SB 3.28.20-29: Meditation of Krsna’s Lotus Feet

Hare Krsna,

Since it is strongly recommended that our meditation should start with the lotus feet of the Lord, I would like to stick to the lotus feet for my forum meditation (considering my neophyte status).

CC Madhya 8.252:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, “What should all living entities constantly remember?”

Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “The chief objects of remembrance are always the Lord’s holy name, qualities and pastimes.”

There are many forms of meditation and meditation techniques. But in the conversation above, Sri Ramananda Raya indicates that the chief meditation is to fix one’s mind on the beautiful lotus feet of the Lord. It is said that Krsna’s lotus feet are the perfect object of meditation because they remove all fear, remove ignorance, sever attachment to material life, gives liberation, and fulfills the desires of the devotees.

SB 3.28.21 Purport: If a yogī looks upon the marks of the Lord’s sole and on the blazing brilliance of His nails, then he can be freed from the darkness of ignorance in material existence. This liberation is not achieved by mental speculation, but by seeing the light emanating from the lustrous toenails of the Lord. In other words, one has to fix his mind first on the lotus feet of the Lord if he wants to be freed from the darkness of ignorance in material existence.

In all scriptures we find that meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord is the only way for purification from all material contamination and attain pure devotional service. We find immense glorification of the Lord’s lotus feet in all the scriptures. And when the scriptures and acharyas tell us to surrender to God, we are asked to surrender at the Lord’s lotus feet because the Lord protects and blesses everyone by His lotus feet. That’s why scriptures/acharyas generally do not instruct us to take shelter at His hand or face. In the case of humans, people in general use their feet to kick or stamp others, whereas the Lord’s lotus feet are glorified as the only place to go for shelter from all troubles in this world. What to speak of ordinary living entities, even Lord Siva became more auspicious and important by accepting the Ganges water on his head. (Radha-Govinda Meditation Techniques)

SB 3.28.22: The blessed Lord Śiva becomes all the more blessed by bearing on his head the holy waters of the Ganges, which has its source in the water that washed the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord’s feet act like thunderbolts hurled to shatter the mountain of sin stored in the mind of the meditating devotee. One should therefore meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for a long time.

One thing that I find really perplexing is that one will not be able to fix his mind on the Lord’s lotus feet if one does not have a pure heart and a peaceful mind. On the contrary, it is said the purity of heart and mind is not without meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord. So it is a paradox. It is kind of a chicken and egg story; what came first? When our mind is filled with material desires, lust, anger and greed on account of its association with the material energy from time immemorial, it is just impossible to fix the mind on the lotus feet of the Lord. However, that purity of heart and a peaceful mind is attained only by meditating on His lotus feet.

SB 3.28.22 Purport: The mind of the conditioned soul, on account of its association with the material energy from time immemorial, contains heaps of dirt in the form of desires to lord it over material nature. This dirt is like a mountain, but a mountain can be shattered when hit by a thunderbolt. Meditating on the lotus feet of the Lord acts like a thunderbolt on the mountain of dirt in the mind of the yogī. If a yogī wants to shatter the mountain of dirt in his mind, he should concentrate on the lotus feet of the Lord and not imagine something void or impersonal. Because the dirt has accumulated like a solid mountain, one must meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for quite a long time.

The true mission in life is to cross the ocean of nescience, of repeated birth and death. SB 10.2.30 says, “O lotus-eyed Lord, by concentrating one’s meditation on Your lotus feet, which are the reservoir of all existence, and by accepting those lotus feet as the boat by which to cross the ocean of nescience, one follows in the footsteps of mahājanas [great saints, sages and devotees]. By this simple process, one can cross the ocean of nescience as easily as one steps over the hoofprint of a calf.”

“For one who has accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the demon Mura, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoofprint. His goal is paraṁ padam, or Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.” (Bhāg. 10.14.58)

Therefore, it is important that chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord must go in conjunction with the meditation on the Lord’s lotus feet. By chanting Krsna’s holy names, one attains both peace and purity. We can take shelter of His lotus feet by chanting His holy names. It takes humility and surrender to do so. The Lord’s lotus feet are the perfect shelter because they protect the devotees from the dangers of material life. When Akrura was going to Vraja and saw the lotus footprints of the Lord, he got down from his chariot and began to roll in the dust and pray to these footprints. Similarly, if we take shelter of Krsna’s lotus feet and meditate on Them, then naturally we will attain Krsna’s shelter.

After studying this lesson, it is my personal sankalpa to practice meditation on Krsna’s beautiful lotus feet, especially while chanting the holy name. I keep the picture of the sole of Krsna’s lotus feet with its various symbols in front of me during my japa. I thank our teachers for sharing the picture in the lesson post. I especially suffer from immense fear about everything. That fear can be mitigated only by fixing my mind and taking shelter of Krsna’s lotus feet.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!