SB 3.33.6–7 – The Glories of the Chanters of the Holy Names

Host: For Mumbaiwala’s, Maharaja’s contribution is integral part of Mumbai, as Prabhupada would say, that Bombay means Giriraj and Giriraj means Bombay. So we are all gathered here because of Srila Prabhupada’s mercy and the efforts and tremendous service by His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja. So we are very, very fortunate and very, very grateful that Maharaja has agreed to come and grace. And Maharaja is also the author of so many wonderful books which are placed here. Devotees can have them after. And so now we will have till 8:30 class by Maharaja and after the class, again we will be drowning ourselves in the holy names by Madhava Prabhu and Radhika Mataji till 9:15. So all of you please be seated after the class also. Hare Krishna. So we would like to welcome Maharaja and all the other devotees who have come. So in our traditional style by very loudly and enthusiastically chanting three times.     

“Haribol! Haribol! Haribol!”

Also, we have His Holiness Bhakti Narasimha Maharaja joining us. We would like to welcome him also by loudly chanting three times.     

“Haribol! Haribol! Haribol!”

Thank you, Maharaja, for kindly gracing us. Hare Krishna.     

[Prayers]

Giriraj Swami: So I shall read two verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Thirty-three, “Activities of Kapila,”      Text Seven, and then Text Eight. This is about, as stated, the glories of the holy name and also more specifically about the glories of the chanters of the holy names.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya 

Again Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Thirty-three

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?”

COMMENT

So when we were in Madras, I and Achyutananda Prabhu and Bhavananda Prabhu and one Indian brahmachari were the first ISKCON devotees to go to Madras. And at one point, we were staying with an Indian gentleman who said that you cannot be a brahman unless you are born a brahman. You can be a Vaishnava, and a Vaishnava is higher than a brahman, but you can’t be a brahman. So, Achyutananda Prabhu replied, “One is born as a brahman or otherwise, according to his pious and sinful activities. So what is more powerful, the holy name or sin?” The man had to admit the holy name was more powerful than sin. So then the logical conclusion is that if one chants the holy name, one becomes freed from the reactions to sinful activities, such as a lower birth, and can be considered a brahman. And the man was convinced. And here Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam confirms the same fact.

PURPORT (continued)

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.

COMMENT

So these are lower stages. I mean, there is nothing higher than chanting the holy names of the Lord. So the other practices mentioned here are lower stages, but one who is chanting the holy name is understood to have performed all those other requirements along the way.

PURPORT (continued)

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

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada has quoted the whole Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

PURPORT (continued)

— 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

So there are three stages of chanting: nāma-aparādha, means offensive stage, namābhāsa means offenseless or a clearing stage, and then comes shubdha-nāma, pure holy name. But here, Srila Prabhupada says that even if one doesn’t understand the science of chanting and the progressive stages, if the tip of one’s tongue just touches the holy name, that is sufficient. The holy name is so powerful because it is Krishna Himself. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. 

PURPORT (continued)

It is said herein that nāma, a singular number, one name, Kṛṣṇa or Rāma, is sufficient.

COMMENT

And we are chanting three.

PURPORT (continued)

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, that is our goal, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, to always be chanting. But even if one chants once only, that establishes the fact that he has performed all the other processes.

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

Sometimes I mention an article that appeared in The Illustrated Weekly of India, which is a very popular weekly journal. Does it still exist? Yes, well, in the day it was very popular, and for many years the editor was one Kushwant Singh, who was an atheist. And he published an article under the heading Hare Krishna versus Shiva Shiva, and the article was a report by an Austrian sannyasi named Aghyananda Bharati, who is in a Mayavada school of thought. And the article was Bharati’s account of his discussion or debate with our Hridayananda dasa Gosvami. So I thought about that title, Hare Krishna versus Shiva Shiva. That Kushwant Singh was trying to make us all look silly, ‘Oh how silly, arguing over, Hare Krishna versus Shiva Shiva.’ And in fact, he didn’t believe in any of it. So I wrote to Srila Prabhupada my impression of the way he presented the article, and Srila Prabhupada said, “You are right, Bharati is a fool, but Singh is a demon.” So this is offensive. Mayavadi philosophers say, any name, such as a demigod’s name or the names of God’s energies. One must chant God’s name. Not as the Mayavadi philosophers say any name such as the demigod’s name or the names of God’s energies, only the holy name of the Supreme Lord will be effective. 

PURPORT (continued)

The holy name has to be chanted to please the Supreme Lord, and not for any sense gratification or professional purpose.

COMMENT

I have heard Madhava Prabhu quote Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura saying that the chanting is meant only for the Lord’s pleasure, not even for our own pleasure, but only for the Lord’s pleasure. 

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. 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. 

COMMENT

Nāmācārya Haridasa Thakura ki jaya!

PURPORT (continued)

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 Haridasa Thakura was a perfect example. He was born in the Muhammadans family, which was considered a low birth, but because he was chanting the holy name of      the Lord offenselessly, it is understood that he had undergone all the other procedures mentioned in this verse. 

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

Like that fellow who challenged Achyutananda Prabhu.

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.

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. 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.

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).

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 in the prayers of Queen Kunti, she speaks about the different opulences, janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrībhir, and says that one who is on the path of material advancement, trying to improve one’s condition by those four assets, cannot chant the holy name with feeling. And in the purport, Srila Prabhupada quotes a statement in the Vedic scriptures that by chanting the holy name of the Lord, one is able to free oneself from the reactions to more sins than one is able to commit. And Srila Prabhupada says that there is not the least exaggeration in that statement, but it depends on the quality of the chanting. And he says, those who are materially satisfied cannot chant with such a sincere feeling. So, Akiñcana-gocara, Krishna is the property of those who have no material possessions. For those who have no sense of false proprietorship, if we are free from the sense of false proprietorship and we feel we have nothing but Krishna, then we can chant the holy names with sincere feeling and get the beneficial results. Now,

TEXT 8

taṁ tvām ahaṁ brahma paraṁ pumāṁsaṁ
pratyak-srotasy ātmani saṁvibhāvyam
sva-tejasā dhvasta-guṇa-pravāhaṁ
vande viṣṇuṁ kapilaṁ veda-garbham

COMMENT

I want to do  Seven and  Six. So that is okay, we will do Six now. Lot of it has already been covered, but still.

TEXT 6

yan-nāmadheya-śravaṇānukīrtanād
yat-prahvaṇād yat-smaraṇād api kvacit
śvādo ‘pi sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate
kutaḥ punas te bhagavan nu darśanāt

TRANSLATION

To say nothing of the spiritual advancement of persons who see the Supreme Person face to face, even a person born in a family of dog-eaters immediately becomes eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices if he once utters the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or chants about Him, hears about His pastimes, offers Him obeisances or even remembers Him.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Herein the spiritual potency of chanting, hearing or remembering the holy name of the Supreme Lord is greatly stressed. Rūpa Gosvāmī has discussed the sequence of sinful activities of the conditioned soul, and he has established, in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, that those who engage in devotional service become freed from the reactions of all sinful activities.

COMMENT

So there are different stages – Beja, kuta, immature and mature. And all of those different stages of sin are eradicated by devotional service, by chanting the holy names of the Lord. 

PURPORT (continued)

This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā. The Lord says that He takes charge of one who surrenders unto Him, and He makes him immune to all reactions to sinful activities. 

COMMENT

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

Although in many places in his books, Prabhupada comments that by surrendering to Krishna, one becomes freed from all sinful reactions. And if one commits an offense against Krishna, one can get relieved by taking shelter of the holy name. But if one commits offenses against the holy names, there is no real remedy. And then, therefore, Srila Prabhupada discusses in that context the offenses, the ten offenses to be avoided. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that by attentive chanting, all the other offenses will be eradicated. And then, by inattentive chanting, all the other offenses can flourish. So, it is most important to chant attentively.

I have done a number of japa Retreats and workshops, some of them with His Grace Mahatma Prabhu. And Mahatma Prabhu commented that devotees have become very expert at using their left hands because while their right hand is in their bead bag, their left hand is tidying things up, checking their email, and doing all sorts of other things. So, okay, that is good in a way, but that is not attentive chanting.

PURPORT (continued)

If by chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead one becomes so swiftly cleared of all reactions to sinful activities, then what is to be said of those persons who see Him face to face?

Another consideration here is that persons who are purified by the process of chanting and hearing become immediately eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices. Generally, only a person who is born in a family of brāhmaṇas, who has been reformed by the ten kinds of purificatory processes and who is learned in Vedic literature is allowed to perform the Vedic sacrifices. But here the word sadyaḥ, “immediately,” is used, and Śrīdhara Svāmī also remarks that one can immediately become eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices. A person born in a family of the low caste which is accustomed to eat dogs is so positioned due to his past sinful activities, but by chanting or hearing once in pureness, or in an offenseless manner, he is immediately relieved of the sinful reaction. Not only is he relieved of the sinful reaction, but he immediately achieves the result of all purificatory processes. Taking birth in the family of a brāhmaṇa is certainly due to pious activities in one’s past life. But still a child who is born in a family of a brāhmaṇa depends for his further reformation upon initiation into acceptance of a sacred thread and many other reformatory processes. But a person who chants the holy name of the Lord, even if born in a family of caṇḍālas, dog-eaters, does not need reformation. Simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, he immediately becomes purified and becomes as good as the most learned brāhmaṇa.

Śrīdhara Svāmī especially remarks in this connection, anena pūjyatvaṁ lakṣyate. Some caste brāhmaṇas remark that by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, purification begins. Of course, that depends on the individual process of chanting, but this remark of Śrīdhara Svāmī’s is completely applicable if one chants the holy name of the Lord without offense, for he immediately becomes more than a brāhmaṇa. As Śrīdhara Svāmī says, pūjyatvam: he immediately becomes as respectable as a most learned brāhmaṇa and can be allowed to perform Vedic sacrifices. If simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord one becomes sanctified instantly, then what can be said of those persons who see the Supreme Lord face to face and who understand the descent of the Lord, as Devahūti understands Kapiladeva.

Usually, initiation depends on the bona fide spiritual master, who directs the disciple. If he sees that a disciple has become competent and purified by the process of chanting, he offers the sacred thread to the disciple just so that he will be recognized as one-hundred-percent equal with a brāhmaṇa. This is also confirmed in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa by Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī: “As a base metal like bell metal can be changed into gold by a chemical process, any person can similarly be changed into a brāhmaṇa by dīkṣā-vidhāna, the initiation process.”

COMMENT

And anyway, there is more discussion about brahmans. 

PURPORT (continued) [some part is skipped]

When one is accepted as a brāhmaṇa in the sacred thread ceremony under the pāñcarātrika system, then he is dvija, twice-born. That is confirmed by Sanātana Gosvāmī: dvijatvaṁ jāyate. By the process of initiation by the spiritual master, a person is accepted as a brāhmaṇa in his purified state of chanting the holy name of the Lord. He then makes further progress to become a qualified Vaiṣṇava, which means that the brahminical qualification is already acquired.

COMMENT

So this was sort of an innovation of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, which Srila Prabhupada continued. Because although a Vaishnava is higher than a brahman, ordinary people might misunderstand and think that a Vaishnava is less than a brahman. So Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura introduced the system of offering for brahmanical initiation to people not born in brahman families just to remove that doubt that they may be less than brahmans or other than brahmans. And Srila Prabhupada has continued the same process, and his followers are also continuing it.

So we have a little time left. And if any of you want to ask any questions or make any comments, share any reflections, you can raise your hands. Yes.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. In the book I’ll Build You a Temple, there is an incident mentioned about a devotee who’s having some mental challenges,     

Giriraj Swami: Who. . . What?

Devotee: In the book I’ll Build You a Temple, there is mention of an incident that there is a devotee who is not acting appropriately, is having some mental challenges, and the devotees sent to a center for mental rehabilitation.     

Giriraj Swami: There is an incident of a devotee who wasn’t behaving properly,     

Devotee: Behaving maybe violently or something, and the devotees sent to a mental rehabilitation center. And seemingly, Prabhupada was asked that,      is it necessary for somebody who is facing mental challenges to be sent to a mental rehabilitation center? And seemingly, Prabhupada mentioned that just like somebody can be born with a broken arm or a broken leg, somebody could be born with a broken mind. So I had a question with in regard to this incident, actually. So, Maharaja, is somebody whose mind is not very firm, and you mentioned that chanting is a process that essentially involves concentration of the mind. So how can such a person, make a tangible advancement in spiritual life?     

Giriraj Swami: What was the last part?     

Devotee: How can a person who is not having a firm mind make tangible advancement in spiritual life?     

Giriraj Swami: Okay, well let me explain in more detail what exactly the incident was. Srila Prabhupada had a lady disciple named Anada, who I guess became paranoid schizophrenic, and she thought people were trying to poison her. So she would just rummage through the leaf plates that the devotees had discarded to get some remnants of prasāda, which was not poisoned and other things. And her father was quite well-to-do. He was actually India’s ambassador to France for some time. And he came to Bombay to try to help her, and he wanted to take her to a mental hospital. So I asked Srila Prabhupada about it, and he said something more or less what you said, that he said, “I know Anada, she is a devotee, and the mind is also a part of the body. And just as one can have a broken arm and it doesn’t compromise one’s position as a devotee, similarly, one can have a broken mind, and that also does not compromise the person’s position as a devotee.” And just as a broken arm can be treated medically, a broken mind can also be treated medically. And so he approved of her being treated for her mental illness, and it was pretty successful. She came back and did service and was quite normal. So does that answer your question?

Devotee: Yes, well, it sort of yes.     

Giriraj Swami: Okay, good.     

Devotee: Thank you.     

Giriraj Swami: Yes, let me get a microphone for the. . .     

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā that one should be equipoised whether there is happiness, there is suffering, and such a devotee is very dear to me. So right now, in my state, I am not anywhere near being a devotee. I am just very, very wretched and fallen. But somehow, by the grace of my Guru Maharaja and Vaishnavas, I have been, the whole day engaging in service and chanting. And I have so much crisis fallen on me, being a single mataji, there is being exploitation being done to me for my property, which I want to give. . .     

Giriraj Swami: Wait, wait, wait. By mataji, do you mean lady or a mother? Not a mother, just a single lady.     

Devotee: Single lady.

Giriraj Swami: Just wanted to clarify.     

Devotee: So, I am being really tortured by this Bombay Society people, and they want to take over my property and I want to give it to a ISKCON, to different temples. So it is like I am forced to come from Vrindavan and I am so disturbed. And Krishna says that in any situation, you should be equipoised, such a devotee is dear to me. So my question to you is, because I have to go everywhere to police, BMC, and I don’t know all hundred places and I want to be just engaged in serving and chanting. And I said, I don’t want this property, but devotee said, “No, you must fight for it to give it to Prabhupada.” So how can I be equipoised? I have no good qualities and I want to please Prabhupada. How can I be equipoised in such a situation to please Radha Gopinatha, to please Radha     -Shyamasundara?

Giriraj Swami: Well, first I would suggest that you take shelter of the holy names and really, chant sincere attentive japa. And ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, that will clear the dust from the mirror of the mind, clear the dirty things. And as Srila Prabhupada said that is the first dirty thing is to think that you are the body, so that becomes clarified by chanting. And, I think of one devotee who ask Srila Prabhupada, “Is it true that it is hard for women to make spiritual advancement?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Yes, if you think you are a woman, it is hard to make spiritual advancement.” So, as far as your specific dilemma, I mean our philosophy is yukata vairāgya, and it sounds like you have the potential to give some property to Prabhupada and ISKCON, which you want to do. But it involves some hardship but I would take that as an austerity that you are performing in the line of your service to make this offering to Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON, of the property. That would be my perspective.

Devotee: So Maharaja, can I have your blessings so that I am able to fight this battle for Srila Prabhupada and give it to ISKCON? My parents don’t want anything, I don’t want anything, but I want to give it, otherwise I will just go back to Vrindavan. So can I have your blessings? Maharaja please that I, that Krishna can be with me, Krishna-Balarama could be with me to fight this for Prabhupada?

Giriraj Swami: I will pray for you, not only I, but I request all the exalted Vaishnavas in this august assembly to pray for this sincere devotee so that she can successfully make her offering to Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON. Haribol!

Devotee: “Haribol!”

Devotee: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. It is very rare to have your association after I think twenty years.     

Giriraj Swami: Well, I hadn’t been in India for seven years,

Devotee: But I am not in with you.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Devotee: Though I met you in Vrindavan for permission to Andhra. One thing I observe is that your attachment to the holy names has more inclusive earlier, now you are connecting us to that inclusion along with you in the journey. My understanding maybe I may not able to put in the proper word but please try to try to understand my mood. You came to in November to India November December January February, your journey with the holy names, one level along with the devotees who are close to you, like the disciples, well-wishers, followers also joined your journey in the holy names. What was your highest level of understanding where we how we feel that what will be our, how to connect your attachment to you continuously even in your absence as you are traveling back to America. So what is your suggestion to us to continue the same Journey? The mood in the same mood.

Giriraj Swami: The general principle is to follow the instructions as Srila Prabhupada wrote in his dedication to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam : “Dedicated to His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, my spiritual master, he lives forever by his divine instructions and the follower lives with him.” That is the way we associate in separation.     

Devotee: I mean please allow us to glorify you for all the things you have done for us. Please again to glorify Guru Maharaja with us     . . .

Giriraj Swami: Wait…Wait. I have not called on you or anyone for that particular activity. Okay, we have two minutes if anyone wants to slip in, one last question or comment.

Devotee: Offenseless chanting is difficult.

Giriraj Swami: Offenseless chanting is difficult. Well     … . .

Devotee: Hare Krishna Prabhuji. It is said that we should remember the name of the Lord during the time of death, so how do we make sure that we remember the Lord?

Giriraj Swami: Now, that is a good question. It is stated Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ, one should remember Narayana or Krishna at the end. And there is another saying, bhajana karo sadhana karo, I forget the whole thing, but the meaning is that whatever sadhana and bhajana you do during your life is well and good, but it will all be tested at the time of death. And therefore, I titled my book of Life’s Final Exam. And if we practice chanting and remembering Krishna during our life then there is a good chance we can do so at the time of death. But the real thing is to become attached to Krishna because probably you will, at the time of death, you will think of the thing to which you are most attached. And I have a senior godbrother named by Vaikuntanath dasa, he was working in the press as a book binder in the old Boston Temple. And he told a story about himself that he was driving and his car stalled on the railway tracks, and he was fiddling around trying to get the motor to start again. And he saw that a train was coming upon him and he was stuck on the tracks, he was trying to get the car to work, and he couldn’t get it to work, and he saw the train is about to hit. And so he started chanting very loudly,

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

And the train hit the car. And at the last moment, he thought what will happen to my wife, and then he became unconscious. But fortunately, he lived to tell the story. But so we have to, maya sucked him on a part that we have to become attached to Krishna. And Srila Prabhupada also gave an example that a parrot can also chant, parrot can also learn to chant. But if death comes upon that parrot, there is going to be no more “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,” it’ll just be “Kah, kah, kah!” So Srila Prabhupada said that our chanting should not be like that of the parrot on a superficial level and then when death comes, there is no more chanting. But it should be on a deep level. And we don’t always leave under the best circumstances, but we hope that you can leave surrounded by devotees chanting the holy names, and helping you to remember Guru and Gauranga. And the chanting, I can’t emphasize enough attentive chanting; the importance of attentive chanting. And service.

Once Tamal Krishna Gosvami said to Srila Prabhupada when we were in Gorakhpur that, “I am so busy serving you, what if death comes and I am just involved in your service and I won’t be able to think of Krishna?” And of course, he really was surrendered to Srila Prabhupada service. And Srila Prabhupada said, “Don’t worry, Lord Chaitanya will forcibly enter your mind at the time of death.”

All right. Well, thank you for your patience and attentive hearing. [Applause]     

Devotee: His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!

Thank you very very much Maharaja. We wish this could have been the night of Brahmaji, we could have heard from you more and more kirtan. And the whole would have gone in your presence, we all feel like we are just hearing from Srila Prabhupada’s presence, so intimately, we feel in your presence in your words. So, we are very very fortunate to build today this will be the best Sunday for many of us this special Bonanza hearing from you and Radhika Mataji and Madhava Prabhu kirtan and all the devotees.

So, we are very, very grateful Maharaja, and we wish, hope, and pray that we can have this double Bonanza whenever it is possible. And we can have more of your association whenever you are in India. So we beg and request and wish and pray that we can have more association here in Radha Gopinatha. Thank you, Madhava Prabhu and Radhika Mataji, for blessing us. And we wish we could just do this kirtan like, they would have at Srivas Angan, the whole night during Lord Chaitanya’s time and here. But maybe Krishna willing, someday we will be able to facilitate that. Thank you very, very much Maharaja on behalf of all the devotees.     

Giriraj Swami: Yes, I just want to add that, although I haven’t been to India for seven years, but now I decided to come every year to Vrindavan for Kartik. And one of the highlights is always Madhava’s kirtan in the MVT Gardens from four to five, which I relish. And he also does kirtan in Srila Prabhupada’s quarters. There are lots of good kirtans. BB Govinda Swami has his kirtan at his place. He is my next-door neighbor in Vrindavan. So yes, and then I will come to Mumbai. And I hope Madhava Prabhu will come every spring. So we will get team up again.     

Devotee: Thank you, thank you for sharing this. So now we will have kirtan again.