Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Mukunda-mala-stotra 23

nathe dhatari bhogi-bhoga-sayane narayane madhave

deve devaki-nandane sura-vare cakrayudhe sarngini

lilasesa-jagat-prapanca-jathare visvesvare sridhare

govinde kuru citta-vrttim acalam anyais tu kim vartanaih

SYNONYMS

nathe -- on your master; dhatari -- and sustainer; bhogi -- of the serpent (Ananta Sesa); bhoga -- on the body; sayane -- who lies down; narayane madhave -- known as Narayana and Madhava; deve -- the Supreme Lord; devaki-nandane -- the darling son of Devaki; sura-vare -- the hero of the demigods; cakra-ayudhe -- the holder of the disc; sarn-gini -- the possessor of the bow Sarnga; lila -- as a pastime; asesa -- endless; jagat -- universes; prapanca -- manifestation; jathare -- in the stomach; visva -- of the universes; isvare -- the controller; sridhare -- the Lord of Sri; govinde -- on Lord Govinda; kuru -- place; citta -- of your mind; vrttim -- the workings; acalam -- without deviation; anyaih -- other; tu -- conversely; kim -- what is the use; vartanaih -- with engagements.

TRANSLATION

Think only of your master and sustainer, the Supreme Lord, who is known as Narayana and Madhava and who lies on the body of the serpent Ananta. He is the darling son of Devaki, the hero of the demigods, and the Lord of the cows, and He holds a conchshell and the bow Sarnga. He is the husband of the goddess of fortune and the controller of all the universes, which He manifests from His abdomen as a pastime. What will you gain by thinking of anything else?

PURPORT

In previous verses King Kulasekhara has instructed his own mind to be fixed at the lotus feet of Krsna, and now he instructs his readers to fix their minds on Him as well. He gives some of the Lord's innumerable names, which describe His qualities and pastimes. Devotees are attracted to serving a specific aspect of the Supreme Lord according to their specific rasa, or loving relationship with Him. One may meditate on and serve any bona fide form of the Lord and derive the same benefit of going back to Godhead. While passing away from the world, Grandfather Bhisma, who was in a chivalrous relationship with Krsna, chanted prayers recalling that aspect of the Lord. Praying that his mind would go unto Krsna, he reviewed the Lord's chivalrous pastimes in his mind: "May He, Lord Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, who awards salvation, be my ultimate destination. On the battlefield He charged me, as if angry because of the wounds dealt by my sharp arrows. His shield was scattered, and His body was smeared with blood due to the wounds" (Bhag. 1.9.38).

In this verse King Kulasekhara instructs us to attain samadhi, or ecstatic concentration on the Supreme. Yogis try to achieve samadhi by perfecting the eightfold yoga process, but this is very difficult. When Krsna recommended this practice to Arjuna, he replied, "O Madhusudana, the system of yoga You have summarized appears impractical and unbearable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady.... [Controlling the mind] is more difficult than controlling the wind" (Bg. 6.33-34).

By contrast, bhakti-yoga is so easy that anyone can successfully practice it. A sincere soul who chants and hears the holy names of Krsna, and also hears His pastimes and qualities narrated by self-realized devotees, can progress to the highest stages of concentration with an ease unknown to the followers of other yoga processes.

Why does King Kulasekhara deem as worthless all activities except fixing the mind on Krsna? Because all other acts and thoughts are temporary and thus lead to unending entanglement in material misery. As Srila Prabhupada writes in his Bhagavad-gita commentary, "If one is not in Krsna consciousness, there cannot be a final goal for the mind." By the tricks of fate and the inexorable workings of karma, what appears auspicious and happy one moment may turn into tragedy the next. Like the Supreme Lord, the soul is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1] (eternal and full of bliss and knowledge), and as such he can be fully satisfied only when he unites in bhakti with the Lord. We should join with Bhismadeva in praying, "May His lotus feet always remain the objects of my attraction."

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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