CC Madhya 15.108, 17.133 – Japa Retreat Holy Name

Giriraj Swami: So now my dear devotees, we shall speak about the holy name. I will read some verses and purports. Basically, to the effect that the holy name of Krishna is Krishna Himself. 

First, I will read a beautiful verse by Srila Rupa Gosvami, which is included in the Vigandha Madhava 115, which is the seven-act play written by Srila Rupa Gosvami, and it is quoted in Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya-līlā Chapter One Text Ninety-nine.

Let us read the translation. 

TRANSLATION

“I do not know how much nectar the two syllables ‘Kṛṣ-ṇa’ have produced. When the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is chanted, it appears to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. When that name enters the holes of the ears, we desire many millions of ears. And when the holy name dances in the courtyard of the heart, it conquers the activities of the mind, and therefore all the senses become inert.”

COMMENT

This verse reminds me of Srila Prabhupada’s explanation of the holy name, that in the material world or the relative world, the name of the thing and the thing are different. For example, if I am thirsty and I chant, “Water, water, water, water,” simply chanting it, won’t quench my thirst because the word ‘water’ and the thing ‘water’ are different. But in the spiritual realm or in the absolute realm, the name of the thing and the thing are the same. So when we chant, “Krishna Krishna, Hare Krishna,” Krishna is actually present, dancing on our tongue.

So the next verses are from the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā Chapter Seventeen, Text One Hundred and Thirty-two, One Hundred and Thirty-three, and Text One Hundred and Thirty-four. 

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda

jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda

jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda

jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

So then, CC Madhya-līlā Chapter Seventeen,

TEXT 132

deha-dehīra, nāma-nāmīra kṛṣṇe nāhi ‘bheda’
jīvera dharma — nāma-deha-svarūpe ‘vibheda’

TRANSLATION

“There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s body and Himself or between His name and Himself. But as far as the conditioned soul is concerned, one’s name is different from one’s body, from one’s original form and so on.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is herein pointing out to the brāhmaṇa that Māyāvādī philosophers cannot understand that the living entity is equal in quality with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because they do not accept this, they think that the living entity has been falsely divided from the original Brahman due to being conditioned by māyā. Māyāvādīs believe that the Absolute Truth is ultimately impersonal. When an incarnation of God or God Himself comes, they think He is covered by māyā. In other words, Māyāvādī impersonalists think that the Lord’s form is also a product of this material world. Due to a poor fund of knowledge, they cannot understand that Kṛṣṇa has no body separate from Himself. His body and Himself are both the same Absolute Truth. Not having perfect knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, such impersonalists certainly commit offenses at His lotus feet. Therefore they do not utter “Kṛṣṇa, ” the original name of the Absolute Truth.

Actually they do not believe in Kṛṣṇa but consider all these names to be material vibrations. It is a fact, however, that the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa the person are both spiritual. Everything about Kṛṣṇa is transcendental, blissful and objective. For a conditioned soul, the body is different from the soul, and the name given by the father is also different from the soul. The conditioned living entity’s identification with material objects keeps him from attaining his actual position. Although he is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, he acts differently. The svarūpa, or actual identification of the living entity, is described by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’. 

COMMENT

This is CC Madhya-līlā 20:108.

PURPORT (continued) 

The conditioned soul has forgotten the real activities of his original position. However, this is not the case with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa’s name and His person are identical. There is no such thing as māyā Kṛṣṇa because Kṛṣṇa is not a product of the material creation. There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s body and His soul. Kṛṣṇa is simultaneously both soul and body. The distinction between body and soul applies to conditioned souls. The body of the conditioned soul is different from the soul, and the conditioned soul’s name is different from his body. One may be named Mr. John, but if we call for Mr. John, Mr. John may never actually appear. However, if we utter the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is immediately present on our tongue. In the Padma Purāṇa, Kṛṣṇa says, mad-bhaktā yatra gāyanti tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada: “O Nārada, I am present wherever My devotees are chanting.” When the devotees chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa — Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare — Lord Kṛṣṇa is immediately present.

COMMENT

The next verse is quoted from the Padma-Purana. It is a very important verse and famous verse.

TEXT 133

nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś

caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ

pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto

’bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ

TRANSLATION

“The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical.”

COMMENT

So my dear devotees, when we chant the holy name, we are in the presence of Krishna. And, so we should be very alert and attentive and worshipful and prayerful. And we can understand that the holy name of Krishna is transcendental because we can chant it hour after hour, day after day, year after year, and never get tired of chanting it. Whereas other things, other words, if we chant them again and again, we become sick of them, tired of them.

Once, Srila Prabhupada gave a talk at the Harvard Divinity School. This was during the two week or so that he was in Boston, after I first met him and the devotees. And after his talk, he took questions, as usual, and the students at Harvard were quite bright. Many hands shot up and different students asked questions. One student proposed, “You are saying we should repeat Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. But couldn’t you repeat anything like, ‘one, two, and three’ and get the same result?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Of course, that is not possible. But if you want, you can try counting, and when you get tired of counting you can try chanting.” And all the students laughed.

Now I will read CC Madhya-līlā 15.108

PURPORT

When one is situated on the absolute platform, one can understand that the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself are identical. At that stage of realization, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, cannot be identified with any material sound. If one accepts the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra as a material vibration, he falls down. One should worship and chant the holy name of the Lord by accepting it as the Lord Himself. One should therefore be initiated properly according to revealed scriptures under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. Although chanting the holy name is good for both the conditioned and liberated soul, it is especially beneficial to the conditioned soul because by chanting it one is liberated. When a person who chants the holy name is liberated, he attains the ultimate perfection by returning home, back to Godhead. In the words of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 7.73):

kṛṣṇa-mantra haite habe saṁsāra-mocana

kṛṣṇa-nāma haite pābe kṛṣṇera caraṇa

It means that by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one becomes liberated by the world of samsara and one attains the lotus feet of Krishna. Then, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.16.39.

The fact is that if one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, although he may have many material desires, he becomes increasingly attracted to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa through associating with the Supreme Lord by chanting His holy name. The Supreme Lord and His holy name are identical. Thus he becomes uninterested in attachment to material enjoyment. The perfection of life is to be uninterested in material enjoyment and interested in Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

So, in all of our temples, after maṅgala-ārati, before japa, the devotees read the list of the ten offenses against the holy name, from The Nectar of Devotion. And Srila Prabhupada instituted this practice because just reciting these ten offenses, as given in the Padma-Purana, one is purified. And also, if one is conscious of what the ten offenses are, one can make a conscious effort to avoid them.

So, here it says that the Supreme Lord and his holy name are identical. Thus, the chanter becomes uninterested in attachment to material enjoyment. So in the list of ten offenses, the last offense is—To not have complete faith in the holy name and to maintain material attachments even after understanding so many instructions about the matter. 

So, it is not an offense to have material attachments, it is an anartha, not an offense. But what is an offense, is to maintain material attachments even while chanting because the whole idea of chanting, as mentioned here, is to become uninterested in material enjoyment and interested in Krishna. 

Often, after the devotees read the list of ten offenses, they add that there is an offence to be inattentive while chanting. 

The Sanskrit language is such that it can be divided in different ways and the way Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura divides the Sanskrit, he derives inattention as the ninth offence. He says, “If one is inattentive while chanting, all the other offenses can flourish and if one is attentive while chanting, all the other offenses will be eradicated.” So, chanting attentively is most important. 

So, now we read Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 15,

TEXT 106

prabhu kahe, — “yāṅra mukhe śuni eka-bāra
kṛṣṇa-nāma, sei pūjya, — śreṣṭha sabākāra”

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “Whoever chants the holy name of Kṛṣṇa just once is worshipable and is the topmost human being.

PURPORT

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that a person who simply chants the holy name of Kṛṣṇa once becomes perfect and should be regarded as a Vaiṣṇava. This is confirmed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Upadeśāmṛta (5): kṛṣṇeti yasya giri taṁ manasādriyeta. With such faith in the holy name one may begin a life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But an ordinary person cannot chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa with such faith. One should accept the holy name of Kṛṣṇa to be identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Transcendence Himself. As the Padma Purāṇa states, “The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is identical with Kṛṣṇa and is like a cintāmaṇi gem, a touchstone. That name is Kṛṣṇa personified in sound and is therefore perfectly transcendental and eternally liberated from material contamination.” Thus one should understand that the name “Kṛṣṇa” and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical. Having such faith, one must continue to chant the holy name.

COMMENT

There are some nice verses in glorification of the holy name, the transcendental attributes, and the effects of the holy name. Of course, we have the first verse of the Śikṣāṣṭakam.

The Sanskrit is beautiful but for the sake of time, I will read the translation.

TRANSLATION

“Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.”

COMMENT

Now, one of the ten offenses is to consider the glories of chanting Hare Krishna to be imagination. One might hear such descriptions and consider them to be imagination or at least exaggeration. And the solution to the offense or to avoiding that offense is to actually experience the glories of chanting. 

That was one of the motivations of my dear godbrother, His Holiness Sacinandana Swami, in conducting his japa retreats and I had the opportunity to facilitate some japa retreats with him, and that is, as he says in his inimitable German accent, that the devotees are suffering from a kind of schizophrenia because our motto is to chant and be happy, and they chant but they are not happy. The reason why they are not happy is because they do not chant properly. Therefore, he undertook these japa retreats and workshops so that devotees could overcome their schizophrenia and actually chant and be happy. 

Then, the next verse of the Śikṣāṣṭakam

TEXT 2

nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis
tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ
etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi
durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ

TRANSLATION

O My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as “Kṛṣṇa” and “Govinda,” by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.

COMMENT

So this verse, you could say, contains two striking opposites. One is tava kṛpā. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, as a devotee, is appreciating the Lord’s mercy by manifesting himself as the holy name, tava kṛpā. But- durdaiva, I am so unfortunate that I have no attachment for the chanting.

I don’t know about you but I am being very inspired and enlivened by reading these verses glorifying the holy name. 

The next one is by Srila Rupa Gosvami, Padyāvalī Twenty-nine, and it appears in CC Madhya-līlā Chapter Fifteen, Text 110. I will just read the translation.

TRANSLATION

‘The holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa is an attractive feature for many saintly, liberal people. It is the annihilator of all sinful reactions and is so powerful that, save for the dumb who cannot chant it, it is readily available to everyone, including the lowest type of man, the caṇḍāla. The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is the controller of the opulence of liberation, and it is identical with Kṛṣṇa. When a person simply chants the holy name with his tongue, immediate effects are produced. Chanting the holy name does not depend on initiation, pious activities or the puraścaryā regulative principles generally observed before initiation. The holy name does not wait for any of these activities. It is self-sufficient.’

COMMENT

So, that is some of the power and glory of the holy name. Although, we did read earlier that one should be initiated by a bona fide spiritual master. 

This next one is from the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta by Srila Sanatana Gosvami

TEXT

jayati jayati nāmānanda-rūpaṁ murārer

viramita-nija-dharma-dhyāna-pūjādi-yatnam

katham api sakṛd āttaṁ mukti-daṁ prāṇināṁ yat

paramam amṛtam ekaṁ jīvanaṁ bhūṣaṇaṁ me

TRANSLATION

All glories, all glories to the all-blissful holy name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, which causes the devotee to give up all conventional religious duties, meditation and worship. When somehow or other uttered even once by a living entity, the holy name awards him liberation. The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is the highest nectar. It is my very life and my only treasure.

COMMENT

I am not sure how much time we have here.

Devotee: Maharaja, you can go on for another ten minutes and then we will have questions.

Giriraj Swami: Alright, because there are a lot of quotations that I have compiled, about the glories of the holy name. 

Devotee: Alright, you can have a few more quotations and then you can take questions because many devotees are eager to ask some questions.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, alright. 

So then the next one is from the Namastakam, Verse One by Srila Rupa Gosvami. This is recited in CC Antya-līlā 4.71. For the sake of time, I will just read the translation.

TRANSLATION

O Hari-nāma! The tips of the toes of Your lotus feet

COMMENT

You see, the holy name has lotus feet and the feet has toes and the toes have tips.

TRANSLATION

O Hari-nāma! The tips of the toes of Your lotus feet are constantly being worshiped by the glowing radiance emanating from the string of gems known as the Upaniṣads, the crown jewels of all the Vedas. You are eternally adored by liberated souls such as Nārada and Śukadeva. O Hari-nāma! I take complete shelter of You.

COMMENT

And, then from Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 2.1.103 by Srila Rupa Gosvami, cited in C.C Anya-līlā 3.62

TRANSLATION

O reservoir of all good qualities, just worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the purifier of all purifiers, the most exalted of the personalities worshiped by choice poetry. Worship Him with a faithful, unflinching mind, without duplicity and in a highly elevated manner. Thus worship the Lord, whose name is like the sun, for just as a slight appearance of the sun dissipates the darkness of night, so a slight appearance of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa can drive away all the darkness of ignorance that arises in the heart due to greatly sinful activities performed in previous lives.

COMMENT

And then, I will conclude with this one, though there are many. 

It is very nice. This is CC Ādi-līlā 8.26

TEXT

‘eka’ kṛṣṇa-nāme kare sarva-pāpa nāśa
premera kāraṇa bhakti karena prakāśa

TRANSLATION

Simply chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra without offenses vanquishes all sinful activities. Thus pure devotional service, which is the cause of love of Godhead, becomes manifest.

COMMENT

Jaya! Sri Harinama Prabhu ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Devotee: Jaya! Thank you so much Maharaja for your wonderful association. Now, we have a list of questions that devotees would like to ask. We would like to begin with His Grace Gauranga Priya Prabhu.

Gauranga Priya Prabhu (edited): Hare Krishna Maharaja. Please accept our humble obeisance. Maharaja, thank you so much. The way you are describing from different translations and verses and the relish with which you are reading it, that itself is so inspiring. The way each word is full of so much nectar. 

So, first question is that we see how the holy name is so full of nectar. Now, Haridasa Thakura, when Mahaprabhu goes to him and asks what is wrong with him, it is described that he said that his mind and intelligence are not okay because he was not able to chant properly. So, one situation is he is sick or he is old from a physical platform. 

So, when the body becomes old it is seen that the devotees who have been chanting from a long time, find it difficult to chant. For example- while chanting they go to sleep or sometimes, some devotees have shared, that when they are really sick, they just move their hands on their beads. Physical sickness is a reality. So, when the body becomes old, how to understand if somebody is struggling in chanting because of the offenses committed or because their body has genuine challenges? Is it a place for self-compassion or is it always, “I am not able to chant because I am offending”? How to balance these two?

Giriraj Swami: Well, we are meant to chant in all circumstances and ultimately at the time of death. I was with Srila Prabhupada during his last weeks, days, and hours. At the time of death, he moved his mouth and said, “Hare Krishna,” and then he left. 

Srila Prabhupada said, “Practice makes a man perfect even in spiritual life.” So, we have to practice chanting in all circumstances. The example of Haridasa Thakura is quite extraordinary. That was the pastime that took place just before the nāmācārya left his body. 

But, it may be that due to sickness, one is not able to chant. Some years ago, I had cardiac bypass surgery and for some days I couldn’t chant. After the surgery, although I could chant some, I still couldn’t chant sixteen rounds, so I started falling more rounds behind. Eventually, I had sixty-three days of rounds behind, which means sixty-three times sixteen (63*16) rounds behind. But I had kept track and eventually I made them up. 

Srila Prabhupada has given that advice in The Nectar of Devotion, that if you miss your rounds one day, you can make them up the next day. In my case, I couldn’t make them up the next day but I did keep track and eventually, I did make them up. So, we should do that as a rule. You should do that as a rule. 

The way you phrased it, ‘self-compassion and offenses,’ I don’t know if I would phrase it quite like that, but I would phrase it using the terminology Srila Rupa Gosvami gave in the Upadeśāmṛta—utsāhān niścayād dhairyāt. Utsāhān means enthusiasm. Dhairyāt means patience. Srila Prabhupada said that both of them are required. If you are enthusiastic and not patient, leads to the desire to control. Patience without enthusiasm can lead to lethargy, laziness. So, we want both, enthusiasm and patience and we have to keep chanting. Chant, chant, chant. So that at the time of death we can also chant.

I don’t know if I answered your question exactly but I tried to address it. If you want further clarification or discussion, you can ask.

Gauranga Priya Prabhu: Yes Maharaja. It kind of answers the question. Just an extension to it, one devotee is chanting for twenty-five years now, a very senior person, he made this point. Now, we are talking about sickness, simultaneously I am talking about old age also. He was making a point that in the renounced order, as a brahmachari or sanyasi, sometimes loneliness develops. So, when we are saying that chanting brings so much relish and taste but at the same time this kind of concept is often discussed. Then, there is a lack of fulfilment, at the level of heart or mind or emotion, so how do we see it in that aspect also, which may come in a devotee’s life as one grows in age?

Giriraj Swami: Well, we should have friends in Krishna Consciousness, good friends. If we have even one very good friend, we are doing quite well and that is important. I quoted from the Upadeshamrta- utsāhān niścayād dhairyāt. But Rupa Gosvami also discusses the ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam, the six exchanges of love shared among devotees, and those are very important.

It is true, if someone is very liberated, he can attain relish in chanting the holy name, understand that the holy name is Krishna, and even be completely self-satisfied. But for almost all of us, we need friends in Krishna consciousness and Srila Prabhupada wanted us to preach. To preach, we need to co-operate, which means we have to work with other devotees.

So, I would say that we need to be balanced in our lives. Part of that balance involves having friends in Krishna consciousness. It is part of the functions of a madhyam-bhāgavata—prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā. Prema—we should give our love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Maitrī- we should make friends with the devotees. Kṛpa- we should give mercy to the innocent by preaching and upekṣā - we should neglect the envious.

So, it is very important to have friendships. And yes, as a brahmachari, one maybe very staunch but, as you said, as one gets a little older, maybe one gets a little mellow. You can say that one’s heart is open to more loving relationships. Well, all the three types of relationships- with the superiors-we offer service, with peers-we are friendly, with juniors-we are merciful.

Yes, it is a very important point to have supportive relationships in Krishna consciousness. It is a very important point.

Gauranga Priya Prabhu(edited): Thank you so much Maharaja for very wholesome answer from different perspectives. Can we ask more questions? Maharaja, you mentioned about preaching; we can preach mathematically and simultaneously you mentioned the ten offenses to the holy name. One of the ten offenses is to instruct the glories of the holy name to faithless. Can you please share experiences or examples from preaching life that how we really guard against this offense? I feel that sometimes preaching can be very exhausting and I was reflecting that one cause could be trying to preach to people who are not interested in the holy name and that can contribute to an offence to the holy name. How do we balance? Can you share some thoughts and experience in this regard?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, we want to give everyone a chance to hear the holy name. In the relatively early days of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada used to send devotees out to do hari-nāma in the streets and he said that the holy name will knock on the doors to the heart of the people. So, we want to give everyone a chance to hear the holy name and chant, if they wish. But we don’t tell them about the glories of the holy name if they don’t have faith in our authorities. If we do, then they will commit more offenses, and that is an offense for us.

There is one conversation between Srila Prabhupada and a professor in Sweden. During the conversation, one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples started to preach about the glories of the holy name and Srila Prabhupada stopped him and said that is an offense because he (the professor) doesn’t have faith in our authorities. And so to begin, we have to build faith in our authorities on the basis of logic and reason, and argument. So that was one example.

Another example from my own experience, which isn’t exactly about the glories of the holy name, but it is about preaching to the faithless. So, my father, my mother, and my sister came to visit me in India. This is a little after Srila Prabhupada departed. We were on a flight; I think from Delhi to Kashmir. On the flight, my father was a very rational person and I thought about the book, Easy Journey to Other Planets, which Srila Prabhupada had written in a way as to appeal to intellectuals and scientific-minded people. So, I started to speak to my father about how to travel to other planets and he was looking at me like, “Are you crazy?” I realized that if I persisted, it would be like preaching to the faithless, that he would think, I thought you were crazy but now you removed all doubt. So, I realized that I was at the verge of committing that offence, so I backtracked and I dropped that approach. 

So yes, we have to be very sensitive to our audience and if they don’t have faith in what we are saying, they could develop an offence of mentality and that is an offence on our part. So yes, those are two examples or reflections on preaching to the faithless.

Gauranga Priya Prabhu: Thank you Maharaja for those examples. Just we will ask if anyone has any more questions. Brajmohan Prabhu.

Brajmohan Prabhu: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Thank you very much for your wonderful quotes from the scriptures about the holy name. 

There are two different ways we chant the holy name; one is japa another is kirtan. We often find that kirtan is more absorbing and more devotees take pleasure in chanting in kirtan than in personal chanting. So, sixteen rounds are the ones that we do in person but we see that paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana. Mahaprabhu always emphasized about congregational chanting. So how do we that we are developing taste in the saṅkīrtana, at the same time, the japa aspect, how does it contribute to the saṅkīrtana movement?

Giriraj Swami: Well, we have to chant our minimum sixteen rounds. In one purport in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Srila Prabhupada writes, ‘Of all the instructions of the spiritual master, the instruction to chant minimum sixteen rounds daily is most essential.’ So, we have to chant our sixteen rounds but Srila Jiva Gosvami says that kirtan has a special power to evoke spiritual emotions. It is very powerful. But, it shouldn’t be that, because we prefer kirtan, we neglect chanting.

I discussed this with His Grace Madhava dasa, the famous kirtan leader from Mauritius. He was saying that many of the youth, that may not be the case in India, but he was saying worldwide, many of the youth don’t chant japa. They just join in the kirtan and he was concerned about that. I also was concerned about that. So we really need to do both. But yes, kirtan, as Jiva Gosvami says, has a special potency to evoke spiritual emotions.

Gauranga Priya Prabhu(edited): Hare Krishna Maharaja. One more question. Brajmohan Prabhu raised this point about kirtan vs japa. We can also extend this to another perspective that there are five most important limbs of bhakti – vaiṣṇava-sevā, bhāgavata-sevā, nāma-sevā, deity worship (arcā-vigraha), dhāma-sevā.

On a very practical level, some devotees have a lot of taste for vaiṣṇava-sevā. Some have a lot of taste for deity worship. Some like to attend a lot of japa retreats or kirtans. So, sometimes this thought come, “Why make life so difficult?” Those devotees who have taste in deity worship should just do deity worship. Sometimes we find that some devotees have so much love for deity worship or vaiṣṇava-sevā, and they are not so interested in finishing their sixteen rounds. That is something they have to do because a vow has been taken, the initiation. So, why not allow them to do what they like to do? Let them be happy. Those who want deity worship, let them do deity worship. Those who want to do vaiṣṇava-sevā, let them do that, and they will be very happy. Japa makes their life miserable sometimes. So how do we see this?

Giriraj Swami: I don’t know if it is really true that they would be happy if they didn’t chant their sixteen rounds. The sixteen rounds are the foundation. And in that section of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Srila Prabhupada is commenting on that, “Always remember Krishna and never forget Him.” And Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport that, “In the Krishna consciousness movement, there are many activities such as distributing books, enrolling life members and they all involve remembering Krishna.” But then he also says, about the sixteen rounds, that if one wants to always remember Krishna, never forget Him, then he must chant his minimum sixteen rounds. And then, of all the instructions of the spiritual master, the instruction to chant minimum sixteen rounds daily is most essential.

So, that is really the foundation on which the other services are built. And sort of similar to your question, not exactly the same, but when we traveling with Srila Prabhupada in India, before we got the Juhu land, I don’t know some American or Canadian or European tourist found us and joined our party. And so he asked Prabhupada the question, which in some way is related to your point, that suppose it is late at night and somebody comes who can be a life member, but we still have to finish our rounds. So is it more important to make the person a life member or is it more important to finish our rounds? Srila Prabhupada replied, “If you stayed up long enough, you can do both.” The boy was sort of pushing the point, “If all service is absolute, why do we have to chant sixteen rounds?” Srila Prabhupada didn’t often do this, but in this case, he sat up very erect and asked, “Why do you have to chant sixteen rounds? Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead wants you to chant sixteen rounds.” And then he said, ”You can eat and sleep all day long but you must chant sixteen rounds.” And then he turned to the other devotees and said, “This is a special prerogative for him, this does not apply to all of you.” But that was how important Srila Prabhupada considered these sixteen rounds.

Gauranga Priya dasa: Thank you so much Maharaja, especially the way you answered the questions quoting exactly from shastras, The Nectar of Devotion, Srila Prabhupada, it is so convincing. Rasik Raman Prabhu wants to ask one question.

Rasik Raman dasa: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Thank you so much for showing us how much taste and nectar there is in the holy name and all the verses which glorify the holy name.

Maharaja, I was reading your book, The Juhu Story. In that, I read that in the initial days, you were coming from US to India and while you were coming down from the flight in Cairo, you were jumping up and down and chanting. That initial enthusiasm was very inspiring, when I read that. But many times it happens that this enthusiasm is snubbed down as fanaticism of initial days. But later on, it becomes dry. So how to maintain that enthusiasm without it becoming fanatic and continue that enthusiasm? The vestiges of that fanaticism can go out but that enthusiasm should prevail. How to ensure that?

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada said that enthusiasm comes from following all the regulative principles strictly. Back then we had a lot of enthusiasm. We were chanting and following the regulative principles and we had a lot of enthusiasm because of Srila Prabhupada’s association. When we would take train rides in India, long distance train rides and the train stopped for some time at a stage, we would jump out of the train and do hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana on the platform and then we would jump on the train before it left for the next station. So yes, we had that enthusiasm. But it is also true; we can express our enthusiasm in different ways. But we should be enthusiastic to chant and hear; we should be enthusiastic to preach and share. I wouldn’t say we were fanatical. I think we were just enthusiastic. I don’t think we were fanatical.

Rasik Raman dasa: Maharaja, I was giving an example. Definitely, in your case it was pure enthusiasm. But in our case, that enthusiasm maybe tinged with a little fanaticism. So how to maintain and retain that enthusiasm and remove the fanaticism? Otherwise, what happens is that we become logical and rational and we remove both the fanaticism and enthusiasm. 

Giriraj Swami: Well, what can I say? Srila Prabhupada said that philosophy without religion is just dry speculation and religion with philosophy is just sentiment or fanaticism. So, based on that statement of Srila Prabhupada, philosophy is meant to balance fanaticism or counteract fanaticism. Fanaticism is dangerous. It is like coming back to the Upadeśāmṛta, niyamāgrahaḥ, following the rules and regulations just for the sake of following without really understanding the purpose. That is one meaning of niyamāgrahaḥ. So fanaticism could come in that; following without understanding the purpose. So, yes we should be very balanced. 

We should be introspective. In fact, when I joined, I was told that Srila Prabhupada said that at night, when we lie down to take rest, we should think over the day’s activities- what we did and what we could have done better. So yes, we should be introspective. We should be open to improving ourselves internally and improving our presentation in Krishna Consciousness externally and pray. Recently, we celebrated Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America. He is praying to Krishna to make his words suitable for the understanding of his audience. So we should pray that our words will be suitable for our audience. And we can pray to the Lord in the heart of our audience to make them receptive to our message, to His message. Always be humble and prayerful.

Devotee: Thank you so much Maharaja for taking out time from your schedule to spend some time with us, to give us your valuable association. We take this opportunity to express our gratitude by loudly chanting three times Haribol, Haribol, Haribol.

Giriraj Swami: There are two hands up. Do we have time for me to take those two questions or comments or do we have to wind up now?

Devotee: Okay Maharaja. We can take those two.

Giriraj Swami: Okay so first Sundari and then Radhika, from Mumbai, both of them. Sundari you were okay before, you muted yourself. 

Sundari: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisance. I actually don’t want to ask any questions. 

Giriraj Swami: So you don’t have any questions?

Sundari: Yes. But it is very nice and we are very fortunate to hear the stories about Lord which we did not know. Please bless, so that we get more inspired to chant nicely and attentively.

Giriraj Swami: I will pray for you. Not just you, but all of the devotees who have gathered. Okay.

Sundari: This is a blessing from Srila Prabhupada. Mahaflowers.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. She looks after Srila Prabhupada’s quarters in Juhu, she and her sister Jayshree.

Sundari: Jaya Guru Maharaja! Garland from Srila Prabhupada.

Giriraj Swami: Jaya! Special mercy. Alright, Radhika Jhojogidia. Are you there?

Radhika: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna

Radhika: Please accept my humble obeisance. I can now start my video; it was actually restricted earlier. Guru Maharaja, I have two questions. The first one being that since the holy name of Krishna, the sound vibration of Krishna and Krishna Himself are non-different. So it might be so significant and important to pronounce Krishna very correctly during our japa. Now, my confusion is that when we write Krishna in English, it is K-R-I-S-H-N-A, and we pronounce it as Kṛṣṇa. But in Sanskrit, it is Kṛṣṇa. So that pronunciation seems to be as Kṛṣṇa. I am sorry; this might be a very small and insignificant misunderstanding. So, should we pronounce it as Kṛṣṇa or Krishna while chanting?

Giriraj Swami: I would say whatever pleases your heart.

Radhika: So, both the names mean Krishna Himself equally, both the pronunciation

Giriraj Swami: The way you pronounce the two, I can hardly tell the difference.

Radhika: Okay. Guru Maharaja, my second question was we have been hearing that the holy name and Krishna are non-different and Krishna himself is the holy name. But, today you mentioned- the tips of the toes of the lotus feet of the holy name, and not of Krishna which made me feel that there is a subtle difference in the personality or are we trying to separate identity to the holy name other than Krishna? Also I read in Bhurijana Prabhu’s Japa book, in one of his chapters, he addresses the holy name as nāma prabhu and even you did today. So, rather than calling Him Krishna, we are calling Him nāma prabhu, so is there a separate identity or how to understand that it is Krishna Himself?

Giriraj Swami: It is not a separate identity but one terminology has one meaning and the other terminology has another meaning. So if we want to say the holy name, we can say nāma prabhu. But the holy name of Krishna is Krishna. So we can say Krishna. Srila Prabhupada had a disciple whose initiated name was Krishna Nama dasa. He used to be in Pune. As long as you understand it, I think you understand it, as long as you understand it, these little distinctions in the terminologies are not very important.

Radhika: Okay. Thank you

Giriraj Swami: Okay. So, my dear devotees, what an exhilarating discussion about Sri Nama Prabhu. If we are going to end now, I would like to end with Vaishnava praṇāma. I don’t know how you end the program but I like to end it with Vaishnava praṇāma

Devotee: Yes Maharaja

Giriraj Swami: Okay so I will say the English and we can all say the Sanskrit.

Let’s offer our respectful obeisances unto the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees and can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.

vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca

kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo

vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

Ananta koti Vaishnava vṛnda ki, jaya!

His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki, jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!