Advaita Vedānta

These commentators read the whole verse as the path of knowledge of the attributeless Brahman, mapping its terms onto the three movements of Vedanta study. 'Constantly glorifying' is taken as hearing (shravana): approaching a teacher established in Brahman, hearing the Upanishads from him, and muttering the pranava (OM); the glorifying is making Brahman, set forth by all the Upanishads, the object of study. 'Striving' is taken as reflection (manana): the pursuit of reasoning not opposed to Vedanta, to remove doubt about the nature ascertained by hearing. 'Firm vows' are the ethical restraints together with the inner means of calm and self-control. 'Ever-yoked worship' is taken as profound meditation (nididhyasana), an unbroken flow of like cognitions. Madhusudana develops this furthest: when the means are complete, the knowledge 'I am Brahman' arises and, like a lamp destroying darkness, by its mere arising destroys all ignorance and is directly the cause of liberation, without waiting for any further sequence such as the upward path of the breath. On this reading the deity here, taken as Brahman or as the Self and lord of the heart, is the support for a discipline whose fruit is non-dual realization.

Śaṅkarācārya · Śrī Ānandagiri · Madhusūdana Sarasvatī · Śrī Nīlakaṇṭha · Dhanapati Sūri

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Here the verse describes the outer and inner marks of loving worship (upasana) of the supreme Person, not a discipline of knowledge. Ramanuja reads the glorifying as the irrepressible utterance of Krishna's names that denote his particular qualities, the devotee ever proclaiming Shri Rama, Narayana, Krishna, Vasudeva, with every limb thrilled and the throat faltering with joy. The striving is striving in Krishna's works, the acts of worship and praise and even the supporting works of building temples, gardens, and groves. The bowing is the eightfold prostration with the love-bent body and mind. Being ever-joined is a longing for perpetual union and a settled resolve to be his servants. Vedantadeshika reads the four marks as exhibiting worship in its full body: thought, word, and deed all held in the unbroken inner stance of devotion, and notes that 'upasate,' worship, is the very term the chapter is teaching.

Rāmānujācārya · Vedānta Deśika

Bhakti

These commentators read the verse as pure loving devotion and stress that this worship is free of the conditions that bind ritual action. Sridhara reads the three movements, chanting, worship, and prostration, as three faces of one steady worship rather than three classes of devotee, all done with unbroken yoking and love. Vishvanatha emphasizes that, unlike in karma-yoga, here there is no requirement of purity of time, place, or fitness, citing the remembered text that there is no rule of place or time, nor any prohibition about remnants of food, in the chanting of Hari's name; he likens the devotee's striving for devotion to a poor householder striving at the doors of the rich. Baladeva similarly stresses freedom from purity of place and time and the loud uttering of names sweet as nectar, such as Govinda and the lifter of Govardhana. Jnaneshwari gives the most expansive vision: such devotees dance in the joy of praise, and by merely singing the Name they empty out penance and sense-control of meaning, shut the door of Yama's realm since no sin remains, give light without dawn, deathlessness without ambrosia, and God's vision without yoga-practice, bringing Vaikuntha within reach of all and bowing to every creature as Krishna's own form.

Śrīdhara Svāmī · Śrīla Viśvanātha · Śrīla Baladeva · Sant Jñāneśvar

Śuddhādvaita

These commentators read the verse on two levels, an outer and an inner mode of worship, and frame it within their own metaphysics of grace (pushti). Vallabha first sets out an elaborate account of sat-cit-ananda in its own-being and dharma kinds across the divine, the individual, and the elemental aspects, then maps the verse's terms: 'constantly singing' is vocal kirtana, 'striving' is the bhakti of hearing and worship, the firm vows are the devotional observances such as Ekadashi and Janmashtami marking remembrance, 'saluting' is vandana, and serving the feet in the mood of servanthood is the worship of the supreme Person everywhere. Purushottama distinguishes bhaktas from jnanis and treats this verse as the bhaktas' mode: singing of Krishna's play-form by the manner set down in the Bhagavata, firm of vow against worldly snares and not borne down by deluding scriptures, saluting with self-brought humility, ever alert with mind set on Krishna alone, serving by love and tenderness and not by mere prescription. For both, the limbs are the very flow of love taking outward shape, and 'satatam' names the unbroken nature of that flow.

Vallabhācārya · Śrī Puruṣottama

Bhedabheda

This commentator reads the verse soberly as the practice of devotees whose minds are ever engaged in recounting Krishna's nature, striving in the means of attaining him, firm and steady in their vow, which he identifies with disciplined action, and bowing with reverence through such acts as falling at his feet, ever steadfast in worship. He then marks this verse as describing one class of worshipper and points forward to the very next verse for 'others, whose knowledge is fully matured,' who worship by the sacrifice of knowledge, as one, as distinct, in many ways, and facing all directions. So for this reading the present verse names devoted action and the following verse names mature knowledge as a distinct mode.

Śrī Bhāskara

Modern

The modern commentators read the verse plainly as the steady inner and outer practice of the great souls. Sivananda blends both streams: these souls sing Krishna's glory, do japa of OM, study and recite the Upanishads, hear the Vedas from their preceptor and meditate on the attributeless Absolute, while cultivating the sattvic virtues and worshipping Krishna as the inner Self hidden in the heart; he adds the practical note that a beginner who cannot see God face to face should first worship his guru as God. Ramsukhdas dwells on 'nitya-yukta,' explaining that a human being can stay unbrokenly engaged only in God, never in worldly enjoyments and accumulation, which in time produce weariness and distaste, whereas the firm resolve to walk toward God never falters; and he distinguishes the seeker's stage, where this looks like effort, from the perfected devotee's, for whom it is simply the nature of his life. Tilak renders the verse as being industrious, fixed of purpose, and continually steeped in yoga, continually praising, bowing to, and worshipping Krishna with devotion.

Swami Sivananda · Swami Ramsukhdas · Lokmanya Tilak