Text 57]
Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Śiva
1097
TEXT 57
क्षणार्धेनापि तुलये न स्वर्गं नापुनर्मवम् । भगवत्सङ्गिसङ्गस्य मत्यानां किमुताशिषः ॥५७॥
kṣaṇārdhenāpi tulaye na svargam nāpunarbhavam bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya martyānām kimutāśiṣaḥ
kṣaṇa-ardhena—by half of a moment; api—even; tulaye—compare; na—never; svargam—heavenly planets; na—neither; apunarbhavam—merging into the Supreme; bhagavat—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; saṅgi—associate; saṅgasya—one who takes advantage of associating; martyānām—of the conditioned soul; kimuta—what is there; āśiṣaḥ—blessings.
TRANSLATION
If one by chance associates with a devotee, even for a fraction of a moment, he no longer is subject to attraction by the results of karma or jñāna. What interest then can he have in the benedictions of the demigods, who are subject to the laws of birth and death?
PURPORT
Out of three kinds of men—the  karmīs ,  jñānīs , and  bhaktas —the  bhakta  is described herein as the most exalted. Śrīla Prabodhānanda Śarasvatī has sung:  kaivalyam narakāyate tridaśapūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate  ( Caitanya-candrāmṛta , 5). The word  kaivalya  means to merge into the effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the word  tridaśa-pūr  refers to the heavenly planets where the demigods live. Thus for a devotee,  kaivalya-sukha , or merging into the existence of the Lord, is hellish because the  bhakta  considers it suicidal to lose his individuality and merge into the effulgence of Brahman. A  bhakta  always wants to retain his individuality in order to render service to the Lord. Indeed, he considers promotion to the upper planetary systems to be no better than a will-o'-the-wisp. Temporary material happiness holds no value for a devotee. The devotee is in such an exalted position that he is not interested in the actions of  karma  or  jñāna . The resultant actions of  karma  and  jñāna  are so insignificant to a devotee situated on the transcendental platform that he is not in the least interested in them.  Bhakti-yoga  is sufficient to give the  bhakta  all happiness. As stated in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: yayātmā suprasīdati  ( Bhāg.  1.2.6). One can be fully satisfied simply by devotional service, and that is the result of association with a devotee. Without being blessed by a