Lectures, January 15, 1971, Allahabad
So the Vishnudutas say that "Even though one has committed so many sinful activities, if once he utters the holy name of Narayana, he becomes free immediately." That's a fact. It is not exaggeration. A sinful man, someway or other, if he chants this Hare Krishna mantra, he immediately becomes free from all reaction. But the difficulty is that he commits again. That is namaparadha, offense. There are ten kinds of offenses. This is the severest offense, that after being freed from all sinful reaction by chanting Hare Krishna mantra, if he again commits the same sin, that is a grievous criminal action. For ordinary man it may not be so severe, but one who is chanting Hare Krishna mantra, if he takes advantage of this mantra, that "Because I am chanting Hare Krishna mantra, even though I commit some sin, I'll be free," he'll be free, but because he is offender he will not achieve the ultimate goal of chanting Hare Krishna mantra. Because he'll be freed, and again he'll commit--freed, again he'll commit—in this way there will be no chance of his liberation. But don't think that by chanting Hare Krishna mantra one's sinful reactions are counteracted. That is not exaggeration. That's a fact. The difficulty is that one chants Hare Krishna mantra, again commits sin, that is greatest sin. That is the greatest offense.
Lectures, January 15, 1971, Allahabad
So the first stage of chanting Hare Krishna mantra is full of offenses. But if one sticks to the principle... Therefore we have to chant regularly sixteen rounds at least. So even there are offenses, by simply chanting and being repentant that "I have committed this offense unnecessarily or without knowledge," so simply be repentant and go on chanting. Then the stage will come. It is called namabhasa. That is offenseless, when there is no more offenses. That is called namabhasa. At namabhasa stage one becomes liberated immediately. And when one is liberated, if he goes on chanting--naturally he will go on chanting--then his love of Krishna becomes manifest. These are the three stages of chanting: chanting with offense, chanting as a liberated person and chanting in love of God. There are three stage of chanting. The same thing, the example is just like a mango, unripe mango, going on, changes. It is not that chanting brings another thing as a result. No. The same thing becomes manifest in different feature. Just like unripe mango, you taste in a different way; it is very sour. But when it is ripened and it is fully ripened, the taste is changed. The taste is now sweet.
So in the beginning we may be very much reluctant in the matter of chanting, but when you become liberated the chanting will be so sweet that you cannot give up. Just like Rupa Gosvami. He has composed a sloka. He says in that sloka that "If I had millions of tongues and trillions of ears, then the chanting of Hare Krishna mantra would have been relishable. How, what can I do with one tongue and two ears?" So that is liberated stage. That is prema. But that stage is attainable. If you follow regularly the principles, everyone will attain to that stage when he simply likes to chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare; Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Comments