So when one has come to the liberated stage, from there he can begin mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). Bhakti means the activities of the liberated stage. That is not material things. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is little difficult to understand because these activities are for the persons who have already attained mokṣa. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is stated,
- māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa
- bhakti-yogena ya sevate
- sa guṇān samatītyaitān
- brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
- (BG 14.26)
So do not misunderstand that bhakti is lower than something else. There are karma, jñāna, yoga, bhakti. Bhakti is the ultimate. So if you want to understand the Supreme Absolute Truth, take from His instruction, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). If you want to know Kṛṣṇa or the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11) . . . The Absolute Truth is realized from three angles of vision: impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā, and ultimately Bhagavān. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. So if you want to understand Bhagavān, Brahman realization is possible. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32). This paraṁ padam, Brahman realization. And Paramātmā realization: dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). But if you want to realize the last phase of the Absolute Truth it requires bhakti. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55).