SB 3.33.7 – Both the Holy Name and the Chanter Are Worshipable

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. We welcome you to Sri-Sri Radha-Kalachandji, on the auspicious occasion of the beginning of Kirtan 50 and also the disappearance day of Srila Jiva Gosvami, who Srila Prabhupada has said was the greatest philosopher of all time. We shall read a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Thirty-Three, Activities of Kapila, Text seven.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 7

aho bata śva-paco ‘to garīyān

yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam

tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā

brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te

TRANSLATION

Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good manners of the Āryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas and fulfilled everything required.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As it is stated in the previous verse, a person who has once offenselessly chanted the holy name of God becomes immediately eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices. One should not be astonished by this statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One should not disbelieve or think, “How by chanting the holy name of the Lord can one become a holy man to be compared to the most elevated brāhmaṇa?” To eradicate such doubts in the minds of unbelievers, this verse affirms that the stage of chanting the holy name of the Lord is not sudden, but that the chanters have already performed all kinds of Vedic rituals and sacrifices. It is not very astounding, for no one in this life can chant the holy name of the Lord unless he has passed all lower stages, such as performing the Vedic ritualistic sacrifices, studying the Vedas and practicing good behavior like that of the Āryans. All this must first have been done. Just as a student in a law class is to be understood to have already graduated from general education, anyone who is engaged in the chanting of the holy name of the Lord — Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare — must have already passed all lower stages. It is said that those who simply chant the holy name with the tip of the tongue are glorious. One does not even have to chant the holy name and understand the whole procedure, namely the offensive stage, offenseless stage and pure stage; if the holy name is sounded on the tip of the tongue, that is also sufficient.

COMMENT

It’s a long purport and I will speak at intervals. So, the verse, of course, is glorifying chanters of the holy name and establishing the fact that they must have already performed so many pious activities to come to the stage of chanting the holy name. And Srila Prabhupada gives the example that if someone is in law school, it’s understood that he must have already passed through general education. And the chanting is so powerful that it acts even if one doesn’t know the whole science behind it. And Srila Prabhupada gives the example that even if one doesn’t understand the three stages of chanting; the offensive stage called nāma-aparādha, the clearing stage called nāma-ābhāsa, and the pure stage called śuddha-nāma.

But that being said, we have been given this knowledge by Srila Prabhupada, the previous acharyas and the scriptures through Srila Prabhupada, and so we should know these different stages. So, as you know, there are ten offenses against the holy name, and Srila Jiva Gosvami has cited them in the Padma Purāṇa. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that of the ten offenses, the one offense of inattention called pramāda, which is sometimes translated as madness, if one avoids that offense, in other words, if one chants attentively and hears the holy name, that will eradicate all the other offenses. And if one is inattentive while chanting, then the other offenses can flourish.

Of course, in our japa and in our kirtan, we should make every effort to hear the holy name. And when our mind wanders, which it probably will at some stage, we should bring it back to the sound of the mantra. As Bhurijana Prabhu says, “It is a battle, but that battle must be fought.” If we just allow the mind to wander here and there without any effort to control it, to engage it in the sound of the holy name, then we are committing an offense and we are missing out on the great benefit, on the nectar that we can derive from offenseless chanting of the holy name.

So, the second stage, nāma-ābhāsa, is the clearing stage. It’s sort of implied in what I said. The definition of the clearing stage is to make the consistent effort to bring the mind to the sound of the holy name. That defines the clearing stage. We should act on the platform of these. And then śuddha-nāma, the pure stage, at that point one realizes, actually, that the holy name of Krishna is Krishna and Krishna reveals Himself to the pure chanter.

There was a cartoon that Srila Prabhupada saw that he quoted sometimes. An old man and his wife were sitting together, and the wife was saying, “Chant, chant, chant,” and the husband was saying, “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” So, Srila Prabhupada cited that cartoon as an example of people’s causeless aversion to chanting the holy name. But everyone here will chant, so I would modify that instruction. Of course, “Chant, chant, chant,” but also, “Hear, hear, hear.”

PURPORT (continued)

It is said herein that nāma, a singular number, one name, Kṛṣṇa or Rāma, is sufficient. It is not that one has to chant all the holy names of the Lord. The holy names of the Lord are innumerable, and one does not have to chant all the names to prove that he has already undergone all the processes of Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. If one chants once only, it is to be understood that he has already passed all the examinations, not to speak of those who are chanting always, twenty-four hours a day.

COMMENT

So, in the Upadeśāmṛta, The Nectar of Instruction, Srila Rupa Gosvami describes different levels of devotees and how we should approach them. And if someone chants the holy name only once, as stated in The Nectar of Instruction, he is considered to be the best of all people, and he should be offered respect. This is also important. I mean, as we become more pure, it becomes more natural that we should respect the other chanters, other devotees. Disrespecting them or criticizing them, sādhu-nindā, is, sometimes Srila Prabhupada said, the worst offense against the holy name. So, we definitely want to avoid that.

Again, Bhurijana Prabhu, he conducted a seminar on the holy names, and he gave the. . . It went over some days, and he gave the students some homework. The homework consisted of two items; to chant with attention, to monitor their chanting, and to avoid criticizing Vaishnavas.

So, the next morning he asked the students for a report on their homework assignments, and one lady said that she had resolved not to criticize Vaishnavas, but somehow, the company she was in indulged in criticizing, and she heard it and participated. Bhurijana Prabhu replied, “Well, you have two choices.” Oh yeah, she said it was in the environment, the criticism. So, Bhurijana Prabhu said, “You have two choices: one is to change the environment.” And he said, “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 a way, by these discussions, we are trying to change at least some of the environment. “Or you dissociate yourself from that environment.”

It is necessary that we don’t fall into that situation where we are hearing blasphemy of devotees, because hearing an offense is also an offense. But anyway, I’m sure this is not very necessary to say to this audience, but still, just to be complete in the discussion.

PURPORT (continued)

If one chants once only, it is to be understood that he has already passed all the examinations, not to speak of those who are chanting always, twenty-four hours a day.

COMMENT

So, that should be our goal, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, always be chanting, in one way or another. In other words, always engaged in Krishna consciousness.

PURPORT (continued)

It is specifically said here, tubhyam: “unto You only.” One must chant God’s name, not, as the Māyāvādī philosophers say, any name, such as a demigod’s name or the names of God’s energies. Only the holy name of the Supreme Lord will be effective. Anyone who compares the holy name of the Supreme Lord to the names of the demigods is called pāṣaṇḍī, or an offender.

COMMENT

So, that is one of the offenses, to consider the holy name of Lord Vishnu to be equal to or independent of the names of the demigods. This is something that as devotees we know. We know the difference between the Supreme Lord and the demigods, but when we chant in venues like yoga studios, sometimes the participants don’t know. And of course, there might be a little concern that if we speak the truth, people might think that we are sectarian, but the thing is that if they don’t know the difference, then they’ll be committing offenses of chanting. So, in our own way, we do need to speak the truth to save them from offenses.

There was a weekly magazine in India called The Illustrated Weekly, very popular, like Life magazines used to be in the old days in America. The editor was Khushwant Singh, who was a demon, and he published an article in which an Austrian sannyasi, a Mayavadi named Agehananda Bharati, described his debate with our Hridayananda dasa Goswami. And Khushwant Singh titled the article, Hare Krishna vs Shiva Shiva to really make us all look foolish, like children arguing who’s supreme. So, I wrote that analysis to Srila Prabhupada, and he said, “Yes, you are right. Bharati is a fool, but Singh is a demon.” So, people who think like that are pāṣaṇḍī, offenders or, in a way, atheists. Now, here is a very important point, MadhavaPrabhu makes this point many times, so please note carefully.

PURPORT (continued)

The holy name has to be chanted to please the Supreme Lord, and not for any sense gratification or professional purpose. If this pure mentality is there, then even though a person is born of a low family, such as a dog-eater’s, he is so glorious that not only has he purified himself, but he is quite competent to deliver others.

COMMENT

So, we have a great responsibility as chanters of the holy name.

PURPORT (continued)

He is competent to speak on the importance of the transcendental name, just as Ṭhākura Haridāsa did. He was apparently born in a family of Muhammadans, but because he was chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord offenselessly, Lord Caitanya empowered him to become the authority, or ācārya, of spreading the name. It did not matter that he was born in a family which was not following the Vedic rules and regulations. Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Advaita Prabhu accepted him as an authority because he was offenselessly chanting the name of the Lord. Authorities like Advaita Prabhu and Lord Caitanya immediately accepted that he had already performed all kinds of austerities, studied the Vedas and performed all sacrifices. That is automatically understood.

COMMENT

So, nāmācārya Srila Haridasa Thakura ki jaya! Haridasa Thakura is very important for us as the nāmācārya, not only because of his example of chanting as such, but because he is an example of someone born in a low family who became completely pure in chanting. And almost all of us were born. . . I mean, in Kali-yuga practically every family is a low family, so this is very encouraging, that even born in a low family of Muhammadans or dog-eaters one can be purified just by chanting the holy name.

PURPORT (continued)

There is a hereditary class of brāhmaṇas called the smārta-brāhmaṇas, however, who are of the opinion that even if such persons who are chanting the holy name of the Lord are accepted as purified, they still have to perform the Vedic rites or await their next birth in a family of brāhmaṇas so that they can perform the Vedic rituals.

COMMENT

I actually met someone like that when I was in Madras. He knew the philosophy in a way, and he said, “You are a Vaishnava, and Vaishnavas are higher than brahmans, but you are not a brahman. To become a brahman, you have to wait till the next life.” They think like that. But Srila Prabhupada says;

PURPORT (continued)

But actually that is not the case. Such a man does not need to wait for the next birth to become purified. He is at once purified. It is understood that he has already performed all sorts of rites. It is the so-called brāhmaṇas who actually have to undergo different kinds of austerities before reaching that point of purification. There are many other Vedic performances which are not described here. All such Vedic rituals have been already performed by the chanters of the holy name.

COMMENT

Whatever it is, the ones mentioned here; bathing, visiting holy places, performing sacrifice, and the ones not mentioned.

PURPORT (continued)

The word juhuvuḥ means that the chanters of the holy name have already performed all kinds of sacrifices. Sasnuḥ means that they have already traveled to all the holy places of pilgrimage and taken part in purificatory activities at those places. They are called āryāḥ because they have already finished all these requirements, and therefore they must be among the Āryans or those who have qualified themselves to become Āryans. Āryan refers to those who are civilized, whose manners are regulated according to the Vedic rituals. Any devotee who is chanting the holy name of the Lord is the best kind of Āryan.

COMMENT

Now, one point about a chanter or a devotee is, coming back to the point of criticism or blasphemy or sādhu-nindā, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses different grounds on which one might think one is justified in criticizing a devotee. And he explains that none of those grounds justifies criticizing a devotee. So, one ground is sinful activities performed in a devotee’s past life, earlier life. If you criticize a devotee for his sinful activities prior performed to coming into the association of devotees and taking up chanting, that is an offense, sādhu-nindā.

Another offense is to criticize a devotee for lingering traces of sinful activity. So, it may happen that one comes to the association of devotees and takes up chanting and is determined not to engage in sinful activities, but due to force of past habit or bad association, one may temporarily fall down. And to criticize a devotee for lingering traces of sinful activities is considered an offense, sādhu-nindā. It is not grounds to criticize a devotee. And in the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says;

api cet su-durācāro

bhajate mām ananya-bhāk

sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ

samyag vyavasito hi saḥ

That even if one engages in the most abominable activity, he is still considered a sadhu if he is rightly situated in devotional service. And in this context, rightly situated means accepting Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and serving Him. So, we should avoid this sādhu-nindā at any cost.

Now, sometimes a devotee is in position where he or she has to correct someone, and in the process, he might have to point out the person’s fault. Or one may want to warn an innocent devotee of the pitfalls of a certain type of misbehavior, and to warn the devotee, give the example of a devotee who suffered because of that misbehavior. So, if the purpose is only to instruct and there is no malice or envy or enmity or vindictiveness, then under those circumstances, one may point out the misbehavior in a devotee. But only in that mood and only as far as required and not more. But as a rule, it’s really our duty as teachers or guides to instruct someone in those matters. We should just avoid criticizing devotees.

PURPORT (continued)

Any devotee who is chanting the holy name of the Lord is the best kind of Āryan. Unless one studies the Vedas, one cannot become an Āryan, but it is automatically understood that the chanters have already studied all the Vedic literature. The specific word used here is anūcuḥ, which means that because they have already completed all those recommended acts, they have become qualified to be spiritual masters.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada has also written that any Vaishnava is a guru, the actual Vaishnava.

PURPORT (continued)

The very word gṛṇanti, which is used in this verse, means to be already established in the perfectional stage of ritualistic performances. If one is seated on the bench of a high court and is giving judgment on cases, it means that he has already passed all legal exams and is better than those who are engaged in the study of law or those expecting to study law in the future. In a similar way, persons who are chanting the holy name are transcendental to those who are factually performing the Vedic rituals and those who expect to be qualified (or, in other words, those who are born in families of brāhmaṇas but have not yet undergone the reformatory processes and who therefore expect to study the Vedic rituals and perform the sacrifices in the future).

COMMENT

So, as Krishna says, guna and karma, one’s position is determined by guna, quality, and karma, activity, not jamna, birth. So, a Vaishnava who is chanting the holy names is a brahman and more than a brahman. And our grandfather spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, began the practice of awarding the sacred thread to devotees not born in brahman families, just to establish the fact and remove any doubts in the mind of others that being Vaishnavas, they are not brahmans or less than brahmans, or as that person in Madras told me, “More than brahmans, but not brahmans.” And still following Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, Srila Prabhupada. We do that, we award the sacred thread to devotees who have been first initiated into the chanting of the holy names, that have been steady for at least six months or a year, and then they can be awarded the brahminical initiation.

Two days ago was the fiftieth anniversary of my second initiation (Haribol!). And so, I looked up the talk he gave on that occasion. There were first initiations and second, but similar ideas recognizing the devotee’s purification from the chanting of the holy names that he is given the second initiation.

PURPORT (continued)

There are many Vedic statements in different places saying that anyone who chants the holy name of the Lord becomes immediately freed from conditional life and that anyone who hears the holy name of the Lord, even though born of a family of dog-eaters, also becomes liberated from the clutches of material entanglement.

COMMENT

So, this is another point or argument, which is that one is born in a particular family because of his past pious or sinful activities. So, we can say that because of one’s sinful activities one is born in a low family. And because of one’s pious activities, one is born in a higher family, say a family of brahmans. But the chanting of the holy name frees one from sinful reactions, and therefore, the sinful reactions that caused “one’s lower birth” no longer operate on a devotee who chants the holy name. And so, it’s offensive to see devotees in terms of their birth, criticize devotees, even in the mind, because of their birth, because their chanting has freed them from the sinful reactions that obliged them to take that lower birth. So, the conclusion is that all chanters of the holy name are worshipable, and so we should worship them and the holy name simultaneously. Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Are there any questions or comments? Yes, Dharma Prabhu?

Devotee: Thank you for a wonderful class, Maharaja, and congratulations on your fifty years of your second initiation. [applause] When I look at myself, I see how hard, how difficult are the anarthas that I’m trying to overcome, and it seems like other devotees, other people are born more inclined not to criticize. Should I expect that unless I can overcome this critical tendency that I’m pretty much going to take another birth, or can I expect Lord Chaitanya to help me, sort of give me a pass? [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: Well, apart from you being held back from going back to Godhead by criticizing, how do you feel? How does your heart feel when you criticize? If it feels good, you are in trouble. [laughter] But if it doesn’t feel good, which is probably the case, then it’s just a matter of practice. As Srila Prabhupada said, “Practice makes perfect, even in spiritual life.”

Once, I was present when someone asked His Holiness Radhanath Swami about his being so humble, and he said in the beginning he had to practice, acting like someone who’s humble, and then by that practice, the feeling came. So, a lot of Krishna consciousness is like that. Even our godbrother Gargamuni Prabhu, very early in his coming to Srila Prabhupada, he said to Srila Prabhupada, “I see these devotees, they offer obeisances to you, but it hasn’t come in my heart that I should offer obeisances. The feeling is not there.” Srila Prabhupada said, “But still, you should offer obeisances and that feeling will come.” Any other questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: So, one just very sad comment before my question. When I was on the altar the other day, Mahaprabhu, I was looking at his first book, and he had this verse and said “Yes, this is a verse I’m memorizing, this exact verse for class.” So, very nice. My question is, you mentioned about sometimes when chanting at yoga studios or whatever they have, they see us as sectarian. I wonder if you would comment on that. Are we sectarian? Did Prabhupada see us as the sectarian process?

Giriraj Swami: Of course, we are not sectarian. What I said or meant to say was that when devotees go into a yoga studio, not wanting to be seen as sectarian, they might chant some mantras, I don’t know, to Ganesh or Shiva. I’m not in the field directly so I can’t really say with great authority, but it strikes me as dangerous because of the participants coming with the impression that they are all on the same level; Krishna, Shiva, or Ganesh. But we have many varieties of names of Krishna that we can chant. Govinda jaya jaya Gopal jaya jaya, which Srila Prabhupada chanted. Sita Rama Sita Rama! Jaya Rama Sri Rama! So, I feel we have enough variety within our repertoire that we don’t have to chant the names of demigods. Other questions or comments?

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja, for the wonderful class. Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. My question is, sometimes we see that people are born in the families of devotees, but they are not interested in chanting the holy name. So, how can we understand this?

Giriraj Swami: What are the choices? Well, as His Holiness Ṛtadhvaja Swami says, our children are born into the Hare Krishna movement, but they haven’t decided to join the Hare Krishna movement. So, we should deal with them as we would with anyone who we want to encourage to join, especially with family members. I always emphasize being happy. If you are happy, that is a great recommendation for Krishna consciousness. Being nice to your family members, that’s also a very good recommendation. If they see you are happy and you are nice to them, then they’ll be inclined.

I don’t know how old the children are, but there are programs like the bus tour. Have you heard about the bus tour? I heard that had a very transformative effect on many young devotees who’ve joined it, and as a result, they’ve taken up the practice of chanting, which they didn’t have before the bus tour. Sometimes it’s harder for family members to take instruction from other family members because of the dynamics within the family, but if those children can be in a situation, especially with other children of their age where there is chanting and service and happy mood, they can come around. It has a lot of such programs, which could be helpful.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Nityananda Prabhu?

Devotee: I was thinking about. . . Just as  a point there, often there is the example that is the issue, not so much the other person. If I am not really interested in chanting Hare Krishna, I’m not so much really into the chanting process like the verse says and how Srila Prabhupada describes in the purport, then it’s hard for me to convince somebody else. And actually, there is no need for conviction, really, convincing somebody else. If I am really good in my chanting, automatically, somebody associating will feel it. The feeling, it’s contagious, it’s really contagious. So, I think we need to look at ourselves and say, as parents, how good we are, how engaged we are in the chanting process, how attentive, like you are saying. I think we have to ask ourselves that question, I think, before you ask my children this or my children that.

I feel it’s very strong for us to really take note of our own progress in chanting. And then, actually, I think the children will come around at the right time. It’s not always the case that someone’s going to do something at a certain age, there is no particular age at which one starts chanting. It’s going to happen when the Lord allows us because chanting doesn’t have the Lord actually permitting the chanting anyway. So, leave it to the Lord, and like He says, “Leave the result to Me.” My duty is that I should be Krishna conscious and then Krishna will allow the children to become Krishna conscious when He feels it’s the right time for them so that they’ll love Him with all of their heart and soul.

Giriraj Swami: Nice, thank you. Yes, Badra Hari das Prabhu?

Devotee: So at least for myself I have been performing  Vedic scarifies and rituals in  Los Angeles . I guess it’s presumed that in the last life we did those things or is it just that whether or not those things are done for change surpasses?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, it’s generally understood you would have done those in your past life. There is one thing about the children. We had some families visit us at my ashram in Carpinteria in which the children became devotees, they were young adults. And we asked both the parents and the children what they did, and one of the parents was Sesha Prabhu and Madhumati Mataji, and they said they did everything themselves, but they didn’t tell their children to do anything. And when we asked the children, they said basically the same thing from the other side, that they were very inspired by their parents’ example, they appreciated that their parents didn’t force anything. Okay, Srila Prabhupada ki jaya, gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ki jaya!

Devotees: Srila Giriraj Maharaja ki jaya!

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.