Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Mukunda-mālā-stotra 27

namāmi nārāyaṇa-pāda-pańkajaḿ

karomi nārāyaṇa-pūjanaḿ sadā

vadāmi nārāyaṇa-nāma nirmalaḿ

smarāmi nārāyaṇa-tattvam avyayam

SYNONYMS

namāmi — I offer obeisances; nārāyaṇa — of Lord Nārāyaṇa; pāda-pańkajam — to the lotus feet; karomi — I do; nārāyaṇa — of Lord Nārāyaṇa; pūjanam — worship; sadā — always; vadāmi — I speak; nārāyaṇa — of Lord Nārāyaṇa; nāma — the name; nirmalam — free from contamination; smarāmi — I remember; nārāyaṇa — of Nārāyaṇa; tattvam — truth; avyayam — infallible.

TRANSLATION

At every moment I bow down to the lotus feet of Nārāyaṇa, I perform worship to Nārāyaṇa, I recite the pure name of Nārāyaṇa, and I reflect on the infallible truth of Nārāyaṇa.

PURPORT

One may wonder, Is this an exaggeration or perhaps an expression of wishful thinking? The answer is no, this verse describes the practical experience of King Kulaśekhara, a pure devotee. Moreover, such absorption in various services to the Lord is possible not only for King Kulaśekhara but for all sincere devotees. Such twenty-four-hour engagement in the Lord's service is rarely possible at once, but we can take encouragement from Lord Kṛṣṇa's words in the Bhagavad-gītā (12.9): "If you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop the desire to attain to Me."

King Kulaśekhara first states, namāmi: "I offer obeisances." This refers to bowing down to the Lord physically and mentally, thus praying to Him with one's whole being to be placed, as Lord Caitanya said, as "an atom at [His] lotus feet." We offer obeisances because we recognize the inconceivable greatness of the Supreme Lord, and we beg for awareness of our own tinyness and dependence on Him. In addition to following the regulative principles of devotional service, we should take time regularly to go beyond the mechanical activity of religious duties, beyond all the relative roles we may play with our family and in our religious institution, and to try to recall that we are actually eternal servants of the Supreme Lord and of all living beings.

The preacher of Kṛṣṇa consciousness should offer mental obeisances to the recipients of his message. Lord Caitanya advised His followers, yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-upadeśa: "Impart Kṛṣṇa's teachings to whomever you meet" (Cc. Madhya 7.128). By carrying out this order we offer humble obeisances to the Lord within all living entities.

King Kulaśekhara says that he recites the name of Nārāyaṇa at every moment. Śrīla Prabhupāda advised his followers to do the same: "In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we are teaching our followers to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra continuously on beads. Even those who are not accustomed to this practice are advised to chant at least sixteen rounds on beads so they may be trained.... Sadā means 'always.' Haridāsa Ṭhākura says nirantara nāma lao: 'Chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra without stopping' " (Cc. Antya 3.139, purport).

To chant all the time one has to follow Lord Caitanya's advice — to think oneself lower than the straw in the street and offer all respects to others. In this way one combines reciting the Lord's names and offering obeisances. A person who does not offer respects to God and all God's creatures, who is proud of his material acquisitions, cannot call upon the Lord sincerely. Even if he does occasionally chant the Lord's name, he does so with complacency. A devotee who realizes his actual situation of dependence on Kṛṣṇa calls on the name of the Lord the way a child calls upon his mother. And as stated in previous verses, such a chanter tastes unprecedented nectar in the holy name.

King Kulaśekhara also reflects on the infallible truth of Nārāyaṇa. The conclusion (siddhānta) concerning the science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is received from the scriptures, from the guru, and from authorized sādhus. One should regularly read and hear the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Bhagavad-gītā, the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and similar Vaiṣṇava works, and one should also hear realized devotees explain them. One who does so will eventually be able to see all events in a Kṛṣṇa conscious way. This is known as śāstra-cakṣur, seeing the world with the vision gained through scriptural knowledge.

And so King Kulaśekhara has offered four activities that should consume all our time without distraction: offering obeisances to the Lord, worshiping Him, chanting His holy names, and thinking of the conclusive truths concerning Him. These practices are included in the ninefold process of devotional service Prahlāda Mahārāja describes in the Seventh Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.23). So whether one performs the activities King Kulaśekhara mentions here or adds the ones Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends — praying, worshiping the Deity, becoming the Lord's friend, and so on — one can move from one activity to another, from one thought to another, and yet stay within the internal, spiritual energy of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Such a fully Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee will transfer at the time of death to the spiritual world, where he will render further services in the blissful company of the Lord and His intimate associates.

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Copyright © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari