Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.12.25
Sthāna· The universe in orderLove of God Leads Back to Godhead
“To achieve Viṣṇuloka is very difficult, but by your austerity you have conquered. Even the great ṛṣis and demigods cannot achieve this position. Simply to see the supreme abode [the Viṣṇu planet], the sun and moon and all the other planets, stars, lunar mansions and solar systems are circumambulating it. Now please come; you are welcome to go there.”
What the purport teaches
- Viṣṇuloka is very difficult to attain, even for great ṛṣis and demigods. Yet Dhruva Mahārāja was welcomed there after his austerity.
- Through devotional service, a devotee not only understands the spiritual world but goes there to live an eternal life of bliss and knowledge.
- By adopting the principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and developing love of God, one can go back home, back to Godhead. Devotees regard other planets as passing stations, not their destination.
Try this today
Before your devotional practice today, pause and recall that its goal is to develop love of God.
Ask yourself
Am I keeping love of God and return to Him above curiosity about other destinations?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.