yad arÄŤášÄáš priyÄášÄáš ca
prÄpyam ekam ivoditam
tad brahma-kášášŁášayor aikyÄt
kiraášÄrkopamÄ-juᚣoḼ
yat - that; arÄŤášÄm - of the enemies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; priyÄášÄm - of the devotees, who are very dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ca - and; prÄpyam - destination; ekam - one only; iva - thus; uditam - said; tat - that; brahma - of impersonal Brahman; kášášŁášayoḼ - and of KášášŁáša, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; aikyÄt - due to the oneness; kiraáša - the sunshine; arka - and the sun; upamÄ - the comparison; juᚣoḼ - which is understood by.
This verse is from the Bhakti-rasÄmášta-sindhu (1.2.278) of ĹrÄŤla RĹŤpa GosvÄmÄŤ, who further discusses this same topic in his Laghu-bhÄgavatÄmášta (PĹŤrva 5.41). There he refers to the Viᚣášu PurÄáša (4.15.1), where Maitreya Muni asked ParÄĹara, in regard to Jaya and Vijaya, how it was that HiraášyakaĹipu next became RÄvaáša and enjoyed more material happiness than the demigods but did not attain salvation, although when he became ĹiĹupÄla, quarreled with KášášŁáša and was killed, he attained salvation and merged into the body of Lord KášášŁáša. ParÄĹara replied that HiraášyakaĹipu failed to recognize Lord Nášsiášhadeva as Lord Viᚣášu. He thought that Nášsiášhadeva was some living entity who had acquired such opulence by various pious activities. Being overcome by the mode of passion, he considered Lord Nášsiášhadeva an ordinary living entity, not understanding His form. Nevertheless, because HiraášyakaĹipu was killed by the hands of Lord Nášsiášhadeva, in his next life he became RÄvaáša and had proprietorship of unlimited opulence. As RÄvaáša, with unlimited material enjoyment, he could not accept Lord RÄma as the Personality of Godhead. Therefore even though he was killed by RÄma, he did not attain sÄyujya, or oneness with the body of the Lord. In his RÄvaáša body he was too much attracted to RÄmaâs wife, JÄnakÄŤ, and because of that attraction he was able to see Lord RÄma. But instead of accepting Lord RÄma as an incarnation of Viᚣášu, RÄvaáša thought Him an ordinary living being. When killed by the hands of RÄma, therefore, he got the privilege of taking birth as ĹiĹupÄla, who had such immense opulence that he could think himself a competitor to KášášŁáša. Although ĹiĹupÄla was always envious of KášášŁáša, he frequently uttered the name of KášášŁáša and always thought of the beautiful features of KášášŁáša. Thus by constantly thinking and chanting of KášášŁáša, even unfavorably, he was cleansed of the contamination of his sinful activities. When ĹiĹupÄla was killed by the SudarĹana cakra of KášášŁáša as an enemy, his constant remembrance of KášášŁáša dissolved the reactions of his vices, and he attained salvation by becoming one with the body of the Lord.
From this incident one can understand that even a person who thinks of KášášŁáša as an enemy and is killed by Him may be liberated by becoming one with the body of KášášŁáša. What then must be the destination of devotees who always think favorably of KášášŁáša as their master or friend? These devotees must attain a situation better than Brahmaloka, the impersonal bodily effulgence of KášášŁáša. Devotees cannot be situated in the impersonal Brahman effulgence, into which impersonalists desire to merge. The devotees are placed in Vaikuášášhaloka or KášášŁášaloka.
This discussion between Maitreya Muni and ParÄĹara Muni centered on whether devotees come down into the material world in every millennium like Jaya and Vijaya, who were cursed by the KumÄras to that effect. In the course of these instructions to Maitreya about HiraášyakaĹipu, RÄvaáša and ĹiĹupÄla, ParÄĹara did not say that these demons were formerly Jaya and Vijaya. He simply described the transmigration through three lives. It is not necessary for the Vaikuášášha associates of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to come to take the roles of His enemies in all the millenniums in which He appears. The âfalldownâ of Jaya and Vijaya occurred in a particular millennium; Jaya and Vijaya do not come down in every millennium to act as demons. To think that some associates of the Lord fall down from Vaikuášášha in every millennium to become demons is totally incorrect.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has all the tendencies that may be found in the living entity, for He is the chief living entity. Therefore it is natural that sometimes Lord Viᚣášu wants to fight. Just as He has the tendencies to create, to enjoy, to be a friend, to accept a mother and father, and so on, He also has the tendency to fight. Sometimes important landlords and kings keep wrestlers with whom they practice mock fighting, and Viᚣášu makes similar arrangements. The demons who fight with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the material world are sometimes His associates. When there is a scarcity of demons and the Lord wants to fight, He instigates some of His associates of Vaikuášášha to come and play as demons. When it is said that ĹiĹupÄla merged into the body of KášášŁáša, it should be noted that in this case he was not Jaya or Vijaya: he was actually a demon.
In his Bášhad-bhÄgavatÄmášta, ĹrÄŤla SanÄtana GosvÄmÄŤ has explained that the attainment of salvation by merging into the Brahman effulgence of the Lord cannot be accepted as the highest success in life, because demons like Kaášsa, who were famous for killing brÄhmaášas and cows, attained that salvation. For devotees such salvation is abominable. Devotees are actually in a transcendental position, whereas nondevotees are candidates for hellish conditions of life. There is always a difference between the life of a devotee and the life of a demon, and their realizations are as different as heaven and hell.
Demons are always accustomed to being malicious toward devotees and to killing brÄhmaášas and cows. For demons, merging into the Brahman effulgence may be very glorious, but for devotees it is hellish. A devoteeâs aim in life is to attain perfection in loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who aspire to merge into the Brahman effulgence are as abominable as demons. Devotees who aspire to associate with the Supreme Lord to render Him transcendental loving service are far superior.