Devanagari
एतावानेव लोकेऽस्मिन् पुंसां नि:श्रेयसोदय: ।
तीव्रेण भक्तियोगेन मनो मय्यर्पितं स्थिरम् ॥ ४४ ॥
Verse text
etāvān eva loke ’smin
puṁsāṁ niḥśreyasodayaḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
mano mayy arpitaṁ sthiram
Synonyms
etāvān eva
—
only so far
;
loke asmin
—
in this world
;
puṁsām
—
of men
;
niḥśreyasa
—
final perfection of life
;
udayaḥ
—
the attainment of
;
tīvreṇa
—
intense
;
bhakti
—
yogena — by practice of devotional service
;
manaḥ
—
mind
;
mayi
—
in Me
;
arpitam
—
fixed
;
sthiram
—
steady .
Translation
Therefore persons whose minds are fixed on the Lord engage in the intensive practice of devotional service. That is the only means for attainment of the final perfection of life.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The mind offered to me with pure bhakti with steadifness alone creates the highest benefit for men in this world.
Thus, pure bhakti offered to me is the best of all. There is nothing higher than this. Everything else is inferior. This bhakti is firm (tivreṇa), without cheating, devoid of karma and jṣāna, and pure.
Thus ends the commentary on Twenty-fifth Chapter of the Third Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
Chapter Twenty-six
Creation of the Elements
Fifth Description of Universal Form
Purport
Here the words
mano mayy arpitam,
which mean “the mind being fixed on Me,” are significant. One should fix his mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa or His incarnation. To be fixed steadily in that freedom is the way of liberation. Ambarīṣa Mahārāja is an example. He fixed his mind on the lotus feet of the Lord, he spoke only on the pastimes of the Lord, he smelled only the flowers and
tulasī
offered to the Lord, he walked only to the temple of the Lord, he engaged his hands in cleansing the temple, he engaged his tongue in tasting the foodstuff offered to the Lord, and he engaged his ears for hearing the great pastimes of the Lord. In that way all his senses were engaged. First of all, the mind should be engaged at the lotus feet of the Lord, very steadily and naturally. Because the mind is the master of the senses, when the mind is engaged, all the senses become engaged. That is
bhakti-yoga.
Yoga
means controlling the senses. The senses cannot be controlled in the proper sense of the term; they are always agitated. This is true also with a child — how long can he be forced to sit down silently? It is not possible. Even Arjuna said,
caṣcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa:
“The mind is always agitated.” The best course is to fix the mind on the lotus feet of the Lord.
Mano mayy arpitaṁ sthiram.
If one seriously engages in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is the highest perfectional stage. All Kṛṣṇa conscious activities are on the highest perfectional level of human life.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, Twenty-fifth Chapter, of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “The Glories of Devotional Service.”