Re: Naam-shiksha and Naam-diksha

Naama Shiksha and Naama Diksha

Answer by Swami Gaurangapada
Transcribed by Sarvabhauma dasa

Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Shri Guru Parampara! Pranams to everyone. Thank you, Matus for your nice question. Actually Nama shiksha has been the way of transmission of Nama in our Parampara right from the beginning. Harinama,Gaura Nama, Nitai Nama. Nama is totally independent of any other process � diksha puruscariya viddhi apekshana kare. Nama is not expecting any kind of process in its power to purify the individual who is chanting the Name. So, apekshana kare � the Nama will act whether it is received by shiksha or diksha. The Naama is always most powerful. It is non different from Naami, the Lord. The integral nature of the Name is not going to change whether it is received by diksha or shiksha. So, if you see in our Gaudiya Parampara Lord Gaurahari Himself, it is not mentioned that He received the Nama from Ishvara Puri, but it is mentioned He received diksha in a mantra which is the ten-syllable Gopala Mantra, which drowned Him in an ocean of ecstasy. But He received the instruction from His Guru that: naco gao bhakta sane koro sankirtana krishna nama upadeshi tara sarva jana: �You dance and sing the Names and give the Names to everyone and deliver everyone.� That is what the Lord�s guru instructed Him. But in Harinama Chintamani also by Bhaktivinode Thakur who is the nama rasika acariya who is fully aware of the debth of the Nama Tattva, because he could see the conversation between Haridas Thakur and Lord Gaura in his heart regarding Nama Tattva. So Bhaktivinod Thakur got a full grasp, he is nama-tattva-vit and he coposed HNC in which he describes that though Naam is traditionally not given as diksha still nam can formally be given also as diksha, the formal initiation. We even see in Gaudiya Math during the time of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada the first diksha was known as Ashraya diksha and the second initiation was actually known as diksha, actually not the Naam but it was the Gayatri mantras. That is why it was known as diksha. One could also consider that according to Harinama Cintamani the first process of nama ashraya, hearing the name from the lips of Gurudev and beginning to chant, that process of nama shiksha can also be formalised in the form of nama diksha. That is confirmed by Bhaktivinode Thakur in Harinama Cintamani that there can be one Naama diksha guru and there can be many Naama shiksha gurus. And the Naama diksha guru can himself be the Naama shiksha guru also by imparting more and more detailed teachings of the nama-tattva, the chanting of the names, to the disciple. So, our AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, he formalized the process of nama shiksha into hari nama diksha. It is his unique contribution to this world. He was the first acariya to implement the teachings of Harinama Cintamani which talks about nama diksha even the nama can be received through formal initiation. In that way both the processes are bonafide as we can learn because Gaurahari and all acariyas they used to chant and sing the Naama, they received mantra shiksha an mantra diksha from their gurus. And those mantras were different from the normal Harinam, Gauranam and Nitai Naam Those mantras were starting with the bija mantras, the Gayatri mantras, the klim mantras. And on the other hand the process of Nama diksha receiveing the Nama directly from the lips of guru in a formal way - that is also approved by HNC. Though Nama is so powerful it does not necessarily have to be received in a formal way. It can be received by shiskha.  Somebody can view a video of one�s Guru chanting the Naam and one can be inspired by the divine sound vibration emanating from the lips of Guru and one can begin chanting. That itself � the connections is there, because one has taken ashraya of the Guru who is chanting the Naam, who is giving the Naam. So, Naama shiksha and Naama diksha both are bonafide processes in Kali Yuga. This has been quite a controversial subject matter in our Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya, but my understanding and our understanding is that both processes are bonafide and both are transcendental because both have been practiced and implemented by our Acariyas. So, the most important thing is to receive the Naam, either by shiksha or by diksha from a personality who realizes himself or herself the potency of Naam, the depth of Naam, the spiritual power of Naam. Then our chanting will automatrically fructify very quicjkly. And then one can always take Naama shiksha further from many other advanced devotes who are chanting Naam, nama�tattva-vit. One can always take further guidance, but even the primary naama shiksha guru is normally one and the naama diksha guru is also one. One cannot have many naama diksha gurus for one particular naam. There can be only one naama diksha guru and there can be one primary naama shiksha guru. Whether you receive naama formally from the lips of Gurudev as nama shiksha the naam is going to have effect if you take ashraya of guru and the naam. Of course for getting brahminical qualification like worshipping the Deity and other activities one requires to receive the mantra diksha also. That is more formal kind of a process - Pancaratriki viddhi. The Mantra Diksha is also described in our scriptures � it reinforces our naama bahjan, it does not substitute our naam bhajan, because Naam is the main thing in Kali Yuga. So, one may take mantra diksha or one may not take mantra dishka, but it doesn�t mean that one is not qualified to chant the naam. Everyone is qualified. Acandale. Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami says that even a lowest person if one vibrates the tongue and chants the Naam one will become purified. The naam will not wait, the Naam wil not think that �O, this individual has not taken diksha!�. The naam is all-powerful. But the process for receiving it from a realized soul � that is very powerful! It opens to us the whole treasure of Naam, either by shiksha or by diksha. I hope I am able to reply to some of your questions in this message. Please let me know if you need further clarifications.
Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Raama Hare Raama Raama Raama Hare Hare

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