what is the safest path of self realization for all

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etan nirvidyamananam

 

icchatam akuto-bhayam

 

yoginam´ nr?pa nirn?itam´

 

harer namanukirtanam

 

SYNONYMS

 

etat — it is; nirvidyamananam — of those who are completely free from all

material desires; icchatam — of those who are desirous of all sorts of

material enjoyment; akutah?-bhayam — free from all doubts and fear; yoginam

— of all who are self-satisfied; nr?pa — O King; nirn?itam — decided truth;

hareh? — of the Lord, Sri Kr?s?n?a; nama — holy name; anu — after someone,

always; kirtanam — chanting.

 

TRANSLATION

 

O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the

great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all,

including those who are free from all material desires, those who are

desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by

dint of transcendental knowledge.

 

PURPORT

 

In the previous verse, the great necessity for attaining attachment to

Mukunda has been accredited. There are different types of persons who desire

to attain success in different varieties of pursuits. Generally the persons

are materialists who desire to enjoy the fullest extent of material

gratification. Next to them are the transcendentalists, who have attained

perfect knowledge about the nature of material enjoyment and thus are aloof

from such an illusory way of life. More or less, they are satisfied in

themselves by self-realization. Above them are the devotees of the Lord, who

neither aspire to enjoy the material world nor desire to get out of it. They

are after the satisfaction of the Lord, Sri Kr?s?n?a. In other words, the

devotees of the Lord do not want anything on their personal account. If the

Lord desires, the devotees can accept all sorts of material facilities, and

if the Lord does not desire this, the devotees can leave aside all sorts of

facilities, even up to the limit of salvation. Nor are they self-satisfied,

because they want the satisfaction of the Lord only. In this verse, Sri

Sukadeva Gosvami recommends the transcendental chanting of the holy name of

the Lord. By offenseless chanting and hearing of the holy name of the Lord,

one becomes acquainted with the transcendental form of the Lord, and then

with the attributes of the Lord, and then with the transcendental nature of

His pastimes, etc. Here it is mentioned that one should constantly chant the

holy name of the Lord after hearing it from authorities. This means that

hearing from the authorities is the first essential. Hearing of the holy

name gradually promotes one to the stage of hearing about His form, about

His attributes, His pastimes and so on, and thus the necessity of the

chanting of His glories develops successively. This process is recommended

not only for the successful execution of devotional service, but also even

for those who are materially attached. According to Sri Sukadeva Gosvami,

this way of attaining success is an established fact, concluded not only by

him, but also by all other previous acaryas. Therefore, there is no need of

further evidence. The process is recommended not only for the progressive

students in different departments of ideological success, but also for those

who are already successful in their achievement as fruitive workers, as

philosophers or as devotees of the Lord.

 

Srila Jiva Gosvami instructs that chanting of the holy name of the Lord

should be loudly done, and it should be performed offenselessly as well, as

recommended in the Padma Puran?a. One can deliver himself from the effects

of all sins by surrendering himself unto the Lord. One can deliver himself

from all offenses at the feet of the Lord by taking shelter of His holy

name. But one cannot protect himself if one commits an offense at the feet

of the holy name of the Lord. Such offenses are mentioned in the Padma

Puran?a as being ten in number. The first offense is to vilify the great

devotees who have preached about the glories of the Lord. The second offense

is to see the holy names of the Lord in terms of worldly distinction. The

Lord is the proprietor of all the universes, and therefore He may be known

in different places by different names, but that does not in any way qualify

the fullness of the Lord. Any nomenclature which is meant for the Supreme

Lord is as holy as the others because they are all meant for the Lord. Such

holy names are as powerful as the Lord, and there is no bar for anyone in

any part of the creation to chant and glorify the Lord by the particular

name of the Lord as it is locally understood. They are all auspicious, and

one should not distinguish such names of the Lord as material commodities.

The third offense is to neglect the orders of the authorized acaryas or

spiritual masters. The fourth offense is to vilify scriptures or Vedic

knowledge. The fifth offense is to define the holy name of the Lord in terms

of one's mundane calculation. The holy name of the Lord is identical with

the Lord Himself, and one should understand the holy name of the Lord to be

nondifferent from Him. The sixth offense is to interpret the holy name. The

Lord is not imaginary, nor is His holy name. There are persons with a poor

fund of knowledge who think the Lord to be an imagination of the worshiper

and therefore think His holy name to be imaginary. Such a chanter of the

name of the Lord cannot achieve the desired success in the matter of

chanting the holy name. The seventh offense is to commit sins intentionally

on the strength of the holy name. In the scriptures it is said that one can

be liberated from the effects of all sinful actions simply by chanting the

holy name of the Lord. One who takes advantage of this transcendental method

and continues to commit sins on the expectation of neutralizing the effects

of sins by chanting the holy name of the Lord is the greatest offender at

the feet of the holy name. Such an offender cannot purify himself by any

recommended method of purification. In other words, one may be a sinful man

before chanting the holy name of the Lord, but after taking shelter in the

holy name of the Lord and becoming immune, one should strictly restrain

oneself from committing sinful acts with a hope that his method of chanting

the holy name will give him protection. The eighth offense is to consider

the holy name of the Lord and His chanting method to be equal to some

material auspicious activity. There are various kinds of good works for

material benefits, but the holy name and His chanting are not mere

auspicious holy services. Undoubtedly the holy name is holy service, but He

should never be utilized for such purposes. Since the holy name and the Lord

are of one and the same identity, one should not try to bring the holy name

into the service of mankind. The idea is that the Supreme Lord is the

supreme enjoyer. He is no one's servant or order supplier. Similarly, since

the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord, one should not try to

utilize the holy name for one's personal service.

 

The ninth offense is to instruct those who are not interested in chanting

the holy name of the Lord about the transcendental nature of the holy name,

if such instruction is imparted to an unwilling audience, the act is

considered to be an offense at the feet of the holy name. The tenth offense

is to become uninterested in the holy name of the Lord even after hearing of

the transcendental nature of the holy name. The effect of chanting the holy

name of the Lord is perceived by the chanter as liberation from the

conception of false egoism. False egoism is exhibited by thinking oneself to

be the enjoyer of the world and thinking everything in the world to be meant

for the enjoyment of one's self only. The whole materialistic world is

moving under such false egoism of "I" and "mine," but the factual effect of

chanting the holy name is to become free from such misconceptions.

 

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