Harer Nam

harer näma harer näma  harer nämaiva kevalam 

kalau nästy eva nästy eva nästy eva gatir anyathä

"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."

trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna

amanina manadena kirtaniya sada hari 

"One can chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street. 

One should be more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respects to others.

In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly." 

Caitanya Mahaprabhu explains- 

As He was walking through the Jharikhanda forest how walking, dancing He was gracefully going through the forest path with His arms raised chanting the Holy Names –

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare!!!!

That time there was tigers that began to follow behind Him. And then deer began to follow behind them. 

You know in the forest the worst enemies are tigers and deer’s. When a tiger sees a deer he only has one thing in the mind to weak beat apart with his sharp claws, to bite his neck with the sharp teeth and to drink every drop of his blood and to eat every sliver of his flesh and to leave only behind his bones and then to add insult to injury he sucks the bones. Anyways the world’s possible enemies they were walking side by side in complete spiritual trans as they were seen the beautiful golden form of  Lord Caitanya. And Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu looked at them and He raised His arms and He said chant the Holy Names –

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare!!!!

And the deer’s and the tigers began to have wonderful kirtan together. and the trees ,flowers and grass they were all enraptured in ecstatic devotion and as He was chanting, although they couldn’t chant themselves, they help to create the ego of His chanting- I have seen with my own experience sometimes people’s who are competitors and enemies during the kirtan they become loving friends dancing and chanting together. But then when the kirtan ends gradually they become an enemy again that’s why Mahaprabhu said- kirtaniya sada hari. We should always do kirtan then there is no question of enemies. We forget everything except Krsna. These tigers and deer’s they began with great love and spiritual emotion to chant the Holy Names.

So Srila Prabhupada would tell us that we can’t imitate the supreme merciful incarnation of Godhead Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who could instantly give Prema Bhakti the perfection of life to everyone and anyone. But as the servant of the servant of the servant of Lord Gauranga, Lord Krsna we can honestly endeavor to give this gift of Harinam to other living beings and i.e. the great value of our life to give this gift. There is nothing that will make us more dear to Krsna than helping the great souls in spreading this glorious Sankirtan movement. It is so simple.

To serve God and the world for our whole life we will require spiritual strength and nourishment. The source for this is the Holy Names

In the Judaeo-Christian tradition also there is a great instruction: “Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.” Not only is this encouragement for chanting God’s name, but the word means “sacred.” We say that the name of God is sacred. But originally the word hallowed meant “whole.” The name of God was considered complete. So “hallowed be Thy name” meant that God’s name was complete in itself, or full of God’s own potency, as what Vedic tradition says.

All religious traditions teach this principle and encourage adherents to chant God’s names, even if, in practice, the instruction is hardly followed. In fact, all religions emphasize the chanting process as the prime means for developing God consciousness. For example, King David, of the Bible, preached: “From the rising of the sun until its setting, the Lord’s name is to be praised.” Saint Paul said, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  In this way, the potency of the name is endorsed even in the Western religious traditions.

When we chant the holy names of the Lord together, we unify with one another, we unify our consciousness, our minds, and our hearts in the oneness of our love for God. It is a beautiful experience.

- Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Thank you very much!!!

Servant of the Servant,

Priya Pujari