The Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu of Rupa Gosvami explains the superexcellent quality of devotional service as follows:

"If multiplied billions of times, the transcendental pleasure derived from impersonal Brahman realization still could not compare to even an atomic portion of the ocean of bhakti, or transcendental service." (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.38) Similarly, the Bhavartha-dipika states:

"For those who take pleasure in the transcendental topics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the four progressive realizations of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation, all combined together, cannot compare, any more than a straw, to the happiness derived from hearing about the transcendental activities of the Lord." Those who engage in the transcendental service of the lotus feet of Krsna, being relieved of all material enjoyment, have no attraction to topics of impersonal monism. In the Padma Purana, in connection with the glorification of the month of Karttika, it is stated that devotees pray:

"Dear Lord, always remembering Your childhood pastimes at Vrndavana is better for us than aspiring to merge into the impersonal Brahman. During Your childhood pastimes You liberated the two sons of Kuvera and made them great devotees of Your Lordship. Similarly, I wish that instead of giving me liberation You may award me such devotion unto You." In the Hayasirsiya-sri-narayana-vyuha-stava, in the chapter called Narayana-stotra, it is stated:

"My dear Lord, I do not wish to become a man of religion or a master of economic development or sense gratification, nor do I wish for liberation. Although I can have all these from You, the supreme bestower of benedictions, I do not pray for all these. I simply pray that I may always be engaged as a servant of Your lotus feet." Nrsimhadeva offered Prahlada Maharaja all kinds of benedictions, but Prahlada Maharaja did not accept any of them, for he simply wanted to engage in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord. Similarly, a pure devotee wishes to be blessed like Maharaja Prahlada by being thus endowed with devotional service. Devotees also offer their respects to Hanuman, who always remained a servant of Lord Rama. The great devotee Hanuman prayed:

"I do not wish to take liberation or to merge in the Brahman effulgence, where the conception of being a servant of the Lord is completely lost." Similarly, in the Narada-pancaratra it is stated:

"I do not want any one of the four desirable stations. I simply want to engage as a servant of the lotus feet of the Lord." King Kulasekhara, in his very famous book Mukunda-mala-stotra, prays:

"My Lord, I do not worship You to be liberated from this material entanglement, nor do I wish to save myself from the hellish condition of material existence, nor do I ever pray for a beautiful wife to enjoy in a nice garden. I wish only that I may always be in full ecstasy with the pleasure of serving Your Lordship." (M.m.s. 4) In Srimad-Bhagavatam also there are many instances in the Third and Fourth cantos in which devotees pray to the Lord simply to be engaged in His service, and nothing else (Bhag. 3.4.15, 3.25.34, 3.25.36, 4.8.22, 4.9.10 and 4.20.24).