Text 18] Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions 367
spite of being forbidden by his spiritual master. The king dedicated his own
personal body to fulfill the measurement of the Lord’s third step. For such
a personality, even the kingdom of heaven, which he conquered by his
strength, was of no value.

PURPORT

Bali Maharaja, by gaining the transcendental favor of the Lord in
exchange for his great material sacrifice, was able to have a place in the
Vaikunthaloka with equal or greater facilities of eternal enjoyment; there-
fore he was not at all the loser by sacrificing the kingdom of heaven,
which he possessed by his material strength. In other words, when the
Lord snatches away one’s hard-earned material possessions and favors one
with His personal transcendental service for eternal life, bliss and know-
ledge, such taking away by the Lord should be considered a special favor
upon such a pure devotee.

Material possessions, however alluring they may be, cannot be permanent
possessions. Therefore one has to voluntarily give up such possessions, or
one has to leave such possessions at the time of quitting this material body.
The sane man knows that all material possessions are temporary, and the
best use of such possessions is to engage them in the service of the Lord so
that the Lord may be pleased with him and award him a permanent place
in His param dhama.

In the Bhagavad-gita, the param dhama of the Lord is described as
follows:

nirmana-moha jita-sanga-dosa
adhyatma-nityda vinivrtta-kamah
dvandvair vimuktah sukha-duhkha-samjnair
gacchanty amidhah padam avyayam tat
na tad bhasayate stiryo
na Sasanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante
tad dhama paramam mama_ (Bg. 15.5-6)
One who possesses more in this material world, in the shape of houses,
land, children, society, friendship and wealth, possesses these things only
for the time being. One cannot possess all this illusory paraphernalia, cre-
