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Devotion is Ever New and Ever Delightful

मृषा गिरस्ता ह्यसतीरसत्कथा न कथ्यते यद्भगवानधोक्षजः ।
तदेव सत्यं तदु हैव मङ्गलं तदेव पुण्यं भगवद्गुणोदयम् ।।
तदेव रम्यं रुचिरं नवं नवं तदेव शश्वन्मनसो महोत्सवम् ।
तदेव शोकार्णवशोषणं नृणां यदुत्तमश्लोकयशोऽनुगीयते ।।
– श्रीमद्भागवतम् १२.१२.४८-४९

mṛṣā girastā hyasatīr-asatkathā na kathyate yad-bhagavān-adhokṣaja: |
tadeva satyaṃ tadu haiva maṅgalaṃ tadeva puṇyaṃ bhagavad-guṇodayam ||
tadeva ramyaṃ ruciraṃ navaṃ navaṃ tadeva śaśvan-manaso mahotsavam |
tadeva śokārṇava-śoṣaṇaṃ nṛṇāṃ yad-uttama-ślokayaśo’nugīyate ||
– Śrīmadbhāgavataṃ 12.12.48-49

Translation

Words that do not discuss the Lord and deal with only worldly matters, are false and useless. But, the words that reveal the glories and excellences of the Lord, are true; they alone are auspicious and holy.

It is words that discuss the excellences of the Lord that remain ever new and delight the mind. They alone can keep the mind of man always in a festive mood and dry up the ocean of misery.

Points for Introspection

Every human being, young or old, rich or poor, wants peace and happiness in life. Nobody wants to undergo misery; nobody wants to be fearful. But, life is such that even though there are moments of happiness and peace, those are transitory. Even the periods of much craved for peace and happiness are filled with anxiety and fear of losing them. In short, life in this world is full of tension, anxiety and fear.

The mind has various desires. There is the desire to gain what one likes and desire to avoid what one dislikes. Because of such likes and dislikes, the mind remains constantly agitated, worried and dissatisfied.

The question is: Is there no way to transcend this misery and suffering? Is there no way to experience peace and bliss – to experience an unbroken festivity in the mind?

Our scriptures again and again assure us saying: “surely there is a way”. To go beyond the miseries of life one must realize the Supreme Lord in one’s own heart. One must start growing love for the Lord.

Our love now is for the worldly objects. When one grows love for the Supreme Lord, all worldly attractions that generate desire, greed, disappointment, anger etc. become insignificant. The mind gradually understands that joy and satisfaction of possessing the objects of desire, is short-lived. Worldly thoughts and interactions bring misery alone at the end.

Now, how to turn the mind, which is fascinated by the world, towards God? How to love God more than anything in this world?

To grow love for the Supreme Lord, to consider Him to be Supreme in one’s life, one must hear about Him, read about Him, contemplate on Him, sing his glories and excellences in such a manner that the mind gets filled with Him and Him alone.

Hearing and singing the sacred recitals of God has immense purifying power. For a devotee hears and sings about the Lord, the Lord Himself enters his heart and purifies him of all desires and doubts. In the purified heart, the Supreme Lord reveals Himself. The devotee, attaining refuge at the holy auspicious feet of the Lord, transcends all sorrow, delusion, and fear.

However, rare are those who hear and sing about the Lord. Mostly people are engaged in useless talks, discussing only about one’s own possessions or criticizing others. They talk vainly about what more one can acquire or possess. These talks only excite and agitate the mind generating more desire, greed, and dissatisfaction. Even if discussions about literature, music, art and science are elevating to the mind, such discussions never take the mind beyond suffering and fear, bringing eternal peace and happiness.

In this shloka, the Lord is referred to as ‘Adhokshajah’, meaning the One who is imperceptible to the senses, who is beyond sense perception. All that is perceived by the senses is transitory. The Lord, who transcends sense perception, alone is eternal.

The shloka says that the words which do not speak about the ‘Adhokshajah’ are useless. Because, they do not tell us about the unreal nature of the world, and the real Presence in our heart. They do not discuss about how always our sense perceptions are taking us away from our real eternal nature and making us undergo misery and fear. On the other hand, when we hear about the supreme transcendental Lord, we are able to discriminate between real and unreal. As a result, we are able to hold on to the real and reject the unreal, to which our senses are constantly dragging us.

Which words, speeches and compositions are real and true then? This shloka says that only the words that speak about the transcendental Presence are true and auspicious. Those words are real words because they lead us to the Ultimate Truth – the abode of eternal bliss, peace and fearlessness.

It also says that the words describing the Lord are beautiful. Not only beautiful, they are very tasty. A fruit may be beautiful to look at, but may not be tasty. But words about the Lord are not only beautiful but also sweet. Any eatable has its particular taste. But, the words describing the Lord have newer and newer taste pleasing the partaker every time. That is, when we hear and sing with love for the Adhokshajah, newer and newer horizons, deeper and deeper insights, are revealed day after day.

And, what is the result of such growth and enrichment of devotion? The mind of the devotee becomes full of delight. A kind of unending festivity fills the mind. Generally, any festivity is transitory, depending on transitory external situation. We look forward delightfully to the festival to arrive. We feel joyous while the festival is on. But when the festival passes off, we get back to our same old monotonous life swinging between joy and sorrow, full of complaints and dissatisfaction.

But, the words about the eternal Presence fills our mind with eternal festivity. Because, this festivity does not depend on the transient worldly situations. Also, when we sing the glories of the Lord, with the mind enjoying the transcendental festivity, the ocean of misery that one has to encounter in life gets completely dried up. The devotee, who listens to and sings the songs about the Lord, keeping Him in his heart, transcends all grief.

The words of these shlokas are very penetrating. Repeated chanting immediately fills the mind with a transcendental bliss and festivity, not known before.

Word Meaning

मृषा (mṛṣā) = false; गिरः (gira:) = speech/words; ताः (tā:) = they; हि (hi) = indeed; असतीः (asatī:) = untrue; असत्कथा (asatkathā) = discussions which are about the unreal; न (na) = no; कथ्यते (kathyate) = said; यत् (yat) = that; भगवान् (bhagavān) = Lord; अधोक्षजः (adhokṣaja:) = the One who is beyond sense perception; तत् (tat) = that; एव (eva) = alone; सत्यं (satyaṃ) = true; तत् (tat) = that; उ (u) = further; ह (ha) = verily; एव (eva) = only; मङ्गलं (maṅgalaṃ) = auspicious; तत् (tat) = that; एव (eva) = alone; पुण्यं (puṇyaṃ) = holy/pure; भगवद्गुणोदयम् (bhagavadguṇodayam) = reveal the glory of the Lord.

तत् (tat) = that; एव (eva) = alone; रम्यं (ramyaṃ) = pleasant; रुचिरं (ruciraṃ) = delicious ; नवं नवं (navaṃ navaṃ) = newer and newer; तत् (tat) = that; एव (eva) = alone; शश्वत् (śaśvat) = eternal; मनसः (manasa:) = of the mind; महोत्सवम् (mahotsavam) = a great festival; तत् (tat) = that; एव (eva) = alone; शोकार्णवशोषणं (śokārṇava-śoṣaṇaṃ) = that which dries up the ocean of misery; नृणां (nṛṇāṃ) = of all men; यत् (yat) = that; उत्तमश्लोकयशः (uttama-śloka-yaśa:) = glories and excellences of the Lord; अनुगीयते (anugīyate) = are sung.

अन्वयः

(याः) गिरः भगवान् अधोक्षजः न कथ्यते ताः असत्कथा मृषा असतीः हि । यत् भगवद्गुणोदयं तत् एव सत्यं तत् उ ह एव मङ्गलं तत् एव पुण्यम् ।

तत् एव रम्यं, रुचिरं, नवं नवं, तत् एव मनसः शश्वत् महोत्सवं, तत् एव नृणां शोकार्णवशोषणं यत् उत्तमश्लोकयशः अनुगीयते ।

(yā:) gira: bhagavān adhokṣaja: na kathyate tā: asat-kathā mṛṣā asatī: hi. yat bhagavad-guṇodayam, tat eva satyaṃ, tat u ha eva maṅgalaṃ, tat eva puṇyaṃ.

tat eva ramyaṃ, ruciraṃ, navaṃ navaṃ, tat eva manasa: śaśvat mahotsavaṃ, tat eva nṛṇāṃ śokārṇava-śoṣaṇaṃ, yat uttama-śloka-yaśa: anugīyate.