in one life
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Imported quote 13201 The great sage Narada Muni was very proud of having a devotee disciple like Dhruva Maharaja. He had many other disciples, but he was very pleased with Dhruva Maharaja because in one lifetime, by dint of his severe penances and austerities, he had achieved Vaikuntha, which was never achieved by any other king's son or rajarsi throughout the whole universe. There is the instance of the great King Bharata Maharaja, who was also a great devotee, but he attained Vaikunthaloka in three lives. In the first life, although he executed austerities in the forest, he became a victim of too much affection for a small deer, and in his next life he had to take birth as a deer. Although he had a deer's body, he remembered his spiritual position, but he still had to wait until the next life for perfection. In the next life he took birth as Jaḍa Bharata. Of course, in that life he was completely freed from all material entanglement, and he attained perfection and was elevated to Vaikunthaloka. The lesson from the life of Dhruva Maharaja is that if one likes, one can attain Vaikunthaloka in one life, without waiting for many other lives. My Guru Maharaja, Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, used to say that every one of his disciples could attain Vaikunthaloka in this life, without waiting for another life to execute devotional service. One simply has to become as serious and sincere as Dhruva Maharaja; then it is quite possible to attain Vaikunthaloka and go back home, back to Godhead, in one life.
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