211 The Nectar of Devotion

have attained the favor of Krsna, which is aspired after even by great
mystics! How wonderful it is that these women have attained such
perfection, while we, although brahmanas who have performed all
the reformatory activities, cannot attain to this advanced stage!”

There is a similar statement by Narada, addressed to Sukadeva Go-
svami: “My dear Sukadeva Gosvami, you never took the trouble to
reside under the care of a spiritual master, and yet you have attained
such a great status of transcendental knowledge. You never took the
trouble to undergo severe austerities, and still, how wonderful it is
that you have been situated in the most perfect stage of love of God-
head.”

Sukadeva Gosvami and the wives of the brahmanas who were
performing yajna are vivid examples of devotees who achieved the
perfectional stage of devotional service by the grace of the Supreme

Personality of Godhead.
Eternal Perfection

Persons who have achieved eternal, blissful life exactly on the level
of Sri Krgna, and who are able to attract Lord Krsna by their tran-
scendental loving service, are called eternally perfect. The technical
name is nitya-siddha. There are two classes of living entities—namely,
nitya-siddha and nitya-baddha. The distinction is that the nitya-
siddhas are eternally Krsna conscious without any forgetfulness,
whereas the nitya-baddhas, or eternally conditioned souls, are forget-
ful of their relationship with Krsna.

The position of the nitya-siddhas is explained in the Padma Purana
in connection with the narration of the Supreme Personality of God-
head and Satyabhamadevi. The Lord tells Satyabhama: “My dear
Satyabhamadevi, I have descended to this earthly planet by the re-
quest of Lord Brahma and other demigods. Those who are born into
this family of Yadu are all My eternal associates. My dear wife, you
should not consider that My associates are ever separated from Me;
they are My personal expansions, and as such, you must know that
they are almost as powerful as I am. Because of their transcendental
qualities, they are very, very dear to Me, as I am very, very dear to
