Text 36]
Dhruva Mahārāja Goes Back to Godhead
529
yad bhrājamānaṁ sva-rucaiva sarvato lokās trayo hy anu vibhrājanta ete yan nāvrajañ jantuṣu ye 'nanugrahā vrajanti bhadrāṇi caranti ye 'niśam
yat—which planet; bhrājamānam—illuminating; sva-rucā—by self-effulgence; eva—only; sarvataḥ—everywhere; lokāḥ—planetary systems; trayaḥ—three; hi—certainly; anu—thereupon; vibhrājante—give off light; ete—these; yat—which planet; na—not; avrajat—have reached; jantuṣu—to living entities; ye—those who; ananugrahāḥ—not merciful; vrajanti—reach; bhadrāṇi—welfare activities; caranti—engage in; ye—those who; aniśam—constantly.
TRANSLATION
The self-effulgent Vaikuṇṭha planets, by whose illumination alone all the illuminating planets within this material world give off reflected light, cannot be reached by those who are not merciful to other living entities. Only persons who constantly engage in welfare activities for other living entities can reach the Vaikuṇṭha planets.
PURPORT
Here is a description of two aspects of the Vaikuṇṭha planets. The first is that in the Vaikuṇṭha sky there is no need of the sun and moon. This is confirmed by the  Upaniṣads  as well as  Bhagavad-gītā  ( na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśānko na pāvakaḥ ). In the spiritual world the Vaikuṇṭhalokas are themselves illuminated; there is therefore no need of sun, moon or electric light. It is, in fact, the illumination of the Vaikuṇṭhalokas which is reflected in the material sky.  Only by this reflection are the suns in the material universes illuminated; after the illumination of the sun, all the stars and moons are illuminated. In other words, all the luminaries in the material sky borrow illumination from Vaikuṇṭhaloka. From this material world, however, people can be transferred to the Vaikuṇṭhaloka, if they incessantly engage in welfare activities for all other living entities. Such incessant welfare activities can really be performed only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no other philanthropic work within this material world but Kṛṣṇa consciousness which can engage a person twenty-four hours a day.
A Kṛṣṇa conscious being is always engaged in planning how to take all the suffering humanity back home, back to Godhead. Even if one is not successful in reclaiming all the fallen souls back to Godhead, still, because he is Kṛṣṇa conscious, his path to Vaikuṇṭhaloka is open. He personally becomes qualified to enter the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, and if anyone follows such a