TEN OFFENCES TO THE HOLY NAME
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Any devotee of Lord should not be blasphemed. It doesn’t matter in any country. Just like Lord Jesus Christ, he is a great devotee. And even Muhammad, he’s also a devotee. It is not that because we are devotee and they are not devotee. Don’t think like that. Anyone who is preaching the glories of God, he is a devotee. He should not be blasphemed. You should be careful.

We have no affairs with demigods. In Vedic religion there are hundreds and thousands of demigods. Especially it is going on that either you worship Kṛṣṇa or Lord Śiva or Kali, the same thing.

This is nonsense. You should not place on the same level with the Supreme Lord. Nobody is greater than the Lord. Nobody is equal than the Lord. So this equality should be avoided.

Spiritual master’s order should be as your life and soul. Then everything will be clear.

Nobody should minimize the authorized scripture. This is also offense.

The other day some boy was saying: “a symbolic.” It is not symbolic. Kṛṣṇa. We are chanting “Kṛṣṇa,” addressing Kṛṣṇa. Hare means addressing Kṛṣṇa’s energy, and we are praying that “Please engage me in Your service.” That is Hare Kṛṣṇa. There is no other interpretation.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. The only prayer is, “O the energy of Lord, O Lord Kṛṣṇa, Lord Rāma, please engage me in Your service.” That’s all. There is no other, second interpretation.

With initiation, from this day your account, past life, all sinful activities, is now, what is called, adjusted, closed. It is finished. Now because by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa you can finish your sinful activities’ reaction, that does not mean that you will repeat: “Oh, I shall commit sinful activities and I shall chant. It will be adjusted. The balance will be nil.”

No. Not like that. Don’t commit that. Whatever is done is done. No more. Now there should be pure life: no illicit sex life, no intoxication, no gambling and no meat-eating. Finished now. It is not that “Oh, I am chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Let me go to the hotel and take some meat.” No. Then it will be a great sin. Don’t do that. Then the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa will not fructify if you commit offense.

Unfaithful are those who have no faith that the Lord and His name are absolute. Just like here in this material world, the name and the person is different. Suppose your name is Mr. John. So if I chant “John, John, John,” so John may be a hundred miles away. There is no response.

But the name, Holy Name of God, God is present everywhere. Just like the television. Television is being released in some place. If you have got the machine, immediately the picture is in your room. If it is, materially, it can be possible, how much possibility there is in spiritual Kṛṣṇa name? Immediately you chant Kṛṣṇa’s name, that means Kṛṣṇa is immediately on your tongue.

So, one who has no faith that the name of the Lord and the Lord Himself are the same, there is no difference, one should not be instructed about the glories of the Lord. He should be instructed to understand, but if he’s unable to understand, then he should not be initiated, or he should require some time to understand. But you should always remember that nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ [Cc. Madhya 17.133]:

”The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical.“

Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s name are nondifferent. As soon as you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, that means Kṛṣṇa is dancing on your tongue. You should be careful in that way. Just like you offer so much respect to your spiritual master as soon as he’s present, so if Kṛṣṇa is present on your tongue, how much careful you should be.

So you should always know that Kṛṣṇa is there. Kṛṣṇa is always everywhere. God is everywhere, but we have no realization. But this particular chanting, as soon as you chant Holy Name, that means you must know. So by associating with Kṛṣṇa you become purified. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ [SB 1.2.17]:

“Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.”

Just like associating with fire you become warm, similarly, associate with Kṛṣṇa means you become purified. Gradually you become spiritualized. No more material. Finished. This is the process.

Now this function is being done. It should not be taken that we are doing something religious rituals. No. Religious ritual is different thing. Although it appears like rituals, but it is transcendental. It is above all kinds of religion. It is postgraduate study.

The process is how to develop love of Godhead. This is above all. Religion means, generally, some kind of faith. But it is not a question of faith. It is actually developing how much you are loving Kṛṣṇa, or God. So it is above all religion. It is not ordinary religion.

Suppose you are Christian, I am Hindu. As soon as this body is finished, my Christianism or religion, everything is finished. But this love of God will not finish. It will go with you. Any birth you go, it will develop. If you can finish, then you go directly to Kṛṣṇa, back to Godhead, and finish all your material connections. Even if you are not able, then it goes with you. It’s an asset. The bank balance will not be diminished. It will increase.

While you are chanting we should hear also. That is meditation. Hare Kṛṣṇa, these two words, Hare Kṛṣṇa, you’ll hear also. If you hear, then your mind and your tongue both are captivated. That is perfect meditation, the first-class yoga, hearing and chanting.

The whole process is that we are going to transfer our love from matter to God. So we should try to minimize. It will be automatically. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt [SB 11.2.42]:

“Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things—these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating.”

If you actually develop love of Godhead, then naturally you forget to love all these material nonsense. That is the sequence. But you should try and this will happen. Just like if we eat, then gradually you minimize your hankering after eating. When you are full, then you say, “I don’t want any more.”

Similarly, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice that with the progress of Kṛṣṇa consciousness you forget the so-called material nonsense enjoyment. And when you are in perfect stage, oh, you don’t care for anything of this material nonsense. This is the test.

You cannot say, “I am progressing in meditation by my material attachment to all sense gratification” is the same. That is no progress. Progress means that you will minimize your material attachment for sense gratification. This is progress.