Srila Prabhupada gave us the summum bonum of our life. He gave us a goal to strive for—love for Krishna! And he asserted that we must go back home, back to Godhead. Prabhupada even entitled his magazine Back to Godhead!

Should we, as followers of Srila Prabhupada, desire to go back home, back to Godhead? Or should we follow Mahaprabhu’s teachings—mama janmani janmanisvare—and desire to serve Krishna lifetime after lifetime?

Krishna’s Promise: You Will Go Back to Godhead

In Bhagavad-gita 4.9, Krishna says:

tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna

“Upon quitting this body, such a person does not take birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode.”

Similarly, Krishna says:

yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām

“Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; and those who worship Me will live with Me.”

Krishna promises that those who worship Him attain Him and His abode.

Krishna Invites Us Home—But Do Devotees Want to Go?

Interestingly, Krishna speaks about coming back to Godhead, although His devotees may not appear to ask Him for that favor.

If we reflect, study, and analyze the prayers of devotees in Srimad Bhagavatam, have any of them actually desired to go to the Lord’s abode?

Many devotees, like Prahlada Maharaja, Dhruva Maharaja, and even Mother Kunti, speak about the miseries of this material world in their prayers. But the culmination of their prayers isn’t in going back to Godhead!

Prahlada Maharaja, although he speaks about the distresses of this world, desires to stay in this world for the benefit of all conditioned souls. In fact, he states that the material world is not a problem for him, as he is absorbed in singing the glories of the Lord.

Kunti Devi speaks about the immense difficulties she and her family had to face, and her conclusion is to welcome those difficulties and calamities again, so that she can remember Krishna through those calamities.

Prthu Maharaja is not desiring liberation or freedom from miseries. He desires the opportunity to hear from devotees.

Interestingly, Lord Krishna tells Narada Muni in Srimad Bhagavatam 1.6.23:

“By service of the Absolute Truth, even for a few days, a devotee attains firm and fixed intelligence in Me. Consequently, he goes on to become My associate in the transcendental world after giving up the present deplorable material worlds.”

But interestingly, the same Narada Muni does not simply go back to Godhead and remain there! He keeps travelling throughout the three worlds, singing the glories of the Lord and delivering conditioned souls.

Many devotees, like Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, and others, do speak about getting freed from the pathetic circumstances of material life. They do talk about being delivered from this material world, but not simply to escape. They desire to engage in the Lord’s service without any obstacles.

Prabhupada’s Back to Godhead

What, then, does Back to Godhead really mean?

Back to Godhead essentially means back to Krishna.

It can mean going back to Krishna’s abode, but it can also mean going back to our original state of Krishna consciousness—back to our original position as servants of Lord Krishna.

Going back to our eternal consciousness, where the only thought is: How can I please Krishna? How can I serve Him? How can I make Him happier?

And even if it means going to Krishna’s kingdom, Goloka Vrindavan, the only thing the devotee will aspire for there is Krishna’s service!

Disposition Over Destination

And therefore, a devotee is not worried about going back home, back to Godhead. When a devotee is engaged in serving Krishna, that itself is a blissful situation.

And if that blissful situation has to continue for lifetimes, a devotee has no problem with that.

Therefore, Mahaprabhu says:

mama janmani janmanīśvare
bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi

“I do not desire any wealth, followers, beautiful women, or even liberation. I only desire Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.”

It doesn’t matter whether the service is performed in one life, after which we go to the spiritual world, or whether it spans multiple lifetimes here in this material world.

Krishna’s service is absolute. And Krishna’s devotees, who are serving Krishna wholeheartedly, attain the absolute platform where the dualities of the material world no longer affect them.

Back to Prabhupada!

Many of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples wish to go to the same place where Srila Prabhupada is.

Ultimately, what is the purpose? To serve Srila Prabhupada. To assist him in serving Krishna.

That is not different from going Back to Godhead. And it is also not different from serving Krishna lifetime after lifetime. The real entrance into eternity for a devotee is when he or she is totally engaged in serving Krishna and desires nothing else apart from serving Krishna.

Therefore, the deepest meaning of Back to Godhead is not merely going somewhere. It is becoming someone—becoming the eternal servant of Krishna.

Our tradition emphasizes devotion over destination.

Isn’t that the reason why devotees are ready to serve anywhere, even in hell? And they do not want liberation if there is no service? The verses stated below proves this:

nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve
na kutaścana bibhyati
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv
api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ
Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord. SB 6.17.28

sālokya-sārṣṭi-sāmīpya-
sārūpyaikatvam apy uta
dīyamānaṁ na gṛhṇanti
vinā mat-sevanaṁ janāḥ
A pure devotee does not accept any kind of liberation—sālokya, sārṣṭi, sāmīpya, sārūpya or ekatva—even though they are offered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. SB 3.29.13

And when we become that servant, whether Krishna keeps us here for another lifetime or calls us back to His eternal abode, we have no separate desire. Wherever Krishna places us, that is where we want to be, because our only desire is to serve Him. For the true devotee, devotion matters—not destination.