Mukunda-mala-stotra Verse 16

SYNONYMS

he martyah -- O mortals; paramam -- supreme; hitam -- benefit; srnuta -- just hear about; vah -- to you; vaksyami -- I will tell; sanksepatah -- in summary; samsara -- of the cycle of material existence; arnavam -- the ocean; apat -- of misfortunes; urmi -- with the waves; bahulam -- crowded; samyak -- fully; pravisya -- having entered; sthitah -- situated within; nana -- various; jnanam -- knowledge; apasya -- rejecting; cetasi -- within your heart; namah -- obeisances; narayanaya -- to Lord Narayana; iti -- thus; amum -- this; mantram -- chant; sa-pranavam -- together with the syllable om; pranama -- bowing down; sahitam -- also with; pravartayadhvam -- please practice; muhuh -- continuously.

TRANSLATION

O mortal beings, you have submerged yourselves fully in the ocean of material existence, which is filled with the waves of misfortune. Please hear as I briefly tell you how to attain your supreme benefit. Just put aside your various attempts at gaining knowledge and instead begin constantly chanting the mantra om namo narayanaya and bowing down to the Lord.

PURPORT

No matter how expert a swimmer one may be, one cannot survive for long in a vast sea like the Pacific Ocean. Similarly, no matter how expert a materialist one may be, whether a karmi, jnani, or yogi, one cannot survive forever amidst the tossing waves of samsara. Indeed, all living entities are being tossed repeatedly from one life to the next, from one species to another. Many philosophers have sought relief from samsara by cultivating knowledge, but no amount of mental speculation or Vedanta study will take one to the other shore of the ocean of samsara. At best, a jnani can come to know that all material life is suffering, and by further purification he can understand the spiritual oneness of all beings. But even that understanding does not bring ultimate relief. Liberation from the ocean of birth and death comes with direct surrender to the Supreme Lord, who personally frees the devotee from suffering. As Lord Krsna states, "For the devotees I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death" (Bg. 12.7).

King Kulasekhara recommends the constant chanting of God's names as the way out of samsara. Of course, only one who has spontaneous love of God can continuously chant His holy names. Mechanical chanting cannot continue for very long. But even neophytes are advised to chant Hare Krsna as much as possible to develop their taste for the holy names. A symptom of an advanced devotee is that he has nama-gane sada rucih, tireless attraction for chanting or singing the Lord's names.

The six Gosvamis of Vrndavana achieved the perfect state of attraction for the holy names, chanting and hearing almost twenty-four hours daily. Prabhupada writes, "Of course, we should not imitate him [Rupa Gosvami], but the devotees of the Krsna consciousness movement must at least be very careful to complete their sixteen rounds, their minimum amount of prescribed chanting. Nama-gane sada rucih: we have to increase our taste for singing and chanting Hare Krsna" (Teachings of Queen Kunti, pp. 149-50).

Continuous chanting of the holy name with great relish (ruci) is the privilege of the advanced devotee, but one who chants with offenses is also recommended to chant constantly. As the Padma Purana states, although in the beginning one may chant the Hare Krsna mantra with offenses, one can free himself from those offenses by chanting again and again. Papa-ksayas ca bhavati smaratam tam ahar-nisam: "One becomes free from all sinful reactions if one remembers the Lord day and night."

Whatever a person thinks of at the time of death determines his next life. This is another reason for chanting the holy names constantly. If we can chant at the difficult hour of death, we will guarantee our return home, back to Godhead, without a doubt.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari