The Name is beyond the senses
Namera atindriyatva
So, Sastra says that various auspicious deeds are never equal to the Name. This is the conclusion of all Sastra.
One who chants Krishna-nama with a sincere heart experiences happiness beyond the material senses and dances in his heart.
That happiness is connected to the intrinsic nature of Krishna-nama. It cannot be compared to attachment or bliss to atma[1].
The happiness of absorption and identification with Brahman is but a shadow of that bliss
Sayujya kaivalya sukha ananda sukhera chaya matra
The great bliss experienced through the knowledge of Brahman or yoga is simply the cessation of gross materialism and is therefore a shadow of the happiness found in Krishna-nama.
I know that happiness in the indivisible Brahman is scarce, but I consider the bliss of chanting Krishna-nama to be the greatest.
Other auspicious activities are different from the Holy Name
Anya subha-karma haite namera vailaksanya
While one practices sadhana, the Name is the medium. At the moment of attaining perfection, it is the incomparable goal[2].
The Name is the means and the end of all perfection. Other auspicious activities are not important.
All other auspicious activities take shelter in matter. The Name is spiritual and manifests Itself eternally as perfect in Itself.
During sadhana, the Name remains pure and completely free from all defects, but the anarthas of the sadhaka makes it appear impure[3].
Material conceptions disappear when one takes the Name in association with sadhus. When the anarthas end, then Suddha-nama shines.
Rejecting all other virtuous activities as a means, one must take shelter of parama-bhava[4].
But whoever takes refuge in the Name never abandons It again. They simply continue to worship Suddha-nama even at the time of perfection.
It is completely different from other auspicious activities. Intrinsically, the Name is unmatched in quality.
In the sadhana stage, by the mercy of the Guru and through the evidence of the Vedas, one must understand the difference between the Name and auspicious deeds.
If one is devoid of this knowledge in the sadhana stage, one is an offender of the Name and completely backwards.
The Name is the highest of all and has no equal: he who has firm faith in this can correctly chant the Name.
Very soon Suddha-nama arises and takes refuge in the perfectly blissful Nama-rasa.
The remedy for this offense
Ei aparadhera pratikara
One who considers the Holy Name and all other virtuous deeds as equal is bound to the material world due to his offenses.
We must strive to destroy such offenses. Thanks to the Name, one’s intelligence will be purified, and one will attain the great wealth of prema.
One should smear one’s body with the dust from the feet of an outcast grhastha who dedicates himself to Suddha-nama[5].
One should eat the nectarean remnants of his food and drink the water that has washed his feet. Then his consciousness will be purified, and he will obtain Suddha-nama.
Everyone in the world glorifies Kali Dasa for becoming purified by Your mercy[6].
O Lord, I possess a dull intelligence: I chant only the Name, but I have never reached the cintamani gem of the Holy Name.
Attachment to the name of Hari Dasa Thakura
Hari dasa thakurera nama-visaye nistha
Be merciful to me. Taking the form of the Name, it dances constantly on my tongue. O Lord, I grasp Your feet.
Keep me here or take me there[7], you can do whatever you want. Wherever this body remains, kindly give me the nectar of Krishna-nama.
Your avatara has descended to distribute the Name to the people of this world. Kindly accept me as one of them.
I have fallen and you are the liberator of the fallen. O purifier of the fallen, this is our relationship.
The relationship between You and me can never be broken. This fallen person desires the nectar of the Name.
Why the Name is the Yuga-dharma in Kali-yuga
Kali-yuge name kena yuga-dharma hailena
In Kali-yuga other virtuous activities do not produce results. Therefore, the Name is the only yuga-dharma.
Bhaktivinoda, who is devoid of everything, a servant of the servant of Hari Dasa, chants this Hari-nama-cintamani.
iti sri-hari-nama cintamanau anya subha-karmana saha namnaḥ tulya-jnana-rupa aparadha vicar
nama ekadasa paricchedaḥ
Thus ends the eleventh chapter of Sri Hari-nama Cintamani
entitled “A Deliberation on the Offense of Considering Other Auspicious Activities
as Equal to the Holy Name”.
[1] One can experience pleasure from the level of Brahman that comes from the purified soul, but this happiness cannot be compared to the happiness of devotion to Krishna.
[2] The word Sadhya means the goal to be achieved with spiritual practices, while Sadhana are precisely these disciplines.
[3] The imperfections of the practitioner make the Name of Krishna seem imperfect, but this is not the case. The name remains pure, while the quality of the practitioner may not be.
[4] Supreme ecstasy.
[5] If a grihastha of a lower class, or even an outcaste, dedicates himself to chanting the Holy Names of Krishna, he is actually an advanced devotee and one purifies himself by taking the dust of his lotus feet. The Vaishnava should never be placed in any caste.
[6] Here Haridasa Thakura directly addresses Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Kali Dasa was a great devotee of His, and while living in Jagannatha Puri, he received special mercy.
[7] Here, in the material world, or there, in the spiritual world.
This is a section of the book “Harinama Cintamani (English)”.
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