Unmotivated devotion to Krishna surpasses even salvation, requiring pure service without material desire.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.32 — December 2, 1974, Bombay 741202SB-BOMBAY [50:17 Minutes] SB-03.25.32_741202SB-BOMBAY Nitāi: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse, etc.] śrī bhagavān uvāca devānāṁ guṇa-liṅgānām ānuśravika-karmaṇām sattva evaika-manaso vṛttiḥ svābhāvikī tu yā animittā bhāgavatī bhaktiḥ siddher garīyasī [SB 3.25.32] [break] [02:15] "Lord Kapila said: The senses are symbolic representations of the demigods, and their natural inclination is to work under the direction of the Vedic injunctions. As the senses are the representatives of the demigods, so the mind is the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The mind's natural duty is to serve. When that service spirit is engaged in devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, without any motive, that is far better even than salvation." Prabhupāda: devānāṁ guṇa-liṅgānām ānuśravika-karmaṇām sattva evaika-manaso vṛttiḥ svābhāvikī tu yā animittā bhāgavatī bhaktiḥ siddher garīyasī [SB 3.25.32] Bhakti is transcendental even to mukti. People generally consider dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa [SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90]. In the beginning, dharma; artha, economic development; kāma, sense gratification; then mokṣa, merging into the supreme one.
But bhakti is above that. Siddher garīyasī. It is above mukti. Mukti is not very much important thing for a bhakta.
Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura says, bhaktis tvayi sthiratarā yadi bhagavan syād daivena phalati divya-kiśora-mūrtiḥ muktiḥ mukulitāñjali sevate 'smān dharmārtha-kāma samaya-pratīkṣāḥ [Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 107] This is the experience of Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura. He was a South Indian brāhmaṇa, very rich brāhmaṇa. But by bad association or something like that, he became a very staunch prostitute hunter. So he engaged all his income, money, everything after one prostitute.
Her name was Cintāmaṇi. So it is a very nice story. I am briefly describing. So one night...
Every night he was to go to that prostitute, and one night it was very terribly raining. So the prostitute thought, "Now this night Bilvamaṅgala is not coming. It is terribly raining." But Bilvamaṅgala went there, crossing the river, and the door was closed. He jumped over the door, catching a snake.
In this way, very dangerously, he reached the prostitute's house. And the prostitute was astonished, that "How in this condition you could come here? Oh, you are so much attracted by this skin. If this much attraction you would have to Kṛṣṇa, how it would have been nice for you." So immediately he left the prostitute's house and went to Vṛndāvana. The fact is in his previous life he executed devotional service up to bhāva-bhakti.