If read carefully all 108 modules next one year and practice what
I prescribe as a student would do.
I (Author) assure you this because you will learn how to receive
spiritual energy from the Nama which you do not know though freely available.
Kripa from the Nama Avatara is raining. We have to learn to catch it.
Thank you.
The first milestone is to gain proper knowledge about japa as you
are doing now. As far as implementation of that knowledge step by step milestones
I have given within 108 modules.
Thank you.
Ultimately the principle for devotees’ behaviour is that it should
please Guru and Krishna. The principles of worldly morality of being truthful
when taken to extremes (like Yudhisthira hesitating to listen to Krishna who
asked him to tell a lie with trickery in the battle feild that Ashwathama is
dead) is not highest principle.
Or if you don’t be angry with someone who offends pure devotees or
Krishna such so called moral or soft behaviour conflicts with the absolute
morality. Absolute morality means not displeasing Krishna at any cost.
Vaishnava principles are more sacrosanct than principles of worldly morality.
Morality is important for vaishnavas too in order to set example
to common folks to adhere to them. But never at the cost of displeasing
Krishna. If in exceptional situations it pleases Krishna by breaking it he will
break it.
Even as per worldly dharma sastra, in certain exceptional
situations of life threat lies can be told in the material world and that is
called apad dharma.
Suppose someone holds a knife at your throat, you should lie
intelligently to come out of the danger.
Arjuna was giving big lecture on worldly morality of not killing his teachers
and grandfather and uncles and cousin brothers. But when he understood it is
Krishna's wish to kill them for the higher cause of adharma as decided by Him,
he set aside those sentiments and whole heartedly engaged in the violent war.
Karmis adhering to transactional truthfulness is a good quality for harmony in
this world. Therefore telling lies comes under sin. (Without exclusive interest
of Krishna). However the absolute value of avoiding this sin at all costs when
seen from a transcendental platform is akin to a bunch of thieves truthfully
and with fairness share the things stolen. (From God here).
I will only take what is mine and will not touch others is a good
moral principle but an even greater transcendental principle is that I will
take with gratitude only what is allotted to me by God who is the supreme proprietor
of everything and not touch what is given by God to others. Morality should be
integrated into Krishna consciousness to gain its absolute value.
For instance, I want to please Krishna and you want to please
Krishna then we have to be absolutely truthful to each other. That does not
mean that as rule devotees can tell lies to non-devotees.
Not recognizing the universal all-pervading Supreme knower, owner
and enjoyer and not connecting it to moral principles of this world smacks of
dishonesty of the soul from the absolute plane.
All the moral principles are like 0s without 1 before it. And that 1 is
Krishna's pleasure. With 1 before the 0 gains true value. Since lot of subjectivity is involved in
ascertaining what is Krishnas pleasure, it has to be carefully applied in
exceptional case by case basis in consultation with vaishnavas so that
knowingly or unknowingly the higher principle of pleasure of Krishna is not be
misused for the convenience of one's selfish purposes.
Anything that pleases Krishna is good for everyone even in the
material world though materialists may not have broad intelligence to
understand it. Krishna is 'atmarama' or fully satisfied in Himself. When we
mean for His pleasure, it will be for the good of the universe. His pleasure is
never selfish like our pleasure. Therefore consultation with other vaishnavas
is required to come to a consensus that selfish purposes are not in the
scenario and also to ensure that we do not jeopardize the mission of the Lord.
Children should chant happily as many rounds they can. They should
not be forced. If forced, child will associate force or lack of voluntariness
with it and start disliking japa. We have experience in ISKCON gurukula that
those children who were forced to chant, when they became adults they did not
want to chant as they associated unpleasantness with it.
You can trick a child into voluntarily chanting japa daily. That
is an intelligent job. They should never feel that we are using our control
over them to make them chant. Even if they chant one round voluntarily, that is
better than forced japa of many rounds. They should be indirectly influenced by
speaking positive experiences and reciprocations of Nama Prabhu in your life
and life of others.
That will be a foundation for them to take voluntarily chanting 16 rounds when
they grow up. Till then do your best to give them positive experience of
Krishna consciousness like nice kirtan, dancing, prasadam, etc.
At least parents should be careful not to plant any negative
emotion associated with any of the practices of Krishna consciousness in them
due to their familiarity with them or ignorance or negligence.
As far as they coming to the stage of chanting 16 rounds, we cannot guarantee.
The Lord in every jiva’s heart inspires them at the right time to take full
shelter of our Acharya, Srila Prabhupada by reading his books etc., at the
right time. Having done our best to influence them in a pleasant manner, rest
is between the jiva and the Lord. Be patient and hope for the best. As Srila
Prabhupada has said Krishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on
the mind.
Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu says namnam akari bahuda nija sarva shaktih. Lord has unlimited
names and each of his names are invested with unlimited potencies. So all of
them are powerful to liberate us from the material energy if chanted under the
guidance of a bonafide spiritual master.
Liberation is
only basic for eternal life. After liberation if you are attached to Name of
Narayana you will go to associate with expansion of Krishna as Narayana in
Vaikunta planet. If you are attached to Lord Ramachandra's Name you will go the
eternal Ayodhya dhama in the spiritual world and so on. If you are attached to
name of Krishna and Radharani by chanting & hearing and remembering the
Hare Krishna Nama Prabhu under guidance of Lord Chaitanya's parampara you will
go to the planet Goloka Vrindavan.
Whatever may be the Nama, you have to serve that Nama Prabhu under the guidance
of a bonafide spiritual master who is a liberated pure devotee of the Lord in
order to receive the full benefit of reaching the spiritual world beyond just
getting liberated.
We, as
disciples of Srila Prabhupada adopt the meaning that Srila Prabhupada gave us
for the Mahamantra. In the famous Hare Krishna address by Srila Prabhupada he
explains that our chanting is like the child crying to the Supreme mother
Srimati Radharani (Hara) for the mercy of the supreme father Krishna (Hari).
Krishna means all attractive and Rama is also another name of Krishna meaning
all-pleasure Elsewhere Srila Prabbhupada explains as follows: .
“Rama and Krishna are names of God, and Hare is the energy of God. So when
we chant the maha-mantra, we address God together with His energy. This energy
is of two kinds, the spiritual and the material. At present we are in the
clutches of the material energy. Therefore we pray to Krishna that He may
kindly deliver us from the service of the material energy and accept us into
the service of the spiritual energy. That is our whole philosophy. Hare Krishna
means, “O energy of God, O God [Krishna], please engage me in Your service.” It
is our nature to render service. Somehow or other we have come to the service
of material things, but when this service is transformed into the service of
the spiritual energy, then our life is perfect"
Furthermore for kali-yuga, these string of 16 names is prescribed in
Kalisantarana upanishad. This fact comes in a dialog between Lord Brahma and
Sri Narada in that upanishad as follows:
harih Om |
dvaparante
narado brahmanam jagama katham bhagavan gam paryatan kalim santareyam iti |
"At the
end of Dvapara Yuga, Narada, after traveling the world, approached Lord Brahma
and asked him: 'How may I overcome the (evil effects of) the Kali Yuga?'"
sa hovaca
brahma sadhu prshto asmi sarva sruti rahasyam gopyam tacchrunu yena
kalisamsaram tarishyasi |
"Brahma said: 'You have asked me an excellent question. I shall reveal to
you the secret of all Vedas, by which you will cross over the (ocean of)
samsara filled with the bad effects of the Kali Yuga. This secret must be
preserved and protected.'"
bhagavata
adipurushasya narayanasya namoccaranamatrena nirdhrtakalir
bhavati| naradah punah papraccha tannama kimiti |
"'By
merely uttering the names of the Primeval Purusha, who is Bhagavan Narayana,
one is freed from the clutches of Kali.' Narada asked again: 'What are those
names of Narayana?'"
sa hovaca hiranyagarbhah |
hare rama hare
rama rama rama hare hare |
hare krshna
hare krshna krshna krshna hare hare |
iti shodasakam
namnam kalikalmashanasanam |
natah
parataropayah sarvavedeshu drsyate |
"Lord Brahma said: 'O Hari, O Rama, O Hari, O Rama, O Rama O Rama, O Hari,
O Hari! O Hari, O Krishna, O Hari, O Krishna, O Krishna O Krishna, O Hari, O
Hari! This collection of sixteen names (of Narayana) destroys the evils of the
Kali Yuga.
I don't see any
other effective means (of liberation) in the Vedas.'"
Note: Gaudiyas chant this mantra by reversing the order of the two halves, i.e.
the Hare Krishna first and then the Hare Rama.
But Lord Chaitanya propagated it by chanting Hare Krishna first.
The explanation
I have heard is that upanishad being part of vedas there is a vedic injunction
that only one who does not have brahminical samskara cannot chant any
upanishadic mantra.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is Krishna Himself as Bhakta Avatara wanted to give
mercy to everyone irrespective of their prequalification of being brahmanical
etc. So he propagated the Mahamantra without violating this vedic injunction by
starting with Hare Krishna instead of Hare Rama.
Lord Chaitanya
being Lord Krishna Himself can distribute His Names anyway He wants. After all
He is the very foundation of all Vedas. He chose to distribute His Nama as Hare
Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama
Hare Hare.