Text 24
tāte prema-bhakti — ‘puruṣārtha-śiromaṇi’
rāga-mārge prema-bhakti ‘sarvādhika’ jāni
tāte — therefore; prema-bhakti — devotional service in ecstatic love; puruṣārtha — of all goals of human life; śiromaṇi — the crown jewel; rāga-mārge — on the path of spontaneous love; prema-bhakti — love of Kṛṣṇa; sarva-adhika — the highest of all; jāni — I can understand.
“Through the mercy of Rāmānanda Rāya, I have understood that ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa is the highest goal of life and that spontaneous love of Kṛṣṇa is the highest perfection.
Puruṣārtha (“the goal of life”) generally refers to religion, economic development, satisfaction of the senses and, finally, liberation. However, above these four kinds of puruṣārthas, love of Godhead stands supreme. It is called parama-puruṣārtha (the supreme goal of life) or puruṣārtha-śiromaṇi (the most exalted of all puruṣārthas). Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by regulative devotional service, but the highest perfection of devotional service is spontaneous love of Godhead.