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prakrtih—the influence of material nature; purusasya—of the living entity; iha—here; dahyamana—being consumed; tu—but; ahah-nisam—day and night; tirah-bhavitri—disappearing; sanakaih—gradually; agneh—of fire; yonih—the cause of appearance; iva—as; aranih—wooden sticks.

The influence of material nature has covered the living entity, and thus it is as if the living entity were always in a blazing fire. But by the process of seriously discharging devotional service, this influence can be removed, just as wooden sticks which cause a fire are themselves consumed by it.

Fire is conserved in wooden sticks, and when circumstances are favorable, the fire is ignited. But the wooden sticks which are the cause of the fire are also consumed by the fire if it is properly dealt with. Similarly, the living entity’s conditional life of material existence is due to his desire to lord it over material nature and due to his envy of the Supreme Lord. Thus his main diseases are that he wants to be one with the Supreme Lord or he wants to become the lord of material nature. The karmis try to utilize the resources of material nature and thus become its lord and enjoy sense gratification, and the jnanis, the salvationists, who have become frustrated in enjoying the material resources, want to become one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead or merge into the impersonal effulgence. These two diseases are due to material contamination. Material contamination can be consumed by devotional service because in devotional service these two diseases, namely the desire to lord it over material nature and the desire to become one with the Supreme Lord, are absent. Therefore the cause of material existence is at once consumed by the careful discharge of devotional service in Krsna consciousness.

A devotee in full Krsna consciousness appears superficially to be a great karmi, always working, but the inner significance of the devotee’s activities is that they are meant for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. This is called bhakti, or devotional service. Arjuna was apparently a fighter but when by his fighting he satisfied the senses of Lord Krsna, he became a devotee. Since a devotee also engages in philosophical research to understand the Supreme Person as He is, his activities may thus appear to be like those of a mental speculator, but actually he is trying to understand the spiritual nature and transcendental activities. Thus although the tendency for philosophical speculation exists, the material effects of fruitive activities and empiric speculation do not, because this activity is meant for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB3.27.24

TEXT 24

bhukta-bhoga parityakta

drsta-dosa ca nityasah

nesvarasyasubham dhatte

sve mahimni sthitasya ca

bhukta—enjoyed; bhoga—enjoyment; parityakta—given up; drsta—discovered; dosa—faultiness; ca—and; nityasah—always; na—not; isvarasya—of the independent; asubham—harm; dhatte—she inflicts; sve mahimni—in his own glory; sthitasya—situated; ca—and.

By discovering the faultiness of his desiring to lord it over material nature and by therefore giving it up, the living entity becomes independent and stands in his own glory.

Because the living entity is not actually the enjoyer of the material resources, his attempt to lord it over material nature is, at the ultimate issue, frustrated. As a result of frustration, he desires more power than the ordinary living entity and thus wants to merge into the existence of the supreme enjoyer. In this way he develops a plan for greater enjoyment.

When one is actually situated in devotional service, that is his independent position. Less intelligent men cannot understand the position of the eternal servant of the Lord. Because the word “servant” is used, they become confused; they cannot understand that this servitude is not the servitude of this material world. To be the servant of the Lord is the greatest position. If one can understand this and can thus revive one’s original nature of eternal servitorship of the Lord, one stands fully independent. A living entity’s independence is lost by material contact. In the spiritual field he has full independence, and therefore there is no question of becoming dependent upon the three modes of material nature. This position is attained by a devotee, and therefore he gives up the tendency for material enjoyment after seeing its faultiness.

The difference between a devotee and an impersonalist is that an impersonalist tries to become one with the Supreme so that he can enjoy without impediment, whereas a devotee gives up the entire mentality of enjoying and engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. That is his constitutional glorified position. At that time he is isvara, fully independent. The real isvara or isvarah paramah, the supreme isvara, or supreme independent, is Krsna. The living entity is isvara only when engaged in the service of the Lord. In other words, transcendental pleasure derived from loving service to the Lord is actual independence.

SB3.27.25

TEXT 25

yatha hy apratibuddhasya

prasvapo bahv-anartha-bhrt

sa eva pratibuddhasya

na vai mohaya kalpate

yatha—as; hi—indeed; apratibuddhasya—of one who is sleeping; prasvapah—the dream; bahu-anartha-bhrt—bearing many inauspicious things; sah eva—that very dream; pratibuddhasya—of one who is awake; na—not; vai—certainly; mohaya—for bewildering; kalpate—is capable.

In the dreaming state one’s consciousness is almost covered, and one sees many inauspicious things, but when he is awakened and fully conscious, such inauspicious things cannot bewilder him.

In the condition of dreaming, when one’s consciousness is almost covered, one may see many unfavorable things which cause disturbance or anxiety, but upon awakening, although he remembers what happened in the dream, he is not disturbed. Similarly the position of self-realization, or understanding of one’s real relationship with the Supreme Lord, makes one completely satisfied, and the three modes of material nature, which are the cause of all disturbances, cannot affect him. In contaminated consciousness one sees everything to be for his own enjoyment, but in pure consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, he sees that everything exists for the enjoyment of the supreme enjoyer. That is the difference between the dream state and wakefulness. The state of contaminated consciousness is compared to dream consciousness, and Krsna consciousness is compared to the awakened stage of life. Actually, as stated in Bhagavad-gita, the only absolute enjoyer is Krsna. One who can understand that Krsna is the proprietor of all the three worlds and that He is the friend of everyone is peaceful and independent. As long as a conditioned soul does not have this knowledge, he wants to be the enjoyer of everything; he wants to become a humanitarian or philanthropist and open hospitals and schools for his fellow human beings. This is all illusion, for one cannot benefit anyone by such material activities. If one wishes to benefit his fellow brother, he must awaken his dormant Krsna consciousness. The Krsna conscious position is that of pratibuddha, which means “pure consciousness.”

SB3.27.26

TEXT 26

evam vidita-tattvasya

prakrtir mayi manasam

yunjato napakuruta

atmaramasya karhicit

evam—thus; vidita-tattvasya—to one who knows the Absolute Truth; prakrtih—material nature; mayi—on Me; manasam—the mind; yunjatah—fixing; na—not; apakurute—can do harm; atma-aramasya—to one who rejoices in the self; karhicit—at any time.

The influence of material nature cannot harm an enlightened soul, even though he engages in material activities, because he knows the truth of the Absolute, and his mind is fixed on the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Lord Kapila says that mayi manasam, a devotee whose mind is always fixed upon the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is called atmarama or vidita-tattva. Atmarama means “one who rejoices in the self,” or “one who enjoys in the spiritual atmosphere.” Atma, in the material sense, means the body or the mind, but when referring to one whose mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, atmarama means “one who is fixed in spiritual activities in relationship with the Supreme Soul.” The Supreme Soul is the Personality of Godhead, and the individual soul is the living entity. When they engage in reciprocation of service and benediction, the living entity is said to be in the atmarama position. This atmarama position can be attained by one who knows the truth as it is. The truth is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the enjoyer and that the living entities are meant for His service and enjoyment. One who knows this truth, and who tries to engage all resources in the service of the Lord, escapes all material reactions and influences of the modes of material nature.

An example may be cited in this connection. Just as a materialist engages in constructing a big skyscraper, a devotee engages in constructing a big temple for Visnu. Superficially, the skyscraper constructor and temple constructor are on the same level, for both are collecting wood, stone, iron and other building materials. But the person who constructs a skyscraper is a materialist, and the person who constructs a temple of Visnu is atmarama. The materialist tries to satisfy himself in relation to his body by constructing a skyscraper, but the devotee tries to satisfy the Superself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by constructing the temple. Although both are engaged in the association of material activities, the devotee is liberated, and the materialist is conditioned. This is because the devotee, who is constructing the temple, has fixed his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the nondevotee, who is constructing the skyscraper, has his mind fixed in sense gratification. If, while performing any activity, even in material existence, one’s mind is fixed upon the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, one will not be entangled or conditioned. The worker in devotional service, in full Krsna consciousness, is always independent of the influence of material nature.

SB3.27.27

TEXT 27

yadaivam adhyatma-ratah

kalena bahu-janmana

sarvatra jata-vairagya

abrahma-bhuvanan munih

yada—when; evam—thus; adhyatma-ratah—engaged in self-realization; kalena—for many years; bahu-janmana—for many births; sarvatra—everywhere; jata-vairagyah—detachment is born; a-brahma-bhuvanat—up to Brahmaloka; munih—a thoughtful person.

When a person thus engages in devotional service and self-realization for many, many years and births, he becomes completely reluctant to enjoy any one of the material planets, even up to the highest planet, which is known as Brahmaloka; he becomes fully developed in consciousness.

Anyone engaged in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as a devotee, but there is a distinction between pure devotees and mixed devotees. A mixed devotee engages in devotional service for the spiritual benefit of being eternally engaged in the transcendental abode of the Lord in full bliss and knowledge. In material existence, when a devotee is not completely purified, he expects material benefit from the Lord in the form of relief from material miseries, or he wants material gain, advancement in knowledge of the relationship between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entity, or knowledge as to the real nature of the Supreme Lord. When a person is transcendental to these conditions, he is called a pure devotee. He does not engage himself in the service of the Lord for any material benefit or for understanding of the Supreme Lord. His one interest is that he loves the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he spontaneously engages in satisfying Him.

The highest example of pure devotional service is that of the gopis in Vrndavana. They are not interested in understanding Krsna, but only in loving Him. That platform of love is the pure state of devotional service. Unless one is advanced to this pure state of devotional service, there is a tendency to desire elevation to a higher material position. A mixed devotee may desire to enjoy a comfortable life on another planet with a greater span of life, such as on Brahmaloka. These are material desires, but because a mixed devotee engages in the service of the Lord, ultimately, after many, many lives of material enjoyment, he undoubtedly develops Krsna consciousness, and the symptom of this Krsna consciousness is that he is no longer interested in any sort of materially elevated life. He does not even aspire to become a personality like Lord Brahma.

SB3.27.28-29

TEXTS 28–29

mad-bhaktah pratibuddhartho

mat-prasadena bhuyasa

nihsreyasam sva-samsthanam

kaivalyakhyam mad-asrayam

prapnotihanjasa dhirah

sva-drsa cchinna-samsayah

yad gatva na nivarteta

yogi lingad vinirgame

mat-bhaktah—My devotee; pratibuddha-arthah—self-realized; mat-prasadena—by My causeless mercy; bhuyasa—unlimited; nihsreyasam—the ultimate perfectional goal; sva-samsthanam—his abode; kaivalya-akhyam—called kaivalya; mat-asrayam—under My protection; prapnoti—attains; iha—in this life; anjasa—truly; dhirah—steady; sva-drsa—by knowledge of the self; chinna-samsayah—freed from doubts; yat—to that abode; gatva—having gone; na—never; nivarteta—comes back; yogi—the mystic devotee; lingat—from the subtle and gross material bodies; vinirgame—after departing.

My devotee actually becomes self-realized by My unlimited causeless mercy, and thus, when freed from all doubts, he steadily progresses towards his destined abode, which is directly under the protection of My spiritual energy of unadulterated bliss. That is the ultimate perfectional goal of the living entity. After giving up the present material body, the mystic devotee goes to that transcendental abode and never comes back.

Actual self-realization means becoming a pure devotee of the Lord. The existence of a devotee implies the function of devotion and the object of devotion. Self-realization ultimately means to understand the Personality of Godhead and the living entities; to know the individual self and the reciprocal exchanges of loving service between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entity is real self-realization. This cannot be attained by the impersonalists or other transcendentalists; they cannot understand the science of devotional service. Devotional service is revealed to the pure devotee by the unlimited causeless mercy of the Lord. This is especially spoken of here by the Lord—mat-prasadena, “by My special grace.” This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita. Only those who engage in devotional service with love and faith receive the necessary intelligence from the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that gradually and progressively they can advance to the abode of the Personality of Godhead.

Nihsreyasa means “the ultimate destination.” Sva-samsthana indicates that the impersonalists have no particular place to stay. The impersonalists sacrifice their individuality so that the living spark can merge into the impersonal effulgence emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord, but the devotee has a specific abode. The planets rest in the sunshine, but the sunshine itself has no particular resting place. When one reaches a particular planet, then he has a resting place. The spiritual sky, which is known as kaivalya, is simply blissful light on all sides, and it is under the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (14.27), brahmano hi pratisthaham: the impersonal Brahman effulgence rests on the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is kaivalya, or impersonal Brahman. In that impersonal effulgence there are spiritual planets, which are known as Vaikunthas, chief of which is Krsnaloka. Some devotees are elevated to the Vaikuntha planets, and some are elevated to the planet Krsnaloka. According to the desire of the particular devotee, he is offered a particular abode, which is known as sva-samsthana, his desired destination. By the grace of the Lord, the self-realized devotee engaged in devotional service understands his destination even while in the material body. He therefore performs his devotional activities steadily, without doubting, and after quitting his material body he at once reaches the destination for which he has prepared himself. After reaching that abode, he never comes back to this material world.

The words lingad vinirgame, which are used here, mean “after being freed from the two kinds of material bodies, subtle and gross.” The subtle body is made of mind, intelligence, false ego and contaminated consciousness, and the gross body is made of five elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether. When one is transferred to the spiritual world, he gives up both the subtle and gross bodies of this material world. He enters the spiritual sky in his pure, spiritual body and is stationed in one of the spiritual planets. Although the impersonalists also reach that spiritual sky after giving up the subtle and gross material bodies, they are not placed in the spiritual planets; as they desire, they are allowed to merge in the spiritual effulgence emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord. The word sva-samsthanam is also very significant. As a living entity prepares himself, so he attains his abode. The impersonal Brahman effulgence is offered to the impersonalists, but those who want to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His transcendental form as Narayana in the Vaikunthas, or with Krsna in Krsnaloka, go to those abodes, wherefrom they never return.

SB3.27.30

TEXT 30

yada na yogopacitasu ceto

mayasu siddhasya visajjate ’nga

ananya-hetusv atha me gatih syad

atyantiki yatra na mrtyu-hasah

yada—when; na—not; yoga-upacitasu—to powers developed by yoga; cetah—the attention; mayasu—manifestations of maya; siddhasya—of a perfect yogi; visajjate—is attracted; anga—My dear mother; ananya-hetusu—having no other cause; atha—then; me—to Me; gatih—his progress; syat—becomes; atyantiki—unlimited; yatra—where; na—not; mrtyu-hasah—power of death.

When a perfect yogi’s attention is no longer attracted to the by-products of mystic powers, which are manifestations of the external energy, his progress towards Me becomes unlimited, and thus the power of death cannot overcome him.