English
25 February 2024
Chanting of the holy name
Speaker: HG Mukund datta prabhu
HG Padmamali prabhu: Hare Krsna. Today we have HG Mukund datta prabhu to deliver today’s japa talk. He is a very senior and dear disciple of Srila Prabhupada. He is famous for his melodious Kirtans and nectarine Kathas. He is in ISKCON Noida Temple to give his holy association on the occasion of 10th anniversary of ISKCON Noida. He is also going to lead the kirtan at ISKCON Noida.
HG Mukund datta prabhu: Hare Krsna. I will talk about Harinaam (The Lord’s holy name). In Rupa Goswami Padyavali, there is a verse regarding Harinaam mahima in 8 verses.
Rupa Goswami Padyavali 19
kalyananam nidhanam kali-mala-mathanam pavanam pavananam
patheyam yan mumukshoh sapadi para-pada-praptaye procyamanam
visrama-sthanam ekam kavi-vara-vacasam jivanam saj-jananam
bijam dharma-drumasya prabhavatu bhavatam bhutaye krishna-nama
Translation: May Krsna’s holy name, which is a reservoir of all transcendental happiness, the destruction of Kali-yuga’s sins, the most purifying of all purifying things, the saintly person’s food as he traverses the path to the spiritual world, the pleasure-garden where the voices of the greatest saints, philosophers, and poets play, the life of the righteous, and the seed of the tree of religion, bring transcendental auspiciousness to you all.
It’s a benediction that Rupa Goswami gives to all of us. All of us are great souls but we require all the benedictions that we can get. By offering us benedictions to chant the holy name, he offers us. He says, kalyananam nithanam. Rupa goswami told us, sadhna bhakti destroys all the in-auspiciousness in our lives. Of course, the same applies to bhava and prema bhakti. But even just beginning bhakti with sadhna, it destroys all in-auspiciousness with chanting.
And the holy name is the active ingredient in everything auspicious. And it is kali matha mathanam (Rupa Goswami Padyavali 19). Harinaam prabhu is the destroyer of the in-auspiciousness and all the flaws. We all have three kinds of flaws - dravya, desha and atma sambhava dosha’s. In Kaliyuga there is dravya dosha. The second one is dirty environment.
In the morning when you chant japa, we see people riding bikes and making noise on the road. This is desha sambhava dosha. The environment is contaminated. The last one is atma sambhava dosha, its because of our karma. The Lord takes all these dosha’s away when he sees that we are trying to take harinaam seriously. He destroys all the flaws of Kali. Lord is in the form of Purushottam. Therefore we say, Pavanam pavananam(Rupa Goswami Padyavali 19).
To return to godhead, what ever we need Harinaam prabhu gives us. If I want to go to Mayapur, things that I need I will take in train and that is Pateyam. Rupa Goswami says, this is what you need to go back to Godhead. Harinaam prabhu makes it available. Kavi vara vachasam(Rupa Goswami Padyavali 19).
Harinam prabhu gives us these great scholars like - Vyasadev, Shukdeva Goswami, etc. Their final work is in holy name. In Bhagavad Gita we hear, the Kauravas given their lives to Duryodhana. And they lost their lives because of their choice. But this holy name is the better choice. Jivanam sajjananam (Rupa Goswami Padyavali 19).
One of my God brothers says, he chants from Mangala to Sringar aarti then at the time of Sringar aarti he doesn’t stop chanting. We should also try to practice this. Bijam dharmanasya (Rupa Goswami Padyavali 19). Holy name is the seed of this tree. Prabhavatu bhavatam bhutaye Krsna naam(Rupa Goswami Padyavali 19).
Rupa goswami says, may this holy name be Kalyan (auspicious) for all of you. In Vrindavan, they say Radhe radhe. But we say, chant Hare Krsna and be happy. We have less time so you meditate on this verse of Padyavali and let Harinaam prabhu bless you all.
- HG Prasanna Madhvi mataji asks, when we do harinaam japa our sadness goes away but I experience too much sadness and in-auspiciousness in my life. So will my miseries go away after chanting?
- Rupa goswami mentions in Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, if you stack 100 Paan leaves then the needle goes once in those paan leaves. But its not so, it goes through 100th leaf then 99th leaf and so on. So it’s gradual. In the same way, our miseries are not immediately destroyed. They take sometime and you need to tolerate them. That’s why we study Bhagavad Gita. When your mind is completely disturbed then tolerate.
matra-sparsas tu kaunteya
sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah
agamapayino 'nityas
tams titiksasva bharata (BG 2.14)
Translation: O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
Q- HG Lalita nath prabhu asks, whatever you told about Harinaam but I don’t have any taste for Harinaam.
- Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, how to be a devotee.
Shikshashtakam 1
cheto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam
shreyah-kairava-chandrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam
anandambhdhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamritasvadanam
sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate shri-krishna-sankirtanam
Translation: Glory to the Shri Krishna sankirtana (congregational chanting of the Lord's holy names), which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. That sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.
Disciple means discipline. If you are forcing yourself to chant then its not discipline. There should be discipline. Rupa goswami says about the six limbs of bhakti.
utsāhān niścayād dhairyāt
tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt
saṅga-tyāgāt sato vṛtteḥ
ṣaḍbhir bhaktiḥ prasidhyati (NOI 3)
Translation: There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavoring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles [such as śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam – hearing, chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa], (5) abandoning the association of non devotees, and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas. These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.
His instructions are golden and we follow them, then we get too much benefit. The first 5 or 6 verses are studied perfectly then we get good benefit. But if we don’t follow them there is not benefit.
mach-chittaḥ sarva-durgāṇi mat-prasādāt tariṣhyasi
atha chet tvam ahankārān na śhroṣhyasi vinaṅkṣhyasi (BG 18.58)
Translation: If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost.
If you are in false ego, then you are finished. From the beginning you have to hear everyday. This is a very important thing.
- Sukrit Bahu prabhu asks, we should chant after Mangala arti and then in Sringar arti, when I have to go to take darshan then what should I do, and I want to sit and chant at that time?
- Right mood is Nirantana japa (continuous chanting). There should not be any break in japa. When we get to that stage, after two hours we don’t want to stop japa then it’s the right sign. Mahaprabhu also said,
tṛṇād api su-nīcena
taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31)
Translation: One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.
satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate (BG 9.14)
Translation: Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.
We should always chant. Thank you. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Hare Krsna!
