Shloka 31
The Lord in the Heart and the Discipline of Yoga-Bhakti
तेनात्मनात्मानमुपैति शान्त- मानन्दमानन्दमयोऽवसाने । एतां गतिं भागवतीं गतो य: स वै पुनर्नेह विषज्जतेऽङ्ग ॥ ३१ ॥
tenātmanātmānam upaiti śāntam ānandam ānandamayo ’vasāne etāṁ gatiṁ bhāgavatīṁ gato yaḥ sa vai punar neha viṣajjate ’ṅga
तेनात्मनात्मानमुपैति शान्तम्, आनन्दमानन्दमयोऽवसाने। एतां गतिं भागवतीं गतो यः, स वै पुनर्नेह विषज्जतेऽङ्ग॥
We should specially note in this verse the description of gatiṁ bhāgavatīm. To become merged in the rays of the Parabrahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as desired by the brahmavādī impersonalist, is not bhāgavatīm perfection. The bhāgavatas never accept merging in the impersonal rays of the Lord, but always aspire after personal association with the Supreme Lord in one of the Vaikuṇṭha spiritual planets in the spiritual sky. The whole of the spiritual sky, of which the total number of the material skies is only an insignificant part, is full of unlimited numbers of Vaikuṇṭha planets. The destination of the devotee (the bhāgavata ) is to enter into one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets, in each of which the Personality of Godhead, in His unlimited personal expansions, enjoys Himself in the association of unlimited numbers of pure devotee associates. The conditioned souls in the material world, after gaining emancipation by devotional service, are promoted to these planets. But the number of ever-liberated souls is far, far greater than the number of conditioned souls in the material world, and the ever-liberated souls in the Vaikuṇṭha planets never care to visit this miserable material world.
FAQs
This verse says that one who attains the bhāgavata destination—realizing the Supreme Self through devotion—does not become entangled in this world again.
Śukadeva instructs Parīkṣit on the highest goal at the end of life: attaining Bhagavān through devotional realization, which grants peace and freedom from repeated worldly attachment.
Cultivate steady bhakti—hearing, chanting, and remembering Bhagavān—so consciousness becomes peaceful and bliss-oriented, reducing attachment and anxiety even before life’s end.