Kapila's Instructions on the Execution of Devotional Service
Kapila now detailed the practice of meditation and devotion. He recommended a sacred, clean place, regulated life, and steady posture to calm the body and mind. Beginning with the Lord’s lotus feet, the yogi ascends in contemplation to His calves, thighs, waist, chest, arms, neck, smiling face, and compassionate eyes. This form of Paramatma meditation anchors the mind, displacing worldly images with divine beauty.
He stressed purity in conduct: truthfulness, compassion, nonviolence, sense control, and contentment. These qualities guard the mind from distraction and hypocrisy. The devotee should avoid malicious talk, greed, and unnecessary entanglements, instead embracing simplicity and service.
Kapila distinguished between mechanical yoga and devotion. While breath control and sense withdrawal have value, they are incomplete without loving intent toward the Lord. Bhakti enlivens the process, making the Lord present in the heart. With devotion, meditation yields joy; without it, it becomes dry and prone to pride.
He described the progressive effects of sincere practice: the mind becomes steady, the heart softens, tears and hair-standing-on-end may arise in remembrance, and the practitioner feels universal goodwill. Such symptoms are signs of purification, not goals themselves. The ultimate aim is fixed, affectionate service to the Lord.
Kapila warned against worship of demigods for material gain, noting that such practices reinforce the knot of desire. He praised exclusive devotion to the Supreme, which alone grants freedom from the modes and leads to eternal association.
The chapter concludes with encouragement: even if one begins imperfectly, continuous hearing and remembrance of the Lord’s qualities will mature into steady devotion. Devahuti felt assured that a clear, practical path was now laid before her.