This is a very nice verse from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad Bhagavatam. A good friend of mine is always quoting this verse and requested we include it in our daily postings. So without further ado, this one’s for you.
“…Another significant word in this verse is puṇya-śloka-yaśaskaram. The devotee is called puṇya-śloka. As one becomes purified by chanting the holy name of the Lord, so one can become purified simply by chanting the name of a holy devotee. The pure devotee of the Lord and the Lord Himself are nondifferent. It is sometimes feasible to chant the name of a holy devotee. This is a very sanctified process…” Jai Prabhupada!
Srimad-Bhagavatam
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Canto 3, Chapter 28, Text 18
Kapila’s Instructions on the Execution of Devotional Service
kīrtanya-tīrtha-yaśasaṁ
puṇya-śloka-yaśaskaram
dhyāyed devaṁ samagrāṅgaṁ
yāvan na cyavate manaḥ
kīrtanya—worth singing; tīrtha-yaśasam—the glories of the Lord; puṇya-śloka—of the devotees; yaśaḥ-karam—enhancing the glory; dhyāyet—one should meditate; devam—upon the Lord; samagra-aṅgam—all the limbs; yāvat—as much as; na—not; cyavate—deviates; manaḥ—the mind.
The glory of the Lord is always worth singing, for His glories enhance the glories of His devotees. One should therefore meditate upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead and upon His devotees. One should meditate on the eternal form of the Lord until the mind becomes fixed.
One has to fix his mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly. When one is accustomed to thinking of one of the innumerable forms of the Lord—Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu, Rāma, Nārāyaṇa, etc.—he has reached the perfection of yoga. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā: a person who has developed pure love for the Lord, and whose eyes are smeared with the ointment of transcendental loving exchange, always sees within his heart the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The devotees especially see the Lord in the beautiful blackish form of Śyāmasundara. That is the perfection of yoga. This yoga system should be continued until the mind does not vacillate for a moment. Oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ: the form of Viṣṇu is the highest individuality and is always visible to sages and saintly persons.
The Hare Krishna Movement 