At the Time of Sadhana, Why is Hari-nama the Method?

At the Time of Sadhana, Why is Hari-nama the Method?

Sadhana-kale hari-nama upaya kirupe haiyacchen

By Your mercy, You have given Hari-nama to the world. Those Jivas who are wise accept it to attain perfection.

Sastra admits that Nama is the method of attaining perfection. Everything else is considered an auspicious activity.

Anything else is akin to considering Vishnu, the Supreme Controller of everything, to have the same nature as Devas such as Brahma and Siva who reside in the three worlds[1].

The Name is pure virtue. Because of their offenses, the Mayavadis consider the Name on par with any other auspicious activity

Nama suddha-sattva. Mayavadi aparadha-krame anya subha-karmera sahita namake ekai mane karena

The nature of the Name is suddha-sattva[2]. Not even a trace of matter comes in contact with Suddha-nama.

Those Jivas who are confused by matter and look at the Name from a worldly perspective believe that chanting It is just another virtuous activity.

This namaparadha comes from mayavada. Those who accept such a depraved philosophy always find impediments to bhakti.

The Name is both the means and the end

Namera upayatva sattveo upeyatva

Krishna-nama is the Lord Himself and the principle of complete bliss. Those who understand Its glories attain the highest goal, or the greatest perfection.

The method of chanting the Holy Name has appeared on earth. The means and the end are the same thing. All Sastra says this.

According to their different qualifications, some consider the Name the method[3], others consider it the most comparable objective.

Auspicious activities are the indirect means and Nama is the direct means

Subha-karma gaunopaya nama mukhyopaya

Thus, O Abode of all good qualities, the method is of two kinds. Performing auspicious activities is the indirect means, and the Holy Name is the direct method.

 

[1] Lord Vishnu is not like Brahma and Shiva and all other Devas. He is a superior category, that of the Creator and Maintainer of all.

[2] Suddha-sattva is the transcendental quality of the Supreme Lord. It is beyond the influence of time, eternal, immutable, free from lower influences, free from lust and greed.

[3] Those who have no knowledge think that chanting Hare Krishna is the method to reach Krishna. In reality there is no difference between the Name and Krishna and so it is both the method and the goal.

 

This is a section of the book “Harinama Cintamani (English)”.

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