Worship of God, contemplation on God and mantra japa are not considered bhakti; they are the means or methods to achieve bhakti. The definition of bhakti is an expression in life in which one experiences love within, and through which others feel happy. Seva, selfless service to others, and prem, unconditional love, are the only two kinds of interactions in life that have been accepted as expressions of bhakti.
A bhakta is one in whose life service and love are awakened. Such love should be innocent, simple and guileless with not a trace of insincerity or expectation, just pure love. Only then does bhakti fructify. Commonly, the love one experiences in life is directed towards one’s family, friends, wealth or possessions. The scriptures have another point of view. Sage Sandilya says that only supreme love towards God is bhakti.
Supreme love includes the emotion of love and the action of service, combined with jnana, the knowledge that ‘I am doing God’s work.’ Thus, these three ideas converge in bhakti. ‘I am serving God’s will’ is jnana, wisdom or knowledge. ‘I am not doing it for myself but for others’ is seva or selfless service, and ‘I love everybody, my love has become universal’ is supreme love. These three aspects together become bhakti. This is the interpretation of bhakti given by our paramguru, Swami Sivananda, and furthered by our guru, Swami Satyananda.