Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan

Now Krishna will talk about what happens after one attains Bhakti.

Bg 18.55

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti
yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ
tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā
viśate tad-anantaram

Synonyms: 

bhaktyā — by pure devotional service; mām — Me; abhijānāti — one can know; yāvān — as much as; yaḥ caasmi — as I am; tattvataḥ — in truth; tataḥ — thereafter; mām — Me; tattvataḥ — in truth; jñātvā — knowing; viśate — he enters; tat–anantaram — thereafter.

Translation: 

One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.

So here He is telling by Bhakti one can know Me as I am and when one knows me in truth that way, then one attains spiritual world, 

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti
yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ

tattvataḥ, in truth I can be known through Bhakti

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti, there is no way to know Me in truth expect Bhakti and when someone knows Me like this through Bhakti then that person attains the transcendental destination, now Krishna has earlier talked about tattvataḥ, in another very important place that is 4.9, 

janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ

So Krishna has said that one who knows me tattvataḥ, one who knows my appearance and activities Divya, transcendental, what happens to such a person? 

tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ’rjuna

when they will give their body punar janma naiti, they will not take another birth. But in contrast will attend Me. mām eti so ’rjuna, such a person will come back to Me. 

There Krishna has not told about the process to know Him in truth although in next verse He has given indication 

4.10 

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā
man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā
pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ

Many people have come back to Me thus have attained Bhava for Me, have attend the love for Me by man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ, by taking shelter of Me, by fixing there mind on Me, but here Krishna is elaborating that further, when can one can fix mind on Him? When can one take shelter of Him? When there is Bhakti. So the way to know Him Tattvatah and the way to return back to Him is bhaktyā mām abhijānāti, abhijānāti to know Him properly and if that is not clear yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ, as I am actually. So the tattvatah understanding and its result is mentioned in 4.9, in 18.54 the means to tattvatah understanding, the central heart of the process by which we can know Him tattvatah, Bhakti, that is emphasized. 

Now if we look at the further verse what it says is such a person will come to Me. It is not saying such a person will go to impersonal merging. No such a person will come to Me, mām eti so ’rjuna. And what Krishna is saying here, He is saying tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā, when one understand Me like that, viśate tad-anantaram.

This might seems impersonal to some people as viśate means to enter tad-anantaram, thereafter, but as a green bird enter into green tree she might seem one and cannot be distinguished by naked eye but they are different and individual, this is the meaning which also matches with overall message of BG. So viśate also means a geographical territory which one enters, one enters into a city. When one enters into a city it is not that one merge with the city, so the point Krishna is making is the soul enters into spiritual world, and what is the specific destination if we correlated it with 4.9, He is saying mām eti, the person comes back to Me, it is not just some impersonal merging actually the impersonal realization and come and gone in 18.54. Braham-bhuta is already mentioned and beyond that is perfection of Bhakti. When one come to know Bhagvan one attains spiritual world, 

Srila Prabhupada Purport: Surface acquaintance with the ocean is not sufficient; one must have complete knowledge of the aquatics living in the ocean depths.

Some mayavadis mention about river merging in the ocean but Srila Rupa Goswami mentioned about the aquatics in the river who enters to ocean but will not merge with the ocean but remains individual identity. So this metaphor of river merging into ocean can also be understood as meeting instead of merging.

End of transcription.