Even though he was sinful, Ajamila's casual chanting was inoffensivebecause it was not performed to counteract his sinful activities:Srila Visvanatha CakravartiThakura's commentary to texts nine and tenof this chapter form a dialogue concerning how one can become freefrom all sinful reactions simply by chanting the holy name of theLord....Ajamila had named his son Narayana, and because he loved the boy verymuch, he would call him again and again. Although he was calling forhis son, the name itself was powerful because the name Narayana is notdifferent from the Supreme Lord Narayana. When Ajamila named his sonNarayana, all the reactions of his sinful life were neutralized, andas he continued calling his son and thus chanting the holy name ofNarayana thousands of times, he was actually unconsciously advancingin Krsna consciousness.One may argue, "Since he was constantly chanting the name of Narayana,how was it possible for him to be associating with a prostitute andthinking of wine?" By his sinful actions he was bringing sufferingupon himself again and again, and therefore one may say that hisultimate chanting of Narayana was the cause of his being freed.However, his chanting would then have been a nama-aparadha. Namnobalad yasya hi papa-buddhih: one who continues to act sinfully andtries to neutralize his sins by chanting the holy name of the Lord isa nama-aparadhi, an offender to the holy name. In response it may besaid that Ajamila's chanting was inoffensive because he did not chantthe name of Narayana with the purpose of counteracting his sins. Hedid not know that he was addicted to sinful actions, nor did he knowthat his chanting of the name of Narayana was neutralizing them. Thushe did not commit a nama-aparadha, and his repeated chanting of theholy name of Narayana while calling his son may be called purechanting. Because of this pure chanting, Ajamila unconsciouslyaccumulated the results of bhakti. Indeed, even his first utterance ofthe holy name was sufficient to nullify all the sinful reactions ofhis life. To cite a logical example, a fig tree does not immediatelyyield fruits, but in time the fruits are available. Similarly,Ajamila's devotional service grew little by little, and thereforealthough he committed very sinful acts, the reactions did not affecthim. In the sastras it is said that if one chants the holy name of theLord even once, the reactions of past, present or future sinful lifedo not affect him. To give another example, if one extracts the poisonfangs of a serpent, this saves the serpent's future victims frompoisonous effects, even if the serpent bites repeatedly. Similarly, ifa devotee chants the holy name even once inoffensively, this protectshim eternally. He need only wait for the results of the chanting tomature in due course of time.Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2 "Supplementary note"
...if a devotee chants the holy name even once inoffensively, this protects him eternally. He need only wait for the results of the chanting to mature in due course of time.
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...if a devotee chants the holy name even once inoffensively, this protects him eternally. He need only wait for the results of the chanting to mature in due course of time.