Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 3.31.21

tasmad aham vigata-viklava uddharishya

atmanam asu tamasah suhridatmanaiva

bhuyo yatha vyasanam etad aneka-randhram

ma me bhavishyad upasadita-vishnu-padah

SYNONYMS

tasmat -- therefore; aham -- I; vigata -- ceased; viklavah -- agitation; uddharishye -- shall deliver; atmanam -- myself; asu -- quickly; tamasah -- from the darkness; suhrida atmana -- with friendly intelligence; eva -- indeed; bhuyah -- again; yatha -- so that; vyasanam -- plight; etat -- this; aneka-randhram -- entering many wombs; ma -- not; me -- my; bhavishyat -- may occur; upasadita -- placed (in my mind); vishnu-padah -- the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu.

TRANSLATION

Therefore, without being agitated any more, I shall deliver myself from the darkness of nescience with the help of my friend, clear consciousness. Simply by keeping the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu in my mind, I shall be saved from entering into the wombs of many mothers for repeated birth and death.

PURPORT

The miseries of material existence begin from the very day when the spirit soul takes shelter in the ovum and sperm of the mother and father, they continue after he is born from the womb, and then they are further prolonged. We do not know where the suffering ends. It does not end, however, by one's changing his body. The change of body is taking place at every moment, but that does not mean that we are improving from the fetal condition of life to a more comfortable condition. The best thing is, therefore, to develop Krishna consciousness. Here it is stated, upasadita-vishnu-padah. This means realization of Krishna consciousness. One who is intelligent, by the grace of the Lord, and develops Krishna consciousness, is successful in his life because simply by keeping himself in Krishna consciousness, he will be saved from the repetition of birth and death.

The child prays that it is better to remain within the womb of darkness and be constantly absorbed in Krishna consciousness than to get out and again fall a victim to the illusory energy. The illusory energy acts within the abdomen as well as outside the abdomen, but the trick is that one should remain Krishna conscious, and then the effect of such a horrible condition cannot act unfavorably upon him. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that one's intelligence is his friend, and the same intelligence can also be his enemy. Here also the same idea is repeated: suhridatmanaiva, friendly intelligence. Absorption of intelligence in the personal service of Krishna and full consciousness of Krishna always are the path of self-realization and liberation. Without being unnecessarily agitated, if we take to the process of Krishna consciousness by constantly chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, the cycle of birth and death can be stopped for good.

It may be questioned herein how the child can be fully Krishna conscious within the womb of the mother without any paraphernalia with which to execute Krishna consciousness. It is not necessary to arrange for paraphernalia to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu. The child wants to remain within the abdomen of its mother and at the same time wants to become free from the clutches of maya. One does not need any material arrangement to cultivate Krishna consciousness. One can cultivate Krishna consciousness anywhere and everywhere, provided he can always think of Krishna. The maha-mantra, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, can be chanted even within the abdomen of one's mother. One can chant while sleeping, while working, while imprisoned in the womb or while outside. This Krishna consciousness cannot be checked in any circumstance. The conclusion of the child's prayer is: "Let me remain in this condition; although it is very miserable, it is better not to fall a victim to maya again by going outside."

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness