In the Bhagavad-gita 9.14, Lord Krishna states:
| satatam kirtayanto mam, yatantas ca drdha-vratah namasyantas ca mam bhaktya nitya-yukta upasate |
Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion. (Srila Prabhupada)
Srila Prabhupada in Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.23:
"While chanting the Holy Names of the Lord, one should be careful to avoid these ten offenses. There is no way to atone for any of these offenses. It is therefore recommended that an offender at the lotus feet of the Holy Name continue to chant the Holy Name twenty-four hours a day. Constant chanting of the Holy Name will make one free of offenses and then he will gradually be elevated to the transcendental platform on which he can chant the pure Holy Name and thus become a lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa 11.454, it is stated:
"While chanting the Holy Names of the Lord, one should be careful to avoid these ten offenses. There is no way to atone for any of these offenses. It is therefore recommended that an offender at the lotus feet of the Holy Name continue to chant the Holy Name twenty-four hours a day. Constant chanting of the Holy Name will make one free of offenses and then he will gradually be elevated to the transcendental platform on which he can chant the pure Holy Name and thus become a lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa 11.454, it is stated:
| yena janma-sataih purvam, vasudevah samarcitah tan mukhe hari-namani, sada tisthanti bharata |
"O best of the Bharatas! The Hare Krishna Maha-mantra is constantly present in the mouth of only one who has previously worshipped Lord Vasudeva (Krishna) perfectly for hundreds of births."
In Sri Caitanya-bhagavata Madhya-khanda 23.76-68, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally instructed all the people of Navadvipa to chant:
| hare krsna hare krsna, krsna krsna, hare hare; hare rama hare rama, rama rama, hare hare. prabhu bole, "kahilan ei mahamantra; iha japa giya sabe koriya nirbandha." |
The Lord said, "Please hear this Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. Everyone please chant this Maha-mantra daily in 'nirbhandha' (multiples of sixty-four (64) rounds) or constantly."
| iha hoite sarva-siddhi hoibe sabara; sarva-skana bolo' ithe vidhi nahi ara. |
The Lord continued, "By chanting in this way one will achieve all perfection in one's life. Please keep on chanting constantly because there is no consideration of any rules and regulations for this chanting process."
In Sri Caitanya-bhagavata Adi-khanda 14.140, Lord Caitanya instructed Tapana Misra:
| ratri-dina nama laya khaite suite; tanhara inahima vede mahi pare dite. |
"The Vedas are unable to fully describe the glories of one who chants the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra day and night, even while eating and sleeping."
In Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Adi-khanda 16.93, Naracarya Haridasa Thakura expresses his determination to chant the Maha-mantra to the Muslim King:
| khanda khanda hai deha yaya yadi prana; tabu ami vadane na chadi hari-nama. |
"Even if my body is cut into millions of pieces and I give up my life, I will never give up chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra."
In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 20.18, Lord Caitanya declares:
| khaite suite yatha tatha nama laya; kala-desa-niyama nahi, sarva siddhi haya. |
"Regardless of time of place or any rules and regulations, one who chants the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra continuously, even while eating or sleeping, attains all perfection."
In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 3.137, Namacarya Haridas Thakura instructs the converted prostitute:
| nirantara nama lao, kara tulasi sevana; acirat pabe tabe krsnaera carana. |
"Chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra continuously and render service to the Tulasi plant by watering Her and offering prayers to Her. In this way you will very soon get the opportunity to be sheltered at the lotus feet of Krishna."
| Continuous Chanting For Householder As Well as Renunciate |
In the Visnu Rahasya, Lord Brahma speaks to Narada at the end of the dialogue on masopavasar.
| prabhate cardha-ratre ca, madhyahne divasa-ksaye kirtayanti harim ye vai, te taranti bhavarnava evam ekantinam prayah, kirtanam smaranam prabhoh kurvatam parama-pritya, krtyam anyan na racate. |
"A well-to-do house-holder Vaishnava cannot live like a person in the renounced order who completely takes shelter of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. Such a house-holder should chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra in the morning, at midday and in the evening. Then he will be able to cross beyond nescience. Pure devotees in the renounced order, however, should fully surrender to the lotus feet of Krishna and should constantly chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra with great love and faith, always thinking of Krishna's lotus feet. They should have no occupation other than chanting and remembering the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra."
In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 6.223, 226, Lord Caitanya states:
| vairagi haribe sada nama-sankirtana; magiya dhana kare jivana raksana. |
"A person in the renounced order should always chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. He should beg some alms to eat, and he should sustain life in this way."
| vairagira krtya-sada nama-sankirtana; saka-patra-phala-mule udara-bharana. |
"The duty of a person in the renounced order is to chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra always. He should satisfy his belly with whatever vegetables, leaves, fruits and roots that are available."
| One Must Strictly Chant Twenty-Four Hours Daily |
In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 22.113, the following verse from the Padma Purana is quoted:
| smartavyah satatam visnur, vismartavyo na jatucit; sarve vidhi-nisedhah syur, etayor eva kindarah. |
"Krishna is the origin of Lord Vishnu. He should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and prohibitions mentioned in the sastras should be the servants of these two principles."
Purport by Srila Prabhupada:
"This verse is a quotation from the Padma Purana. There are many regulative principles in the sastras and directions given by the spiritual master. These regulative principles should act as servants of the basic principle, that is, one should always remember Sri Krishna and never forget Him. This is possible when one chants the Hare Krishna Mantra. Therefore, one must strictly chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra twenty-four hours daily."
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 16.72:
"This verse is a quotation from the Padma Purana. There are many regulative principles in the sastras and directions given by the spiritual master. These regulative principles should act as servants of the basic principle, that is, one should always remember Sri Krishna and never forget Him. This is possible when one chants the Hare Krishna Mantra. Therefore, one must strictly chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra twenty-four hours daily."
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 16.72:
| krsna-namapirantara yanhara vadane sei vaisnava-srestha, bhaja tanhara carane |
"A person who is constantly chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra is to be considered a first-class Vaishnava, and everyone's duty is to serve his lotus feet."
Purport by Srila Prabhupada:
"Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that any Vaishnava who is constantly chanting the Holy Name of the Lord should be considered to have attained the second platform of Vaishnava. Such a devotee is superior to a neophyte Vaishnava who has just learned to chant the Holy Name of the Lord."
"Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that any Vaishnava who is constantly chanting the Holy Name of the Lord should be considered to have attained the second platform of Vaishnava. Such a devotee is superior to a neophyte Vaishnava who has just learned to chant the Holy Name of the Lord."
In the Siksastaka, verse three, Lord Caitanya states:
| trnad api sunicena, taror api sahisnuna; amanina manadena, kirtaniyah sada harih. |
"One can chant the Holy Name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the Holy Name of the Lord constantly."
In the Hari-nama-cintamani, Thakura Haridasa explains the importance of constantly chanting:
| avisranta name nama-aparadha jaya; tahe aparadha kabhu sthana nahi paya. |
"Only by continuous chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra can the ten offenses against the Name be obliterated. Another advantage of constant chanting is that the ten offenses will not be able to again implicate the chanter."
Purport by Thakura Bhaktivinoda:
"Continuous chanting (avisranta nama), only one who chants the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra with great feeling all the time during the day and night, except during the time required for fulfilling the most basic bodily necessities like sleep, etc, is able to successfully destroy the ten offenses. The ten offenses to chanting cannot be obliterated by any other kind of pious activity or atonement."
"Continuous chanting (avisranta nama), only one who chants the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra with great feeling all the time during the day and night, except during the time required for fulfilling the most basic bodily necessities like sleep, etc, is able to successfully destroy the ten offenses. The ten offenses to chanting cannot be obliterated by any other kind of pious activity or atonement."
| divaratra nama laya, anutapa kore; tabe aparadha jaya nama phala dhore. |
"Only one who chants day and night with great anxiety to avoid the ten offenses and with great repentance for the offenses committed earlier, can completely nullify all the all the offenses. Then and only then, the transcendental Name of Krishna will bear fruit."
| aparadha gate suddhanamera udaya; suddha nama bhavamaya ara premamaya. |
"When the offenses are finished, the pure Name arises in the heart of the chanter. This pure Name grants the fulfillment of all desires and the most rare and super-excellent happiness of devotional service on the platform of bhava (ecstasy) and then prema (pure love). This is the ultimate achievement of the human form of life.
| namera anukula-vasaya-grahana o pratikula-visaya varjjana... |
"Accepting all the things and conditions favorable to the chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra and reject all the things unfavourable to the chanting...
| krsnera samsare thaki kataye jivana; nirantara hari-nama karena smarana. |
"He should seek out the association of nama-parayana (pure chanters) devotees and in their association constantly chant and remember the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra.
In the Namastake it is stated:
| nihsvase na hi visvasah, kada ruddho bhavisyati; kirtaniya mato balyad, harer namaiva kevalam. (1) |
"Remember that our final breath may come at any time, no matter if we're old and sick or in our youthful prime. So young and old alike should chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra incessantly, because it is the only Truth in this world.
| sa guruh sa pita capi, sa mata bandhavo 'pi sah; siksayee cet sada smartum, harer namaiva kevalam (2) |
| "He's the Guru, He's the Father, He's the Friend most true, She's the real Mother Who most kindly teaches you. To always chant and hear the Maha-mantra, Which is the only Truth in this world. |
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