Is Krishna’s consciousness higher than Bhakti yoga?

One should understand the meaning of the term “Krishna Consciousness”. Krishna Consciousness means to realise Lord Krishna is the cause of all causes, He is the sole enjoyer of everything and hence we all should serve Him without expecting anything in return.

On the other hand Bhakti Yoga means the path of love. In this path, we should do loving service to Lord Krishna. We can do the loving service to Lord Krishna in one of the following 9 ways:

1. Sravanam - hearing about Lord (like His pastimes) and His instructions (like Bhagavad Gita).
2. Kirtanam - chanting the glories of Lord
3. Smaranam - remembering Lord
4. Padasevanam - serving the lotus feet of Lord
5. Arcanam - worshipping the Lord
6. Vandanam - praying and paying obeisance to the Lord
7. Dasyam - serving the Lord like a servant
8. Sakhyam - considering the Lord like one’s friend
9. Atma nivedanam - totally surrendering to the Lord

So Bhakti Yoga can be considered as the path of attaining the goal i.e. Krishna Consciousness. Currently due to the impact of Kali Yuga, only the first 2 ways viz Sravanam and Kirtanam are feasible for all. Rest of the 7 are difficult for the general mass and applicable only for certain people. Therefore we should start following Bhakti Yoga by chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare in the audible manner. In that way we can do both Sravanam and Kirtanam. Slowly once our consciousness becomes purified from material to spiritual, we can follow rest of the 7 ways also. After attaining Krishna Consciousness also we should carry on our loving service i.e. following Bhakti Yoga in any one of the 9 ways. In that case Bhakti yoga becomes equal to Krishna Consciousness.

Practicing Krishna consciousness is dynamic, real, and practical, not just something to think about. It means to focus the mind and senses by actively serving the Supreme Person. Anything done in Krishna's service is beneficial, but the most recommended practices of Krishna consciousness are