सततं कीर्तयन्तो मां यतन्तश्च दृढव्रताः।
नमस्यन्तश्च मां भक्त्या नित्ययुक्ता उपासते।।9.14।।
9.14 Always glorifying Me and striving, the men of firm vows worship Me by paying obeisance to Me and being ever endowed with devotion.
9.14 Always glorifying Me, striving,firm in vows, prostrating themselves before Me, they worship Me with devotion always steadfast.
9.14. Ever speaking of My glory, striving with firm resolve, paying homage to Me and being permanently endowed with devotion they worship Me.
9.14 सततम् always? कीर्तयन्तः glorifying? माम् Me? यतन्तः striving? च and? दृढव्रताः firm in vows? नमस्यन्तः prostrating? च and? माम् Me? भक्त्या with devotion? नित्ययुक्ताः always steadfast? उपासते worship.Commentary These great souls sing My glory. They do Japa (repetition) of Pranava (Om). They study and recite the Upanishads. They hear the Srutis (the Vedas) from their spiritual preceptor? reflect and meditate on the attributeless Absolute (Nirguna Brahman). They cultivate the Sattvic virtues such as patience? mercy? cosmic love? tolerance? forbearance? truthfulness? purity? etc. They control the senses and steady the mind. They are firm in their vows of nonviolence? truthfulness and purity in thought? word and deed. They worship Me with great faith and devotion as the inner Self hidden in their heart. As a neophyte cannot see God face to face? he will have to worship his Guru (spiritual preceptor) firt and regard him as God or Brahman Himself.
9.14 Satatam, always; kirtayantah, glorifying; mam, Me, God, who am Brahman in reaility; ca, and; yatantah, striving, endeavouring with the help of such virtues as withdrawal of the organs, control of mind and body, kindness, non-injury, etc.; drdha-vratah, the men of firm vows those whose vows [Vows such as celibacy], those whosevows are unshakable; upasate, worship Me; namasyantah, by paying obeisance; mam, to Me, to the Self residing in the heart, ca, and; nitya-yuktah, being ever endowed; bhaktya, with devotion. The various ways in which they adore are being stated:
9.14 See Comment under 9.15
9.14 Because of My being very dear to them, they are unable to find support for their souls even for a moment without singing My praises, striving for My sake and bowing to Me in reverence. Remembering My names connotative of My special attributes, they cry out My names - Narayana, Krsna, Vasudeva etc., with horripilations in every part of their bodies and with their voices tremulous and indistinct because of joy. They engage in activities for my sake, such as performing worship, and doing actions helpful to worship, lik building temples and cultivating temple gardens. They prostrate themselves on the earth like a stick, indifferent to dust, mud and the gravel, with all the eight members of their beings - the Manas, Buddhi, Ahankara, the two feet, two hands, and the head, which are bowed down under the influence of Bhakti. Aspiring for eternal communion with Me, desiring eternal union with Me, they worship Me, resolved to attain the state of servitude to Me for their entire being.
In the last verse it was mentioned that they worship me. What type of worship do they perform? They worship always (satatam), not as in karma yoga which is dependent on suitable time, place, person and purity for its execution. The smrti says: na desa-niyamas tatra na kala-niyamas tatha nocchisthadau nisedho’ sti sri-harer namni lubdhaka For one eager for the name of Hari, there are no restrictions of time, place or impurity. Visnu Dharma Just as poor householders strive for money at the door of a wealthy man in order to support their families, my devotees seek out (yatanti) the assembly of devotees in order to obtain devotional processes like chanting. Attaining that, they repeatedly recite the scriptures teaching bhakti. They have strict rules for themselves (drdha vratah), thinking “I must do this number of rounds of chanting, this many obeisance, this much service.” They offer their obeisance. The word ca indicates that they also perform all the other process of bhakti such as hearing, and serving the lotus feet, which were not mentioned. They desire to be in eternal association with me (nitya yuktah). There is a rule that desire can be expressed by the past tense. Here the past tense expresses the present condition of desiring. Singing about me, they worship me. This parallel construction indicates that the singing and other acts are their form of worship. Thus there is no fault in repetition of the word mam.
The qualities of the mahatmanas or great souls are perceived in the different ways they offer worship to the Supreme Lord as being stated by Lord Krishna in this verse and the next. The word satatam meaning always is noteworthy for it applies to all the activities. Always praising, glorifying and worshipping the Supreme Lord by devotional hymns and sacred syllables are the ways of some mahatmanas. Other mahatmanas always perform austere vows for the Supreme Lords satisfaction, following strict rules of conduct and rigidly controlling their senses. Still other mahatmanas always give propitiation to the Supreme Lord by bowing down and offering salutations with loving devotion. While other mahatmanas worship the Supreme Lord by always being alert and conscious of His presence within himself as paramatma the Supreme Soul and within all living entities also. The words bhaktya meaning with devotion and yatantah meaning fully endeavouring denote the fundamental qualities of the mahatmanas.
To show that there are others who love Him dearly Lord Krishna speaks of those beings of great soul who worship Him with undeviated devotion. Now begins the summation. Even though Lord Krishna is the Supreme Lord by His own will He has assumed a form of a human being although possessing a purely spiritual eternal body. To consider other lesser gods as equal or the same as the Supreme Lord and not separately distinct and dependent upon the Supreme Lord is offensive. To also consider any incompleteness or impersonal conceptions about Him likewise. Any differences between the Supreme Lords dharma or principles of eternal righteousness and His descent into a spiritual body is also offensive. All such unpropitious mentalities and subsequent actions have no value for those who know not the glory of the Supreme Lord Krishna for all they obtain is the worlds of darkness. Therefore the Bhavishya Purana states that the Supreme Lord should always be considered as pure consciousness in full completeness with the fullness of all attributes.
The mahatmanas or great souls being overwhelmed with intense love for the Supreme Lord find it impossible to support their existence for even an infinitesimal part of a moment without always being engaged in chanting Lord Krishnas holy names, singing His glories, enlightening one another about His lilas or divine pastimes, offering obeisance and salutation to Him with worship and propitiation and the offering of their very selves with loving devotion. With tremulous voices convulsed with holy joy they with yearning tones they incessantly call out His holy names such as Krishna, Rama, Narayana, Hari which connote distinguishable attributes of His Supreme nature. They constantly remember His lilas with tears in their eyes with their bodies ecstatically quivering in rapture, thrilled by the exciting recollection of such holy revelations. With equal zeal do still other mahatmanas assiduously perform holy duties of sacred worship of the Supreme Lord Krishna or any of His authorized avatars or incarnations and expansions as revealed Vedic scriptures. with firm determination. Others engage themselves in the constructions of temples of worship for the Supreme Lord along with laying out of flower and fruit gardens for the His service. Still others overcome by sacred devotion fully prostrate themselves upon the ground with all eight parts of their body like a fragile reed regardless of dust, dirt or prickling thorns and pebbles in humble obeisance to the Supreme Lord. The eight parts of the body are the heart, the intellect, the ego, the head, the two hands and two feet prostrating in unison with concerted devotion. Always striving with prayers of devotion and love for Lord Krishna, focused with the aim to be eternally united with Him, with fervid appeal they beseech Him incessantly again and again that they may attain Him solely as their only goal.
The mahatmanas or great souls being overwhelmed with intense love for the Supreme Lord find it impossible to support their existence for even an infinitesimal part of a moment without always being engaged in chanting Lord Krishnas holy names, singing His glories, enlightening one another about His lilas or divine pastimes, offering obeisance and salutation to Him with worship and propitiation and the offering of their very selves with loving devotion. With tremulous voices convulsed with holy joy they with yearning tones they incessantly call out His holy names such as Krishna, Rama, Narayana, Hari which connote distinguishable attributes of His Supreme nature. They constantly remember His lilas with tears in their eyes with their bodies ecstatically quivering in rapture, thrilled by the exciting recollection of such holy revelations. With equal zeal do still other mahatmanas assiduously perform holy duties of sacred worship of the Supreme Lord Krishna or any of His authorized avatars or incarnations and expansions as revealed Vedic scriptures. with firm determination. Others engage themselves in the constructions of temples of worship for the Supreme Lord along with laying out of flower and fruit gardens for the His service. Still others overcome by sacred devotion fully prostrate themselves upon the ground with all eight parts of their body like a fragile reed regardless of dust, dirt or prickling thorns and pebbles in humble obeisance to the Supreme Lord. The eight parts of the body are the heart, the intellect, the ego, the head, the two hands and two feet prostrating in unison with concerted devotion. Always striving with prayers of devotion and love for Lord Krishna, focused with the aim to be eternally united with Him, with fervid appeal they beseech Him incessantly again and again that they may attain Him solely as their only goal.
Satatam keertayanto maam yatantashcha dridhavrataah; Namasyantashcha maam bhaktyaa nityayuktaa upaasate.
satatam—always; kīrtayantaḥ—singing divine glories; mām—Me; yatantaḥ—striving; cha—and; dṛiḍha-vratāḥ—with great determination; namasyantaḥ—humbly bowing down; cha—and; mām—Me; bhaktyā—loving devotion; nitya-yuktāḥ—constantly united; upāsate—worship
