Text 27]
Prayers by Queen Kuntī
403
intoxicated by such temporary possessions. Consequently, such materially puffed up persons are incapable of uttering the holy name of the Lord by addressing Him feelingly as “O Govinda, O Kṛṣṇa.” It is said in the  śāstras  that by once uttering the holy name of the Lord, the sinner gets rid of a quantity of sins that he is unable to commit. Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. Actually the Lord’s holy name has such powerful potency. But there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere. Therefore, a materially puffed up person may utter the holy name of the Lord occasionally, but he is incapable of uttering the name in quality. Therefore, the four principles of material advancement, namely 1) high parentage, 2) good wealth, 3) high education, and 4) attractive beauty, etc., are, so to speak, disqualifications for progress on the path of spiritual advancement. Material covering of the pure spirit soul is an external feature, as much as fever is an external feature of the unhealthy body. The general process is to decrease the degree of the fever and not to aggravate it by maltreatment. Sometimes it is seen that spiritually advanced persons become materially impoverished. This is no discouragement. On the other hand, such impoverishment is a good sign as much as the falling of temperature is a good sign. The principle of life should be to decrease the degree of material intoxication which leads one to be more and more illusioned about the aim of life. Grossly illusioned persons are quite unfit for entrance into the kingdom of God.
TEXT 27
नमोऽक्तिचनवित्ताय निवृत्तगुणवृत्तये । 
    आत्मारामाय शान्ताय क्वेल्यपतये नमः ॥२७॥
namo'kiñcana-vittāya  
 nivṛtta-guṇa-vṛttaye  
 ātmā-rāmāya śāntāya  
 kaivalya-pataye namaḥ
namaḥ —all obeisances unto You;  akiñcana-vittāya —unto the property of the materially impoverished;  nivṛtta —completely transcendental to the actions of the material modes;  guṇa —material modes;  vṛttaye —affection;  ātmā-rāmāya —one who is self-satisfied;  śāntāya —the most gentle;  kaivalya-pataye —unto the master of the monists;  namaḥ —bowing down.