Questions on Devotees Attaining the Heavenly Planets and Returning to

[BVKS Sanga]

From "Shyamananda (das) BVKS (Mayapur - IN)"
To sa...@bvkssanga.info
Date 26-07-2026 18:55:00
Subject Questions on Devotees Attaining the Heavenly Planets and
Returning to

Param Vijayate Sri Krishna Sankirtanam

Dear Asita Prabhu,

Please accept my dandavats. Srila Prabhupada ki Jaya!

In reply to your question we can understand these statements by Srila
Prabhupada with reference to Govinda Bhasya of Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana.
There in Adhyaya 1 Pada 4 Adhikarana 33-43 we find 3 types of devotees.
Svanisthita, Parinisthita and Nirapeksa. The first two follow varna ashram
rules and the third is indifferent towards the rules of varnashrama dharma.
The svanishtita devotee follows varnashrama dharma with the desire to see
heavenly planets.
"The svani ˜ha devotee does not perform Vedic rituals to experience various
delights in Svargaloka. He has no such desire. The svani ˜ha devotee
situated in transcendental knowledge goes to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, and in the course of his going he may pass through Svargaloka and
the other heavenly planets. It is like a person who, while walking to a
village, touches some grass on the way."(Govinda Bhasya 3.4.33)

But a parinisthita devotee has no such desire and follows those rules only
to set an example for society at large in the spirit of Gita 3.22. And the
nirapeksa devotee is beyond varnashrama and purely engages in devotional
service without worrying about varnashrama dharma.

In Svargaloka it is theoretically possible (vide Bhagavatam 2.2.36) to
perform bhakti as it is possible to chant Hare Krishna in a luxurious
accomadation full of objects of sense gratification but it is practically
not favourable. Therefore we find such prayers by the residents of heavenly
planets in

®r…mad-Bh€gavatam 5.19.21: The demigods chant about the supreme fortune of
humans born on Earth, stating: "We demigods can only aspire to achieve human
births in Bh€rata-var a to execute devotional service, but these human
beings are already engaged there."

®r…mad-Bh€gavatam 5.19.28: The demigods pray: "We pray that at that time
[when life in heaven finishes], if any merit remains from our pious
activities, we may again take birth in Bh€rata-var a as human beings able to
remember the lotus feet of the Lord."

Therefore it depends on the purity of the individual devotee as to which
destination he achieves. As far as the statement of Srila Prabhupada
preaching on the moon it is actually by the previous Srila Prabhupada i.e
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati.

®r…la Bhaktisiddh€nta Sarasvat… µh€kura expressed a vision of preaching
Krishna consciousness on the moon planet, demonstrating the boundless and
revolutionary nature of his missionary spirit.This specific pastime was
recalled by one of his youngest disciples, D€modara Swami, and later shared
by senior Gaudiya Vaishnava leaders like Jayapat€k€ Swami Mah€r€ja.The

Evening Walk Pastime
According to the oral history preserved within the disciplic succession:The
Incident: During an evening walk, ®r…la Bhaktisiddh€nta Sarasvat… stopped
and gazed intently at the moon for a very long time.His disciples wondered
why their spiritual master was staring at the moon with such deep
concentration.He turned to them and said, "People in the moon planet, they
have become materialistic (bahir-mukha). We have to go there and preach!"

As far as Srila Prabhupada is concerned he said that he would be going to
the lower planets to preach.

I remember also asking Nitai, who was Prabhupada's secretary at that time,
"Did Prabhupada mention where he would go next life for preaching?" Nitai
told me, "Prabhupada said he would go on the lower planets to preach in the
next birth." That was the most far-out thing. He said very clearly,
"Prabhupada said he would go in the lower planets to preach the message of
Krishna."

Reference: Following Srila Prabhupada-A Chronological Series by Jayantakrid
Dasa

Hare Krishna!

Dasanudasa,
Shyamananda dasa brahmacari