20200316 Lecture on Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī's Nāmāṣṭakam

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on March 16th,2020 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India. The Class was about Srila Rupa Gosvami's Krishna Namastaka for Safari Devotees at Śrī Māyāpur, India.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

So we heard you are doing the nāma retreat, and we are very happy about that. The holy name was glorified by Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Kṛṣṇa Nāma Aṣṭaka. Have you heard that? We can read some of the verses.

Text 1:  “Oh Harināma, the tips of the toes of your lotus feet are constantly being worshipped by the glorious radiance emanating from the string of gems known as the Upaniṣads, the crown jewels of all the Vedas. You are eternally adored by liberated souls such as Nārada and Śukadeva Oh Harināma, I take complete shelter of you.”

So Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura gave a purport. He described how Śacīnandana, the son of mother Śacī, had personally preached the glories of His own name because He is actually Kṛṣṇa, and He is preaching the glories of Kṛṣṇa-nāma and used the mouth of Rūpa Gosvāmī. Lord Hari is Himself the Holy Name. There is no difference between the holy name and Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura’s explanation: That holy name is true, thus sing the Vedas. The effulgence of the jewel necklaces of the Upaniṣads shine brilliantly around your lotus feet. They perform an auspicious ārotika to you at every moment, with a ten flamed lamp. In the fourteen planetary systems the devas, humans and dānavās, whose fortune is to strong, constantly drink the nectar of the rasa of the holy name, having given up the activities of karma and jñāna. And the eternally liberated souls engage in singing Sāma hymns. They reside in Goloka and sing the holy names ceaselessly. They don’t know of any separation from the holy name. The two syllables Ha ri are the souls of all rasa. I take shelter of the holy name, falling at the lotus feet of the holy name, Bhakti Vinoda says, I beg for a place at your lotus feet. “

So the practice of chanting the holy name is not a simple thing. It is something very profound. So, chanting the holy name, you have been doing a retreat for several days, and this chanting of the holy name is a means to achieve Kṛṣṇa. The name of Kṛṣṇa and the name are not different. But the name is more merciful, if one offends Kṛṣṇa you can get forgiven by chanting Ksrna’s name. So the holy name is more merciful. So we should take shelter of the holy name, following in the footsteps of Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura and others.

Haribol! 

Text 2: “Oh holy name, oh one sung by liberated souls, oh one who has assumed the form of transcendental syllables for the pleasure of your people, upon being pronounced slightly even out of disrespect, you destroy all of the terrible miseries of the chanter.”

So even when Lord Caitanya appeared, there was a lunar eclipse. At that time all the Hindus were loudly chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Haribol! Gooovinda! Normally they would not chant out loud but they were chanting. The Muslims they also, they would say, just see the Hindus are chanting Hari Hari! Govinda Govinda! Ha! Ha! Hare Kṛṣṇa! Even they were chanting disrespectfully, still they get benefit. What did Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura say?

Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura’s explanation: “All glories, all glories to the holy name of Lord Hari, the above of the nectar of spiritual bliss, the Supreme Truth in the form of syllables, bestowing mercy upon Your own devotees, You have descended in the form of the holy names and bestowed unbounded mercy upon the living entities. All glories to Hari, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma. You are the excellent refuge of the residents of the entire universe. You please the minds of everyone. The sages constantly honor you, the holy name, singing you with their mouths wide open. Oh syllables of the holy names of Kṛṣṇa, you possess all potencies to distribute auspiciousness to the living entities. Apart from you there is friend to rescue one from the ocean of material existence. You have come to rescue the living entities, you destroy all the living entities’ miseries if anyone, even neglectfully calls you out once, becoming utterly humble and destitute. I do not see any other means to counteract those miseries of the living entities. When one attains a slight glance of your appearance, then terrible miseries go far away and the subtle body is easily dissolved. Bhakti Vinoda says, all glories, all glories to the holy name of Lord Hari. I remain, offering you obeisances with the hope of attaining your lotus feet.”

As we mentioned that the adhivāsa kīrtana has two lines – ānander sīmā nāi, ānander sīmā nāi, no limit to the bliss and nirānanda dūre jāya, the sufferings go far away! So here Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura mentions that simply by chanting even neglectfully the holy names, one’s suffering in the material world, goes far away. Ānander sīmā nāi, Nirānanda dūre jāya!

One thing we see that how Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura, they are addressing the holy name as a person. Just as Kṛṣṇa is a person, His holy name is a person. And the person of the holy name, is something we want to achieve the shelter of His lotus feet. The holy name is very special. It is the Lord in vibration, in sound. The Lord may appear as a mūrtī in His visible form, He may appear as a concept, He may appear as the holy name. So, some people were fortunate, they could see those pastimes. But the holy name describes those pastimes. Like Hari, Giridhārī, Yaśodanandana, Putanāhāri, some names describe the pastimes and by chanting the names you can get association of the Lord.

Text 3: “Oh sun of the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which meritorious person in this world is able to enunciate the exact glory of your lordship? Whose mere reflection while arising destroys the powerful darkness of spiritual ignorance due to material existence and grants vision pertaining to pure devotional service even to those blind to the truths of spiritual existence?”

So, there is hope, even those who are blind to spiritual existence, if they hear the holy names, they can have their illusion destroyed. Just like the sun rising in the east destroys the darkness.

Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Thakur’s explanation: “The sun of the holy name has arisen in the universe in order to destroy ignorance. All opulences of māyā go away then. Therefore, the saintly person is attached to the holy name. Oh holy name of Lord Hari, you remove the dense darkness of ignorance. Who can know your glory? Who is that scholar who can loudly explain your glories? From the beginning, when one sees your reflection, the dense darkness of material existence is almost destroyed quickly. When that darkness is destroyed, you provide spiritual realization to the spiritually blinded eyes of the chanter. That spiritual realization is the state of devotional service and it generates consciousness of Lord Hari. This wonderful pastime is constantly yours and Bhakti Vinoda has understood its essence.”

So we can see why Śrīla Prabhupāda had us chanting. We want people to chant from the beginning of their association with Iskcon. Even if they chant one round or two rounds or four rounds or eight rounds, if they chant something, gradually the holy name will illuminate their consciousness and take away the darkness of ignorance. So when you get people to chant, gradually increasing is unlimitedly powerful. If we want to eradicate the ignorance, we need to constantly chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra or some names of Hari.

(By the way reading the Kṛṣṇa Nāma aṣṭaka will eradicate any nāma-aparādhas. Hearing these eight verses by Rūpa Gosvāmī will destroy the offences to the holy name.)

Text 4: “Oh holy name, the Veda loudly announces that prārabdha-karma which does not attain destruction without experience of the results of that prārabdha-karma, despite uninterrupted, direct experience of the Supreme Brahman, goes away merely by your appearance.”

The prārabdha-karma of the living entities, when the universe gets destroyed, they are given a little coding, which is their prārabdha-karma. So that when the universe is recreated, they are put in the appropriate place. So it doesn’t give all the details, but it gives the assets of their karma. But even if one reaches the impersonal Brahman realization, that prārabdha-karma is not destroyed. But by chanting the holy names it is! Haribol! Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Thakur’s explanation: The jñānī endeavors to carry out jñāna-yoga, directly experiences Brahman. Upon such direct experience of Brahman, the practitioner’s aprārabdha-karma is removed by complete development of jñāna. Even then one’s prārabdha-karma is never destroyed without experience of the results of the prārabdha-karma. The living entity who has attained Brahman realization, attains birth and death. So that he can attain experience of the results of his prārabdha-karma. But, oh holy name, when you appear, the exclusive devotee has no more any prārabdha or aprārabdha-karma. The Vedas sing this repeatedly upon your appearance, the living entity’s heart is completely cleansed of all the bondage of karma and jñāna goes away easily, material existence is destroyed! (Guru mahārāja said: Haribol!) Bhakti Vinoda lifts his hands and says, take up the banner of the holy name and walk along sounding the drum of the holy name. you will surely obtain the direct audience of Lord Muralīdhara, the holder of the flute!

Jayapatākā Swami: There is two kinds of karma, the aprārabdha and prārabdha. Impersonal Brahman realization purifies one of the aprārabdha-karma. But it does not destroy the prārabdha-karma. If one after being in the impersonal Brahman, they want to start acting again, they come back to the material world, they take birth again, and they experience their prārabdha-karma. But if you develop love of Kṛṣṇa, if you chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, then your aprārabdha and prārabdha-karma, all your karma, all your jñāna is destroyed. And you can directly realize Kṛṣṇa.

Text 5: “Oh holy name, may my attraction for you in your various forms such as Agadamana, killer of Aga and Yaśodānandana, darling son of Yaśoda, Nandasuno, son of Nanda, Kamalanayana, lotus eyed, Gopīcandra, moon for the gopīs, Vṛndāvanendra, prince of Vṛndāvana, Praṇatakaruṇā, the one merciful to those who submit to Him, and Kṛṣṇa, the All-attractive, increase greatly.”

So he is praying that his attraction for the holy name may increase greatly. So, there are various examples of names of Kṛṣṇa are given. Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura’s purport, where he gives many names of Kṛṣṇa.

“May my attraction to the holy names such as this increase with affection and hankering. Holding the lotus feet of Rūpa Gosvāmī and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, knowing to be His true opulence, (or is it appellants?) Bhakti Vinoda begs thus.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, many names of Kṛṣṇa are given. How Gokularakṣaka, the protector of Gokula, Rādhābhajanasukasati, one who delights in Rādhārani’s worship. He has many names of Kṛṣṇa. So by chanting these names we get the rasa of the different relationships given in these holy names. Like Yaśodanandana, the darling of Yaśoda, of Nandasuna, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, there is some rasa there. And so one by chanting these holy names, they also get a taste of the mellows of devotion for the Lord. 

Text 6: “Oh holy name, you have two forms, the verbally expressible and the verbal expression. Oh, we know that among them, the latter is more compassionate than the former. Indeed, even that creature, who has committed all kinds of offences to the former, immerses in an ocean of spiritual bliss, by worshipping the latter with his mouth.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the form of Kṛṣṇa is explained here as the expressible, and the holy name is described as the expressed. So here, the things are described from the point of view of the holy name. Like the holy name, the word, His pastimes, can be expressed, is non-different than the holy names which are expressed. But they say that, the verse says that the holy name is more merciful than the name. It describes here the holy name is in two forms – the expressed and the expressible, expressible means the Lord. It is another way of saying the name and the named. But it is saying in the opposite perspective. The holy name and the holy name’s form, pastimes. It took me a long time to understand this verse. Because it is describing backwards instead of the normal way. Instead of from the name and the named, it describes the named and the person who can be named! Ha! Śrīla Bhakti Vinoda Ṭhākura’s explanation: You have two forms, the verbally expressible and the verbal expression. The verbally expressible is Your sacred form, a form of knowledge and bliss. The verbal expression is Your holy name such as, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in the form of syllables, the blissful refuge for all living entities. Your unlimited manifestations in these two forms mercifully bestow Your pastimes to the living entities. But I know, oh Lord, that the verbal expression is more merciful than the verbally expressible. This is an extraordinary fact. The Vedic statements affirm that. There is no difference between the holy name and the holy named. Still the holy name is more compassionate than the holy named. If an offender unto Lord Kṛṣṇa with faith and with all his life forces, calls out (Guru mahārāja said: RĀMA! KṚṢṆA! HARI!), the offences go far away and he easily floats in an ocean of happiness, that is the ocean of rasa. Having offended the verbally expressible the form of the Supreme Lord, by taking shelter of the pure holy name, he is saved from those offences. Bhakti Vinoda begs at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, for attraction to the holy name, the verbal expression, at every moment.”

In the TOVP Exhibits the Vedas describe a heliocentric and geocentric. Actually in outer space it doesn’t make any difference. In one you have the sun as the center and we have the earth. In fact, NASA, or whatever, the scientists they have to calculate for a rocket ship to take off and land on the earth. The Vedas describe a geocentric universe and the modern scientists describe a heliocentric. But in outer space it doesn’t make any difference,which you say is the center, because either way it is the same thing! So here it describes that the holy name and holy named are not different. But since the two things are not different,the name and named,the expressible and the expressed, so by saying in this way, you can see that the holy name is given the preference and the Lord is just an object of the Holy Names! Ha!

Text 7: “Oh holy name, oh Kṛṣṇa, my repeated obeisances unto you who destroys the sufferings of those who have taken shelter of you. The form of pleasing, concentrated, spiritual bliss, a great festival for Gokula and one of the perfect forms.”

So we will read the next verse because I want to hear your realizations. Go on, next verse.

Text 8: “Oh enlivener of Narada’s vīnā, oh flood of sweetness extracted from waves of nectar, oh holy name of Kṛṣṇa, appear on my tongue constantly with spiritual rasa, as you like.”

Haribol!