Shloka 7
Bhakti Yoga: The Three Modes of Devotion, Non-Envy, and Time as the Lord
श्रीभगवानुवाच भक्तियोगो बहुविधो मार्गैर्भामिनि भाव्यते । स्वभावगुणमार्गेण पुंसां भावो विभिद्यते ॥ ७ ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca bhakti-yogo bahu-vidho mārgair bhāmini bhāvyate svabhāva-guṇa-mārgeṇa puṁsāṁ bhāvo vibhidyate
শ্রীভগবান (কপিলদেব) বললেন—হে ভামিনি! ভক্তিযোগ বহুবিধ; সাধকের স্বভাব ও গুণ অনুসারে তার পথ নানা রকম হয়, আর গুণের পথেই মানুষের ভাব ভিন্ন ভিন্ন হয়ে যায়।
Pure devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is one because in pure devotional service there is no demand from the devotee to be fulfilled by the Lord. But generally people take to devotional service with a purpose. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, people who are not purified take to devotional service with four purposes. A person who is distressed because of material conditions becomes a devotee of the Lord and approaches the Lord for mitigation of his distress. A person in need of money approaches the Lord to ask for some improvement in his monetary condition. Others, who are not in distress or in need of monetary assistance but are seeking knowledge in order to understand the Absolute Truth, also take to devotional service, and they inquire into the nature of the Supreme Lord. This is very nicely described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.16) . Actually the path of devotional service is one without a second, but according to the devotees’ condition, devotional service appears in multifarious varieties, as will be nicely explained in the following verses.
FAQs
In this verse, Lord Kapila states that bhakti-yoga is understood and practiced in many ways, and that a person’s devotional disposition varies according to their inherent nature and the influence of the three guṇas.
Kapila is instructing His mother Devahūti on devotional service, explaining that devotion has multiple approaches and that people naturally gravitate toward different expressions of bhakti due to their svabhāva and guṇic conditioning.
Recognize your temperament and tendencies, then adopt devotional practices that elevate you toward sattva—steady hearing, chanting, worship, and service—rather than forcing a mismatched practice that you cannot sustain.