Sri Sanmodana Bhasyam, Part 7
BY: SUN STAFF
Jun 24, 2010 — CANADA (SUN) — A commentary on Lord Caitanya’s ‘Siksastakam’ by HDG Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, with a Bengali song for each verse that expands upon Mahaprabhu’s devotional moods (Sanskrit, 1886).
namnam – of the holy names of the Lord; akari – manifested; bahudha – various kinds; nija-sarva-saktih – all kinds of personal potency; tatra – in that; arpita – bestowed; niyamitah – restricted; smarane – in remembering; na – not; kalah – consideration of time; etadrsi – so much; tava – Your; krpa – mercy; bhagavan – O Lord; mama – My; api – although; durdaivam – misfortune; idrsam – such; iha – in this (the holy name); ajani – was born; na – not; anuragah – attachment.
“My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as Krsna and Govinda, by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.”
The chanting of Krsna’s holy name has four aspects, consisting of the glorification of the Lord’s name, form, qualities and pastimes. Krsna’s holy name is the original seed of all joys, because the holy name and He who is designated by that name are one and the same, being non-different in principle.
Chanting the holy name is most beneficial for one and all in every respect; therefore Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Himself demonstrates the super-excellent qualities of the holy name. In order to evoke genuine faith in the holy name, Lord Caitanya prays, “O Lord! O most munificent One! Becoming compassionate seeing our destitute situation as souls conditioned by matter, You have of Your own accord manifested Your holy name, which is non-different from Yourself.
“Your holy name is of two types, principal and secondary. Among Your principle names are Hari, Krsna, Govinda, Acyuta, Rama, Ananta, and Vishnu; Brahma, Supersoul, Supreme Controller, Maintainer, Creator, and Mahendra are secondary names. You have invested all Your internal spiritual potencies and Your transcendental qualities in Your principal names.” Innumerable scriptural statements substantiate this fact; a few are cited below.
“My Lord, one can be immediately freed from all material contaminations just by seeing You. But if seeing You personally is not possible, then by simply hearing only once the holy name of Your Lordship even Candalas, dog eating men of the lowest class, are freed from their impurities, just as if they had seen You.”
“If the amount of time a dvijabrahmana expends in the study and recitation of the Vedic mantras would be utilized in chanting even just the Lord’s secondary names, that brahmana would incur more benefit; of this there is no doubt. But one who just chants the two syllables of the holy name Hari is understood to have already mastered the four Vedas – Rg, Sama, Yajur and Atharva. Therefore it is not advisable to spent time in studying the Vedas; instead the holy name of Govinda should be chanted continuously, for His name is glorified eternally.”
“O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of 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 material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.”
“O Lord Visnu! Your holy name is fully spiritual and self manifested. So even if one not thoroughly informed of its glories chants the holy name, he will gradually acquire perfect understanding just by chanting. Lord Brahma was the first to disseminate the transcendental sound om; the mere utterance of this sound dispelled his ignorance and fear of death. Therefore the vibration om is also known as tarak Brahma.”
“Any person who says the name Hari just once without offense immediately becomes resolved to serve the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord unconditionally and thus strives for liberation from the clutches of illusion.”
“Certainly that heart is steel framed which in spite of one’s chanting the holy name of the Lord with concentration, does not change when ecstasy takes place, tears fill the eyes and hairs stand on end.”
“O respected Bhrigu! The holy name of Krsna is more nectarean than the sweetest honey; most beneficial amongst all auspicious activities; and is the eternal, mature and transcendental fruit of the desire fulfilling tree of the Vedas. If any person utters this holy name even once, casually or in full sincerity but without offenses then the holy name instantaneously liberates the chanter.”
“O Arjuna! I declare to You truly that anyone can purchase Me just by chanting My name and abiding by Me. I become his property, fully dependent on him.”
“The holy name of Krsna is transcendentally blissful. Like a touchstone gem it bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krsna Himself. Krsna’s name is complete, and it is the form of transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any conditions, and it is no less powerful than Krsna Himself. Since Krsna’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krsna’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krsna and Krsna Himself are identical.”
“No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Sri Krishna through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.”
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