We know there are two words, anukūl (favorable) and pratikūl (unfavorable). So, when we do something according to the taste, interest, or desire of someone, that is anukūl. And when we go against his desire, against his taste, etc., with the feeling of enmity, hatred, or fear, etc., then it is called pratikūl.
Although we hear that there were some demons, they loved Shree Krishna. Their attachment was with Shree Krishna with pratikūl bhāv (an unfavorable attitude). They were against Shree Krishna. But they were thinking all the time about Shree Krishna.
If you think constantly about someone, that is also attachment. Either you are thinking with love, or you are thinking with hatred or enmity, it is attachment. Attachment of the mind is called attachment. So Kans and Ravan, etc.worshipped and were attached to Shree Krishna with the feeling of enmity. They could do it, because, number one, they were already God-realized souls. They were eternal associates of God. They came here only for acting (role playing). They were eternal associates of Shree Krishna. They had already realized God. And they had so much power that they could come in front of Shree Krishna, they could come in front of Shree Ram to fight with Them. But we don’t even know about Shree Krishna. He is not in front of us. We have no power at all.
So we cannot love Shree Krishna with pratikūl bhāv, with the feeling of enmity, or by criticizing Him, or going against Him in any way. We cannot do that. We should always have anukūl bhāv (a favorable attitude). We should go according to His interest, His desire, His taste. This kind of service is called bhakti (devotion).
…आनुकूल्येन कृष्णानुशीलनं भक्तिरुत्तमा।
…ānukūlyena kṛiṣhṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā.
‘Anukūl bhāv se Shree Krishna kī nitya sevā karnā, isī kā nām bhakti hai’. (Serving Shree Krishna eternally with a favorable attitude is what is called bhakti.) This is the ‘swarūp-lakṣhaṇ’ (intrinsic characteristic) of bhakti.
Now, the ‘taṭasth-lakṣaṇ’ (secondary characteristic) of bhakti is:
अन्याभिलाषिताशून्यं ज्ञानकर्माद्यनावृतम्।…
Anyābhilāṣhitā-śhūnyaṁ gyāna-karmādy-anāvṛitam….
There must not be any other desire. When the word anya (other) is used, it means there must be one desire. But except for that, any other desire must not come into the mind of an aspirant. What is that? The desire to serve Shree Krishna selflessly. That desire must be there. We cannot say,
“Because I am niṣhkām (without selfish desire), that’s why I do not desire even the service of Shree Krishna.”
No. Except for that desire, ‘anyābhilāṣhitā-śhūnyam’, there must not be any other desire. Generally, all human beings can desire only four things: dharm (religious merit), arth (material prosperity), kām (fulfillment of desires), and mokṣh (liberation). It is called ‘puruṣārth chatuṣṭaya’ (the four goals of human life): dharm, arth, kām, and mokṣh. These three desires are material: dharm, arth, and kām.
We do dharm according to the Vedas. Why? To attain arth, to attain majesty, to go to heaven, to have a luxurious life, to attain majesty. And why do we want to attain that arth, that majesty? Kām, to fulfill our desires. So these three desires, which are interconnected with each other, are material desires. And the fourth one is mokṣh. That is a spiritual desire.
But a devotee does not desire for anything at all.
