The word 'sraddha' (faith) in the above verse means 'sraddhabhasa' (the partial presence of faith). And why not? when faith is directed to the Lord alone and not to the Lord's devotees, such faith is called 'chaya' (shadow) or pratibimba (reflection). That is the faith of ordinary materialistic people. It is not the spiritual faith of pure devotional service. Because a bhaktabhasa (a person who is partially a devotee) has faith and worship that are material (prakrta) in nature, a bhaktabhasa devotee is also called a 'prakrita-bhakta' or a 'Vaishnavabhasa'. Lord Mahaprabhu said that Haranya-Govardhana was a 'Vaishnava-praya'. The word 'Vaishnava-praya' means a person who, wearing beads, tilaka markings and other things, looks like a true Vaishnava, although his chanting of the Maha-mantra is only namabhasa. Such a person is not a true or pure (suddha) Vaishnava.
Vijaya-kumara: "If an impersonalist (who has no faith in Krishna's Form and pastimes and considers that the Absolute Truth is impersonal in the ultimate sense) accepts the various outward markings of a Vaishnava and chants the Maha-mantra, is he then a Vaishnavabhasa?"
Babaji: "No. They cannot be called Vaishnavabhasa. They are offenders. They consider themselves one with God instead of trying to serve Him. They should be called Vaishnavaparadhi (offenders to the Vaishnavas). They who take shelter of pratibimba-namabhasa (the reflection of the Maha-mantra) and pratibimba-bhavabhasa (the reflection of ecstatic love for the Lord) may be called Vaishnavabhasa. But is not right to call the great offenders by the name "Vaishnava". They should be called something else."
Vijaya-kumara: "O master, please explain more clearly the nature of the pure chanting of the Maha- mantra, so we may understand it better."
Babaji: "When a person who chants the Mantra is 'anyabhilasita-sunya' (free from all material desires), 'jnana-karmady-anavrta' (free of impersonalism and fruitive work), and 'anukulya-bhava' (favorable to Lord Krishna), then his chanting is pure chanting of the Maha-mantra. Here the word 'anyabhilasa' does not refer to the desire to taste the transcendental bliss that comes when the spiritual Maha-mantra is openly manifested. 'Anyabhilasa' here refers to the desire to attain impersonal liberation or freedom from sins as the result of one's chanting of the Maha-mantra. If these desires are present, then one's chanting of the mantra will not be pure. If one is not free from the desire to enjoy the so-called benefits obtained by jnana (impersonal speculation) and karma (fruitive work), then his chanting of the Maha-mantra will not be pure either. If one throws far away all feelings of enmity toward the Lord, and maintains only favorable emotions directed to the Lord, then one's chanting is free from namaparadha (offenses to the Maha-mantra) and namabhasa (the partial manifestation of the Maha-mantra), then his chanting is suddha-nama (pure chanting of the Maha-mantra). Lord Gauracandra, the purifier of the Kali-yuga has described this pure chanting in the following words:
"One should chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the Maha-mantra constantly."
Vijaya-kumara: "O master, how are namabhasa and namapradha different?"
Babaji: "Namabhasa is not suddha-nama (the pure chanting of the Maha-mantra). In one circumstance the chanting of the Maha-mantra is called 'namabhasa' and in another circumstance it is called 'namapradha'. When, out of bewilderment and foolishness, one does not chant the Maha- mantra purely, his chanting is called 'namabhasa'. On the other hand, when a rascal impersonalist who yearns to attain impersonal liberation chants the Maha-mantra, or when a hedonist who yearns after material pleasures chants the Maha-mantra, their impure chanting is called 'namapradha' (offenses to the Maha-mantra). I have already described to you the ten offenses. If a sincere non- duplicitous person out of ignorance commits these offenses, his chanting is namabhasa. This should be understood. As long as one's chanting is namabhasa and does not have the nature of namapradha, then one may hope that one day he will rise above namabhasa and attain suddha-nama. As long as one is in the stage of namapradha it will not be easy for him to chant the Maha-mantra purely. I have already explained how one becomes free from namapradha. Aside from that, there is no other method by which one can attain auspiciousness.
Vijaya-kumara: "What should a person whose chanting is namabhasa do to turn his namabhasa chanting into suddha-nama?"
Babaji: "Only by associating with pure devotees, one quickly becomes attracted to pure devotional service. When the Maha-mantra dances on the tongue of such a person, that chanting is suddha- nama. However, such a person must scrupulously avoid the association of persons whose chanting is namapradha. And why not? If he associates with them, he will not be able to chant the Maha- mantra purely. Association with saintly devotees is the only way for the individual soul to attain auspiciousness. For this reason Lord Gauracandra, Who is the Master of our lives, taught Sanatana Goswami that association with saintly devotees is the root cause from which devotional service grows. When one associates with saintly devotees and avoids the association of non-devotees, he will be able to chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra properly."
Vijaya-kumara: "O master, does this mean that if a man does not renounce the association of his wife he will not be able to chant the Holy Name purely?"
Babaji: "If one is a renunciate, one should renounce complete association with the opposite sex. When a householder Vaishnava associates with his wife and he lives a Vaishnava householder life in an unattached way, that is not what is meant here by 'association with the opposite sex'. When a man has a material attachment to a woman or a woman has a material attachment to a man, that is what is meant here by 'association with the opposite sex'. A householder may remain in family life, and remaining free from material attachment he should chant the Maha-mantra purely and attain the final goal of life.
Vijaya-kumara: "Please explain what benefit namabhasa brings and what benefit it does not bring."
Babaji: "Sense pleasures (bhukti), liberation (mukti) and the eighteen yogic perfections (and everything in creation up to Krishna-prema) are included among the benefits namabhasa brings. However, pure love for Lord Krishna (krishna-prema), which is the highest goal of life, is not granted by namabhasa. If a person whose chanting is on the level of namabhasa associates with a pure devotee (suddha-bhakta), then the chanter can come to the level of a madhyama-vaishnava (intermediate devotee). From that status he can become further elevated, attain pure devotion, chant the Maha-mantra purely, and finally attain pure love for Lord Krishna.
[There are four kinds of namabhasa as described in Srimad Bhagavatam 6.2.14: "One who chants the Maha-mantra of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly (to indicate something else or sanketa), jokingly (parihasya), derisively (stobha), or even neglectfully (hela). This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures.]
Vijaya-kumara: "O master, in this world there are many devotees who are on the platform of vaishnavabhasa. They have the outward marks of a Vaishnava and they diligently chant the Maha- mantra although their chanting is on the level of namabhasa. Even though they chant, after many days they still do not attain pure love for Lord Krishna. Why is that?"
Babaji: "The reason is confidential. It is this: Persons on the level of bhakty-abahasa (a glimpse of devotional service) are certainly eligible to eventually attain pure devotional service. However, if such persons mistakenly think impure persons, persons who do not have unalloyed devotion to the Lord, to be great saints, and if by this bad association they eventually associate with impersonalist and other offenders, by that bad association they also become offenders to the pure Vaishnavas. In this way their path to gradual spiritual advancement becomes checked. Thus, by bad association, they come to accept the doctrines of the impersonalist or other offenders. In this way they wonder far away from pure devotional service and eventually they become offenders. However, if, because of past pious deeds they are able to shun bad association and remain in the association of good devotees, then they eventually will become pure Vaishnavas."
Vijaya-kumara: "O master, what result is obtained by namapradha (offenses to the Holy Name)?
Babaji: "Even if they were multiplied millions of times, the five sins would not equal an offense to the Maha-mantra. You can very easily see the result reaped by offending the Holy Name." (Namapradha is verily the greatest sin in creation.)
Vijaya-kumara: "O master, a person who offends the Maha-mantra certainly reaps an inauspicious result. Still, does he not also obtain a good result because he has spoken the syllables of the Maha- mantra?"
Babaji: "The Maha-mantra fulfills the chanter's desires, whatever they are. However, to the offensive chanter, the Maha-mantra will not get pure love for Lord Krishna. Eventually, the offensive chanter must taste the result of his offenses. However, a person who, although he commits offenses to the Maha-mantra, regularly chants the Holy Name, will attain the result of his chanting. After some time his chanting will become a great transcendental pious deed. As that transcendental pious deed grows greater and greater, he will attain the association of saintly devotees who devotedly chant the Maha-mantra in a pure way. Thus by always chanting the Maha-mantra, the offender eventually becomes free of his offenses to the Maha-mantra. By following this path, even impersonalist gradually become sincere devotees of Lord Hari."
Vijaya-kumara: "By chanting the Maha-mantra only once a person is freed from all sins. Why, then should one chant the Name always?"
Babaji: "Offenders to the Maha-mantra have hearts and activities that are always impure. They are naturally averse to the Lord. They are never attracted to saintly persons, holy objects, or holy activities. They are naturally attracted to evil persons, evil theories, and evil deeds. However, constant chanting of the Maha-mantra turns them away from evil persons and evil deeds. Free from bad association, they come to chant the Maha-mantra purely. The mantra then gives them the strength to proceed on the spiritual path."
The following is the translation of a song from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Saranagati:
"My heart is just like a desert, hot with the rays of the sun. This is my internal mental condition. The desire for mortal things cannot satisfy me because by nature they are death producing. And not one or two, but thousands of such death producing desires have taken shelter in my mind. So, my subconscious region is always burning. This is my condition. But somehow, by the grace of the sadhu and guru, the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, with its infinite prospect, has entered through the holes of my ears and reached the plane of my heart. And there, with some peculiar hope, with infinite, auspicious possibilities, it touched by heart with a new kind of nectar.
"New hope is aroused by that sound of the Maha-mantra. Then by force it comes from the heart towards the tongue. Not that by the endeavor of my tongue am I producing that sound, no. What came from the heart of a pure saint through my ear, entered my heart, and that forcibly appeared on my tongue, and began to dance.
"That is the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra. It descends from above. It cannot be produced by the material tongue. It's source is above. And through an agent of the Absolute, it comes through the ear to the heart. From the heart it gathers some sympathy, then the Maha-mantra forcibly appears upon the tongue and begins to dance. With great force it comes to the end of the tongue, and that sweet sound begins its dancing.
"The real effects of the Maha-mantra have been described here. If it is a real and living mantra, the voice will be choked up, there will be shivering in the body, and the legs will be unable to stand. Sometimes tears will flow in a current on the body, and one's hairs will stand on end. Sometimes changes of color will be found in the body, and we will be unable to find any tract of the mind or consciousness.
"We may fall in a swoon, the whole body and mind will appear as if it is being attacked, shivering, and influenced in different ways. Apparently it may seem that so many troubles are created in the body and the mind, but the real heart is overflowing with a particular kind of strange, sweet juice. Sometimes the devotee thinks, 'I am an ocean of nectar'. My whole existence is within an ocean of nectarine liquid. I am beside myself. I can't understand where I am. Where am I? What is this? What is all about me? It has almost made me mad. Am I a madman? Where is my past experience, my seriousness, my gravity, where are they? What am I? I have been converted wholesale by a foreign thing. I am a doll in the hands of a great force, which is also so affectionate to me. I can't ascertain how it is possible that by my faith I have entered this great, unknown environment, not experienced before. And at last I find that I am captivated. My entire being, within and without, has been captured by a particularly sweet force. I can't help being prey to such a sweet power. I can't give any proper description of this. I came to take shelter of Him (Maha-mantra) and accept Him as my guardian, now at His hands I am being dealt with in such a merciless and despotic way.
"Still, I feel that everything is very pleasing, beyond my experience. What is this? I can't resist anymore. I am fully captured. Let my fate go anywhere. I can't come out. I am a captive in the hand of a sweet friend (Maha-mantra), my whole independence is gone. There is no way left to me but to surrender. I am unable to describe my real position.
"I find that He's (Krishna in the Form of the Maha-mantra) an autocrat. Whatever He likes, He will do. Since it is not possible for me to give any resistance, I must surrender. Let me also cooperate with whatever He is pleased to do. Otherwise I find that the sweetness of the Maha-mantra is condensed like a blossoming flower, and very wonderful streams of sweet current are flowing from it. The Maha-mantra contains so many sweet variegated forms of current within him, and He is wonderfully expressing Himself in different ways. Sometimes He emanates a peculiar type of color and figure, and disappears.
"So many charming aspects are shown as if to my eyes within, and He (Maha-mantra) forcibly takes me to surrender at the foot of that alter. He knows Himself in His full-fledged form, in Vrindavana, in His Braja-lila with Radharani, and He takes me there. I find that I am in the midst of His peculiar, very sweet and loving paraphernalia. And He says: 'You see! I have so many wonderful things. This is your home. I am not merely imagination, but concrete reality. You will find here that the environment is very favorable and sweet. You are to live here.' I see there that He is dealing in different ways with His associates, in different rasas (mellows). And I find that I have another spiritual body that has emerged through the chanting process and the previous material one has been destroyed, and that there is a permanent place here in His service.
"Such a new life I find here. And then I find ultimately that all consideration of my past life and experience has vanished. And it is true, my real life is here (in the spiritual world). This is proper, and that was a sham, that life has vanished. Then I find that chanting the Maha-mantra gives me new encouragement, a new prospect, and new hope. Whatever we want, whatever is our internal demand, it is supplied by the Maha-mantra. If we take the Maha-mantra, all our internal hankerings will be fulfilled. It is eternal, it is the purest of the pure, and it is full of ecstasy.
"Now I find that I have been completely converted. How, by innermost hankering is this: 'Let whatever is against he sweet chanting of this Hare Krishna Maha-mantra vanish eternally from the world. If anything is in opposition to this sweet life, let it vanish, and if necessary, I will give m my life to make it disappear from the world forever. Then others will be able to enjoy it at their free will. NO hindrance should come to that fulfillment of life. It has no other second. So, everyone may come here, and if necessary, I will sacrifice myself to finish any opposition, so that all can smoothly, peacefully, and without any danger, enjoy this absolute, sweet, and blissful life by constantly chanting the Maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare;
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare."
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura Prabhupada explains the ontology of the Name of Krishna in one essay as follows:
"The Holy Name of Krishna means divine sound. It can be compared to a capsule of medicine. The capsule is not the medicine. Externally one capsule may look like another, but within one capsule maybe medicine and within another may be cyanide. The capsule itself is not the medicine. It is not the sound of Krishna's Name that is Krishna. Krishna is within the sound. The Holy Name must be surcharged with the proper spirit not any mundane sentiment.
"The divine sound of the Holy Name must have it's origin beyond the area of misconception or maya. Sound must have it's origin in Goloka Vrindavana. The mere physical sound is not the Holy Name or Krishna. Repeating only the syllables of the Holy Name is called mayic sound. It has no spiritual essence. The life of the Name is absent in offensive chanting.
"The most important think in chanting the Holy Name is the spiritual realization backing the Name, which is the real Name. A tape recorder can pronounce the Holy Name of Krishna, just like a parrot. But the physical sound is not Krishna. In the background there must be spiritual truth which is conscious. You cannot capture the Holy Name of Krishna simply by vibrating the syllables of the Holy Name with your tongue. Ravana wanted to capture Sita and he thought he did. But factually he did not even touch Her divine body. Ravana caught only a mundane replica of Sitadevi, an imitation which was like a statue of Sita.
"You cannot vibrate the Holy Name simply by moving your lips and tongue. The pure Name of Krishna is not lip-deep, but heart-deep. Ultimately, it goes beyond the heart and reaches the land of Krishna. When Krishna comes down, the Names comes through the heart and moves the lips and tongue. That vibration is the Holy Name of Krishna. When Krishna, in the form of sound descends from the transcendental world into the heart, and from the heart controlling every aspect of the nervous system comes to the lips and tongue dancing there, that is Krishna Nama.
"That sound is not produced from the material plane. The spiritual sound has come down into this plane. He can come down, but we cannot so easily go up there. The Holy Name is only realized when we approach Him with a very intense serving attitude. At that time, Krishna Himself may come down by His grace being attracted by our pure serving nature.
"Then Krishna can influence this element and produce transcendental sound and dance within the mundane plane. This is the Holy Name of Krishna, Vaikuntha Nama, the real Name of Krishna. We cannot produce it without lips. The sound we create with out physical or mental production is not Krishna. He is indifferent to whatever sound we may produce, yet because He controls everything, He can appear anywhere, in any form, in any place, in any sound. (End)
In the last chapter Bhajana Pranali of Hari-nama-cintamani, Thakura Haridasa states that there are three things necessary for achieving success in chanting:
- sadhu-sange: Strong association with Nama-parayana devotees.
- Sunirjjana: Avoiding materialistic association and chanting the Maha-mantra in a peaceful place with no distractions.
- Drdha-bhava: Determination to complete the fixed number of rounds of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra daily in any circumstance.
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