PURPORT

There are different kinds of benedictions according to a person's demands. For karmis the best benediction is promotion to the higher planetary systems where the duration of life is very long and the standard of living and happiness is very high. There are others, namely jnanis and yogis, who want the benediction of merging into the existence of the Lord. This is called kaivalya. The Lord is therefore addressed as kaivalya-pati, the master or Lord of the benediction known as kaivalya. But devotees receive a different type of benediction from the Lord. Devotees are anxious neither for the heavenly planets nor for merging into the existence of the Lord. According to devotees, kaivalya, or merging into the existence of the Lord, is considered as good as hell. The word naraka means hell. Similarly, everyone who exists in this material world is called naraka because this material existence itself is known as a hellish condition of life. Prthu Maharaja, however, expressed that he was interested neither in the benediction desired by the karmis nor that desired by the jnanis and yogis. Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Prabhu, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya, described that kaivalya is no better than a hellish condition of life, and as for the delights of the heavenly planets, they are factually will-o'-the-wisps or phantasmagoria. They are not wanted by devotees. Devotees do not even care for the positions held by Lord Brahma or Lord Siva, nor does a devotee desire to become equal with Lord Visnu. As a pure devotee of the Lord, Prthu Maharaja made his position very clear.