Chant,chant, chant- Can't, can't, can't

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Dear vaisnava friends

PAMHO

AGTSP

There is a famous lecture where Srila Prabhupada talks about chanting,

and a lady is encouraging her husband to chant.Chant, CHANT,CHANT.And the

husband answers can't,Can't,CAN'T.

Lord Caitanya came to give the holy name as it is the means,and the ends

in itself.SRila Prabhupada encouraged everyone to chant,so did Srila

Bhaktivinoda Thakura in many of his songs, like Jiva Jago,or Radha Krsna

bolo bol.

In the Padma Purana it is stated:Namaparadha yuktanam,namnyeva agham,avisranti

prayuktani,tany evatha karani ca.

"The chanting ot Hare Krsna is recommended for persons who commit

offences,because if they continue chanting they will gradually chant

offenselessly.Even if in the beginning one chants with offences one will

become free from such offences by chanting again and again".

 

Lord Caitanya prays in His Siksastaka:

My Lord,in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity ,and

therefore You have many names such as Krsna and Govinda, by which You expand

Yourself.You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there is are

no hard and fast rules for remembering them.My dear Lord,although You bestow

such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy

names.I am so unfortunate that I commit offences while chanting, and therefore

I do not achieve attachment for chanting."

 

Thus even if one has little attachment for the Lords holy names by continues

chanting then the taste for chanting will arise ,this is confirmed by Srila

Rupa Goswami in His Upadesamrita(nectar of instruction).

"The Holy name,character,pastimes and activities of Krsna are all

transcendeatally sweet like sugar candy.Although the tongue of one afflicted

by the jaundice of avidya cannot taste anything sweet,it is wonderful that

simply by carefully chanting these sweet names every day,

a natural relish awakens within his tongue,and his disease is gradually

destroyed at the root".(vers 7)

Srila Rupa Goswami has also glorified the holy name in his famous Namastaka:

O Hari nama!The tip of the toes of Your lotusfeet are constantly being

worshipped by the glowing radiance emanting from the string of gems known as

the Upanisads,the crown jewels of all the Vedas.You are eternally adorned by

liberated souls,such as Narada and Sukadeva.O HAri nama I take complete

shelter of You.

 

vers 2 OH Hari Nama,O name sung by the sages,O transcendental syllabels that

bring bliss to the people,even if You are spoken only once,and even if You are

spoken disrespectfully ,You at once remove the many harsh sufferings of

everyone.

 

3.O sun of the Holy Name, even the dim light of Your early dawn gives the

sight of pure devotion to they who are blind to the truth.What learned person

in this world is able to describe Your transcendental glory?

 

4The Vedas declare that although meditation on impersonal Brahman cannot bring

freedom from past karma, O Holy Name, Your appearence at once makes all karma

disappear.

 

5 O Holy name,I pray that my love for You in Your many forms ,such as

Aghadamana(crusher of Aghasura),Yasodanandana,

Nandasunu,Kamalanayana(lotuseyed),Gopicandra(Moon of the

Gopis),Vrindavanendra(king of Vrindavana),Pranatakaruna(merciful to the

surrendered souls),and Krsna may greatly increase.

 

6

O Holy Name, You manifest in two forms:1 the Supreme Personality of Godhead

described by the Holy Name,and 2 the sound vibration of the Holy

name.We know that the second form is more merciful than the first.Even a

person who commits many offences to the first form, may become always plunged

into an ocean of bliss by serving the second with his voice.

 

7 O Name that destroys the many sufferings of they who take shelter of You.O

Name that is the form of delightful and intense spiritual bliss,O name that is

a festival of happiness for Gokula,O perfect and complete Holy Name of Lord

Krsna, I bow down and offer my respects to You.I bow

down and offer my respects to You.

 

8 O life of Naradas Vina,O flood of the waves of sweet nectar,O Holy Name

of Lord Krsna,please sweetly appear on my tongue.

 

This Namastaka is so wonderfull that it should be recited before chanting

and it will help us chant in the right state of mind,that is also described by

Lord Caitanya

Trnad api sunicena

taror iva sahisnuna

amanina manadena

kirtaniyah sada harih

One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind,thinking

oneself lower than the straw in the street,one should be more tolerant than a

tree,devoid of false prestige,and one should be ready to offer respects to

others in such a state of mind ,one can chant

the holy name of the Lord constantly.

One should chant without motives for material desires:Na dhanam na janam na

sundarim.etc

To meditate on these things certainly help us to chant Hare Krsna nicely.

Your servant

Payonidhi das