English
01 June 2024
The power of the holy name
Speaker: HH Radhe Syamananda Swami Maharaj
Hare Krsna. We welcome all the chanters. And I pray to Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar, Krsna Balaram and Gaur Nitai that this attraction of yours towards chanting the holy name keeps on increasing. Today's topic that I have chosen is 'The eagerness of the Lord to deliver the devotees'.
We know how Srila Prabhupada went to the western countries, in the advanced age of 70s to execute the instructions of his spiritual master out of his compassion for the fallen souls of this world. When a jiva can have such compassion that he is worried to such an extent then think about Krsna, how much worried he might be.
’saksat-darsane’ praya saba nistarila
nakula-brahmacarira dehe ’avista’ ha-ila
pradyumna-nrsimhananda age kaila ’avirbhava’
’loka nistariba’,--ei isvara-svabhava (CC Antya 2.5-6)
Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu delivered almost all the fallen souls by directly meeting them. He delivered others by entering the bodies of great devotees, such as Nakula Brahmacārī. And He delivered still others by appearing before them, as in the case of Nṛsiṁhānanda Brahmacārī. “I shall deliver the fallen souls.” This statement characterizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is telling Srila Haridas Thakur. Haridas Thakur is no other than Brahma himself. He is Namacarya, and in this age Krsna appears in the form of his holy name.
kali-kāle nāma-rūpe kṛṣṇa-avatāra
nāma haite haya sarva-jagat-nistāra (CC Ādi 17.22)
Translation: In this Age of Kali, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, is the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Simply by chanting the holy name, one associates with the Lord directly. Anyone who does this is certainly delivered.
harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā (CC Madhya 6.242)
Translation: In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu questioned, Haridas Thakura how these Yavanas will be delivered?
haridasa, kali-kale yavana apara
go-brahmane himsa kare maha duracara (CC Antya 3.50)
Translation: My dear Thakura Haridasa, in this age of Kali most people are bereft of Vedic culture, and therefore they are called yavanas. They are concerned only with killing cows and brahminical culture. In this way they all engage in sinful acts.
iha-sabara kon mate ha-ibe nistara?
tahara hetu na dekhiye,--e duhkha apara (CC Antya 3.51)
Translation: How will these yavanas be delivered? To My great unhappiness, I do not see any way.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is making Haridas Thakura an instrument. Haridas Thakura replied, as Ajamila was delivered just by chanting the holy name at the time of his death.
mriyamano harer nama
grnan putropacaritam
ajamilo'py agad dhama
kim uta sraddhaya grnan (CC Antya 3.64)
Translation: While dying, Ajamila chanted the holy name of the Lord, intending to call his son Narayana. Nevertheless, he attained the spiritual world. What then to speak of those who chat the holy name with faith and reverence?
In the similar way the fallen souls of this generation can be delivered even though he was calling out for his son, whose name was Narayana. So if a person can reach the holy abode of the Lord just by calling out for his son then why can't these people reach the holy abode. This Ajamila had no good qualifications. This verse from Narshimha Purana states,
damstri-damstraha to mleccho
ha rameti punah punah
uktvapi muktim apnoti
kim punah sraddhaya grnan (CC Antya 3.56)
Translation: Even a mleccha who is being killed by the tusk of a boar and who cries in distress again and again, "ha rama, ha rama" attains liberation. What then to speak of those who chant the holy name with veneration and faith?
Once a Muslim was passing by the forest and he was attacked by the wild pig. He was shouting, "Haram", "Haram". By just calling in this way he received the credit of chanting the names of Lord Rama.
Sri Sri Shad-gosvamy-ashtaka 8
he radhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-suno kutah
sri-govardhana-kalpa-padapa-tale kalindi-vane kutah
ghoshantav iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair maha-vihvalau
vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau
Translation: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who were chanting very loudly everywhere in Vrindavana, shouting, "Queen of Vrindavana, Radharani! O Lalita! O son of Nanda Maharaja! Where are you all now? Are you just on the hill of Govardhana, or are you under the trees on the bank of the Yamuna? Where are you?" These were their moods in executing Krishna consciousness.
As we call "Hare Krsna!" loudly, similarly when they call out "Haram" they are delivered as its considered as Namabhas. Unknowingly they are chanting the Lord's name. Lord Rama's name is all powerful but when Hara, the name of Radha Radharani is added to this then it becomes much more potent.
`rama' dui aksara iha nahe vyavahita
prema-vaci `ha'-sabda tahate bhusita (CC Antya 3.58)
Translation: The word `rama' consists of the two syllables, `ra' and `ma.' These are unseparated and are decorated with the loving word `ha,' meaning `O.'
namera aksara-sabera ei ta' svabhava
vyavahita haile na chade apana-prabhava (CC Antya 3.59)
Translation: The letters of the holy name have so much spiritual potency that they act even when uttered improperly.
If any work contains Ra + Ma in any possible manner then it will be considered that this person is chanting Rama. For example "Rajamahishi". This word indirectly has Rama so a person will be delivered just by speaking this world also.
And the Lord is so merciful, that in Kaliyuga even if a person chants the incomplete name still he will get the credit of chanting the complete name of the Lord. For example, If he said "Gopa" instead of Gopal still he will get the credit of chanting Gopal and his sins will get destroyed.
namabhasa haite haya sarva-papa-ksaya (CC Antya 3.61)
Translation: Namacarya Haridasa Thakura continued, "If one offenselessly utters the holy name even imperfectly, one can be freed from all the results of sinful life.
namabhasa haite haya samsarera ksaya (CC Antya 3.63)
Translation: Even a faint light from the hoIy name of the Lord ca eradicate alI the reactions of sinful life.
namabhase `mukti' haya sarva-sastre dekhi
sri-bhagavate tate ajamila--saksi (CC Antya 3.65)
Translation: Because of even the faintest rays of the effulgence of the Lord's holy name, one ca attain liberation. We ca see this in aIl the revealed scriptures. The evidence appears in the story of Ajamila in Srimad Bhagavatam.
A good example of this is Ajamila. If a person remembers the holy name in any manner then he will get liberated. He might remember mentally or if he recites, then he will get the credit. But if a person is committing offenses while chanting the holy name then this person will not get immediate credit.
The fruits will get delayed though he will definitely get the credit. If a person is proud of his material qualification, or he has some duplicity then he won't get a taste for chanting the holy name.
One may not get the taste in the holy name possibly due to the offenses committed in this life or the previous one. Thus we should be very careful of not committing the offenses while chanting the holy name.
bhaya kubhaya anakha alasaha
nama japata mangala disi dasahu
sumiri so nama rama guna gatha
karau nai raghunathahi matha (Ramcharitmanas Balkand)
Translation: The Name repeated either with good or evil intentions, in an angry mood or even while yawning, diffuses joy in all the ten directions. Remembering that Name and bowing my head to the Lord of Raghus, I proceed to recount the virtues of Sri Rama.
That's why Haridas Thakura said, do not worry Mahaprabhu. These people will gradually get delivered by calling out "Harama , Harama!".
yavana-sakalera `mukti' habe ana yase
`ha rama, ha rama' bali' kahe namabhase (CC Antya 3.53)
Translation: Because the yavanas are accustomed to saying, `ha rama, ha rama' [0 Lord Ramacandra], they will very easily be delivered by this namabhasa.
maha-preme bhakta kahe,--`ha rama, ha rama'
yavanera bhagya dekha, laya sei nama (CC Antya 3.54)
Translation: A devotee in advanced ecstatic love exclaims, `O my Lord Ramacandra! O my Lord Ramacandra!' But the yavanas also chant, `ha rama, ha rama!' Just see their good fortune!
Then Mahaprabhu questioned, I agree Muslims will be delivered but what about the animals, trees and creepers of this world, how will they be delivered?
Srila Haridas Thakura replied, when a person chants the holy name loudly then all the moveable and immovable living entities get delivered automatically.
ucca sankirtana tate karila pracara
sthira-cara jivera saba khandaila samsara (CC Antya 3.76)
Translation: You have preached the loud chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-matra and in this way freed all moving and nonmoving living entities from material bondage.
prabhu kahe,--"saba jiva mukti yabe pabe
ei ta' brahmanda tabe jiva-sunya habe! (CC Antya 3.77)
Translation: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, If all living entities were liberated, the entire universe would be devoid of living beings.
For example when you were passing by the forests of Jharkhand, at that time by the effect of your Sankirtan they left all their enviousness and they were dancing and kissing each other. Lion was hugging and kissing the Deer and also it was observed that the trees were trembling.
When a person chants Hare Krsna in the forest then we hear the echo of Hare Krsna. So it's not an echo, it comes because the movable and immovable living entities are chanting in response.
Srila Suta Goswami speaks, as soon as Srila Sukhdev Goswami was born, he left for the forest. No Sanskara was performed for him. And his father, Srila Vyasdev was running after him calling out "Putra" , "Putra".
sūta uvāca
yaṁ pravrajantam anupetam apeta-kṛtyaṁ
dvaipāyano viraha-kātara ājuhāva
putreti tan-mayatayā taravo 'bhinedus
taṁ sarva-bhūta-hṛdayaṁ munim ānato 'smi (SB 1.2.2)
Translation: Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī said: Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto that great sage [Śukadeva Gosvāmī] who can enter the hearts of all. When he went away to take up the renounced order of life [sannyāsa], leaving home without undergoing reformation by the sacred thread or the ceremonies observed by the higher castes, his father, Vyāsadeva, fearing separation from him, cried out, “O my son!” Indeed, only the trees, which were absorbed in the same feelings of separation, echoed in response to the begrieved father.
Srila Sukhdev Goswami gave no response but the trees were responding in return to his call in the voice of Sukhdev Goswami. Also he reminded that you had delivered the whole world when Vasudev Datta had prayed for all the living entities.
He asked Mahaprabhu, please give all the sins of these living entities to me and let them get liberated. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has fulfilled the desires of his pure devotees. And he had destroyed the sins of all the living entities at that time though those sins were not transferred to Vasudev Datta.
Similarly when the Lord appeared as Krsna, that time also he had delivered all the living entities who had come in contact with him in any way possible.
avatari' tumi aiche patiyacha hata
keha na bujhite pare tomara gudha nata (CC Antya 3.82)
Translation: My dear Lord, You have set a plan in motion by descending on the material world, but no one can understand how You are acting.
purve yena vraje krsna kari' avatara
sakala brahmanda-jivera khandaila samsara (CC Antya 3.83)
Translation: Formerly, when Lord Krsna descended in Vrndavaa, He freed all living entities in the universe from material existence in the same way.
Sometimes a question arises, that if a person is liberated by uttering the names but doesn't have love for the God, then? Irrespective whether he has love or not, the name is all potent. Gopis are an example. They did not love Krsna as the Supreme Personality.
They considered Krsna as their husband. A Gopi was locked by her husband who would not allow her to go when Krsna played his flute. So she remembered Krsna and left her body and went to Krsna in her spirit.
Just like fire has its nature of burning. Whether a person touches it knowingly or unknowingly, he will get burnt. Similarly the holy name will show its effect irrespective of your mood and faith. For example Shishupal, though he was cursing Krsna for his entire life still he chanted his name. And as a result when he left this world, he immersed in the body of the Lord and continued his service as Jaya Vijaya at Vaikuntha.
This is the potency of the holy name. If the Lord liberated everyone then why isn't the world empty?
Srila Krsnadas Kaviraj Goswami says that it is true that everyone is liberated and taken back home. But there are innumerable jiva’s present in Karanodaksayi Visnu and they are lying there in subtle bodies. According to their karma they are born here. So as soon as the jiva’s are liberated the next batch comes and the universe gets full once again. Lord Rama delivered Ayodhya and Krsna delivered the whole universe.
haridasa bale,--"tomara yavat martye sthiti
tavat sthavara-jangama, sarva jiva-jati
saba mukta kari' tumi vaikunthe pathaiba
suksma-jive punah karme udbuddha kariba (CC Antya 3.78-79)
Translation: Haridasa said, "My Lord, as long as You are situated within the materiaI world, You will send to the spirituaI sky all the deveIoped moving ad nonmoving living entities in different species. Then again You will awaken the living entities who are not yet developed and engage them in activities.
sei jiva habe ihan sthavara-jangama
tahate bharibe brahmanda yena purva-sama (CC Antya 3.80)
Translation: In this way all moving and nonmoving living entities will come into existence, and the entire universe will be filled as it was previously.
purve yena raghunatha saba ayodhya lana
vaikunthake gela, anya-jive ayodhya bharana (CC Antya 3.81)
Translation: Previously, when Lord Ramacandra left this world, He took with Him all the living entities of Ayodhya. Then He filled Ayodhya again with other living entities.
But we see there are souls still present. So this cycle will continue to happen. So basically the Lord is beyond the limited understanding of living entities in this material world. It's not possible to overcome him.
Mandodari was explaining this to Ravana. But Ravana still continued to have enmity towards Rama. The fools are not able to recognize, like Shishupal and Duryodhan could not understand. They come disguised as a human. But devotees always recognize them.
namo mahā-vadānyāya
kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-
nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ (CC Madhya 19.53)
Translation: O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.
We always offer our obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord. We can take some questions.
Q:- Can a person be delivered by Namabhas?
A:- Yes, Namabhas possesses the potency to liberate a person.
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī (ŚB 1.2.18)
Translation: By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.
Similarly the holy name can liberate anyone except a person committing sins on the strength of the holy name. Even though Durvasa Muni took the shelter at the Lotus feet of Lord Narayana but Narayana asked him to beg forgiveness from Ambarish Maharaj.
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno
hy asvatantra iva dvija
sādhubhir grasta-hṛdayo
bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ (ŚB 9.4.63)
Translation: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said to the brāhmaṇa: I am completely under the control of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts. What to speak of My devotee, even those who are devotees of My devotee are very dear to Me.
Similarly unless we continue to commit offenses against the devotees of the Lord till then this holy name will not show it's complete effects. We should surrender unto Naam prabhu and pray to him for getting relieved of our sins.
Q:- When I chant, I get many bad thoughts?
A:- There are bad impressions present in your consciousness already. To take them out you need to work on it. As soon as you chant the holy names, their sitting place is distributed and those impressions will come to your mind. We have a huge tunnel where terrorists are hidden in our heart. Only thing is that we need to continue our practice with conviction. Just like in this Japa Talk its always said, control your mind. With patience, try to control.
Q:-How to understand the presence of the word "Harama" in the Purana? Though Islam is just 1200 years old. So this word Harama came to existence may be just around 1200 years back?
A:- There are certain words which exist for a long time as Sanskrit is very old. This word Harama originates from Sanskrit which is the mother of all the languages in the world. Like its said here, damstri-damstraha to mleccho ha rameti punah punah (CC Antya 3.56). This word Rama is very old. It doesn’t matter in what language you call it.
