The Nectar of Devotion - 1970 ISKCON press edition ... - Prabhupada

I I Characteristicsof Pure Devotional ServiceIn the Srimad-Bhiigavatam, Third Canto, 29th Chapter, lOth verse,Srila Kapiladeva, while instructing His mother, has given the followingcharacteristics of pure devotional service: "My dear Mother, thosewho are My pure devotees, and who have no desire for materialbenefit or philosophical speculation, have their minds so much engagedin My service that they are never interested in asking Me foranything-except to be engaged in that service- They do not even begto live in My abode with Me."There are five kinds of liberation, namely to become one with theLord, to live with the Supreme Lord on the same planet, to have thesame features as the Lord, to enjoy the same opulences as the Lord,and to live as a companion of the Lord. A devotee, not to speak ofrejecting material sense gratification, does not even want any of thefive kinds of liberation. He is satisfied simply by discharging lovingservice to the Lord. That is the characteristic of pure devotion.In the above statement by Kapiladeva from the Srimad-Bhiigavatam,the actual position of a pure devotee is described, and the primarycharacteristics of devotional service are also defined. Further characteristics·of devotional· service are described by Riipa Gosvami withevidences from different scriptures. He states that thre are six characteristicsof pure devotional service, which are as follows:1) Pure devotional service brings immediate relief from all kinds of'material distress.2) Pure devotional service is the beginning of all auspiciousness.3) Pure devotional service automatically puts one in transcendentalpleasure.