Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.30.30

asāv eva varo 'smākam

īpsito jagataḥ pate

prasanno bhagavān yeṣām

apavarga-gurur gatiḥ

SYNONYMS

asau — that; eva — certainly; varaḥ — benediction; asmākam — our; īpsitaḥ — desired; jagataḥ — of the universe; pate — O Lord; prasannaḥ — satisfied; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yeṣām — with whom; apavarga — of transcendental loving service; guruḥ — the teacher; gatiḥ — the ultimate goal of life.

TRANSLATION

O Lord of the universe, You are the actual teacher of the science of devotional service. We are satisfied that Your Lordship is the ultimate goal of our lives, and we pray that You will be satisfied with us. That is our benediction. We do not desire anything other than Your full satisfaction.

PURPORT

In this verse the words apavarga-gurur gatiḥ are very significant. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.11), the Supreme Lord is the ultimate fact of the Absolute Truth. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. The Absolute Truth is realized in three features — impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā and ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān. The word apavarga means "liberation." pavarga means "material existence." In material existence, one always works very hard but is ultimately baffled. One then dies and has to accept another body to work very hard again. This is the cycle of material existence. Apavarga means just the opposite. Instead of working hard like cats and dogs, one returns home, back to Godhead. Liberation begins with merging into the Brahman effulgence of the Supreme Lord. This conception is held by the jñānī-sampradāya, philosophical speculators, but realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is higher. When a devotee understands that the Lord is satisfied, liberation, or merging into the effulgence of the Lord, is not very difficult. One has to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the impersonal Brahman effulgence just as one has to approach the sun through the sunshine. It is not very difficult to merge into the impersonal effulgence of the Lord, Brahman, if one has satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness