Question:

One of the ten offenses of chanting the maha mantra is commenting on the glories of chanting the holy name to people who lack faith. So how to reconcile this with the need to preach to people?

Response:

The ninth offense in chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra says:

asraddadhane vimukhe’py asrnvati

yas copadesah siva-namaparadhah

“Instructing an undesiring and reluctant person about the glories of the Holy Name is an offence.”

On the other hand, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said:

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma

sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma

“In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.”

How to reconcile this contradiction?

Actually, it is not a contradiction.

In Caitanya Caritamrita Adi-lila (8.24), Srila Prabhupada makes this point clear:

“It is an offense to preach the glories of the holy name among people who have no intelligence or faith in the matter. Such persons should be given the opportunity to hear the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, but they should not be instructed in the glories or spiritual significance of the holy name at first. By constantly hearing the holy name, your hearts will be purified and you will then be able to understand the transcendental position of the holy name.”

Thus it is considered an offense to give them too many instructions or intimate meanings about the glories of the Holy Name, such as the personal pastimes of Radha and Krishna and the like.

Surely our first and foremost duty is to propagate the Chanting of the Hare Krishna Mantra “in every town and village.”

This is a section of the book “On a Silver Platter”.

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