Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 27
Gajendra’s Prayers and the Appearance of Lord Hari
Gajendra-stuti and Hari-darśana
योगरन्धितकर्माणो हृदि योगविभाविते । योगिनो यं प्रपश्यन्ति योगेशं तं नतोऽस्म्यहम् ॥ २७ ॥
yoga-randhita-karmāṇo hṛdi yoga-vibhāvite yogino yaṁ prapaśyanti yogeśaṁ taṁ nato ’smy aham
Tôi xin kính cẩn đảnh lễ Đấng Tối Cao, Siêu Linh Hồn, bậc thầy của mọi phép yoga huyền bí. Ngài được các hành giả yoga hoàn hảo nhìn thấy trong sâu thẳm trái tim khi họ đã hoàn toàn thanh tịnh và giải thoát khỏi nghiệp báo nhờ thực hành bhakti-yoga.
The King of the elephants, Gajendra, simply accepted that there must be someone who has created this cosmic manifestation and has supplied its ingredients. This should be admitted by everyone, even the most determined atheists. Why, then, do the nondevotees and atheists not admit this? The reason is that they are polluted by the reactions of their fruitive activities. One must be freed from all the dirt accumulated within the heart due to fruitive activities performed one after another. One must wash off this dirt by practicing bhakti-yoga. Yoga-randhita-karmāṇaḥ. As long as one is covered by material nature’s modes of ignorance and passion, there is no possibility of understanding the Supreme Lord. Tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye. When one is freed from the modes of ignorance and passion, one becomes free from the lowest qualities — kāma and lobha, lust and greed.
FAQs
This verse says that disciplined yogīs, whose actions are restrained by yoga, perceive the Lord (Yogeśa) within the heart that has become illumined by yogic realization.
In his surrender, Gajendra glorifies the Supreme as the inner Lord whom perfected yogīs directly perceive—showing that the Lord is both the goal and the giver of true yoga.
Practice self-restraint and inner discipline, and combine it with devotion—turning the mind inward to remember the Lord in the heart rather than being driven by uncontrolled action and distraction.