Adi-fila, Chapter 5 401

From this incident one can understand that even a person who thinks of Krsna
as an enemy and is killed by Him may be liberated by becoming one with the body
of Krsna. What then must be the destination of devotees who always think
favorably of Krsna as their master or friend? These devotees must attain a situation
better than Brahmaloka, the impersonal bodily effulgence of Krsna. Devotees
cannot be situated in the impersonal Brahman effulgence, into which impersonalists
desire to merge. The devotees are placed in Vaikunthaloka or Krsnaloka.

This discussion between Maitreya Muni and Parasara Muni centered on whether
devotees come down into the material world in every millennium like Jaya and
Vijaya, who were cursed by the Kumaras to that effect. In the course of these
instructions to Maitreya about Hiranyakasipu, Ravana and Sisupala, Paragara did
not say that these demons were formerly Jaya and Vijaya. He simply described
the transmigration through three lives. It is not necessary for the Vaikuntha
associates of the Supreme Personality of ‘Godhead to come to take the roles of
His enemies in all the millenniums in which He appears. The ‘‘falldown”’ of Jaya
and Vijaya occurred in a particular millennium; Jaya and Vijaya do not come down
in every millennium to act as demons. To think that some associates of the Lord
fall down from Vaikuntha in every millennium to become demons is totally in-
correct.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has all the tendencies that may be found in
the living entity, for He is the chief living entity. Therefore it is natural that some-
times Lord Visnu wants to fight. Just as He has the tendencies to create, to enjoy,
to be a friend, to accept a mother and father, and so on, He also has the tendency
to fight. Sometimes important landlords and kings keep wrestlers with whom they
practice mock fighting, and Visnu makes similar arrangements. The demons who
fight with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the material world are sometimes
His associates. When there is a scarcity of demons and the Lord wants to fight, He
instigates some of His associates of Vaikuntha to come and play as demons. When
it is said that Sisupala merged into the body of Krsna, it should be noted that in this
case he was not Jaya or Vijaya; he was actually a demon.

In his Brhad-bhagavatamrta, Srila Sanatana Gosvamt has explained that the attain-
ment of salvation by merging into the Brahman effulgence of the Lord cannot be
accepted as the highest success in life, because demons like Kamsa, who were famous
for killing bra@hmanas and cows, attained that salvation. For devotees such salvation
is abominable. Devotees are actually in a transcendental position, whereas nondevo-
tees are candidates for hellish conditions of life. There is always a difference between
the life of a devotee and the life of a demon, and their realizations are as different
as heaven and hell.

Demons are always accustomed to be malicious toward devotees and to kill
brahmanas and cows. For demons, merging in the Brahman effulgence may be very
glorious, but for devotees it is hellish. A devotee’s aim in life is to attain perfection
in loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who aspire to merge into the
Brahman effulgence are as abominable as demons. Devotees who aspire to associate
with the Supreme Lord to render Him transcendental loving service are far superior.
