Liberated means "I am not this body." Actually, he understands that, "I am soul." But sometimes the Māyāvādīs, they become liberated, but they think, "Because I am spirit soul, therefore I am one with the Supreme." So 'ham. So 'ham. Actually, I am spirit soul. I am equal in quality. But that does not mean I am the Supreme Soul. Therefore in the next verse you will find, naikātmatāṁ me spṛhayanti kecit. The devotees are not so fool that they will desire to become one with the Supreme, na ekātmatām, because they are in full knowledge. And those who are not full in knowledge, in full knowledge, and . . . but thinking that they have become liberated, conception of this body . . . that is theoretical, not practical. Theoretical. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. They are thinking that they have become now liberated, Nārāyaṇa. Now he has become equal with Nārāyaṇa. Therefore the Māyāvādīs, because they have become Nārāyaṇa, one with Nārāyaṇa, they are addressing one another, "Namo nārāyaṇāya." "You are Nārāyaṇa, I am Nārāyaṇa, and the everyone is Nārāyaṇa." Then daridra-nārāyaṇa, rich Nārāyaṇa, this Nārāyaṇa.
But this is not the verdict of the devotee. Mat-pāda-sevā abhiratā mad-īhāḥ. Those who are devotees, fully engaged in the service of the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, mat-pāda-sevā abhiratāḥ—abhi means constantly, and ratāḥ means attached, abhiratāḥ—they do not think like that. They do not like that nonsense idea that, "I shall become one with . . ." How it is? If I am one with the Supreme, how I have fallen in this condition? No. I am not one. I am one in quality, small particle. We have explained several times that we are also constitutionally the same spirit identity as God is. But we are aṁśa. Just like gold mine and a small particle of gold. You can say, "This is gold," and the gold in the mine, big mine, many millions of tons of gold . . . quality is the same. A drop of seawater and the vast sea, the chemical composition is the same, the drop of water, but you cannot say that this small particle or drop of water is equal to the sea. That is nonsense. That is nonsense. That means less intelligent. Less intelligence.
So those who are less intelligence, they want to become one. But those who are actually in knowledge, for them it is said, na ekātmatāṁ spṛhayanti. They never even desire that, "I shall become one with . . ." That is śuddha-bhakta. Just like one gentleman was speaking that "Even the Māyāvādīs, they worship sometimes Lord Viṣṇu." Yes, they do. That is . . . they do not actually believe in the form of Viṣṇu, but they take it as a means, a imagination, to imagine the form of Viṣṇu. This is Māyāvāda philosophy. Sādhakānāṁ hitārthāya brāhmaṇaḥ rūpa-kalpanaḥ. They imagine. Just like we are worshiping Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādī will say: "This is imagination. Actually, the Absolute Truth has no rūpa, no form." That is impersonalism. They do not know that here is the actual form, Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Vigraha. Vigraha means who has got form. They do not know. Therefore they mistake that that is not . . .
There are many so-called Vaiṣṇavas, they are worshiping Viṣṇu but thinking of becoming one with the Supreme. Imagining. Well, they cannot be tha . . . one. How it can be? That is not possible. They sometimes give the example: the drop of water, when it mixes with the vast mass of water in the sea, it becomes one. But does it actually become so? No. According to scientific division these . . . there are the atomic molecules of water. So each molecule and atom is different from one another. Sometimes they call cell or they call molecule. So it appear . . . just like the sunshine. The sunshine is combination of many millions and trillions of small shining particles. That is sunshine. But each particle has got individual identity. They are not homogeneous. But because we have no eyes to see such a small atomic division, therefore we think that they are one. No. Even physically they are different. Similarly, although we are very small particle, we are different identity, not one.
In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa has explained that, "All these soldiers and kings who have assembled here, you and Me, all of us, we existed in the past, and we are now present, and in the future also we shall exist." But Kṛṣṇa never said that "Arjuna, you and Me and all these soldiers or kings, we shall become one." He never said. He never said: "We shall keep our individuality." This is knowledge. And in another place Kṛṣṇa says, mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ jīva-loke sanātanaḥ (BG 15.7). We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, or God, sanātana, eternally, not that at the present moment I have become separated from the spirit soul, and when I shall be uncovered by this gross and subtle body, we shall become one. Their theory is like that: ghaṭākāśa, poṭākāśa. Just like ghaṭa, a pot. In the pot there is also sky, and outside the pot there is also sky. Outside the pot there is big sky, and within the sky . . . within the pot, a small sky. But if you break the pot, then small sky becomes one with the big sky. This is Māyāvāda theory. But Kṛṣṇa says that, "These living entities, they are eternally My parts and parcel, small particle." It is not that sometimes they were one, homogeneous; now they have become part. That we do not get.
Therefore those who have got complete knowledge, they never expect like that, "I shall become one with the Supreme." Na eka, ekātmatām. Na ekātmatāṁ me spṛhayanti. They even hate to desire it. They simply want to remain . . . that is the constitutional position. Here we are also part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, although we are now covered by this material body. That can be dissolved. This material, it can be easily dissolved by bhakti-yoga. Therefore it is said that jarayaty āśu yā kośaṁ nigīrṇam analo yathā. Just like if you have got good digestive power, you eat anything, it will be digested. You will not find any difficulty. Similarly, if you have got strong bhakti-yoga, then you are not any more in material body. You are free. You are in spiritual body. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that māṁ ca yaḥ avyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate (BG 14.26). Avyabhicāreṇa means without any deviation; śuddha-bhakti, pure devotional service. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). They . . . anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam means any kind of material desire. The, this desire, that "I shall become one with the Supreme," that is also material desire. That is not spiritual desire. That is artificial.
Now, just like we want to beco . . . to hold very big post. So when we are baffled, then we want to become one with the Supreme, Nārāyaṇa. That means "Nārāyaṇa is the husband of Lakṣmī, so I shall become the husband of Lakṣmī. Now, in this material world, I am hankering after Lakṣmī, but I could not get it. Now let me become the husband of . . ." This is their theory. They want to become Nārāyaṇa. Such a foolish theory. Nārāyaṇa is the Lakṣmī-pati. Can anyone attempt to enjoy Lakṣmījī? Because they are not bhaktas, they think like that, this rascaldom. How I can be Nārāyaṇa? That is not possible. In the śāstra it says that:
- yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ
- brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ
- samatvenaiva vīkṣeta
- sa pāṣaṇḍī bhaved dhruvam
- (CC Madhya 18.116)
You cannot equalize Nārāyaṇa even with such exalted demigods as like Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā. Amongst the devas, demigods, Lord Śiva is called Mahādeva. He is the foremost demigod. And similarly Brahmā. Brahmā is less than Lord Śiva, but because in this material world Brahmā appeared to be the father of Rudra, therefore he is given a little more respect. But actually, Lord Śiva is more than Lord Brahmā. But even Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā—rudrādi-daivataiḥ—Rudra means Śiva, and Brahmā means . . . not . . . they also cannot be equalized with Nārāyaṇa. And we are so foolish that we are making daridra-nārāyaṇa: "Nārāyaṇa has become daridra." Śāstra says: "Don't equalize even with such exalted demigods like Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva," and these foolish rascals, they are making equal Nārāyaṇa with daridra.
How Nārāyaṇa can be daridra? He is Lakṣmī-pati. We are asking for the favor of mother Lakṣmī, "Give me some money, mother." Dhanaṁ dehi rūpaṁ dehi rūpavatī-bhāryāṁ dehi, dehi, dehi. And Nārāyaṇa is worshiped by Lakṣmījī. Not one Lakṣmījī—śata-sahasra. Lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam (Bs. 5.29). Nārāyaṇa is being worshiped by many thousands of goddess of fortune, sambhrama, with great fear. Just like Rukmiṇī-devī. She is Lakṣmī-devī, and she was always afraid of Kṛṣṇa that, "He may not leave me away." Always afraid. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa was joking with Rukmiṇī-devī, "My dear Rukmiṇī-devī, rāja-kanyā, you are the daughter of a king, and you, it was better you could have married Śiśupāla. I am simply a cowherd boy." In this way, husband and wife joking. Kṛṣṇa was joking. And Lakṣmī, Rukmiṇī-devī, became so afraid that immediately she fainted that, "Kṛṣṇa is now finding out the way to give me up." This is called lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam (Bs. 5.29). The Lakṣmīs are so with great respecter, and that Nārāyaṇa has become daridra. Just see the logic.
So these are all rascal philosophy. This is not. Nobody should become so ambitious as to become one with the Supreme. That is not very good intelligence. Good intelligence is that, "I am eternal part and parcel of Nārāyaṇa, and it is the duty of the part and parcel to serve the whole." That is correct philosophy. Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body, so it is the duty of the finger to serve the whole body. Whenever I ask any service from the finger, "Come here," it is coming here. "Come here," it is coming here, "Come here." This is the duty. That is the normal condition. If at once with my order the finger cannot come here or come here, then it is diseased—because it cannot give service. So, so long as we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Lord, our duty is to give service. That is the description given by Lord Caitanya. Everywhere, in every śāstra, that is the . . . jīvera 'svarūpa' haya-nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (CC Madhya 20.108-109). Eternally we are servant.