19860620 Śrī Kṛṣṇa Nāmāṣṭakam

The following is the reading given by his holiness Jayapatākā svāmī on June 20th 1986,@ Atlanta, USA

 

The reading is from the Sri Kṛṣṇa Nama ashtakam

 

Did we go over the prayers of Rūpa gosvāmī to the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, the Kṛṣṇa Nama ashtakam. That means that Srila Prabupad says you get forgiven from your offenses to the holy name. The 10 offenses. Well nobody here commits offenses against the holy name. Ask him to bring that. Just about 5-6 pages, typewritten pages, says on it, Xerox copy, says the Sri Kṛṣṇa Namashtakam about the middle of the page. It has Sanskrit translation about the holy name.

 

So while we are waiting, few verses, because Haridas Thakur and Rūpa gosvāmī. Haridas Thakur was born in a family of Mohammedans and Rūpa gosvāmī considered himself to be fallen because he had been the prime minister or finance minister under the mohammedan government. So they used to stay a little bit outside, a little bit distance from the temple in puri. They were receiving   Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's remnants of Prasad every day. They would dance in ecstasy with the Prasad of lord Chaitanya. Then Lord Chaitanya went to see Rūpa gosvāmī at the place of Haridas Thakur and lord Chaitanya said to him. CC Antya 1.66 – 1.79

‘kṛṣṇere bāhira nāhi kariha vraja haite vraja chāḍi’ kṛṣṇa kabhu nā yāna kāhāṅte

 

Translation:“Do not try to take Kṛṣṇa out of Vṛndāvana, for He does not go anywhere else at any time.

 

kṛṣṇo ’nyo yadu-sambhūto yaḥ pūrṇaḥ so ’sty ataḥ paraḥ vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya sa kvacin naiva gacchati

Translation “ ‘The Kṛṣṇa known as Yadu-kumāra is Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa. He is different from the Kṛṣṇa who is the son of Nanda Mahārāja. Yadu-kumāra Kṛṣṇa manifests His pastimes in the cities of Mathurā and Dvārakā, but Kṛṣṇa the son of Nanda Mahārāja never at any time leaves Vṛndāvana.’ ”

 

 Purport This verse is included in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.5.461), by Śrīla Rūpa gosvāmī.

 

eta kahi’ mahāprabhu madhyāhne calilā rūpa-gosāñi mane kichu vismaya ha-ilā

 

After saying this, Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to perform His noontime duties, leaving Śrīla Rūpa gosvāmī somewhat surprised.

 

“pṛthak nāṭaka karite satyabhāmā ājñā dila jānilu, pṛthak nāṭaka karite prabhu-ājñā haila

 

“Satyabhāmā ordered me to write two different dramas,” Śrīla Rūpa gosvāmī thought. “Now I understand that this order has been confirmed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

 

pūrve dui nāṭaka chila ekatra racanā dui-bhāga kari ebe karimu ghaṭanā

 

“Formerly I wrote the two dramas as one composition. Now I shall divide it and describe the incidents in two separate works.

 

dui ‘nāndī’ ‘prastāvanā’, dui ‘saṁghaṭanā’ pṛthak kariyā likhi kariyā bhāvanā “

 

I shall write two separate invocations of good fortune and two different introductions. Let me think deeply about the matter and then describe two different sets of incidents.”

 

PURPORT: The two works are the Vidagdha-mādhava and the Lalita-mādhava. The Vidagdha-mādhava describes pastimes in Vṛndāvana, and the Lalita-mādhava describes pastimes in Dvārakā and Mathurā.

 

ratha-yātrāya jagannātha darśana karilā ratha-agre prabhura nṛtya-kīrtana dekhilā

 

During the Ratha-yātrā ceremony Rūpa gosvāmī saw Lord Jagannātha. He also saw Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu dancing and chanting in front of the ratha.

 

prabhura nṛtya-śloka śuni’ śrī-rūpa-gosāñi sei ślokārtha lañā śloka karilā tathāi

When Rūpa gosvāmī heard a verse uttered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu during the ceremony, he immediately composed another verse dealing with the same subject.

 

pūrve sei saba kathā kariyāchi varṇana tathāpi kahiye kichu saṅkṣepe kathana

 

I have already described all these incidents, but I still wish to add briefly something more.

 

sāmānya eka śloka prabhu paḍena kīrtane kene śloka paḍe — ihā keha nāhi jāne

 

Generally Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recited a verse while dancing and chanting before the ratha, but no one knew why He was reciting that particular verse.

 

sabe ekā svarūpa gosāñi ślokera artha jāne ślokānurūpa pada prabhuke karāna āsvādane

 

Only Svarūpa Dāmodara gosvāmī knew the purpose for which the Lord recited that verse. According to the Lord’s attitude, he used to quote other verses to enable the Lord to relish mellows.

 

rūpa-gosāñi prabhura jāniyā abhiprāya sei arthe śloka kailā prabhure ye bhāya

 

Rūpa gosvāmī, however, could understand the intention of the Lord, and thus he composed another verse that appealed to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

 

yaḥ kaumāra-haraḥ sa eva hi varas tā eva caitra-kṣapās te conmīlita-mālatī-surabhayaḥ prauḍhāḥ kadambānilāḥ sā caivāsmi tathāpi tatra surata-vyāpāra-līlā-vidhau revā-rodhasi vetasī-taru-tale cetaḥ samutkaṇṭhate

 

“That very personality who stole my heart during my youth is now again my master. These are the same moonlit nights of the month of Chaitra. The same fragrance of mālatī flowers is there, and the same sweet breezes are blowing from the kadamba forest. In our intimate relationship, I am also the same lover, yet still my mind is not happy here. I am eager to go back to that place on the bank of the Revā under the Vetasī tree. That is my desire.”  This is the verse recited by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, this is the verse composed by Srila Rūpa gosvāmī.

 

priyaḥ so ’yaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ saha-cari kuru-kṣetra-militas tathāhaṁ sā rādhā tad idam ubhayoḥ saṅgama-sukham tathāpy antaḥ-khelan-madhura-muralī-pañcama-juṣe mano me kālindī-pulina-vipināya spṛhayati

“My dear friend, now I have met My very old and dear friend Kṛṣṇa on this field of Kurukṣetra. I am the same Rādhārāṇī, and now We are meeting together. It is very pleasant, but I would still like to go to the bank of the Yamunā beneath the trees of the forest there. I wish to hear the vibration of His sweet flute playing the fifth note within that forest of Vṛndāvana.”

 

So, then Rūpa gosvāmī went and put the verse on the roof of the house. And went down to take a bath, see in the meantime Lord Caitanya came to see Rūpa gosvāmī then nobody was there, then Rūpa gosvāmī came back after he took a bath, then  The lord said my heart is very confidential. How did you know my mind in this way!  After saying this He firmly embraced Rūpa gosvāmī Lord Caitanya was astonished, but nobody could understand what his intention was, what his idea was . But how does Rūpa gosvāmī be understood? Even  Swarup damodar said to Damodar how Rūpa gosvāmī could understand, no one can otherwise understand this meaning, so Swarup damodar  you must have told Rūpa gosvāmī ? Damodar has said  Lord you must have told Rūpa gosvāmi already and Lord Chiatanya said  I bestowed my mercy upon him in Prayag,there  giving him my transcendental potency he has been able to understand these things.  Now you have to give him more instruction so he can understand the transcendental mellows. Then Swarup damodar said, yes, as soon as I saw the unique composition I understood that you have given  your mercy to him.

 

Sri Rūpa gosvāmī Ki! JAI!

 

Rūpa gosvāmī is especially blessed by Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, he has the potency of the lord, given to him. So in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupāda says that we have to avoid the ten offenses. “There is no way to atone any of these offenses; it is therefore recommended that an offender at the feet of the holy name continue to chant the holy name for 24 hours a day. Constant chanting of the holy name makes one free from offenses and then he will gradually be elevated to the transcendental platform at which he can chant the holy name, and thus become a lover of the supreme personality of godhead. iit is recommended that even if one commits offenses, one should continue chanting the holy name. In other words, the chanting of the holy name makes one offenseless.

 

 In the book Nāma-kaumudī it is recommended that if one is an offender at the lotus feet of a Vaishanava, he should submit to that Vaishanava and be excused; similarly, if one is an offender at chanting the holy name, he should submit to the holy name, and thus be freed from his offenses. One should be very humble and meek and offer one’s desires and chant prayers composed in glorification of the holy name, such as

 

ayi mukta-kulair upāsya mānam and nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād.

 

One should chant such prayers to become free from offenses at the lotus feet of the holy name.

 

Srimad Bhagavatam canto 7 Chapter 5 verse 23-24 purport. So part of the etiquette while chanting the holy name, So The ten offenses are an important part, and how to get free from the effect of the ten offenses is also important. So then I researched, what is ayi mukta-kulair upāsya mānam  prayer, and it turns out it is the Sri Sri Kṛṣṇa Namashtakam by Sri Rūpa gosvāmī.

 

So that was printed without the Sanskrit in the iskcon world review last year, but, very it’s profound, I don’t know, iskcon world review, just by reading it, how much we were able to pick it up, but , it’s something good to meditate upon, So I reproduced the section here on this verse. The verse 1 Sanskrit is:

 

nikhila-sruti-mauli-ratna-mala-

dyuti-nirajita-pada-pankajanta

ayi mukta-kulair upasyamanam

paritas tvam hari-nama samsrayam

 

Translation by a devotee: Oh my Dear Hari Nam, holy name of Kṛṣṇa, you are identical with lord sri Kṛṣṇas transcendental form according to all of the Upanishads. The Upanishads personified glorify all the effulgence emanating from your lotus feet. In other words, all of the personified vedas, taking shelter of your lotus feet, saying your transcendental glories with chosen verses and yogis rishis and all kinds of liberated souls appropriately worship your lotus feet. Therefore, I completely surrender myself unto your lotus feet.

 

Gurumaharaj: First thing to notice how, the prayer to the holy name is being made as a personal form sometimes a person might fall into considering the holy name is some mundane vibration or just a vibration . We have to realise that because Kṛṣṇa’s absolute, invisible form, 3 dimensional form or whether he's in the form as a sound vibration that  it's personal. Thus we pray, that “Nam chintamani Kṛṣṇas Chaitanya rasa vigraha”. Chaitanya means it is living its cognisant. Rasa vigraha is a form of transcendental nectar, of mellows , rasa. Purna mukta nitya ha nama namino. There's no difference between the holy name and the lord's form, so the impersonal brahmajyoti is emanating from the lotus feet of the holy name,great rishis and liberating souls, they worship the lotus feet of the holy name, and Rūpa gosvāmī surrenders himself completely at the lotus feet of the holy name.

 

 2nd verse:

 

jaya namadheya muni-vrnda-geya he

jana-ranjanaya param aksarakrte

tvam anadarad api manag udiritam

nikhilogra-tapa-patalim vilumpasi

 

Translation: Oh my dear Kṛṣṇa naam, holy name of Kṛṣṇa! You are eternally glorified by the realised souls, just to attract the consciousness of conditioned souls. Throughout the material universes out of your causeless mercy, you manifest in an audible form of transcendental sound vibration . your mercy is so great, when someone chants you accidentally, even with neglect, even for one time, you destroy inconceivable quantities of their accumulated sinful reactions for many births together. My dear holy name of Kṛṣṇa, all glories unto you. Just like the Ramanands or the muhammadans say, Haraam! Haram means infidel or black… or so many other types of namabhaas accidental chanting. Those who chant in neglect, They don’t even know what they're doing. Still the lord is so merciful that inconceivable quantities of accumulated sinful activities from births together are destroyed, just from accidental chanting.

 

Kṛṣṇa was visible on the planet five thousand years ago, you could see him on the kurukshetra battle, you could see him afterwards when he met radharani and the vrindavan vasis in kurukshetra, you could see in vrindavan , Mathura and dwaraka. He was visible at that time. It was his causeless mercy to come down into the material world, but , then how would the people of today get his mercy, because today he is not visible, unless you have real spiritual vision.

 

But he is audible when you say his name. and so that holy name has come down to attract the consciousness of the conditioned souls otherwise how would they get out of this material universe? What is their hope? The name is so merciful that Kṛṣṇa naam, the holy name of Kṛṣṇa , manifests. What if the name of Kṛṣṇa didn’t vibrate, what if it remained secret as previously people didn’t know the name of god. God, GAWD GAWD… then they think of an old man with a beard, they don’t have, they don’t even, GAWD, it's just, then the lord manifests from himself, actual names that are nondifferent from him, not just a title. Like if you called a person, supervisor, supervisor, Like a telephone Mr. Supervisor, you know right, it’s a big difference calling a guy by his title god, than calling him, Bill how is it , you know, Kṛṣṇa, Ram,Govinda, Gopala.

 

This is the causeless mercy of the lord because of his transcendental names. Morethan titles, indications. Abstractions. It is a direct personal holy name which attracts the conditioned soul from this material universe. Even if they accidentally chant it gives the mercy. Firstly, Rūpa gosvāmī, wrote every verse in Sanskrit with a totally different meter so I'm not able to do full justice…..?.... .

 

yad-abhaso 'py udyan kavalita-bhava-dhvanta-vibhavo

drsam tattvandhanam api disati bhakti-pranayinim

janas tasyodattam jagati bhagavan-nama-tarane

krti te nirvaktum ka iha mahimanam prabhavati

Translation: Oh my dear holy name of Kṛṣṇa, you are more brilliant than the sun, you are so merciful that if someone utters you out of fear, or merely as a namabhaas (imperfect stage prior to offenceless chanting), even then your mercy is so great that you destroy their material ignorance and binding attachments to conditioned life, and gradually bless such conditioned souls devoid of spiritual knowledge, with transcendental knowledge of devotional service to Lord sri Kṛṣṇa. Oh my dear holy name, who in this universe can sufficiently glorify your transcendental qualities even among the great realised souls? All glories unto you.

We know how Ajamila, a very sinful person, out of fear had chanted the name of his son, Narayana, but somehow out of fear when he chanted the name of his son which is the name of the Lord, he was immediately delivered. You can hear that the lord is so merciful that even just out of fear, or some imperfect way, or joking, or some other very casual , very imperfect type of chanting, if one chants very attentively, by the lord's mercy, material ignorance is destroyed. Ajamila’s ignorance was destroyed, he became fixed in pure devotional service, binding attachments to conditional life, everything was destroyed. Just by chanting the holy name out of fear, fear of death. That was also, not a perfectly chanting, he was chanting actually calling his son.

 

So who can sufficiently glorify the holy names first? Normally you consider a person who worships the lord with perfect devotion, perfect concentration, 100% pure devotion, then we know can be given this uh highest benediction of life. But the holy name is so merciful that even imperfectly, or out of fear you just somehow , Hare Kṛṣṇa , if you just shout out sometime you get startled or something. Husband comes to meet the wife, Hare Kṛṣṇa, ? anything. Then right there material ignorance can be destroyed (?). Such is the mercy of the lord, the holy name.

 

So we pray to the holy name, my dear holy name, all glories to you. Great devotees, the very liberated souls, they knew that Kṛṣṇa was present form dancing in his personal form when he chanted the holy name. But then it wasn’t a near vibration but they realised Kṛṣṇa was present. That it WAS Kṛṣṇa. That the holy name is Kṛṣṇa. So then they prayed the holy name as a person, as cognisant , as the most merciful.

 

Verse 4

 

yad-brahma-saksat-krti-nisthayapi

vinasam ayati vina na bhogaih

apaiti nama sphuranena tat te

prarabdha-karmeti virauti vedah

 

Translation:  By unbroken and concentrated meditation on the impersonal brahman, one is unable to destroy the sinful and pious karmic reactions which lie beyond the immediate renunciation of material enjoyment,but come from time immemorial. However My dear holy name, by your vibrating on the tip of the tongue, in other words, by merely pronouncing you, these primordial karmic reactions are destroyed.

 

How many people here know what prarabdha karma is? Prarabndha karma. There’s, it‘s explained here that there’s two kinds of karma. There's the karma that we know we can suffer for hundred births back , the reactions to our activities. Sometimes we get hit by a car or bit by a bumblebee, whatever, this may come from this life or 10 lives or 50 lives or 100 lives back. This type of karma already got destroyed very easily by chanting the holy name accidentally, (Haribol)  before in verse 2. Actually you can get ____ karma by meditating on the impersonal brahman. You can get rid of that karma by meditating on the impersonal brahman,

 

you can destroy your karmas. But when the material world universe is destroyed,and we’re brought back into the body of maha Vishnu, at that time, there’s some type of karma which stays with us, that’s called prarabdha karma. When the material world is wound up, still there’s some modern technology we’d call programming, there's some type of very subtle karma which is connected with that atma, the spirit soul.

 

So when the new creation comes they again take up in that particular material activity. So here, it explains, that unbroken concentration and meditation on the impersonal brahmajyoti, effulgence, that effulgence which the great yogis want to meditate upon, or do meditate upon. That effulgence coming from Vishnu. The goal of the mayavadis, even by meditating for millions of years on the impersonal brahman, is that prarabdha karma is not washed away.

 

So that when the yogi again falls from the impersonal brahman into the material world then again he takes up where he left off. Therefore that liberation or meditation is not considered complete. But when we chant the holy name of the Lord, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare HareHare, these primordial karmic reactions are destroyed. Who can conceive the transcendental glories of the holy name?

 

Verse 5

 

aghadamana-yasodanandanau nandasuno

kamalanayana-gopicandra-vrndavanendrah

pranatakaruna-krsnav ity aneka-svarupe

tvayi mama ratir uccair vardhatam namadheya

 

Translation: My dear killer of the Aghasura, my dear beloved son of mother Yashoda, my dear son of Maharaj Nanda, my dear lotus eyed lord, my dear beloved of the gopis, my dear lord of Vrindavan, my dear worshipful, merciful lord, my dear lord Kṛṣṇa, oh my beloved holy name in these and countless other forms, you manifest your transcendental vibration in this world to deliver the conditioned souls from the bondage of the repetition of birth and death, in material life out of your causeless and inconceivable mercy. My dear holy name, may spontaneous attraction for chanting you increase unlimitedly by your causeless mercy upon me.

 

Kṛṣṇa was present in different forms, different activities , where Kṛṣṇa in the spiritual world has different pastimes. The names which describe those pastimes, are also forms of the lord. But those forms can manifest in this material world. And thus free us, the conditioned souls, from the repetition of birth and death. They can attract our mind to the spiritual world. [they said] Lord Chaitanya was praying that, “yajani naanuraga”, “I’m not having any devotion, no attraction for chanting these holy names.” In the siksastakam prayers, he was lamenting, actually if we simply had attraction, to chant these holy names constantly 24 hours a day, then that would be the most fortunate status of life we could actually achieve.

 

So here Rūpa gosvāmī, he is turning to the holy name to give mercy upon him to give attraction for chanting the holy name. Otherwise someone says, I'm not attracted to chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. How can I get attraction for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa? You can get attraction for chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa by chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa. BY mercy of the holy name, one gets attraction for chanting the holy name.

 

So if you don’t have attraction, then you should chant, because by chanting. You’ll get attraction. Bhagavad Gita says in the beginning, medicine, or, spiritual life may taste bitter but in the end it becomes sweet. You see the holy name Is pure nectar, but due to our being in a diseased condition we may not be able to relish or have attraction for that nectar. But by chanting the holy name, then that spontaneous attraction develops, by the causeless inconceivable mercy of the holy name. [ it is ] a totally complete formal self realisation. Take one from the lowest position of conditioning of material life, ? to the highest perfection. This is further explained in the following verses. The question came up that “Who is more merciful? The holy name or Kṛṣṇa personally, in his visible form. Which form is more merciful, the visible or the audible?” Which is more merciful? So this is the subject matter of verse number 6.

 

Verse 6

 

vacyam vacakam ity udeti bhavato nama svarupa-dvayam

purvasmat param eva hanta karunam tatrapi janimahe

yas tasmin vihitaparadha-nivahah prani samantad bhaved

asyenedam upasya so 'pi hi sadanandambudhau majjati

 

 Translation Dear holy name, you exist in two transcendental forms, or swarupas. Namely, 1) one form is your personal form as the supreme living person, the object of glorification in transcendental sound. And 2) is your form as the holy name, such as Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, and other transcendental names which indicate or describe forms of bliss. You are one and the same, ever existent, in these two transcendental forms. And the two I consider your audible form of the holy name such as Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, etc, is more merciful than your visible form as the supreme personality of godhead.

 

This is because if someone is engaged in worshiping your deity forms and subsequently becomes implicated in offenses, and then takes shelter of your transcendental form as the holy name, chanting Kṛṣṇa ! Govinda ! while worshiping you, my dear holy name, you out of your causeless mercy purify that person of all kinds of offenses, and he is able to relish the nectar of that unlimited ocean of transcendental bliss. Especially in the age of Kali, deity worship is not the recommended process of sacrifice. It was recommended in dwapara yuga, but of course the authorities, the acharyas of bhakti, they,have recommended that for keeping the devotees pure, keeping the devotees in proper consciousness, that the deity forms of the lord are to be worshipped in the temple.

 

So we know that it is very easy for us to commit offenses to these forms of the lord due to our fallen condition. Therefore one is recommended to constantly chant the holy name of the lord. By chanting the name of Kṛṣṇa, then one is forgiven for committing offenses to the deities. So this example, this is used also as an example by Sri Rūpa gosvāmī, that this is a proof that the names of the Lord are more merciful than the form of the Lord. Therefore, if you commit an offense to the holy name of the lord then who do you go to? Just like if you commit an offense to a Vaishanava, like Durvasa Muni committed an offense to Ambarish, then he had to go back to Ambarish to beg for forgiveness. If you commit an offense to the holy name, then you have to pray to the holy name, “please forgive me for my offenses”. And, one has to continue chanting the holy name to get absolved of those offenses.

 

Verse 7

 

suditasrita-janarti-rasaye

ramya-cid-ghana-sukha-svarupine

nama gokula-mahotsavaya te

krsna purna-vapuse namo namah

 

Translation Oh my dear holy name, O beloved identical form of Kṛṣṇa in sound! The devotees who take shelter of your lotus feet through constantly chanting you are even saved from destruction against offenses to the holy name, nama aparadh, out of your causeless mercy. You are manifest as the supreme personal form of concentrated transcendental ecstasy. You are personally the form of transcendental happiness, and the daily festival for the residents of Gokula, Vrindavan Dham. You are the full form of transcendental glory and eternal bliss, through which you manifest through nectarean loving exchanges with your devotees. Therefore, my dear holy name of Kṛṣṇa, I offer again and again my respectful obeisances unto your lotus feet. Actually one has a / can have a personal relationship with the holy name. How we develop in our relation with the holy name and how we try to chant him offense - lessly, how we chant with spontaneous relish, or dancing or kirtan or harināma, this develops our relationship with the holy name. Actually, the holy name gives the conditioned souls in this material world who are so far from the spiritual world an immediate avenue for relishing that supreme transcendental bliss.

 

By the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, by chanting Lord Chaitanya’s name, then, by his mercy offenses are not considered. So by chanting the name of Lord Chaitanya one can then, also get the special mercy of… Someone explained that, Prabhupāda explained, just heard this yesterday when we were also, day before yesterday we also discussed these verses in New Orleans, New Talavan, that uh, when one chants the name of Kṛṣṇa, that uh, Prema, hides, to see whether the person is actually chanting in pure devotion. in this way it hides - (the audience laughs) When one chants the name of Lord Chaitanya THEN chants the name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Prema goes looking for you. *the audience chants Haribol! * Knocking. (knocks on the table). “I’m looking for you”. Oh we We should be so respectful, so conscious of the holy name, but under no circumstances should we stop chanting the holy name. I met one person in my travels this trip, who said that in studying some of the books and teachings about the holy name, he heard that one should chant the holy name considering that one is floating in the ocean of bliss, that the holy name is all pervasive around, and that this vibration is Kṛṣṇa, and that every syllable should be so perfectly chanted and not mispronounced, and one should concent - (Chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa with great detail & audience giggling), She becomes so overwhelmed in doing these things, and says I used to chant 16 rounds now I can only chant 4 rounds (audience laughs), so I stopped chanting.

 

Since I couldn’t chant 16 and she had to chant 16 to get back to Godhead and I was so offensive that I couldn’t float and simultaneously chant and pronounce and feel and, so, I just stopped, what could I do. So I had to preach to her that for higher level instruction, for more advanced devotees, don’t uh, these types of things come automatically so what you should do is GO ON CHANTING. Go back up to chanting 16 rounds, within that you try and concentrate hearing and pronouncing as best as you can you don’t have to really (laughs) get so much into it that you can’t chant.

 

You just have to hear the mantra. If there’s slight variation in accent then someone may chant with a Georgian accent or a New York accent – (mimicks different accents) - Hore Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa – Kṛṣṇa can decipher, who you’re calling, he has that transcendental ability, so I think that now that person is chanting again 16 rounds. So we shouldn’t get *, we should try to improve our quality but it’s something that happens naturally. We shouldn’t try to think that by mechanically somehow putting some imposition on the mind and mechanically by working at it in a very mechanical way that we’re going to be able to chant the holy name. We should actually surrender to the holy name and know that the holy name alone, He will give us the mercy to be able to chant Him.

 

By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
 Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, and trying always to listen, trying to pronounce, but now, you know, not to the extent that it becomes some mechanical exercise, not mechanical. It’s actually something from the heart, you’re chanting, you’re trying to please the lord, you’re trying to concentrate on vibration and Kṛṣṇa’s name does everything else. We should have this realisation that it’s Kṛṣṇa’s name that gives us the mercy to chant. It’s not that simply by our own endeavour we can chant. It’s by constantly chanting and by trying to avoid offenses, trying to please the holy name, that we’re going to , If we get the mercy of the holy name then we’ll be able to spontaneously chant.

The whole purpose is to achieve spontaneous chanting but that’s not something that you can get by taking a pill or simply exercising. That comes by the mercy of the holy name. This is communicated here. Kindly bless me that I may always be engaged in chanting you without cessation. We want the holy name to just chant tirelessly , you see, on our lips so, let's read

 

verse 8.

 

narada-vinojjivana

sudhormi-niryasa-madhuri-pura

tvam krsna-nama kamam

sphura me rasane rasena sada

Translation: Oh my dear holy name of Kṛṣṇa! You are the life and soul of the Veena of devarshi Narada Muni! You are an eternal tidal wave of full transcendental nectar. I humbly fall at your lotus feet and beg for your causeless mercy to make me always fixed at your service so that you may always dance tirelessly on my tongue. Kindly bless me so that I may always be engaged in chanting you without cessation.

 

Our goal is that to chant only 16 rounds, but that, constantly we can be chanting, I heard from one Brijbasi, you hear a lot of things from Brajavasis, she said that when Rūpa gosvāmī was giving his lectures, he was so expert from one side of his mouth he would be giving the lecture and from the other side he would be chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa! (Audience: Haribol!!) GM laughs This is how [???] very hard to imitate. Laughing.

 

He never stopped chanting the holy name, so, I’ve never seen anyone else achieve that. I won’t doubt anything that Rūpa gosvāmī could possibly do, so the thing is that Rūpa gosvāmī, has a special mercy of Lord Chaitanya. He could see lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu every day, when he was in Puri. Yet Rūpa gosvāmī was constantly engaged in chanting the holy name. So we have those who are in sinful life, in the material world, they can chant the holy name, they can get freed from their reactions, they can come up to the spiritual platform, they can surpass the brahmajyoti, they can get rid of their prarabdha karmas , they can achieve pure devotion for Kṛṣṇa, spontaneous chanting, and even when they fully liberated like Narada Muni playing on his string Veena, his instrument, he is ALSO ENJOYING UNLIMITED NECTAR.

 

Therefore we should have the complete faith in the process of chanting, that this chanting there’s never a point where we need to give it up. The mayavadis, they do their pranayama, Hatha yoga, meditation, until they finally, Jnana yoga, sayana Vedanta, that’s not their eternal goal. Once they realise the Brahman, then they finish all this stuff. But in Bhakti we know that the means and the end are the same. So this chanting, we chant as the means to become pure and when we are purified we continue to chant. The chanting never ends. But simply when we are in a neophyte stage we chant we may not relish that the Lord is , the holy name is the form of bliss.

 

Actually one of the purports of Prabhupāda said we could read this book on Chaitanya Mahāprabhu by Professor Danyal but Prabhupāda published books we don’t read anymore but I remember that . When we were allowed to read it, can’t read it anymore but it explained how we could uh, that there’s a stage, when we first start chanting that it’s very hard to chant, you don’t like to chant, then there’s the stage and it starts to relax and you start to go to sleep. That’s like an advanced level (laughter from the audience). Many devotees reach that level. (more laughter). Then you go to a stage higher than that where you chant and it wakes you up. (more laughter). Keeps us awake. And, uh, you start to get [a] little energy from that. And most people in the material world, it’s a big problem, the companies you go to and drug stores, they'll have whole sections on sleeping pills, can’t even sleep. Tense and stress and so much difficulty.

 

So actually the first is to take out the fire from their material anxiety; that’s actually one stage of progress, but then in the perfectional stage you go on, then you get a new, spiritual energy. And then ultimately you don’t want to have that kind of bland, calmness of impersonal existence, but to relish constantly the Lord’s pastimes, his holy names and their different forms. This is the taste, or spontaneous attraction, which through chanting [and] to the mercy of the Lord and Vaischanavas, this becomes manifested. So when one achieves the perfectional platform one is constantly chanting the holy name, you don’t have to tell the residents of Vrindavan (in instructing tone) “Alright, let’s go Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, chant the name of the lord” (person laughter). “When you’re churning the butter there, don’t talk about Maya.”. You don’t have to tell them, they have no other, FROM MORNING TO NIGHT, “What is Kṛṣṇa doing today? Where is Kṛṣṇa” Kṛṣṇa this and everyone *>>>. The vibration is simply all pervasive, everyone is thinking about Kṛṣṇa, that is the nature of Vrindavan. Somebody going in and telling the Brijbasi’s, you better be Kṛṣṇa Conscious, you know, that’s totally , you see , ridiculous. They’re spontaneously Kṛṣṇa Conscious. They can’t stop talking about Kṛṣṇa.

 

 EVEN IF THEY TRY TO STOP TALKING ABOUT Kṛṣṇa. “Today we’re not going to talk about Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa’s always just cheating us in so many ways, and we’re not going to talk about Kṛṣṇa anymore today, THIS IS THE END. NO MORE TALKING ABOUT Kṛṣṇa''. And they go on talking about why they’re not going to [], they can’t stop talking about Kṛṣṇa. Even if they decide not to talk about Kṛṣṇa they’re only talking about why they shouldn’t talk about Kṛṣṇa, and in the end, they realise that they cannot stop talking about Kṛṣṇa. So, That is the perfectional platform where we will spontaneously always chant the holy name of the Lord where we’ll constantly chant the name of Lord Kṛṣṇa .

But since in the neophyte, in the beginning stage we may not spontaneously be attracted to talk about Kṛṣṇa we may be more attracted to talk about Kṛṣṇa’s external energy, therefore we have guiding rules. Chant everyday, 16 rounds. Attend the kirtans in the temple and so on. So That this will give us at least a minimum amount of purification so that eventually we will spontaneously chant the holy name of the lord. But in the more end stage, one will always chant. Can’t stop chanting!, Just like , the nawab told the Haridas Thakur, “You have to stop chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.” He said, not possible.

 

If you don’t stop chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, I’m going to cut you into little pieces. If you cut me into little pieces, as long as there’s one little piece left, it’s going to be chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare I can’t stop. And he didn’t stop.

 

So, we want that blessing from the holy name, when are we going to be able to constantly, spontaneously, be chanting the holy name. When will, just as Narada’s, string instrument, the Veena, gives bliss from accompanying the chanting of the holy name. When will we also, our only life, our only treasure will be this chanting. We’ll think other things are not very important compared to the chanting.

 

The chanting is the most important. Someone who’s developed that taste, and someone says “what are you giving to the people? How many hospitals have you opened? How many clinics do you give, family planning and, how many this and that?” No understanding what is the value. They think that you give some material thing, which has got a beginning and end, fact it is just so foolish sometimes the things they do serve the people, so-called that they don’t realise what they’re actually doing is hurting the people in so many ways. Materially, what to speak of having no spiritual value whatsoever. Actually we’re giving the people the most valuable thing, we’re giving them the holy name, this is so valuable that you can't put any price on it.

 

But people are so foolish , they're so bewildered by the external energy that before they can appreciate any value of the Holy name, it takes a long time. We can’t even tell them the glories of the holy name because if we told them they wouldn’t even believe it to begin with. Because we read before that one of the offenses to the holy name is telling the people WHO is the holy name before they have the spiritual ability to comprehend it. Cause they might say “how can that, how can this chanting, some vibration, is all that?” This happened, Haridas Thakur was preaching and then he said the holy name can deliver, JUST BY ONE CHANT OF THE HOLY NAME YOU CAN GET liberation, liberation is nothing. Someone said the goal of life is liberation, he said liberation is nothing, it's insignificant, just by chanting one time Kṛṣṇa, you can get liberation.

The goal of life is love for godhead. And then that person , he became so angry, he said “ WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? TAKES GREAT YOGIS THOUSANDS OF BIRTHS MEDITATING, DOING PRANAYAM, THEN THEY ACHIEVE, AFTER MANY BIRTHS THE BRAHMAJYOTI!!!! YOURE SAYING ONE TIME, YOU SAY THE NAME OF Kṛṣṇa, AND YOU CAN ACHIEVE THAT LIBERATION! I DON’T BELIEVE IT. IF THIS IS TRUE, THEN LET MY NOSE FALL OFF! AND IF IT'S NOT TRUE THEN LET YOUR NOSE FALL OFF, I CURSE YOU, YOUR NOSE WILL FALL OFF, FOR BLASPHEMING THE GREAT PROCESS OF MAYAVADI YOGA.

 

” Within 3 days, that Brahmin got leprosy and his nose fell off. (Haribol & claps from audience). Because it’s a true spiritual reality, that the name of Kṛṣṇa is so powerful that even one offenseless chanting of the name of Kṛṣṇa you can achieve what would take thousands of births of mystic yoga practice, of impersonal meditation. So then who, in their right mind, would take that process and avoid chanting the holy name. Only someone who is totally bewildered, insane or just completely in the mode of ignorance could fail to see or take advantage of this benediction of the Holy name of Kṛṣṇa.

 

 But unfortunately there are many fallen souls and there are even many so-called spiritualists that are missing this opportunity. Yesterday one lady came to me and was saying “My Kundalini opened up and I went out in the supermarket. I was so overwhelmed by the things that I saw and felt, that I had to run back into my house. It was too much!! What to do? (audience laughs). Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, (haribol!) That’s why people when they practice the eightfold yoga system and they start opening their chakras including the Kundalini they stay up in the Himalayas in some caves because you don’t want to be caught in a supermarket with your Kundalini open (laughter).

 

They never come down to the supermarket. So, people are so bewildered you know, they don't have proper spiritual guidance. And therefore they’re missing out on this golden opportunity. We should have the mature conviction that faith, understanding of the actual mercy of the holy name, the position (emphasis) of the holy name. We have the product that, there’s no comparison. We have the most valuable thing to give people. ???? of how there is the bewildered faith, how to somehow or other get them .

 

That’s why Rūpa gosvāmī said '' yene yene mana niyogjate???” BY ANY MEANS, get them to take Kṛṣṇa.ill correct that. By any means you can … get them to take Kṛṣṇa, get them to take the holy name , get them to, somehow or another accept Kṛṣṇa consciousness. After that you introduce rules or regulations or whatever other – BUT SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER get them to start practising something. Rules and regulations come later. First get them to come up to the point of practising a little devotion then , to purify them and to protect them from becoming contaminated then you show them how to remain pure by following rules and regulations in the morning and so on. And then when they come to the perfectional platform the spontaneous platform where they’re always chanting, well then automatically liberation, mystic power, cleanliness, knowledge, they all stand waiting to serve the devotee. But the devotee doesn’t want their service, he wants to serve Kṛṣṇa and enjoy seeing Kṛṣṇa be pleased, guru being pleased no other desire.

 

 [Singing] Vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau.

 

The sri Kṛṣṇa namashtakam by srila Rūpa gosvāmī glorifies the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Srila Prabhupāda says that by saying prayers like this prayer, one can get absolved from offenses to the holy name. We should make prayers to the holy name, because only the holy name can forgive us from the offenses we make to the holy name. (Check) You realise you made a mistake when there's no seva (??) laughter. And later he became a devotee. Haridas Thakur was pleased and wasn’t happy because ………… He didn’t curse the brahman, the Brahmana cursed Haridas Thakur and turned back on him. He cursed a devotee or someone whose more spiritually powerful is very dangerous because then the curse will come back to you. If you try and do something against the spiritual person that’s not spiritually correct then the same thing will come back to you therefore one has to be very careful.

 

Just like Lord Brahma tried to use his mystic power against Kṛṣṇa but it came back on him. When Durvasa Muni sent the demon after Ambarish, and he had sudarshan chakra come after him. People try to do Black Magic and voodoo and things and they cast it against someone who is spiritually powerful, the thing will come back to them. It’s very dangerous. Haridas Thakur, he’s a well wisher for everyone, but the person that cursed him, said “ you’re going to lose your nose”, he lost his nose. Because Haridas Thakur vedas, which said it wasn't just some sentiment , quoted it, (?)))?) Here in the vedas it says that one, by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa , if you (?) chant the name of Kṛṣṇa you can achieve liberation (?). But the person he doubted the Vedas. That's Why the people who follow the impersonal gurus, they know something about the absolute truth they have, we even use some of their examples, some of the same examples are our examples for explaining what is Maya, what is the spiritual world, turns out what is Spirit is matter. They know upto the Brahman, some of them anyway. But, they don’t know what goes beyond, they don’t know the potency of Kṛṣṇa. Here it say Hare Kṛṣṇa The Books name Sanskrit.

 

 

Proofread by Rajeshwari, 16/10/2020, Bangalore