II श्रीराम जय राम जय जय राम II

जब लग भगहित सकामता, तब लग निर्फल सेव I
कहै कबीर वै क्यूँ मिले, निहकामी निज देव II

Bhakti means “connecting” with God through love and devotion. It is supreme love towards God, the love for love sake. The devotee wants God and God alone. It redeems and saves. It purifies the heart. The ultimate objective of Bhakti is the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul - Liberation or Self-Realization. But this rarely is the objective in the initial stages of Bhakti Yoga. Most of the times Bhakti is 'Sakam' (devotion with objective of attaining some material goal). There is nothing wrong with 'Sakam' Bhakti. In fact every devotee always starts with 'Sakam' Bhakti. It is next to impossible to find an example of a devotee who directly started with 'Nishkam' (selfless or desire-less) Bhakti without doing Sakam' Bhakti first.
'Nishkam' Bhakti is the devotion to God "not seeking any favor" describing a selfless level of devotion that desires nothing in return. In this a devotee is grateful to God. 'Nishkam' Bhakti is the highest form of love for God. 

"Kabir says, In 'Sakam'-Bhakti, God will certainly give you whatever you want, if your Bhakti is intense and if your prayers are sincerely offered from the bottom of your heart. The 'Sakam' Bhakti  however stays at the worldly level. The Liberation from the mundane existence, the true purpose of this rare human birth is fulfilled only with 'Nishkam' Bhakti. Ideally love has to be 'Nishkam' (for the sake of love) but God still responds to 'Sakam' Bhakti. It is like the mother who loves all her children equally, the studious one (Nishkam Bhakta) as well as the naughty one (Sakam Bhakta)."

II श्रीराम जय राम जय जय राम II

II श्रीसद्गुरूचरणार्पणमस्तु II