Text 57] Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Siva 1097
TEXT 57
great qed A Bl aTyATATT |
rea RTRS ATA PEATE 1
ksanardhenapi tulaye
na svargam napunarbhavam
bhagavat-sangi-sangasya
martyadnam kimutdasisah

ksana-ardhena—by half of a moment; api—even; tulaye—compare; na—
never; svargam—heavenly planets; na—neither; apunarbhavam—merging
into the Supreme; bhagavat—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sangi—
associate; saigasya—one who takes advantage of associating; martyanam—
of the conditioned soul; kimuta—what is there; dsisah—blessings.

TRANSLATION

If one by chance associates with a devotee, even for a fraction of a
moment, he no longer is subject to attraction by the results of karma or
jfiana. What interest then can he have in the benedictions of the demigods,
who are subject to the laws of birth and death?

PURPORT

Out of three kinds of men—the karmis, jiianis, and bhaktas—the bhakta
is described herein as the most exalted. Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati has
sung: kaivalyar narakayate tridasapur akasa-puspayate (Caitanya-
candramrta, 5). The word kaivalya means to merge into the effulgence of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the word tridasa-pur refers to
the heavenly planets where the demigods live. Thus for a devotee, kaivalya-
sukha, or merging into the existence of the Lord, is hellish because the
bhakta considers it suicidal to lose his individuality and merge into the
effulgence of Brahman. A bhakta always wants to retain his individuality
in order to render service to the Lord. Indeed, he considers promotion to
the upper planetary systems to be no better than a will-o’-the-wisp.
Temporary material happiness holds no value for a devotee. The devotee
is in such an exalted position that he is not interested in the actions of
karma or jrana. The resultant actions of karma and jfana are so insig-
nificant to a devotee situated on the transcendental platform that he is
not in the least interested in them. Bhakti-yoga is sufficient to give the
bhakta all happiness. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam: yayatma suprasidati
(Bhag. 1.2.6). One can be fully satisfied simply by devotional service, and
that is the result of association with a devotee. Without being blessed by a
