A deceiver who makes a false display of faith in the Holy Name, but engages in sins renounces like monkeys do
Pravancaka sathera nama-bharasaya papa-kriya markata-vairagya matra
In Sastra it is said that the Holy Name erases more sins than the greatest miscreant can commit in millions of births.
The five kinds of sins, up to the greatest of all[1], flee from namabhasa. Sastra states this continuously.
A cheater may adopt the practice of the Holy Name in order to deceive.
By abandoning the tiring life of this world, he can wear the robes of a renunciate. Longing for wealth and women, he wanders from place to place.
O Lord, you have referred to these people as markata-vairagi[2]. They pretend to have given up their home yet repeatedly talk to the women.
Those who cannot take refuge in the Name without duplicity will inevitably commit this offense
Niskapata namasraya na karile ei aparadha anirvarya
One should not even talk to this kind of person, that is, those who wander like renunciates but at the same time live like a householder. They ruin the whole world.
A person can stay at home or in the forest, there is no harm. He should live a life devoid of any material activity, chant the Name and be satisfied.
Committing sins thinking that the Holy Name will purify them is a great offense. Such people cannot cross the gate of bhakti-tattva.
Those people who chant Namabhasa and associate with such cheaters commit an offense
Namabhasi-vyakti-gana ei kapata lokera sange aparadhi hana
If those who chant namabhasa accept the unholy association of these people, then they certainly also commit an offense.
When Suddha-nama arises in their heart, then they will no longer commit this offense.
The ten kinds of offenses cannot affect one who takes refuge in Suddha-nama
Suddha-namasrita vyaktira dasa-vidha aparadha sparsa kare na
For those who take refuge in Suddha-nama, the ten offenses do not affect them in any way at any time.
The Holy Name always protects those who take refuge in Him. These people never commit offenses.
In that period Suddha-nama has not yet arisen, an attack of the offenses should still be feared.
Therefore, if one is chanting namabhasa and wishes to improve, one should escape from the mindset of engaging in material activities on the strength of chanting the Name.
How long does it take to become immune to this dangerous aparadha?
Kata dina savadhane aparadha parityaga kara cai?
Drawing strength from the company of those who have taken shelter of Suddha-nama, one should always be careful to avoid aparadhas[3].
When Suddha-nama appears in the mouth, the mind becomes single-minded. He never deviates from Krishna, even for a moment.
During the days when one does not feel the strength of the Holy Name, one should fear committing offenses.
Above all one should strive to keep away the offense of entertaining thoughts of engaging in sinful activities. Day and night the mouth should sing: ‘Hari! Hari!’
By the mercy of Sri Guru, one attains the truth of Sambandha-jnana, Krishna-bhakti and Krishna-nama.
The remedy for this offense
Ei aparadha haile tahara pratikara
If one foolishly harbors the mentality of engaging in sinful activities with the hypocrisy of purifying them by chanting the Name, he should purify himself by association with pure Vaishnavas.
The desire to make offenses is like vatapara[4]. Pure Vaishnavas protect the path.
One calls out to these guards by chanting the Name, the guards arrive, and the thieves flee.
O brothers! Sing with love and do not fear. Listen, O respectable gentlemen, the Lord has said: I am your protector.
He who vows to exclusively serve the feet of Vaishnavas, thinking himself to be as useless as ash, chants this Hari-nama Cintamani.
iti sri-hari-nama-cintamanau nama-bale papa-buddhir
nama navamaḥ paricchedaḥ
Thus ends the ninth chapter of Sri Hari-nama Cintamani entitled
“The Mindset of Performing Material Activities on the Strength of the Holy Name”.
[1] Maha-pataka.
[2] Monkeys seem like renunciants, but in reality, they are very busy enjoying sense gratification with dozens of monkeys. This renunciation is called markaṭa-vairāgya, the renunciation of the monkey.
Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya-lila 16.238, translation and purport: “You should not become a boastful devotee or a false renunciate. For the time being, enjoy the material world properly and do not become attached to it.”
Srila Prabhupada: The word markata-vairagya, meaning false renunciation, is very important in this verse. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, commenting on this word, points out that monkeys make an outward manifestation of renunciation by not accepting clothes and living naked in the forest. In this way they consider themselves to be renunciates, but in reality, they are very busy enjoying sense gratification with dozens of monkeys. This renunciation is called markata-vairagya, monkey renunciation. One cannot truly give up until one becomes truly disgusted with material activity and sees it as an obstacle to spiritual progress. Renunciation should not be phalgu, temporary, but should exist for life. Temporary renunciation, or monkey renunciation, is like the renunciation one feels in a cremation ground. When a man carries a corpse to the crematorium, he sometimes thinks: “This is the final end of the body. Why do I work so hard day and night?” Such feelings arise naturally in the mind of every man who goes to a ghata, or crematorium. However, as soon as he returns from the cremation ground, he again engages in material activities for sense enjoyment. This is called smasana-vairagya or markata-vairagya.
[3] Aparadha means offense. The etymological origin is “to distance oneself from the path of devotion”.
[4] Thieves waiting for their victims on the street to rob them. Vaishnavas are like policemen who maintain order.
This is a section of the book “Harinama Cintamani (English)”.
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