Srimad Bhagavatam

References to text SB 1.2.8
SB 1.2.8: The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.

Text â„–
MahÄrÄja Pá¹›thu underwent all these severe austerities in order to control his words and his senses, to refrain from discharging his semen and to control the life air within his body. All this he did for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. He had no other purpose.
Maharaja Prithu's Going Back Home
SB 4.23.7
This prayer was first spoken to us by Lord BrahmÄ, the master of all creators. The creators, headed by Bhá¹›gu, were instructed in these prayers because they wanted to create.
Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Siva
SB 4.24.72
Queen Purañjanī embraced the King, and the King also responded by embracing her shoulders. In this way, in a solitary place, they enjoyed joking words. Thus King Purañjana became very much captivated by his beautiful wife and deviated from his good sense. He forgot that the passing of days and nights meant that his span of life was being reduced without profit.
Attack by Candavega on the City of King Puranjana: the Character of Kalakanya
SB 4.27.3
The brÄhmaṇa father’s mind was always filled with affection for his son, Jaá¸a Bharata [Bharata MahÄrÄja]. Therefore he was always attached to Jaá¸a Bharata. Because Jaá¸a Bharata was unfit to enter the gá¹›hastha-ÄÅ›rama, he simply executed the purificatory process up to the end of the brahmacarya-ÄÅ›rama. Although Jaá¸a Bharata was unwilling to accept his father’s instructions, the brÄhmaṇa nonetheless instructed him in how to keep clean and how to wash, thinking that the son should be taught by the father.
The Supreme Character of Jada Bharata
SB 5.9.4
How can a religious system that produces envy of one’s self and of others be beneficial for oneself and for them? What is auspicious about following such a system? What is actually to be gained? By causing pain to one’s own self due to self-envy and by causing pain to others, one arouses Your anger and practices irreligion.
King Citraketu Meets the Supreme Lord
SB 6.16.42
Religion, economic development and sense gratification — these are described in the Vedas as tri-varga, or three ways to salvation. Within these three categories are education and self-realization; ritualistic ceremonies performed according to Vedic injunction; logic; the science of law and order; and the various means of earning one’s livelihood. These are the external subject matters of study in the Vedas, and therefore I consider them material. However, I consider surrender to the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu to be transcendental.
Prahlada Instructs His Demoniac Schoolmates
SB 7.6.26
My dear friends, O sons of the demons, you cannot please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by becoming perfect brÄhmaṇas, demigods or great saints or by becoming perfectly good in etiquette or vast learning. None of these qualifications can awaken the pleasure of the Lord. Nor by charity, austerity, sacrifice, cleanliness or vows can one satisfy the Lord. The Lord is pleased only if one has unflinching, unalloyed devotion to Him. Without sincere devotional service, everything is simply a show.
What Prahlada Learned in the Womb
SB 7.7.51-52
Someone may possess full knowledge of religion but still not be kind to all living entities. In someone, whether human or demigod, there may be renunciation, but that is not the cause of liberation. Someone may possess great power and yet be unable to check the power of eternal time. Someone else may have renounced attachment to the material world, yet he cannot compare to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, no one is completely freed from the influence of the material modes of nature.
The Churning of the Milk Ocean
SB 8.8.21
This is the best process for pleasing the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as Adhoká¹£aja. It is the best of all regulative principles, the best austerity, the best process of giving charity, and the best process of sacrifice.
Executing the Payo-vrata Process of Worship
SB 8.16.61
Even though one engages with great endeavor in the mystic yoga system, philosophical speculation, charity, vows, penances, ritualistic sacrifices, teaching of Vedic mantras to others, personal study of the Vedas, or the renounced order of life, still one cannot achieve Me.
Beyond Renunciation and Knowledge
SB 11.12.9