SpiritualVerse 9
श ृǼतां ˢकथा: कृˁ: पुǻश्रवणकीतŊन: ।
şȨȶ:˕ो ˨भद्रािण िवधुनोित सुşȖताम् ॥ १७ ॥
नʼप्रायेˉभद्रेषु िनȑं भागवतसेवया ।
भगवȑुȅमʶोके भİƅभŊवित नैिʿकी ॥ १८ ॥
तदा रजˑमोभावा: कामलोभादयʮ ये ।
चेत एतैरनािवȠं İ˕तं सȇे प्रसीदित ॥ १९ ॥
एवं प्रसɄमनसो भगवȥİƅयोगत: ।
भगवȅȇिवǒानं मुƅसǀ˟ जायते ॥ २० ॥
िभȨते şदयग्रİȺİʯȨȶे सवŊसंशया: ।
Ɨीयȶे चा˟ कमाŊिण द ृʼ एवाȏनीʷरे ॥ २१ ॥
śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi
vidhunoti suhṛt satām
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī
tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ
kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye
ceta etair anāviddhaṁ
sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati
evaṁ prasanna-manaso
bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ
bhagavat-tattva-vijïānaṁ
mukta-saṅgasya jāyate
bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś
chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ
kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi
dṛṣṭa evātmanīśvare
śṛṇvatām—those who have developed the urge to hear the message of; sva-kathāḥ—His own words; Kṛṣṇaḥ—the Personality of Godhead; puṇya—virtues; śravaṇa—hearing; kīrtanaḥ—chanting; hṛdi antaḥ sthaḥ—within one's heart; hi—certainly; abhadrāṇi— desire to enjoy matter; vidhunoti—cleanses; suhṛt—benefactor; satām—of the truthful; naṣṭa—destroyed; prāyeṣu—almost to nil; abhadreṣu—all that is inauspicious; nityam—regularly; bhāgavata— Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or the pure devotee; sevayā—by serving; bhagavati—unto the Personality of Godhead; uttama— transcendental; śloke—prayers; bhaktiḥ—loving service; bhavati— comes into being; naiṣṭhikī—irrevocable; tadā—at that time; rajaḥ— in the mode of passion; tamaḥ—the mode of ignorance; bhāvāḥ— the situation; kāma—lust and desire; lobha—hankering; ādayaḥ— others; ca—and; ye—whatever they are; cetaḥ—the mind; etaiḥ—by these; anāviddham—without being affected; sthitam—being fixed; sattve—in the mode of goodness; prasīdati—thus becomes fully satisfied; evam—thus; prasanna—enlivened; manasaḥ—of the mind; bhagavat-bhakti—the devotional service of the Lord; yogataḥ—by contact of; bhagavat—regarding the Personality of Godhead; tattva—knowledge; vijïānam—scientific; mukta— liberated; saṅgasya—of the association; jāyate—becomes effective; bhidyate—pierced; hṛdaya—heart; granthiḥ—knots; chidyante—cut to pieces; sarva—all; saṁśayāḥ—misgivings; kṣīyante—terminated; ca—and; asya—his; karmāṇi—chain of fruitive actions; dṛṣṭe— having seen; eva—certainly; ātmani—unto the self; īśvare—the dominating factor.
[It is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:]
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 has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted. By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact. As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature's modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy. Thus established in the mode of unalloyed goodness, the man whose mind has been enlivened by contact with devotional service to the Lord gains positive scientific knowledge of the Personality of Godhead in the stage of liberation from all material association. Thus the knot in the heart is pierced, and all misgivings are cut to pieces. The chain of fruitive actions is terminated when one sees the Self as master.
Commentary These five verses are among the most important in ŚrīmadBhāgavatam because they describe, in a nutshell and step by step, the process of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious. Śrīla Prabhupāda quotes these verses many times in his books, especially the first one, which describes how purification of the heart takes place by hearing kṛṣṇakathā, hearing the message of Kṛṣṇa,Vāsudeva. The first and foremost requirement is to become eager to hear and chant about Kṛṣṇa: śṛṇvatāṁ. This word refers to a person who has developed the urge to hear about the Lord. In a previous verse
(SB 1.1.13), the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya told Sūta Gosvāmī that they were eager to learn about the Personality of Godhead, and that by this process, both speaker and hearer are uplifted. In the purport, Śrīla Prabhupāda says: The conditions for hearing the transcendental message of the Absolute Truth are set forth herein. The first condition is that the audience must be very sincere and eager to hear. And the speaker must be in the line of disciplic succession from the recognized ācārya. The transcendental message of the Absolute is not understandable by those who are materially absorbed. Under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master, one becomes gradually purified. Therefore, one must be in the chain of disciplic succession and learn the spiritual art of submissive hearing. In the next verse of his prayer, Śrīla Prabhupāda describes the effect of hearing about Kṛṣṇa.