Holy Name

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Veda tells us that if anyone is doing nama-aparadha, the result is that he

may become wealthy. Why? So that his bhakti will be covered by wealth. He

may drink, he may eat meat, he may take drugs, and he may engage in so many

other sins -- as we saw in the case of Nalakuvera and Manigriva. If there is

wealth, it is very hard to do bhajana. Ambarisa Maharaja and others like him

can do so, but we cannot do so if we are wealthy. Even a sannyasi may fall

down by wealth, and this has also been explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Wealth takes us very far away from Krsna. Nityartidena vittena

durlabhenatma-mrtyuna (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.3.19).

 

Nityartidena. To earn money is very difficult, and to use it properly is

very difficult. ["Wealth is a perpetual source of distress, it is most

difficult to acquire, and it is virtual death for the soul. What

satisfaction does one actually gain from his wealth? Similarly, how can one

gain ultimate or permanent happiness from one's so-called home, children,

relatives and domestic animals, which are all maintained by one's

hard-earned money?" (SB 11.3.20)]

 

In earning, in spending. And in protecting it. It always gives suffering.

 

Those persons cannot do bhajana properly. Gurudeva just gave the example of

the sons of Kuvera. Kuvera is the predominating deity of wealth. Janma

aisvarya sruta sri. If you come from an aristocratic family, if you have too

much opulence, if you are very learned, and if you are very handsome, you

cannot do bhajana properly. If you have wealth, then all bad qualities are

bound to come to you -- if you have not surrendered yourself to the lotus

feet of a bona fide gurudeva and are not in good association. If you have

wealth, then even if you are very ugly and you have many bad habits, yet you

can keep a learned or handsome person as your servant.

 

Nityartidena vittena durlabhenatma-mrtyuna. Wealth causes you to kill your

own soul. Therefore, if you have money, if you have wealth, you must be in

good association in order to use it properly. If you are like Ambarisa

Maharaja and Yudhisthira Maharaja, then you can be saved. Otherwise, you

will be entangled by that wealth, and you are bound to misuse it and spoil

your life.

 

A nama-aparadhi can have wealth, a very beautiful husband, a beautiful wife,

very good and beautiful children, gardens, dogs, and so on. These things

have come due to wealth. If you are not very wealthy, your children will

generally not become highly learned and qualified. Bodily paraphernalia is

collected by that wealth, which is like a death. How, then, can they do

anything to help you?

 

If you are doing nama-aparadha and vaisnava-aparadha, but still you are

chanting the name, what will be the result? Especially if you are

criticizing Vaisnavas, you will have to go to hell. The holy name cannot

bear that anyone criticizes His devotees. Krsna will make another kind of

hell for you -- a special kind of hell. These present hells are not enough.

A different result comes by chanting nama-abhasa. [This is the stage of

chanting where offences have almost stopped and one is freed from the result

of sins. Nama-abhasa is a glimpse of the light of the pure holy name. It is

almost transcendental.]

 

The chanter may take birth in a religious family to easily continue his

bhakti, and he will cross over death. He will be liberated by his

nama-abhasa. [in this connection 'crossing death' and 'liberation' means

that at the time of death the agents of Yamaraja will not come to punish

him. Rather, he will be promoted to a better opportunity for bhakti.] If he

is! not doing any vaisnava-aparadha or nama-aparadha, if nama-abhasa is

continuously coming, then it may be that by the effect of high association

or by the mercy of gurudeva and Vaisnavas and Krsna, in this life one pure

name will come on his tongue. You can realize this if you are always

chanting harinama and not criticizing or committing any offences to any

Vaisnava.

 

Then, very soon, by the process given by Rupa Gosvami and especially given

by Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Siksastaka, the pure holy name, with all kinds of

rasa and all kinds of associates, will come and dance. Maha-rasa-lila will

be danced on your tongue. This is sure. At that time there will be no

sleepiness or idleness at all. You will be like Srila Haridasa Thakura, or

more than that. You will be like Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Srila Rupa

Gosvami, and also Srila Sanatana Gosvami.

 

These Gosvamis never knew where was night and where was day. Sometimes they

ate nothing. They were only weeping, weeping, weeping -- all day and night.

Why were they weeping? Sometimes a feeling of separation came in their

hearts by the name. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare / Hare Rama

Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

 

In the names Hare and Krsna, Radha and Krsna are meeting. The pure chanter

will realize rasa and all the other sweet pastimes of Radha and Krsna in

Their meeting. In Rama Rama, or Hare Hare, or Krsna Krsna, a separation mood

will come. Krsna has gone for cowherding and the gopis are in their homes or

in the many groves. The gopis were remembering Krsna in their homes in this

way:

 

barhapidam nata-vara-vapuh karnayoh karnikaram

bibhrad vasah kanaka-kapisam vaijayantim ca malam

randhran venor adhara-sudhayapurayan gopa-vrndair

vrndaranyam sva-pada-ramanam pravisad gita-kirtih

 

["Wearing a peacock-feather ornament upon His head, blue karnikara flowers

on His ears, a yellow garment as brilliant as gold, and the Vaijayanti

garland, Lord Krsna exhibited His transcendental form as the greatest of

dancers as He entered the forest of Vrndavana, beautifying it with the marks

of His footprints. He filled the holes of His flute with the nectar of His

lips, and the cowherd boys sang His glories." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.21.5)]

 

The gopis were seeing Krsna playing on His flute, accompanied by Baladeva,

and lakhs and lakhs friends and cows were following behind them. The melody

of the sweet vamsi was entering the ears of the gopis, at once taking their

hearts, and then returning to Krsna. At that time the gopis became restless

and followed that thief. They called out, "Where are You taking my heart?"

Sometimes feeling separation and sometimes meeting, a devotee can do this.

Why he will sleep? He will not be able to sleep.

 

If that kind of name is not coming, then we are not uttering suddha-nama.

There are two kinds of name. When we are chanting the name by mind,

forcibly, it is like a vibration of sound. It is not the pure name. However,

although it is asuddha-nama, [some nama-aparadha and some nama-abhasa,] our

Gosvamis have said that such chanting is part of the process of bhakti. It

is called sadhana-bhakti.

 

There are two kinds of sadhana, and they are vaidhi-bhakti sadhana [sadhana

regulated by sastric injunctions] and raganuga-bhakti sadhana [sadhana

impelled by a greed to follow in the wake of the Vrajabasis]. When we are

engaging our tongue and all other senses for the purpose of achieving

transcendental bhakti, then it is also called bhakti. It is not exactly

bhakti, but still it is called so.

 

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