208 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 7, Ch. 9

souls [harnsas], I shall become completely uncontaminated by the
association of the three modes of material nature and be able to
chant the glories of Your Lordship, who are so dear to me. I shall
chant Your glories, following exactly in the footsteps of Lord
Brahma and his disciplic succession. In this way I shall un-
doubtedly be able to cross the ocean of nescience.

PURPORT

A devotee’s life and duty are very well explained herein. As soon as a
devotee can chant the holy name and glories of the Supreme Lord, he
certainly comes to the liberated position. Attachment for glorifying the
Lord by hearing and chanting the holy name and activities of the Lord
(Sravanam kirtanam visnoh) certainly brings one to the position where
material contamination is absent. One should chant the bona fide songs
received from the disciplic succession. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that
the chanting is powerful when one follows the disciplic succession (evam
parampard-praptam imam rdjarsayo viduh). Manufacturing many ways
of chanting will never be effective. However, chanting the song or the
narration left by the previous dcdryas (mahdjano yena gatah sa
panthéh) is extremely effective, and this process is very easy. Therefore
in this verse Prahlada Maharaja uses the word afjah (“‘easily”’). Accept-
ing the thoughts of exalted authorities through disciplic succession is cer-
tainly much easier than the method of mental speculation, by which one
tries to invent some means to understand the Absolute Truth. The best
process is to accept the instructions of the previous dcdryas and follow
them. Then God realization and self-realization become extremely easy.
By following this easy method, one is liberated from the contamination of
the material modes of nature, and thus one can certainly cross the ocean
of nescience, in which there are many miserable conditions. By following
in the footsteps of the great dcdryas, one associates with the hamsas or
paramahamsas, those who are completely freed from material con-
tamination. Indeed, by following the instructions of the dcdaryas one is al-
ways freed from all material contamination, and thus one’s life becomes
successful, for one reaches the goal of life. This material world is misera-
ble, regardless of one’s standard of life. Of this there is no doubt. At-
tempts to mitigate the miseries of material existence by material methods
will never be successful. One must take to Krsna consciousness to become
