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Ceaseless Remembrance of The Lord

बद्धेनाञ्जलिना नतेन शिरसा गात्रैः सरोमोद्गमैः
कण्ठेन स्वरगद्गदेन नयनेनोदीर्णबाष्पाम्बुना ।
नित्यं त्वच्चरणारविन्दयुगलध्यानामृतास्वादिनां
अस्माकं सरसीरुहाक्ष सततं संपद्यतां जीवितम् ।।
– मुकुन्दमाला

baddhenānjalinā natena śirasā gātraiḥ saromodgamaiḥ
kaṇṭhena svaragadgadena nayanenodīrṇa-bāṣpāmbunā |
nityaṃ tvaccaraṇāravinda-yugala-dhyānāmṛtāsvādināṃ
asmākaṃ sarasīruhākṣa satataṃ saṁpadyatāṃ jīvitam ||
– Mukundamālā

Translation:

O lotus-eyed Lord, may our lives be led always with folded hands and a bowed head (in gratitude towards you), with horripilation all over the body, voice choked in devotion and the eyes shedding devotional tears, enjoying the nectar of ceaseless meditation on Your lotus feet.

Points for Introspection:

A devotee worships or does pooja sitting in front of an idol or picture by lighting a lamp and incense sticks, by performing aarati, by chanting stutis and mantras, by offering flowers, chandan, etc., or by doing ‘abhisheka’. While he whole-heartedly engages himself in these divine activities, he generally experiences extreme love and devotion in his heart for the Lord, which brings about a feeling of sublimity and purity in the mind and heart. His mind becomes full of love for every being and consequently it becomes rid of agitations born of desires and impurities of the mind. The mind becomes calm and placid.

Engaging in worship when the devotee contemplates on the Lord – His attributes and divine exploits – he at times feels the presence of the Lord within himself and remains embraced by the Lord in his own heart, experiencing supreme bliss. He sheds profuse tears of bliss, his whole body becomes full with horripilation; the voice gets choked.

Mostly one has these divine experiences while worshiping. But what about the rest of the day when one has to perform the worldly duties which seem to be apparently non-devotional? While performing the day-to-day activities in the world the mind fails to remember God or to experience God in the heart. All devotional and divine feelings are lost in the midst of intense worldly chores.

Hence, the mind becomes agitated or depressed, gets gripped by tension, anxiety and fear. Helplessly he remembers the peace and calm that he experiences when he sits for worship, revelling in the heart the closeness of God, his own Indweller, who relieves him of all his sufferings.

So, he prays to the Lord that he should live his life with unbroken remembrance of the Lord. This is the whole-hearted prayer of all the devotees. True devotees want their lives to be spent in constant remembrance and contemplation of God, tasting the nectar which flows from contemplation on the holy lotus feet of the Lord. They pray that their hands may remain ever-folded in reverence, heads ever-bent in prostration, may there be horripilation always, may the voice be chocked with emotions of love for the Lord, and may the eyes shed profuse tears of bliss – ever and ever.

What does this prayer mean? To be able to remember God in all worldly activities, to be able to see His presence in the whole creation, in all living and non-living objects, to see Him in everything – in whatever we like or dislike. When we see God everywhere, every moment of our life will be filled with divinity and supreme bliss.

This is a very beautiful shloka. It melts the heart. When we read it and chant it with feelings, we get a glimpse of the supremely blissful state that a devotee can enjoy. While chanting it again and again, the mind stops and becomes one with the Lord in the heart. One is able to taste the nectar that flows from this union.

Also, there will be a compulsion to be in this union throughout the day, amidst all worldly activities.

Word Meaning:

बद्धेन अञ्जलिना (baddhena anjalinā) = with hands folded in gratitude; नतेन (natena śirasā) = with bowed head; गात्रैः (gātraiḥ) = with all parts of the body; सरोमोद्गमैः (saromodgamaiḥ) = with horripilations; कण्ठेन (kaṇṭhena) = with the throat; स्वरगद्गदेन (svaragadgadena) = with choked voice; नयनेन (nayanena) = with eyes; उदीर्ण बाष्पाम्बुना (udīrṇa bāṣpāmbunā) = with tears of joy coming out; नित्यं (nityaṃ) = always; त्वत् (tvat) = your; चरणारविन्दयुगलध्यानामृतास्वादिनां (caraṇāravinda-yugala-dhyānāmṛtāsvādināṃ) = enjoying the nectar of ceaseless meditation on Your lotus feet; अस्माकं (asmākaṃ) = our; सरसीरुहाक्ष (sarasīruhākṣa) = O Lotus-eyed Lord; सततं (satataṁ) = always; संपद्यतां (saṁpadyatāṃ) = may be led; जीवितम् (jīvitam) = life;

अन्वयः

​(हे) ​सरसीरुहाक्ष​,​ बद्धेन अञ्जलिना, नतेन शिरसा, गात्रैः सरोमोद्गमैः, कण्ठेन स्वरगद्गदेन, नयनेन उदीर्णबाष्पाम्बुना,​ ​नित्यं त्वत् चरणारविन्द​-​युगल​-​ध्यानामृता​-​स्वादिनां अस्माकं जीवितं​​​ सततं संपद्यता​​म्​​ ​।
sarasīruhākṣa, baddhena anjalinā, natena śirasā, gātraiḥ saromodgamaiḥ, kaṇṭhena svaragadgadena, nayanena udīrṇa-bāṣpāmbunā, nityaṁ tvat caraṇāravinda-yugala-dhyānāmṛtāsvādināṃ asmākaṃ jīvitam satataṁ saṁpadyatāṃ.