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Бһагавад  -лӯна Ас Ит Іс
[Ch. 18]
or mental speculation. Only one who is actually engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service can understand what Kṛṣṇa is. University degrees are not helpful.
One who is fully conversant with the Krṣṇa science becomes eligible to enter into the spiritual kingdom, the abode of Krṣṇa. Becoming Brahman does not mean that one loses his identity. Devotional service is there, and as long as devotional service exists, there must be God, the devotee, and the process of devotional service. Such knowledge is never vanquished, even after liberation. Liberation involves getting free from the concept of material life; in spiritual life the same distinction is there, the same individuality is there, but in pure Krṣṇa consciousness. One should not misunderstand that the word  viśate , “enters into Me,” supports the monist theory that one becomes homogeneous with the impersonal Brahman. No.  Viśate  means that one can enter into the abode of the Supreme Lord in his individuality to engage in His association and render service unto Him. For instance, a green bird enters a green tree not to become one with the tree but to enjoy the fruits of the tree. Impersonalists generally give the example of a river flowing into the ocean and merging. This may be a source of happiness for the impersonalist, but the personalist keeps his personal individuality like an aquatic in the ocean. We find so many living entities within the ocean, if we go deep. Surface acquaintance with the ocean is not sufficient; one must have complete knowledge of the aquatics living in the ocean depths.
Because of his pure devotional service, a devotee can understand the transcendental qualities and the opulences of the Supreme Lord in truth. As it is stated in the Eleventh Chapter, only by devotional service can one understand. The same is confirmed here; one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by devotional service and enter into His kingdom.
After attainment of the  brahma-bhūta  stage of freedom from material conceptions, devotional service begins by one's hearing about the Lord. When one hears about the Supreme Lord, automatically the  brahma-bhūta  stage develops, and material contamination—greediness and lust for sense enjoyment—disappears. As lust and desires disappear from the heart of a devotee, he becomes more attached to the service of the Lord, and by such attachment he becomes free from material contamination. In that state of life he can understand the Supreme Lord. This is the statement of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  also. Also after liberation the process of  bhakti  or transcendental service continues. The  Vedānta-sūtra  confirms this:  āprāyaṇāt tatrāpi hi drṣṭam . This means that after liberation the process of devotional service continues. In the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , real devotional liberation is