Devotional service or Bhakti is the service of love in return to God. It is our constitutional position as a part and parcel of God and a way of connecting to God in love and gratitude.

We can do this by using our mind, body and words in a grateful and loving mood and ultimately aiming to do all we do in this mood of service.

‘Always aiming to be humble, knowing that all comes from God’

Devotional service is the highest form of yoga, as it is a direct path, it  enables us to connect to god  in his service and subsequently surpass the material illusion.

Within all of our activities in daily life we can have devotional service as the primary purpose in our mind and ultimately connection.

These our some specific ways we can perform devotional service in our daily lives.

• Reading spiritual books (sastra), such as the Bhagavad Gita
• Helping and serving others in whatever way we can. (Recognising god in their hearts)
• Attending spiritual groups
• Daily Japa
• Kirtan

Ultimately as previously mentioned all of our activities and day can become in a mood of service. It is a matter of our heart and where we choose to place it along with the mindset to serve.

Before each activity if we make a prayer and dedicate it to God then we can perform devotional service.

It is worth noting however that these activities would be required to be in the mode of goodness (sattva) and of some level of purity in this way in order to be pleasing to God. These would be activities that are calm, peaceful and that cause no harm to other living beings.

By practicing devotional service daily we can begin to purify our hearts and therefore become closer to God and further towards our goal of connection to God in yoga.

We can ulimately transcend the material modes of nature and become far better people to make a positive difference in this world also.

‘He who does not hate  illumination, attachment and delusion when they are present and long for them when they disappear. Who is unwavering and undisturbed through all reactions of material qualities, remaining neutral and transcendental, knowing that the modes alone are active. Who is situated in the self and regards alike both happiness and distress; who looks upon a lump of earth, a stone and gold with an equal eye; equal towards the desirable and undesirable, steadily situated in praise and blame, honor and dishonur, treating alike both friend and enemy, who has renounced material activities such a person can be said to have transcended the modes of nature.’ (Bhagavad Gita. ch.14.txt 26.)