4 / Devotional Service
Surpasses All Liberation

How much a devotee is seriously attached to the devotional service
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood from the
statement of Maharaj Prthu (Adiraja) which is described in Srimad-
Bhagavatam, Fourth Canto, 20th Chapter, 21st verse. He prays to
the Supreme Personality of Godhead thusly: “My dear Lord, if after
taking liberation I have no chance of hearing the glories of Your
Lordship, glories chanted by pure devotees from the core of their
hearts in praise of Your lotus feet, and if J have no chance for this
honey of transcendental bliss, then I shall never ask for liberation
or this so-called spiritual emancipation. I shall simply always pray
unto Your Lordship that You may give me millions of tongues and
millions of ears so that I can constantly chant and hear of Your
transcendental glories.”

The impersonalists desire to merge into the existence of the su-
preme, but without keeping their individuality they have no chance
of hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord. Because
they have no idea of the transcendental form of the Supreme Lord
there is no chance of their chanting and hearing of His transcendental
activities. In other words, unless one is already beyond liberation,
one cannot relish the transcendental glories of the Lord, nor can one
understand the transcendental form of the Lord.

A similar statement is found in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Fifth Can-
to, 14th Chapter, 43rd verse. Sukadeva Gosvami addresses Pariksit
Maharaj there and says, ““The great soul of King Bharata was so much
attached to the service of the lotus feet of Krsna that he very easily
gave up his lordship over the earthly planet and his affection for his

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