Prabhupada’s Chaitanya-caritamrita, Madhya Lila | Chapter 15, verses 107 – 111
TEXT 107
eka krsna-name kare sarva-papa ksaya nava-vidha bhakti purna nama haite haya
SYNONYMS
eka krsna-name–one holy name of Krsna; kare–can do; sarva-papa–of all sinful reactions; ksaya–destruction; nava-vidha–nine processes; bhakti–of devotional service; purna–complete; nama haite–simply by chanting the holy name; haya–are.
TRANSLATION
“Simply by chanting the holy name of Krishna, one is relieved from all the reactions of a sinful life. One can complete the nine processes of devotional service simply by chanting the holy name.
PURPORT
The nine types of devotional service are mentioned in Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.5.23):
sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam
iti pumsarpita visnau bhaktis cen nava-laksana kriyeta bhagavaty addha tan manye ‘dhitam uttamam
These are the activities of hearing, chanting, remembering, serving, worshiping, praying, obeying, maintaining friendship and surrendering everything. As far as chanting the holy name of Krishna is concerned, one can be freed from all sinful reactions by chanting the holy name without committing offenses.
If one chants offenselessly, he may be saved from all sinful reactions. It is very important in devotional service to chant the holy name of the Lord without committing offenses. The nine devotional processes such as sravana and kirtana can all be attained at once if one simply chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly.
In this regard, Srila Jiva Gosvami states in his book Bhakti-sandarbha (173): yadyapi anya bhaktih kalau kartavya, tada kirtanakhya-bhakti-samyogenaiva. Out of the nine processes of devotional service, kirtana is very important. Srila Jiva Gosvami therefore instructs that the other processes, such as arcana, vandana, dasya and sakhya, should be executed, but they must be preceded and followed by kirtana, the chanting of the holy name.
We have therefore introduced this system in all of our centers. Arcana, arati, bhoga offering, Deity dressing and decoration are all preceded and followed by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord-Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
TEXT 108
diksa-purascarya-vidhi apeksa na kare jihva-sparse a-candala sabare uddhare
SYNONYMS
diksa–initiation; purascarya–activities before initiation; vidhi– regulative principles; apeksa–reliance on; na–not; kare–does; jihva–the tongue; sparse–by touching; a-candala–even to the lowest of men, the candala; sabare–everyone; uddhare–delivers.
TRANSLATION
One does not have to undergo initiation or execute the activities required before initiation. One simply has to vibrate the holy name with his lips. Thus even a man in the lowest class [candala] can be delivered.
PURPORT
Srila Jiva Gosvami explains diksa in his Bhakti-sandarbha (283):
divyam jnanam yato dadyat kuryat papasya sanksayam tasmad dikseti sa prokta desikais tattva-kovidaih
“Diksa is the process by which one can awaken his transcendental knowledge and vanquish all reactions caused by sinful activity. A person expert in the study of the revealed scriptures knows this process as diksa.” The regulative principles of diksa are explained in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (2.3,4) and in Bhakti-sandarbha (283). As stated:
dvijanam anupetanam svakarmadhyayanadisu yathadhikaro nastiha syac
copanayanad anu tathatradiksitanam tu mantra-devarcanadisu
nadhikaro ‘sty atah kuryad atmanam siva-samstutam
“Even though born in a brahmana family, one cannot engage in Vedic rituals without being initiated and having a sacred thread. Although born in a brahmana family, one becomes a brahmana after initiation and the sacred thread ceremony. Unless one is initiated as a brahmana, he cannot worship the holy name properly.”
According to the Vaisnava regulative principles, one must be initiated as a brahmana. The Hari-bhakti-vilasa (2.6) quotes the following injunction from the Visnu-yamala:
adiksitasya vamoru krtam sarvam nirarthakam
pasu-yonim avapnoti diksa-virahito janah
“Unless one is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, all his devotional activities are useless. A person who is not properly initiated can descend again into the animal species.”
Hari-bhakti-vilasa (2.10) further quotes:
ato gurum pranamyaivam sarva-svam vinivedya ca
grhniyad vaisnavam mantram diksa-purvam vidhanatah
“It is the duty of every human being to surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Giving him everything-body, mind and intelligence-one must take a Vaisnava initiation from him.”
The Bhakti-sandarbha sagara:
(298) gives the following quotation from the Tattva-
yatha kancanatam yati kasyam rasa-vidhanatah tatha diksa-vidhanena dvijatvam jayate nrnam
“By chemical manipulation, bell metal is turned into gold when touched by mercury; similarly, when a person is properly initiated, he can acquire the qualities of a brahmana.”
The Hari-bhakti-vilasa (17.11,12) in discussing the purascarya process, quotes the following verses from Agastya-samhita:
puja traikaliki nityam
japas tarpanam eva ca homo brahmana-bhuktis ca
purascaranam ucyate
guror labdhasya mantrasya prasadena yatha-vidhi pancangopasana-siddhyai puras caitad vidhiyate
“In the morning, afternoon and evening, one should worship the Deity, chant the Hare Krishna mantra, offer oblations, perform a fire sacrifice, and feed the brahmanas. These five activities constitute purascarya. To attain full success when taking initiation from the spiritual master, one should first perform these purascarya processes.”
The word purah means “before” and carya means “activities.” Due to the necessity of these activities, we do not immediately initiate disciples in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. For six months, a candidate for initiation must first attend arati and classes in the sastras, practice the regulative principles and associate with other devotees.
When one is actually advanced in the purascarya-vidhi, he is recommended by the local temple president for initiation. It is not that anyone can be suddenly initiated without meeting the requirements. When one is further advanced by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra sixteen rounds daily, following the regulative principles and attending classes, he receives the sacred thread (brahminical recognition) after the second six months.
In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (17.4,5,7) it is stated:
vina yena na siddhah syan mantro varsa-satair api krtena yena labhate
sadhako vanchitam phalam
purascarana-sampanno mantro hi phala-dhayakah atah puraskriyam kuryat mantravit siddhi-kanksaya
puraskriya hi mantranam pradhanam viryam ucyate virya-hino yatha dehi sarva-karmasu na ksamah purascarana-hino hi tatha mantrah prakirtitah
“Without performing the purascarya activities, one cannot become perfect even by chanting this mantra for hundreds of years. However, one who has undergone the purascarya-vidhi process can attain success very easily. If one wishes to perfect his initiation, he must first undergo the purascarya activities. The purascarya process is the life-force by which one is successful in chanting the mantra. Without the life-force, one cannot do anything; similarly, without the life force of purascarya-vidhi, no mantra can be perfected.”
In his Bhakti-sandarbha (283), Srila Jiva Gosvami states:
yadyapi sri-bhagavata-mate pancaratradi-vat arcana-margasya avasyakatvam
nasti, tad vinapi saranapattyadinam ekatarenapi purusartha-siddher
abhihitatvat, tathapi sri-naradadi-vartmanusaradbhih sri-bhagavata saha
sambandha-visesam diksa-vidhanena sri-guru-carana-sampaditam cikirsadbhih krtayam diksayam arcanam avasyam kriyetaiva.
Of similar importance is diksa, which is explained as follows in Bhakti- sandarbha (284):
yadyapi svarupato nasti, tathapi prayah svabhavato dehadi-sambandhena
kardaya- silanam viksipta-cittanam jananam tat-tat-sankoci-karanaya
srimad-rsi- prabhrtibhir atrarcana-marge kvacit kvacit kacit kacin maryada sthapitasti.
Similarly in the Ramarcana-candrika it is stated:
vinaiva diksam viprendra purascaryam vinaiva hi vinaiva nyasa-vidhina japa-matrena siddhida
In other words, the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra is so powerful that it does not depend on official initiation, but if one is initiated and engages in pancaratra-vidhi (Deity worship), his Krishna consciousness will awaken very soon, and his identification with the material world will be vanquished. The more one is freed from material identification, the more one can realize that the spirit soul is qualitatively as good as the Supreme Soul.
At such a time, when one is situated on the absolute platform, he 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 Krishna mantra, cannot be identified with any material sound. If one accepts the Hare Krishna maha-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 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 7.73):
krsna-mantra haite habe samsara-mocana krsna-nama haite pabe krsnera carana
“Simply by chanting the holy name of Krishna one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.”
The offenseless chanting of the holy name does not depend on the initiation process. Although initiation may depend on purascarya or purascarana, the actual chanting of the holy name does not depend on purascarya-vidhi, or the regulative principles.
If one chants the holy name once without committing an offense, he attains all success. During the chanting of the holy name, the tongue must work. Simply by chanting the holy name, one is immediately delivered. The tongue is sevonmukha-jihva-it is controlled by service. One whose tongue is engaged in tasting material things and also talking about them cannot use the tongue for absolute realization.
atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah
According to Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 17.134):
ataeva krsnera ‘nama’, ‘deha’, ‘vilasa’ prakrtendriya-grahya nahe, haya sva-prakasa
“With these material senses, one cannot understand the transcendental holy name of the Lord or His form, activities and pastimes. However, when one actually engages in devotional service, utilizing the tongue, the Lord is revealed.”
TEXT 109
anusanga-phale kare samsarera ksaya citta akarsiya karaya krsne premodaya
SYNONYMS
anusanga-phale–as a simultaneous result; kare–does; samsarera ksaya– annihilation of entanglement in the material world; citta–thought; akarsiya– attracting; karaya–causes; krsne–unto Lord Krsna; prema-udaya–arousal of transcendental love.
TRANSLATION
By chanting the holy name of the Lord, one dissolves his entanglement in material activities. After this, one becomes very attracted to Krsna, and thus dormant love for Krishna is awakened.
TEXT 110
akrstih krta-cetasam sumanasam uccatanam camhasam acandalam
amuka-loka-sulabho vasyas ca mukti-sriyah no diksam na ca sat-kriyam na ca purascaryam manag iksate mantro ‘yam rasana-sprg eva phalati sri-krsna-namatmakah
SYNONYMS
akrstih–attraction; krta-cetasam–of saintly persons; su-manasam–of the most liberal-minded; uccatanam–annihilator; ca–also; amhasam–of sinful reactions; a-candalam–even to the candalas; amuka–except the dumb; loka- sulabhah–very easy to achieve for all persons; vasyah–full controller; ca– and; mukti-sriyah–of the opulence of liberation; no–not; diksam–initiation; na–not; ca–also; sat-kriyam–pious activities; na–not; ca–also; purascaryam- -regulative principles before initiation; manak–slightly; iksate–depends upon; mantrah–mantra; ayam–this; rasana–tongue; sprk–touching; eva–simply; phalati–is fruitful; sri-krsna-nama-atmakah–consisting of the holy name of Lord Krishna.
TRANSLATION
The holy name of Lord Krishna 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 candala. The holy name of Krishna is the controller of the opulence of liberation, and it is identical with Krishna.
Simply by touching the holy name with one’s tongue, immediate effects are produced. Chanting the holy name does not depend on initiation, pious activities or the purascarya regulative principles generally observed before initiation. The holy name does not wait for all these activities. It is self-sufficient.’
PURPORT
This verse is found in the Padyavali (29) by Srila Rupa Gosvami.
TEXT 111
ataeva yanra mukhe eka krsna-nama sei ta’ vaisnava, kariha tanhara sammana
SYNONYMS
ataeva–therefore; yanra mukhe–in whose mouth; eka–one; krsna-nama–the holy name of Krishna; sei ta’ vaisnava–he is a Vaisnava; kariha–offer; tanhara– to him; sammana–respect.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then finally advised, “One who is chanting the Hare Krishna mantra is understood to be a Vaishnava; therefore you should offer all respects to him.”
PURPORT
In his Upadesamrta, Srila Rupa Gosvami states: krsneti yasya giri tam manasadriyeta diksasti cet. An advanced devotee should respect a person who has been initiated by a bona fide spiritual master and who is situated on the transcendental platform, chanting the holy name with faith and obeisances and following the instructions of the spiritual master. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura comments that serving Vaishnavas is most important for householders.
Whether a Vaishnava is properly initiated or not is not a subject for consideration. One may be initiated and yet contaminated by the Mayavada philosophy, but a person who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly will not be so contaminated. A properly initiated Vaishnava may be imperfect, but one who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly is all-perfect.
Although he may apparently be a neophyte, he still has to be considered a pure unalloyed Vaisnava. It is the duty of the householder to offer respects to such an unalloyed Vaisnava. This is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s instruction.”
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
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