Re: The Straight Path

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!
Dandavats and obeissances.

Here is a conversation from Caitanya Bhagavata between Naama Acarya Srila Haridasa Thakura and a foolish brahmana regarding the benefits of loudly chanting the holy names versus softly chanting the holy names with purports from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada.

CB Adi-khanda 16.268
TEXT 268
�aye haridasa! e ki vyabhara tomara
dakiya ye nama laha, ki hetu ihara?
TRANSLATION
�O Haridasa, what is this behavior? Why are you are loudly chanting the names of the Lord?
COMMENTARY
That foolish, ignorant, atheistic, fallen brahmana said, �There is no injunction for loudly
chanting the names of Hari in any scripture; rather, it is recommended that one chant within
his mind. Therefore the loud chanting of Hari�s names by Haridasa is prohibited by the
scriptures. Therefore his engagement in such activities is most improper.� Being controlled
by such blind faith, that brahmana arrogantly asked Haridasa the reason for his loud
chanting. His conception was that since Haridasa Thakura was not born in a seminal brahmana family, he was completely unqualified to act as a spiritual master, the giver of the holy names. He feared that if Haridasa loudly chanted the names of Hari he would have to
automatically hear the holy names from the mouth of a pure devotee and thus naturally become his disciple, so he wanted Haridasa to refrain from loudly chanting hari-nama, which is the function of a jagad-guru. This proves the brahmana�s foolishness, ignorance, and mistaken ideas regarding the scriptural conclusions.

CB Adi-khanda 16.269
TEXT 269
mane mane japiba,-ei se dharma haya
dadiya laite nama kon shastre kaya?
TRANSLATION
�The injunction is that one should chant in his mind. Which scripture says that one should
chant loudly?

CB Adi-khanda 16.270
TEXT 270
ka�ra shiksha,-hari-nama dakiya laite?
ei ta� pandita-sabha, balaha ihate�
TRANSLATION
�Who has taught you to chant the name of Hari loudly? Please give your explanation before
this assembly of learned scholars.�

CB Adi-khanda 16.271
TEXT 271
haridasa balena,-�ihara yata tattva
tomara se jana� hari-namera mahattva
TRANSLATION
Haridasa said, �You all know the glories of Lord Hari�s holy names.

CB Adi-khanda 16.272
TEXT 272
tomara-sabara mukhe shunina se ami
balitechi, balibana yeba kichu jani
TRANSLATION
�Therefore I have simply repeated and will repeat whatever I have heard from you.

CB Adi-khanda 16.273
TEXT 273
ucca kari� laile shata-guna punya haya
dosha ta� na kahe shastre, guna se varnana�
TRANSLATION
�If one chants loudly, he gets one hundred times more benefit. The scriptures never condemn loud chanting, rather they glorify it.
COMMENTARY
The result one achieves by mentally chanting the names of Hari is multiplied one hundred
times by chanting loudly. This is the injunction of all scriptures. It is a fact that by
chanting loudly one obtains one hundred times greater results. And there is no fault in such
chanting. It is to be understood that those who consider the Hare Krishna maha-mantra should only be chanted softly in japa are averse to realizing the purport of the scriptures. The three names of address-Hare, Krishna, and Rama-are meant both for japa and kirtana. One can call the Lord in his mind or out loud. If one calls the Lord loudly, then many persons can hear the name of the Lord and obtain auspiciousness by such hearing. Hearing the names of the Lord is one of the nine principle limbs of devotional service. Unless the sadhus loudly chant the names of Hari, no one becomes qualified for the devotional process of hearing. Therefore the false arguments of those who are averse to loud chanting are certainly incited by Kali. The chanting of the holy names is more or less imperceptible in the activities of meditation, sacrifice, and Deity worship; that is why in Kali-yuga various controversies arise in the performance of meditation, sacrifice, and Deity worship. When those who are victims of Kali come forward to place obstacles in the path of the devotees� worship of Hari, then those devotees who are engaged in the Satya, Treta, and Dvapara processes of meditation, sacrifice, and Deity worship do not enter into argument; but those devotees who chant the names of Hari remove the wicked habits of the victims of Kali and chant the unlimited glories of the holy names for the eternal benefit of such people. This is the actual medicine for their argument-infected hearts.

CB Adi-khanda 16.274
TEXT 274
uccaih shata-gunam bhavet
TRANSLATION
��If one loudly chants the holy names of the Lord, he obtains one hundred times more benefit than by chanting softly or remembering the holy names.��

CB Adi-khanda 16.275
TEXT 275
vipra bale,-�ucca-nama karile uccara
shata-guna punya-phala haya, ki hetu ihara?�
TRANSLATION
The brahmana said, �How does one get one hundred times more benefit by loud chanting?�

CB Adi-khanda 16.276
TEXT 276
haridasa balena,-�shunaha, mahashaya!
ye tattva ihara, vede bhagavate kaya�
TRANSLATION
Haridasa replied, �My dear sir, listen to the verdict of the Vedas and Shrimad Bhagavatam in
this regard.�

CB Adi-khanda 16.277
TEXT 277
sarva-shastra sphure haridasera shri-mukhe
lagila karite vyakhya krishnananda sukhe
TRANSLATION
Haridasa then revealed the purport of all the scriptures as he began his explanation in the
ecstasy of Krishna consciousness.

CB Adi-khanda 16.278
TEXT 278
�shuna, vipra! sakrit shunile krishna-nama
pashu, pakshi, kita yaya shri-vaikuntha-dhama
TRANSLATION
�Listen, dear brahmana. If even animals, birds, or insects hear the holy names from the
mouth of a pure devotee, they will go to Vaikuntha.
COMMENTARY
�O brahmana, when the transcendental sound of Krishna�s holy names emanates from the mouths of sadhus, bhaktas, or Vaishnavas and enters the ear holes of any living entity interested in serving the Lord, then that sound vibration certainly frees him from the bondage of maya. The transcendental sound vibration removes the living entities� propensity for enjoyment and awakens their propensity for service to the Supreme Lord. Since unlike those of conditioned souls in the material sky, there is no ignorance or material enjoyment in the devotees� tongues, which are abodes of Vaikuntha, and since the transcendental holy names are full manifestations of advaya-jnana, or the transcendental reality, devotees do not become entangled in material enjoyment while chanting. Therefore if a living entity chants the transcendental name of the Lord, he becomes jivan-mukta, liberated even in this life. In order to become liberated from the bondage of material existence, a conditioned soul should accept mercy from a liberated soul by accepting mantra-diksha, or initiation. When one has perfected his chanting, he becomes qualified to loudly chant the holy names. He then becomes extremely distressed on seeing the conditioned souls� anarthas born of prajalpa and mundane words that gratify the mind, both of which are unrelated to Krishna; as a jagad-guru, he removes their propensities for mundane enjoyment and sends them to the kingdom of Vaikuntha. Ordinary foolish people think, �The shastric statement that just by once chanting or hearing the transcendental name of the Lord one is certain to go back to Vaikuntha is simply an exaggeration.� But actually the extraordinary influence of the transcendental name is not under the jurisdiction of the most tiny brains of such illusioned materialists who want to measure everything with their blunt material senses. If one considers the transcendental name to be in the category of material objects, then his enjoyment prone evil propensities do not allow him to understand the extraordinary, transcendental, spiritual name that is not perceivable to material senses. That is why the absence of faith in the Vedas or in Vaishnava literatures in pursuance of the Vedas is proof of a living entity�s misfortune.

CB Adi-khanda 16.279
TEXT 279
TRANSLATION
Anyone who chants Your name purifies all who hear his chanting, as well as himself. How much more beneficial, then, is the touch of Your lotus feet?

CB Adi-khanda 16.280
TEXT 280
pashu-pakshi-kita-adi balite na pare
shunilei hari-nama ta�ra saba tare�
TRANSLATION
�Although animals, birds, and insects cannot chant, when they hear the holy names they will
all be delivered.

CB Adi-khanda 16.281
TEXT 281
japile shri-krishna-nama apane se tare
ucca-sankirtane para upakara kare
TRANSLATION
�If one silently chants the names of Krishna, then he is delivered; but if one loudly
chants, then he delivers others also.
COMMENTARY
One who softly chants the transcendental names benefits only himself, whereas one who loudly and congregationally chants the transcendental names can benefit the audience along with himself. Only a spiritual master who is engaged in krishna-kirtana is compassionate to all living entities and able to perform the highest welfare activities for all.

CB Adi-khanda 16.282
TEXT 282
ataeva ucca kari� kirtana karile
shata-guna phala haya sarva-shastre bale
TRANSLATION
�Therefore the scriptures say that one gets a hundred times more benefit by chanting loudly.

CB Adi-khanda 16.283
TEXT 283
japato hari-namani      sthane shata-gunadhikah
atmanam ca punaty uccair      japan shrotrin punati ca
TRANSLATION
��One who loudly chants the holy names of the Lord is a hundred times greater than one who silently chants, because those who chant silently purify only themselves, while those who chant loudly purify themselves as well as those who hear them.�
COMMENTARY
[This verse was spoken by Prahlada Maharaja in the Naradiya Purana.]

CB Adi-khanda 16.284
TEXT 284
japa-karta haite ucca-sankirtana-kari
shata-guna adhika se puranete dhari
TRANSLATION
�The Puranas say that a person who chants the Lord�s name loudly is a hundred times more
pious that the person who chants to himself.
COMMENTARY
Persons who loudly and congregationally chant the holy names of Hari obtain one hundred
times better results than those who chant the holy names softly. If a person secretly hears
some ordinary words on the pretext of hearing hari-nama from a foolish so-called guru and,
being tempted by material enjoyment, engages in motivated worship, then he will never
achieve eternal auspiciousness. Whereas if one loudly chants the pure holy names heard from the mouth of a liberated maha-bhagavata spiritual master, then other Vaishnavas who hear that chanting will discuss the glories of hari-nama amongst each other. As a result, the
loud chanters are more benefited than the soft chanters. Those who cannot realize the
difference between nama-aparadha, namabhasa, and shuddha-nama often commit the first of the ten nama-aparadhas-criticizing a sadhu or Vaishnava who has fully taken shelter of the holy names-and they commit the grave offense of disregarding the spiritual master by considering him a mortal being and envying him. They commit offense by considering material objects as worshipable and seeing Lord Vishnu, the controller of all, as equal to the demigods. As a result, they become Vaishnava offenders by being faithless of the unalloyed Vaishnavas. They then become inattentive to the service of Shri Nama Prabhu, and the offenses of considering the glories of chanting the holy names as imaginary and giving some interpretation on the holy names capture them. They then consider the holy names as equal to pious activities and become attached to committing sinful activities on the strength of chanting the holy names. Being greedy for donations, such people accept the garb of a guru and, like common merchants, pretend to give instructions on the holy names to faithless persons. In this way they bring inauspiciousness to the entire world. Being overwhelmed by thoughts of �I� and �mine,� they gradually become averse to the Vedic literatures and literatures in pursuance of the Vedic version. These ten offenses result in the falldown of chanters; but by the influence of good association the loud chanters of the holy names understand these offenses and therefore retire from the inconvenience of nirjana-bhajana.

CB Adi-khanda 16.285
TEXT 285
shuna, vipra! mana diya ihara karana
japi� apanare sabe karaye poshana
TRANSLATION
�O brahmana, listen carefully to the reason behind this. One who softly chants the holy
names liberates only himself.

CB Adi-khanda 16.286
TEXT 286
ucca kari� karile govinda-sankirtana
jantu-matra shuninai pai vimocana
TRANSLATION
�One who loudly chants the names of Govinda, however, liberates himself along with all
living entities who hear him.

CB Adi-khanda 16.287
TEXT 287
jihva painao nara-vina sarva-prani
na pare balite krishna-nama-hena dhvani
TRANSLATION
�Although all living entities have a tongue, only the human beings are able to chant the
names of Krishna.

CB Adi-khanda 16.288
TEXT 288
vyartha-janma ihara nistare yaha haite
bala dekhi,-kon dosha se karma karite?
TRANSLATION
�Tell me, what is wrong with that activity by which living entities who have taken useless
births will be delivered?
COMMENTARY
Although all living entities are not able to chant the spiritual names, they can certainly
hear the spiritual names chanted by devotees of the Lord. The lives of those who are not
qualified to hear the spiritual names are certainly most useless. Since by hearing the
chanting of the spiritual names, all living entities can be eligible for liberation in this
lifetime, such loud chanting of Hari�s names can never be the subject of argument, fault, or
criticism.

CB Adi-khanda 16.289
TEXT 289
keha apanare matra karaye poshana
keha va poshana kare sahasreka jana
TRANSLATION
�One person may maintain himself, while another may maintain a thousand people.

CB Adi-khanda 16.290
TEXT 290
duite ke bada, bhavi� bujhaha apane
ei abhipraya guna� ucca-sankirtane�
TRANSLATION
�Of the two, consider carefully who is better. This is the superior characteristic of loud
chanting.�
COMMENTARY
A selfish person maintains himself, whereas another person may maintain a thousand persons apart from himself. Of the two, whom should we accept as greater? If we carefully consider, we will understand that loud chanters are not selfish; rather, they are selfless benefactors of others. Therefore loud chanters are superior to those who only chant softly, and loud chanting is hundreds and thousands of times superior to chanting only softly.

Sincerely
Jagannatha Gauranga dasa

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