Potency of Holy Names [granthraj]

We were discussing a wonderful verse from Srimad Bhagavatam during an internet chat. The verse is from Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.14

aapannah samsrtim ghoraam / yan naama vivasho grnan
tatah sadyo vimuchyeta / yad bibheti svayam bhayam

"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."

Our Gurudev recites with so much intensity and bhav and we get attracted towards it. But I was also reciting this verse but there is no bhav or intensity in my utterances. I was just contemplating why I don’t feel the bhav in vibrating this verse and came to the conclusion that I don’t have an iota of faith in the meaning of the verse. This is because of lack of faith of an eternal existence beyond this material manifestation. Whereas Maharaj has envisaged the spiritual existence and also realized it and therefore the meaning of verse and its purport is completely locked up in the heart and therefore the bhav has tremendous effect on all the living entities associating with him while reciting those transcendental vibrations. How can I accept that I am going to be freed immediately by even unconscious chanting of the holy name of Krishna. We still have so many doubts and contemplations on these verses and so we end up superficial reciting those verses and we are unable to reach the audience. Maharaj said that in order to preach we have to reach the living entities. Unless we ourselves are convinced of the verse and its purport , how can we convince other living entities ?

The reasons for lack of bhav or faith in vibrating these transcendental slokas is because of the following.

I am sitting comfortably in Abudhabi with my wife and son and my office work is reasonably safe by Krishna mercy and my bank balances are good and therefore I don’t feel that I am entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death. The ghoraam is not sinking into my mind at all. We are all comfortable and that is the way we think every second of our existence. Since the legacy of this attitude is continuing we are not chanting with feelings of helplessness. Vivasho also means helplessness. Where is the question of getting relieved from birth and death. We don’t want to leave this material planet at all. We want to make all adjustments in this material world and try to become happy. Lord Krishna who is the manufacturer of this material world has stamped on this product of cosmic manifestation as temporary and full of miseries, but still we neither accept Lord Krishna’s statement nor want to believe that the Lord is the original manufacturer . As our Gurudev says that we don’t have any idea of the greatness of the Lord and His super powerful potencies in Him and His names. Since we are not conscious of these facts, the verse also becomes mechanical and there is no potency in our preaching.

We blame Lord Krishna, Prabhupada and everybody else in the world, that I am chanting so many verses for so many years and still nothings works for me. There is no use in blaming others, we have to blame ourselves and introspect our way of devotional service. As Maharaj says we are not impelling our intelligence to behave properly even after so many years of devotional service. That is the way to improve our devotional service and by sincere endeavour , the Lord will instill faith in our hearts and slowly the verse can be realized in this life time itself. This does not mean that until such time I realize those verses, I will not speak on it. That is not the way. The more we fake it the more we make it. Atleast we should pretend ourselves that you have understood the real meaning of the verse and in the end you will realize it. The process and goal of devotional service are one and the same. Also we become very dear to Krishna by preaching these verses even without realization because the transcendental vibrations, names are so potent and very powerful, it will purify the speaker, listener and the general mass who are hearing including the place eventually.

My English grammar is very bad and I don’t know how to write properly but a semblance of improvement is there over a period of time by the mercy of our beloved Gurudev and Krishna. Sometimes I use to wonder whether I have made this offering in granthraj because we are not capable of offering anything related to transcendence which is beyond our material senses. It is clearly the mercy of our Gurudev, Prabhupada and Lord Krishna that they are impelling my intelligence to offer in granthraj. The Supersoul is directing and the Lord chooses His own words in the offering. What is there to take credit ? Srila Prabhupada’s books, Gurudev’s vani and Krishna’s instructions are so powerful enough to penetrate the living entities heart. And then we expect appreciation for our offering. As Maharaj says that we are just palmful of ash and nothing more to really feel proud.

I pray fervently to all Vaishnavas in the forum to please bless me that I don’t ever forget our unlimited merciful spiritual master till my last breath and continue in devotional service. I don’t have strength and have capacity and therefore I repeatedly pay my prostrated obeisances at the lotus feet of Gurudev so that he can keep me at his lotus feet if he chooses so.

Thank you very much.
Your humble servant in the service of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev,
Sajjanapriya Krishna das,
Abudhabi.

Disclaimer: This article was originally published in the Yahoo Groups granthraj – run by the disciples of H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj – by the devotee name mentioned above. The posting in this article, is original realizations of our Guru Maharaj and the devotee who wrote this. Any comments regarding this article would be passed on directly to the devotee. In this article, ‘Maharaj’ and ‘Gurudev’ implicitly refer to our spiritual master H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj.

Related posts:

1. Power of Lord’s Names [granthraj]
2. Glories of the Holy name [granthraj]
3. The Real Potency of Mahaprasadam [granthraj]
4. Power of the Holy Name – [granthraj]
5. Supreme Potency of Holy Names and Srimad Bhagavatam