1036 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 25

TRANSLATION

The mystic yoga system, as you have explained, aims at the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and is meant for completely ending material
existence. Please let me know what the nature of that yoga system is. How
many ways are there by which one can understand in truth that sublime

yoga?
PURPORT

There are different kinds of mystic yoga systems aiming for different
phases of the Absolute Truth. The jiiana-yoga system aims at the imper-
sonal Brahman effulgence, and the hatha-yoga system aims at the localized
personal aspect, the Paramatma feature of the Absolute Truth, whereas
bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, which is executed in nine different ways,
headed by hearing and chanting, aims at complete realization of the Su-
preme Lord. There are different methods of self-realization. But here
Devahiiti especially refers to the bhakti-yoga system, which has already
been primarily explained by the Lord. The different parts of the bhakti-
yoga system are hearing, chanting, remembering, offering prayers, wor-
shiping the Lord in the temple, accepting service to Him, carrying out His
orders, making friendship with Him, and, after all, surrendering everything
for the service of the Lord. The word nirvandtman is very significant
in this verse. Unless one accepts the process of devotional service,
one cannot end the continuation of material existence. As far as
jfianis are concerned, they are interested in jfidna-yoga, but even if one
elevates oneself, after a great performance of austerity, to the Brahman
effulgence, there is a chance of falling down again in the material world.
Therefore, jfidna-yoga does not actually end material existence. Similarly,
regarding the hatha-yoga system, which aims at the localized aspect of the
Lord, Paramatma, it has been experienced that many yogis, such as
Visvamitra, fall down. But bhakti-yogis, once approaching the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, never come back to this material world, as it is
confirmed in the Bhagavad-gtia. Yad gatva na nivartante: upon going, one
never comes back. T'yaktvd deham punar janma naiti: after giving up this
body, he never comes back again to accept a material body. Nirvana does
not finish the existence of the soul. The soul is ever-existing. Therefore
nirvana: means to end one’s material existence, and to end material exis-
tence means to go back home, back to Godhead.

Sometimes it is questioned how the living entity falls down from the
spiritual world to the material world. Here is the answer. Unless one is
