Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.4.15

yat-kīrtanaḿ yat-smaraṇaḿ yad-īkṣaṇaḿ

yad-vandanaḿ yac-chravaṇaḿ yad-arhaṇam

lokasya sadyo vidhunoti kalmaṣaḿ

tasmai subhadra-śravase namo namaḥ

SYNONYMS

yat — whose; kīrtanam — glorification; yat — whose; smaraṇam — remembrances; yat — whose; īkṣaṇam — audience; yat — whose; vandanam — prayers; yat — whose; śravaṇam — hearing about; yat — whose; arhaṇam — worshiping; lokasya — of all people; sadyaḥ — forthwith; vidhunoti — specifically cleanses; kalmaṣam — effects of sins; tasmai — unto Him; subhadra — all-auspicious; śravase — one who is heard; namaḥ — my due obeisances; namaḥ — again and again.

TRANSLATION

Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the all-auspicious Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, about whom glorification, remembrances, audience, prayers, hearing and worship can at once cleanse the effects of all sins of the performer.

PURPORT

The sublime form of religious performances to free oneself from all reactions of sins is suggested herein by the greatest authority, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Kīrtanam, or glorifying the Lord, can be performed in very many ways, such as remembering, visiting temples to see the Deity, offering prayers in front of the Lord, and hearing recitations of glorification of the Lord as they are mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kīrtanam can be performed both by singing the glories of the Lord in accompaniment with melodious music and by recitation of scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā.

The devotees need not be disappointed in the physical absence of the Lord, though they may think of not being associated with Him. The devotional process of chanting, hearing, remembering, etc., (either all or some of them, or even one of them) can give us the desired result of associating with the Lord by discharging the transcendental loving service of the Lord in the above manner. Even the very sound of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa or Rāma can at once surcharge the atmosphere spiritually. We must know definitely that the Lord is present wherever such pure transcendental service is performed, and thus the performer of offenseless kīrtanam has positive association with the Lord. Similarly, remembrance and prayers also can give us the desired result if they are properly done under expert guidance. One should not concoct forms of devotional service. One may worship the form of the Lord in a temple, or one may impersonally offer the Lord devotional prayers in a mosque or a church. One is sure to get free from the reactions of sins provided one is very careful about not committing sins willingly in expectation of getting free from the reactions of sins by worshiping in the temple or by offering prayers in the church. This mentality of committing sins willfully on the strength of devotional service is called nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ, and it is the greatest offense in the discharge of devotional service. Hearing, therefore, is essential in order to keep oneself strictly on guard against such pitfalls of sins. And in order to give special stress to the hearing process, the Gosvāmī invokes all auspicious fortune in this matter.

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