SB 7.4.22-23
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXTS 22-23
- tasyai namo 'stu kāṣṭhāyai
- yatrātmā harir īśvaraḥ
- yad gatvā na nivartante
- śāntāḥ sannyāsino 'malāḥ
- iti te saṁyatātmānaḥ
- samāhita-dhiyo 'malāḥ
- upatasthur hṛṣīkeśaṁ
- vinidrā vāyu-bhojanāḥ
SYNONYMS
tasyai — unto that; namaḥ — our respectful obeisances; astu — let there be; kāṣṭhāyai — direction; yatra — wherein; ātmā — the Supersoul; hariḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; īśvaraḥ — the supreme controller; yat — which; gatvā — approaching; na — never; nivartante — return; śāntāḥ — peaceful; sannyāsinaḥ — saintly persons in the renounced order of life; amalāḥ — pure; iti — thus; te — they; saṁyata-ātmānaḥ — having controlled minds; samāhita — steadied; dhiyaḥ — intelligences; amalāḥ — purified; upatasthuḥ — worshiped; hṛṣīkeśam — the master of the senses; vinidrāḥ — without sleeping; vāyu-bhojanāḥ — eating only air.
TRANSLATION
"Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto that direction where the Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated, where those purified souls in the renounced order of life, the great saintly persons, go, and from which, having gone, they never return." Without sleep, fully controlling their minds, and living on only their breath, the predominating deities of the various planets began worshiping Hṛṣīkeśa with this meditation.
PURPORT
The two words tasyai kāṣṭhāyai are very significant. Everywhere, in every direction, in every heart and in every atom, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated in His features as Brahman and Paramātmā. Then what is the purpose of saying tasyai kāṣṭhāyai—"in that direction where Hari is situated?" During Hiraṇyakaśipu's time, his influence was everywhere, but he could not force his influence into the places where the Supreme Personality of Godhead had His pastimes. For example, on this earth there are such places as Vṛndāvana and Ayodhyā, which are called dhāmas. In the dhāma, there is no influence from Kali-yuga or any demon. If one takes shelter of such a dhāma, worship of the Lord becomes very easy, and resultant spiritual advancement quickly takes place. In fact, in India one may still go to Vṛndāvana and similar places to achieve the results of spiritual activities quickly.