Verse Text
tatraiva, śrī-kapila-devoktau—
naikātmatāṁ me spṛhayanti kecin
mat-pāda-sevābhiratā mad-īhāḥ |
ye ’nyonyato bhāgavatāḥ prasajya
sabhājayante mama pauruṣāṇi ||27||
Translation
And Kapila states the same: A pure devotee, who is attached to the activities of devotional service and who always engages in the service of My lotus feet, never desires to become one with Me. Such a devotee, who is unflinchingly engaged, always glorifies My pastimes and activities. SB 3.25.34
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Some devotees do not desire liberation in the form of becoming one with brahman (ekātmatām). “But what satisfies them so much that they have no taste for the happiness of brahman?” They are very attached, by the direction of scriptures (abhiratā), to serving My lotus feet with all their senses. They have no interest in jṣāna or other processes. This statement indicates bhakti, which is a natural inclination, following the scriptures, devoid of karma and jṣāna, engaging all the senses, and having the Lord as the object. Since they have only the desire (īhā) for tasting the sweetness of My beauty (mad), they are intent (prasajya) on having absence of other desires (anyābhilāṣa-śūnya). They enjoy (sabhājayante) the sweetness of My human pastimes (pauruṣāṇi) such as lifting Govardhana, by reciting their glories. The happiness of brahman is thus not pleasing to them because it lacks service to the Lord’s feet; it lacks perception of the beauty of the Lord; and it lacks the taste of the Lord’s sweet pastimes. These are the three reasons why the devotees do not desire liberation.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
In this verse, ekātmatām means merging with brahman or merging with the personal form of the Lord.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
A similar passage appears in the Third Canto, Twenty-fifth Chapter, verse 34, wherein Kapiladeva instructs His mother and says, “My dear mother, devotees whose hearts are always filled in the service of My lotus feet and who are prepared to do anything for My satisfaction, especially those fortunate devotees who assemble together to understand My qualities, pastimes and form and thus glorify Me congregationally and derive transcendental pleasure therefrom, never desire to become one with Me.