Panchangas

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhaktarupa Prabhu,

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

 

> It was nice to hear from you. Thank you for the nice pramana about

> chanting.

 

Yes, it is nice to make contact again.

 

> Perhaps you have misunderstood something I wrote. I didn't mean to

> minimize the importance of any of the processes of bhakti which we

> commonly practice in ISKCON. They are all supported by guru sadhu and

> sastra. The primary point I was making was that, technically speaking, the

> holy name is not given to us at the time of initiation as one of the five

> samskaras. What is given is a specific combination of the holy names,

> called a mantra, and receiving that mantra is one of the five samskaras.

> At first initiation it is the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, and we hear that

> mantra chanted by the guru and also receive beads on which he has chanted

> that mantra.

 

I'm sure you weren't trying to minimize the importance of any of the

processes of bhakti commonly practiced in ISKCON, but I hope you can

consider the possibility that if this techicality were unduly emphasized it

might result in devotees minimizing the standard processes as an easier way

to the goal. The purpose of my response was to give an ounce of prevention.

By the way, I don't think there is a difference between a combination of

holy names and the holy name.

 

> So the only statement you make that I have any comment on is:

>

> > The holy name is enough by Himself only for liberated souls.

 

> I understand your point, but consider the example of Ajamila: He was

> certainly not liberated and the holy name was sufficient to liberate him!

> And he only chanted namabhasa, what to speak of the pure name! Is it not

> so? The holy name is effective even without initiation, without beads,

> without giving up sinful life. If one takes shelter of the holy name even

> without a guru then the holy name will supply whatever one needs for

> spiritual development, including a guru, beads, and the impetus to give up

> sinful life! To take your statement at face value would mean that the holy

> name is less powerful than one's conditioning.

 

I believe Banu Swami already addressed this point about Ajamila,

explaining that Ajamila had to remain for awhile longer to perfect his

chanting through the acceptance of standard purificatory procedures. By the

way, Ajamila was duly initiated in his youth and is described to have taken

up his vows again after getting another chance. This point doesn't

relativize the holy name, as you are suggesting, but rather relativizes the

qualification of the chanter. Otherwise the process of chanting would

become automatic, or mechanical, eliminating our free will to take it our

not. Although ultimately even offensive chanters will be delivered by the

potencey of the holy name, according to Cc it could take millions of births

before that happens if one continues to offend the holy name. I think the

extreme emphasis on guru that is being made by all the controversy is in one

sense weakening our ability to accept our responsibilities as disciples. I

submit the following quotes to support this view:

 

"You are under the clutches of maya. You have no independence. Neither

anyone has got any independence to save you. That is not possible. The same

example as I gave sometimes, that you learn how to drive aeroplane. So you

go high in the sky. But if you are in danger, no other aeroplane can help

you. You are finished. Therefore you must be a very careful pilot to take

care of yourself. Similarly, in this material world everyone individually

has to take care of himself. How he can be saved from the clutches of maya.

That is Krsna consciousness movement. A teacher can give you hints. The

acarya can give you hints that 'You can be saved in this way.' But the

execution of the duties, that is in your hand. If you perform the spiritual

duties rightly, then you are saved. Otherwise, even acarya gives you

instruction, if you don't follow, so how he can save you? He can save you by

instruction, by his mercy, as much as possible. But you have to take it in

your hands seriously." (Lecture 730721BG LON)

 

"They think, "Hare Krsna movement is disturbing." A rascal civilization. So

let us try our best. What can be done? You also helping in this movement. So

don't spoil the movement by manufacturing ideas. Don't do that. Go on in the

standard way, keep yourself pure; then movement is sure to be successful.

But if you want to spoil it by whimsical, then what can be done? It will be

spoiled. If you manufacture whims and disagree and fight amongst yourself,

then it will be another edition of these so-called movements. It will lose

the spiritual strength. Always remember it. You cannot.... Now, actually,

people are surprised: "What this Hare Krsna mantra has got power that it is

changing so quickly?" And on the other hand, it is to be admitted, unless it

has got power, how it is changing? So we have to keep that power. Don't make

it an ordinary musical vibration. It is a different thing, spiritual.

Although it seems like musical vibration, but it is spiritual, completely.

Mantrausadhi-vasa. Even, by mantra, the snakes can be charmed. So mantra is

not ordinary sound vibration. So we have to keep the mantra in potency,

potent, by offenseless chanting, by remaining pure. If you pollute the

mantra, then it will lose its effect." (REF. Room Conversation -- April

27, 1976, Auckland, New Zealand)

 

I remember Srila Prabhupada giving the example of electricity and

the conductor through which its current is felt. The holy name is eternally

pure and perfect, with full potencey; but because we conductors are not

pure, the full effect of the holy name is not felt. I understand this

example to mean that we must take the standard procedures even though the

holy name is sufficient. Again I quote Srila Prabhupada without my comment:

 

"...To chant the holy name of the Lord, one need not depend upon other

paraphernalia, for one can immediately get all the desired results of

connecting or linking with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It may

therefore be questioned why there is a necessity for initiation or further

spiritual activities in devotional service for one who engages in the

chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The answer is that although it is

correct that one who fully engages in chanting the holy name need not depend

upon the process of initiation, generally a devotee is addicted to many

abominable material habits due to material contamination from his previous

birth. In order to get quick relief from all these contaminations, it is

required that one engage in the worship of the Lord in the temple. The

worship of the Deity in the temple is essential to reduce one's restlessness

due to the contamination of conditional life. Thus Narada, in his

Pancaratriki-vidhi, and other great sages have sometimes stressed that since

every conditioned soul has a bodily concept of life aimed at sense

enjoyment, to restrict this sense enjoyment the rules and regulations for

worshiping the Deity in the temple are essential. Srila Rupa Goswami has

described that the holy name of the Lord can be chanted by liberated souls,

but almost all the souls we have to initiate are conditioned. It is advised

that one chant the holy name of the Lord without offenses, and according to

the regulative principles, yet due to their past bad habits they violate

these rules and regulations. Thus the regulative principles for worship of

the Deity are also simultaneously essential...."

 

So even though Srila Prabhupada is recognizing the point you are

making, that technically the holy name alone is sufficient, still he is

emphasizing the necessity of initiation, Deity worship, and so on, the

processes to bring us to the stage of chanting the pure name. I'm firmly

convinced we need to maintain that emphasis as the general rule. I'm

reminded of Srila Prabhpada's comment that "for all their strictness [in

following details] they don't know how to spread Krsna consciousness."

(brackets added by me)

 

I'm not sure I understand the purpose of bringing out this point

unless it is to open a door to the possibility that initiation is not

necessary, which I feel would be dangerous to our natural progress.

 

> I hope this is OK.

 

Ditto.

 

Hoping that you are well and happy, I remain as alwayss

 

Your servant,

Kesava Bharati das