Tattva-viveka
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.82.44
Yamuna Dasi - March 23, 2010 11:04 pm
In Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.82.44:
http://vedabase.net/sb/10/82/44/
it is said:
"Rendering devotional service to Me qualifies any living being for eternal life."
We know that the soul is anyway eternal by default no matter if it renders devotional service or not. Then how is this statement to be understood?
Is it possible that the word "amṛtatvāya — to immortality" could be translated more precisely as "to nectarean immortality" (i.e. blissful immortality) thus being different from just ordinary immortality (immortality in samsara)?
Could somebody please help me understand this verse?
By the way... I am back 
Madan Gopal Das - March 24, 2010 2:03 am
I think you've got a good explanation, but I would just add; amrta does mean nectar, but it also means a(not)mrt(death), so immortality is a correct translation. The jiva is immortal by nature, but in illusioned life is suffering repeated death. Rendering service to Bhagavan qualifies one to live real, natural, eternal life - really, just to be themselves!
Citta Hari Dasa - March 24, 2010 3:05 am
In this verse Krsna is speaking to the gopis at Kuruksetra. He says that by bhakti one can get mukti (amrtatvaya), but the love the gopis showed for him was of another kind. They didn't want mukti, they wanted him, and they got him. For more on this verse see Srila Sridhara Maharaja's explanation in his Golden Volcano of Divine Love p. 160-168.
Yamuna Dasi - March 24, 2010 7:14 am
So amrtatvaya can be translated as "eternal life" and also as "moksha" which is eternal life without material bondage.
It's interesting that in Christianity also one of the most often promises to encourage the follower is for "eternal life" when Christianity also does not consider the soul mortal. And still the life with God is called "eternal life" while the life in hell (without God) is called "eternal death".
Citta Hari Dasa - March 24, 2010 5:52 pm
It might be that mukti is the more prevalent understanding of the term amrta since it is used by many (jnanis, yogis) who have no concept of entering into lila. I suppose there is a sort of life in mukti, but it's obviously nothing like the eternal life we are interested in.
So amrtatvaya can be translated as "eternal life" and also as "moksha" which is eternal life without material bondage.
It's interesting that in Christianity also one of the most often promises to encourage the follower is for "eternal life" when Christianity also does not consider the soul mortal. And still the life with God is called "eternal life" while the life in hell (without God) is called "eternal death".
Yamuna Dasi - March 24, 2010 9:23 pm
Yes.
Seems that the Christians are also not interested in eternal life in mukti or merging in Brahman. So if their target is not this most probably they will not achieve that but rather enter into the lila of Jesus if that's what they want.