SB 2.1.11 – Offenseless Chanting of the Holy Name

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna, my dear devotees. We welcome you to this auspicious initiation ceremony. When Srila Prabhupada would give initiation, he would speak about the ten offenses because the devotees are being initiated into the chanting of the holy names. To get the full benefit of the chanting, they must avoid the ten offenses. Srila Prabhupada discusses the ten offenses in many places. I will read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter One, “First Step in God Realization.”

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

TEXT 11

etan nirvidyamānānām
icchatām akuto-bhayam
yogināṁ nṛpa nirṇītaṁ
harer nāmānukīrtanam

TRANSLATION

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

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In the previous verse, the great necessity for attaining attachment to Mukunda has been accredited. There are different types of persons who desire to attain success in different varieties of pursuits. Generally the persons are materialists who desire to enjoy the fullest extent of material gratification. Next to them are the transcendentalists, who have attained perfect knowledge about the nature of material enjoyment and thus are aloof from such an illusory way of life. More or less, they are satisfied in themselves by self-realization. Above them are the devotees of the Lord, who neither aspire to enjoy the material world nor desire to get out of it. They are after the satisfaction of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In other words, the devotees of the Lord do not want anything on their personal account. If the Lord desires, the devotees can accept all sorts of material facilities, and if the Lord does not desire this, the devotees can leave aside all sorts of facilities, even up to the limit of salvation. Nor are they self-satisfied, because they want the satisfaction of the Lord only. In this verse, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommends the transcendental chanting of the holy name of the Lord. By offenseless chanting and hearing of the holy name of the Lord, one becomes acquainted with the transcendental form of the Lord, and then with the attributes of the Lord, and then with the transcendental nature of His pastimes, etc. Here it is mentioned that one should constantly chant the holy name of the Lord after hearing it from authorities. This means that hearing from the authorities is the first essential. Hearing of the holy name gradually promotes one to the stage of hearing about His form, His attributes, His pastimes, and so on, and thus the necessity of the chanting of His glories develops successively. This process is recommended not only for the successful execution of devotional service, but also even for those who are materially attached. According to Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, this way of attaining success is an established fact, concluded not only by him but also by all other previous ācāryas. Therefore, there is no need of further evidence. The process is recommended not only for the progressive students in different departments of ideological success, but also for those who are already successful in their achievement as fruitive workers, as philosophers or as devotees of the Lord.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī instructs that chanting of the holy name of the Lord should be loudly done, and it should be performed offenselessly as well, as recommended in the Padma Purāṇa. One can deliver himself from the effects of all sins by surrendering himself unto the Lord. One can deliver himself from all offenses at the feet of the Lord by taking shelter of His holy name. But one cannot protect himself if one commits an offense at the feet of the holy name of the Lord. Such offenses are mentioned in the Padma Purāṇa as being ten in number.

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

COMMENT

That is called sādhu-nindā; to blaspheming the devotee of the Lord who dedicated his life for chanting the holy name of the Lord. In his book, Harināma-cintāmaṇi, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses the ten offenses in detail, and he explains that there are twenty-six qualities of a devotee. But out of the twenty-six, one is essential, which is kṛṣṇa eka śaranam, to have taken complete exclusive shelter of Krishna. So if someone has that one qualification, kṛṣṇa eka śaranam, even if he doesn’t have the other twenty-five, he is considered a sadhu. And if one lacks the one qualification of kṛṣṇa eka śaranam, even if he has the other twenty-five qualities, they are of no particular value. So we should be very respectful of devotees.

PURPORT (continued)

The second offense is to see the holy names of the Lord in terms of worldly distinction. The Lord is the proprietor of all the universes, and therefore He may be known in different places by different names, but that does not in any way qualify the fullness of the Lord. Any nomenclature which is meant for the Supreme Lord is as holy as the others because they are all meant for the Lord. Such holy names are as powerful as the Lord, and there is no bar for anyone in any part of the creation to chant and glorify the Lord by the particular name of the Lord as it is locally understood. They are all auspicious, and one should not distinguish such names of the Lord as material commodities.

COMMENT

So when Srila Prabhupada was visiting Tehran, Iran and his disciple, an Iranian, Atreya Rishi dasa began to wax eloquent about the day when all the Muslims would chant Hare Krishna. And Srila Prabhupada commented, “Why do you want that they should chant only Hare Krishna? They can also chant Allah, Allah. We are not sectarian.”

PURPORT (continued)

The third offense is to neglect the orders of the authorized ācāryas or spiritual masters.

COMMENT

That is guror avajñā, to disobey the order of the spiritual master. One should avoid that.

PURPORT (continued)

The fourth offense is to vilify scriptures or Vedic knowledge.

The fifth offense is to define the holy name of the Lord in terms of one’s mundane calculation. The holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord Himself, and one should understand the holy name of the Lord to be nondifferent from Him.

The sixth offense is to interpret the holy name. The Lord is not imaginary, nor is His holy name. There are persons with a poor fund of knowledge who think the Lord to be an imagination of the worshiper and therefore think His holy name to be imaginary. Such a chanter of the name of the Lord cannot achieve the desired success in the matter of chanting the holy name.

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

The eighth offense is to consider the holy name of the Lord and His chanting method to be equal to some material auspicious activity. There are various kinds of good works for material benefits, but the holy name and His chanting are not mere auspicious holy services. Undoubtedly the holy name is holy service, but He should never be utilized for such purposes. Since the holy name and the Lord are of one and the same identity, one should not try to bring the holy name into the service of mankind. The idea is that the Supreme Lord is the supreme enjoyer. He is no one’s servant or order supplier. Similarly, since the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord, one should not try to utilize the holy name for one’s personal service.

COMMENT

In 1973, there was a conference at Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan in Bombay, the theme of which was that the Bhagavad-gītā can solve all problems. Before the session began, Srimati Lilavati Munshi, who was the head of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, invited the guests to her library to speak before the session. I was there with Srila Prabhupada and other devotees. There was one sadhu, I don’t know his name, but he had long gray hair and a gray beard, and he told Srila Prabhupada that he was holding large gatherings of people and having them chant the holy name and telling them that by chanting the holy name they could be cured of their physical ailments.

So he said to Srila Prabhupada that, “You are gathering people together, and I am gathering people together. I am getting them to chant the holy name, and you are getting them to chant the holy name. We should cooperate.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “No, what you are doing is against our principles.” He made the exact same point that the holy name is Krishna Himself, and we are not meant to use the holy name to facilitate our material lives, but rather we are meant to serve the holy name.

PURPORT (continued)

The ninth offense is to instruct those who are not interested in chanting the holy name of the Lord about the transcendental nature of the holy name. If such instruction is imparted to an unwilling audience, the act is considered to be an offense at the feet of the holy name.

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

COMMENT

Now, Sanskrit is such a language that it can be divided in different ways. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has found the ninth offense to be inattention, pramāda, and he says that if one is attentive while chanting, all the other offenses will be eradicated, and if one is inattentive while chanting, all the other offenses will flourish. So it is most important to be attentive while chanting, to pronounce each name carefully and distinctly, and to hear each name. The mind will wander, but we have to bring it back and really try to hear every holy name.

So, now we will call forth the new initiates to take their vows and receive their beads and their new names. We will proceed in alphabetical order.

[Initiation ceremony begins – Not fully transcribed]

Alok Agarwal, yes, offer obeisance first to the Srila Prabhupada. What are the four regulative principles that you vow to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: No gambling, no intoxication, no meat-eating, including fish and eggs, and no illicit connections.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds?

Devotee: Minimum sixteen rounds daily.

Giriraj Swami: Is there anything else you would like to say on this auspicious occasion before this august assembly?

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, I am really happy and full of emotions to have the feeling of belongingness and getting your shelter, and I am really happy. Thank you so much, guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: All right, so on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, and henceforth your name shall be Acharya Nistha. [Applause] Acharya Nistha means one who has strong, steady, firm faith in the acharya.

Banir Singh Rajput. So what are the four regulative principles that you vow to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: No meat, no intoxication, no gambling, and no illicit sex.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds?

Devotee: Sixteen rounds minimum daily.

Giriraj Swami: Good. Is there anything else you would like to say on this auspicious occasion?

Devotee: Respected Maharaja, accept me, and I surrender myself to your lotus feet, and at the same time, I sincerely thank you very much for accepting me as your disciple. And I also sincerely thank Vishnu Priya Mataja, Lila Priya, my daughter, my bhakti Bisha, all the devotees, and the president of the Radha-Kalachandji temple who has motivated me and given all the helping hand that I needed.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful. Beautiful. So on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, and henceforth your name shall be Bradjesh dasa. Bradjesh is the name of Krishna, which means He is the Lord of Vraja.

Joy Saha. So what are the four regulative principles that you vow to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: No intoxication, no gambling, no meat-eating, no illicit sex.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds?

Devotee: Minimum sixteen rounds.

Giriraj Swami: Is there anything else you would like to say?

Devotee: I am so grateful. I am so grateful to accept me as your servant. I really thank Lord Krishna, Srila Prabhupada, and my śikṣā-guru for bringing me this wonderful path in my life. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Beautiful, so on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, and henceforth your name shall be Jaya Ganga dasa.

Lipisa Saha. What are the four regulative principles you vow to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: No meat-eating, no gambling, no illicit sex, and no intoxication.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds?

Devotee: Minimum sixteen qualitative rounds.

Giriraj Swami: Good. Is there anything else you would like to say?

Devotee: Yes, guru Maharaja, I would like to be grateful to your lordship first because you accept me as your servant of the servant. Then I would like to show my gratefulness to Srila Prabhupada, who made this such a beautiful spiritual world family, so we all can be such nice family members, godbrothers and sisters. And then I would like to thank my śikṣā-guru, who gives us guidance continuously to have you as our guru and how to be qualified for that. Today is an auspicious day in my life. I think this is the only day I can remember in my whole life. I wasn’t supposed to be born, but I know now why I was born. My parents tried to kill me in many ways because they weren’t expecting me. Krishna made me part of this wonderful life. Thank you, guru Maharaja. Please bless me and have mercy to continue this life until death.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, wonderful. Beautiful. On behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, and henceforth your name shall be Indu Leka dasi.

Prema Kumar Rajput. What are the four regulative principles that you vow to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: No meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling, no illicit sex.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds?

Devotee: Minimum sixteen rounds, guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Is there anything else you would like to say?

Devotee: Thank you, Vishnu Priya Mataji, my daughter Lila Priya, my husband, all devotees of the Radha-Kalachandji Temple.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful. Beautiful.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. What she said is she is very grateful to you for accepting her as your disciple, and she is very thankful to everybody’s name that she has taken. She is very, very thankful and grateful to everyone, and she vowed to follow the principles of ISKCON and your instructions and teachings, and she just wants you to bless her so that she can follow those instructions.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful. Beautiful. On behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, and henceforth your name shall be Palika dasi. Palika is one of the important gopīs of Vrindavan. P-A-L-I-K-A, yeah, one of the important gopīs of Vrindavan.

Richi Budjawond. So what are the four regulative principles that you vow to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: The four regulative principles that I would follow for the rest of my life are no meat-eating, including no eggs, no meat, and no fish, no illicit sex, no gambling, and no intoxication.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds?

Devotee: Minimum sixteen rounds daily of Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

Giriraj Swami: Anything else you would like to say?

Devotee: Sure, Maharaja. I don’t have any qualifications, but it is your magnanimity and your greatness that you have accepted me as your disciple. I will try to follow your instructions for the rest of my life so that I can serve in the mission of Srila Prabhupada and also try to serve you to the best of my ability.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful, beautiful. On behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, and henceforth your name shall be Radha Gopinatha dasa. Thank you.

Sham Saha. What are the four regulative principles that you vow to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: No meat eating, no gambling, no illicit sex, and no intoxication.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds?

Devotee: Minimum sixteen rounds.

Giriraj Swami: Is there anything else you would like to say?

I am really grateful that you accepted me as your disciple and that I can serve Srila Prabhupada, you, and Radha-Kalachandji. I am really grateful to my family, this community, and my friends for inspiring me in my devotional life and inspiring me to take this step. So thank you, everyone.

[Applause]

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful, beautiful. So on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, and henceforth your name shall be Shyamasundara dasa.

[Applause]

Tara Kubiak. So what are the four regulative principles that you vow to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: No meat eating, no intoxication, no illicit sex, and gambling.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, and how many rounds?

Devotee: Sixteen rounds minimum.

Giriraj Swami: Is there anything else you would like to say?

Devotee: Yes, I would like to thank my dear sister Balai from the LA Temple, who has been such a mentor and a good friend throughout all these years for me and has really encouraged me. So I wanted to thank her, and then I also wanted to thank my husband, Gopal Bhatta, who has been my guru for over thirty years and has been so supportive and has encouraged me for all these years. I do thank him, and I especially want to thank you for accepting me as your disciple. Over twenty years ago, you gave Sarasvati and me our first tulasi plant, and from that day forward, I have never been without tulasi, caring for her in my home. Sometimes I had fifteen, and sometimes I had one, depending on how they were doing, but I can’t imagine life without her, and also it has been my service at the LA Temple. So thank you so much for that; it has just been a blessing, and you have been a blessing. Hare Krishna.

[Applause]

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful. So on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, and henceforth your name shall be Tulasi devi dasi.

Tatiana Hitchina. What are the four regulative principles you vow to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: I vow to never eat meat in my life. I vow no illicit sex, no gambling, and no intoxications.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds?

Devotee: Sixteen rounds minimum per day.

Giriraj Swami: Is there anything else you would like to say?

Devotee: Yes, I would like to say that I promise that I will do the best of my life to serve Krishna, you, Srila Prabhupada, and the Vaishnavas, and I am very thankful for you accepting me as your disciple. Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful, beautiful. So on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, and henceforth your name shall be Tarini Radhika dasi. Tarini Radhika means Radhika who can deliver everyone.

[Applause]

So this concludes the first initiations. So what do we do now? Where is Nityananda Prabhu? So what do we do?

The next official item on the program is the fire yajña, but they need some time to get it ready, so in the meantime, we will chant japa.