Śrī Śīkṣāṣṭakam Verse Five

VERSE 5

ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya

O Nanda-nandana! I am Your eternal servant. Due to my own actions, I have fallen into the dangerous ocean of worldly existence. Please consider me to be a speck of dust situated at Your lotus feet.

Why should a sādhaka never be concerned with the miseries of the material world?

He says – ayi nanda-tanujā etc. O Son of Nanda! Upon deliberating upon things, I understand that I am Your eternal servant. Now, due to the faults of my own karma, I have fallen into the dangerous ocean of worldly existence. I am beaten down by lust, anger and so many other enemies. I am tortured by waves of evil ambitions and wicked thoughts. I am moved by the powerful winds of bad association. Under these circumstances, sometimes karma, jñāna and yoga manifest like clusters of grass. Following these, with the desire to cross the ocean of worldly existence, I achieve no result. With a mind full of regret, I continue to experience many hardships. Thus there is no other boat to cross the material ocean except for your mercy, and knowing this, I have obtained the boat of Your Holy Name by the mercy of the feet of Śrī Guru. You are affectionate to those who are surrendered unto You, so mercifully consider that I am a speck of dust situated at Your lotus feet, and taking refuge there, I will be purified of all faults. As a particle of dust clinging to Your lotus feet, I will never be separated from you in the future.

In this way, it is understood that devotees must reject the desire to achieve bhukti (sense-enjoyment) and mukti (liberation) which are the results of karma and jñāna.