Devanagari
योगादेशमुपासाद्य धारयन्तो मुनिव्रता: ।
समाहितधिय: सर्व एतदभ्यसतादृता: ॥ ७१ ॥
Verse text
yogādeśam upāsādya
dhārayanto muni-vratāḥ
samāhita-dhiyaḥ sarva
etad abhyasatādṛtāḥ
Synonyms
yoga
—
ādeśam — this instruction of bhakti-yoga
;
upāsādya
—
constantly reading
;
dhārayantaḥ
—
and taking within the heart
;
muni
—
vratāḥ — just take the vow of the great sages, the vow of silence
;
samāhita
—
always fixed in the mind
;
dhiyaḥ
—
with intelligence
;
sarve
—
all of you
;
etat
—
this
;
abhyasata
—
practice
;
ādṛtāḥ
—
with great reverence .
Translation
My dear princes, in the form of a prayer I have delineated the yoga system of chanting the holy name. All of you should take this important stotra within your minds and promise to keep it in order to become great sages. By acting silently like a great sage and by giving attention and reverence, you should practice this method.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Having obtained this prayer called Yogādeśa, studying it, contemplating it, being strong in vows, and concentrating your intelligence, you should all chant this prayer repeatedly with great respect.
Yogādeśam upāsādya, means “having obtained this prayer called Yogādeśa and studying it.”
Purport
In the
haṭha-yoga
system one has to practice bodily exercises,
dhyāna, dhāraṇā, āsana,
meditation, etc. One also has to sit in one place in a particular posture and concentrate his gaze on the tip of the nose. There are so many rules and regulations for the
haṭha-yoga
system that it is practically impossible to perform it in this age. The alternative system of
bhakti-yoga
is very easy not only in this age but in others as well, for this
yoga
system was advocated long ago by Lord Śiva when he advised the princes, the sons of Mahārāja Prācīnabarhiṣat. The
bhakti-yoga
system is not newly introduced, for even five thousand years ago Lord Kṛṣṇa recommended this
bhakti-yoga
as the topmost
yoga.
As Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna in
Bhagavad-gītā
(6.47)
:
yoginām api sarveṣāṁ
mad-gatenāntarātmanā
śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ
sa me yuktatamo mataḥ
“Of all
yogīs,
he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in
yoga
and is the highest of all.”
The topmost
yogī
is he who constantly thinks of Kṛṣṇa within himself and chants the glories of the Lord. In other words, this system of
bhakti-yoga
has been existing from time immemorial and is now continuing in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
The word
muni-vratāḥ
is significant in this regard because those who are interested in advancing in spiritual life must be silent. Silence means talking only of
kṛṣṇa-kathā.
This is the silence of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa:
sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor
vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane
“King Ambarīṣa always fixed his mind on the lotus feet of the Lord and talked of Him only.” (
Bhāg.
9.4.19) We should also take this opportunity in life to become as good as a great saint simply by not talking unnecessarily with unwanted persons. We should either talk of Kṛṣṇa or chant Hare Kṛṣṇa undeviatingly. This is called
muni-vrata.
The intelligence must be very sharp (
samāhita-dhiyaḥ
) and should always be acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The words
etad abhyasatādṛtāḥ
indicate that if one takes these instructions from a spiritual master with great reverence (
ādṛta
) and practices them accordingly, he will find this
bhakti-yoga
process to be very, very easy.