342
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 2, Ch. 7]
supreme and pure, without contamination by the modes of material nature, whereas the living entities are apt to be contaminated by association with the material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. This contamination by the material modes can be washed off completely by knowledge, renunciation and devotional service. Devotional service to the Lord is the ultimate issue, and therefore those who are directly engaged in the devotional service of the Lord do not only acquire the necessary knowledge in spiritual science, but also attain detachment from material connection and are thus promoted to the kingdom of God by complete liberation, as is stated in the  Bhagavad-gītā  (Bg. 14.26):
mām ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṇān samatītyai 'tan brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
Even in the nonliberated stage, a living entity can be directly engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Personality of Godhead Lord Kṛṣṇa or His plenary expansions Rāma, Narasimha, etc. Thus, with the proportionate improvement of such transcendental devotional service, the devotee makes definite progress in the matter of  brahma-gati , or  ātma-gati , and ultimately attains  kapilasya gati , or the abode of the Lord, without difficulty. The antiseptic potency of devotional service to the Lord is so great that it can neutralize the material infection even in the present life of a devotee. A devotee does not need to wait for his next birth for complete liberation.
TEXT 4
अत्रेरपत्यमभिकाङ्क्षत आह तुष्टो दत्तोमयाहमिति यद् भगवान् स दत्तः। यत्पादपङ्कजपरागपवित्रदेहा योगर्द्धिमापुरुभयीं यदुहैहयाद्याः ॥ ४ ॥
atrer apatyam abhikāṅkṣata āha tuṣṭo datto mayāham iti yad bhagavān sa dattaḥ yat-pāda-paṅkaja-parāga-pavitra-dehā yogardhim āpur ubhayīm yadu-haihayādyāḥ