Bhakti in Vaishnavism is understood as pure, selfless devotion and love directed toward Vishnu and his avatars, especially Krishna and Rama. It is not merely an emotion but a sustained attitude of loving attachment and surrender to a personal, responsive deity. This devotion is marked by complete dependence on divine grace and the recognition of the soul’s role as servant, friend, or intimate associate of the Lord. In this sense, Bhakti is both a spiritual discipline and the ultimate fulfillment of religious life, culminating in eternal loving communion or service to Vishnu in his transcendent realm.

At the heart of this devotion stand qualities such as anurakti, an intense and unwavering attachment to the Lord that surpasses worldly affections, and prema, a form of divine love free from selfish desire or expectation of reward. Such Bhakti is characterized by unconditional love that does not seek material benefits, but delights simply in the presence and pleasure of the deity. It entails prapatti or śaraṇāgati, complete and unconditional self-surrender, accepting the Lord as sole refuge and protector. This surrender naturally fosters humility and the abandonment of ego, as the devotee comes to see all strength and merit as rooted in divine grace.

Vaishnava tradition also emphasizes that Bhakti is expressed and cultivated through concrete practices that engage body, speech, and mind. These include worship and ritual offerings (arcana), prayer and prostration (vandana), chanting and singing of divine names and glories (kīrtana), and attentive listening to sacred narratives (śravaṇa). Meditation and remembrance (smaraṇa) deepen inner awareness of the Lord, while various forms of service (seva) to the deity and to fellow devotees embody devotion in action. The classical enumeration of nine forms of Bhakti—such as service to the divine feet (pāda-sevanam), servitude (dāsya), friendship (sakhya), and complete self-surrender (ātma-nivedanam)—illustrates the many relational modes through which love for Vishnu may be lived.

Within this framework, Bhakti is closely linked with knowledge and detachment, though it is not reduced to them. Understanding the nature of reality (jñāna) and cultivating freedom from material desires (vairāgya) are seen as supports that purify and steady devotion, ensuring it remains untainted by selfish motives. Yet liberation (mokṣa) is ultimately attained not by knowledge or ritual alone, but through this purified, loving devotion empowered by divine grace. Thus Bhakti stands as both the path and the goal: a disciplined way of life centered on hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving, and surrendering to Vishnu, and the perfected state of divine love that these practices are meant to awaken.