The following quotes from the books of His Divine Grace
A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and supporting Vedic references are
evidence of the authenticity and potency of Kirtan, chanting of the
holy name.
Ajamila was a brahman
who because of
bad
association had given up all brahminical culture and religious
principles. Becoming most fallen, he stole, drank and performed other
abominable acts. He even kept a prostitute. Thus he was destined to be
carried away to hell by the order carriers of Yamaraja, but he was
immediately rescued simply by a glimpse of the chanting of the holy
name Narayana.--Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.45
While suffering at the
time of death, Ajamila
chanted the
holy name of the Lord, and although the chanting was directed toward
his son, he nevertheless returned home, back to Godhead. Therefore, if
one faithfully and inoffensively chants the holy name of the Lord,
where is the doubt that he will return to Godhead?--Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.2.49
At the time of death,
one is certainly
bewildered, because
his bodily functions are in disorder. At that time, even one who
throughout his life has practiced chanting the holy name of the Lord
may not be able to chant the Hare Krishna mantra very
distinctly.
Nevertheless, such a person receives all the benefits of chanting the
holy name. While the body is fit, therefore, why should we not chant
the holy name of the Lord loudly and distinctly?--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.2.49
In this age of Kali,
people who are endowed
with
sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by
His associates, by performance of Sankirtan yajña.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
11.5.29
Other yajñas
prescribed in the Vedic
literatures
are not easy to perform in this age of Kali, but the Sankirtan yajña
is easy and sublime for all
purposes.--purport, Bhagavad-gita 3.10
In this age of quarrel
and hypocrisy, the only
means of
deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other
way. There is no other way. There is no other way.--Brihan-Naradiya
Purana
O my Lord! Persons who
chant the holy names of
Your
Lordship are far, far advanced in spiritual life, even if born in
families of dog eaters. Such chanters have undoubtedly performed all
kinds of austerities and sacrifices, bathed in all sacred places and
finished all scriptural studies.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
3.33.7
Even if he be distressed
or degraded, any
person who
chants the holy name of the Lord, having heard it from a bona fide
spiritual master, is immediately purified. Even if he chants the Lord's
name jokingly or by chance, he and anyone who hears him are freed from
all sins. Therefore, how can anyone seeking disentanglement from the
material clutches avoid chanting the name of Lord Shesha? Of whom else
should one take shelter?--Srimad-Bhagavatam
5.25.11
Simply by chanting one
holy name of Hari, a
sinful man can
counteract the reactions of more sins than he is able to
commit.--Brihad-vishnu
Purana, cited in purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.7
If one chants the holy
name of the Lord, even
in a
helpless condition or without desiring to do so, all the reactions of
his sinful life depart, just as when a lion roars, all the small
animals flee in fear.--Garuda Purana
Of sacrifices I am the
chanting of the holy
names.--Bhagavad-gita
10.25
O Hrishikesha, the world
becomes joyful upon
hearing Your
name, and thus everyone becomes attached to You.--Bhagavad-gita
11.36
Thus I began chanting
the holy name and fame
of the Lord
by repeated recitation, ignoring all the formalities of the material
world. Such chanting and remembering of the transcendental pastimes of
the Lord are benedictory.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.6.26
Thus he is the actual
seer who worships, in
the form of
the transcendental sound representation, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Vishnu, who has no material form.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.5.38
Living beings who are
entangled in the
complicated meshes
of birth and death can be freed immediately by even unconsciously
chanting the holy name of Krishna, which is feared by fear
personified.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.1.14
O King, constant
chanting of the holy name of
the Lord
after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless
way of success for all, including those who are free from all material
desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment and also
those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
2.1.11
Sri Shukadeva Goswami
recommends the
transcendental
chanting of the holy name of the Lord. By offenceless chanting and
hearing of the holy name of the Lord, one becomes acquainted with the
transcendental form of the Lord, and then with the attributes of the
Lord, and then with the transcendental nature of His pastimes, etc.
Here it is mentioned that one should constantly chant the holy name of
the Lord after hearing it from authorities.
Srila Jiva Goswami instructs
that chanting of the holy name of the Lord
should be loudly done, and it should be performed offencelessly as
well, as recommended in the Padma Purana. One can deliver
himself from
all offences at the feet of the Lord by taking shelter of His holy
name. But one cannot protect himself if one commits an offence at the
feet of the holy name of the Lord. Such offences are mentioned in the Padma
Purana as being ten in number. The
first offence is to vilify the
great devotees who have preached about the glories of the Lord. The
second offence is to see the holy names of the Lord in terms of worldly
distinction. The Lord is the proprietor of all the universes, and
therefore He may be known in different places by different names, but
that does not in any way qualify the fullness of the Lord. Any
nomenclature which is meant for the Supreme Lord is as holy as the
others, because they are all meant for the Lord. Such holy names are as
powerful as the Lord, and there is no bar for anyone in any part of the
creation to chant and glorify the Lord by the particular name of the
Lord as it is locally understood. They are all auspicious, and one
should not distinguish such names of the Lord as material commodities.
The third offence is to neglect the orders of the authorised acharyas
or spiritual masters. The fourth offence is to vilify scriptures or
Vedic knowledge. The fifth offence is to define the holy name of the
Lord in terms of one's mundane calculation. The holy name of the Lord
is identical with the Lord Himself and one should understand the holy
name of the Lord to be non different from Him. The sixth offence is to
interpret the holy name. The Lord is not imaginary, nor is His holy
name. There are persons with a poor fund of knowledge who think the
Lord to be an imagination of the worshiper and therefore think His holy
name to be imaginary. Such a chanter of the name of the Lord cannot
achieve the desired success in the matter of chanting the holy name.
The seventh offence is to commit sins intentionally on the strength of
the holy name. In the scriptures it is said that one can be liberated
from the effects of all sinful actions simply by chanting the holy name
of the Lord. One who takes advantage of this transcendental method and
continues to commit sins on the expectation of neutralising the effects
of sins by chanting the holy name of the Lord is the greatest offender
at the feet of the holy name. Such an offender cannot purify himself by
any recommended method of purification. In other words, one may be a
sinful man before chanting the holy name of the Lord, but after taking
shelter in the holy name of the Lord and becoming immune, one should
strictly restrain one's self from committing sinful acts with a hope
that his method of chanting the holy name will give him protection. The
eighth offence is to consider the holy name of the Lord and His
chanting method to be equal to some material auspicious activity. There
are various kinds of good works for material benefits, but the holy
name and His chanting are not mere auspicious holy service. Undoubtedly
the holy name is holy service, but He should never be utilised for such
purposes. Since the holy name and the Lord are of one and the same
identity, one should not try to bring the holy name into the service of
mankind. The idea is that the Supreme Lord is the supreme enjoyer. . .
.The ninth offence is to instruct those who are not interested in
chanting the holy name of the Lord about the transcendental nature of
the holy name. If such an instruction is imparted to an unwilling
audience, the act is considered to be an offence at the feet of the
holy name. The tenth offence is to become uninterested in the holy name
of the Lord even after hearing of the transcendental nature of the holy
name. The effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord is perceived by
the chanter as liberation from the conception of false
egoism.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.11
When one is free from
all ten of these
offences in
chanting the holy name of God, he develops the ecstatic bodily features
called pulakashru. Pulaka means "symptoms of happiness," and ashru
means "tears in the eyes." The symptoms of happiness as tears in the
eyes must appear in a person who has chanted the holy name
offencelessly. Here in this verse it is stated that those who have
actually developed the symptoms of happiness and those who have
actually developed the symptoms of happiness with tears in the eyes by
chanting the glories of the Lord are eligible to enter the kingdom of
God.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15.25
From Vishnu-yamala
Tantra, Srila Jiva Goswami
has proven
that one can be liberated from the effects of all sins simply by
chanting the holy name of the Lord.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam
2.1.12
The simplest process of
offencelessly chanting
and hearing
the holy name of the Lord will gradually promote one very soon to the
stage of emancipation. There are three stages in chanting the holy name
of the Lord. The first stage is the offensive chanting of the holy
name, and the second is the reflective stage of chanting the holy name.
The third stage is the offenceless chanting of the holy name of the
Lord. In the second stage only, the stage of reflection, between the
offensive and offenceless stages, one automatically attains the stage
of emancipation. And in the offenceless stage, one actually enters into
the kingdom of God, although physically he may apparently be within the
material world.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam
2.2.30
The advanced devotee who
chants the holy name
of the Lord
in a perfectly offenceless manner and is friendly to everyone can
actually relish the transcendental taste of glorifying the Lord. And
the result of such realisation is reflected in the cessation of all
material desires, etc., as mentioned above. The neophytes, due to their
being in the lower stage of devotional service, are invariably envious,
so much so that they invent their own ways and means of devotional
regulations without following the acharyas. As such, even if they make
a show of constantly chanting the holy name of the Lord, they cannot
relish the transcendental taste of the holy name.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam
2.3.24
I offer my obeisances
unto Him, the
infallible, because
simply by either remembering Him or vibrating His holy name one can
attain the perfection of all penances, sacrifices or fruitive
activities, and this process can be universally followed.--Skanda
Purana
When a Vedic mantra is
chanted within the
mouth so that
only the chanter can hear, the chanting is called japa. But
when such mantras are chanted loudly, it is called kirtan.
The Vedic hynm Hare
Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare
Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare can be chanted both softly to one's self
or
loudly; therefore it is called the maha-mantra, or the great
hymn.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.14.32
If a person does not cry
or exhibit bodily
changes after
chanting the holy name of God without offence, it is to be understood
that he is hardhearted and that therefore his heart does not change
even after he chants the holy name of God, Hare Krishna. These bodily
changes can take place due to ecstasy when we offencelessly chant the
holy name of God: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare
Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam
3.15.29
The sound of this
material world and that of
the spiritual
world are completely different. The sound of the spiritual world is
nectarean and eternal, whereas the sound of the material world is
hackneyed and subject to end. The sound of the holy name--Hare
Krishna,
Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama
Rama, Hare Hare--everlastingly increases the enthusiasm of the
chanter.
If one repeats monotonous material words, he will feel exhausted, but
if he chants Hare Krishna twenty-four hours a day, he will never feel
exhausted; rather, he will feel encouraged to continue chanting more
and more.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.21.22
In this age of Kali, the
direct method is
especially more
feasible than the indirect, because people are short-lived, their
intelligence is poor, and they are poverty-stricken and embarrassed by
so many miserable disturbances. Lord Chaitanya therefore has given the
greatest boon: in this age, one simply has to chant the holy name of
God to attain perfection in spiritual life.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam
3.21.7
Oh, how glorious are
they whose tongues are
chanting Your
holy name! Even if born in the families of dog eaters, such persons are
worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have
executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all
the good manners of the Aryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your
Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied
the Vedas and fulfilled everything required.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
3.33.7
By once chanting the
holy name of the Lord,
which consists
of the two syllables ha-ri, one guarantees his path to liberation.--Skanda
Purana, cited in purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.7
In the shastras it is
said that if one chants
the holy
name of the Lord even once, the reactions of past, present or future
sinful life do not affect him. To give another example, if one extracts
the poison fangs of a serpent, this saves the serpent's future victims
from poisonous effects, even if the serpent bites repeatedly.
Similarly, if a devotee chants the holy name even once inoffensively,
this protects him eternally. He need only wait for the results of the
chanting to mature in due course of time.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.2.49
As a fire burns dry
grass to ashes, so the
holy name of
the Lord, whether chanted knowingly or unknowingly, burns to ashes
without fail all the reactions of one's sinful activities.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.2.18
If a person unaware of
the effective potency
of a certain
medicine takes that medicine or is forced to take it, it will act even
without his knowledge, because its potency does not depend on the
patient's understanding. Similarly, even though one does not know the
value of chanting the holy name of the Lord, if one chants knowingly or
unknowingly, the chanting will be very effective.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.2.19
If one chants the holy
name of Hari and then
dies because
of an accidental misfortune, such as falling from the top of a house,
slipping and suffering broken bones while travelling on the road, being
bitten by a serpent, being afflicted with pain and high fever, or being
injured by a weapon, one is immediately absolved from having to enter
hellish life, even though he is sinful.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.2.15
The ritualistic
ceremonies of atonement
recommended in the
religious scriptures are insufficient to cleanse the heart absolutely,
because after atonement one's mind again runs toward material
activities. Consequently, for one who wants liberation from the
fruitive reactions of material activities, the chanting of the Hare
Krishna mantra, or glorification of the name, fame and pastimes of the
Lord, is recommended as the most perfect process of atonement, because
such chanting eradicates the dirt from one's heart completely.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.2.12
Devotional service,
beginning with the
chanting of the
holy name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle for the
living entity in human society.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.3.22
Therefore it should be
understood that one is
easily
relieved from all sinful reactions by chanting the holy name of the
Lord and chanting of His qualities and activities. This is the only
process recommended for relief from sinful reactions. Even if one
chants the holy name of the Lord with improper pronunciation, he will
achieve relief from material bondage if he chants without offences.
Ajamila, for example, was extremely sinful, but while dying he merely
chanted the holy name, and although calling his son, he achieved
complete liberation because he remembered the name of Narayana.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.3.24
The process of chanting
the holy name of the
Lord is so
powerful that by this chanting even householders (grihasthas) can very
easily gain the ultimate result achieved by persons in the renounced
order.--Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15.74
The Hare Krishna mantra
is specifically
mentioned in many Upanishads, such as the Kali-santarana
Upanishad, where
it is said:
hare krishna hare krishna krishna
krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
iti shodashakam namnam kali-kalmasha-nashanam
natah parataropayah sarva-vedeshu drishyate
"After searching through all the Vedic literature
one cannot
find a method of religion more sublime for this age than the chanting
of Hare Krishna."--purport, Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Adi-lila
3.40
A person who chants the
two syllables Ha-ri
has already
studied the four Vedas--Sama, Rik, Yajuh and
Atharva.--purport, Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Adi-lila 7.72
Simply by chanting the
holy name of Krishna
one can obtain
freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare
Krishna mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Adi-lila 7.73
In this age of Kali
there is no other
religious principle
than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic
hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Adi-lila 7.74
The essence of all Vedic
knowledge--comprehending the
three kinds of Vedic activity (karma-kanda, jñana-kanda
and upasana-kanda), the chandah or Vedic
hymns, and the processes for
satisfying the demigods--is included in the eight syllables Hare
Krishna, Hare Krishna. This is the reality of all Vedanta.
The chanting
of the holy name is the only means to cross the ocean of nescience.
Similarly, the Kalisantarana Upanishad states, "Hare
Krishna, Hare
Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama,
Hare Hare--these sixteen names composed of thirty-two syllables are
the
only means to counteract the evil effects of Kali-yuga. In all the
Vedas it is seen that to cross the ocean of nescience there is no
alternative to the chanting of the holy name." Similarly, Sri
Madhvacharya, while commenting upon the Mundaka Upanishad,
has said:
"In the Dvapara-yuga one could satisfy Krishna or Vishnu only by
worshipping Him gorgeously according to the Pancharatrika system, but
in the age of Kali one can satisfy and worship the Supreme Personality
of Godhead Hari simply by chanting the holy name." In his Bhakti-sandarbha
(verse 284), Srila Jiva
Goswami strongly emphasise the
chanting of the holy name of the Lord as follows:
srimad-rishi-prabhritibhir
atrarchana-marge kvachit kvachit
kachit kachin maryada sthapitasti
Srila Jiva Goswami states that the
substance of
all the Vedic
mantras is the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. Every mantra
begins with the prefix nama om and eventually addresses by name
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By the supreme will of the Lord
there is a specific potency in each and every mantra chanted by
great
sages like Narada Muni and other rishis. Chanting the holy name
of the
Lord immediately renovates the transcendental relationship of the
living being with the Supreme Lord.--purport, Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Adi-lila 7.76
While chanting the holy
name of the Lord in
pure ecstasy,
I lose Myself, and thus I laugh, cry, dance and sing just like a
madman.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Adi-lila 7.78
Collecting My patience,
therefore, I began to
consider
that chanting the holy name of Krishna had covered all My spiritual
knowledge.--Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila 7.79
I saw that I had become
mad by chanting the
holy name, and
I immediately submitted this at the lotus feet of my spiritual master.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Adi-lila 7.80
"My dear lord, what kind
of mantra have you
given Me? I
have become mad simply by chanting this maha-mantra!"--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Adi-lila 7.81
It is the aspiration of
a devotee that while
he chants the
Hare Krishna maha-mantra his eyes will fill with tears, his
voice
falter and his heart throb. These are good signs in chanting the holy
name of the Lord.--purport, Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Adi-lila
7.81
"Chanting the holy name
in ecstasy causes one
to dance,
laugh and cry." When My spiritual master heard all this, he smiled and
then began to speak.--Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila
7.82
"It is the nature of the
Hare Krishna maha-mantra that
anyone who chants it immediately develops his loving ecstasy for
Krishna."--Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila 7.83
The holy name of Krishna
is called the maha-mantra. Other mantras mentioned in
the Narada-pancharatra
are known simply as mantras, but the chanting of the holy name
of the
Lord is called the maha-mantra.--purport, Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Adi-lila 7.83
If one's heart does not
change, tears do not
flow from his
eyes, his body does not shiver nor his hairs stand on end as he chants
the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, it should be understood that his
heart is
as hard as iron. This is due to his offences at the lotus feet of the
Lord's holy name.--Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila
8.25
Compared to the ocean of
transcendental bliss
which is
tasted by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, the pleasure
derived from
impersonal Brahman realisation (brahmananda) is like the shallow
water
in a canal.--Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila 7.97
The most important
factor in this age of Kali,
which is an
ocean of faults, is that one can be free from all contamination and
become eligible to enter the kingdom of God simply by chanting the Hare
Krishna mantra. The self-realisation that was achieved in the
Satya
millennium by meditation, in the Treta millennium by the performance of
different sacrifices and in the Dvapara millennium by worship of Lord
Krishna can be achieved in the age of Kali simply by chanting the holy
names, Hare Krishna.--Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.3.51-52
In the age of Kali,
intelligent persons
perform
congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who
constantly sings the name of Krishna. Although His complexion is not
blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates,
servants, weapons and confidential companions.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Madhya-lila 11.100
By chanting the holy
name of the Lord, one
dissolves his
entanglement in material activities. After this, one becomes very
attracted to Krishna, and thus dormant love for Krishna is awakened.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Madhya-lila 15.109
The holy name of Lord
Krishna is an attractive
feature for
many saintly, liberal people. It is the annihilator of all sinful
reactions and is so powerful that, save for the dumb who cannot chant
it, it is readily available to everyone, including the lowest type of
man, the chandala (dog eater). The holy name of Krishna is the
controller of the opulence of liberation, and it is identical with
Krishna. Simply by touching the holy name with one's tongue, immediate
effects are produced. Chanting the holy name does not depend on
initiation, pious activities or the purashcharya regulative
principles
generally observed before initiation. The holy name does not wait for
all these activities. It is self-sufficient.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Madhya-lila 15.110
In the Padma
Purana,
Krishna says, mad-bhakta
yatra
gayanti tatra tishthami narada: "O Narada, I am present wherever
My
devotees are chanting." When the devotees chant the holy name of
Krishna--Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/
Hare
Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare--Lord Krishna is immediately
present.--purport, Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila
17.132
The holy name of Krishna
is transcendentally
blissful. It
bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krishna Himself, the
reservoir of all pleasure. Krishna's name is complete, and it is the
form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any
condition, and it is no less powerful than Krishna Himself. Since
Krishna's name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is
no question of its being involved with maya. Krishna's name is
always
liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of
material nature. This is because the name of Krishna and Krishna
Himself are identical.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Madhya-lila
17.133
Those who are advanced
and highly qualified
and are
interested in the essence of life know the good qualities of Kali-yuga.
Such people worship the age of Kali because in this age, simply by
chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can advance in
spiritual
knowledge and attain life's goal.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Madhya-lila 20.347, Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.5.36
When a person is
actually advanced and takes
pleasure in
chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is very dear to him, he is
agitated and loudly chants the holy name. He also laughs, cries,
becomes agitated and chants just like a madman, not caring for
outsiders.--Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila
23.41, Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.2.40
As the rising sun
immediately dissipates all
the world's
darkness, which is deep like an ocean, so the holy name of the Lord, if
chanted once without offences, can dissipate all the reactions of a
living being's sinful life. All glories to that holy name of the Lord
which is auspicious for the entire world.--Padyavali
16, cited
in Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila 3.181
With the first glimpse
of sunlight, fear of
thieves,
ghosts and demons immediately disappears, and when the sun is actually
visible, everything is manifest, and everyone begins performing his
religious activities and regulative duties. Similarly, the first hint
that offenceless chanting of the Lord's holy name has awakened
dissipates the reactions of sinful life immediately. And when one
chants the holy name offencelessly, one awakens to service in ecstatic
love at the lotus feet of Krishna.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Antya-lila 3.184-185
Liberation is the
insignificant result derived
from a
glimpse of awakening of offenceless chanting of the holy name.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Antya-lila 3.186
If a devotee once utters
the holy name of the
Lord, or if
it penetrates his mind or enters his ear, which is the channel of aural
reception, that holy name will certainly deliver him from material
bondage, whether vibrated properly or improperly, with correct or
incorrect grammar, and properly joined or vibrated in separate parts. O
brahman, the potency of the holy name is therefore certainly great.
However, if one uses the vibration of the holy name for the benefit of
the material body, for material wealth and followers or under the
influence of greed or atheism--in other words, if one utters the holy
name with offences--such chanting will not produce the desired result
very soon. Therefore one should diligently avoid offences in chanting
the holy name of the Lord.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Antya-lila
3.60
This verse from the Padma
Purana is included
in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (11.527) by Sanatana
Goswami. Therein Srila Sanatana
Goswami gives the following explanation . . . This means that if one
somehow or other hears, utters or remembers the holy name, or if it
catches his mind while coming near his ears, that holy name, even if
vibrated in separate words, will act. An example of such separation is
given as follows: suppose one is using the two words "halam riktam."
Now, the syllable ha in the word "halam" and the syllable ri
in
"riktam" are separately pronounced, but nevertheless it will act
because one somehow or other utters the word "hari." Similarly, in the
word "raja-mahishi," the syllables ra and ma appear in
two separate
words, but because they somehow or other appear together, the holy name
"rama" will act, provided there are no offences.--purport, Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Antya-lila 3.60
Even a faint light from
the holy name of the
Lord can
eradicate all the reactions of sinful life.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Antya-lila 3.63
Of the nine processes of
devotional service,
the most
important is to always chant the holy name of the Lord. If one does so,
avoiding the ten kinds of offences, one very easily obtains the most
valuable love of Godhead.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Antya-lila
4.71
All glories, all glories
to the all-blissful
holy name of
Sri Krishna, which causes the devotee to give up all conventional
religious duties, meditation and worship. When somehow or other uttered
even once by a living entity, the holy name awards him liberation. The
holy name of Krishna is the highest nectar. It is my very life and my
only treasure.--Brihad-Bhagavatamrita 1.9 by
Sanatana Goswami
The fundamental
religious system in the age of
Kali is the
chanting of the holy name of Krishna. Unless empowered by Krishna, one
cannot propagate the Sankirtan movement.--Chaitanya-charitamrita,
Antya-lila 7.11
If one always chants the
holy name of the Lord
with great
devotion in the evening and in the morning, one can become free from
all material miseries.--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.3.24
Even if in the beginning
one chants the Hare
Krishna
mantra with offences, one will become free from such offences by
chanting again and again.--Padma Purana, cited in
purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.24
In effect, Yamaraja
warned his servants, "My
dear
servants, despite what you may have done previously to disturb the
devotees, henceforward you should stop. The actions of devotees who
have surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord and who constantly
chant the holy name of the Lord are praised by the demigods and the
residents of Siddhaloka."--purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.3.28
May the glorification of
the transcendental
name, form,
qualities and paraphernalia of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
protect us from the influence of bad planets, meteors, envious human
beings, serpents, scorpions and animals like tigers and wolves. May it
protect us from ghosts and the material elements like earth, water,
fire and air, and may it also protect us from lightning and our past
sins. We are always afraid of these hindrances to our auspicious life.
Therefore, may they all be completely destroyed by the chanting of the
Hare Krishna maha-mantra.--Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.8.29
Considering all these
points, therefore,
intelligent men
decide to solve all problems by adopting the devotional service of
chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is situated in everyone's heart
and who is a mine of all auspicious qualities. Such persons are not
within my jurisdiction for punishment. Generally they never commit
sinful activities, but even if by mistake or because of bewilderment or
illusion they sometimes commit sinful acts, they are protected from
sinful reactions because they always chant the Hare Krishna mantra.--spoken
by Yamaraja, Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.26
Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu