developing one's service attitude toward the Lord, one can come to chant..

[Govindaram]

 

<font color="red"> How to Develop Offenseless Chanting </font color>

 

 

<font color="brown"> Repeated chanting brings one to the stage of offenseless chanting: </font color>

 

The chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is recommended even for persons who commit offenses, because if they continue chanting they will gradually chant offenselessly. By chanting the Hare Krishna mantra without offenses, one increases his love for Krishna...

 

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura quotes this verse from the Padma Purana:

 

namaparadha-yukt

namany eva haranty agham

avisranti-prayuktani

tany evartha-karani ca

 

Even if in the beginning one chants the Hare Krishna mantra with offenses, one will become free from such offenses by chanting again and again. Papa-ksayas ca bhavati smaratam tam ahar-nisam: one becomes free from all sinful reactions if one chants day and night, following the recommendation of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

 

- Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.24

 

 

<font color="brown"> To become free from offenses to the holy name, one must continue to chant constantly and also humbly offer prayers in glorification of the holy name:

</font color>

While chanting the holy name of the Lord, one should be careful to avoid ten offenses...

 

There is no way to atone for any of these offenses. It is therefore recommended that an offender at the feet of the holy name continue to chant the holy name twenty-four hours a day. Constant chanting of the holy name will make one free of offenses, and then he will gradually be elevated to the transcendental platform on which he can chant the pure holy name and thus become a lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

 

It is recommended that even if one commits offenses, one should continue chanting the holy name. In other words, the chanting of the holy name makes one offenseless. In the book Nama-kaumudi it is recommended that if one is an offender at the lotus feet of a Vaisnava, he should submit to that Vaisnava and be excused; similarly, if one is an offender in chanting the holy name, he should submit to the holy name and thus be freed from his offenses...

 

One should be very humble and meek to offer one's desires and chant prayers composed in glorification of the holy name, such as ayi mukta-kulair upasyamanam and nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanad [sB 10.1.4]. One should chant such prayers to become free from offenses at the lotus feet of the holy name.

 

- Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.23-24

 

 

<font color="brown"> By developing one's service attitude toward the Lord, one can come to chant without offense: </font color>

 

Caitanya Mahaprabhu has recommended that everyone chant the Hare Krishna mantra just to cleanse the dust from the heart. If the dust of the heart is cleansed away, then one can actually understand the importance of the holy name. For persons who are not inclined to clean the dust from their heart and want to keep things as they are, it is not possible to derive the transcendental result of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. One should, therefore, be encouraged to develop his service attitude toward the Lord, because this will help him to chant without any offense. And so, under the guidance of a spiritual master, the disciple is trained simultaneously to render service and at the same time to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. As soon as one develops his spontaneous service attitude, he can immediately understand the transcendental nature of the holy names of the maha-mantra.

 

- The Nectar of Devotion

 

 

<font color="brown"> One can chant Hare Krishna offenselessly by developing genuine humility: </font color>

 

Devahuti shows us the process for understanding transcendental subject matters. It is not by challenge but by submission. The entire bhakti process is a process of submission. That is also Caitanya Mahaprabhu's teaching:

 

trnad api sunicena

taror api sahisnuna

amanina manadena

kirtaniyah sada harih

[Cc. adi 17.31]

 

If one is interested in advancing in chanting Hare Krishna, Caitanya Mahaprabhu advises that one be humbler than the grass and more tolerant than the trees. One should not be very proud of his intelligence but should give all respect to others. In this way, one can chant Hare Krishna offenselessly.

 

- Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahuti

 

 

<font color="brown"> When one realizes that the holy name and the Lord are identical, he can chant offenselessly: </font color>

 

When one realizes that the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Supreme Person, he becomes completely eligible to chant the holy name of the Lord.

 

-Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 7.73

 

 

 

 

From the Srila Prabhupada folio-base,

'How to develop Offenseless Chanting'