न्तिकी सिद्धिरेतावती भगवति सर्वात्मनि वासुदेवेऽनुपरतभ क्ति
योगलाभेनैवोपेक्षितान्यार्थात्मगतयो मुक्ति मिवागतां मुमुक्षव इव
सबहुमानमद्यापि जटाजूटैरुद्वहन्ति ॥३॥
tataḥ sapta ṛṣayas tat prabhÄvÄbhijÃ±Ä yÄá¹ nanu tapasa ÄtyantikÄ« siddhir etÄvatÄ« bhagavati sarvÄtmani vÄsudeve 'nuparata-bhakti-yoga-lÄbhenaivopeká¹£itÄnyÄrthÄtma-gatayo muktim ivÄgatÄá¹ mumuká¹£ava iva sabahu-mÄnam adyÄpi jaá¹Ä-jÅ«á¹air udvahanti
tataḥ - thereafter; sapta ṛṣayaḥ - the seven great sages (beginning with MarÄ«ci); tat prabhÄva-abhijñÄḥ - who knew very well the influence of the Ganges River; yÄm - this Ganges water; nanu - indeed; tapasaḥ - of our austerities; ÄtyantikÄ« - the ultimate; siddhiḥ - perfection; etÄvatÄ« - this much; bhagavati - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sarva-Ätmani - in the all-pervading; vÄsudeve - Kṛṣṇa; anuparata - continuous; bhakti-yoga - of the mystic process of devotional service; lÄbhena - simply by achieving this platform; eva - certainly; upeká¹£ita - neglected; anya - other; artha-Ätma-gatayaḥ - all other means of perfection (namely religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation); muktim - liberation from material bondage; iva - like; ÄgatÄm - obtained; mumuká¹£avaḥ - persons desiring liberation; iva - like; sa-bahu-mÄnam - with great honor; adya api - even now; jaá¹Ä-jÅ«á¹aiḥ - with matted locks of hair; udvahanti - they carry.
The seven great sages [MarÄ«ci, Vasiá¹£á¹ha, Atri and so on] reside on planets beneath Dhruvaloka. Well aware of the influence of the water of the Ganges, to this day they keep Ganges water on the tufts of hair on their heads. They have concluded that this is the ultimate wealth, the perfection of all austerities, and the best means of prosecuting transcendental life. Having obtained uninterrupted devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they neglect all other beneficial processes like religion, economic development, sense gratification and even merging into the Supreme. Just as jñÄnÄ«s think that merging into the existence of the Lord is the highest truth, these seven exalted personalities accept devotional service as the perfection of life.
Transcendentalists are divided into two primary groups: the nirviÅ›eá¹£a-vÄdÄ«s, or impersonalists, and the bhaktas, or devotees. The impersonalists do not accept spiritual varieties of life. They want to merge into the existence of the Supreme Lord in His Brahman feature (the brahmajyoti). The devotees, however, desire to take part in the transcendental activities of the Supreme Lord. In the upper planetary system, the topmost planet is Dhruvaloka, and beneath Dhruvaloka are the seven planets occupied by the great sages, beginning with MarÄ«ci, Vasiá¹£á¹ha and Atri. All these sages regard devotional service as the highest perfection of life. Therefore they all carry the holy water of the Ganges on their heads. This verse proves that for one who has achieved the platform of pure devotional service, nothing else is important, even so-called liberation (kaivalya). ÅšrÄ«la ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ« states that only by achieving pure devotional service of the Lord can one give up all other engagements as insignificant. PrabodhÄnanda SarasvatÄ« confirms his statement as follows:
kaivalyaá¹ narakÄyate tri-daÅ›a-pÅ«r ÄkÄÅ›a-puá¹£pÄyate
durdÄntendriya-kÄla-sarpa-paá¹alÄ« protkhÄta-daá¹á¹£á¹rÄyate
viÅ›vaá¹ pÅ«rṇa-sukhÄyate vidhi-mahendrÄdiÅ› ca kÄ«á¹Äyate
yat kÄruṇya-kaá¹Äká¹£a-vaibhavavatÄá¹ taá¹ gauram eva stumaḥ
(Caitanya-candrÄmá¹›ta 5)
ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu has perfectly enunciated and broadcast the process of bhakti-yoga. Consequently, for one who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, the highest perfection of the MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s, kaivalya, or becoming one with the Supreme, is considered hellish, to say nothing of the karmÄ«s’ aspiration to be promoted to the heavenly planets. Devotees consider such goals to be worthless phantasmagoria. There are also yogÄ«s, who try to control their senses, but they can never succeed without coming to the stage of devotional service. The senses are compared to poisonous snakes, but the senses of a bhakta engaged in the service of the Lord are like snakes with their poisonous fangs removed. The yogÄ« tries to suppress his senses, but even great mystics like ViÅ›vÄmitra fail in the attempt. ViÅ›vÄmitra was conquered by his senses when he was captivated by MenakÄ during his meditation. She later gave birth to ÅšakuntalÄ. The wisest persons in the world, therefore, are the bhakti-yogÄ«s, as Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (6.47):
yoginÄm api sarveá¹£Äá¹
mad-gatenÄntarÄtmanÄ
Å›raddhÄvÄn bhajate yo mÄá¹
sa me yuktatamo mataḥ
“Of all yogÄ«s, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.â€
