Devotional service faces no material obstacles; revive your eternal relationship with God through loving surrender.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.2.5 — December 2, 1968, Los Angeles 681202SB-LOS ANGELES [55:35 Minutes] Prabhupāda: cīrāṇi kiṁ pathi na santi diśanti bhikṣāṁ naivāṅghripāḥ para-bhṛtaḥ sarito 'py aśuṣyan ruddhā guhāḥ kim ajito 'vati nopasannān kasmād bhajanti kavayo dhana-durmadāndhān [SB 2.2.5] [Are there no torn clothes lying on the common road? Do the trees, which exist for maintaining others, no longer give alms in charity? Do the rivers, being dried up, no longer supply water to the thirsty? Are the caves of the mountains now closed, or, above all, does the almighty Lord not protect the fully surrendered souls? Why then do the learned sages go to flatter those who are intoxicated by hard-earned wealth?] This life of spiritual execution cannot be hampered by any material condition. From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we understand that sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje [SB 1.2.6]. [The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.] That is the highest type of religious performances, by which one can achieve the perfection of loving God. Yato bhaktir adhokṣaje.
Bhakti means to offer transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord. Bhakti. Bhaj-dhātu sevayā[?]. Bhaj.
Bhaj-dhātu, it is a verb, bhaj. Bhaj means to render service, just like servant renders service to the master, friend service to the friend..., renders service to the friend, wife renders service to the husband, husband renders service to the wife. This service-rendering process is going on everywhere. Nobody is absolute that he does not render service to anyone. That is not possible.
I have repeatedly explained that if somebody has no master to serve, he voluntarily accepts a cat or dog as his master to serve. The nice name is "pet dog," but it is serving. The mother serves the child. So one who has no child, he takes the cat as her child and serves. So the service mood is going on everywhere.
But the highest perfection of service is when we learn to serve the Supreme Absolute Lord. That is called bhakti. And that bhakti, execution of service to the Lord, is ahaitukī. Just like we have got some little examples.
This mother is serving the child not with any expectation. She loves to serve the child. She wants to see the child is in comfort, the child does not feel any discomfiture. That is her pleasure. There is no reason why she is loving.
That is natural. Similarly, when we invoke our natural love for God, that is the highest perfection of religious principle. Ahaituky apratihatā. Apratihatā means it cannot be checked by any material condition. Just like we want to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa; this is service.