FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.18.2

भद्रश्रवस ऊचु: ॐ नमो भगवते धर्मायात्मविशोधनाय नम इति ॥ २ ॥
bhadraśravasa ūcuḥ
[bhadrashravasa oochuh]
oṁ namo bhagavate dharmāyātma-viśodhanāya nama iti.
[om namo bhagavate dharmaayaatma-vishodhanaaya nama iti.]
bhadraśravasaḥ ūcuḥ — the ruler Bhadraśravā and his intimate associates said om — O Lord namaḥ — respectful obeisances bhagavate — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead dharmāya — the source of all religious principles ātma-viśodhanāya — who purifies us of material contamination namaḥ — our obeisances iti — thus.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
bhadraśravasa ūcuḥ
bhadraśravasaḥ ūcuḥ
the ruler Bhadraśravā and his intimate associates said
oṁ namo bhagavate dharmāyātma-viśodhanāya nama iti.
om
O Lord
namaḥ
respectful obeisances
bhagavate
unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead
dharmāya
the source of all religious principles
ātma-viśodhanāya
who purifies us of material contamination
namaḥ
our obeisances
iti
thus.
The ruler Bhadraśravā and his intimate associates utter the following prayer: We offer our respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all religious principles, who cleanses the heart of the conditioned soul in this material world. Again and again we offer our respectful obeisances unto Him.

Foolish materialistic persons do not know how they are being controlled and punished at every step by the laws of nature. They think they are very happy in the conditioned state of material life, not knowing the purpose of repeated birth, death, old age and disease. Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (7.15) Lord Kṛṣṇa describes such materialistic persons as mūḍhas (rascals): na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ. These mūḍhas do not know that if they want to purify themselves, they must worship Lord Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) by performing penances and austerities. This purification is the aim of human life. This life is not meant for blind indulgence in sense gratification. In the human form, the living being must engage himself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to purify his existence: tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ śuddhyet. This is the instruction of King Ṛṣabhadeva to His sons. In the human form of life, one must undergo all kinds of austerities to purify his existence. Yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam. We are all seeking happiness, but because of our ignorance and foolishness, we cannot know what unobstructed happiness really is. Unobstructed happiness is called brahma-saukhya, spiritual happiness. Although we may get some so-called happiness in this material world, that happiness is temporary. The foolish materialists cannot understand this. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja points out, māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān: merely for temporary materialistic happiness, these rascals are making huge arrangements, and thus they are baffled life after life.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Bhadraśravā’s followers said: I offer respects the Supreme Lord, to the embodiment of dharma, to the purifier of the ātmā. Bhadraśravasa means Bhadraśravā’s followers. The Lord is called a purifier because he removes the contamination of ignorance from the jīvas.
We do not see how nature is constantly disciplining us through birth, aging, disease, and death. Human life is meant for purification through worship of the Lord — not for blind enjoyment. The first step is admitting we are conditioned, not in control.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I performing the role of a 'happy' conditioned person while ignoring obvious signs of impermanence?
  • What in my schedule actually serves purification, and what just serves the next round of enjoyment?
📝 My note

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