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How to remove Sorrow and Delusion

सङ्कीर्त्यमानो भगवाननन्तः
श्रुतानुभावो व्यसनं हि पुंसाम् ।
प्रविश्य चित्तं विधुनोत्यशेषं
यथा तमोऽर्कोऽभ्रमिवातिवातः ॥
-श्रीमद्भागवतम् १२.१२.४७

saṅkīrtyamāno bhagavān-ananta:
śrutānubhāvo vyasanaṃ hi puṃsām |
praviśya cittaṃ vidhunoty-aśeṣaṃ
yathā tamo’rko’bhram-ivātivāta: ||
-Śrīmadbhāgavatam 12.12.47

Translation

The Lord, who is worthy of being extolled, the Infinite Being, who makes His presence felt to those who hear His praises, entering the mind of the devotee completely shakes off (dispels) the sorrows, just as the sun removes darkness, and strong wind clears the clouds.

Points for Introspection

Life in this world is full of tension, anxiety and fear. However much one may have wealth, prosperity, name, fame and recognition, he is never satisfied. He always suffers from anger, irritation, dislike, jealousy etc., and is always discontented. Even if there is no apparent reason for sorrow, one’s mind becomes sorrowful for most trivial reasons.

While the mind undergoes affliction on lack of contentment on account of various reasons, and feels burdened and unhappy, the same mind feels light, happy and divine when one goes to a temple and worships, sits in his own pooja-room and prays, sings bhajans and chants God’s names, or sits in meditation contemplating on the beautiful form of God. That is, whenever the mind focuses exclusively on God, the mind forgets its miseries and sorrows.

Our scriptures say that in order to transcend misery, delusion and fear, one must develop exclusive devotion towards the supreme Lord. In order to cultivate exclusive devotion, one must think of the Lord continuously, sing His names repeatedly and remember His exploits and excellences lovingly. As devotion deepens in the mind, the mind becomes full with one-pointed love for God. Proportionately, the devotee’s mind withdraws from the love for the worldly affairs; seeking happiness from worldly objects becomes meaningless. Instead, his mind starts deriving delight from within, i.e. from his own heart where he now feels constantly the presence of the infinite Lord, who is all pervading.

The mind which was heavy and burdened with sorrow and affliction, which saw only darkness around, now clears up. It starts feeling the constant presence of the supreme Lord within – the Lord who protects and is all-compassionate. Ignorance disappears from the mind, just as the darkness of night disappears when the sun rises in the horizon.

This shloka says that when a devotee continuously sings the name of the infinite Lord and hears recitals about Him, Lord enters his heart and purifies it of all negative and impure traits. Just as the sun removes the darkness of the night, and strong wind clears up the heavy clouds from the sky, the remembrance of the supreme Lord removes the darkness of sorrow and delusion from the devotee’s mind. His presence clears up all doubts that make the mind clouded.

Chanting this shloka fervently and repeatedly generates an inspiration to sing and chant God’s name lovingly, so that the mind always feels divinity.

Word Meaning

सङ्कीर्त्यमानः (saṅkīrtyamāna:) = One who is worthy of being extolled; भगवान् (bhagavān) = Lord; अनन्तः (ananta:) = the Infinite Being; श्रुतानुभावः (śrutānubhāva:) = One who makes His presence felt to those who hear about Him; व्यसनं (vyasanaṃ) = sorrow, distress; हि (hi) = indeed; पुंसां (puṃsāṃ) = of human beings; प्रविश्य (praviśya) = having entered; चित्तं (cittaṃ) = mind; विधुनोति (vidhunoti) = shakes off/dispels completely; अशेषं (aśeṣaṃ) = entirely, completely; यथा (yathā) = just as; तमः (tama:) = darkness; अर्कः (arka:) = the Sun; अभ्रम् (abhram) = clouds; इव (iva) = like ; अतिवातः (ativāta:) = strong wind, storm;

अन्वयः

सङ्कीर्त्यमानः अनन्तः श्रुतानुभावः भगवान् पुंसाम् चित्तं प्रविश्य व्यसनं अशेषं हि विधुनोति ; यथा अर्कः तमः इव (विधुनोति), अतिवातः अभ्रं (इव विधुनोति) ।

saṅkīrtyamāna: ananta: śrutānubhāva: bhagavān puṃsāṃ cittaṃ praviśya vyasanaṃ aśeṣaṃ hi vidhunoti; yathā arka: tama: iva (vidhunoti), ativāta: abhram (iva vidhunoti)