मत्सेवया प्रतीतं ते सालोक्यादिचतुष्टयम् ।
नेच्छन्ति सेवया पूर्णाः कुतोऽन्यत्कालविप्लुतम् ॥
mat-sevayā pratītaṁ te sālokyādi-catuṣṭayam |
necchanti sevayā pūrṇāḥ kuto’nyat kāla-viplutam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.4.67)
“Being fulfilled by service [to me], they do not desire the four [types of mukti] beginning with sālokya [that can be] attained by service to me, much less anything else that is dissipated in time.”
Commentary
pratītaṁ prāptam api |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“‘Attained’ (pratītam) means although obtained [i.e., bhaktas do not desire sālokya-, sārṣṭi-, sāmīpya-, or sārūpya-mukti even if these are offered to them by Śrī Bhagavān in reciprocation for their service].”
sevayā mad-bhaktyaiva pūrṇāḥ paripūrṇa-kāmāḥ paramānanda-rasa-bhūtā vā | sevāṁ vinā nānyat kim api vāñchantīty arthaḥ | bhakter eva svataḥ parama-phalatvāt | sadā bhaktyaikāsaktatvāt teṣām ahaṁ vaśya eveti |
(Excerpt from the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.604)
“‘Fulfilled by service’ (sevayā pūrṇāḥ) means of completely fulfilled desires solely because of bhakti to me, or, possessed of the rasa of the highest bliss. ‘They do not desire anything other than service [to me]’ is the meaning because of bhakti’s being the supreme attainment in and of itself. I am captivated by them because of [their] always being devoted solely to bhakti [i.e., my service].”
sālokyādi-pañca-vidha-muktīnām avicyutatvaṁ darśayan kaimutyena tāṁ prīti-bhaktim atiśayena darśayati—mat-sevayeti | atrānyasya kāla-viplutatvam iti mat-sevāyās tad-abhāva-prāpter nirguṇatvaṁ siddham | kuto’nyad iti sālokyādīnāṁ kālenāviplutatvam | tasmāt sālokyādibhyo’tiśaye tu kim uteti |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā)
“After showing the imperishability of the five types of mukti beginning with sālokya, he [i.e., Bhagavān Viṣṇu] shows bhakti replete with prīti with eminence a fortiori [i.e., he implies that bhakti replete with prīti is even greater than any form of mukti]: mat-sevayā … [i.e., he speaks this verse]. Here [i.e., in this verse], on account of [the mention of] ‘the dissipation in time of anything else,’ my service’s [i.e., Bhagavad-bhakti’s] being nirguṇa [i.e., beyond the scope of the three guṇas, time, and all other aspects of the realm of prakṛti] is established because of attainment of [the understanding of] the absence of that [i.e., because service to Bhagavān is thus understood to be distinct from anything that is dissipated in time]. With [the phrase], ‘much less anything else that is dissipated in time’ (kuto’nyat kāla-viplutam), the non-dissipation in time of sālokya and so on [is shown]. Therefore, when it is superior to sālokya and so on [i.e., any form of mukti], what more [needs to be said about the greatness of bhakti, i.e., bhakti is certainly the supreme object if one who has it feels so fulfilled by it that they do not desire anything that exists throughout the whole of the world or any form of liberation from the world].”
parama-sukha-rūpatvaṁ ca dṛśyate | tatra sādhana-daśāyām ‘ato vai kavayo nityam’ ity-ādau, ‘karmaṇy asminn anāśvāse’ ity-ādau ca tad-rūpatvābhivyaktir darśitaiva | siddha-daśāyāṁ tu sutarāṁ prakaṭībhavati | yathā—‘mat-sevayā pratītaṁ te sālokyādi-catuṣṭayam | necchanti sevayā pūrṇāḥ kuto’nyat kāla-viplutam ||’ atrānyasya kāla-viplutatvam iti sevāyās tad-abhāva-prāpter nirguṇitvaṁ siddham | atra kāla-vipluta-sālokyādibhyo’tiśaye kim uteti |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 140)
“[Bhakti’s] Being of the nature of supreme bliss is also observable. In this regard, manifestation of [its] being of that nature is certainly observed in the sādhana-stage [as per SB 1.2.22], ‘Therefore, indeed with paramount delight, the wise always perform bhakti to Bhagavān, Vāsudeva, which is purifying of the self,’ and [SB 1.18.12], ‘[The sages say to Sūta Gosvāmī:] You have made we whose bodies have become blacked by smoke in the midst of this uncertain sacrifice drink the sweet nectar of the lotus of Govinda’s feet.’ In the siddha-stage [i.e., the stage in which one has attained siddhi, that is, received a self-manifestation of bhāva-bhakti], it is indeed consequently manifest [i.e., if bhakti is of the nature of supreme bliss even in the stage of sādhana, then it goes without saying that it is supremely blissful after one reaches the siddha stage], as [is described in SB 9.4.67], ‘Being fulfilled by service [to me], they do not desire the four [types of mukti] beginning with sālokya [that can be] attained by service to me, much less anything else that is dissipated in time.’ Here [i.e., in this verse], on account of [the mention of] ‘the dissipation in time of anything else,’ service’s [i.e., Bhagavad-bhakti’s] being nirguṇa [i.e., beyond the scope of the three guṇas, time, and all other aspects of the realm of prakṛti] is established because of attainment of [the understanding of] the absence of that [i.e., because service to Bhagavān is thus understood to be distinct from anything that is dissipated in time]. In this regard, when it is superior to anything that is dissipated in time and sālokya and so on [i.e., any form of mukti], what more [needs to be said about the greatness of bhakti, i.e., bhakti is certainly the supreme object if one who has it feels so fulfilled by it that they do not desire anything that exists throughout the whole of the world or any form of liberation from the world].”
teṣāṁ niṣkāmatvasya parama-kāṣṭhām āha—mat-sevayeti | pratītaṁ svataḥ prāptam api | kuto’nyad iti sālokyādīnāṁ kālenāviplutatvaṁ darśayati kāla-viplutatvaṁ pārameṣṭhyādi |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“He [i.e., Bhagavān Viṣṇu] describes the pinnacle of their [i.e., his bhaktas’] desirelessness (niṣkāmatva): mat-sevayā … [i.e., he speaks this verse]. ‘Attained’ (pratītam) means although obtained of their own accord [i.e., bhaktas do not desire sālokya-, sārṣṭi-, sāmīpya-, or sārūpya-mukti even if these are offered to them by Śrī Bhagavān of his own accord in reciprocation for their service]. With [the phrase], ‘much less anything else that is dissipated in time’ (kuto’nyat kāla-viplutam), he shows the non-dissipation in time of sālokya and so on. Being that which is dissipated in time [thus] refers to the dominion of Brahmā and so on [i.e., and all else that exists within the interior of a brahmāṇda].”