yat-kÄ«rtanaá¹ yat-smaraṇaá¹ yad-Ä«ká¹£aṇaá¹
yad-vandanaṠyac-chravaṇaṠyad-arhaṇam
lokasya sadyo vidhunoti kalmaá¹£aá¹
tasmai subhadra-śravase namo namaḥ
yat - whose; kīrtanam - glorification; yat - whose; smaraṇam - remembrances; yat - whose; īkṣaṇam - audience; yat - whose; vandanam - prayers; yat - whose; śravaṇam - hearing about; yat - whose; arhaṇam - worshiping; lokasya - of all people; sadyaḥ - forthwith; vidhunoti - specifically cleanses; kalmaṣam - effects of sins; tasmai - unto Him; subhadra - all-auspicious; śravase - one who is heard; namaḥ - my due obeisances; namaḥ - again and again.
The sublime form of religious performances to free oneself from all reactions of sins is suggested herein by the greatest authority, ÅšrÄ« Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«. KÄ«rtanam, or glorifying the Lord, can be performed in very many ways, such as remembering, visiting temples to see the Deity, offering prayers in front of the Lord, and hearing recitations of glorification of the Lord mentioned in the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam or Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ. KÄ«rtanam can be performed both by singing the glories of the Lord in accompaniment with melodious music and by recitation of scriptures like ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam or Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ.
The devotees need not be disappointed in the physical absence of the Lord, though they may think of not being associated with Him. The devotional process of chanting, hearing, remembering, etc. (either all or some of them, or even one of them), can give us the desired result of associating with the Lord by discharging the transcendental loving service of the Lord in the above manner. Even the very sound of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa or RÄma can at once surcharge the atmosphere spiritually. We must know definitely that the Lord is present wherever such pure transcendental service is performed, and thus the performer of offenseless kÄ«rtanam has positive association with the Lord. Similarly, remembrance and prayers also can give us the desired result if they are properly done under expert guidance. One should not concoct forms of devotional service. One may worship the form of the Lord in a temple, or one may impersonally offer the Lord devotional prayers in a mosque or a church. One is sure to get free from the reactions of sins provided one is very careful about not committing sins willingly in expectation of getting free from the reactions by worshiping in the temple or by offering prayers in the church. This mentality of committing sins willfully on the strength of devotional service is called nÄmno balÄd yasya hi pÄpa-buddhiḥ, and it is the greatest offense in the discharge of devotional service. Hearing, therefore, is essential in order to keep oneself strictly on guard against such pitfalls of sins. And in order to give special stress to the hearing process, the GosvÄmÄ« invokes all auspicious fortune in this matter.