Text 54] Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Siva 1093
svdrajyasyapy abhimata
ekantendtma-vid-gatih
bhavan— Your Grace; bhaktimata—by the devotee; labhyah—obtainable;
durlabhah—very difficult to be obtained; sarva-dehinam—of all other living
entities; svdrajyasya—of the king of heaven; api—even; abhimatah—the
ultimate goal; ekantena—by oneness; atma-vit—of the self-realized; gatih—
the ultimate destination.
TRANSLATION
My dear Lord, the king in charge of the heavenly kingdom is also
desirous to obtain the ultimate goal of life—devotional service. Similarly,
You are the ultimate destination of those who identify themselves with
You [aharh brahmasmi]. However, it is very difficult for them to attain
You, whereas a devotee can very easily attain Your Lordship.
PURPORT
As stated in Brahma-samhita: vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-
bhaktau. This indicates that it is very difficult for one to attain the
ultimate goal of life and reach the supreme destination, Vaikunthaloka or
Goloka Vrndavana, simply by studying Vedanta philosophy or Vedic litera-
ture. However, this highest perfectional stage can be attained by the
devotees very easily. That is the meaning of vedesu durlabham adurlabham
atma-bhaktau. The same point is confirmed by Lord Siva in this verse.
The Lord is very difficult for the karma-yogis, jnana-yogis and dh yana-yogis
to attain. Those who are bhakti-yogis, however, have no difficulty at all.
In the word svarajyasya, svar refers to Svargaloka, the heavenly planet,
and svarajya refers to the ruler of the heavenly planet, Indra. Generally,
karmis desire elevation to heavenly planets, but King Indra desires to
become perfect in bhakti-yoga. Those who also identify themselves as
aham brahmasmi (“I am the Supreme Brahman, one with the Absolute
Truth.”’) also ultimately desire to attain perfect liberation in the Vaikuntha
planets or Goloka Vrndavana. In Bhagavad-gita it is said:
bhaktyd mam abhijanati
yavan yas casmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram
“One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional
service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by
such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (Bg. 18.55)
