Why do we have to practice sadhana bhakti? To purify our heart. Why? Because only when our heart is pure will we become fully surrendered. Why do we have to become fully surrendered? Because only a surrendered heart can receive Krishna's grace. Why do we need His grace? Because anything in the Divine world requires His grace to be received. We cannot attain anything on our own. We're in a material body with a material mind. All of our efforts will be limited and material. So how could that result in achieving anything Divine and unlimited? Therefore, Sri Krishna's grace is required. And that grace is received into a surrendered heart.
And right now we're unable to surrender because our heart is impure due to unlimited lifetimes of karm, and all kinds of actions and impurities. Therefore, we have to practice sadhana bhakti to purify that heart.
How is sadhana bhakti practiced? It's very simple. What are we trying to purify? Attach that thing to the Divine purifier. Krishna is the Divine purifier. Our mind is the thing that we have to purify. So attach it to Krishna. Then whatever we do to cause the mind to become attached to Krishna, that is sadhana bhakti.
This means that of all the types of bhakti that people practice and that are described in the scriptures, like doing arti, chanting God's name, visiting holy places, doing puja (in puja we offer various things to God), reciting scriptures, whatever the practice may be, it is incomplete unless the mind is in Krishna. That's the key.
If the mind is not in Krishna, how will the mind be purified?
