tasmad aham vigata-viklava uddharisya

 atmanam asu tamasah suhrdatmanaiva

bhuyo yatha vyasanam etad aneka-randhram

 ma me bhavisyad upasadita-visnu-padah

 

Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: 

 

Therefore, without being agitated any more, I shall deliver myself from the darkness of nescience with the help of my friend, clear consciousness. Simply by keeping the lotus feet of Lord Visnu in my mind, I shall be saved from entering into the wombs of many mothers for repeated birth and death.

 

Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: 

 

The miseries of material existence begin from the very day when the spirit soul takes shelter in the ovum and sperm of the mother and father, they continue after he is born from the womb, and then they are further prolonged. We do not know where the suffering ends. It does not end, however, by one’s changing his body. The change of body is taking place at every moment, but that does not mean that we are improving from the fetal condition of life to a more comfortable condition. The best thing, therefore, is to develop Krsna consciousness. Here it is stated, upasadita-visnu-padah. This means realization of Krsna consciousness. One who is intelligent, by the grace of the Lord, and develops Krsna consciousness, is successful in his life because simply by keeping himself in Krsna consciousness, he will be saved from the repetition of birth and death.

 

The child prays that it is better to remain within the womb of darkness and be constantly absorbed in Krsna consciousness than to get out and again fall a victim to the illusory energy. The illusory energy acts within the abdomen as well as outside the abdomen, but the trick is that one should remain Krsna conscious, and then the effect of such a horrible condition cannot act unfavorably upon him. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that one’s intelligence is his friend, and the same intelligence can also be his enemy. Here also the same idea is repeated: suhrdatmanaiva, friendly intelligence. Absorption of intelligence in the personal service of Krsna and full consciousness of Krsna always are the path of self-realization and liberation. Without being unnecessarily agitated, if we take to the process of Krsna consciousness by constantly chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, the cycle of birth and death can be stopped for good.

 

It may be questioned herein how the child can be fully Krsna conscious within the womb of the mother without any paraphernalia with which to execute Krsna consciousness. It is not necessary to arrange for paraphernalia to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu. The child wants to remain within the abdomen of its mother and at the same time wants to become free from the clutches of maya. One does not need any material arrangement to cultivate Krsna consciousness. One can cultivate Krsna consciousness anywhere and everywhere, provided he can always think of Krsna. The maha-mantra, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, can be chanted even within the abdomen of one’s mother. One can chant while sleeping, while working, while imprisoned in the womb or while outside. This Krsna consciousness cannot be checked in any circumstance. The conclusion of the child’s prayer is: “Let me remain in this condition; although it is very miserable, it is better not to fall a victim to maya again by going outside.”