chanting without offenses

[iamwhatisayiam]

Dear devotees,

 

Im sure this question may have come up several times,but if you dont mind i would like to re-ask this question so that it may help me personally.

 

I have been reading articles by a Vaishnav Guru who quotes Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur writings about ridding the offenses to the holy name by chanting Nitai Gaura naam mantras.

 

I would like to know what other ways to remove offenses mentioned by the acaryas and shastra.

 

please bash my ignorance with some knowledge:pray:

[visnujana]

This is true that in Gaudiya-vaisnava line devotees emphasize and hope for the mercy of Nitai-Gauranga. If one sincerely aspires for Their mercy, then Sri Nityananda Prabhu comes to such person as Sri Guru, and then Sri Guru opens all kinds of tattva to his disciple.

yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado

yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto ’pi

Only by the mercy of Sri Gurudeva can one receive the mercy of Krishna; without his grace the living entities cannot make any advancement nor be delivered.

[visnujana]

The 12th Chapter of Jaiva Dharma (by the same sapta-goswami Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura) gives us a nice story that illustrates how the Gaura naam works and what's the result of chanting the naam.

[Guest Melvin1]

 

Dear devotees,

 

Im sure this question may have come up several times,but if you dont mind i would like to re-ask this question so that it may help me personally.

 

I have been reading articles by a Vaishnav Guru who quotes Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur writings about ridding the offenses to the holy name by chanting Nitai Gaura naam mantras.

 

I would like to know what other ways to remove offenses mentioned by the acaryas and shastra.

 

please bash my ignorance with some knowledge:pray:

 

 

 

In Siksastaka(2) Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu says," Oh my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Krsna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I`m so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them".

 

In Siksastaka(3) Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, " 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 all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly".

 

Note: No need to explain further. Just simply understand what Nimai Pandit said from these two verses I quoted verbatim.

[iamwhatisayiam]

Ah, Thank you both for the wisdom and knowledge.

not having a Gurudeva, im trying to chant naam so by the lords mercy he will send me one.

[Guest Melvin1]

 

Ah, Thank you both for the wisdom and knowledge.

not having a Gurudeva, im trying to chant naam so by the lords mercy he will send me one.

 

The moment you chant Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare the Lord takes control over you. That is His mercy. ( Narada Pancaratra )

[iamwhatisayiam]

 

The moment you chant Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare the Lord takes control over you. That is His mercy. ( Narada Pancaratra )

 

 

Wow, Sri Krsna is so merciful, just by calling his name he takes control.

I would guess that means he guides you and protects you and leads you to a Guru who can show a person the deep pathway to divine love.

[Guest Melvin1]

 

Wow, Sri Krsna is so merciful, just by calling his name he takes control.

I would guess that means he guides you and protects you and leads you to a Guru who can show a person the deep pathway to divine love.

 

It was back in 1976 when a childhood friend named Jucel told me if I knew how to chant the Hare Krsna maha mantra and I told her no. She said it was very easy and simple being made up of 16 words no doubt I`d be able to memorize it by heart. So, in no time, I was chanting, " Harre Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare..."

I got interested only in the mantra because I used to sing with my guitar the song My Sweet Lord composed by Beatle George Harrison which became very popular in the mid `60s.

Along the way however my interest ( being a Catholic) to continue chanting the Hare Krsna mantra got lost in the wilderness.

It was only when I joined the Catholic charismatic movement in the mid `80s that I was highly energized to spread the word of God in the Bible to my community that I started to question the teachings of the Catholic Church. Not being schooled in journalism I somehow managed to write and comment on articles about spirituality and religion published in The Freeman a local daily. The more they published my articles the more I got interested in writing. It was here that my neighborhood friend George Martinez( Gaurasundara das) visited me and suggested what if I write articles about yoga and reincarnation. I said, " why not I used to chant Hare Krsna before." Pleased with what I said, my friend George lent me his 64 volumes of Srimad Bhagavatam.

The moment I started opening its pages and reading them that it dawned on me like being struck by a thunderbolt( I cried) that I must have been an eternal devotee of Krsna.

You just can`t imagine how I felt when The Freeman gave me space, A Grain of Devotion by Naradadeva Bhagavan, in the Views and Comments page. And all I did was just copy Srila Prabhupada`s purports!

Nothing however lasts forever when they axed my column after a member of the Caitanya Mission wrote a letter to editor Juanito Jabat that the name Naradadeva Bhagavan didn`t exist and that I was a charlatan( I didn`t receive a single cent from my effort).

I could go on and on...

[Guest Melvin1]

My job( government physiciain) is treating the sick inmates confiend inside the jail(www.youtube.com/cpdrc). We call them so to speak the dancing inmates( 1000 out of 1500 confined) of cpdrc, kalunasan, cebu city, philippines. When they danced the Thriller sang by Michael Jackson which a practice video was uploaded in youtube, it came out in the Times magazine as the 5th( out of 10) most viewed video number in the whole world.

 

In other words I don`t earn my livelihood as a priest or brahmana. My purpose here why I`m participating in the forum`s spiritual discussion is because I want share with you my experience( not sexual) in life. That these views or memoirs could connect with what you have studied. It`s not easy being a doctor of medicine. It took me 12 years aside from the pre-med course( medical technology) to finish it. Not counting the years (3 years) in preparing for the board exams( physician`s licensure ).

 

Before I was transferred to CPDRC, I was working in an emergency hospital for 13 years. So, I get nothing out for writing this article. To me it`s a pastime(writing) which I love. I`m not an orator or a stage actor. I get goose bumps in front of the audience. When I start to speak to them with so many eyes looking, my mind goes blank. I don`t know what to say anymore except maybe yell in the microphone, " Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare!!!"

[iamwhatisayiam]

I wrote a long reply but somehow there was a error.

 

Thanks for sharing:) ill hit u back when i get back home

[gHari]

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From the ocean of mercy known as the Sri Caitanya-caritamrita (Adi-Lila 7.4):

 

<center>

paJca-tattva avatIrNa caitanyera saGge

paJca-tattva laJA karena saGkIrtana raGge

</center>

paJca-tattva--these five tattvas; avatIrNa--advented; caitanyera--with Caitanya MahAprabhu; saGge--in company with; paJca-tattva--the same five subjects; laJA--taking with Himself; karena--He does; saGkIrtana--the saGkIrtana movement; raGge--in great pleasure.

These five tattvas incarnate with Lord Caitanya MahAprabhu, and thus the Lord executes His saGkIrtana movement with great pleasure.

 

PURPORT

 

In SrImad-BhAgavatam (11.5.32) there is the following statement regarding SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu:

 

<center>

 

kRSNa-varNaM tviSAkRSNaM sAGgopAGgAstra-pArSadam

 

yajJaiH saGkIrtana-prAyair yajanti hi su-medhasaH

 

</center>

 

"In the Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of the saGkIrtana-yajJa." SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu is always accompanied by His plenary expansion SrI NityAnanda Prabhu, His incarnation SrI Advaita Prabhu, His internal potency SrI GadAdhara Prabhu and His marginal potency SrIvAsa Prabhu. He is in the midst of them as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should know that SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu is always accompanied by these other tattvas. Therefore our obeisances to SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu are complete when we say zrI-kRSNa-caitanya prabhu-nityAnanda zrI-advaita gadAdhara zrIvAsAdi-gaura-bhakta-vRnda. As preachers of the KRSNa consciousness movement,

we first offer our obeisances to SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu by chanting this PaJca-tattva mantra; then we say Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare

. There are ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra, but these are not considered in the chanting of the PaJca-tattva mantra, namely, zrI-kRSNa-caitanya prabhu-nityAnanda zrI-advaita gadAdhara zrIvAsAdi-gaura-bhakta-vRnda. SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu is known as mahA-vadAnyAvatAra, the most magnanimous incarnation, for He does not consider the offenses of the fallen souls. Thus to derive the full benefit of the chanting of the mahA-mantra (Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare), we must first take shelter of SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu, learn the PaJca-tattva mahA-mantra, and then chant the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra. That will be very effective.

 

 

Taking advantage of SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu, many unscrupulous devotees manufacture a mahA-mantra of their own. Sometimes they sing bhaja nitAi gaura rAdhe zyAma hare kRSNa hare rAma or zrI-kRSNa-caitanya prabhu-nityAnanda hare kRSNa hare rAma zrI-rAdhe govinda. Actually, however,

one should chant the names of the full PaJca-tattva (zrI-kRSNa-caitanya prabhu-nityAnanda zrI-advaita gadAdhara zrIvAsAdi-gaura-bhakta-vRnda) and then the sixteen words Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare

. But these unscrupulous, less intelligent men confuse the entire process. Of course, since they are also devotees they can express their feelings in that way, but the method prescribed by SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu's pure devotees is to first chant the full PaJca-tattva mantra and then chant the mahA-mantra--Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare.

From Adi 7.168p

Strictly speaking, when chanting the names of the PaJca-tattva, one should fully offer his obeisances: zrI-kRSNa-caitanya prabhu-nityAnanda zrI-advaita gadAdhara zrIvAsAdi-gaura-bhakta-vRnda. By such chanting one is blessed with the competency to chant the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra without offense.

 

From the introduction to Adi 8:

In this chapter the glories of SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu and NityAnanda are described, and it is also stated that one who commits offenses in chanting the Hare KRSNa mantra does not achieve love of Godhead, even after chanting for many years. In this connection, SrIla Bhaktivinoda ThAkura warns against artificial displays of the bodily symptoms called aSTa-sAttvika-vikAra. That is also an offense. One should seriously and sincerely continue to chant the PaJca-tattva names zrI-kRSNa-caitanya prabhu-nityAnanda zrI-advaita gadAdhara zrIvAsAdi-gaura-bhakta-vRnda. All these AcAryas will bestow their causeless mercy upon a devotee and gradually purify his heart. When he is actually purified, automatically he will experience ecstasy in chanting the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra.

 

Adi 8.4p:

KRSNadAsa KavirAja GosvAmI teaches us first to offer respect to the PaJca-tattva--SrI KRSNa Caitanya MahAprabhu, NityAnanda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu, GadAdhara Prabhu and SrIvAsa Prabhu and other devotees. We must strictly follow the principle of offering our respects to the PaJca-tattva, as summarized in the mantra zrI-kRSNa-caitanya prabhu-nityAnanda zrI-advaita gadAdhara zrIvAsAdi-gaura-bhakta-vRnda. At the beginning of every function in preaching, especially before chanting the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra--Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare--we must chant the PaJca-tattva's names and offer our respects to them.

 

From Adi 8.31p:

It should be noted in this connection that the holy names of Lord KRSNa and Gaurasundara are both identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not consider one name to be more potent than the other. Considering the position of the people of this age, however, the chanting of SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu's name is more essential than the chanting of the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra because SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu is the most magnanimous incarnation and His mercy is very easily achieved. Therefore one must first take shelter of SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu by chanting zrI-kRSNa-caitanya prabhu-nityAnanda zrI-advaita gadAdhara zrIvAsAdi-gaura-bhakta-vRnda. By serving Gaura-NityAnanda one is freed from the entanglements of material existence and thus becomes qualified to worship the RAdhA-KRSNa Deity.

 

From Srila Prabhupada's first tape recording (made by himself):

 

<center>

zrI-kRSNa-caitanya

prabhu-nityAnanda

zrI-advaita gadAdhara

zrIvAsAdi-gaura-bhakta-vRnda

</center>

 

I offer my obeisances to SrI KRSNa Caitanya, Prabhu NityAnanda, SrI Advaita, GadAdhara, SrIvAsa and all others in the line of devotion.

 

<center>

 

 

hare kRSNa hare kRSNa kRSNa kRSNa hare hare

hare rAma hare rAma rAma rAma hare hare

</center>

 

My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service.