"Make the worship of the Holynames, the most important aspect of your life" - Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati, foremost reformer of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
We all know that what is a reality today may not be a reality tomorrow. This world is in a constant flux, a constant change. Only God and His Holynames are a reality - today, tomorrow and forever. As one great soul sings in his song "Kevalashtakam" -
abrahma stamba paryantam
sarvam maya-mayam jagat
satyam stayam punah satyam
harer nama eva kevalam
"The entire universe right from Brahma to an insignificant clump of grass are products of illusory energy of the Lord. The only reality, reality again I say reality - the Holyname of Lord Hari alone is everything."
Therefore, real intelligence is to take shelter of the Holynames and not stop chanting at any cost. Good times - bad times, high times - low times, let every time be chanting time. In life or in death, let the chanting not stop. This is the conviction of all the great souls who have perfected their life and attained love for Krishna. This should be our conviction too. At least we should aspire for it. Here are examples of few of such great souls that can inspire us in this direction -
THE HOUSEHOLDER SAINT
Tukaram Maharaj, one of the greatest saints of Bharata-varsa who spread the culture of Sankirtan all over Maharashtra sang many songs (abhangas) glorifying the Lord and His Holynames. His entire life and his very existence was solely for this purpose - relishing the Holynames, glorifying the Holynames, preaching the Holynames. He lived and breathed the Holynames. It permeated every aspect of his existence. This is one of the thousands of abhangas that he sang which shows his deep conviction in the Holynames -
phuto ei mastak, tuto ei sarira
harinaamacha gaja sodunaye
nashavant deha jala tari bhanga
kirtan ranga sodunaye
"Even if my head bursts and my body breaks down, let me not give up chanting the Holynames. If this perishable body falls down dead still let me never give up the kirtan of the Holynames."
This is not just a beautiful poetic composition by Tukaram Maharaj, it is an natural outpouring of his heart. These were the deep treasure of realisations revealed in his heart by the Lord for his unflinching devotion to the Holynames. He proved these words in his life. He was tested so much, so many troubles and difficulties that it would take a book to describe all that he went through. But one thing that stands out in every episode of his life is his faith and dedication to the chanting of Holynames. It never decreased but on the other hand his conviction just grew deeper and deeper.
THE MUSLIM SAINT
Haridas was born in a Muslim family in Bengal but somehow he developed great attachment to chanting the Holynames of Krishna. He would continuously and incessantly chant Krishna's names. It was as if chanting was an addiction for him, he just couldn't stop chanting. How nice it would be if everyone in this world would develop this addiction. There would be no scope of any other destructive addictions. As the story continues, some of the ritualistic Hindus went and complained to the Nawab, the local Muslim magistrate that Haridas is offending the Hindus by chanting the names of thier Gods. The Nawab rebuked Haridas, saying, “Chant the names of God as they are found in your own religion and stop practicing other peoples’ religion. If you don’t, you will have to face a very severe punishment.” Haridas Thakur answered with conviction:
khanda khanda haï
deha jay jadi prana
tabu ami vadane
na chari hari-nama
"You may cut my body to pieces, and the life may leave it. But I will never abandon the Holyname which my tongue will ever continue to chant." (Chaitanya Bhagavat 16.91)
This statement demonstrated Haridas’s unswerving determination in his worship of the Holynames. The ordinary living entity is bound up in Maya and so considers the well-being of the body to be more important than worshiping the Lord but those who are transcendentalists recognise that the body and its interests are fleeting, and so they put them aside and concentrate on their real self interest - that of the soul, and worship of the Lord. When the Nawab saw that Haridas Thakur’s determination to continue chanting the names of Krishna was unbreakable, he asked the Kazi, the Muslim ruler what should be done. The Kazi answered, “He should be given such a severe punishment that other Muslims will be afraid to convert. He should be flogged publicly in 22 market places until he is dead. If after being beaten in 22 market places he is still alive, then we will know that he really has some kind of spiritual power and that he has been telling the truth!”
The Nawab gave the order and several infantry men took Haridas Thakur from marketplace to marketplace, giving him a cruel flogging with a cane in each one. Even then, he did not die. Krishna’s mercy protected his body and kept him conscious only of the joys of the Holyname, and so he did not feel the slightest discomfiture. Inspite of being ruthlessly flogged by these sinful people, he did not stop praying to the Lord for the well being of his torturers.
Normally, the type of beating that was being given to Haridas would have killed an ordinary man after only two or three marketplaces. When his torturers saw that he was still alive after 22 marketplaces, they began to worry. The Kazi would not believe that they had really flogged him if Haridas remained alive, and he would surely punish them by ordering them to be killed. When Haridas saw that they were inconvenienced by his remaining alive, he went into a deep trance of meditation on Krishna, appearing to everyone as though dead.
The infantry men took the body to the Nawab and he ordered it to be buried. But the Kazi objected, saying that because Haridas had engaged in such reprehensible activities, he should not be buried but thrown in the water. So on the Kazi’s order, Haridas’s body was flung into the Ganges. To everyone’s surprise, Haridas floated to the other shore where he climbed onto dry land and started chanting the Holynames in a loud voice. Both the Nawab and the Kazi realised that he was a real saint or pir and they fell to the ground in obeisances and begged him for forgiveness. By his grace, they were able to become free of their offences. The Nawab gave Haridas official permission to continue to chant the Holynames of Krishna. No wonder, Lord Sri Chaitanya mahaprabhu awarded the title "Naamacharya- The Acharya of the Holyname" to him.
THE CHILD SAINT
Sri Gopala Guru Goswami was a disciple of Sri Vakreshwara Pandit. He is one of the prominent Acharya in the Vaishnava parampara. From early childhood, he stayed with Vakreshwara Pandit and remained under his care and guidance. Sriman Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was always very affectionate towards him and played many jokes on him.
Mahaprabhu used to affectionately call the boy “Gopal”. How this child became a Guru is an interesting story.
From his childhood, Gopal served Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It is said that once, prior to Mahaprabhu’s departure from Puri, Gopal happened to notice that while the Lord was going to answer a call of nature that he held his tongue between his teeth. When asked by the boy about this behavior, Mahaprabhu said that his tongue couldn’t stop chanting, but it was improper while he was engaged in a call of nature. Gopal remarked, “Prabhu, you are the Supreme Lord and everyone follows you. What if someone while relieving themselves left his body, what would be his destination if he were not chanting?” Mahaprabhu became pleased and said, “You have spoken correctly. From today you shall be known as ‘Guru’ - 'Gopal Guru'."
THE GOD SAINT
Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes in Kali Yuga not as God but as a devotee to show the world how to be a perfect devotee. That is the incarnation of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. One time Lord Chaitanya after accepting the renounced order of life was traveling on foot from Bengal to Jagannath Puri with few of his associates. It was the rule of Lord Chaitanya that none of his associates would stop chanting. One the way, at one particular place they had to cross a river by boat. The boatman requested the devotees not to agitate the dangerous crocodiles infesting the waters by thier loud chanting as it could prove fatal for all of them. So the devotees stopped chanting. After sometime Lord Chaitanya asked them why they have stopped chanting. The devotees explained their difficulty. Lord Chaitanya declared loudly to all of them and through them to all of us for all times to come. He roared - "When is the time that there are no difficulties, no problems in this world. There is always a reason not to chant. If we wait for the time when there are no more problems to begin chanting of the Holynames, it may never happen." Lord Chaitanya is telling all of us that all our reasons not to chant however valid it may seem are just excuses we are giving ourselves not to chant. Chanting cannot and should not wait for anything. It is the utmost priority - an urgency. We should learn to chant despite our difficulties and challenges. You see anyone can chant when the times are good but the real test of sincerity is - "Do we chant even when we go through tough times!"
The situations in material life are like an AC wave - constantly changing but it is our responsibility is to see that our spiritual life is like a DC wave - constant and steady. Lord Krishna mentions in Bhagavad-Gita 9.14, that steadiness in chanting as one of the most important quality of a devotee -
satatam kirtayanto mam
yatantas ca drdha-vrata
namasyantas ca mam bhakta
nitya-yukta upasate
"Always chanting My glories, endeavouring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion."
If one carefully observes this verse Krishna uses the words - "satatam" and "nitya" to stress on the importance of steadiness in the process of kirtan. Also the word "drdha-vrata" is important in this verse. Drdha-vrata means determined. In essence the verse stresses on - "being determined to continuously chant the Holynames" as the hallmark of a sincere devotee. It doesn't matter if one is a householder, a renunciate, a Muslim or a child. A saint is one who has developed intense attachment to chanting God's names. This verse defines a pure devotee and is also the formula to become one.
There is an interesting and a daunting project that many temples around India embrace. It is called the "akhanda harinaam". That means they chant the Holynames in their temple non-stop in shifts. In some temples it has been going on for decades. In our ISKCON temple at Vrindavan, the chanting of the Holynames has been going on non-stop for the last 30 years. I was thinking that this should also be our project in life - to adjust our lifestyle in such a way that the Holynames is our constant companion. This is called the Holyname lifestyle. Let us follow in the footsteps of the great souls of the past who never ever gave up on chanting the Holynames. In this way if we carry the Holynames with us constantly in this life then it is guaranteed that the Holynames will carry us beyond this life to the Supreme Abode where everything is centred on chanting of the Holynames.
- Achyut Gopal Das
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