Devanagari
नात: परं कर्मनिबन्धकृन्तनं
मुमुक्षतां तीर्थपदानुकीर्तनात् ।
न यत्पुन: कर्मसु सज्जते मनो
रजस्तमोभ्यां कलिलं ततोऽन्यथा ॥ ४६ ॥
Verse text
nātaḥ paraṁ karma-nibandha-kṛntanaṁ
mumukṣatāṁ tīrtha-pādānukīrtanāt
na yat punaḥ karmasu sajjate mano
rajas-tamobhyāṁ kalilaṁ tato ’nyathā
Synonyms
na
—
not
;
ataḥ
—
therefore
;
param
—
better means
;
karma
—
nibandha — the obligation to suffer or undergo tribulations as a result of fruitive activities
;
kṛntanam
—
that which can completely cut off
;
mumukṣatām
—
of persons desiring to get out of the clutches of material bondage
;
tīrtha
—
pāda — about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, at whose feet all the holy places stand
;
anukīrtanāt
—
than constantly chanting under the direction of the bona fide spiritual master
;
na
—
not
;
yat
—
because
;
punaḥ
—
again
;
karmasu
—
in fruitive activities
;
sajjate
—
becomes attached
;
manaḥ
—
the mind
;
rajaḥ
—
tamobhyām — by the modes of passion and ignorance
;
kalilam
—
contaminated
;
tataḥ
—
thereafter
;
anyathā
—
by any other means .
Translation
Therefore one who desires freedom from material bondage should adopt the process of chanting and glorifying the name, fame, form and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, at whose feet all the holy places stand. One cannot derive the proper benefit from other methods, such as pious atonement, speculative knowledge and meditation in mystic yoga, because even after following such methods one takes to fruitive activities again, unable to control his mind, which is contaminated by the base qualities of nature, namely passion and ignorance.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
There is no better way for those desiring liberation to cut the bondage of karma than chanting about the Lord, because by chanting, the mind does not again become attached to material actions. By other processes the mind again becomes contaminated by rajas and tamas.
From chanting (yat) the mind is not attached to material actions. Otherwise, by atonements, the mind becomes contaminated (kalilam).
Purport
It has actually been seen that even after achieving so-called perfection, many
karmīs, jṣānīs
and
yogīs
become attached to material activities again. Many so-called
svāmīs
and
yogīs
give up material activities as false (
jagan mithyā
), but after some time they nevertheless resume material activities by opening hospitals and schools or performing other activities for the benefit of the public. Sometimes they participate in politics, although still falsely declaring themselves
sannyāsīs,
members of the renounced order. The perfect conclusion, however, is that if one actually desires to get out of the material world, he must take to devotional service, which begins with
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ:
chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has actually proved this. In the Western countries, many young boys who were addicted to drugs and who had many other bad habits, which they could not give up, abandoned all those propensities and very seriously engaged in chanting the glories of the Lord as soon as they joined the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. In other words, this process is the perfect method of atonement for actions performed in
rajaḥ
and
tamaḥ
(passion and ignorance). As stated in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(1.2.19)
:
tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ
kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye
ceta etair anāviddhaṁ
sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati
As a result of
rajaḥ
and
tamaḥ,
one becomes increasingly lusty and greedy, but when one takes to the process of chanting and hearing, one comes to the platform of goodness and becomes happy. As he advances in devotional service, all his doubts are completely eradicated (
bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ
). Thus the knot of his desire for fruitive activities is cut to pieces.