Bhaja Govindam — Word-by-Word Meaning

Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, O foolish mind! When the appointed time of death arrives, grammar rules will not save you. O fool, abandon the thirst for acquiring wealth. Create in your mind thoughts of reality free from desire. Whatever wealth you earn through your own karma, be content with that. Do not fall into the delusion of attraction seeing a woman's body. Reflect again and again — this is merely a modification of flesh and fat. Life is as uncertain as a drop of water on a lotus petal. Know that the entire world is consumed by disease, ego and sorrow. As long as you are able to earn money, your family is attached to you. But when your body becomes old and decrepit, no one at home even asks how you are. As long as breath remains in the body, people at home ask about your welfare. But when the breath departs and the body falls, even your wife fears that corpse. In childhood, one is attached to play. In youth, attached to a young woman. In old age, attached to worry. But no one is attached to the Supreme Brahman! Who is your wife? Who is your son? This world is exceedingly strange. Whose are you? Who are you? Where have you come from? Reflect on this truth, O brother. From good company comes non-attachment. From non-attachment comes freedom from delusion. From freedom from delusion comes steadfastness in truth. From steadfastness in truth comes liberation while living. When youth has passed, what use is passion? When water has dried up, what use is a lake? When wealth is gone, where are the relatives? When truth is known, where is worldly bondage? Do not boast of wealth, people and youth. Time snatches all these away in a moment. Leaving behind this entire illusion of Maya, realize Brahman and enter that state. Sing the Bhagavad Gita and the Vishnu Sahasranamam. Always meditate on the form of the Lord. Direct your mind toward the company of the good. Give your wealth to the poor and needy.