SB 6.2.12 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

नैकान्तिकं तद्धि कृतेऽपि निष्कृते मन: पुनर्धावति चेदसत्पथे । तत्कर्मनिर्हारमभीप्सतां हरे- र्गुणानुवाद: खलु सत्त्वभावन: ॥ १२ ॥

Verse text

naikāntikaṁ tad dhi kṛte ’pi niṣkṛte manaḥ punar dhāvati ced asat-pathe tat karma-nirhāram abhīpsatāṁ harer guṇānuvādaḥ khalu sattva-bhāvanaḥ

Synonyms

na — not ; aikāntikam — absolutely cleansed ; tat — the heart ; hi — because ; kṛte — very nicely performed ; api — although ; niṣkṛte — atonement ; manaḥ — the mind ; punaḥ — again ; dhāvati — runs ; cet — if ; asat — pathe — on the path of material activities ; tat — therefore ; karma — nirhāram — cessation of the fruitive reactions of material activities ; abhīpsatām — for those who seriously want ; hareḥ — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; guṇa — anuvādaḥ — constant chanting of the glories ; khalu — indeed ; sattva — bhāvanaḥ — actually purifying one’s existence .

Translation

The ritualistic ceremonies of atonement recommended in the religious scriptures are insufficient to cleanse the heart absolutely because after atonement one’s mind again runs toward material activities. Consequently, for one who wants liberation from the fruitive reactions of material activities, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, or glorification of the name, fame and pastimes of the Lord, is recommended as the most perfect process of atonement because such chanting eradicates the dirt from one’s heart completely.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Since even after atonement the mind again pursues material enjoyment, for people desiring complete destruction of material desire, continuous chanting of the qualities of the Lord is the only means of purification. Performance of atonement for twelve years is considered inferior to chanting the name. Since the mind pursues the path of sin after performing atonement which does not completely purify the mind, for persons desiring complete destruction of karmas, constant chanting of the name and qualities, after (anu) hearing them for someone is the real purification of one’s existence become it destroys all desires. According to Amara-koṣa the word anu means “after” as well as “similar.” “Why do you criticize committing sin again after doing atonements? We can explain that this is similar to being bitten by a snake without any teeth since it is caused simply by remaining impressions (just as you explain about commission of sin after chanting.” You are mistaken. Our explanation of the name is valid because of statements that the name destroys all sins along with desires. It is not simply imagination. How can you make your claim, since there are no statements in the scriptures concerning atonement which claim destruction of all desires, and even in the exaggerated claims of karma-kāṇḍa, one does not hear of decrease of sinful desire. This was stated previously.

Purport

The statements in this verse have been confirmed previously in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.17) : śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām “Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who relishes His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.” It is the special mercy of the Supreme Lord that as soon as He knows that one is glorifying His name, fame and attributes, He personally helps cleanse the dirt from one’s heart. Therefore simply by such glorification one not only becomes purified, but also achieves the results of pious activities ( puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtana ). Puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtana refers to the process of devotional service. Even if one does not understand the meaning of the Lord’s name, pastimes or attributes, one is purified simply by hearing or chanting of them. Such purification is called sattva-bhāvana. One’s main purpose in human life should be to purify his existence and achieve liberation. As long as one has a material body, one is understood to be impure. In such an impure, material condition, one cannot enjoy a truly blissful life, although everyone seeks it. Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.1) says, tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ śuddhyet: one must perform tapasya, austerity, to purify his existence in order to come to the spiritual platform. The tapasya of chanting and glorifying the name, fame and attributes of the Lord is a very easy purifying process by which everyone can be happy. Therefore everyone who desires the ultimate cleansing of his heart must adopt this process. Other processes, such as karma, jṣāna and yoga, cannot cleanse the heart absolutely.