Devanagari
तत्र लब्धपदं चित्तमाकृष्य व्योम्नि धारयेत् ।
तच्च त्यक्त्वा मदारोहो न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत् ॥ ४४ ॥
Verse text
tatra labdha-padaṁ cittam
ākṛṣya vyomni dhārayet
tac ca tyaktvā mad-āroho
na kiṣcid api cintayet
Synonyms
tatra
—
in such meditation on the Lord’s face
;
labdha
—
padam — being established
;
cittam
—
consciousness
;
ākṛṣya
—
withdrawing
;
vyomni
—
in the sky
;
dhārayet
—
one should meditate
;
tat
—
such meditation in the sky as the cause of material manifestation
;
ca
—
also
;
tyaktvā
—
giving up
;
mat
—
to Me
;
ārohaḥ
—
having ascended
;
na
—
not
;
kiṣcit
—
anything
;
api
—
at all
;
cintayet
—
one should think of .
Translation
Being established in meditation on the Lord’s face, one should then withdraw the consciousness and fix it in the sky. Then giving up such meditation, one should become established in Me and give up the process of meditation altogether.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Being established in meditation on the Lord’s face, one should then withdraw the consciousness and fix it in space. Then, giving up the mind, one should become established in me as Brahman and not think of anything.
Having made the consciousness fixed (labdha-padam) without wandering elsewhere, by concentrating on the face, one should give up meditating on the face. Withdrawing the mind from the body and senses, but not from meditation with bhakti, one should concentrate on space. Then giving up the mind, ascending to me as Brahman, one should not think of anything. The jīva, endowed with a particle of bhakti, then realizes Brahman. Haṁsa has explained this method of giving up the guṇas and material consciousness (SB 11.13.33). One who gives up karma and jṣāna must not desire to give up meditation using bhakti, according to Kapila:
dhyānāyanaṁ prahasitaṁ bahulādharoṣṭha-
bhāsāruṇāyita-tanu-dvija-kunda-paṅkti
dhyāyet svadeha-kuhare 'vasitasya viṣṇor
bhaktyārdrayārpita-manā na pṛthag didṛkṣet
One should meditate upon the Lord’s laughter, an easy object of meditation, which shows his teeth like a row of jasmine buds with his shining, full, red lips. One should not desire to see anything except the Viṣṇu who is present in one’s heart with a mind steeped in mature devotion. SB 3.28.33
Purport
As one becomes established in pure consciousness, the duality of “I am meditating and this is the object of my meditation” vanishes, and one comes to the stage of spontaneous relationship with the Personality of Godhead. Every living entity is originally part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, and when that forgotten eternal relationship is revived one experiences remembrance of the Absolute Truth. In that stage, described here as
mad-ārohaḥ,
one no longer sees oneself as a meditator nor the Lord as a mere object of meditation, but rather one enters the spiritual sky for an eternal life of bliss and knowledge in direct loving relationship with the Lord.
Uddhava originally inquired about the procedure of meditation for those desiring liberation. The word
labdha-padam
indicates that when one fixes the mind upon the Lord’s face, one achieves full liberation. In the postliberation phase one then proceeds to render service to the original Personality of Godhead. By giving up the concept of being a meditator, one casts off the last small remnant of illusory energy and sees the Lord as He actually is.