9 June 2020
Glories of the holy name
Hare Krishna. I welcome you all to the Japa Talk. Today devotees are chanting from 800 locations. How are you? Is everything all right? Locked down or unlocked? Those who are doing bhakti, chanting are transcendental to this. It doesn’t matter to them whether there’s a lockdown or no lockdown. As soon as we chant, we get liberated from all bondages. This bondage of the Coronavirus is nothing. Many temples have opened yesterday in many states. Tirupati Balaji ki jai! It is also open for darsana. Lord Vitthala’s temple is not open yet. Wherever temples have opened and darsana is available, you can go there, meet the Lord and take darsana. This will be a festival for your eyes (netrotsava).
One devotee did very hard work. He has taken references and proofs for preaching from various Vedic and Gaudiya Books. He has written, “Krsna bhakti prachar hetu”
Radhika Raman Prabhu from Vallabh Vidyanagar has written a book called Uttama shloka. This book is good for preaching. I was reading his compilation and there’s a portion in which the glories of Harinama are explained. These are some of the verses from that book called Uttama shloka. I liked and was impacted by some of the verses from that book.
As I was reading this, I thought of sharing this with all of you. This happens with me. Whenever I read something special and it increases my taste, then it influences me. As I contemplate on this, I realize many things. This happens with everything. It should happen with you also. I am doing this for the last 50 years. Whatever I read or like or when I realise something then I decide that when I meet someone the next time I will share this. Nowadays you are the ones who are meeting me the next time on this zoom conference. Yesterday I was reading and now in the morning you all are the first ones. So let’s start with you all. I hope this inspires you to chant japa and perform kirtana, then you will also do the rest of the things. harer nama evakevalam
pṛthivyāṁ yāni tīrthāni puṇyānyāyatanāni ca
tāni sarvāṇyavāpnoti viṣṇornāmānukīrtanāt||6||
Translation
One will get benefit of visiting all pilgrimage places or tirthas which are there on this planet by performing harinama. [Padma Purana]
If you are chanting or doing kirtana of the holy names of the Lord then you will get the same benefit of visiting and having darsana of all the pilgrimage places of this planet.
sahastreṣu śateṣveko manmantropāsako bhavet|
te te janā mantrapūtāścā”gabhiṣyanti matpadam||165||
Translation
Out of thousands and millions, one may worship Me by chanting. And out of them, only those who will get purified will come to My spiritual abode. [Brahma Vaivarta Purana]
Those who chant japa are called mantrapasakas. They worship the Lord. They worship by chanting the mantra of the Lord. That is why they are known as mantrapasakas. This vidhi is called mantropasana which is very, very rare. Sahtresu shateshu ekaha. The same is also mentioned in Bhagavad Gita, 7.3
manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ
kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ
Translation:
Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.
One in thousands become mantra upasaka. Those who are mantra upasaka will become pure.
patitanam pavanebhyu
We are fallen and worshipping the Lord through chanting is purifying.
tad visnu param padam sada pasyanti suryah
mat padam, Visnu padam, Krsna padam means that they will come back to My abode. They will return to My spiritual abode.
Those who will worship me by chanting…
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna
Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
… these mantra upasakas, all of them will come to mad padam (Krsna’s padam) meaning My abode. Is the truth being told over here?
sarvam etad rtam manye
yan mam vadasi kesava
na hi te bhagavan vyaktim
vidur deva na danavah
Translation
O Krsna, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the gods nor demons, O Lord, know Thy personality. [BG10.14]
Arjuna said, “Oh Lord, whatever you are saying, is the truth. In the end, these scriptures are spoken by someone. And the speaker is the Lord.
saṁśayātmā vinaśyati – One who doubts, will get destroyed. [BG 4.40] One who believes, will get knowledge.
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
Translation
After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare. [BG 7.19]
This conversation which you are hearing is the conversation between Krsna and Narada Muni in Brahma Vaivarta Purana.
sri krsna uvaca
harername kamyatra kalau vadati narah
kalirne bādhate ca satyam satyam na samśayah
In Padma Purana it is said that people who chant the holy names in Kaliyuga will not get obstructed by Kali. Kali is troubling us since the Lord went back to His abode.
yada mukundo bhagwan shamam tyaktva svapadam gatah
tad dinath kali rayantam sarva sadhak badhaka
Kali creates obstacles in the path of devotional service. When Bhagavan Munkunda Krsna shyam-tvatva sva padam mataha, left from this planet and went to His planet. tad dinat kalih ayatah. From that day Kaliyuga has come. Sarva sadhan badhaka, and it is an impediment everywhere and particularly in devotional service. It also puts us to sleep in class. But those who only chant the holy names do not get troubled by Kali. satyam satyam na samsayah means that it has been said twice over here that there is no doubt about this.
The next two verses are being spoken by Lord Siva to Mother Parvati. Sivaji is maha-bhagavat.
harernāma harernāma hare maiva kevalam|
hare rāma harekṛṣṇa kṛṣṇakṛṣṇeti maṅgalam||2||
evaṁ vadanti ye nityaṁ na hi tānbādhane kaliḥ|
antarāntarakarmāṇi kṛtvā nāmāni ca smaret||3||
The same statements are there which we have in Caitanya-caritamrita. The source of all these statements is Vedic Literature. This has all been said in Mahabharata, Purana, Narada Pancaratra, Upanishad and are being repeated. Bhakti rasamrta sindhu is written by Srila Rupa Goswami. He has given so many references. How many verses are there written by Srila Rupa Goswami? Sivaji is saying that chanting Hare Krishna is auspicious. May your journey be auspicious. This life is also a journey. Happy Journey! Not just by saying will it be happy. We have to do something. Those who chant Hare Krishna, their lives will become auspicious and Kali will remain away from such mantra upasakas.
antarāntarakarmāṇi kṛtvā nāmāni ca smaret
While doing activities, in between we should chant the holy names. Work will be in the hands and the holy names in the mouth. This is being said over here.
nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś
caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ
pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto
‘bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ [Padma Purana]
You would have heard this famous sentence. This is from Padma Purana. Now this verse has become the wealth of Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Nama cintamani, Dhama cintamani How is the holy name? Nama Cintamani. It is the Deity of rasa, means it is filled with all mellows. Harinama is Hari only. How is Hari? akhila rasamrta sindhu
akhila means full. Reservoir of pleasure. Srila Prabhupada has written a small booklet Reservoir of Pleasure which we distributed in the thousands and millions in Kumbha mela. He is the king of all mellows. He is also called rasika.
One who tastes rasa is called a rasika. Rasik shekhar means one who is the greatest in rasikas. Rasika chudha mani. The Lord’s name is also complete, pure, eternal, liberated and the Lord’s name is non different from the Lord. Srila Prabhupada is also saying so in the Sri Isopanisad invocation over here.
oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
Translation:
The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.
Lord is complete. One who is getting emanated from Lord is also complete.
Whatever is there in this universe is complete. Whatever is there in this universe and whatever emanated from this universe, whether it is this body, is also complete.
Srila Rupa Goswami mentioned this verse nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś
caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ to explain the glories of the holy names.
Lord Siva keeps on glorifying. Lord Siva keeps on talking about Bhagavad. He is not a so called bhagavad, but he is always speaking Bhagavad. Sukadev Goswami also heard Bhagavat Katha from Lord Siva, hiding in the form of a parrot.
vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ
Lord Siva is the greatest amongst the Vaisnavas. He is gunavatar also, but we appreciate him as the best of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas, best of the Vaisnavas. He is saying this again.
rāmarāmeti rāmeti rame rāme manorame|
sahastranāma tatulyaṁ rāmanāma varānane||333||
Translation:
By meditating on “Rama Rama Rama” (the Name of Rama), my mind gets absorbed in the Divine Consciousness of Rama, which is Transcendental.
The Name of Rama is as Great as the Thousand Names of God (Visnu Sahasranama). [Padma Purana]
You can keep small verses with you to remember them. Learn all these important verses. Write them some where in your diary and memorise them. In the morning while taking a bath you can remember these verses. We heard that Mahatma Gandhi stuck something on his wall while taking a bath to remember something.
What is Lord Siva saying?I take pleasure in chanting the name of Rama. Manorama means Parvati. He is addressing Lord Rama by saying Rame. In Rame(Lord Rama) , I take Rama (takes pleasure) Oh Manorama (Parvati).
I remain absorbed in Rama by chanting the name of Lord Rama. Oh Vara anane again meaning Parvati. Twice he is addressing Mata Parvati. If you chant one name of Lord Rama then it is equivalent to chanting a thousand names of Visnu.
smartavyah satatam visnur vismartavyo na jaatucit
sarve vidhi nishedh syur etayor eva kinkarah
This also is a very famous verse. This is also said in connection with the Gopis. They always continue to remember the Lord and they never forget the Lord. This is the speciality of the Gopis. Whichever rules and regulations are mentioned in the scriptures are there to remind us of this instruction only. This is what the sadhakas (practitioners of devotion) should always remember what should be done and what not should be done. Don’t commit Vaisnava offense, holy name offense. This should not be done. And what should be done? Always remember Krsna.
nama sankirtanam visnu sarva vighna nikrintanam
Translation:
Lord Visnu’s names are there to destroy all obstacles. [Gautamiya Tantra]
yatphalaṁ sarvavedānāṁ mantrāṇāṁ japata :priye!| – tatphalaṁ koṭiguṇitaṁ rāmanāmnaiva labhyate||29||
Translation:
Result obtained by studying all Vedas, million times more than that is obtained by chanting Lord’s name. [Padma Purana]
sva pan bunjatva dant tishtha utishtham ca vrajamstatha
samre davitaram vishnu mumukshur vaishnavo janah
Translation:
Vyasadev said: While dreaming, eating, talking, getting up, standing or moving in every situation, one should engage his tongue in chanting the holy names of Lord. If one has a desire to go back to godhead then they should always remember Krsna. [Padma Purana]
Like in Caitanya-caritamrita it is being said here that we should chant the Lord’s name while eating and sleeping. The ame thing is being said in Padma Purana. If one is desiring to get multiple meaning bhakti over here then one should remember Visnu or Krsna constantly.
In Ajamila katha, just as Yamadev asked his servants not to bring those who are chanting the Lord’s name, the same thing is being said over here.
yama uvāca dūtā:
smarantau tau rāmarāmanāmākṣaradvayam|
tadā na me daṇḍanīyau tau tayornārāyaṇaḥ prabhuḥ||73 ||
saṁsāre nāsti tatpāpaṁ yadrāmasmaraṇairapi|
na yāti saṁkṣayaṁ sadyo dṛḍhaṁ śrṛṇuta kiṅkarāḥ||74||
Those who are chanting Lord Rama’s name of two letters can’t be punished by me. We don’t have any right over them. Lord Narayana has full authority over them.
Therefore, listen very carefully all my servants. [Padma Purana]
Same statements which we have heard in Bhagvatam are being said over here.
sa kathaṁ brāhmaṇo yastu haribhaktivivarjitaḥ|
sa kathaṁ śvapaco yastu bhagavadbhaktimānasaḥ||4||
avyājena yadā viṣṇuḥ śvapākenā’pi pūjyate|
tadā paśyettamapyevaṁ caturvedadvijādhikam||5||
Translation
What kind of that brahmana is who is devoid of bhakti and if one dog eater is there who is performing bhakti then how can he be dog eater? [Padma Purana]
This is Padma Purana. Srila Vyasadeva said this to Jaimini Rsi.
aum apavitra: pavitro vā sarvāvasthāṁ gato’pi vā|
yaḥ smareta puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ sa brāhmābhyantara śuciḥ||
Translation
Whether one is pure or impure but one who remembers Lotus eyed Lord, that person gets purified internally and externally. [Garuda Purana]
This verse is chanted while doing acaman, performing sacrifices and in Gurukuls.
Now we will continue in the next session. If you have any realisations, comments or questions then write in the chat box. Haribol!