Mukunda Mala Stotra 21 – 4 When bathing in holy places becomes like an elephant bathing

Transcript

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Shri Harinam Prabhu Ki Jai verse twenty one part four Tirtha Hananam Avga Hanani Chigach Nanam Vinayat Pat Vandvambhu Ruhasam Svitam Vijayate Devasa Narayana so Tirtha Hanam Avga Hanani that when one goes to the holy place that is the Tirtha’s Avga Hananam for bathing that bathing in the holy places which is often recommended as a very sacred activity in the Dharmashastra is by Kumbhashekara Maharaj here compared to Gaja Snanam the bathing of an elephant the bathing of an elephant is a standard metaphor used in the Vedic scriptures to depict temporary and ultimately fruitless cleansing an elephant bathes himself with water and then uses the same trunk to sprinkle mud on itself similarly we may do some purifying activities but again we ourselves engage in some flow contaminating activities and undo the work of purification that has been done so without the remembrance of Krishna Vinayat Pat Vandvambhu Ruha without remembering the lotus feet of Lord Narayana Vijayate Devasa Narayana Glorious be that Lord he says without the remembrance of the Lord’s lotus feet whatever we do does not have any higher taste does not beget any lasting higher taste for us it may temporarily lead to a sort of atonement or some level of cleansing but actually the real cleansing is the changing of our desires and that doesn’t happen just by bathing it is only when we become philosophically and experientially convinced that there is a higher happiness in life and that is what will make me truly happy and this lower happiness is a treacherous distraction from that happiness it is only when we understand and experience this that we can actually change our desires and truly become purified so bathing in holy places if it is accompanied by the remembrance of Lord Krishna then it will lead to purification in a tangible and sustainable way otherwise purification may bring some short term benefit in forms of atonement but it doesn’t lead to any lasting benefit just as elephants bathing in holy places even by human being doesn’t lead to benefit if there is no transformation of the desires and that transformation happens when we taste the remembrance of Krishna and we realize for ourselves this is what I want in life I want to remember Krishna I want to serve and please Krishna and the happiness that I give to Krishna which then reflects back to our spiritual life according to this understanding then we can march ahead in our spiritual life to return back to Krishna’s lotus feet and the holy name of Krishna is the easiest way for us to cultivate remembrance of Krishna because it enables us to very easily effectively and over a period of time ecstatically remember Krishna and that’s why I have always believed that whatever religious activities I am doing they will all become null and void if I don’t wholeheartedly call out to Krishna invoke his remembrance while I am chanting his holy names and that will this contemplation in the background of the indispensable necessity of the remembrance of Krishna to give value to all our activities will inspire us to meditate with Krishna deeply in our chanting and that will give us the higher taste Shri Harinandramukhi Jai