Text 15]
Questions by King Parākṣit
437
Even on this planet of our present residence, no one can achieve a good position within the social order without being qualified with proportionate good work. No one can forcibly sit on the chair of a high court judge without being qualified for the post. Similarly, no one can enter into the higher regions of the planetary system without being qualified by good works in this life. Persons addicted to the habits of passion and ignorance have no chance of entering the higher planetary system simply by an electronic mechanism.
According to the statement of the  Bhagavad-gītā  (Bg. 9.25), persons trying to qualify themselves for promotion to the higher regions of heavenly planets can go there; similarly, persons trying for the Pitṛlokas can go there; similarly, persons trying to improve the conditions on this earth can also do that, and persons who are engaged in going back home, back to Godhead, can also achieve the result. These various actions and reactions of work in the mode of goodness are generally known as pious work with devotional service, culture of knowledge with devotional service, mystic powers with devotional service and (at last) devotional service unmixed with any other varieties of goodness. This unmixed devotional service is transcendental and is called the  parā bhakti , which alone can promote a person to the transcendental kingdom of God. Such a transcendental kingdom is not a myth, but is as factual as the moon planet. It requires the transcendental qualities to understand the kingdom of God and God Himself.
TEXT 15
भूपातालककुञ्च्योमग्रहनक्षत्रभूभृताम् । सरित्समुद्रद्वीपानां सम्भवश्चैतदोकसाम् ॥१५॥
bhū-pātāla-kakub-vyoma- graha-nakṣatra-bhūbhṛtām sarit-samudra-dvīpānām sambhavaś caitad-okasām
bhūḥ-pātāla—underneath the land; kakub—four sides of the heavens; vyoma—the sky; graha—the planets; nakṣatra—the stars; bhūbhṛtām—of the hills; sarit—the river; samudra—the sea; dvīpānām—of the islands; sambhavaḥ—appearance; ca—also; etat—their; okasām—of the inhabitants.