Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 Verse 21

[bilva]

Chapter 9. The Most Confidential Knowledge

TEXT 21
te tam bhuktva svarga-lokam visalam
ksine punye martya-lokam visanti
evam trayi-dharmam anuprapanna
gatagatam kama-kama labhante

SYNONYMS
te--they; tam--that; bhuktva--enjoying; svarga-lokam--heaven;
visalam--vast; ksine--being exhausted; punye--merits; martya-lokam--
mortal earth; visanti--fall down; evam--thus; trayi--three Vedas;
dharmam--doctrines; anuprapannah--following; gata-agatam--death and
birth; kama-kamah--desiring sense enjoyments; labhante--attain.

TRANSLATION
When they have thus enjoyed heavenly sense pleasure, they return to
this mortal planet again. Thus, through the Vedic principles, they
achieve only flickering happiness.

EXPLANATION
One who is promoted to those higher planetary systems enjoys a longer
duration of life and better facilities for sense enjoyment, yet one is
not allowed to stay there forever. One is again sent back to this
earthly planet upon finishing the resultant fruits of pious
activities. He who has not attained perfection of knowledge, as
indicated in the Vedanta-sutra (janmady asya yatah), or, in other
words, he who fails to understand Krsna, the cause of all causes,
becomes baffled in achieving the ultimate goal of life and is thus
subjected to the routine of being promoted to the higher planets and
then again coming down, as if situated on a ferris wheel which
sometimes goes up and sometimes comes down. The purport is that
instead of being elevated to the spiritual world where there is no
longer any possibility of coming down, one simply revolves in the
cycle of birth and death on higher and lower planetary systems. One
should better take to the spiritual world to enjoy eternal life full
of bliss and knowledge and never return to this miserable material
existence.

Following is a quotation by Swami Gaurangapada:
"Under all circumstances keep an even mind focused on the Holy Names
of the Lord."

Please chant Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, to
completely stop undergoing the cycle of birth and death in the various
planetary systems.