Garudapurana 1.230

Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa — [Chapter] 230.
Sūta said:
Having examined all scriptures and reflected again and again,
this one conclusion has emerged: Nārāyaṇa is always to be meditated upon.

What use are gifts to him, what use are sacred fords, what use austerities, what use sacrifices,
to one who constantly meditates on the god Nārāyaṇa with undistracted mind?

Sixty thousand sacred fords and six hundred sacred fords
do not equal a sixteenth part of a prostration to Nārāyaṇa.

Whatever all the expiations and acts of austerity may be,
know that remembrance of Kṛṣṇa is supreme among all of them.

When an inclination towards committed sin arises in a person,
constant remembrance of Hari is his single supreme expiation.

Whoever meditates on Nārāyaṇa unwearied even for a moment,
he too attains the celestial realm; how much more so one devoted to him?

In waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, and for a yogin established in yoga,
whatever movement of the mind arises, it occurs from taking refuge in Acyuta.

Rising, falling, talking nonsense, entering, likewise
eating, and waking—he who remembers Govinda, Mādhava,

engaged in his own respective duty, should set his mind on Janārdana.
This is the teaching following the scriptures; what is the use of other extensive discourses?

Meditation alone is supreme dharma, meditation alone is supreme austerity,
meditation alone is supreme purity; therefore one should be devoted to meditation.

There is nothing to be meditated upon beyond Viṣṇu; there is no austerity beyond fasting;
therefore, the contemplation of Vāsudeva is declared here to be principal.

What is difficult to obtain, the highest object to be attained, what is beyond the range of the mind—
even that, unasked, Madhusūdana gives when meditated upon.

Whatever rite falls short in sacrifices through negligence of those performing it,
by the very remembrance of Viṣṇu that becomes complete: such is the Vedic text.

There is no purifier of sinful deeds equal to meditation;
the fire of yoga is the burner of the causes of future bodies.

A yogin who has perfected samādhi and whose karma is burned by the fire of yoga,
swiftly attains liberation in this very birth.

Just as a fire with flared flames, or the wind, burns dry grass,
so all sin is burned for a yogin when Viṣṇu resides in his mind.

Just as gold becomes spotless from contact with fire,
so the impurity of human beings is always burned away by Vāsudeva.

Whatever sin is dissolved in thousands of baths in the Gaṅgā and in crores of baths at Puṣkara,
that is destroyed when Hari is remembered.

Whatever sin is surely destroyed by thousands of breath-controls,
that sin is destroyed in merely an instant by meditation on Hari.

Wicked speech through the influence of the Kali age, and likewise the utterances of heretics,
will not penetrate the mind of him who has Keśava in his heart.

That is the lunar day, that is the day and night, that is the astrological yoga, that is the moon,
that alone is celebrated as the auspicious moment, wherein Hari is remembered.

That is the loss, that is the great flaw, that is dumbness and stupefaction of purpose,
which moment or instant Vāsudeva is not contemplated.

In the Kali age it is the Kṛta age for him, [and] the Kali age is in the Kṛta age for him
in whose heart Govinda is not, in whose mind Acyuta is absent.

Whether in front or behind, whether walking or standing,
he whose mind is constant upon Govinda has always accomplished all duties.

He whose mind is on Vāsudeva in recitation, oblations, worship, and the like—
for him, O Maitreya, a result such as the position of the lord of gods is an obstacle.

Without abandoning householdership, having performed great austerity,
he severs human illusion, his mind surrendered to Keśava.

People show forgiveness to the angry, compassion to fools,
and joy to those devoted to dharma, when Govinda resides in their heart.

One should meditate on the god Nārāyaṇa during rites such as bathing and giving,
in all expiations, and especially in sinful deeds.

Theirs is the gain, theirs is the victory; whence could defeat come to those
in whose heart Janārdana, dark as a blue lotus, resides?

Even for worms and flocks of birds whose minds are surrendered to Hari
there is an upward path; how much more so for wise human beings?

The shade of the tree of Vāsudeva is neither too cold nor too hot,
calming the entrance to hell; why is it not resorted to?

Neither the curse of Durvāsas nor even the kingdom of the lord of Śacī
is capable of destroying him, O friend, when Madhusūdana is held in the heart.

When speaking, standing, or doing other work according to one's own will,
if contemplation does not depart, one should consider concentration perfected.

Nārāyaṇa should always be meditated upon as seated in the center of the orb of the sun, seated upon a lotus seat,
wearing armlets, wearing crocodile-shaped earrings, crowned, garlanded, with a golden body, holding the conch and the discus.

There is indeed nothing purifying in this world equal to meditation;
even a sinner eating the food of outcastes is not smeared here.

A creature's mind is always deeply attached to sense objects. / If it were likewise directed to Nārāyaṇa, who would not be released from bondage?

Sūta said: / To whom should a living being ever bow when devotion to Viṣṇu is in his mind? / At that very moment, he delivers himself from the ocean of sin.

That is knowledge wherein Govinda is; that is discourse wherein Keśava is; / that is action which is done for his sake. What is the use of other long speeches?

That tongue is truly a tongue which praises Hari; that mind is truly a mind which is offered to him; / those hands alone are praiseworthy which perform worship of him.

The gods know that the fruit of the head is bowing to the Lord, the fruit of the hand is his worship, / the fruit of the mind is contemplation of his qualities and deeds, and the fruit of speech is praise of Govinda's qualities.

Even a heap of sinful deeds as large as Mount Meru or Mandara / is entirely destroyed merely by the remembrance of Keśava.

Whatever action a person performs, good or bad, / having entrusted all of it to Nārāyaṇa, he is not tainted even while acting.

The fourfold collection of beings from a blade of grass up to the four-faced Brahmā, / the entire world of moving and unmoving beings, is asleep through your Māyā.

One whose intellect is fixed on him does not go to hell; even heaven is an obstacle in contemplating him, so how could even the world of Brahmā, being petty, enter? / Standing in the heart, the imperishable one grants liberation even to dull-witted men. What wonder is it that when that Acyuta is praised, this [sin] dissolves away?

Those who perform the fire-sacrifice, recitation, bathing, meditation on Viṣṇu, and worship / to cross the ocean of suffering—they indeed cross over it.

The king is the refuge of the kingdom, and parents of a child; / dharma is the refuge of all mortals, and Hari is the refuge of everything.

For those who bow down to the eternal Vāsudeva, the origin of the universe, / no sacred place is greater, O best of sages.

One should perform worship with priceless jewels and scriptural recitation, / continually vigilant, meditating only upon that Govinda for his sake.

A man who considers a Śūdra, a Niṣāda, or an outcaste who is devoted to the Lord / as equal to the twice-born does not go to hell.

One continually praises a wealthy person with respect out of desire for wealth; / if one were to do likewise for the Creator of the universe, who would not be released from bondage?

Just as a fire that has reached a forest burns even damp fuel, / likewise Viṣṇu, abiding [in the heart], burns away all the sins of yogins.

Just as wild animals and birds do not approach a flaming mountain, / likewise all sins do not approach a man devoted to the practice of yoga.

Whatever faith one has, such is one's attainment of perfection; / to this extent only is the power of Kṛṣṇa measured.

Remembering Govinda even out of hatred, Śiśupāla, the son of Damaghoṣa, / attained reality; how much more so one dedicated to him?

Thus ends the two hundred and thirtieth chapter, entitled 'Description of the Greatness of Viṣṇu', in the ritual section called the first portion of the first section in the glorious and great Garuḍa Purāṇa.