Mukunda-mala-stotra Verse 51

SYNONYMS

alam alam alam — enough, enough, enough; ekā — by itself; prāninām — of living beings; pātakānām — of the sins; nirasana — driving away; vishaye — in the matter of; yā — which; krishna krishna — "Krishna, Krishna"; iti — thus; vānī — words; yadi — if; bhavati — there is; mukunde — for Lord Mukunda; bhaktih — devotion; ānanda — with ecstasy; sāndrā — dense; kara-tala — in the palms of one's hands; kalitāh — available; sā — she (devotion); moksha — liberation; sāmrājya — influence; lakshmīh — and opulence.

TRANSLATION

By themselves the words "Krishna, Krishna" are sufficient to drive away the sins of all living beings. Anyone who possesses devotion for Lord Mukunda that is densely imbued with ecstasy holds in the palms of his hands the gifts of liberation, worldly influence, and wealth.

PURPORT

King Kulaśekhara's declaration that the holy name drives away sins brings to mind a similar statement spoken by Nāmācārya Haridāsa Thākura. First he quoted a verse that makes use of the analogy of the rising sun:

amhah samharad akhilam

sakrid udayād eva sakala-lokasya

taranir iva timira-jaladhim

jayati jagan-mańgalam harer nāma

"As the rising sun immediately dissipates all the world's darkness, which is deep like an ocean, so the holy name of Lord Hari, if chanted once without offenses, dissipates all the reactions of a living being's sinful life. All glories to that holy name of the Lord, which is auspicious for the entire world" (Cc. Antya 3.181).

Next Haridāsa Thākura explained the verse as follows: As the first glimpse of sunlight dissipates one's fear of thieves and ghosts, so with the first hint of offenseless chanting of the Lord's names, reactions of sinful life immediately disappear. If a devotee can continue to chant without offenses, he goes on to awaken ecstatic love for Krishna.

Then Haridāsa Thākura stated, "Liberation is the insignificant result derived from a glimpse of the awakening of offenseless chanting of the holy name." When Haridāsa made this claim, a ritualistic brāhmana challenged him, saying that he had exaggerated the powers of the holy name. But Haridāsa Thākura replied with śāstric proof. He gave the example of Ajāmila, who chanted the Lord's holy name with the intention of calling his son Nārāyana, yet who was thereby immediately freed of his sinful reactions and who ultimately attained to the spiritual world. Haridāsa also quoted a verse from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam proving that pure devotees prefer serving the Lord to being liberated without such service.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thākura elaborately describes the stages of chanting the holy name in his Hari-nāma-cintāmani: Chanting that is full of ignorance and offenses is known as nāma-aparādha. The next stage, which still contains imperfections, is known as nāma-ābhāsa, or the shadow of the holy name. This is the stage in which one can attain freedom from sins and even liberation. But one can attain pure krishna-prema only by chanting without offense, a stage known as śuddha-nāma, or the pure chanting of the holy name.

King Kulaśekhara says that one who has attained love of Krishna has all other benedictions easily within his grip, including mukti and the gifts of Lakshmī, the goddess of fortune. The bhakta's indifference toward liberation is further expressed by Bilvamańgala Thākura in his Śrī Krishna-karnāmrita (107):

bhaktis tvayi sthiratarā bhagavan yadi syād

daivena nah phalati divya-kiśora-mūrtih

muktih svayam mukulitāñjali sevate 'smān

dharmārtha-kāma-gatayah samaya-pratīkshāh

"My dear Lord, if I am engaged in firm devotional service unto You, then I can very easily perceive Your transcendental youthful form. And as far as liberation is concerned, she stands at my door with folded hands, waiting to serve me, and all material conveniences of religiosity, economic development, and sense gratification stand with her."

A pure devotee easily attains wealth and liberation, but he is not interested in them. As Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī writes in his Śrī Caitanya-candrāmrita (5), "[For a pure devotee] impersonal liberation is as palatable as going to hell, and the heavenly cities of the demigods are as real as flowers imagined to float in the sky." The devotee is ātmārāma, self-satisfied, because he knows that devotional service to Krishna brings everything.

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