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One Pointed Devotion Cleanses All Sins

स्वपादमूलं भजतः प्रियस्य त्यक्तान्यभावस्य हरिः परेशः ।
विकर्म यच्चोत्पतितं कथञ्चिद् धुनोति सर्वं हृदि सन्निविष्टः ॥
– श्रीमद्भागवतम् ११.५.४२

sva-pāda-mūlaṃ bhajata: priyasya tyaktānyabhāvasya hari: pareśa:
vikarma yaccotpatitaṃ kathañcid dhunoti sarvaṃ hṛdi sanniviṣṭa:
– Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.5.42

Translation

The supreme Lord Hari, seated in the heart of His dear devotee, who worships His feet exclusively leaving all other considerations, removes the adverse effects of wrong actions possibly committed by the devotee.

Points for Introspection

Whenever we think of God, our mind becomes full with an inexpressible peace and calmness. A unique feeling of belongingness to the Supreme Lord envelops the mind, removing all stress, anxiety and fear. Even in the midst of hectic activities throughout the day, when we step back a little and think about Him, the Indweller, all our restlessness disappears and the mind becomes placid. These feelings are too known to everybody who has devotion to God.

Although one experiences devotion, this experience is only occasional. Most of the time, one’s mind remains turbulent, full of worries, fears and sorrows. The mind remains engaged in worldly matters and worldly gains, and suffers from possessiveness, selfishness, dislike, hatred and the like.

As devotion to God becomes deeper and deeper, the devotee’s mind dwells only in the thought of God to the exclusion of all other thoughts. He gradually starts losing interest in worldly matters and becomes more and more absorbed in the thought of God. Earlier he used to think that his security lay in his worldly acquisitions. Now, slowly he develops reliance on God and understands that God alone is the protector.

However, even for such a devotee, at some moment or other, it may happen that his mind gets distracted from exclusive devotion to God. It undergoes aberrations. He falls from his reliance on God and starts relying on something worldly or other-worldly. He may also do some action, which is not to be done (‘vikarma’ or prohibited karma). Or, his mind may indulge in traits that are undesirable for a devotee, namely, hatred, dislike, irritation, intolerance. Obviously, the devotee undergoes a deep feeling of guilt or sin when he falls from exclusive reliance on God and deviates from devotional disciplines and qualities. He feels that he has lost the feeling of presence of God in his heart.

In truth, the Supreme Lord remains seated in the devotee’s heart always. Even if the devotee has done anything wrong, or his mind has harboured impure thoughts, the effects of the impure actions or thoughts get washed off by the Supreme Lord who is always present in the devotee’s heart.

This shloka from Sreemad Bhaagavatam assures a devotee to this effect. Here, the words ‘ bhajata: ’, ‘tyaktānyabhāvasya’ and ‘hṛdi sanniviṣṭa: ’ are very important. What does ‘bhajata:’ mean? It means ‘one who is engaged in worshipping’. A devotee’s worship must be exclusive. He must find his greatest love and reliance in God, not expecting anything from Him, not having any motive, but in loving God because he cannot but love and be devoted. Then alone, the devotee’s mind becomes one-pointed towards God. And then alone he is ‘tyaktānyabhāva:’— one who abandons all other interests.

When the mind is absolutely focused in God, the devotee feels the presence of the Supreme Lord within (hṛdi sanniviṣṭa:). He develops a strong conviction that remaining in his heart, the Supreme Lord will wash off all his sins and impurities. Even if he falls from exclusive devotion, the Supreme Lord, like a mother would hold his hand, lift him up, remove his impurities and place him back on the right path of exclusive devotion and reliance.

This shloka gives an immediate feeling of the Lord’s presence in our heart. The mind spontaneously withdraws from all other considerations and is filled with exclusive devotion.

Word Meaning

स्वपादमूलं (sva-pāda-mūlaṃ) = His own feet; भजतः (bhajata:) = engaged in worshiping; प्रियस्य (priyasya) = of the dear devotee; त्यक्तान्यभावस्य (tyaktānyabhāvasya) = of the one who has abandoned all other interests; हरिः (hari:) = Hari; परेशः (pareśa:) = supreme Lord; विकर्म (vikarma) = wrong or prohibited or sinful acts; यत् (yat) = whatever; च (ca) = and; उत्पतितं (utpatitaṃ) = arises; कथञ्चिद् (kathañcid) = somehow; धुनोति (dhunoti) = removes; सर्वं (sarvaṃ) = all; हृदि सन्निविष्टः (hṛdi sanniviṣṭa:)= seated very well in the heart.

अन्वयः

परेशः हरिः स्वपादमूलं भजतः त्यक्तान्यभावस्य प्रियस्य हृदि सन्निविष्टः (सन्) कथञ्चिद् यत् उत्पतितं विकर्म च (तत्) सर्वं धुनोति ।


pareśa: hari: svapādamūlaṃ bhajata: tyaktānyabhāvasya priyasya hṛdi sanniviṣṭa: (san) kathañcid yat utpatitaṃ vikarma ca (tat) sarvaṃ dhunoti.