Text 23] The Subterranean Heavenly Planets 397

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead did not award His mercy
to Bali Maharaja by giving him material happiness and opulence,
for these make one forget loving service to the Lord. The result of
material opulence is that one can no longer absorb his mind in the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

There are two kinds of opulence. One, which results from one’s
karma, is material, whereas the other is spiritual. A surrendered soul
who fully depends upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not
want material opulence for sense gratification. Therefore when a pure
devotee is seen to possess exalted material opulence, it is not due to his
karma. Rather, it is due to his bhakti. In other words, he is in that posi-
tion because the Supreme Lord wants him to execute service to Him very
easily and opulently. The special mercy of the Lord for the neophyte
devotee is that he becomes materially poor. This is the Lord’s mercy
because if a neophyte devotee becomes materially opulent, he forgets the
service of the Lord. However, if an advanced devotee is favored by the
Lord with opulence, it is not material opulence but a spiritual oppor-
tunity. Material opulence offered to the demigods causes forgetfulness of
the Lord, but opulence was given to Bali Maharaja for continuing service
to the Lord, which was free from any touch of maya.

TEXT 23

TAMAUNAIMAANT « TRASoAM ASAT aTS AAT
Lal fos ~ nA q na SN
TONMAA AEMage fier aafag sf sary | 23 1

yat tad bhagavatanadhigatanyopayena yacna-cchalenadpahrta-sva-
Sarirdvasesita-loka-trayo varuna-pasais ca sampratimukto giri-daryam
capaviddha iti hovaca.

yat—which; tat—that,; bhagavata—by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead; anadhigata-anya-upadyena—who is not perceived by other
means; ydcrid-chalena—by a trick of begging: apahrta—taken away:
