Articles about bhakti yoga, devotion to God

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.16)

“Our dear Lord, You are appearing as the best of the Yadu dynasty, and we are offering our respectful humble obeisances unto Your lotus feet. Before this appearance, You also appeared as the fish incarnation, the horse incarnation, the tortoise incarnation, the swan incarnation, as King Ramachandra, as Parashurama, and as many other incarnations.” (Demigods praying to Krishna in the womb of Devaki, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 2)

“Arjuna inquired: Which is considered to be more perfect: those who are properly engaged in Your devotional service, or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?” (Bhagavad-gita, 12.1)

“'O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.' Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

“Unintelligent men, who know Me not, think that I have assumed this form and personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is changeless and supreme.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.24)

“'O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.' Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

“O sober Vidura, King Indra, his honor having been insulted, poured water incessantly on Vrindavana, and thus the inhabitants of Vraja, the land of cows, were greatly distressed. But the compassionate Lord Krishna saved them from danger with His pastime umbrella, the Govardhana Hill.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.2.33)

“The man who reads and recites this narration of the Ramayana will be blessed with a long duration of life and after death will be welcomed and respectfully received in the heavenly region, along with sons, grandsons, and relatives.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kand, 1.99)

“O sober Vidura, King Indra, his honor having been insulted, poured water incessantly on Vrindavana, and thus the inhabitants of Vraja, the land of cows, were greatly distressed. But the compassionate Lord Krishna saved them from danger with His pastime umbrella, the Govardhana Hill.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.2.33)

“Prahlada Maharaja said: O Supreme Lord, because You are so merciful to the fallen souls, I ask You for only one benediction. I know that my father, at the time of his death, had already been purified by Your glance upon him, but because of his ignorance of Your beautiful power and supremacy, he was unnecessarily angry at You, falsely thinking that You were the killer of his brother. Thus he directly blasphemed Your Lordship, the spiritual master of all living beings, and committed heavily sinful activities directed against me, Your devotee. I wish that he be excused for these sinful activities.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.10.15-17)

“For as long as there is not devotion to Shri Rama and the release of material desires, which are like an abode of grief, the living being should not expect to find welfare and peace of mind, even in a dream.” (Dohavali, 131)

“One time, that wicked king of the Daityas saw his son of lotus-like face and beautiful eyes, surrounded by women, having returned from the home of the guru. In his hand, that boy was holding a slate which had the mark of a chakra at the top and the name of Krishna written with great adoration.” (Narasimha Purana, 41.35-36)

“In order to assure His parents that Kamsa was dead, Lord Krishna dragged him just as a lion drags an elephant after killing it. On sight of this, there was a great roaring sound from all sides, as some spectators expressed their jubilation and others cried in lamentation. From the day Kamsa heard that he would be killed by the eighth son of Devaki, he was always thinking of Krishna twenty-four hours a day without any stoppage—even while he was eating, while he was walking, while he was breathing—and naturally he got the blessing of liberation.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 43)

“O king, the beauty of Rukmini was indeed unparalleled on this earth. The highly effulgent Vasudeva desired her simply by hearing about her. Indeed, through hearing Janardana was also desired by her. She thought, ‘As He is heroic, resplendent, and strong, He should become my husband.'” (Hari-vamsha, 87.14-15)

“Of what use are wealth, comforts and pleasures, home, wives, and sons if one is not able to see Shri Rama?” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 48.7)

“Of what use are wealth, comforts and pleasures, home, wives, and sons if one is not able to see Shri Rama?” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 48.7)

“O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me – the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.16)

“Again and again the day comes, and this host of beings is active; and again the night falls, O Partha, and they are helplessly dissolved.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.19)

“O Dhananjaya, all this work cannot bind Me. I am ever detached, seated as though neutral.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.9)

“O sober Vidura, King Indra, his honor having been insulted, poured water incessantly on Vrindavana, and thus the inhabitants of Vraja, the land of cows, were greatly distressed. But the compassionate Lord Krishna saved them from danger with His pastime umbrella, the Govardhana Hill.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.2.33)

“Arjuna said: The sun-god Vivasvan is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?” (Bhagavad-gita, 4.4)

“'O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.' Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

“'O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.' Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

“Meditating on Shri Rama, who has Janaki to His left and Lakshmana to His right, brings all auspiciousness and is your wish-fulfilling tree, O Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 1)

“For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Pritha, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 12.6-7)

“When King Indra ordered the samvartaka and companion clouds to go to Vrindavana, the clouds were afraid of the assignment. But King Indra assured them, ‘You go ahead, and I will also go, riding on my elephant, accompanied by great storms. And I shall apply all my strength to punish the inhabitants of Vrindavana.'” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 25)

“Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.41)

“O best among the glorious ones, all of this has been achieved by me through the divine grace of You and Your brother. One who does not repay the favors offered to him certainly is considered a disgrace among men.” (Sugriva speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 38.26)

“In spite of achieving the power to control in all directions and in spite of enjoying all types of dear sense gratification as much as possible, Hiranyakashipu was dissatisfied because instead of controlling his senses he remained their servant.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.4.19)

“But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.40)

“'O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.' Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

“The Lord heard the story of Sakshi-gopala with great pleasure because He wanted to impress upon the atheists that the worshipable Deities in the temples approved by the great acharyas are not idols, as alleged by men with a poor fund of knowledge.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, Introduction)

“One time, that wicked king of the Daityas saw his son of lotus-like face and beautiful eyes, surrounded by women, having returned from the home of the guru. In his hand, that boy was holding a slate which had the mark of a chakra at the top and the name of Krishna written with great adoration.” (Narasimha Purana, 41.35-36)

“I have in the past addressed You as ‘O Krishna,' ‘O Yadava,' ‘O my friend,' without knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have done in madness or in love. I have dishonored You many times while relaxing or while lying on the same bed or eating together, sometimes alone and sometimes in front of many friends. Please excuse me for all my offenses.” (Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.41-42)

“'O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.' Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

“'O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.' Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

"For two hours Krishna remained like an ordinary child gripped in the coils of Kaliya, but when He saw that all the inhabitants of Gokula—including His mother and father, the gopis, the boys and the cows—were just on the point of death and that they had no shelter for salvation from imminent death, Krishna immediately freed Himself." (Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 16)

“The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you a coward.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.35)

“Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told the brahmana, ‘Indeed, you are an authority in the reading of the Bhagavad-gita. Whatever you know constitutes the real purport of the Bhagavad-gita.'” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya, 9.102)

“That best among men would not go to sleep without Him, nor would he eat without Him, even if the food brought was very palatable.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kand, 18.30)

“O son of Pritha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.13)

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.66)

“The inhabitants of Vrindavana were perplexed by great difficulties because a certain portion of the Yamuna was poisoned by the chief of the reptiles [Kaliya]. The Lord chastised the snake-king within the water and drove him away, and after coming out of the river, He caused the cows to drink the water and proved that the water was again in its natural state.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.2.31)

“When everything was complete, Krishna assumed a great transcendental form and declared to the inhabitants of Vrindavana that He was Himself Govardhana Hill in order to convince the devotees that Govardhana Hill and Krishna Himself are identical. Then Krishna began to eat all the food offered there.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 24)

“Those men who will again see Rama along with Sita, accompanied by the mighty-armed Lakshmana, returning home will be successful.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 72.38)

“O Rama, for as long as You shall stand before me, even if it be for one hundred years, I will always remain Your servant. Therefore You should be the one to choose a beautiful and appropriate place for the cottage. After You have selected a spot, please then command me to start building.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 15.7)

“The inhabitants of Vrindavana were perplexed by great difficulties because a certain portion of the Yamuna was poisoned by the chief of the reptiles [Kaliya]. The Lord chastised the snake-king within the water and drove him away, and after coming out of the river, He caused the cows to drink the water and proved that the water was again in its natural state.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.2.31)

“The Blessed Lord then said: This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.” (Bhagavad-gita, 13.2)

“Giving up all enjoyable things, forced by affection for her husband she entered into the desolate forest, not concerned with the hardships.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 16.19)

“My dear gopis, what auspicious activities must the flute have performed to enjoy the nectar of Krishna's lips independently and leave only a taste for the gopis for whom that nectar is actually meant. The forefathers of the flute, the bamboo trees, shed tears of pleasure. His mother, the river, on whose bank the bamboo was born, feels jubilation, and therefore her blooming lotus flowers are standing like hair on her body.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.21.9)

“Others will also ridicule and scorn saying, ‘This child is an asura but prays to the gods. It is like a cat offering prayers to a mouse or a peacock to a snake.' This is indeed a bad omen, behavior resembling an enemy, as even after obtaining great wealth and power, an unintelligent person can fall down.” (Hiranyakashipu speaking to Prahlada, Narasimha Purana, 41.59-60)