One can only get rid of all bad habits by chanting the holy name of Krishna. Thus, good luck awakens and love for Krishna begins to flow.
While practicing Astanga Yoga, fear is always present. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.6.35) it is said:
yamadibhir yoga-pathaih
kama-lobha-hato muhuh
mukunda-sevaya yadvat
tathatmaddha na samyati
It is true that by practicing control of the senses with the practice of yoga, one can free oneself from the anxieties generated by desire and lust, but this is not enough to give the soul satisfaction. This is achieved only through devotional service to the Supreme Lord.
Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.12) condemns karma and jnana yoga with these words:
naiskarmyam apy acyuta-bhava-varjitam
na sobhate jnanam alam niranjanam
kutah punah sasvad abhadram isvare
na carpitam karma yad apy akaranam
Even if free from any relationship with matter, spiritual knowledge is of little interest if it does not involve a certain understanding of the infallible Lord. What then can be the value of the fruitive activities, transitory by nature and always sources of suffering, if they are not aimed at the service of the Lord?
Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.4) further condemns the way of not following devotional service with these words:
sreyah-srtim bhaktim udasya te vibho
klisyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye
tesam asau klesala eva sisyate
nanyad yatha sthula-tusavaghatinam
My dear Lord, devotional service to You is the best way to spiritual realization. If someone abandons this path to cultivate speculative knowledge, he indulges in a deviant process by which he will not achieve the desired result. Just as a person who beats an empty kernel cannot obtain wheat, one who speculates alone cannot achieve spiritual realization. The only gain will be annoyances.
By chanting the holy names, the raging fire of material existence is finally quelled. It is written in Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.2.46):
natah param karma-nibandha-krntanam
mumuksatam tirtha-padanukirtanat
na yat punah karmasu sajjate mano
rajas-tamobhyam kalilam tato ‘nyatha
Those who wish, therefore, to free themselves from material slavery should devote themselves to the method of chanting and glorifying the name, fame, form and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of God, at whose feet are all the sacred places. One cannot get the right benefits with other methods such as pious activities, speculative knowledge and mystical yoga meditation, because even after following these methods one re-engages in self-interested activities, not being able to control one’s contaminated mind from the basic influences of nature, namely passion and ignorance.
Furthermore, in the Uttar Khanda of the Padma-Purana it is written:
sakrd-uccaritam yena
harir ity aksara-dvayam
baddhah parikaras-tena
moksaya gamanam prati
He who has pronounced the name of Hari even once easily acquires the firm determination to achieve liberation.
This is a section of the book “Bhajana Rahasya”, by Bhaktivinode Thakura.
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