bhaá¹á¹ÄcÄrya kahe, — 'bhakti'-sama nahe mukti-phala
bhagavad-bhakti-vimukhera haya daṇá¸a kevala
bhaá¹á¹ÄcÄrya - SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹á¹ÄcÄrya; kahe - said; bhakti - devotional service; sama - equal to; nahe - not; mukti - of liberation; phala - the result; bhagavat-bhakti - to the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vimukhera - of one who is averse to; haya - it is; daṇá¸a - the punishment; kevala - only.
In the BrahmÄṇá¸a PurÄṇa it is said:
siddha-lokas tu tamasaḥ pÄre yatra vasanti hi
siddhÄ brahma-sukhe magnÄ daityÄÅ› ca hariá¹‡Ä hatÄḥ
“In Siddhaloka [Brahmaloka] there live two kinds of living entities — those who are killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead due to their having been demons in their previous lives and those who are very fond of enjoying the impersonal effulgence of the Lord.†The word tamasaḥ means “the coverings of the universe.†Layers of material elements cover the universe, and outside these coverings is the impersonal Brahman effulgence. If one is destined to remain in the Lord’s impersonal effulgence, he misses the opportunity to render service to the Personality of Godhead. Therefore devotees consider remaining in the impersonal Brahman effulgence a kind of punishment. Sometimes devotees think of merging into the Brahman effulgence, and consequently they are promoted to Siddhaloka. Because of their impersonal understanding, they are actually punished. SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹á¹ÄcÄrya continues to explain the distinction between mukti-pada and bhakti-pada in the following verses.