Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.31.21

tasmād ahaḿ vigata-viklava uddhariṣya

ātmānam āśu tamasaḥ suhṛdātmanaiva

bhūyo yathā vyasanam etad aneka-randhraḿ

mā me bhaviṣyad upasādita-viṣṇu-pādaḥ

SYNONYMS

tasmāt — therefore; aham — I; vigata — ceased; viklavaḥ — agitation; uddhariṣye — shall deliver; ātmānam — myself; āśu — quickly; tamasaḥ — from the darkness; suhṛdā ātmanā — with friendly intelligence; eva — indeed; bhūyaḥ — again; yathā — so that; vyasanam — plight; etat — this; aneka-randhram — entering many wombs; mā — not; me — my; bhaviṣyat — may occur; upasādita — placed (in my mind); viṣṇu-pādaḥ — the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu.

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 Viṣṇu 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 Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Here it is stated, upasādita-viṣṇu-pādaḥ. This means realization of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One who is intelligent, by the grace of the Lord, and develops Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is successful in his life because simply by keeping himself in Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa conscious, and then the effect of such a horrible condition cannot act unfavorably upon him. In Bhagavad-gītā 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: suhṛdātmanaiva, friendly intelligence. Absorption of intelligence in the personal service of Kṛṣṇa and full consciousness of Kṛṣṇa always are the path of self-realization and liberation. Without being unnecessarily agitated, if we take to the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness by constantly chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, the cycle of birth and death can be stopped for good.

It may be questioned herein how the child can be fully Kṛṣṇa conscious within the womb of the mother without any paraphernalia with which to execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is not necessary to arrange for paraphernalia to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. The child wants to remain within the abdomen of its mother and at the same time wants to become free from the clutches of māyā. One does not need any material arrangement to cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One can cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness anywhere and everywhere, provided he can always think of Kṛṣṇa. The mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, 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 Kṛṣṇa 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 māyā again by going outside."

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