SB 2.1.11

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. We welcome you to today’s Sunday festival and feast. We shall read a very important verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one of the most important, so please listen attentively. Please repeat after me.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

etan nirvidyamānānām

icchatām akuto-bhayam

yogināṁ nṛpa nirṇītaṁ

harer nāmānukīrtanam

TRANSLATION

O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.

COMMENT

So the different categories mentioned in the verse basically cover everyone; those who are desirous of material enjoyment, those who are free from all desires, and those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge. So if you think about it you will probably find that you have fit in one of those categories, I won’t say which, or maybe a combination of two categories. But you are included and therefore this verse is meant for you. This good advice is meant for you. Now we read the purport by Srila Prabhupada.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In the previous verse, the great necessity for attaining attachment to Mukunda has been accredited. 

COMMENT

Who is Mukunda? Krishna. Yes, Krishna the giver of liberation.

PURPORT (continued)

There are different types of persons who desire to attain success in different varieties of pursuits. Generally the persons are materialists who desire to enjoy the fullest extent of material gratification. Next to them are the transcendentalists, who have attained perfect knowledge about the nature of material enjoyment and thus are aloof from such an illusory way of life.

COMMENT

What does illusory mean? Not real. Yes, like an illusion or very fleeting, temporary.

PURPORT (continued)

More or less, they are satisfied in themselves by self-realization. Above them are the devotees of the Lord, who neither aspire to enjoy the material world nor desire to get out of it. They are after the satisfaction of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

This is a very important point, that ordinary materialistic people want to enjoy the material world. But when they are somewhat frustrated and baffled in their attempts, and consequently awakened or enlightened about the real nature of the material world, they want to get out of it. But the devotees of the Lord neither want to enjoy it or escape it, because both of those desires are selfish and devotees, pure devotees have no selfish desires. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta says, bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī — sakali ‘aśānta’, kṛṣṇa-bhakta — niṣkāma, ataeva ‘śānta’ bhukti—the desire for material enjoyment; mukti, the desire for liberation from the material world; and siddhi, the desire for mystic perfection and yoga. They are all selfish desires and only a devotee is free from selfish desires, and consequently only a devotee is peaceful. So everyone wants peace and as Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā, “Without peace where is the question of happiness?” So we need peace. We want happiness and that is possible only when we give up these different types of selfish desires. So here in the purport, Srila Prabhupada is explaining how devotees are different from the other categories of people who have selfish desires either to enjoy the material world or to escape it.

PURPORT (continued) 

In other words, the devotees of the Lord do not want anything on their personal account. If the Lord desires, the devotees can accept all sorts of material facilities, and if the Lord does not desire this, the devotees can leave aside all sorts of facilities, even up to the limit of salvation.

COMMENT

So we have the example of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, guide, and friend, and the Founder Acharya of ISKCON. And he said of himself that Krishna tested him in two ways. First, Krishna tested him by taking everything away from him. That is a history that is interesting but we may not discuss now because of time constraints. But first, Krishna tested him by taking everything away and then Krishna tested him by giving him everything. And the test is whether we will forget Krishna, whether we will make some other arrangement for our happiness outside of Krishna’s satisfaction. So sometimes it happens, we start out on the path of bhakti with the desire to please Krishna. But then if Krishna takes everything away from us we might think, Oh well, here is Krishna and now here is everything else over there, maybe I better leave Krishna and go over there and get all the other things that I want. Or it could happen the other way, that Krishna gives you everything and you think, Well now I have everything I don’t need Krishna, let me enjoy. So these are both tests and these tests may appear in grosser or more subtle ways, and when we choose Krishna over everything else then we pass the test. 

One of Srila Prabhupada’s great disciples, His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja, gave a talk in Juhu, Mumbai. And he was saying how we are always being tested, whether we will remember Krishna or forget Him, and I just mentioned some of the ways in which we can be tested. There are so many ways; and then he said the ultimate test is the time of death. All these other tests are like practice for the final exam, which is the time of death, whether we will be able to remember Krishna at the time of death because if we can remember Krishna, then we pass life’s final exam and we go to Krishna just to serve Krishna. 

There is a nice statement that Srila Prabhupada made which I will quote. It is about the quality of our chanting being tested at the time of death, I will paraphrase it. So Srila Prabhupada was saying that we should [audio interrupted]. . . a parrot can learn the words and chant “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna.” When the cat comes and pounces on the parrot, and in other words when death comes for us, there is no more “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,” they are like, “Paw, paw”. So Srila Prabhupada was saying our chanting shouldn’t be like that, like a parrot, and then when the real trouble comes—like “paw,” but it should come from deep within the heart; that our attachment for the holy name and faith in the holy name should be that deep and that is strong. Now how do we develop that? So, 

PURPORT (continued) 

In this verse, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommends the transcendental chanting of the holy name of the Lord. By offenseless chanting and hearing of the holy name of the Lord, one becomes acquainted with the transcendental form of the Lord, and then with the attributes of the Lord, and then with the transcendental nature of His pastimes, etc. Here it is mentioned that one should constantly chant the holy name of the Lord after hearing it from authorities.

COMMENT

So this small word anu, which is a prefix, is very significant and it has two meanings; one is to follow, like we are followers of Rupa Gosvami. So we are rūpānugas, and another meaning is always or constantly. So in Srila Prabhupada’s beautiful translation of the Sanskrit, he incorporates all the elements in a very concise and poetic way, and so this anu is rendered constant chanting of the holy name, following the ways of the authorities. So what does it mean to follow the ways of the authorities? So,

PURPORT (continued) 

This process is recommended not only for the successful execution of devotional service, but also even for those who are materially attached.

COMMENT

So I don’t know if there is anyone in this exalted group who Is materially attached but, if there are any of you here, this is a way that you can be successful. There is also a way for you to be successful. 

PURPORT (continued) 

According to Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, this way of attaining success is an established fact, concluded not only by him but also by all other previous ācāryas. 

COMMENT

And that is true. 

PURPORT (continued) 

Therefore, there is no need of further evidence. The process is recommended not only for the progressive students in different departments of ideological success, but also for those who are already successful in their achievement as fruitive workers, as philosophers or as devotees of the Lord.

COMMENT

If you want to become successful, this is for you; hari-nāma anukirtanam. If you are already successful, this is also for you because you become more successful. Srila Jiva Gosvami, anu, following the ways of the great authorities, Jiva Gosvami is one of the great authorities.

PURPORT (continued) 

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī instructs that chanting of the holy name of the Lord should be loudly done, and it should be performed offenselessly as well, as recommended in the Padma Purāṇa. One can deliver himself from the effects of all sins by surrendering himself unto the Lord. 

COMMENT

In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Krishna says: 

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

If you surrender to Krishna He will free you from all sins, He will relieve you of all sinful reactions. And in fact the desire to commit sin is a type of sinful reaction.

PURPORT (continued)

One can deliver himself from the effects of all sins by surrendering himself unto the Lord. One can deliver himself from all offenses at the feet of the Lord by taking shelter of His holy name.

COMMENT

[audio interrupted] is the rule and consequently, we should avoid the offenses. But it is also true that even if you do offend the holy name you can get relief by constant chanting, really sincere earnest repentant chanting but it is better to avoid the offenses.

PURPORT (continued) 

The first offense is to vilify the great devotees who have preached about the glories of the Lord.

COMMENT

So I don’t know if we will have time to read and discuss all ten but this first one, sādhu-nindā, to criticize devotees, is very serious and it may not be much of an issue when someone is first starting to associate with devotees, but after associating with them for some time one may lose the proper perspective, which is to see them as devotees; to see that they are engaged in Krishna’s service. And one may, unfortunately, focus on their material conditioning or weaknesses or bad behavior, present-past behavior, even previous past behavior. So all of these count as offenses and so we should be very careful to avoid them. That is called sādhu-nindā. 

My godbrother Bhurijana Prabhu who has come with me to Dallas and spoken right here in the temple room but, unfortunately hasn’t come for a while, he often conducts japa retreats or seminars on chanting. So other than this first offense, there is the last offense you could say, which is called pramāda, inattention. And our previous authority, Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that if one chants with attention all the other nine offenses will be destroyed. But if one is inattentive while chanting then the other offenses flourish. 

So during one of Bhurijana Prabhu’s japa workshops, he gave his students two bits of homework. One was to see how they do in not criticizing devotees, and the other to see how they do in chanting attentively. So the next morning he asked the class how they did on their homework. So one of the devotees said that she was really trying to avoid criticizing devotees and also it is an offense. It is important to know this, sādhu-nindā, it is an offense to hear it also because hearing it you are also a party to it, so it is an offense to speak it. It is also an offense to hear it. So she reported that she was really determined not to find fault with any devotees but she couldn’t help it, it was in the environment. 

So Bhurijana Prabhu said you have two choices now. One is you can change the environment, and the other is that you cannot go along with the environment. Now if you want to change the environment, good luck, because the environment doesn’t want to change. The environment wants to criticize. Of course in our own way we are trying to change, well, influence the environment. So yes, if you want to change the environment good luck because the environment doesn’t want to change but you can change your response to it and withdraw yourself from those situations; not become implicated in them. So that is a good instruction for sure and of course, to chant attentively. Now one time [audio interrupted] greatest offense so, this is the seventh offense,

PURPORT (continued) 

The seventh offense is to commit sins intentionally on the strength of the holy name. In the scriptures it is said that one can be liberated from the effects of all sinful actions simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord.

COMMENT

And that is a fact. Pretty much every one of us, before we came to the association of devotees, did engage in sinful activities but the effects of those sins can be eradicated by offenseless chanting of the holy name; we become free. 

PURPORT (continued) 

One who takes advantage of this transcendental method and continues to commit sins on the expectation of neutralizing the effects of sins by chanting the holy name of the Lord is the greatest offender at the feet of the holy name. Such an offender cannot purify himself by any recommended method of purification. In other words, one may be a sinful man before chanting the holy name of the Lord, but after taking shelter in the holy name of the Lord and becoming immune, one should strictly restrain oneself from committing sinful acts with a hope that his method of chanting the holy name will give him protection.

COMMENT

Sometimes Srila Prabhupada gave the example of Christians who go to the church on Sunday and confess and there is a value to confessing so that is not a problem that they go to church on Sunday and confess. But the problem is that after confessing they engage in the same sins again, and then they go the next Sunday and confess. So that mentality of confessing or chanting to get free from the reactions and then engaging in the same activities again it is self-offensive and it doesn’t work. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that not only is it an offense but it doesn’t work, so you lose doubly. And then the last offense, which is related to inattention.

PURPORT (continued) 

The tenth offense is to become uninterested in the holy name of the Lord even after hearing of the transcendental nature of the holy name. The effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord is perceived by the chanter as liberation from the conception of false egoism. False egoism is exhibited by thinking oneself to be the enjoyer of the world and thinking everything in the world to be meant for the enjoyment of one’s self only. The whole materialistic world is moving under such false egoism of “I” and “mine,” but the factual effect of chanting the holy name is to become free from such misconceptions.

COMMENT

So Bhurijana Prabhu has expressed this very nicely, this sense of false ego. It is as if every one of us, all the however many billions of human beings there are on the planet plus all the other living entities and other species, it is as if every one of us is walking around and our psychology it may not be articulated so clearly, but our psychology is we want to say, “Excuse me please I have an important announcement to make. I am the center of the universe and everyone should cooperate and do exactly what I want.” And he also said that most people live life as if it were a drama, a movie, and they are the hero or heroine of it. And they see everyone else in supporting roles who are meant to exalt them in their heroic activities. 

So you can imagine every one of us is thinking, We are the hero and you all are the supporting cast. So these different dramas are not very compatible with each other because everyone is competing to be the hero and to make everyone else their supporting cast. So all these anomalies, all these discrepancies can be eliminated if we make Krishna the center because Krishna really is the center, and we are meant to cooperate for His pleasure. And if we do that then naturally, all of our relationships with each other will become harmonious because we have the same goal. We don’t have competing goals, we have the same goal which is to please Krishna and that begins by chanting. 

Bhurijana Prabhu wrote a very nice book called Japa and in that book he lists ten keys to chant good japa and the first key is to chant Hare Krishna. The first thing is you have to chant. I am reminded of a statement by His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, “The worst round you chant is better than the best round you don’t chant.” So the first step is to chant whatever it is and then perfect your chanting. Prabhupada said “Practice makes perfect, even in spiritual life.” So you begin; you chant and then you perfect it by avoiding these offenses. And some of the offenses, as you have understood, some are committed while we are chanting—like inattention, but others such as criticizing devotees are committed when we are not chanting. So we have to lead our life in such a way that we don’t commit offenses while we are chanting and when we are not chanting, and then we will get the beautiful, wonderful, fruits of chanting the holy name. Hare Krishna.

So we have a few minutes; are there any questions or comments? 

Devotee: Haribol Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Haribol.

Devotee: Thank you for the beautiful class. So sometimes unintentionally we might have a thought about another person in service, but we might not speak it. How do we, what can we do to further eliminate those thoughts that we might have? We don’t necessarily share this with anybody else but we might have a negative thought about another devotee.

Giriraj Swami: Well it can be natural that you just think of how that devotee is trying to serve guru and Krishna, but if it doesn’t come automatically and sometimes we might be distracted or misled by other features of the devotee’s character or activities, then we think of what good we can see in them. It is a very good practice. Yes, I mentioned practice makes perfect so it is also practice to see the good in others. Once I happened to be there, a devotee asked His Holiness Radhanath Swami how he became so humble and Maharaja said, “By practice.” He said, “At first you have to practice and when you practice enough it becomes. . .” [audio interrupted]. . . they disliked the most and then for one month be very nice to that person they disliked, and at the end of the month every single participant reported that they now liked that person whom previously they disliked. Now usually we think, Well, if someone is nice to me I like them, but this experiment showed that if you are nice to someone you will like them. So that is good; our liking them doesn’t depend on them, it depends so that. Oh, it is time for one more question.

Devotee: Maharaja in the purport Srila Prabhupada mentioned, it is the ninth offense, audience the act is considered to be an offense at the feet of the holy name but many times [audio interrupted] and this one, 

Giriraj Swami: Well this offense translated, there is one conversation between Srila Prabhupada and a professor in Stockholm, Sweden and one of Prabhupada’s disciples started to preach about the glories of the holy name, [audio interrupted] development, faith based on logic and reason and argument. I had my own experience with my father. I mentioned this once. So we were on a flight from Delhi to Srinagar, Kashmir and Srila Prabhupada had written a book, the first book actually, Easy Journey to Other Planets, and in that book he used scientific terminology [audio interrupted]. I said that by other types of yoga you could travel to other planets within this universe, but only by bhakti-yoga, by chanting Hare Krishna, could you travel beyond this universe to the spiritual world. 

So when I said that to him, the way he looked at me, if you just. . . I mean the way I said it to you because you have faith it might all seem very logical and sensible, but if you put yourself in his position like “Oh yes, by yoga you can travel to other planets in the universe and then by bhakti-yoga, by chanting, you can travel beyond the universe.” So he looked at me like he didn’t say it but I could just see his expression that, Son I thought you were crazy before but now I have no doubt, now it is completely confirmed, and then I realized I had committed that offense. I was preaching the glories of the holy name to someone who didn’t have faith and that is an offense because they will think that you are imagining it, you are exaggerating it, you are leading them to commit offenses. So that is an offense on your part. . . [audio interrupted]. . . miss something that could balance that. Good question. 

Devotee: His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya.