Text 18] Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions
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spite of being forbidden by his spiritual master. The king dedicated his own personal body to fulfill the measurement of the Lord's third step. For such a personality, even the kingdom of heaven, which he conquered by his strength, was of no value.
PURPORT
Bali Mahārāja, by gaining the transcendental favor of the Lord in exchange for his great material sacrifice, was able to have a place in the Vaikuṇṭhaloka with equal or greater facilities of eternal enjoyment; therefore he was not at all the loser by sacrificing the kingdom of heaven, which he possessed by his material strength. In other words, when the Lord snatches away one's hard-earned material possessions and favors one with His personal transcendental service for eternal life, bliss and knowledge, such taking away by the Lord should be considered a special favor upon such a pure devotee.
Material possessions, however alluring they may be, cannot be permanent possessions. Therefore one has to voluntarily give up such possessions, or one has to leave such possessions at the time of quitting this material body. The same man knows that all material possessions are temporary, and the best use of such possessions is to engage them in the service of the Lord so that the Lord may be pleased with him and award him a permanent place in His  param dhāma .
In the  Bhagavad-gītā , the  param dhāma  of the Lord is described as follows:
nirmāna-mohā jita-saṅga-doṣā  
 adhyātma-nityā vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ  
 dvandvair vimuktāḥ sukha-duḥkha-saṁjñair  
 gacchanty amūḍhāḥ padam avyayaṁ tat
na tad bhāsayate sūryo  
 na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ  
 yad gatvā na nivartante  
 tad dhāma paramaṁ mama  (Bg. 15.5-6)
One who possesses more in this material world, in the shape of houses, land, children, society, friendship and wealth, possesses these things only for the time being. One cannot possess all this illusory paraphernalia, cre-