karmārpaṇaṁ dvividham—bhagavat-prīṇana-rūpaṁ, tasmiṁs tat-tyāga-rūpaṁ ceti | … atra nimittāni ca trīṇi—kāmanā, naiṣkarmyaṁ, bhakti-mātraṁ ceti | niṣkāmatvaṁ tu kevalaṁ na sambhavati, yad yad dhi kurute jantus tat tat kāmasya ceṣṭitam ity ukteḥ | atra kāmanā-naiṣkarmyayoḥ prāyaḥ karma-tyāgaḥ | prīṇanaṁ tu tad-ābhāsa eva, svārtha-paratvāt | bhaktau punaḥ prīṇanam eva, bhaktes tu tad-eka-jīvanatvāt | … parama-bhaktās tu bhagavat-paritoṣaṇaṁ prīṇanam eva prārthayante … |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 224)
“Offering karma [to Bhagavān] is of two types: that in the form of pleasing Bhagavān (Bhagavat-prīṇana) [i.e., making an offering of one’s karma to please Bhagavān], and in the form of giving that [i.e., karma] to him [i.e., offering karma to him without any intention to please him]. … There are three causes in this regard [i.e., the desired object of those who offer their karma to Bhagavān is one of three types]: a desire (kāmanā) [i.e., the fulfillment of a particular worldly desire], freedom from karma (naiṣkarmya) [i.e., attaining mukti], and bhakti alone [i.e., attaining bhakti for its own sake]. Pure desirelessness (niṣkāmatva) is not at all possible, as per the statement [in Manu-smṛti 2.4], ‘Indeed whatever a person does is an action of [i.e., motivated by] desire for that [i.e., for whatever object the action is related to].’ Herein [i.e., in regard to these three causes], in the case of [the causes of] desire (kāmanā) and naiṣkarmya, for the most part giving up of karma occurs [i.e., these two causes mostly fall into the second of the two aforementioned categories of offering karma to Bhagavān, that is, simply giving over one’s karma to Bhagavān without any specific intent to please him]. Pleasing [Bhagavān] is present only in appearance in them [i.e., it is not really there] because their [i.e., these actions] being self-interested. In the case of bhakti [i.e., in the case of offering karma to Bhagavān with the desire only of attaining bhakti], on the contrary, pleasing [Bhagavān] alone is present [in such an offering of karma] because of that [i.e., pleasing Bhagavān] being the very life of bhakti. … Great bhaktas pray only for the complete satisfaction of Bhāgavan, that is, pleasing [Bhagavān].”
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