bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā

sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau

bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā

kriyeta bhagavaty addhā

tan manye 'dhītam uttamam

Prahlāda said: If any of the nine processes of bhakti --hearing, chanting, remembering, menial service, deity worship, offering prayers, servitude, friendship, and offering body and soul—is performed for the Lord by any human without prerequisites, after being offered to Viṣṇu, that should be considered the highest learning.

“These two lowest of brāhmaṇas are not my gurus. I have learned only bhakti from Śrī Nārada alone. I will speak about bhakti only.” In this way Prahlāda thought. Pāda-sevanam means menial service. Arcanam means deity worship.  Dāsyam means thinking oneself a servant of the Lord. Sakhyam means thinking of oneself as a friend of the Lord, and having firm faith as well.[106] Ātam-nivedanam means offering the ātmā and offering the body.  Ātma-nivedanam can be accompanied by bhāva or without bhāva. Rukmiṇī is an example of the first type and Bali is an example of the second type.[107] Puṁsā arpitā means bhakti which is offered by man. This indicates that bhakti can be practiced by anyone, without the rules of varṇāśrama. It means any jīva, and thus includes women. Mention of nine processes means that when any among the nine is practiced it is called bhakti. Bhakti should be performed directly (addhā), not with any prerequisite jñāna or karma. Being offered to the Lord, it is then performed. It is not performed and then offered to the Lord. This is Śrīdhara Svāmī’s explanation. Or there is another meaning. If bhakti after being offered to the Lord is performed with the aim of giving Viṣṇu pleasure, not for taking the results for one’s own pleasure, which would not be anyābhilāṣa-śūnya, then I consider it is uttama-bhakti (uttamam adhītam).

|| 7.5.25 ||

niśamyaitat suta-vaco