Verse 2.3.154

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.3.154:

ध्यानं च सङ्कीर्तनवत् सुख-प्रदं यद् वस्तुनोऽभिष्टतरस्य कस्यचित् ।
चित्तेऽनुभूत्यापि यथेच्छम् उद्भवेच् छान्तिस् तद् एकाप्ति-विषक्त-चेतसाम् ॥ १५४ ॥

dhyānaṃ ca saṅkīrtanavat sukha-pradaṃ yad vastuno'bhiṣṭatarasya kasyacit |
citte'nubhūtyāpi yatheccham udbhavec chāntis tad ekāpti-viṣakta-cetasām || 154 ||

dhyānam–contemplation; ca–also; saṅkīrtana-vat–like chanting; sukha–happiness; pradam–awards; yat–which; vastunaḥ–of the item; abhīṣṭa-tarasya–of one’s dearly beloved Lord; kasyacit–of someone; citte–in the mind; anubhūtyā–by experience; api–and; yathā iccham–according to one’s desire; udbhavet–it can bring forth; śāntiḥ–peace; tat–to Him; eka-āpti–in achieving exclusivity; viṣakta-cetasām–for those whose minds are absorbed.

Dhyāna is also pleasing like saṅkīrtana, because one feels happiness in the experience of every single matter concerning one’s beloved, and because one becomes peaceful when the mind is truly absorbed in anything related to Him.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Having accepted meditation, the Vaikuṇṭha associates praise it in this verse beginning with dhyānam. They say, “Meditation is also pleasing like saṅkīrtana, because when a person experiences anything related to his cherished beloved, he feels happy and peaceful. His mind becomes absorbed in that object and he is eager to attain only that. Such attachment alleviates distress and brings peace and happiness.”