D.: “Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramam mama.” Which is that dhāma? Is it not the Absolute state beyond cosmic consciousness?
M.: Yes.
D.: ‘Na Nivartante’ would mean not covered by ignorance again.
M.: Yes.
D.: Does it follow by inference that those who reach Cosmic Consciousness have not escaped from the clutches of ignorance?
M.: That is what is meant by saying that all lokas, even the Brahma loka, do not release one from re-birth. Vide the Bhagavat Gita: “Reaching ME, there is no rebirth . . . . All others are in bondage.” Moreover, so long as you think that there is gati (movement)—as implied in the word gatvā (having gone to),—there is punarāvritti (return) also. Again gati implies your purvāgamanam (birth). What is birth? It is birth of the ego.
Once born you reach something; if you reach it you return also. Therefore leave off all this verbiage! Be as you are. See who you are and remain as the Self, free from birth, going, coming and returning.
D.: True. However often this truth is heard, still it eludes us and we forget it.
M.: Quite so. Reminders are often necessary.