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| His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada |
sarvāvasthāṁ gato api vā
yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ
sa bahya abhyantaraṁ śuciḥ
śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu "Unpurified or purified, or even having passed through all situations, one who remembers the lotus-eyed Supreme Personality of Godhead is cleansed within and without."
Apavitrah pavitro va. Apavitrah means contaminated, and
pavitra means liberated. So we have two conditions. Either... Just like either
we are healthy or we are diseased. There is no third condition. Crude example.
Similarly, the living entities, they have two conditions. One condition is
liberation, another condition is contaminated. Therefore living entity is called
marginal, in between contamination and liberation. Either a living entity can be
contaminated or liberated. There is no third condition. Therefore this mantra
says, apavitrah pavitro va. Either contaminated or liberated, it doesn't matter.
Om namo apavitrah pavitro, sarvavastham. Sarva means all; avastham means
condition. In any condition. Sarvavastham gato 'pi va. In whatever condition you
may be. Because two conditions there are. For the living entities... The living
entity is in the marginal position. Either he can be in material nature or in
the spiritual nature. The spiritual nature means liberation, and material nature
means contamination. So in this mantra it is said, either of the condition,
never mind. Either you are in material condition or spiritual condition.
Sarvavastham gato 'pi va. Va means either; yah, anyone; smaret, smaret means
remembers; pundarikaksam, pundarikaksam means whose eyes are just like lotus
petal. That means Krsna or Visnu. Yah smaret pundarikaksam sa bahya... Bahya
means externally. Externally, this body. Abhyantaram. Abhyantaram means
internally. Internally I am spirit. Just like internally, within this dress, I
am internally. Externally I am this dress. Similarly, yah smaret pundarikaksam.
Either he is in the bodily concept of life or he is in the spiritual concept of
life, either he is contaminated or he is liberated -- in any condition, one who
remembers Krsna or Visnu, bahyabhyantaram, he immediately becomes purified
internally and externally. This is the substance of this mantra.
And at the last we are chanting sri visnu sri visnu sri visnu. Because it may not be misunderstood that in this verse it is said that yah smaret pundarikaksam, "anyone who remembers the lotus-eyed." So somebody may think, "My such and such lover is lotus-eyed," or in that way, lotus-eyed. There may be so many lotus-eyed. Therefore at last it is specifically said, sri visnu sri visnu sri visnu. "Lotus-eyed" means Visnu, not anybody else. Sri visnu sri visnu. This is the basic principle of devotional life. In Narada Pancaratra it is recommended... We are explaining these things in Nectar of Devotion. The basic principle of purification is smartavyah satato visnuh: always one has to remember Visnu or Krsna. Krsna and Visnu the same. When you speak Krsna, it includes Visnu. So smartavyah satato visnu vismartavyah na jatucit. We shall not forget Visnu even for a moment. This is the basic principle of devotional life. Some way or other, we have to remember always Krsna. Then whatever condition we may be, we are pure. Sa bahyabhyantaram sucih. This chanting helps us always remembering Krsna. As soon as we chant Hare Krsna, hear, immediately we remember. So, so long I remember, I am sucih, I am pure, no material contamination. Therefore if I continue my life in that pure stage, then I am eligible for going back to Godhead. Because nobody can enter in the kingdom of God without being completely pure. Completely pure means anyabhilasita-sunyam [Brs. 1.1.11], no material desire. Here in the material world, we manufacture so many plans to be happy, material desires. Somebody's thinking, "I shall be happy in this way." Somebody's thinking... There is no question of happiness here. The place is contaminated. In a contaminated... Just like in an infected place you cannot be happy. The medical officer will ask you to leave that place, that "This quarter has been infected by the disease. Better you leave, you go somewhere else." That is the treatment. Infected place must be left immediately. So similarly, this world, this material world of three modes of different qualities, you have to keep yourself always antiseptic, pure, by remembering Krsna. That is the process. As soon as you forget Krsna, immediately the infection, maya, immediately affects you. Krsna bhuliya jiva bhoga-vancha kare.
What is that maya? Maya means to plan how to become materially happy. This is maya. All the people of the world, they are simply making plan how they will be happy within this material world. That's all. This is maya. The history of the whole world studied, it is experience that the Roman Empire planned, the British Empire planned, the... So many empires, they flourish sometimes. All fail. The Britishers, they were, two hundred years ago, they were planning to rule over this vast land of America. George Washington declared independence; their plan failed. Similarly, in India they were planning to exploit. Now Gandhi's movement made it fail. So this is bigger plan. Similarly smaller plan also. There are many... Individually, we make so many plans that "I shall be happy in this way, in that way, in that way." So this plan-making business is maya, because that will never be successful. Trace out the history of the whole world. Nobody has become happy. Hitler made a plan, so great a plan. You see? He was frustrated. So the sane man, intelligent man... Therefore Bhagavad-gita says that a person who is actually intelligent, wise... How a man becomes wise? After being baffled or frustrated many, many times, he can understand this is not the process. And the Vedanta-sutra also places the first, athato brahma jijnasa. When one is frustrated in all plan-making business, for him, the Vedanta-sutra gives him the opportunity, "Now your all plans have failed. Come here." Athato brahma jijnasa: "Now try to understand what is Brahman." This is the first aphorism of Vedanta-sutra. Just try to understand Brahman. So in this way... This initiation also. Initiation means the first beginning, how to become purified. This is initiation. Because this devotional service means the process of purification. Now every one of you, individually you can understand how you are becoming purified from your past life. That is practical. Yes. How you are becoming purified. So this initiation means the beginning of purificatory process. And the purificatory process, what is that? This mantra, yah smaret pundarikaksam sa bahyabhyantaram sucih. Anyone who always remembers, or whenever he remembers, if not always, as soon as he remembers, pundarikaksam sa bahyabhyantaram sucih, he becomes immediately purified internally and externally.
