Bhaja Govindam

bhaja govindaḿ bhaja govindaḿ govindaḿ bhajamūḍhamate saḿprāpte sannihite kāle nahi nahi rakśati ḍukṛñ-karaṇe

Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda. Oh fool! Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death.

mūḍha jahīhi dhanāgamatṛṣṇāḿ kuru sadbuddhiḿ manasi vitṛṣṇām yallabhase nijakarmopāttaḿ vittaḿ tena vinodaya cittam

Oh fool! Give up your thirst to amass wealth, devote your mind to thoughts to the Real. Be content with what comes through actions already performed in the past.

nārīstanabhara nābhīdeśaḿ dṛṣṭvā māgāmohāveśam etanmāḿsāvasādi vikāraḿ manasi vicintaya vāraḿ vāram

Do not get drowned in delusion by going wild with passions and lust by seeing a woman's navel and chest. Bodies are flesh, fat and blood. Do not fail to remember this again and again in your mind.

nalinīdalagata jalamatitaralaḿ tadvajjīvitamatiśayacapalam viddhi vyādhyabhimānagrastaḿ lokaḿ śokahataḿ ca samastam

Uncertain is the life of man as rain drops on a lotus leaf. Know that the whole world remains a prey to disease, ego and grief.

yāvadvittopārjana saktaḥ stāvannija parivāro raktaḥ paścājjīvati jarjara dehe vārtāḿ ko'pi na pṛcchati gehe

So long as a man is fit and able to support his family, see the affection all those around him show. But no one at home cares to even have a word with him when his body totters due to old age.

yāvatpavano nivasati dehe tāvatpṛcchati kuśalaḿ gehe gatavati vāyau dehāpāye bhāryā bibhyati tasminkāye

When one is alive, his family members enquire kindly about his welfare. But when the soul departs from the body, even his wife runs away in fear of the corpse.

bālastāvatkrīḍāsaktaḥ taruṇastāvattaruṇīsaktaḥ vṛddhastāvaccintāsaktaḥ pare brahmaṇi ko'pi na saktaḥ

Childhood is lost in play. Youth is lost by attachment to woman. Old age passes away by thinking over many past things. Alas! Hardly is there anyone who yearns to be lost in Parabrahman.

kāte kāntā kaste putraḥ saḿsāro'yamatīva vicitraḥ kasya tvaḿ kaḥ kuta āyātaḥ tattvaḿ cintaya tadiha bhrātaḥ

Who is your wife? Who is your son? Strange is this samsara. Of whom are you? Where have you come from? Brother, ponder over these truths.

satsańgatve nissńgatvaḿ nissańgatve nirmohatvam nirmohatve niścalatattvaḿ niścalatattve jīvanmuktiḥ

From Satsanga comes non-attachment, from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion, which leads to self-settled ness. From self-settled ness comes Jivan Mukti (liberation).

vayasigate kaḥ kāmavikāraḥ śuṣke nīre kaḥ kāsāraḥ kśīṇevitte kaḥ parivāraḥ jñāte tattve kaḥ saḿsāraḥ

What good is lust when youth has fled? What use is a lake which has no water? Where are the relatives when wealth is gone? Where is samsara (the continuation of birth and death) when the Truth is known?

mā kuru dhana jana yauvana garvaḿ harati nimeṣātkālaḥ sarvam māyāmayamidamakhilaḿ hitvā brahmapadaḿ tvaḿ praviśa viditvā

Do not boast of wealth, friends, and youth. Each one of these are destroyed within a minute. Free yourself from the illusion of the world of Maya and attain the timeless Truth.

dinayāminyau sāyaḿ prātaḥ śiśiravasantau punarāyātaḥ kālaḥ krīḍati gacchatyāyuḥ tadapi na muñcatyāśāvāyuḥ

Daylight and darkness, dusk and dawn, winter and springtime come and go. Time plays and life ebbs away. But the storm of desire never leaves.

dvādaśamañjarikābhiraśeṣaḥ kathito vaiyākaraṇasyaiṣaḥ upadeśo bhūdvidyānipuṇaiḥ śrīmac chankara bhagavac charaṇaiḥ

This bouquet of twelve verses was imparted to a grammarian by the all-knowing Shankara, adored as the bhagavadpada.

kāte kāntā dhana gatacintā vātula kiḿ tava nāsti niyantā trijagati sajjanasaḿ gatiraikā bhavati bhavārṇavataraṇe naukā

Oh mad man! Why this engrossment in thoughts of wealth? Is there no one to guide you? There is only one thing in three worlds that can save you from the ocean of samsara. Get into that boat of satsanga (knowledge of the Truth) quickly.

jaṭilo muṇḍī luñchitakeśaḥ kāṣāyāmbarabahukṛtaveṣaḥ paśyannapi cana paśyati mūḍhaḥ udaranimittaḿ bahukṛtaveṣaḥ

There are many who go with matted locks, many who have clean shaven heads, many whose hairs have been plucked out; some are clothed in saffron, yet others in various colors --- all just for a livelihood. Seeing truth revealed before them, still the foolish ones see it not.

ańgaḿ galitaḿ palitaḿ muṇḍaḿ daśanavihīnaḿ jataḿ tuṇḍam vṛddho yāti gṛhītvā daṇḍaḿ tadapi na muñcatyāśāpiṇḍam

Strength has left the old man's body; his head has become bald, his gums toothless and leaning on crutches. Even then the attachment is strong and he clings firmly to fruitless hope.

agre vahniḥ pṛṣṭhebhānuḥ rātrau cubukasamarpitajānuḥ karatalabhikśastarutalavāsaḥ tadapi na muñcatyāśāpāśaḥ

Behold there lies the man who sits warming up his body with the fire in front and the sun at the back; at night he curls up the body to keep out of the cold; he eats his beggar's food from the bowl of his hand and sleeps beneath the tree. Still in his heart, he is a wretched puppet at the hands of passions.

kurute gańgāsāgaragamanaḿ vrataparipālanamathavā dānam jñānavihinaḥ sarvamatena muktiḿ na bhajati janmaśatena

One may go to the Ganga, observe fasts, and give away riches in charity! Yet, devoid of jnana, nothing can give mukthi even at the end of a hundred births.

sura mandira taru mūla nivāsaḥ śayyā bhūtala majinaḿ vāsaḥ sarva parigraha bhoga tyāgaḥ kasya sukhaḿ na karoti virāgaḥ

Take your residence in a temple or below a tree, wear the deerskin for the dress, and sleep with mother earth as your bed. Give up all attachments and renounce all comforts. Blessed with such vairagya, could any fail to be content?

yogarato vābhogaratovā sańgarato vā sańgavīhinaḥ yasya brahmaṇi ramate cittaḿ nandati nandati nandatyeva

One may take delight in yoga or bhoga, may have attachment or detachment. But only he whose mind steadily delights in Brahman enjoys bliss, no one else.

bhagavad gītā kiñcidadhītā gańgā jalalava kaṇikāpītā sakṛdapi yena murāri samarcā kriyate tasya yamena na carcā

Let a man read but a little from the Bhagavad-Gita, drink just a drop of water from the Ganga, worship Murari (Krishna) just once. He then will have no altercation with Yama (the lord of death).

punarapi jananaḿ punarapi maraṇaḿ punarapi jananī jaṭhare śayanam iha saḿsāre bahudustāre kṛpayā'pāre pāhi murāre

Born again, death again, birth again to stay in the mother's womb! It is indeed hard to cross this boundless ocean of samsara. Oh Murari! Redeem me through Thy mercy.

rathyā carpaṭa viracita kanthaḥ puṇyāpuṇya vivarjita panthaḥ yogī yoganiyojita citto ramate bālonmattavadeva

There is no shortage of clothing for a monk so long as there are rags cast off the road. Freed from vice and virtue, onward he wanders. One who lives in communion with God enjoys bliss, pure and uncontaminated, like a child and as someone intoxicated.

kastvaḿ ko'haḿ kuta āyātaḥ kā me jananī ko me tātaḥ iti paribhāvaya sarvamasāram viśvaḿ tyaktvā svapna vicāram

Who are you? Who am I? From where do I come? Who is my mother, who is my father? Ponder thus, look at everything as essence-less and give up the world as an idle dream.

tvayi mayi cānyatraiko viṣṇuḥ vyarthaḿ kupyasi mayyasahiṣṇuḥ bhava samacittaḥ sarvatra tvaḿ vāñchasyacirādyadi viṣṇutvam

In me, in you and in everything, none but the same Vishnu dwells. Your anger and impatience is meaningless. If you wish to attain the quality of Vishnu soon, have Sama Bhaava always.

śatrau mitre putre bandhau mā kuru yatnaḿ vigrahasandhau sarvasminnapi paśyātmānaḿ sarvatrotsṛja bhedājñānam

Do not waste your efforts to win the love of or to fight against friend and foe, children and relatives. See yourself in everyone and give up all feelings of duality completely.

kāmaḿ krodhaḿ lobhaḿ mohaḿ tyaktvā'tmānaḿ bhāvaya ko'ham ātmajñāna vihīnā mūḍhāḥ te pacyante narakanigūḍhāḥ

Give up lust, anger, infatuation, and greed. Ponder over your real nature. Fools are they who are blind to the Self. Cast into hell they suffer there endlessly.

geyaḿ gītā nāma sahasraḿ dhyeyaḿ śrīpati rūpamajasram neyaḿ sajjana sańge cittaḿ deyaḿ dīnajanāya ca vittam

Regularly recite from the Bhagavad-Gita, meditate on Vishnu in your heart, and chant His thousand glories. Take delight to be with the noble and the holy. Distribute your wealth in charity to the poor and the needy.

sukhataḥ kriyate rāmābhogaḥ paścāddhanta śarīre rogaḥ yadyapi loke maraṇaḿ śaraṇaḿ tadapi na muñcati pāpācaraṇam

He who yields to lust for pleasure leaves his body a prey to disease. Though death brings an end to everything, man does not give up the sinful path.

arthamanarthaḿ bhāvaya nityaḿ nāstitataḥ sukhaleśaḥ satyam putrādapi dhana bhājāḿ bhītiḥ sarvatraiṣā vihiā rītiḥ

Wealth is not welfare, truly there is no joy in it. Reflect thus at all times. A rich man fears even his own son. This is the way of wealth everywhere.

prāṇāyāmaḿ pratyāhāraḿ nityānitya vivekavicāram jāpyasameta samādhividhānaḿ kurvavadhānaḿ mahadavadhānam

Regulate the pranas (life airs within), remain unaffected by external influences and discriminate between the real and the fleeting. Chant the holy name of God and silence the turbulent mind. Perform these with care, with extreme care.

gurucaraṇāmbuja nirbhara bhakataḥ saḿsārādacirādbhava muktaḥ sendriyamānasa niyamādevaḿ drakśyasi nija hṛdayasthaḿ devam

Oh devotee of the lotus feet of the Guru! May thou be soon free from Samsara. Through disciplined senses and controlled mind, thou shall come to experience the indwelling Lord of your heart!

mūḍhaḥ kaścana vaiyākaraṇo ḍukṛñkaraṇādhyayana dhuriṇaḥ śrīmacchamkara bhagavacchiṣyai bodhita āsicchodhitakaraṇaḥ

Thus was a silly grammarian lost in rules cleansed of his narrow vision and shown the Light by Sankara's apostles.

bhajagovindaḿ bhajagovindaḿ govindaḿ bhajamūḍhamate nāma smaraṇā danyam upāyaḿ nahi paśyāmo bhavataraṇe

Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Oh fool! Other than chanting the Lord's names, there is no other way to cross the life's ocean.