Vaiṣṇavas seek eternal association with God in spiritual opulence, not impersonal merger into the absolute.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.33 — July 18, 1975, San Francisco 750718SB-SAN FRANCISCO [31:00 Minutes] SB-06.01.33_750718SB-SAN FRANCISCO Nitāi: "Dear sirs, whose servant are you, where have you come from, and for what reason are you forbidding us to touch the body of Ajāmila? Are you coming from the heavenly planets, are you demigods, sub-demigods, or the best of the perfected devotees?" Prabhupāda: kasya vā kuta āyātāḥ kasmād asya niṣedhatha kiṁ devā upadevā yā yūyaṁ kiṁ siddha-sattamāḥ [SB 6.1.33] This Yamarāja, he has been given his jurisdiction on the lower portion of the universe, Pātāla. Yamarāja is not one of the candidates, but he has been designated to go down and administer the government there. [child making noise] Jayatīrtha: The children should go out.
Prabhupāda: So nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati [SB 6.17.28]. Just like government servant, they have to go anywhere the government orders: "You go and see there." So Yamarāja is, although one of the mahājanas, great personality, most confidential devotee and officer of Kṛṣṇa... There are twelve great personalities: Lord Brahmā... svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ prahlādo janako bhīṣmo balir vaiyāsakir vayam [SB 6.3.20] So Yamarāja is also one of the twelve exalted officers, or representative of Kṛṣṇa. But still, he has gone to take charge of the judicial department for judging the sinful—not all, only the sinful. So these Yamadūtas, order carriers of Yamarāja, they were surprised to see how nice they are, good-looking.
So they were surprised, and they were asking question that kasya vā, "Whose servants you are? We are Yamarāja's servant. We are so ugly-looking, and you are so beautiful. So whose servants you are?" Kasya, "whose," means either "whose servant" or "whose son," like that.
Kasya vā kuta āyātāḥ: "And wherefrom you are coming?" Kasmāt: "And what is the business? Here you have got... You are so nice-looking. We have come to take this sinful man, and what business you have got here?
Why you are forbidding us?" Kiṁ devāḥ: "Are you demigods or semi-demigods?" In the upper planetary system there are gods, demigods. But yūyaṁ kiṁ siddha-sattamāḥ. Siddha-sattamāḥ means in the spiritual world. Siddha means "completely perfect," and sattamāḥ, "devotees." Within this material world there is one Siddhaloka.
Siddha, caraṇa. They are called siddha, means all the yogic mystic powers they have got naturally. Here in this, on the earthly planet, if we want to get some mystic power, we have to practice it by yoga, mystic exercise. But in that planet, Siddhaloka, they are born perfect.
Just like if you want to swim in the water, you have to learn it, you have to practice it. But within the sea or water even a small fish, he can very expertly swim, a born qualification. You cannot go against the current of the sea or the water of the river, but a small fish takes pleasure going against the current. Tulasī dāsa has said that to go against the current is very difficult.