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THE PATH OF PERFECTION
“The supreme occupation ( dharma ) for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.” Cultivation of love of God: that is the definition of first-class religion. Just as there are three  guṇas , or three qualities, in the material world, there are various religions, each situated in one of the three modes. We are not, however, concerned with analyzing these religious conceptions. For us, the purpose of religion is to understand God and to learn how to love God. That is the real purpose of any first-class religious system. If a religion does not teach love of God, it is useless. One may follow his religious principles very carefully, but if one does not possess love of God, his religion is null and void. According to  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (1.2.6) real religion must be  ahaitukī  and  apratihatā : without selfish motivation and without impediment. By practicing such a religion, we will become happy in all respects.
Sa vai puṃsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje.  Another name for God is  adhokṣaja , which means “one who cannot be seen by materialistic attempts.” That is to say that God conquers all our attempts to see Him materially. The word  akṣaja  refers to experimental knowledge, and  adhaḥ  means “unreachable.” So God cannot be reached through experimental knowledge. We have to learn to contact Him in a different way: through submissive hearing and the rendering of transcendental loving service.
True religion teaches causeless love of God. It does not say, “I love God because He supplies me nice objects for my sense gratification.” That is not love. God is great, God is our eternal father, and it is our duty to love Him. There is no question of barter or exchange. We should not think, “Oh, God gives me my daily bread; therefore I love God.” God gives daily bread even to the cats and dogs. Since He is the father of everyone, He is supplying everyone food. So loving God for daily bread is not love. Love is without reason. Even if God does not supply us our daily bread, we should love Him. That is true love. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu said,  āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāṁ pinaṣṭu mām adarśanān marma-hatāṁ karotu vā : “I
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know  no one but Kṛṣṇa as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if  He  handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me broken-hearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to  do  anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord,  unconditionally .” That is the sentiment of one who is established  in pure  love of God. When we attain that stage of love of God, we  will  find that everything is full of pleasure; God is full of pleasure,  and  we also are full of pleasure.
suhṛn-mitrāry-udāsīna- madhyastha-dveṣya-bandhuṣu sādhuṣv api ca pāpeṣu sama-buddhir viśiṣyate
“ A  person is said to be still further advanced when he regards  all —the honest well-wisher, friends and enemies, the envious, the  pious , the sinner, and those who are indifferent and impartial— with  an equal mind.” (Bg. 6.9) This is a sign of real spiritual advancement. In this material world we are considering people  friends  and enemies on the bodily platform—that is, on the basis  of sense  gratification. If one gratifies our senses, he is our friend,  and  if he doesn’t, he is our enemy. However, once we have  realized  God, or the Absolute Truth, there are no such material considerations.
In this material world, all conditioned souls are under illusion.  A  doctor treats all patients, and although a patient may be  delirious  and insult the doctor, the doctor does not refuse to treat him. He still administers the medicine that is required. As Lord  Jesus  Christ said, we should hate the sin, not the sinner. That is a  very  nice statement, because the sinner is under illusion. He is  mad . If we hate him, how can we deliver him? Therefore, those  who  are advanced devotees, who are really servants of God,  do not  hate anyone. When Lord Jesus Christ was being crucified, he  said , “My God, forgive them. They know not what they do.” This  is the  proper attitude of an advanced devotee. He understands that  the  conditioned souls cannot be hated, because they have become  mad  due to their materialistic way of thinking. In this Kṛṣṇa