Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-saṇkīrtana, rati nā janmilo kene tāy

The treasure of love of God has descended from the spiritual world of Goloka Vṛndāvana; appearing in this world as the saṇkīrtana movement of chanting Hari’s holy names. Alas! Why am I not attracted to it? (Prarthana)

In this bhajana, Narottama dasa Thakura says that goloka prema, pure love of God in the mood of Vraja, has descended from the spiritual world in the form of the chanting vibration. Although the all-attractive sweet Lord Kṛṣṇa is approaching everyone through His holy names, He cannot be perceived without the proper attitude. Attitude refers to one’s mood, mentality, approach, viewpoint or mind-set regarding a person or activity. One should chant japa with an attitude of service and surrender–begging for Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.

Chanting the holy name without a service attitude produces sound but not divinity. Such bogus, imitative sound is lip deep but not heart deep; like a gun firing blanks instead of bullets. Pure devotional service alone can connect or link Vraja Gokula with the material world. Vraja Gokula, Kṛṣṇa, His associates, and all His wonderful pastimes descend to this world (golokera prema-dhana) and manifest in the heart filled with seva-bhava.

Chanting must be saturated with a mentality of selfless service; desiring only to please Kṛṣṇa. Srila Prabhupada always said chanting means begging for service: “O my Lord! [Kṛṣṇa] O my Lord’s energy! [Hare, Radha] Please engage me in Your service.” The true transcendental name of Kṛṣṇa can be heard only through the serving mind, not through the material ears of the enjoying mind.

“By a service attitude, if you chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra without any offense, then Kṛṣṇa will reveal Himself.” (SPT 22/10/72)

“Our progress depends on the favor of the higher side. It does not depend so much on our own ability, but on our submission and surrender–our hankering for mercy. My attitude must invite the higher authority to come down to my level and help me, favor me. To attract the Lord’s attention we shall require surrender, submission and humility.

“We can press our position by praying: ‘O my Lord! I am in the worst need; without Your grace I cannot stand. I am helpless. I cannot endure without Your favor.’

“If we truly feel ourselves to be low and in want, then the supply of mercy will come from the higher plane. Everything moves according to Kṛṣṇa’s sweet will. Our problem is how to draw His attention. This will be possible only by increasing our negative tendency, by proving to Kṛṣṇa, in a bona fide way, that I am the most needy.” (Subjective Evolution, adapted)

An excerpt from the book Art of Chanting

Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

Shelter and Surrender

In “Arunodaya-kirtana” Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that the nectar-filled names of Kṛṣṇa are the sole shelter within the universe:

kṛṣṇa-nāma-sudhā koriyā pāna, jurāo bhakativinoda-prāṇa,
nāma binā kichu nāhiko āro, caudda-bhuvana-mājhe

Drink the pure nectar of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and thus satisfy the soul of Bhaktivinoda. Except for the holy name there is nothing within the fourteen worlds.

One must be thoroughly convinced that there is absolutely no other shelter or source of protection in this trouble-filled world beside Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa, who is fully present in His holy name. With this conviction and realization one should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa maha-mantra.

“Taking full shelter means to express the mood, ‘O Kṛṣṇa, I am Yours! I am taking shelter of You!’ (he radhe! he kṛṣṇa! tavaivasmi) in the mind and out loud.” (Jaiva Dharma ch. 20)

To have faith in the holy name one must firmly establish the six symptoms of self-surrender (saranagati) within his heart. Jaiva Dharma gives a clear description of surrender:

ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyasya varjanam
rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāso goptṛtve varaṇaṁ tathā
ātma-nikṣepa-kārpaṇye ṣaḍ-vidhā śaraṇāgatiḥ

(Hari-bhakti-vilasa 11.676)

“The first two symptoms of surrender are ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ and prātikūlyasya varjanam: ‘One should take a solemn vow (sankalpa) that I will only do that which is favorable for unalloyed bhakti, and I will reject all unfavorable acts.’ The third symptom is faith in Kṛṣṇa as one’s protector (rakṣiṣyatīti): ‘Kṛṣṇa is my only protector. I can derive nothing from jnana, yoga, and other such practices.’ This expresses one’s trust (viśvāso) in Kṛṣṇa.

“The fourth symptom is the deliberate acceptance of Kṛṣṇa as one’s maintainer (goptṛtve varaṇaṁ): ‘I cannot do anything, or even maintain myself by my own endeavor. I will serve Kṛṣṇa as best I can, and He will surely take care of me.’ The fifth symptom of surrender (ātma-nikṣepa): ‘Who am I? I am His. My only duty is to fulfill Kṛṣṇa’s desire.’ This is submission of the self (atma-nivedana). The sixth symptom is humility (karpanye): ‘I am wretched, insignificant, and mentally destitute.’ ” (Jaiva Dharma ch. 6)

Since there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and His holy name, one can think of the six symptoms of surrender in relation to the maha-mantra. Thus while chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra japa one can take a solemn vow: “I will only accept those people, places, actions, thoughts, desires, and feelings that are conducive to chanting suddha-nama, and I will reject everything opposed to it. I have complete faith, which means full love and trust, that the name of Kṛṣṇa is my only protector. Alone I am powerless, but Kṛṣṇa’s name is maintaining me and taking care of all my needs. All I have to do is chant, chant, chant!

“I am His, everything for Nama. My only duty is to serve Kṛṣṇa’s name by chanting with pure love. O most sweet and beautiful Sri Nama Prabhu! I am wretched, worthless, crazy and insignificant. I am lower than the straw in the street. Now please be causelessly merciful to me. Please pick me up and keep me as a particle of dust at Your lotus feet.”

An excerpt from the book Art of Chanting

Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

Nama to Rupa

Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful divine form and His holy name are nondifferent. Kṛṣṇa’s name is identical with His form. Thus chanting Kṛṣṇa’s holy name immediately manifests Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful form within the mind purified by devotion.

nāma’, ‘vigraha’, ‘svarūpa’ tina eka-rūpa, tine ‘bheda’ nāhi, tina ‘cid-ānanda-rūpa’
deha-dehīra, nāma-nāmīra kṛṣṇe nāhi ‘bheda,’ jīvera dharma nāma-deha-svarūpe ‘vibheda’
ataeva kṛṣṇera ‘nāma’, ‘deha’, ‘vilāsa ‘ prākṛtendriya-grāhya nahe, haya sva-prakāśa

The Lord’s holy name, form, and personality are all one and the same. There is no difference between them. Since all of them are absolute, they are transcendentally blissful. There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s body and Himself, or between His name and Himself. For conditioned souls everything is different. One’s name is different from one’s body, from one’s original form, and so on. The holy name of Kṛṣṇa, as well as His body and His pastimes cannot be understood by the blunt material senses; they are self-manifest. (Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya 17.131,132,134)

Sri Kṛṣṇa Bhajanamrta says when a sadhaka becomes fortunate and fully surrenders to sri-nama, he will then perceive the transcendental rupa (form) within nama, guna (qualities) within that rupa, and lila (pastimes) in those gunas. The transcendental form, qualities and pastimes of the holy name will manifest within one’s heart in the natural sequence of bhajana as a result of one’s sincere service to pure devotees. At this stage of spiritual advancement, one takes shelter of gopi-bhava to enter the eternal service of Radha-Govinda in Vraja-dhama.

An excerpt from the book Art of Chanting

Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das

In Topmost Yoga System, Srila Prabhupada delivers a wonderful illumination on the holy name:

“The transcendental vibration established by the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, is the sublime method for reviving our transcendental consciousness. As living spiritual souls, we are all originally Kṛṣṇa conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now adulterated by the material atmosphere. The material atmosphere, in which we are now living, is called māyā, or illusion. Māyā means that which is not. And what is this illusion? The illusion is that we are all trying to be lords of material nature, while actually we are under the grip of her stringent laws.

“When a servant artificially tries to imitate the all-powerful master, it is called illusion. We are trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more

entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although we are engaged in a hard struggle to conquer nature, we are ever more dependent on her. This illusory struggle against material nature can be stopped at once by revival of our eternal Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

“Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare is the transcendental process for reviving this original pure consciousness. By chanting this transcendental vibration, we can cleanse away all misgivings within our hearts. The basic principle of all such misgivings is the false consciousness that I am the lord of all I survey.

“Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original natural energy of the living entity. When we hear the transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. This simplest method of meditation is recommended for this age.

“By practical experience also, one can perceive that by chanting this mahā-mantra, or the Great Chanting for Deliverance, one can at once feel a transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual stratum. In the material concept of life we are busy in the matter of sense gratification as if we were in the lower animal stage. A little elevated from this status of sense gratification, one is engaged in mental speculation for the purpose of getting out of the material clutches. A little elevated from this speculative status, when one is intelligent enough, one tries to find out the supreme cause of all causes–within and without. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding, surpassing the stages of sense, mind and intelligence, he is then on the transcendental plane.

“This chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is enacted from the spiritual platform, and thus this sound vibration surpasses all lower strata of consciousness–namely sensual, mental and intellectual. There is no need, therefore, to understand the language of the mantra, nor is there any need for mental speculation nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this mahā-mantra. It is automatic, from the spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in vibrating this transcendental sound without any previous qualification. In a more advanced stage, of course, one is not expected to commit offenses on grounds of spiritual understanding.

“In the beginning, there may not be the presence of all transcendental ecstasies, which are eight in number. These are: (1) Being stopped as though dumb, (2) perspiration, (3) standing up of hairs on the body, (4) dislocation of voice, (5) trembling, (6) fading of the body, (7) crying in ecstasy, and (

trance. But there is no doubt that chanting for a while takes one immediately to the spiritual platform, and one shows the first symptom of this in the urge to dance along with the chanting of the mantra. We have seen this practically. Even a child can take part in the chanting and dancing.

“Of course, for one who is too entangled in material life, it takes a little more time to come to the standard point, but even such a materially engrossed man is raised to the spiritual platform very quickly. When it is chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord in love, it has the greatest efficacy on hearers, and as such this chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord, so that immediate effects can be achieved. As far as possible, chanting from the lips of nondevotees should be avoided. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects.

“The word Harā is the form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words Kṛṣṇa and Rāma are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Both Kṛṣṇa and Rāma mean the supreme pleasure, and Harā is the supreme pleasure energy of the Lord, changed to Hare (Hah-ray) in the vocative. The supreme pleasure energy of the Lord helps us to reach the Lord.

“The material energy, called māyā, is also one of the multi-energies of the Lord. And we, the living entities, are also the energy, marginal energy, of the Lord. The living entities are described as superior to material energy. When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an incompatible situation arises; but when the superior marginal energy is in contact with the superior energy, called Harā, it is established in its happy, normal condition.

“These three words, namely Harā, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, are the transcendental seeds of the mahā-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His energy, to give protection to the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mother’s presence. Mother Harā helps the devotee achieve the Father’s grace, and then Lord Kṛṣṇa reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely. No other means of spiritual realization is as effective in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy as the mahā-mantra.”

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

An excerpt from the book Art of Chanting