta.
SB 9.4.18-20, Purport:

In Bhagavad-gītā (7.1) the Lord recommends, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. This indicates that one must execute devotional service under the guidance of a devotee or directly under the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not possible, however, to train oneself without guidance from the spiritual master. Therefore, according to the instructions of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, the first business of a devotee is to accept a bona fide spiritual master who can train him to engage his various senses in rendering transcendental service to the Lord. The Lord also says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.1), asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu. In other words, if one wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in completeness, one must follow the prescriptions given by Kṛṣṇa by following in the footsteps of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. It is said, hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: (CC Madhya 19.170) bhakti means to engage the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Kṛṣṇa, who is called Hṛṣīkeśa or Acyuta. These words are used in these verses. Acyuta-sat-kathodaye, hṛṣīkeśa-padābhivandane. The words Acyuta and Hṛṣīkeśa are also used in Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is kṛṣṇa-kathā spoken directly by Kṛṣṇa, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also kṛṣṇa-kathā because everything described in the Bhāgavatam is in relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Madhya-lila

Bhakti means rendering transcendental service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
CC Madhya 6.261, Purport:

When reciting this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.8), Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya changed the original reading from mukti-pade to bhakti-pade. Mukti means liberation and merging into the impersonal Brahman effulgence. Bhakti means rendering transcendental service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because of having developed pure devotional service, the Bhaṭṭācārya did not like the word mukti-pade, which refers to the impersonal Brahman feature of the Lord. However, he was not authorized to change a word in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu will explain. Although the Bhaṭṭācārya changed the word in his devotional ecstasy, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not approve of it.

Bhakti, devotional service, means satisfying Kṛṣṇa.
CC Madhya 9.263, Purport:

One cannot be elevated to the highest platform of devotional service by karma-kāṇḍa or jñāna-kāṇḍa. Pure devotional service can be understood and attained only through the association of pure devotees. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura states that there are two types of karma-kāṇḍa activities—pious and impious. Pious activities are certainly better than impious activities, but even pious activities cannot bring about ecstatic love of God, Kṛṣṇa. Pious and impious activities can bring about material happiness and distress, but there is no possibility of one's becoming a pure devotee simply by acting piously or impiously. Bhakti, devotional service, means satisfying Kṛṣṇa. In every revealed scripture, whether stressing jñāna-kāṇḍa or karma-kāṇḍa, the principle of renunciation is always praised. The ripened fruit of Vedic knowledge, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is the supreme Vedic evidence.

"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."
CC Madhya 19.170, Translation and Purport:

"'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. One is freed from all material designations, and one"s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.'"

This verse quoted from the Nārada-pañcarātra is found in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.12).

“Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all one's senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses."
CC Madhya 24.98, Purport:

Only a pure devotee can convert others to pure devotional service. It is therefore important for all the preachers in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement to first become pure devotees and follow the regulative principles, refraining from illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication. They should regularly chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra on their beads, follow the devotional process, rise early in the morning, attend maṅgala-ārati and recite Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Bhagavad-gītā regularly. In this way, one can become purified and free from all material contamination.

sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate
(CC Madhya 19.170)

Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all one's 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. One is freed from all material designations, and one's senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.” (Nārada-pañcarātra)

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Nectar of Devotion

Bhakti means "devotional service."
Nectar of Devotion Preface:

Bhakti means "devotional service." Every service has some attractive feature which drives the servitor progressively on and on. Every one of us within this world is perpetually engaged in some sort of service, and the impetus for such service is the pleasure we derive from it. Driven by affection for his wife and children, a family man works day and night. A philanthropist works in the same way for love of the greater family, and a nationalist for the cause of his country and countrymen. That force which drives the philanthropist, the householder and the nationalist is called rasa, or a kind of mellow (relationship) whose taste is very sweet. Bhakti-rasa is a mellow different from the ordinary rasa enjoyed by mundane workers.

Nectar of Instruction

Avyabhicāriṇī bhakti means unalloyed devotion.
Nectar of Instruction 6, Purport:

Avyabhicāriṇī bhakti means unalloyed devotion. A person engaged in devotional service must be free from material motives. In this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, one's consciousness must be changed. If consciousness is aimed toward material enjoyment, it is material consciousness, and if it is aimed toward serving Kṛṣṇa, it is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A surrendered soul serves Kṛṣṇa without material considerations (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11)). Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: unalloyed devotional service, which is transcendental to the activities of the body and mind, such as jñāna (mental speculation) and karma (fruitive work), is called pure bhakti-yoga.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

The great sage Nārada has said, "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."
Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.6:

Karmīs and jñānīs are also tainted by material desires—the desire to enjoy their senses and the desire for liberation, respectively. Pure devotional service is attained only when these material desires are dissipated and one renders unbroken, favorable devotional service to the Lord Kṛṣṇa. The great sage Nārada has said,

sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-
sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate
(CC Madhya 19.170)

"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 Him, there are two side effects-one is freed from all material designations, and, simply by being employed in the service of the Lord, one's senses are purified. (Nārada-Pañcarātra)."

Page Title:Bhakti means... (Books)
Compiler:Serene, MadhuGopaldas, Labangalatika
Created:04 of Dec, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=2, SB=7, CC=4, OB=3, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:16