Verse 2.2.201

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.201:

सर्वथा प्रतियोगित्वं यत् साधुत्वासुरत्वयोः ।
तत् साधनेषु साध्ये च वैपरीत्यं किलोचितम् ॥ २०१ ॥

sarvathā pratiyogitvaṃ yat sādhutvāsuratvayoḥ |
tat sādhaneṣu sādhye ca vaiparītyaṃ kilocitam || 201 ||

sarvathā–in every respect; prati-yogitvam–are opposite; yat–what; sādhutva–the divine nature; asuratvayoḥ–the demonic nature; tat sādhaneṣu–in their practices; sādhye–in the goal; ca–also; vaiparītyam–the reverse; kila–indeed; ucitam–suitable.

Devotees and demons are in every respect the antithesis of one another in nature. So they must certainly also be opposite in their goals and the means of achieving those goals.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

The bhakti-śāstras say, “Saintly persons and demoniac persons are the antithesis of one another in terms of behavior, character, and countless other ways. It follows, then, that their goals (sādhya) and practices to attain those goals (sādhana) will certainly be opposite. The sādhana of saintly persons is exclusively to worship the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān, whereas the sādhana of the demons is to contemplate the soul’s nondifference from Brahman (advaita ātma-tattva-jñāna). The only goal of saintly personalities is prema-bhakti (loving devotional service), and the only goal of demons is mukti (liberation).

“Some people equate the outcome of devotion with that of maintaining a mood of enmity toward the Lord.

For example, in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.87.23) the Śrutis offer prayers, saying:

निभृत-मरुन्-मनो-’क्ष-दृढ-योग-युजो हृदि यन् मुनय उपासते तद् अरयो’पि ययुः स्मरणात्
स्त्रिय उरगेन्द्र-भोग-भुज-दण्ड-विषक्त-धियो वयम् अपि ते समाः सम-दृशो’ङ्घ्रि-सरोज-सुधाः

nibhṛta-marun-mano-’kṣa-dṛḍha-yoga-yujo hṛdi yan munaya upāsate tad arayo’pi yayuḥ smaraṇāt
striya uragendra-bhoga-bhuja-daṇḍa-viṣakta-dhiyo vayam api te samāḥ sama-dṛśo’ṅghri-saroja-sudhāḥ

O Bhagavān, controlling their life-air (prāṇa), mind, and senses, great sages become impenetrably fixed in yoga and are able to hold the Absolute Truth in their hearts. But even demons who are envious of You are able to reach that same Truth by the power of thinking of You. The young damsels of Vraja are attracted to Your two long arms that resemble the body of the king of serpents, and they relish the sweet nectar of Your lotus feet. Therefore, we, the presiding goddesses of the Śrutis, have become followers of those damsels, and, having attained the bodies of gopīs, we also relish the nectar of Your lotus feet.

“Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.1.30) also states:

कामाद् द्वेषाद् भयात् स्नेहाद् यथा भक्त्येश्वरे मनः
आवेश्य तद्-अघं हित्वा बहवस् तद्-गतिं गताः

kāmād dveṣād bhayāt snehād yathā bhaktyeśvare manaḥ
āveśya tad-aghaṃ hitvā bahavas tad-gatiṃ gatāḥ

Both by absorbing their minds in the Lord with lust, envy, and fear; and also by absorbing their minds in the Lord with appropriate devotion, many people have become free from sins such as lust and have attained Bhagavān.

“The significance of this example is that those who envy Bhagavān as well as those who are devoted to Him are absorbed in thinking about the Lord, and as a result they both become freed from the cycle of repeated birth and death. Therefore, the example reveals a type of similarity. It may also be said that remembrance of the Lord, vision of Him, and experience of His mercy and other qualities are extremely powerful. The example above serves to celebrate the potency of these interactions.

“Further, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.1.27), Śrī Nārada states:

यथा वैरानुबन्धेन मर्त्यस् तन्-मयताम् इयात्
न तथा भक्ति-योगेन इति मे निश्चिता मतिः

yathā vairānubandhena martyas tan-mayatām iyāt
na tathā bhakti-yogena iti me niścitā matiḥ

By bhakti-yoga, one does not achieve the same absorption in Bhagavān that mere mortals achieve through enmity. This is my firm conviction.

“Here, it is enmity that is being praised. This statement of Śrī Nārada can be understood as a way of expression arising from the boldness and confidence of his deep love that naturally arises from the satisfaction he experiences by relishing bhakti-rasa, the mellow of pure love. Śrī Nārada is the preceptor of mischief-makers who are greedy to taste bhakti-rasa. Otherwise, how is it be possible that he could utter such words right in front of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the assembly of that mahābhāgavata devotee, Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja?

“Another understanding is that Śrī Nārada’s statement–that one can become absorbed in Śrī Bhagavān through enmity–is intended to ridicule sāyujya-mokṣa, or merging into the existence of the Lord. The result of hostility to the Lord is derided because there is nothing as worthless and base as merging into Brahman (brahma-sāyujya).”