WHY NITAAI CHANTING IS IMPORTANT?

Why to Chant Nityananda Gauranga? By His Holiness Bhaktiratna Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada Lord Shri Shri Radha-Krishna advented as the supremely magnanimous combined golden form of Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu on 18th February 1486, Lord Shri Balarama advented as Lord Shri Nityananda Prabhu on 11th January 1473, Shri Vrindavana-Dhaam advented as Shri Navadvipa Dhaam (130 kms north of Calcutta), all the eternal associates of Radha-Krishna advented as the eternal associates of Nityananda-Gauranga, Shrimad-Bhagavata advented as Shri Chaitanya-Bhagavata andwergw the "Nityananda" & "Gauranga" Mantras advented as the King of All Mantras (Mantrarajas) along with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra to deliver the entire universe in Kali-Yuga. The supreme glories of regular chanting the Nityananda Mantraraja and Gauranga Mantraraja on japa beads and kirtana alongwith the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, all three of which are eternally effulgent in the spiritual sky, is described in this book with extensive scriptural references. As per Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, regular chanting aand Gauranga Mantrarajas will remove the ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and this is the secret of all secrets which the souls bewildered by Maya are not aware about. The golden and most confidential opportunity of chanting regularly the Nityananda (Haladhara Balarama) Mantraraja and the Gauranga (Gaura Gopala) Mantraraja alongwith the Hare Krishna Mahamantra facilitates rapid success in the achievement of Gauranga-Krishna-prema (love) because the offenses and unwanted things in our heart are instantly obliterated as per the verdict of all the revealed scriptures and acharyas as delineated in this book. The glories of the Names of Nityananda and Gauranga is unlimited and even if we are successful in touching just a infinitesimal fraction of a drop of those glories in this book, this effort will be considered successful. As per Prema-vivarta, even the Supreme Lords Nityananda-Gauranga Themselves cannot fully describe the supreme glories of Their Names then what to speak of any living entity who is an infinitesimal part and parcel of Their Lordships. Those who deliberately try not to understand the supreme value of this most confidential book, deliberately neglect it or reject it or dare to minimize or criticize it in any way or deliberately try not to glorify this book or deliberately do not read it even once after getting an opportunity to do so in this human form of life, will directly be responsible for minimizing the most powerful Names of God: Nityananda and Gauranga, which are the only hope for the souls of Kali-Yuga. In doing so they will be showing their averseness to the supreme process of chanting the most powerful Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas. Thus the severe reactions for this averseness to the process of chanting These most merciful Names will have to be borne by them life after life. Shrila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: (Shrila Prabhupada in Cc Adi 8.31 purp) "A neophyte student who is not sufficiently educated or enlightened should not indulge in the worship of Shri Radha and Krishna or the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. Even if he does so, he cannot get the desired result. One should therefore chant the names of Nitai-Gaura and worship Them without false prestige. In the beginning one should very regularly chant Shri Gaurasundara’s holy name and then chant the holy name of Lord Nityananda. Thus one's heart will be cleansed of impure desires for material enjoyment. Then one can approach Vrindavana-dhama to worship Lord Krishna." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Shrila Prabhupada is clearly stating that a neophyte student without sufficient realization should not directly indulge in the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra without first taking full and very regular shelter of the Names of Nityananda and Gauranga. Even if he or she does so, he or she cannot get the desired result in the chanting of the Mahamantra which is the achievement of pure love for God because of not having taken adequate shelter of the names of Nityananda and Gauranga. Shrila Prabhupada goes on to state that one should very regularly and specifically chant the two Names of Nityananda and Gauranga to be able to become qualified to chant the Mahamantra and go to Vrindavana-dhama to worship Lord Krishna. The chanting of the Pancha-tattva Mantra contains these two names of the Lord but Shrila Prabhupada has specifically suggested not to chant the Pancha-tattva Mantra very regularly by stating that it should not be chanted on beads as rounds and only three times before beginning kirtana. On other hand he explains that chanting the two names of Nityananda and Gauranga very regularly will quickly grant a neophyte with the qualification to approach the Name, Form, Pastimes and Abode of Their Lordships Radha-Krishna. We firmly believe that simply chanting the Pancha-Tattva Mantra 20 to 30 times a day cannot be termed as 'very regularly' as instructed by Shrila Prabhupada regarding the chanting of the Names of Nityananda and Gauranga. The chanting of Krishna Names regularly means to chant atleast 27,648 Names of Krishna (16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra) daily. So how can very regular chanting of Nityananda and Gauranga's Names mean to chant Them just 20 or 30 times a day? They should be chanted atleast 1000 times daily if not thousands of times or constantly. Shrila Prabhupada states in a quote: "Always chanting Nitai-Gaura..." So all students and devotees of Gauranga Dharma and Gauranga Yoga who are practicing the science of Bhaktiyoga under our guidance are instructed to daily chant atleast 10 rounds each of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas (1000 times each Mantraraja = 2000 Names of Nityananda and Gauranga daily) and raise the chanting of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas to the supreme and most powerful level of chanting 10 to 32 to 48 and to 64 to 128 to 192 to 256 rounds each of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas daily in addition or along with the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Then the spiritual aspirant will very quickly achieve the stage of offenseless chanting of the 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily. The process of chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas is very simple. Since the Nityananda Mantraraja is the five-syllable (Ni-tya-a-na-nda) Haladhara Balarama Mantra, it is recommended to chant one Mantra on one bead. The rosary or mala of 108 beads should be held in the middle of the middle finger of the right hand with the thumb and and on one bead one Mantra should be chanted. Then the mala should be pulled inwards to go to the next bead and another Mantra should be chanted. In this way 108 Mantras should be chanted on the 108 beads. This is known as one round. When one reaches the biggest or meru bead which represents the Supreme Lord Himself, one should not cross it but simply turn around and begin another round. The same process is to be repeated for the chanting of the Gauranga Mantraraja which is the four-syllable Gaura Gopala Mantra (Gau-ra-a-nga). Any intelligent person after reading the above statements of Shrila Prabhupada will ask this question: What should a neophyte who does not have sufficient enlightenment and realization do as it is not recommended for them to directly chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra? As per Shrila Prabhupada's instructions there is only one solution: on one hand he or she has to chant the names of Nityananda and Gauranga very regularly and on other hand he or she cannot chant the Pancha-tattva Mantra very regularly either on beads or in kirtana. Thus the neophyte faces a big dilemma in his or her spiritual life. The solution to this dilemma is given by Shrila Prabhupada himself in the following two quotes: (1) Yoga Student: "...to chant the names of Nitai-Gauranga before we encourage them so much to chant the maha-mantra?" Prabhupada: "No. Why? Now, what is the difference, Nitai-Gauranga and Hare Krishna? Nitai-Gauranga and Hare Krishna, there is no difference. Nitai-Gauranga is also nice. Whatever he finds convenient, let him chant." (Shrila Prabhupada's Room Conversation with Yoga Student specifically regarding Japa, March 14, 1975, Iran) This conversation is specifically about the japa chanting the Mantras on beads. The Yoga Student is not only asking about his own self but also how to preach to others about japa on beads. And in his response Shrila Prabhupada recommends and authorizes the chanting of the two names of Nityananda and Gauranga on japa beads (he clearly does not mention the Pancha-tattva Mantra) and states that chanting Nityananda and Gauranga (either in japa or kirtana) is actually non-different from the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. The spiritual aspirant can chant whatever he or she finds convenient. In the offensive stage it is an undisputed fact that the Names of Nityananda and Gauranga are more convenient and beneficial than the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Even though They are completely non-different from each other, only the pure offenseless and self-realized devotees will derive the same spiritual result by chanting either of Them. The offensive devotee will get greater spiritual benefit by very regularly chanting Nityananda and Gauranga which do not consider any offenses and become very quickly qualified to factually relish the pure Hare Krishna Mahamantra. (2) "It is very beneficial to chant the names shri-krishna-chaitanya prabhu-nityananda before chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra because by chanting ##### these two holy names #####-shri-krishna-chaitanya prabhu-nityananda-one immediately becomes ecstatic, and if he then chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra he becomes free of offenses." (SP in Cc Adi 8.24 purport) In the above purport and also in the first quote, Shrila Prabhupada specifically mentions that the two holy names of Lord Gauranga and Lord Nityananda should be chanted very regularly before chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. To those who argue that the Pancha-tattva Mantra includes the two names of the Lord, we have to point out that Shrila Prabhupada has more than once stopped the very regular chanting of the Pancha-tattva Mantra in japa as well as kirtana. He did not want rounds of Pancha-tattva Mantra to be chanted on beads and also he wanted that the Pancha-tattva Mantra chanted three times only at the beginning of the kirtana. But regarding the two holy names of Nityananda and Gauranga which are bonafide Mantrarajas from the scriptures, there is no such negative injunction regarding japa as well as kirtana anywhere in the instructions of guru, sadhu and shastra. Infact Shrila Prabhupada has recommended to the Yoga student that chanting the names of Nityananda and Gauranga on the beads is also very nice. So all the followers of Shrila Prabhupada should also accept that the chanting of Nityananda and Gauranga is also very nice and atleast should not try to stop those who are chanting these two most beneficial Names of the Lord in addition to the Hare Krishna Mahamantra even if they personally may not be able to chant due to some reason. Shrila Prabhupada in Cc Adi-lila 8.31 purport "It should be noted in this connection that the holy names of Lord Krishna and Gaurasundara are both identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not consider one name to be more potent than the other. Considering the position of the people of this age, however, the *** chanting *** of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's name is *** more essential *** than the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra because Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the most magnanimous incarnation and His mercy is very easily achieved." The simple point to be understood from the above quote of Shrila Prabhupada is that something more essential than something else should be done atleast in the same proportion or even more than the less important thing. So if the chanting of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu's Name is more essential than the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra then why can't the more essential Names of Nityananda and Gauranga be chanted a few thousands times daily as we are already chanting Krishna's names 27,648 times daily. The Pancha-tattva Mantra has been given mercifully by Shrila Prabhupada to us but there is no specific mention in the revealed scriptures or by the previous acharyas that it has been chanted by any of our acharyas on beads. That is why Shrila Prabhupada has not recommended It for chanting on beads. But the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas have been chanted very regularly on the beads by great associates of the Lord and acharyas like Shrila Shivananda Sena, Sapta Rishis, Lord Shiva and Parvati etc etc and all the eternal associates of Lords Nityananda and Gauranga in Navadvipa and is recommended to the Yoga student by Shrila Prabhupada himself. (Commentary Ends) Shrila Prabhupada in Cc Antya-lila 2.31 purport: "Worshipers of Shri Gaurasundara accept the four syllables gau-ra-an-ga as the Gaura mantra, but pure worshipers of Radha and Krishna accept the four syllables ra-dha krs-na as the Gaura-gopala mantra. However, Vaishnavas consider Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu nondifferent from Radha-Krishna (shri-krishna-chaitanya radha-krishna nahe anya). Therefore one who chants the mantra "gauranga" and one who chants the names of Radha and Krishna are on the same level." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: It is very clear from this purport by Shrila Prabhupada that one who chants the Gauranga Mantraraja and one who chants the Hare Krishna Mahamantra are both chanting the Names of Radha-Krishna and are thus on the same level. Then why should one criticize the other? If Shrila Prabhupada says that both are equal then the chanters of both the Mantras (Gauranga and Hare Krishna) have to be accepted on an equal level by all the followers of Shrila Prabhupada. Whenever Shrila Prabhupada uses the word "chant" it is applicable to both chanting japa on beads and chanting or singing in kirtana unless he specifies for a particular case. So here the word "chant" is very clearly applicable to japa also since many previous acharyas have chanted japa of Gauranga-Nama and thus it is the most authorized process. Some devotees state that Shrila Prabhupada said that simply the chanting of 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra will take us back to Godhead. But here are the exact words of Shrila Prabhupada in Shri Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi-lila 10.43 purport: "Therefore we have prescribed in our society that all our students must chant at least sixteen rounds daily. Such chanting must be offenseless in order to be of high quality. Mechanical chanting is not as powerful as chanting of the holy name without offenses." So the offenselessly chanting of the Name is the key to going back to Godhead not just mechanical chanting. The Hare Krishna Mahamantra considers the ten offenses mentioned in the Padma Purana whereas the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas do not consider the offenses as confirmed in all the scriptures. Someone may quote the following statement from Shrila Prabhupada and state that the way to remove the offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the chanting of the Mahamantra Itself: "The chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is recommended even for persons who commit offenses, because if they continue chanting they will gradually chant offenselessly. By chanting the Hare Krishna mantra without offenses, one increases his love for Krishna." (SB 6.3.24 purport) But it is very important to note how the Hare Krishna Mahamantra has to be chanted to actually the destroy the ten offenses. In the Hari-nama-chintamani, Namacharya Shrila Haridasa Thakura explains this point: avisranta name nama-aparadha jaya; tahe aparadha kabhu sthana nahi paya. "Only by continuous chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra day and night can the ten offenses against Krishna's Name be obliterated. By the constant chanting of Krishna's Name, the ten offenses will not be able to again implicate the chanter." Purport by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura: "Continuous chanting (avisranta nama)- Only one who chants the Name with great feeling all the time during the day and night except during the time required for fulfilling the most basic bodily necessities like sleep etc. is able to successfully destroy the ten offenses." So only the person who can chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra day and night with great feeling and attachment without stoppage at all times except at the time of sleeping can factually destroy the ten offenses. Who can accomplish this sadhana in the present circumstances in Kali-Yuga? A very very rare devotee may be able to do this, maybe one in a million. So for the general people unless they can chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra constantly in multiples of 64 rounds daily, they should take full shelter of chanting the Names of Nityananda and Gauranga as that is the only other easier means of destroying the ten offenses other than the constant chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra Itself. We know from the repeated statements of the Padma Purana, Hari-nama-cintamani, Chaitanya-Charitamrita, Navadvipa-Dhaam-Mahatmya etc. that there are basically two ways to destroy the formidable ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, which are the only obstacles on the path of a sadhaka in the achievement of Krishna-prema: (1) To take shelter of very regularly chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas. (2) To chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra constantly day and night without stoppage in multiples of atleast 64 rounds daily. The second process of constant chanting of the Mahamantra (atleast 64 rounds daily) is very difficult for the conditioned souls of Kali-yuga who have to struggle to even complete their 16 rounds daily of the Mahamantra because of lack of time which in turn is due to a lack of taste which in turn is due to the mountains of offenses in their heart. It is obvious and clear that this process of constant chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is accepted by a devotee who is very advanced in bhakti due to his or her practicing bhakti for many many births. Ofcourse it is recommended that all the sadhakas should be able to raise one day to the level of chanting atleast 100,000 names of the Lord daily but it may be practically implemented only by very very few sincere souls. Hence the more practical and the most powerful solution for the neophyte and beginner in spiritual life as suggested by Shrila Prabhupada himself in the first quote on page 3 is to thus take very regular shelter of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas, which means to chant Them atleast 1000 times each (10 rounds) daily and increase the chanting to 32, 64, 128 and 256 rounds daily in addition to the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. This will enable the neophyte to quickly progress to the stage of chanting the Mahamantra without offenses. This is the verdict of Shrila Prabhupada, all the Acharyas, all the revealed scriptures and of Lord Nityananda Himself. (Commentary Ends) On board the ship Jaladuta, September 13, 1965, Verse 3, by Shrila Prabhupada: tara iccha balavan pascatyete than than hoy jate gauranger nam prthivite nagaradi asamudra nada nadi sakalei loy krishna nam "By his (my Guru Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada's) strong desire, THE HOLY NAME OF GAURANGA will first spread throughout all the countries of the Western world. Then in all the cities, towns, and villages on the earth, from all the oceans, seas, rivers, and streams, everyone will chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Here Shrila Prabhupada is clearly stating that unless the conditioned and offensive people of this world regularly chant the name of Gauranga, they will not be able to factually take up or become qualified for directly taking up the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. And even if they do so they will be simply indugling in the Mahamantra because of their offenses. Thus they will not get the desired results, benefits and taste in the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and thus they may end up giving up the chanting process very soon. We have seen this happening in innumerable cases in our past Vaishnava history. Thousands of devotees have lost taste in chanting the Mahamantra and thus given up the chanting and developed their taste in material pursuits. This is because of a lack of chanting the Names of Nityananda and Gauranga. Therefore the only solution and the final conclusion of all the scriptures and acharyas is to very regularly chant the Names of Nityananda and Gauranga before beginning the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. (Commentary ends) Shrila Prabhupada’s Letter to: Niranjana, Brooklyn, 21 May, 1973: "You mention that they have not even heard of Lord Gauranga. So that is their misfortune, and our misfortune also. _________________ in India, they could not preach Lord Gauranga's name all over India." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: This letter from Shrila Prabhupada clearly proves that his mission was to first spread the Name of Gauranga in this world. This is Lord Nityananda's mission as well and the mission of all the acharyas. And how will Lord Gauranga's Name spread and become a household work like "Hare Krishna" unless people of this world very regularly chant the Gauranga Mantra daily on beads? It is foolishness to think that Gauranga's Name can be spread in this world without inducing the people of this world to chant the Name a fixed number of times daily. Shrila Prabhupada wants the Name of Gauranga to be preached in this world and he has done it through his books and instructions. Also sometimes the acharyas leave some particular mission for their followers to accomplish when the time is ripe. Like Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada wanted to preach in Western countries but he personally did not do that but did that through his followers, the most prominent among them being Shrila Prabhupada. Similarly Shrila Prabhupada also wanted the name of Gauranga to be preached all over the world along with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra because it is Lord Nityananda's order. So Shrila Prabhupada will surely empower some of his followers to spread the Name of Gauranga more directly especially by the introduction of the process of very regular chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas. Shrila Prabhupada wanted to established Lord Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead through his books and writings so that once people understand Lord Krishna widely they can fully and properly accept Lord Gauranga, the most merciful and combined incarnation of Shri Shri Radha-Krishna. So spreading the Name of Lord Gauranga was the second-phase plan of Shrila Prabhupada which he initiated himself and left to his followers to spread the names of Nityananda and Gauranga all over the world. Shrila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami also states a similar thing in Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi 2.119: chaitanya-prabhura mahima kahibara tare; krsnera mahima kahi kariya vistare. "Just to enunciate the glories of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu and universally establish Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead non-different from Lord Krishna, I have described in detail the glories of Lord Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (Commentary ends) Shrila Prabhupada in Cc Madhya 24.330: "The spiritual master has to select a mantra for his disciple according to the disciple's ability to chant different mantras." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: It is the duty of the spiritual master to give those Mantras to the disciple which he or she is qualified to chant so as to ensure that the disciple comes up to the level of chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra without offenses. And the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas are the specific Mantras in Kali-Yuga which do not consider the offensive mentality of the chanter and grant the chanter with qualification to render Krishna-bhakti and purely chant Krishna's Names. (Commentary ends) Shrila Prabhupada’s Letter to: Shachimata, Bombay, 8 December, 1974: "It is the advice of Narottama das Thakura to chant the holy name of Gauranga either if one remains at home or in the forest. Similarly, do not forget the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra either you live in the temple or at home." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Here Shrila Prabhupada uses the word "similarly" and he is making a direct comparison of the chanting of the Gauranga Mantraraja with the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. He states that the Gauranga's Name should be chanted in the the same way as we chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra irrespective of where one is located and what the time, place and circumstances are. (Commentary Ends) Shrila Prabhupada in Shrimad-Bhagavatam Lecture 2.1.2, Vrindavana, March 17, 1974: "Then you become gosvami. Then, as Narottama dasa Thakura says, grhe va banete thake ha gauranga bole dake. Ha gauranga, 'Always chanting Nitai-Gaura, and thinking of Nitai-Gaura,' such person, Narottama dasa Thakura says... Grhe va... 'He may be a sannyasi, or he may be a grhastha. It doesn't matter. Because he is absorbed in the thought of Nitai-Gaura.' So narottama mage tanra sanga: 'Narottama is always desiring to associate with such person.'" Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: The real qualification of a devotee is not whether he is a sannyasi or householder. But whether he or she is constantly chanting the names of Nityananda and Gauranga. We should associate with such a qualified devotee. Here Shrila Prabhupada and Shrila Narottama dasa Thakura want us to always chant Nityananda and Gauranga's Name. Some argue that chanting means only with the mouth or singing but not chanting japa on beads. But all our acharyas including Shrila Prabhupada have always used the word "chant" for both japa on beads and kirtana. It is a foolish attempt to try to say that chanting in some cases means only singing and not japa on beads. In specific cases where the acharyas did not want the japa on beads like for the Pancha-tattva Mantra, they have stated it clearly and explicitly. But the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas have been chanted as japa by many great acharyas like Shrila Shivananda Sena, Sapta Rishis, Parvati, Shiva, Markendeya Rishi, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, Advaita Acharya, Suvarna Sena, Madhavendra Puri, Purushottama Pandita, Balarama Acharya, Minaketana Ramadasa etc. etc. and approved by Shrila Prabhupada in the above quoted Room Conversation with Yoga Student specifically addresing a question about Japa in Iran on March 14, 1975. So the word "chant" is applicable for both japa and kirtana for the Nityananda and Gauranga Nama just like it is for Harinama in the form of the Mahamantra. (Commentary Ends) Shrila Prabhupada in Shri Chaitanya-charitamrita class, Madhya-lila 20.102, Baltimore, July 7, 1976: "If you simply chant Nitai-Gaura and dance, then you'll become happy. There is no difficulty. There is no difficulty." Shrila Prabhupada inShri Chaitanya-charitamrita class, Adi-lila 7.4, Mayapur, March 4, 1974: "Narottama dasa Thakura is aspiring for the day when Nityananda Prabhu will be pleased upon him. Just like Jagai-Madhai was delivered by the mercy of Shri Nityananda Prabhu, so we have to pray Nityananda Prabhu. He's very merciful. He's so kind, Baladeva, He gives spiritual strength. Then we can approach the Supreme Lord. Therefore we chant "Nitai-Gaura." This is the process. We cannot change this policy." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Here Shrila Prabhupada clearly states that the policy, teachings and instructions of all acharyas and scriptures is to chant (japa and kirtana) of the two Names of Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga. And this cannot be given up or neglected at any cost even if the whole world is against it or tries to stop it. (Commentary Ends) Shrila Prabhupada’s Purport to Gauranga Bolite Habe, Los Angeles, January 9, 1969: "As soon as one will chant the name of Shri Krishna Chaitanya, there will be shivering. This is the first symptom that one is getting advanced in the perfectional stage of Krishna consciousness. So Narottama dasa Thakura says, gauranga bolite habe pulaka sarire. He's expecting. Although he was a great acarya, still, he was expecting, "When that stage will come?" The wording of the song is as follows. G-a-u-r-a-n-g-a, gauranga. Bolite, b-a-l-i-t-e. Habe, h-a-b-e. Gauranga bolite habe pulaka, p-u-l-a-k-a. Pulaka sarira, s-a-r-i-r. Gauranga bolite habe pulaka sarira hari hari, h-a-r-i h-a-r-i. Bolite, b-a-l-i-t-e. Hari hari bolite habe, h-a-b-e. Hari hari bolite kabe. Not habe, kabe, k-a-b-e. Nayane, n-a-y-a-n-e. Babe, b-a-b-e, Nira, n-e-e-r. The meaning is that there will be not only shivering as soon as I utter the name of Gauranga, but there will be torrents of tears in my eyes as soon as I chant Hare Krishna. this is the explanation." Shrila Prabhupada’s Letter to: Dina Dayala, Nellore, 6 January, 1976: "My Guru Maharaja always sees if Krishna's name or Lord Chaitanya's name appeared in someone's writing and would appreciate the writing for this alone." Shrila Prabhupada’s Purport to song, Los Angeles, Dec 29, 1968: "He says: gauranga bolite habe pulaka-sarira. This is the perfection of chanting, that as soon as we chant or take the name of Lord Gauranga, who initiated the Sankirtana Movement, at once there will be a shivering in the body." Shrila Prabhupada in Krishna Book Chp 20, Description of Autumn: "Shrila Narottama dasa Thakura prays that he will have the association of a person-either a householder or a man in the renounced order of life - who is engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord and is always crying the holy name of Lord Chaitanya." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: If one follows this instruction of Shrila Prabhupada in Krishna Book, then one's life will be perfect and subline. And that is to constantly chant the name of Gauranga will feeling and devotion. Crying the Name of Gauranga can be done while chanting on beads as well in kirtana. Infact Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura states in Hari-nama-chintamani that some quantity of our daily quota of chanting may also be chanted in kirtana to give us a special taste and spiritual bliss to all our senses and one can even count the Names while chanting Them in kirtana. (Commentary Ends) Shrila Prabhupada in SB 1.5.16 purport: "The expert devotees also can discover novel ways and means to convert the nondevotees in terms of particular time and circumstance. Devotional service is dynamic activity, and the expert devotees can find out competent means to inject it into the dull brains of the materialistic population. Such transcendental activities of the devotees for the service of the Lord can bring a new order of life to the foolish society of materialistic men." Shrila Prabhupada inCc Adi 7.31-32 purport: "Here is an important point. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to invent a way to capture the Mayavadis and others who did not take interest in the Krishna consciousness movement. This is the symptom of an acarya. An acarya who comes for the service of the Lord cannot be expected to conform to a stereotype, for he must find the ways and means by which Krishna consciousness may be spread." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada introduced the system of Gayatri-Mantra-Diksha (Brahmana Diksha) for the first time in our sampradaya even though he had not received it from his own guru. This was for the specific purpose of stopping the Vaishnava-aparadha committed by the brahmanas in thinking themselves superior to the Vaishnavas. Similarly we have introduced this system of Gauranga-Mantra-Diksha (Gauranama Diksha) as the entrance to Gauranga Dharma and Gauranga Bhakti Yoga, by the inspiration and order of all the acharyas and Lord Nityananda in order to stop and totally destroy all the ten nama-aparadhas (offenses) of the devotees and disciples and to make them rapidly achieve pure love for Krishna and qualification to chant the pure Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Thus it is the right of every Guru to choose particular authorized Mantras for the disciples' rapid spiritual advancement and the people who criticize this are simply engaging in Vaishnava-ninda of the devotees who are trying to spread the most merciful Names of the Lord: Nityananda and Gauranga. Ofcourse everyone can decide for oneself whether to chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas or not and can remain neutral if they do not want to chant personally but the act of criticizing and minimizing those who are genuinely chanting or preaching the glories of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas in addition to the Hare Krishna Mahamantra will spell spiritual doom for the unfortunate person who engages in such a supremely inauspicious activity. One should try to understand Shrila Prabhupada's above quotes where he states that an expert devotee cannot be forced to simply stick to a stereotype but his prime duty is to find out or invent or discover and introduce novel ways and means from the scriptures to widely inject and spread Gauranga and Krishna consciousness into the bloodstream of the suffering human society so that millions can take it up and rapidly progress in spiritual life. The Acharyas who have directly descended from the spiritual world can directly give the Maha-mantra to the aparadhi jivas (offensive souls) by making them directly qualified. Their activities should not be imitated by us but their instructions in their books are to be followed. These instructions are clear that a neophyte should not directly indulge in chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra only and if even he or she tries to do he will never get the result due to his or her offenses. Instead they state that he or she should begin by very regularly chanting the names of Nityananda and Gauranga. The acharyas have repeatedly given the instructions to chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantras in their vani but they are not bound to implement their own instructions and they are free to preach in whatever way they desire. Whereas we should try to strictly implement their instructions rather than foolishly trying to imitate what they have done. For us their instructions are more important than their incomprehensible and transcendental activities which can never be imitated. An acharya may not rigidly follow his own instructions give in his books. Because he is as independent as the Lord Himself. Similarly Shrila Prabhupada said that a neophyte student should not directly chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra but should take shelter of the names of Nityananda and Gauranga first. But Shrila Prabhupada need not follow this standard given by his ownself and can directly introduce the Mahamantra (which is what he did in most cases) because he is independent being the direct associate of Lord Gauranga. But his followers can and should follow his instructions in his books for their own rapid spiritual advancement and for preaching purposes. The Acharyas may have disaproved of chanting Mantras not authorized in the scriptures containing Nityananda and Gauranga Names like bhaja nitai-gaura radhe-shyam...but those statements should never be applied to chanting the most bonafide Gaura Gopala Mantra-Gauranga which has been chanted by all our acharyas and mentioned in the authentic scriptures. Nor is there even a single evidence anywhere in the scriptures to prove that Gauranga Mantraraja should only be chanted in kirtana and not on beads. Infact many acharyas like Shivananda Sena and all the eternal associates of Lord Gauranga in Goloka, Parvati, Shiva, Sapta rishis, Markendeya Rishi etc. have chanted japa of the Gauranga Mantraraja on beads and Shrila Prabhupada has approved of it more than once as seen in the above quotes. Shrila Prabhupada writes in Shri Chaitanya-Charitamrita Adi-lila 7.4 purport: "Taking advantage of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, many unscrupulous devotees manufacture a maha-mantra of their own. Sometimes they sing bhaja nitai gaura radhe syama hare krishna hare rama or shri-krishna-chaitanya prabhu-nityananda hare krishna hare rama shri-radhe govinda. Actually, however, one should chant the names of the full Panca-tattva (shri-krishna-chaitanya prabhu-nityananda shri-advaita gadadhara shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda) and then the sixteen words Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. But these unscrupulous, less intelligent men confuse the entire process. Of course, since they are also devotees they can express their feelings in that way, but the method prescribed by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pure devotees is to first chant the full Panca-tattva mantra and then chant the maha-mantra-Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.” As per the comprehensive scriptural quotations in the book, the Gaura Gopala Mantraraja: "Gauranga" and the Haladhara Balarama Mantraraja: "Nityananda" are authorized Mantras from the Vedic scriptures and are not manufactured Mantras like "bhaja nitai gaura radhe syama hare krishna hare rama" or "shri-krishna-chaitanya prabhu-nityananda hare krishna hare rama shri-radhe govinda". Besides all the devotees of Nityananda Gauranga Bhakti Yoga who are chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas are also chanting the Pancha-tattva Mantra before beginning the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra in japa and kirtana as recommended by Shrila Prabhupada in the above quote. Also according to the scriptures one can have different Diksha Gurus for different mantras. Like for example, Parvati got Diksha in the Ramamantra from Shiva, her husband (which she explicitly and clearly mentions in the Chaitanya-Charitamrita Cc), in the Mahamantra from Shrila Haridasa Thakura again as described in Cc and in the Gauranga Mantraraja from Lord Shiva (Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya) after which she achieved the darshan of Lord Gauranga in Navadvipa. So it is authorized by the scriptures. There should be only one Diksha Guru for one Mantra though. That is conclusion of the scriptures. Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada accepted Diksha in the Nrisingha Mantra from his father Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in childhood and in the Hare Krishna Mahamantra from Shrila Gaura Kishore Dasa Babaji. So devotees who have accepted Diksha in any bonafide Vaishnava Mantra from any bonafide Vaishnava guru in any of the four sampradayas (please read our book "Maha Mantra Yoga" for furthur details) can also accept Gauranga Mantra or Gauranama Mahadiksha into the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas since these two Mantrarajas destroy all the offenses and ensure our rapid sucess in chanting of all the bonafide Vishnu Mantras in this world. Ofcourse the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas are so supremely powerful and independent that They do not wait or depend on Diksha and can be chanted by anyone and everyone. Diksha is a process which hastens up the purification of the spiritual aspirant as he or she chants the Mantrarajas received from the lips of a Guru who is realized in chanting of the Mantrarajas and then chants under the merciful guidance and blessings of Shri Gurudeva. In order not to cause any inconvenience to any Vaishnavas and avoid controversy, it is our personal decision that we will encourage those devotees who have accepted Diksha into any Vishnu Mantra from another bonafide and authentic Guru in any of the four Vaishnava sampradayas to just chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantarajas without accepting Diksha in these Mantrarajas. Though it is perfectly in line with the scriptures that they can accept Diksha into the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas from another Guru while still worshiping their previous Guru, we will not impart them the Gauranga Mantra Mahadiksha unless they have explicit and clear instructions and permission from their first Diksha Guru in this regard. If they seek our guidance, these devotees will be encouraged to simply chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas. We are specifically interested in spreading the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas among the new and fresh spiritual candidates. If they want some instructions from us, we will simply request the old initiated devotees of other bonafide Vaishnava Gurus to add the chanting of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas to their daily chanting unless ofcourse it is the desire of their first Gurus that they accept Gauranga Mantra Mahadiksha from us. So no one has to fear about any inconvenience caused by the preaching of the Nitaynanda and Gauranga Mantrarajas. If there are any specific issues we would request the concerned devotees or Gurus of other institutions to directly let us know by contacting us in a Vaishnava way so that we can sort out the matter directly. (Commentary ends) Shrila Prabhupada during a Room Conversation, August 14, 1971, London: Prabhupada: No. We are recommending "Chant the holy name of God." So if you have got the holy name of God, you can chant that. Prabhupada: Anyway, if one chants Allah or Jesus Christ, we have no objection. We don't say that you stop it. We say that you chant the holy name of God. If that name is of God, you chant. Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Here Shrila Prabhupada is stating that one can chant any authentic Name of God. So what can be more authentic than the Name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead: "Gauranga" which is the most merciful combined Name of Their Lorships Shri Shri Radha-Krishna and also known as the Radha-Krishna-Yugala-Mantraraja or the Gaura-Gopala-Mantraraja. And what can be more authentic than the supremely magnanimous Name of the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead Lord Balarama: "Nityananda". So those who oppose the chanting of these Names are opposing the chanting of the most authentic Names of the Supreme Lord. Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada Purport to Chaitanya-Charitamrita Adi 8.31: "The Hare Krishna Mahamantra considers the offenses whereas the Names of Gauranga-Nityananda don't consider offenses. An offensive chanter will never achieve the fruit of chanting (pure love for Krishna) by chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Therefore till the time he is commiting offenses, he should chant the names of Nityananda and Gauranga. Due the repeated chanting of the names of Nityananda and Gauranga, the offenses will be destroyed and he will achieve the fruit of chanting." "The name of Krishna and Gauranga-Both are non-different than the named Lord. Those who think that Krishna is any way inferior or limited than Gauranga are in gross ignorance. But in practical considerations with respect to benefit awarded to the conditioned souls, the chanting of Shri Nityananda and Gauranga's Name is more useful and helpful for everyone. The mercy of Krishna's names is generally only upon liberated or perfected souls who are surrendered to Him. But the magnanimity of the names of Lord Nityananda and Gauranga is especially for the souls who are offenders and full of anarthas and desires for material sense-gratification. The chanting of Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga's Names and Their worship quickly delivers the soul from all the offenses and thus the soul achieves shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Gauranga-Krishna without any delay." Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada in Shri Chaitanya-Bhagavata, Madhya-Khanda 3.134: "Simply by chanting or hearing the name of Lord Nityananda, the sinful inclinations in the hearts of all the living entities in the universe are permanently destroyed and their inherent purity is automatically awakened. On chanting or hearing the name of Lord Nityananda, even the merchants, degraded, fallen and foolish people are purified and immediately become realized in the Absolute Truth and devotees of the Lord." Shrila Sacchidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura: Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya Chp 1: kali jivera aparadha asankhya durvara; gauranga-nama vina tara nahika uddhara. "The offenses and sins of the living entities in Kali-yuga are unlimited and absolutely insurmountable. That is why the souls can never ever be delivered without the regular chanting the most merciful name of Gauranga." Shrila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami chaitanya-nityanande nahi esaba vicara, nama laite prema dena, vahe asrudhara (Cc Adi 8.31) "But if one chants, with only some slight faith, the two holy names of Lord Gauranga and Nityananda, very quickly he or she is quickly cleansed of all offenses. Since in the chanting of the names of Nityananda and Gauranga there is no consideration of offenses, one will very quickly come to the stage of love of God, simply by chanting Their names and tears of pure love for Krishna will flow from the eyes." ‘nityananda’ balite haya krishna-premodaya; aulaya sakala anga,asru-ganga vaya. (Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi-lila 8.23) "Simply by chanting the name 'Nityananda' one awakens his love for Krishna. Thus all his bodily limbs are agitated by ecstasy of love of God, and tears flow from his eyes like the waters of the Ganges." Shrila Narottama dasa Thakura: grhe ba vanete thake, ‘ha gauranga’ bo'le dake, narottama mage tara sanga. "One may reside in the house or in the forest, but if he or she is constantly chanting the name of Gauranga, then I (Narottama Dasa Thakura) want his association and want to serve him." Shrila Narada Muni: gauranga-nama na laiya, yei krishna bhaje giya; sei krishna bahu kale paya. gauranga-nama laya jei, sadya krishna paya sei; aparadha nahi rahe taya. "If someone endeavours to worship Krishna without regularly chanting the name of Lord Gauranga, then he or she will achieve Krishna only after a very prolonged period of time. But if someone takes shelter of the Name of Lord Gauranga, he or she will achieve Krishna very soon because his or her offenses will immediately cease to exist." (real shelter of the names of Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga means to chant Them atleast one thousand times i.e. 10 rounds daily) Lord Shri Nityananda Prabhu Himself: bhaja gauranga kaha gauranga laha gaurangera nama re; ye jana gauranga bhaje sei amara prana re. "Worship Gauranga, chant the Gauranga Mantraraja and take the Holy Name of Lord Gauranga. Those who will worship Lord Gauranga in this way by constantly chanting His name are veritably My life and soul and I will give them all protection." Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself: prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama; sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama. Chaitanya-bhagavata Antya 4.126 "Very shortly My Name will be chanted, broadcasted and glorified in all various towns, villages, cities, countries and continents of the world." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Here Lord Gauranga is stating "mora nama" means His Name of Gauranga, Nityananda, Hare Krishna etc. And as per as Shrila Prabhupada's prediction on the Jaladuta, first Lord Gauranga's Name has to spread all over the world for the people to become qualified to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Nityananda Gauranga Bhaktiyoga is the scientific, universal and eternal natue of the soul realized through the process of Mahadiksha and Mantra Meditation on these three most powerful King of all Mantras (Mantrarajas) in Kali Yuga: (1)"Nityananda"(Haladhara Balarama Mantraraja) (2) "Gauranga" (Gaura Gopala Mantraraja) (3) "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare" (Hare Krishna Mahamantra) Some of the references from the Vedic scriptures regarding the glories of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas are as follows: (1) SHRILA SHIVANANDA SENA CHANTS JAPA OF THE 4-SYLLABLE GAURA-GOPALA-MANTRA The four-syllable Gauranga (Gaura Gopala) Mantra is the most worshipable ista-mantra of Shrila Shivananda Sena who chanted the Mantra constantly as per Shri Chaitanya-caritamrita Antya-lila 2.24,31: apane bolana more, iha yadi jani; amara ista-mantra jani' kahena apani. ‘gaura-gopala mantra’ tomara cari aksara; avisvasa chada, yei kariyacha antara" Nakula Brahmacari told Shivananda Sena, "You are chanting the Gaura Gopala Mantra, composed of four syllables (which is your ista-mantra i.e. worshipable mantra). Now please give up the doubts that have resided within you about the avesha of Lord Gauranga in me." Purport by Shrila Prabhupada: "Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains the Gaura-Gopala mantra in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya. Worshipers of Shri Gaurasundara accept the four syllables 'gau-ra-an-ga' as the Gaura mantra, but pure worshipers of Radha and Krishna accept the four syllables ra-dha krs-na as the Gaura-gopala mantra. However, Vaishnavas consider Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu nondifferent from Radha-Krishna (shri-krishna-chaitanya radha-krishna nahe anya). Therefore one who chants the mantra "gauranga" and one who chants the names of Radha and Krishna are on the same level." Purport by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrita-pravaha-bhashya: gaura-gopala-mantra gauravadi gana 'gauranga' name chatura-aksara gaura-mantra ke uddesya karena; kevala krishnavadi gana ei gaura-gopala-mantra sabde radha-krsnera chatura-aksara-mantrake uddesya karena. "The following is the explanation of the Gaura-gopala mantra. The followers of Lord Gauranga accept 'Gauranga' as the four-syllable mantra and the followers of only Krishna accept 'Radha-Krishna' as the Gaura-gopala mantra. The followers of both Lord Gauranga and Lord Krishna accept either one of them as the Gaura-gopala mantra understanding that They are non-different from each other." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: So it is very clear that the most intimate devotees of the Lord like Shrila Shivananda Sena were constantly chanting the four-syllable 'gau-ra-an-ga' Mantra which is non-different than the four syllables of 'ra-dha-krs-na'. Thus the constant chanting of the name or mantra of 'Gauranga' is authorized in the revealed scriptures and implemented by the previous acharyas. The great advantage is that the ultimate benefit of 'radha-krishna' or the Hare Krishna Mahamantra can be realized by siddha and mukta (perfect and liberated) souls whereas the 'Gauranga' mantra is the most prayojaniya (useful) for anartha-yukta (offensive), badha (conditioned), patita (fallen) souls according to Shrila Prabhupada's purport and specifically the Anubhashya purport of Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada in Chaitanya-caritamrita Adi 8.31 which will follow later in this book . Just like the Hare Krishna Mantra is known as Harinama as well as the Mahamantra similarly the Gauranga Mantra is known as Gauranama as well as the Gaura-Gopala-Mantra or Gauranga Mantra. (Commentary Ends) (2) CHAITANYA MANGALA: LORD GAURANGA IS WORSHIPED IN GOLOKA BY ALL HIS ETERNAL ASSOCIATES BY THE CHANTING OF THE GAURANGA MANTRARAJA The four-syllable Gauranga Mantra is chanted in Goloka Vrindavana by all the eternal associates of the Lord in the direct worship of Lord Gauranga: In Shri Chaitanya-mangala Sutra-khanda Verse 527 by Shrila Locana Dasa Thakura, the four-syllable Gauranga-mantra is described as the Mantra through which Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu is worshipped in Goloka Vrindavana, the topmost Vaikuntha planet in the spiritual world: hema-gaura kalevara, mantra chari-akshara; sahaja vaikuntha-natha shyama. "The Lord sits on a golden bejewelled throne. He posseses a complexion millions of times more brilliant than the colour of molten gold. He is worshipped by all His devotees by the chanting of the four-syllable Mantraraja 'Gauranga'." Commentary of Swami Gaurangapada: There has to be a specific Mantra through which the eternal residents of Shri Navadvipa Dhaam in Goloka Vrindavana worship Lord Gauranga, the combined incarnation of Shri Shri Radha-Krishna. Just like there are specific Mantras for the worship of the different forms of the Lord like Rama, Nrisingha, Kurma, Varaha etc. there has to be a specific Mantra to worship the golden Lord Gauranga who is the source of all the incarntions. And this Mantra is described in Shri Chaitanya-Mangala as the supreme four-syllable Mantra: Gauranga Mantraraja. (3) DIRECT ORDER OF THE SUPREME LORD ADI-GURU SHRI NITYANANDA BALARAMA TO CHANT THE GAURANGA MANTRA ALWAYS It is the direct, open and primary instruction of the Guru of all Gurus Adi-Guru, Sakshat-Mula-Sankarshana, origin of the spiritual and material worlds Lord Shri Nityananda Balarama to all the moving and non-moving living entities to take constant shelter of chanting the Gauranga Mantraraja as quoted by Shrila Prabhupada himself: bhaja gauranga kaha gauranga laha gaurangera nama re; ye jana gauranga bhaje sei amara prana re. Lord Nityananda instructs all living entities: "Worship Gauranga, chant the 'Gauranga' Mantraraja and take the Holy Name of 'Gauranga'. Those who will worship Gauranga in this way by constantly chanting the Gauranga Mantraraja are veritably My life and soul and I personally give them all protection." (This verse is also quoted by Shrila Prabhupada in his lecture, Shri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila 7.5, Mayapur, March 7, 1974) "You can also chant the prayer you asked about. This was spoken by Lord Nityananda while He was preaching in the town. He was addressing the people: 'My dear brothers, you simply worship Lord Chaitanya; talk of Lord Chaitanya; speak Lord Chaitanya's Name, so anyone who does so, he is my life and soul." (SP in Letter to: Mahapurusa, Los Angeles, 7 March, 1968) Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Lord Nityananda was sent to preach the Hare Krishna Mahamantra in Bengal by Lord Gauranga but He preached the Gauranga Mantraraja first because He knew that only the name of Gauranga will impart the qualification to the offensive and sinful souls of Kali-yuga to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. We would like to quote here from the writings of Shrila Bhakti Rakshaka Shridhara Goswami Maharaja found in his book "The Golden Volcano of Divine Love": "Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was merged in tasting the sweetness of Radha-Govinda lila, and diving deep into that reality, however, at the same time, He wanted to deliver all souls whose hearts had been devoured by the false notions of renunciation and exploitation. He ordered Nityananda Prabhu, 'Go to Bengal and try to deliver them-give them divine love for Radha and Krishna.'" "He ordered Nityananda Prabhu to distribute divine love for Radha-Govinda, but instead, Nityananda began to preach about Shri Gauranga. He thought, 'It will be better for them to worship Gauranga; that will help free them from their offenses in their present position, and by doing so, they will automatically achieve a position in Radha-Govinda lila.' " *********************** "He was ordered to preach the name of Krishna, but instead began to preach the name of Gauranga. So, for our own welfare, we bow down to Nityananda Prabhu with all our humility." *********************** "The aim of Shriman Mahaprabhu's descent was to distribute the devotional service of Vrindavana most generously. On the other hand, Nityananda Prabhu used to sing the verse quoted above. (bhaja gauranga, kaha gauranga, laha gaurangera nama re...)" "In Vrindavan, the pastimes of Krishna are confined to a confidential circle, but in Navadvipa, those pastimes are distributed. Gaura lila is more generous than Krishna lila." "By the grace of Nityananda Prabhu [which comes by chanting His Name regularly], we develop our attraction for Shri Gauranga. If we receive the grace of Shri Gauranga [again by chanting His Name], we receive everything to the highest degree. And that is the safest way to approach Radha-Govinda. If we try to achieve Radha-Govinda in some other way, our attempt will naturally be artificial and defective; if we approach Radha-Govinda directly, avoiding Shri Gauranga, there will be great difficulty." "Therefore, we should invest all our energy in the service of Shri Gauranga [especially by chanting His Name]. Then, we shall automatically find ourselves being lifted towards the highest level. As much as we devote ourselves to the lotus feet of Shri Gauranga [and His Name], we will automatically achieve the nectarine servie of Shrimati Radharani in Vrindavan." "To bring Shri Gauranga nearer to our soul [which is exactly what happens by chanting the Name of Gauranga regularly] is to get even unconsciously, a guarantee of our achievement in Krishna-lila. For the fallen souls it is more useful to cultivate devotion for Shri Gauranga [and chant His Name]. That will give us the complete fulfillment of life with the least trouble. Devotion to Gauranga [by chanting His Name] will not lead us to any haphazard or misconceived Krishna consciousness, but real Krishna consciousness. We can have full Krishna consciousness by the help of Gaura consciousness. By developing devotion to Shri Gauranga, we will be able to feel that Shri Gauranga consciousness also includes Krishna consciousness - plus something more. What is that? The distribution of Krishna consciousness." (end) [The text in square brackets is our commentary for understanding the statements better.] Chaitanya-Charitamrita Madhya lila 1.29: ‘chaitanya’ seva, ‘chaitanya’ gao, lao ‘chaitanya’ nama ‘caitanye’ ye bhakti kare, sei mora prama Lord Nityananda implored; "Serve Lord Gauranga, sing the Holy Name of Lord Gauranga and chant Lord Gauranga's Name in japa. Those who worship Lord Gauranga in this way are My life and soul." kasta nahi, vyaya nahi na pabe yatana; shrigauranga bali nace nahika bhavana. (Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 1) Lord Nityananda instructs all the living entities: "There is no trouble or loss nor will you suffer anymore, if you forget yourself in bliss while dancing and chanting the name of Gauranga." Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his song 'Boro Sukher Khabor Gai', from the Vaishnava-siddhanta-mala: ek-bar dekhle cakse jal, gaura bole nitai den sakala sambal. "When Lord Nityananda sees a tear welling in someone's eye upon chanting the Holy Name of Gauranga, He instantly gives His eternal support and shelter to that person; indeed, He bestows all divine opulences upon him or her." (4) REPEATED RECOMMENDATION OF SHRILA NAROTTAMA DASA THAKURA TO CHANT THE GAURANGA MANTRA Shrila Narottama dasa Thakura has explicity glorified the chanting of the Gauranga Mantraraja in his various songs: je gaurangera nama loy, tara hoy premodoy, tare mui jai bolihari. "One who chants the Holy Name of 'Gauranga' instantly awakens his or her dormant pure love for Lord Krishna. I (Narottama) worship such a person and surrender to him." grhe ba vanete thake, ‘ha gauranga’ bole dake, narottama mage tara sanga. "It is not so important whether one resides in the house or in the forest, but if he is feelingly chanting the Gauranga Mantraraja, then I (Narottama) want his constant association." gauranga balite habe pulaka sarira; hari hari balite nayane ba'be nira. "In the beginning, when by chanting the Gauranga Mantraraja, my body will feel waves of ecstasy, only then will I be able to shed tears while chanting the names of Lord Hari in the form of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra." (5) THERE IS NO OTHER WAY IN KALI-YUGA EXCEPT THE GAURANGA MANTRARAJA: Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 1: kali jivera aparadha asankhya durvara; gauranga-nama vina tara nahika uddhara. "The offenses and sins of the living entities in Kali-yuga are unlimited and absolutely insurmountable. That is why the souls can never ever be delivered without the regular chanting the most merciful Gauranga Mantraraja." ataeva gaura vina kalite upaya; na dekhi kothaya ara sastra phukaraya. "Therefore I see no other means except Lord Gauranga's Name, Abode, Pastimes and Associates for everyone's deliverance in Kali-yuga and this is the repeated declaration of all Vedic scriptures." (6) PARVATI AND SHIVA CHANT THE GAURANGA MANTRA CONSTANTLY In Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 8, Lord Nityananda Prabhu tells Shrila Jiva Goswami: (A) gauri saha siva gauranga-nama; gaiya gaiya puraya kama. "In Navadvipa, Lord Shiva is constantly chanting the Gauranga Mantraraja alongwith his wife Gauri and thus fulfilling his innermost desires." (B) gauranga bhajana sarala ati; sahaja tahara phala-vitati. "Lord Gauranga's worship by the chanting of the Gauranga Mantraraja is very easy and simple to perform. In return Lord Gauranga very easily and immediately rewards the worshiper with the desired results or fruits of his or her chanting." (C) gauranga baliya krandana kare; gauranga darsana paya satvare. "One who chants the Gauranga Mantraraja and cries in ecstasy will receive the direct audience of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Gauranga and Radha-Krishna very quickly." Shri Ananta-samhita, Shri Chaitanya-janma-khanda, Part Two, Chapter Three, Text 54, Lord Shiva tells Parvati: dharayamy urdhva-vadane, devesi samhitam imam; mantram ca gauracandrasya, namedam sarva-mangalam. "O Parvati, the controller of all the demigods, I always recite with great enthusiasm this Ananta-samhita alongwith the Gauranga Mantraraja which is the most auspicious in this world." (7) GAURANGA-MANTRA IS THE THE ONLY WAY ACHIEVE LORD KRISHNA From Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 7, the great sage Shrila Narada Muni instructs King Suvarna Sena: yei gauranganama labe, tate krishna krpa habe; vraje vasa seita karibe "Lord Krishna will be certainly merciful on the living entity who chants the name of Gauranga. Due to chanting the name of Gauranga, that soul will most certainly achieve residence in the eternal transcendental abode of Vrindavana." gauranga-nama na laiya, yei krishna bhaje giya; sei krishna bahu kale paya. gauranga-nama laya jei, sadya krishna paya sei; aparadha nahi rahe taya. "If someone endeavours to worship Krishna without regularly chanting the Gauranga Mantraraja, then he or she will achieve Krishna only after a very prolonged period of time. But if someone takes shelter of the Holy Name of Lord Gauranga, he or she will achieve Krishna instantly because all the offenses will immediately cease to exist." (8) JAIVA DHARMA STATES THAT LORD KRISHNA IS WORSHIPED BY CHANTING THE GAURANGA MANTRARAJA Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Jaiva Dharma Chp 14 describes the process of worship of Lord Gauranga and Lord Krishna through the chanting of the Gauranga Mantraraja: vrajanatha: shri gauranga yadi saksat paripurna-tattva hailena, tabe tanhara pujara vyavastha ki? Vrajanatha: Since Shri Gauranga is the the original complete Absolute Truth, how should one worship Him? babaji: gauranga-nama mantre gaurapuja karileo yaha haya, krishna-nama-mantre krishna-puja karileo tahai haya. krishna-mantre gaurapuja va gaura-mantre krishnapuja-sakalai eka. ihate je bheda- buddhi kare, se nitanta anabhijna ou kalira dasa. Babaji: As one worships Lord Krishna by chanting the name and mantra of Krishna, so one should worship Lord Gauranga by chanting the name and mantra of Gauranga. One may worship Lord Gauranga by chanting the Krishna-mantra, or for that matter one may worship Lord Krishna by chanting the Gauranga-mantra. They are all the same. Anyone who thinks Lord Krishna and Lord Gauranga are different is a fool. He is a servant of Kali-yuga. vrajanatha: channavatarera mantra ki-rupe paoya jaya? Vrajanatha: Where to obtain the mantras to worship Lord Gauranga who has come as a covered incarnation? babaji: je tantra prakasya-avataraganera mantra prakasarupe varnana kariyachena, sei tantrei channavatarera mantra channarupe likhiya rakhiyachena. yanhadera buddhi kutila naya, tahara bujhiya laite parena. Babaji: The scriptures that openly give mantras for worshipping the openly manifested incarnations of the Lord, secretly reveal the mantras (the 4-syllable Gaura-Gopala Mantra, the 6-syllable Gaura Mantra etc) for worshiping the secret and hidden incarnation of Lord Gauranga. People whose intelligence is not crooked can understand and see the presence of these Mantrarajas in the scriptures. (9) MILLIONS OF YEARS BY ONLY CHANTING THE HARE KRISHNA MAHA-MANTRA BUT ONLY A FEW DAYS BY CHANTING THE GAURANGA MANTRA In Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 10, the personified holy place Pushkara instructs the brahmana in Navadvipa: (A) **KOTI KOTI VARSE kari shri krishna bhajana; tathapi namete rati na paya durjana. "A sinful or offensive person will not acquire attraction for the Hare Krishna Mahamantra or Lord Krishna's devotional service even if he or she chants the Mahamantra and worships Lord Krishna **FOR MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF YEARS**." (B) gauranga bhajile dusta bhava dure jaya; **SVALPA DINE vrajadhama radha-krishna paya. "But if he or she worships Lord Gauranga by regularly chanting the Gauranga Mantraraja, then his sinful and crooked mentality will immediately leave him and **IN A VERY FEW DAYS** he will achieve Lord Radha-Krishna in the eternal abode of Vrajadhama." (C) nija siddha-deha paya sakhira asraya; nija-kunja shri yugala-seva tara haya. "Simply by chanting the Gauranga Mantraraja he or she will then instantly achieve an eternally perfect spiritual body (siddha deha) and then the shelter of the sakhis or gopies in Vrindavana. Eventually one will begin one's direct service to Shri Radha-Krishna in one's own transcendental grove of Vrindavana in one's constitutional position. All this is achieved in a very few days simply by the chanting the the most powerful Gauranga Mantraraja." (10) IF EVEN A BIRD CHANTS THE GAURANGA MANTRA... In the Chaitanya-bhagavata, the glories of Lord Gauranga's Holy Name is described in Madhya-khanda 10.318: paksi-matra yadi bale caitanyera nama; sei satya jaibeka caitanyera dhama. "If even a bird chants the name of Lord Gauranga, it will most certainly attain the transcendental eternal abode of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu." (11) CONGREGATIONAL CHANTING OF THE GAURANGA MANTRARAJA In the Navadvipa-bhava-taranga by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, it is stated: yatha deva-gana kore gaura-sankirtana; kabhu dhama-vasi taha korena sravana. (56) "Even the demigods continuously engage in Gauranga-nama-sankirtana (congregational chanting of the names of Lord Gauranga) in Navadvipa. Sometimes the residents of the dhama participate and hear the sankirtana." keho va bolibe gaurahari bolo bhai; gaura-vina radha-krishna-seva nahi pai. (57) "Please chant the name of Gauranga because without Lord Gauranga's mercy one will never achieve service to Shri Shri Radha-Krishna." (12) ALL THE TEN OFFENSES ARE DESTROYED BY TAKING SHELTER OF THE NITYANANDA AND GAURANGA MANTRARAJAS In the Gauranga-lila-smarana-mangala stotram Verse 97, Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura states: namaparadham sakalam vinasya, chaitanya-namashrita-manavanam; bhaktim param yah pradadau jannhyas, tam gauracandram pranamami bhaktya. "With great devotion, I bow before Lord Gauranga, who for they who take shelter of His most merciful Holy Name of Gauranga, immediately destroys all the various kinds of offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, and in this way awards His topmost transcendental devotional service to the living entities very quickly without delay." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Here the "chaitanya nama ashraya" is used by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura as the only means to destroy the ten offenses in chanting the Mahamantra. In Sanskrit ashraya means to take constant shelter day and night. When we say regularly chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, and take Harinama Ashraya, we mean the bare minimum of atleast 16 rounds of chanting daily which is 27,468 times the name of Krishna daily. So when Shrila Prabhupada uses the words "very regularly", Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada uses the words "karite karite" and Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura uses the words "chaitanya-nama-ashraya" for chanting the names of Nityananda and Gauranga, it cannot mean chanting just 16 to 20 times daily. Shrila Prabhupada also states that Lord Gauranga's name is more essential than the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra considering the fallen position of the people of this age of Kali Yuga. How can the Name which is more essential be chanted a only 16 to 20 times a day? Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura states that only "Gauranga-Nama-Ashraya" will remove the ten offenses. It can never be accepted that Gauranga-Nama-Ashraya means to chant the Pancha-tattva Mantra only 16 to 20 times a day. Ashraya actually means to chant constantly day and night as per Hari-nama-chintamani. That is why it will be a wonderful addition to our chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra if we chant atleast 10 rounds (atleast 1000 times) each of Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas daily to begin with and increase the chanting to 32, 64, 128 or 256 rounds daily, since These are the most essential Names and Mantras for the offensive people of Kali Yuga. This chanting of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantarajas is not meant to replace the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra but to enable us to give us the taste in the pure chanting of the Mahamantra and grant us with pure love of Krishna without any obstacles. Order of Acharyas & Shastra: To constantly chant "Nityananda" Order of Lord Nityananda: To constantly chant "Gauranga" Order of Lord Gauranga To constantly chant "Hare Krishna". Some say that since the order of Lord Gauranga is to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra we should only follow that. But what about the divine order of Lord Nityananda to chant the Name of Gauranga constantly? No one wants to follow that order. No one can follow the order of Lord Gauranga without first implementing the order of Lord Nityananda. If someone tries to approach Lord Gauranga directly without Lord Nityananda, he or she will never be accepted by the Lord. And what about the supreme order of Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada (in his Anubhashya), Shrila Prabhupada, Shrila Narottama Das Thakura and all the acharyas that "Always chant the Name of Nitai-Gaura". One can never approach Their Lordships Shri Shri Nityananda-Gauranga without following the order of the acharyas which is to constantly chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas along with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. So the key to rapid success in our spiritual lives lies in our endeavours to successful execute all the above three orders of the Lords, Acharyas and the Scriptures without leaving out any one order. Unfortunately one is trying to imitate what the great Acharyas may have done rather hearing and implementing their universal instructions about constantly chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas along with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Some also claim that chanting of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas is escapism from the ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Instead one should try to avoid the ten offenses and chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra only. There are in ignorance about real truth. It is common sense to understand that escaping a bad thing is very good. What is the harm in that? If you can escape the ten offenses you instantly achieve pure love for Lord Gauranga-Krishna which is the goal of our lives. The Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas do not merely provide us with an escape from the ten offenses but totally destroy the ten offenses and award us with pure love of God within a very short time and actual qualification to chant the pure Hare Krishna Mahamantra. So it is the greatest intelligence not escapism to chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas along with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Some claim that by chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas one becomes derailed. Yes, Shuddha Sarasvati is speaking through their mouth unknown to them and she is glorifying the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas. By chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas, one becomes permanently derailed from: (1) the cycle of birth and death and the 8.4 million spnies of life and go back to Godhead (2) the thirst for material desires (3) from the ignorance of the material body (4) from bewilderment of jnana and karma and so on and on What is the harm if one gets derailed from the wrong things? One should become very happy. And if they claim that by chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas one becomes derailed from spiritual life then that is totally against all the revealed scriptures and the greatest offense against the most merciful Names of God. Do you think Lord Nityananda and Shrila Shivananda Sena were derailed by constantly chanting the Name of Gauranga? It is the greatest violence and crime of the soul to stop anyone from chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas along with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. In Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata, the Supreme Lord Gauranga Himself states that if a Guru or for that matter even Brahma or Shiva (which they will never do ofcourse) were to speak anything against the scriptures or stop anyone from chanting the bonafide Names of the Lord then their such instructions are resulting from bewilderment and ignorance about Nityananda Gauranga Nama Tattva and should be rejected by the bonafide and intelligent disciple for his or her own benefit and for the benefit of the Guru. Some falsely suggest that one should chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas along with the the Hare Krishna Mahamantra only if one's Guru is not a Mahabhagavata otherwise there is no need. But they fail to remember that Shrila Shivananda Sena and Shrila Balarama Dasa being the topmost Mahabhagavatas themselves were constantly chanting the Names of Gauranga and Nityananda. Who is higher than Lord Nityananda Himself? He is not only constantly chanting the Gaura Gopala Mantra but instructing all the living entities to chant the Gauranga Mantraraja. Are they implying that Lord Nityananda was not a Mahabhagavata? Totally absurd. Infact the qualification of the real Mahabhagavata Guru will be to follow in the footsteps of Lord Nityananda and thus he or she will never discriminate between the chanting of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and never ever discourage his or her disciples and followers from chanting the most merciful Names of Nityananda and Gauranga along with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Like Shrila Prabhuupada who clearly stated: "Therefore *ONE WHO CHANTS THE MANTRA "GAURANGA" and ONE WHO CHANTS THE NAMES OF RADHA AND KRSNA ARE ON THE SAME LEVEL." (Shrila Prabhupada in Cc Antya-lila 2.31 purport) and "Nitai-Gauranga and Hare Krishna, there is no difference. Nitai-Gauranga is also nice. Whatever he finds convenient, let him chant." (Shrila Prabhupada's Room Conversation with Yoga Student specifically regarding Japa, March 14, 1975, Iran) and also Shrila Prabhupada during a Room Conversation, August 14, 1971, London: Prabhupada: No. We are recommending "Chant the holy name of God." So if you have got the holy name of God, you can chant that. Prabhupada: Anyway, if one chants Allah or Jesus Christ, we have no objection. We don't say that you stop it. We say that you chant the holy name of God. If that name is of God, you chant. (end) (13) ONLY THE MOST POWERFUL SEED OF GAURANGA'S NAME WILL SPROUT IN THE BARREN DESERT OF OUR HEART In Shri Chaitanya-chandramrita Verse 53, Shrila Prabodhananda Sarasvati states the paramount importance of the name of Lord Gauranga: ha hanta citta-bhuvi me paramosarayam, sad-bhakti-kalpa-latikankurita katham syat; hrdy ekam eva param asvasaniyam asti, chaitanya-nama-kalayan na kadapi socyah. "Alas! Alas! How will the desire creeper of pure unalloyed devotional service to Lord Krishna sprout in the supremely unfertile and barren desert of my heart? In my heart, there is only one supreme consolation and solace. That is chanting of the name of Lord Gauranga. This chanting will eternally put an end to all my lamentation and will work wonders in my heart softening and fertilizing it with love of God." (14) THE NITYANANDA MANTRA IMMEDIATELY EVOKES TEARS AND ECSTASY OF PURE LOVE FOR KRISHNA EVEN IN A SINFUL PERSON Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi-lila 8.23: ‘nityananda’ balite haya krishna-premodaya; aulaya sakala anga asru-ganga vaya. "Simply by chanting the Nityananda Mantraraja one awakens his or her dormant love for Krishna. Thus all his bodily limbs are agitated by ecstasy of love of God, and tears flow from his eyes like the waters of the Ganges." (15) ANYONE WHO EVEN HEARS THE NAME "NITYANANDA" JUST ONCE CERTAINLY ACHIEVES LORD KRISHNA Chaitanya-bhagavata, Adi-khanda 9.385: nityananda-hena bhakta sunile sravane; avasya paibe krishnacandra sei jane. Shripada Madhavendera Puri states: "If one simply hears the name 'Nityananda' even once, he or she will most certainly attain the lotus feet of Lord Krishnacandra irrespective of any other consideration." (16) GREAT ACHARYAS HAVE CONSTANTLY CHANTED THE NITYANANDA MANTRARAJA Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 11.33: navadvipe purusottama pandita mahasaya, nityananda-name yanra mahonmada haya "Purusottama Pandita, a resident of Navadvipa, was the Krishna's eighth gopala, Stoka-Krishna for Vrindavan. He would become almost mad as soon as he chanted or heard the Nityananda Mantraraja." Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 11.34 balarama dasa--krishna-prema-rasasvadi, nityananda-name haya parama unmadi "Balarama dasa always fully tasted the nectar of love of Krishna. He would become extremely maddened by constantly chanting and hearing the Nityananda Mantraraja." nityananda bali yabe karena hunkara, taha dekhi' lokera haya maha-camatkara "Minaketana Ramadasa, the great associate of Lord Nityananda who constantly and loudly call out the 'Nityananda' Mantraraja constantly and by hearing this the people around him were filled with great wonder and astonishment of pure love." (17) BY CHANTING THE NITYANANDA & GAURANGA MANTRARAJAS, SINFUL REACTIONS OF UNLIMITED NO. OF LIVES ARE IMMEDIATELY DESTROYED Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 1, states: gauranga-nitai yei bale eka bara; ananta karama-dosa anta haya tara. "The most fortunate person who chants the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas once immediately destroys the unlimited sinful reactions accumulated for unlimited number of past lives." (18) THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS PURIFIED BY CHANTING AND HEARING THE NITYANANDA MANTRARAJA Chaitanya-Bhagavata Madhya 3.134: vanik adhama murkha ye karila para brahmanda pavitra haya nama laile yanra "The entire universe is purified by chanting the name of Lord Nityananda as it is only He who delivered the fallen, the foolish, and the merchants." Purport by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada: [...] nityanandera prabhura nama shravana karile jagatera sakala lokera papa-pravrtti prashamita haiya pavitra tara udaya haya. vanik, adhama, murkha-iharau pavitra haiya brahmajna u bhagavad-bhakta hana. "Simply by chanting or hearing the name of Lord Nityananda, the sinful inclinations in the hearts of all the living entities in the universe are permanently destroyed and their inherent purity is automatically awakened. On chanting or hearing the name of Lord Nityananda, even the merchants, degraded, fallen and foolish people are purified and immediately become realized in the Absolute Truth and devotees of the Lord." (19) BY CHANTING NITYANANDA & GAURANGA, KRISHNA-PREMA COMES SEARCHING AFTER THAT PERSON. ONE ACHIEVES KRISHNA-PREMA EVEN WITH OFFENSES IN HIS HEART AND THEN THE OFFENSES Fmcg. WHAT A SUBLIME AND EASY WAY TO GET KRISHNA-PREMA! nitai-chaitanya bali yei jiva dake; suvimala krishna-prema anvesaye thake. "If one chants the names of Nityananda and Gauranga, the purest Krishna-prema (pure love of Krishna) comes searching after such a person." aparadha badha tara kichu nahi kare; nirmala krishna-preme tara ankhi jhare. "The offenses (which may be present in the heart) don't create any obstacles in path of achieving this love and tears start flowing from his or her eyes in pure ecstatic love simply by chanting Nityananda and Gauranga." svalpa kale aparadha apani palaya; hrdaya sodhita haya prema bade taya. "In a very short, the offenses themselves fmcg and the heart becomes completely purified and thus the love furthur increases." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapda: This is the difference for the conditioned souls. By chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra only, we are searching after pure love for Krishna and our efforts in that direction are thwarted by our offenses. But miraculously by chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas along with the Mahamantra, the pure love begins searching after us and finds us even though we may not be qualified for it or be full of offenses. Imagine that we are chanting on one side of a unlimitedly high and gigantic mountain (symbolizing the offenses, ignorance and anarthas in our heart accumulated for the past millions of lives). And on the other side of this mountain is the ultimate fruit of pure love of God. We may be wanting it but we are not able to cross the mountain of our offenses immediately by chanting only the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. So the method prescribed by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is to chant the Holy Names of Nityananda and Gauranga very regularly and with great feeling and devotion and that love of God on the other side of the mountain will instantly come searching after us and enter our bodies even though we may be full with offenses at that point of time. Then we get immersed in the ocean of great bliss and happiness and then the offenses wil fmcg from our heart increasing our love even more. So only a foolish person searching after pure love for Lord Gauranga-Krishna will avoid the chanting of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas, Even a child can understand that by only chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra one is searching after that love in vain unless he or she can effectively avoid the ten offenses. But by chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas along with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, the love begin searching after him or her. So this is surely the most easy path. (20) IN THE CHANTING OF THE NITYANANDA & GAURANGA MANTRARAJAS THERE ARE NO OFFENSES. SIMPLY BY CHANTING THEM LOVE OF GOD COMES & TEARS OF BLISS FLOW FROM OUR EYES Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 8.31: chaitanya-nityanande nahi esaba vicara, nama laite prema dena, vahe asrudhara "But if one only chants, with some slight faith, the holy names of Gauranga and Nityananda, very quickly he is cleansed of all offenses. Since in the chanting of the names of Nityananda and Gauranga there is no consideration of offenses, one will very quickly come to the stage of love of God, simply by chanting Their names and tears of pure love for Krishna will flow from the eyes." ANUBHASHYA PURPORT BY SHRILA BHAKTISIDDHANTA SARASVATI THAKURA PRABHUPADA: Bengali: krishna-nama aparadhera vicara karena, gaura-nityanandera name aparadhera vicara nai. aparadhi krishna-nama grahana karilei kakhanei nama-phala (krishna-prema) labha karena na. aparadhi thaka-kaleu gaura-nityanandera nama grahanakari nama karite karite aparadha mocanante nama-phala labha karena. ihara vicara o siddhanta ei je-gaura-nityanandera nikata krishna-vimukha sadhaka krishna unmukha haibara janya gamana karena. ara sadhanasiddha, anarthamukta krishnanmukera uccarya krishna-nama anarthayukta avasthaya kakhanei phala (krishna-prema)pradana kare na. gaura-nityananda anarthayukta jivera sevya-vastu haoyaya tahadera seva jivera krishnaseva apeksa adhiktara prayojaniya. sadhaka siksara apraptite siddhabhimane krishna-namera seva karite udyata haile tahara anarthaei asiya upasthita haya; kintu nitai-gaurera bhajane siddhabhimanera chalana na rakhiya anarthayukta avasthayeo jagadguru siksaka dvayera nikata upasthita haile tahara tahadigake anarthamukta karaiya tanhadigera svayam-rupa o svayam-prakasa svarupa uplabdhi karana. tahatei jivera svarupa-jnanera udaya haya. Translation: "The Hare Krishna Mahamantra considers the offenses whereas the Holy Names of Nityananda and Gauranga don't consider offenses. An offensive chanter will never achieve the fruit of chanting (pure love for Krishna) simply by chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra." ******************** (THE SECRET OF ALL SECRETS) (Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta continues): "THEREORE TILL THE TIME HE IS COMMITTING OFFENSES, HE SHOULD REGULARLY CHANT THE NAMES OF Nityananda and Gauranga WHICH ARE THE GRAHANAKARI-NAMA (MOST IMPORTANT NAMES TO BE ACCEPTED AND CHANTED) FOR THE SADHAKA IN THE ANARTHA-YUKTA STAGE. DUE TO THE *REPEATED CHANTING (KARITE KARITE) OF THE NAMES OF Nityananda and Gauranga, ALL THE OFFENSES WILL BE DESTROYED AND HE WILL VERY QUICKLY ACHIEVE THE FRUIT OF THE CHANTING, PURE LOVE OF KRSNA." ******************** (Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada continues) "The philosophical principle behind these statements is as follows - The aspirant who is averse to Lord Krishna approaches Lords Nityananda and Gauranga to become attracted to Lord Krishna. The Hare Krishna Mahamantra can only be uttered purely by the sadhaka who is on the perfected stage (sadhana-siddha) and who is free from all anarthas (unwanted things in the heart). If sadhakas full of offenses chant only the Mahamantra, the Mahamantra will never give them love for Krishna. "Thus Lords Nityananda and Gauranga and Their Holy Names are the most worshipable Lords for the souls who are full of offenses. That is why Their service and the service of Their Names, Abode and Pastimes is more appropriate and beneficial for these unfortunate souls than even the service of Lord Krishna. If the sadhaka without hearing proper instructions, proudly thinks himself to be on the perfected stage and tries to render direct service to the Hare Krishna Mahamantra by chanting it without regularly chanting the Holy Names of Nityananda and Gauranga, then the ten offenses will surely come and bar his progress. On the other hand, if the sadhaka who is full of offenses, gives up his sense of false pride of thinking himself on the perfected stage, and thus approaches the Names of the two Jagadgurus Lords Nityananda and Gauranga, worships Them and accepts Their instructions, Their Pastimes and Their devotees, They will quickly deliver him from all offenses and reward him with the realization of Their own forms (svarupas) of Svayam-Rupa (Lord Gauranga) and Svayam-Prakasa (Lord Nityananda). Then the soul realizes one own constitutional position in relation with the two Lords and thus achieves the supreme perfection." Bengali: krishna-nama o gaura-nama,-ubhayei namira sahita abhinna. krsnke gaura apeksa laghu va sankirna baliya janile, uhake avidyara karya baliya janite haibe. prakrtapakse jivera prayojana-vicare shri gaura-nityanandera nama grahanera upayogita adhiktara. shri gaura-nityananda udara evam audaryera abhyantare madhura. krsnera udarta-kevala mukta, siddha ashritajana ganera upara; gaura-nityanandera audarya-srote anarthayukta aparadhi jiva bhogamaya aparadhera haste haite mukta haiya gaura-krsnera pada-padma labha karena. English translation (Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada continues): "The name of Krishna and Gauranga-both are non-different than the named Lord. Those who think that Krishna is any way inferior or limited than Gauranga are in gross ignorance." ******************** (PRAYOJANA-VICARE - MORE USEFUL) (Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada continues): "BUT IN PRACTICAL (PRAYOJANA) CONSIDERATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE BENEFIT AWARDED TO THE CONDITIONED SOULS, THE CHANTING OF Nityananda and Gauranga'S NAME IS **MORE USEFUL AND HELPFUL** FOR EVERY LIVING ENTITY. THE MERCY OF LORD KRISHNA'S NAME IS GENERALLY ONLY UPON THE LIBERATED OR PERFECTED SOULS WHO ARE FULLY SURRENDERED TO HIM. BUT THE MAGNANIMITY AND MERCY OF LORD GAURANGA-NITYANANDA'S NAMES IS ESPECIALLY FOR THE SOULS WHO ARE OFFENDERS AND FULL OF ANARTHAS AND DESIRES FOR MATERIAL SENSE GRATIFICATION." ******************** (Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada continues) "The chanting of Lord Nityananda and Gauranga's names and Their worship very quickly delivers the soul from all the offenses and thus the soul achieves shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Gauranga-Krishna." In the Amrita Pravaha Bhashya to the introduction of Chaitanya-Charitamrita (Cc) Adi-lila Chapter 8, Shrila Bhaktivinoda writes: ihAte bujhite haibe ye, nAmAparAdhIra sAttvika vikArAdi kevala chalamAtra | yini akapaTe chaitanya-nityAnandera nAma laIyA Ananda prakAza karena, prabhudvaya tAGhAra hRdayake sAkSAt niraparAdha karena | "We should factually understand that the ecsatic symptoms manifested by an offensive chanter of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is simply a show or cheating. The Two Lords Nityananda and Gauranga make the heart of only that person pure and free of offenses who chant the Names of Nityananda and Gauranga and manifest great joy in doing it." (21) LORD GAURANGA HIMSELF PREDICTED THAT THE CHANTING OF HIS NAME WILL SPREAD ALL OVER THE WORLD Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself predicted that His Holy names will spread all over the world in the Chaitanya-bhagavata (Antya 4.126): prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama; sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama. "My Name will be broadcasted and glorified in all various towns, villages, cities, countries and continents of the world." These Names are Gauranga, Nityananda, Gaura, Gaurahari, Shri Krishna Chaitanya, Nimai, Shachinandana, Gaurasundara, Nitai etc. alongwith the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and the names of Lord Krishna. (22) WHY DO THE COMMON PEOPLE NOT GET KRISHNA-PREMA EVEN THOUGH THE GLORIES OF KRSNA-NAMA-DHAAM ARE DESCRIBED IN ALL THE SCRIPTURES? THIS IS THE SECRET OF ALL SECRETS WHICH THE BEWILDERED SOULS NEVER THINK ABOUT. HOW TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM? (A)ara eka gudha katha suna sarva jana; kalijive yogya vastu gaura-lila-dhana "Please hear a most confidential secret. The most suitable thing for the conditioned souls in Kali-yuga in the treasure of Gauranga's Name and Pastimes." (B) krishnanama krishnadhama mahatmya apara; sastrera dvaraya jane sakala samsara "The unlimited glories of Krishna's Name (Mahamantra) and Krishna's Abode (Shri Vrindavana) are known to the whole world through the revealed scriptures." (C) tabu krishna-prema sadharane nahi paya; ihara karana kiba cintaha hiyaya. "Even then pure love for Krishna is not attained by the common man. Please deeply meditate on the reason for this fact." (D) ihate achaye ta eka gudha-tattva sara; maya-mugdha jiva taha na kare vicara. "The reason for this is the greatest secret of all secrets. The souls bewildered by illusion (maya) do not think about this reason." (E) bahu janma krishna bhaji prema nahi haya; aparadha punja tara achaye niscaya. "Even after worshipping Krishna for many lives, one may not achieve pure love for Krishna. The reason is that there is a great mountain of offenses is one's heart, without a doubt." (F) aparadha sunya haya laya krishna-nama; tabe jiva krishna premalabhe avirama "Only when a living entity chants the Mahamantra without any offenses, he or she achieves incessant pure love for Krishna." (G) shri chaitanya avatara bada vilaksana; aparadha-sattve jiva labhe prema-dhana. "But the incarnation of Lord Shri Gauranga is very powerful and munificent. By His mercy, a living entity can get pure love of Krishna even if he or she is not free from the offenses." (H) nitai-chaitanya bali yei jiva dake; suvimala krishna-prema anvesaye take. "If one regularly chants the names of Nityananda and Gauranga, the supreme Krishna-prema (pure love of Krishna) comes searching after (seeking out for) such a person." (I) aparadha badha tara kichu nahi kare; nirmala krishna-preme tara ankhi jhare. "The offenses (which may be present in one's heart) don't create any obstacles in path of achieving this love and tears start flowing from his or her eyes in pure ecstatic love." (J) svalpa kale aparadha apani palaya; hrdaya sodhita haya prema bade taya. "In a very short, the offenses themselves fmcg and the heart becomes completely purified and thus the love furthur increases." All Glories to the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra! (23) THE STRONGEST MEDICINE OF GAURANGA-NAMA FOR THE STRONGEST DISEASE OF THE KALI-YUGA MENTALITY Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 2, states: (A) aibe kali ghora haila roga haila bhari; kathina ausadha vina nivarite nari. The Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself is meditating as follows in the spiritual world: "Due to the advent of the most horrible Kali-yuga, the material disease has become chronic and very hard to cure. In such a case only the most powerful medicine will help the patient." (B) atisaya gopane rakhinu yei dhama; atisaya gopane rakhinu yei nama. (C) atisaya gopane rakhinu jei rupa; prakasa na karile jiva taribe ki rupa. "The most merciful Names (Gauranga, Nityananda etc.) Abode (Navadvipa), and Form (golden forms of Gauranga and Nityananda), which I had kept most confidential and hidden for all these ages, have to be manifested by Myself personally otherwise the living entities can never be delivered in this age of Kali." (D) jiva ta amara dasa ami tara prabhu; ami na tarile sei na tarile kabhu. "All the souls are My infinitesimal parts and servants and I am their real master. So if I don't deliver them and devise a means to deliver them, they will never ever be delivered." (E) ei bali shri chaitanya haile prakasa; nija nama, nija-dhama, laye nija-dasa. "Thinking like this, Lord Gauranga appeared alongwith His own Names (Gauranga, Nityananda etc), Abode (Navadvipa), Pastimes (Chaitanya-Bhagavata, Navadvipa-Dhaam-Mahatmya etc) and eternal Associates. How will then the living entities ever be delivered without taking shelter of These most merciful Names, Abode, Pastimes etc." (24) SURABHI AND MARKANDEYA CONTINUOUSLY CHANT GAURANGA MANTRARAJA WHICH UPROOTS ALL KARMIC REACTIONS FROM THE ROOTS In Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 8, Surabhi cow instructs Markandeya Muni: (A) surabhi kahila siddhanta-sara; shri gaura-bhajane nahi vicara. Shri Surabhi tells Markandeya Rsi, the essence of all secrets, "There is no considerations or rules of any kind in the worship and chanting of the Holy Name of Lord Gauranga." (B) shri gaura bali dakibe jabe; samasta karama vinasa habe. "If you simply chant Gauranga's name with feeling, then all your previous sinful reactions are instantly destroyed." (C) kichu nahi rabe vipaka ara; guchibe tomara bhava samsara. "Thus when no sinful reactions remain, then you will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death." (D) karme kene eika jnanera phala; guchibe samule haye vikala. "All the material reactions of previous frutive activities and specualtive knowledge will be destroyed at the root and you will become ecstatic in pure love for Lord Gauranga simply by chanting the name of Gauranga." (E) tumi ta majibe gauranga-rase; bhajibe tahara ei dvipa vase. "That is why you should chant Lord Gauranga's name and dive deep into the mellows of pure love for Lord Gauranga while residing in this island of Godruma in Navadvipa." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: In Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 8, the Surabhi cow instructs Markandeya Muni that there are five superexcellent results of chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas and these results are even more accelerated in one chants Them in the topmost abode of Navadvipa: (1) samasta karama-vipaka vinasa habe "All the unlimited material sinful and pious reactions for unlimited previous lives are completely annihilated." (2) guchibe tomara bhava samsara "The miserable cycle of birth and death in the 8.4 million species of life is thus irreversibly terminated." (3)karma o jnana phala samule guchibe "The subtle reactions due to speculative knowledge of trying to become one with God are completely destroyed at the root." (4)haibe vikala "The chanter of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas then becomes ecstatic in pure love of God." (5)majibe gauranga-rase "And ultimately the chanter enters into the rasa of the spiritual world in one's own spiritual body to render direct service to Lords Nityananda and Gauranga in Navadvipa and Lordships Radha-Krishna in Vrindavana." (25) SAPTA-RISHIS ACHIEVE GAURANGA QUICKLY BY ONE-POINTED GAURANGA JAPA In Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 9, the seven sages, the sons of Brahma achieved Lord Gauranga in the following way: (A) aprakrta dhama, gaurahari nama; kevala sadhura asa. "The only means of sadhana or worship is to take shelter of the transcendental abode of Navadvipa and the Holy Name of Lord Gauranga. This is the only aspiration for the real devotees." (B) kichu nahi khaya, nidra nahi jaya; gaura nama kare japa. "The sapta-rsis (seven sages) who wanted to achieve Krishna-prema went to Navadvipa on the instructions of their father Lord Brahma and became indifferent to all material things. They constantly chanted japa of Lord Gauranga's Name without sleeping in the night." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Those who propose the totally concocted, bogus, nonsense and malicious theory that Gauranga Mantraraja cannot be chanted as japa on beads but only in kirtana should read this verse very carefully. The seven sages who are the sons of Brahma and great spiritual authorities have chanted japa of the Gauranga Mantraraja and achieved perfection. As per the topmost Vaishnava manual Hari-bhakti-vilasa, japa has to be compulsorily counted either on the beads or on the fingers. Since the chanting of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas is the most powerful remedy or medicine or hope for the deliverance of the chronically diseased people of Kali-Yuga, any attempt to stop anyone from chanting these Mantarajas in any manner whatsoever is the greatest injustice and crime on the conditioned soul and is the greatest kind of misfortune that can befall anyone in this creation. (Commentary ends) (C) madhyana samaya, gaura dayamaya; dekha dila rsi gane. "In the afternoon, the most merciful Lord Gauranga appeared in front of the sages and fulfilled all their desires greatly pleased by the chanting of His Name." (26) Shrila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura in Shri Ksanada-gita-cintamani: patita durgata yata kali-hata yara, nitai chaitanya bali nace gaya tara "The fallen, misguided and unfortunate souls devastated by Kali-yuga will dance in ectsasy when they chant the names of Nityananda and Gauranga since this is the only way for their deliverance." (27) From Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Chp 6, Lord Nityananda Prabhu tells Shrila Jiva Goswami: vraja-tattva navadvipa-tattve dekhe bheda; krishna aparadhi labhe nirvana abheda. "Just see the difference between Vraja-tattva (Vrindavana) and Navadvipa-tattva. In Vrindavana, the offenders to Lord Krishna (like the demons) attain oneness with the Lord (sayujya) by merging into the brahman effulgence of the Lord. (The same Kamsa who got liberation by being killed by Krishna's hands in Mathura in krishna-lila, got pure love of God from Lord Gauranga in Gauranga-lila in Navadvipa, without having to die.)" hetha aparadhi paya prema-tattva dhana; ataeva ei gaura-lila sarvopari dhana. "In Navadvipa however, the offenders achieve pure love for Lord Gauranga. That is why the pastimes and names of Lord Gauranga are the topmost treasure in this universe (even more merciful than Krishna-lila.)" gaura-dhama, gaura-nama, gaura rupa-guna; aparadha nahi mane tarite nipuna. "Lord Gauranga's transcendental Name, Abode, Form and Pastimes are most expert in delivering one and all because They do not consider any offenses." yadi aparadha thake sadhakera mane; krishna-name, krishna-dhame tare bahu dine. "Whereas if offenses or unwanted things are present in the heart of the spiritual aspirants, then the regular chanting of Lord Krishna's Names (Mahamantra) and direct residence Krishna's Abode (Vrindavana) etc. will deliver him only after a very prolonged period of time." (28) Shrila Locana Dasa Thakura states: nitai-gaura-nama, anandera dhama, jei jana nahi laya tare yamaraya, dhare laya jaya, narake dubaya taya "The transcendental names of Nityananda and Gauranga are the supreme abodes of unlimited happiness. Those who don't chant the names of Nityananda and Gauranga surely become victims of Yamaraja, the god of death. Yamaraja will drag them and forcibly drown them in the most abominable hellish regions." (29) Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 8.22: adyapiha dekha chaitanya-nama yei laya; krishna-preme pulakasru-vihvala se haya Shrila Prabhupada translates: "Whether he is offensive or inoffensive, anyone who even now chants shri-krishna-chaitanya prabhu-nityananda is immediately overwhelmed with ecstasy, and tears fill his eyes." Purport by Shrila Prabhupada: "The prakrta-sahajiyas who chant nitai-gaura radhe syama have very little knowledge of the Bhagavata conclusion, and they hardly follow the Vaishnava rules and regulations, and yet because they chant bhaja nitai-gaura, their chanting immediately evokes tears and other signs of ecstasy. Although they do not know the principles of Vaishnava philosophy and are not very much advanced in education, by these symptoms they attract many men to become their followers. Their ecstatic tears will of course help them in the long run, for as soon as they come in contact with a pure devotee their lives will become successful. Even in the beginning, however, because they are chanting the holy names of nitai-gaura, their swift advancement on the path of love of Godhead is very prominently visible." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: The names of Nityananda and Gauranga seem to be the most unimaginably merciful thing in the whole creation. Infact They are more merciful than Lords Niyananda-Gauranga Themselves. The pseudo prakrta-sahajiyas are constantly engaged in breaking the regulative principles, anti-bhakti activities, sinful activities like illicit-sex, drinking, smoking bidis, ganja etc. But according to Shrila Prabhupada they are exhibiting symptoms of making rapid progress or swift advancement on the path of pure love of God just for the simple reason that they are chanting the names of Nityananda and Gauranga. It is very clear from the above verse (and the verses and purports of Cc Adi Chp that the names of Nityananda and Gauranga absolutely don't consider any offenses and thus have immediate effect on the chanter. Shrila Prabhupada writes in the translation that the names of Nityananda and Gauranga don't consider whether one is offensive or inoffensive in giving him love of God. What can you except more than this? It cannot become more easy that this! That is why it is said by Shrila Lochana das Thakura that Nityananda and Gauranga are saba-avatara-sara-shiromani: the crest-jewel and essence of all other incarnations of God. According to Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, pure love of Krishna (which cannot be achieved by millions of lives of sadhana-bhakti for Lord Krishna) comes searching after a person who chants the names of Nityananda and Gauranga. Ofcourse this verse and purport should not be used as a license to simultaneously sin and then chant Nityananda and Gauranga but it only shows the extraordinary and the topmost mercy in Nityananda and Gauranga's names. (Commentary Ends) (30) Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 8.24: krishna-nama kare aparadhera vicara krishna balile aparadhira na haya vikara "There are ten stringent offenses to be considered while chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. Therefore simply by chanting Hare Krishna one does not become ecstatic." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: The ten most formidable and all-pervading offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra are described in these words of the Padma Purana (Brahma-khanda 25.15-18): 1. Blasphemy of the great saintly persons who are engaged in preaching the Name, is the worst offense at the lotus feet of the holy name. The nama-prabhu, who is identical with Krishna, will never tolerate such blasphemous activities, even from one who passes as a great devotee. 2. In this material world, the holy name of Krishna is all-auspicious. Krishna's name, form, qualities, and pastimes are all transcendental, absolute knowledge. Therefore if one tries to separate the Absolute Personality of Godhead from His holy name or His transcendental form, qualities and pastimes, thinking them to be material, that is offensive. Similarly, to think the names of demigods such as Lord Shiva to be as good as the name of Lord Krishna is also blasphemous. 3. To consider the nama-tattva-vit spiritual master to be material and therefore to envy his exalted position and disobey his instructions. 4. Blasphemy of Vedic literature, such as the four Vedas and the Puranas which glorify the Nama 5. To give some mundane interpretation on the holy name of the Lord. 6. To consider the glories of the holy name to be imaginary. 7. To think that since the Name can counteract all sinful reactions one may therefore go on with his sinful activities and then at the same time chant the Nama to neutralize them is the greatest offense at the lotus feet of Hari-nama. One who thinks in this way cannot be purified by any means, such as by austerities or by the various punishments of Yamaraja. 8. It is a great offense to consider the chanting of the Name to be equal to the performance of religious ceremonies, following austere vows, practicing renunciation, and fire sacrifices, which are all materialistic auspicious activities. 9. It is an offense to preach the glories of the holy name to those who will not hear, to those who are atheistic and those who have no faith in the chanting of the holy name. 10. That lowest among men, who, even after hearing the glories of the transcendental holy name of the Lord, continues in a materialistic concept of life, thinking, "I am this body, and everything belonging to this body is mine (aham mameti)", and does not show respect and love for the chanting of the Name is commiting the most heinous ten offense against the holy name of Krishna. Fortunately by the desire of the Lord Krishna, when He appeared as Lord Gauranga, He decided that He will not include these ten offenses in relation to His (Lord Gauranga's) Name, Form, Abode and Associates. Thus the Names of Gauranga and Nityananda became the only hope of deliverance for the conditioned souls of Kali Yuga who are totally immersed in the above ten offenses against the holy Name of Krishna in the form of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. (Commentary Ends) Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita 8.29-30 hena krishna-nama yadi laya bahu-bara tabu yadi prema nahe, nahe asrudhara tabe jani, aparadha tahate pracura krishna-nama-bija tahe na kare ankura "Even though one may chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra many many times yet his love for the Supreme Lord Krishna will not develop and tears will not appear in his eyes because of the mountains of the ten offenses is his or her heart and the seed of the Mahamantra does not sprout even after repeated chanting." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: What is the solution? The author himself gives the answer in the next verse.(Commentary Ends) chaitanya-nityanande nahi esaba vicara, nama laite prema dena, vahe asrudhara ( Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 8.31) "But if one chants, with only some slight faith, the two holy names of Lord Gauranga and Nityananda, very quickly he or she is quickly cleansed of all offenses. Since in the chanting of the names of Nityananda and Gauranga there is no consideration of offenses, one will very quickly come to the stage of love of God, simply by chanting Their names and tears of pure love for Krishna will flow from the eyes." (31) Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Madhya 3.169-170: ei avatare keha gauracandra gaya . nityananda-nama suni' uthiya palaya ..169.. pujaye govinda yena, na mane sankara . ei pape aneke yaiva yama-ghara ..170.. "In this incarnation, there are some people who chant the Holy Name of Lord Gauranga but when they hear the Holy Name of Lord Nityananda, they get up and fmcg. This is just like worshiping Lord Krishna but not having faith in Lord Shiva, who is the topmost devotee and an expansion of Lord Krishna. These kind of people are sinful and are destined to go to the house of Yamaraja, the Lord of Death." Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Madhya 4.75 jagate durlabha bada visvambhara-nama . sei prabhu chaitanya-sabara dhanaprana ..75.. "The Holy Name of Lord Gauranga is very very rare in this world. Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu and His Name is actually the life, soul and the ultimate and real treasure of all living entities." Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Madhya 20.137: sannyasio yadi nahi mane gauracandra. janiha se dustagana janma janma andha ..137 "If someone even though he may dressed in the garb of a sannyasi does not accept the Name and Truth of the Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu, he is considered an evil person and is born blind birth after birth." Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Antya 1.71-72: sakala bhuvana eve gaya gauracandra. tathapiha sabe nahi gaya bhutavrinda..71 shrikrishnachaitanya-name vimukha ye jana. niscaya janiha sei papi bhutagana..72 "All the living entities in the three worlds in this universe are chanting, glorifying and preaching the Name of Lord Gauranga but those who are ghostly do not chant the Name of Lord Gauranga. Those who are averse to the chanting of the Name of Lord Gauranga are certainly very sinful and haunted by ghosts." Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Antya 1.188-189 garbhavati nari cale ghana svasa vaya. caitanyera nama kari seha para haya..188 "Even the pregnant ladies who were breathless could cross the ocean of birth and death by chanting the Name of Lord Gauranga." andha, khonda loka saba cale sathe sathe. caitanyera namete prasasta patha dekhe..189 "The blind and the lame men walked quickly to meet the Lord. It was due to the mercy of chanting the name of Lord Gauranga that they could reach their destination." Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Antya 3.386 ye prabhura nama-guna sakrt ye gaya. se samsara-avadhi tare vatsa-pada-praya ..386.. "The great ocean of material nescience instantly becomes just like the water contained in the hoofprint of a calf for a person who chants the Name and Qualities of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu." Shri Chaitanya-charita Mahakavya by Shrila Murari Gupta, Fourth Parikrama 28th Sarga, Verse 20: nityananda-prabhus tatra / vanijan tu grhe grhe karoti krishna-chaitanya-nama-sankirttana mahat "Wandering from house to house amongst the merchants of that town, Nityananda Prabhu performed a great sankirtana of the names of Lord Gauranga." shri-krishna-chaitanya-namna / paripurna jagat-trayam ktva raraja gopalaih / sama nanda-vraje yatha "In company with those gopalas, Nityananda made the three worlds fully satisfied through the chanting of Lord Gauranga's Names, just as it had formerly been in the land of Vraja when Nanda ruled as king of the cowherds." "The more the names of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Krishna were preached, the merrier was Thakura Bhaktivinoda." (Vaishnava Song Book) "The Chaitanya-bhagavata had predicted that the name of Lord Chaitanya would one day be known in every town and village. Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta had wanted that." (Shrila Prabhupada Lilamrita Chp 6) Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya 6.258 shri-krishna-chaitanya saci-suta guna-dhama ei dhyana, ei japa, laya ei nama "Shrila Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya always chanted the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Shri Krishna Chaitanya, son of mother Shachi and the abode of all transcendental qualities. Indeed, the chanting of the the Holy Names of Lord Gauranga became his only japa, meditation and kirtana." Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Antya 11.34 jihvaya uccarimu tomara krishna-chaitanya' nama ei-mata mora iccha,-chadimu parana Shrila Haridasa Thakura said to the Lord Gauranga: "With my tongue I shall chant Your holy name, "Shri Krishna Chaitanya". That is my fervent desire. Kindly let me give up my body in this way." Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Antya 11.55 ‘shri-krishna-chaitanya’ sabda balena bara bara prabhu-mukha-madhuri piye, netre jala-dhara Shrila Haridasa Thakura began to chant the holy name of Shri Krishna Chaitanya again and again. As he drank the ambrosial sweetness of the lotus face of Lord Gauranga, tears constantly glided down from his eyes." Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Antya 11.56: ‘shri-krishna-chaitanya’ sabda karite uccarana namera sahita prana kaila utkramana "While chanting the holy name of Shri Krishna Chaitanya, Shrila Haridasa Thakura gave up his life air and left his body just like Shrila Bhishmadeva had left his body beholding the lotus face of Lord Krishna on the battlefield." Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: The great Namacharya Shrila Haridasa Thakura has displayed his great personal example and demonstrated to us the ultimate result of chanting the name of Lord Krishna. He chanted 300,000 Names of Lord Krishna (atleast 176 rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily) without much eating and sleeping. The conclusion of his chanting Krishna Names for his whole life was that he chanted Krishna Chaitanya's or Gauranga's Name at the end of his life as the Names of Lord Gauranga are the supreme and most merciful among the Names of Lord Krishna. (Commentary Ends) "When he heard Nimai's name he became happy. When he gave alms to a beggar, he always said 'Jaya Shachinandana€````@P@``€``PP@P€�`� `@�```�`@��`�� @@P` ` P@ �P`0@````@`` P`€@ `P€PP```@`PP`���Ppppppp p````@@@@€p€€€€€€€pppp````````` P```` ```````€````````_›8œȰ_Ȱ_娜粜娈粜が粞〼粞ぜ粞!' he would visit the pandita babajis of Shri Mayapura, listen to them chant the holy names of Lord Gauranga, and ask them many questions about the Lord's victories in learned debate. In this way two or four months passed. Vrajanatha was now a changed man." (Jaiva Dharma Chp 12) Thakura Bhaktivinoda in Gitavali, Shri Nama kirtan, song two: (emon, doyal to nai he, mar kheye prema dey) (ore) aparadha dure jabe, pabe prema-dhan (o name aparadha-vicara to nai he) (takhon) krishna-name ruci ha'be, ghucibe bandhan "Oh! Such a merciful personality as Nityananda Prabhu is not to be found anywhere! He suffers a beating from Jagai and Madhai and in return still gives them love of God! Oh! When your offenses are vanquished, you will obtain the treasure of love of God! But in these names of Nityananda and Gauranga there is no consideration of offenses! Once you achieve a taste for the holy name of Krishna by chanting the holy names of Nityananda and Gauranga, bondage to this world will come to an end." (32) SHRILA SHUKADEVA GOSWAMI CONSTANTLY CHANTS GAURANGA MANTRA IN NAVADVIPA Gaura Parshada Vara Shrila Jagadananda Pandita describes in Prema Vivarta: "One day, while I was totally absorbed in playing, My Lord Gauranga entered the deep forest in the bank of the river Alakananda Ganga. Shrila Gadadhara Pandita and I quickly got up and followed behind Him. A splendid parrot perched on a fragrant Bakula tree observed our movements. The parrot was none other than Shrila Shukadeva Goswami, the son of Shrila Vyasadeva who also intensely desires to reside in Navadvipa. Lord Gauranga saw the parrot, catching hold of him He said, "You are Vyasadeva's son, so you should sing the glories of Shri Shri Radha Krishna and increase our bliss." The parrot ignoring the Lord's words began to chant-Gaurahari! Gauranga! The Lord feigning anger hurled the parrot away. But the parrot continued to chant Gauranga Gauranga..! and then started to dance and sing. We immediately felt the stirrings of divine love by hearing Shuka's chanting of Gauranga's Name. Lord Gaurang aagain said, "O Shuka, this is Vrindavana! Chant and sing loudly the Divine Names of Radha-Krishna so that everyone can hear." The parrot Shuka rejoindered: "Vrindavana has now transformed into Navadvipa and I see Radha-Krishna in the form of Gauranga. ami suka ei vane gauranga-nama gai, tumi mora krishna radha ei gadai Shri Shukadeva Goswami in the form of the parrot told Lord Gauranga, "I am Shukadeva and I will only chant and sing Your Name in the forest of Navadvipa. Because You are Krishna Himself and this Gadadhara who is with You is Shrimati Radharani Herself." "Since Gadai-Gauranga are my the masters of my soul that is why I will not be able to chant any other Name." Lord Gauranga (even though He was internally very pleased but since He was taking the role of a devotee in this parakata Lila) said, "I am the worshiper of Radha-Krishna so by hearing any other Name I feel lamentation." In this way while holding Gadadhara by the hand Lord Gauranga returned back to Mayapura. Shrila Shukadeva Goswami kept on saying to the Lord and shouting, "You can chant and sing whatever You like but my eternal bhajana will be the constant chanting of Your name of Gauranga. I do not know anything else" Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Sometimes some neophyte devotees with a lack of proper understanding state that Lord Gauranga will become angry and displeased if His Name is chanted as He came in the role of the devotee. But if this were the case the Lord would have instructed everyone to chant His Name and worship Him in Kali Yuga and accepted the prayers and worship of all His exalted devotees during the Mahaprakasha Lila in Shivasa Angana as described in Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata. He would not have shown His 4, 6, 8-handed and universal form to various devotees which He showed both in Navadvipa and in Jagannatha Puri. He would not have predicted that His own Name (mora nama) of Gauranga, Nityananda etc will spread in every town, village, city and country of this world and the acharyas and scriptures would have strictly prohibuted us from chanting the Names of Nityananda, Gauranga etc. if it is really against the Lord of the Lord and so on. But we see that all the scriptures are forcefully advocating us to chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas. In this pastime we see that Shrila Shukadeva Goswami knows that Lord Gauranga is internally extremely pleased with the chanting of His own Name which is non-different from the Name of Radha-Krishna. So he is continuing to chant even though the Lord Himself told him to stop. When He comes into this material world in His prakata lila Lord Gauranga predominantly takes the role of His own devotee. So He himself does not directly advocate the chanting of His own Names in many places as He cannot do that in the role of a devotee. But His great devotees like Lord Nityananda, Lord Advaita Acharya, Shrila Shukadeva Goswami and All Acharyas instruct all living entities to chant the Holy Name of Gauranga because they are not bound by any rules of the Lord Himself to act as a devotee. And They really want to give the greatest mercy to the conditioned souls by teaching them the name of Gauranga. That is why is some ways these associates of the Lord are considered more merciful than Lord Gauranga Himself. Jaya Gauranga Bhakta Vrinda!!! Lord Gauranga also became externally angry when Lord Nityananda preached the Holy Name of Gauranga to the people of Bengal instead of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra which He was instructed to do also when Shrila Advaita Acharya decided to chant only the Name of Gauranga one day along with all the devotees. But the great devotees knew that the Lord was internally very pleased by the chanting of His Name and thus they continued unhindered even against the instruction of the Lord. So they did not actually displease the Lord in doing so but they were pleasing Him very very much internally. And thus they increased their intensity of chanting and preaching the Names of Nityananda and Gauranga. (Commentary ends) Without Gauranga Bhajana, the Bhajana of Radha-Krishna is useless: gaura nama, gaura dhama, gauranga carita, ye bhaje tahate mora akaitava prita Shrila Jagadananda Pandita continues: "I have non-duplicitous, unreserved and spontaneous attraction towards those who worship Lord Gauranga by chanting His Name, residing in His abode of Navadvipa and hearing His pastimes." gaura rupa gaura nama gaura lila gaura dhama je na bhaje gaudete janmiya radhakrishna nama rupa dhama lila aparupa kabhu nahi sparshe tara hiya "The transcendental Name, Form, Abode, and Pastimes of Their Lordships Radha-Krishna will never be even able to touch the heart of a person who after taking birth on this earthly planet or Gauda Mandala does not worship and chant the glories of the transcendental Name, Form, Pastimes and Abode of Lord Gauranga." Shrila Prabhupada himself is chanting the 'Gauranga' Mantraraja presently in the eternal abode of Navadvipa in his spiritual body as an associate of Lord Gauranga because it is stated in Chaitanya-mangala (quoted above) that all the associates of Lord worship Him in Goloka by the chanting of the four-syllable Gauranga Mantra. The dearmost desire of every acharya is to spread the chanting of the 'Gauranga' Mantraraja alongwith the Mahamantra because it is Lord Nityananda's intense desire (sehai more prana re). The acharyas have already given the detailed instructions in their books. Sometimes they practically implement only some of their instructions given in their books and the leave others to be implemented to their followers due to their causeless mercy. But all the guidelines are there in their books and instructions. An acharya who is eternal associate of Lord Gauranga may give even the most fallen people the qualification to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra directly by his causeless mercy. But for his followers, his instructions are more important than what he has done because we cannot imitate his activities. And Shrila Prabhupada has categorically stated in Cc Adi 8.31 purp posted above that a neophyte student should not directly indulge in chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra but should first take shelter of very regularly chanting the names of Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga. And Panca-tattva is not recommended to be chanted by Shrila Prabhupada regularly on beads: "Who is that rascal sannyasi who has recommended to chant Pancha Tattva mantra on the japa beads? First, send me his name." (Letter to: Govardhan 4, Juhu, Bombay-54, 18 November, 1973) Then what will the neophytes do as per the above quotes? According to Prabhupada they should not indulge in the chanting of Hare Krishna mantra instead they should very regularly chant the names of Nitai-Gaura but they cannot chant the Panca-tattva mantra on beads. How will they be ever raised from the neophyte stage if they don't begin chanting in the first place. That is why the chanting of the authorized Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas on the beads (which is never ever prohibited by Shrila Prabhupada anywhere like he did for the Panca-tattva mantra) will give them qualification or raise them to the platform of chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. This regular chanting of the two mantras is the direct practical implementation of Shrila Prabhupada's purport in Cc Adi 8.31 considering the fact the Prabhupada did not recommend the regular chanting of the Panca-tattva mantra on the beads. Chanting of the Panca-tattva Mantra once before each round or three times before beginning the kirtana cannot be termed as "very regularly" (as insisted by Shrila Prabhupada) and "karite karite" (as insisted by Shrila Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada) for the chanting of Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga's Names. The order of Lord Nityananda is the life and soul of all acharyas including Shrila Prabhupada. If someone says that Shrila Prabhupada does not want us to chant the name of 'Gauranga', they are commiting the biggest offense against Prabhupada by saying that Prabhupada is desiring something against the desires of Lord Nityananda. I would say that it is the most dearmost and pleasing thing to the heart of Shrila Prabhupada and the greatest service to him, all acharyas (like Narottama das Thakura who said that he will become a slave of someone who chants 'Gauranga') and Lord Nityananda to make others chant Gauranga's name regularly. This is proved by Shrila Prabhupada's song on the Jaladuta and his direct statements in the Chaitanya-charitamrita. The spiritual opulences present in the 'Gauranga' and 'Nityananda' Mantras cannot even be compared to the combined opulences present in the millions of universes in this material world multiplied millions of times. So who are we, tiny insignificant souls to minimize or belittle or obstruct the chanting of the 'Nityananda' and 'Gauranga' Mantras which all the acharyas have personally advocated following in the footsteps of Lord Nityananda Balarama Himself. Lord Nityananda did chanted Gauranga Mantraraja, Shivananda Sena did (in Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Cc), Parvati, Sapta-rishis, Markandeya. Suvarna Sena etc etc etc etc etc....... did in the Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Narada in Chaitanya-mangala, associates of the Lord in Cc etc. Lord Nityananda explicitly instructed all the living entities to chant the Gauranga Mantraraja. Where did He instruct anyone to chant Gauranga only without beads but not on beads? It is totally absurd and ludricous to say that Gauranga's name can be chanted in any form but not on beads. I challenge, "Why not?" Please show us any statement in the scripture which says that it is prohibited to chant Gauranga or Nityananda Mantra on the beads or to chant the bonafide Gaura Gopala Mantra on beads in apasiddhantic or apasampradayic. Please support your statements with scriptural quotes before saying that chanting of the Gauranga Mantraraja on beads in not recommended by the acharyas or that chanting of the Gauranga Mantra on beads falls in a category of an apasampradaya or that chanting the Gauranga Mantra is a manufactured bhajana. It is like saying that Shrila Shivananda Sena engaged himself in a manufactured or invented process of bhajana. Don't you think this is an extremely offensive statement to the authorized Gauranga Mantraraja which is known as the Gaura Gopala Mantra in the Cc and also to Lord Nityananda and the acharyas themselves who have chanted japa and preached the chanting of the Gauranga Mantra? We humbly beg with a straw in my mouth falling at the feet of all the Vaishnavas to kindly read this full book and think and mediate deeply before coming to a hasty conclusion of minimizing or discouraging or downgrading or writing off the importance of the regular chanting of atleast 10 rounds each of the Gauranga and Nityananda Mantras alongwith atleast 16 rounds of the Maha-mantra. Believe it or not, if we take part in the minimization of the process of regular chanting of these two most merciful names of the Lord, it will be most displeasing thing to Lord Nityananda Prabhu and will invoke His direct anger on whoever minimizes the chanting of these two mantras in any subtle as well as gross way because it is His dearmost mission to propogate the chanting of the Name of Gauranga all over the creation as stated by Shrila Prabhupada himself on the Jaladuta. And one who even indirectly dares to challenge or obstruct or belittle the mission of Gauranga Dharma of spreading the Names of Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna which is the personal Mission of the Supreme Lord Nityananda Prabhu is doomed to fall down from any kind of spiritual standing. If Lord Gauranga is displeased with someone, Lord Nityananda protects and somehow engages that soul in Lord Gauranga's service but if Lord Nityananda is displeased with someone especially one hwo obstructs His mission of spreading the Name of Gauranga, that soul becomes permanently bereft of the mercy of Lord Gauranga. And Lord Nityananda Balarama will destroy with His mighty golden plough anyone who dares to critcizeor minimize the chanting of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas. Those who say that Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu even though He is Lord Shri Krishna Himself should be only worshiped as a devotee and thus His Name should not be chanted but only Lord Krishna's Name should be chanted are in a great illusion. They should read the following wonderful pastime from Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata of Shrila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura: One day, in a very blissful mood, Advaita Acharya told the devotees, "My dear Vaishnava brothers, today, let us chant only the Names of Lord Gauranga, for He is the fountainhead of all incarnations, and the most munificent. Today, we devotees are respected in society simply because Shri Gauranga has Himself propagated the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord. Now, I want all of you to chant and sing the glories of the Name of Lord Gaurangas while I dance. If you are afraid that the Lord will find out, then chant more loudly to drown out your fears." Lord Gauranga always tried to hide His real identity. It is for this reason that the devotees were afraid to chant His Name and glorify Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Of course, they could not disobey Advaita Acharya's instructions and so they began to loudly chant and sing. After dancing for some time, Advaita Acharya took the lead by singing His own composition: "Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu is none other than Lord Narayana, the ocean of mercy and friend of the distressed. O Lord, please be kind to Me." The devotees responded, singing, "Jaya Shachinandana!" After some time, Advaita Acharya began singing another song that He had composed: "Jaya Gaurasundara, the ever-expanding ocean of compassion. All glories to the prince of Vrindavana, who now has appeared as the hero of Navadvipa. Kindly offer Me the cooling shade of Your lotus feet." The tempo of the kirtan picked up and Advaita Acharya danced ecstatically. Because the songs were new to the devotees, they enjoyed the singing more than usual. Hearing the loud kirtana, Lord Gauranga arrived upon the scene. He beheld a magnificent spectacle. The devotees were radiant with transcendental happiness and in their midst, Advaita Acharya danced in ecstasy. The devotees felt no fear as they loudly chanted Lord Gauranga's Names as He stood in front of them. Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu had always maintained a mood of humble servitorship to Himself. He always said, "I am the servant of Lord Krishna." No one dared to call Him the Supreme Lord in His presence. Now, however, by the strength of Advaita Acharya's presence, the devotees chanted and sang fearlessly, glorifying Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu as the Supreme Godhead. While listening to the glorification of His own Name, the Lord seemed to feel somewhat externally apparently ashamed but internally very pleased. After a few moments, He left the venue. Finally, after a long and enthusiastic kirtana, the devotees departed to see Lord Gauranga. After returning home from the kirtana where He had been glorified, Lord Gauranga lay down, externally appearing quite upset. Govinda, the Lord's servant, then came and informed Him that all of the devotees were waiting at the door, hoping to see Him. The Lord instructed Govinda to usher everyone inside. The devotees came in and saw Lord Gauranga lying down, and He did not look at anyone. Being very nervous and afraid, the devotees began to pray while remembering the Lord's lotus feet. After a short while, Lord Gauranga got up and said, "My dear Shrivasa. My dear devotees, leaving aside the glories of Lord Krishna, what avatara were you chanting and singing about today? Please explain this." Being a very talented speaker, Shrivasa Pandita replied, "My Lord, the living entities are not independent entities. Like puppets, they act as the Supreme Controller wishes. This is what occurred today. We sang what the Supreme Controller wanted us to sing." The Lord retorted, "You are all erudite scholars. Why do you disclose that which is meant to remain secret?" (As per the scriptures the fact that Lord Gauranga is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and non-different from Lord Krishna was supposed to remain secret only as long as Lord Gauranga personally enacted pastimes in this world but later will be and has to be revealed to the people of this whole world who will them chant the Name of Lord Gauranga and worship Him as the Supreme Lord.) Smilingly, Shrivasa Pandita made a funny gesture by raising his hands toward the sky, as if shielding his eyes from the sun. Lord Gauranga asked, "Shrivasa, what is the meaning of this?"Shrivasa Pandita replied, "Clearly, I am trying to cover the sun with my hands. But, is it really possible to do so? Similarly, can Your Name and Fame be concealed? Even if it were somehow possible to cover the sun with the palm of one's hand, still, it would not be possible for You to hide Yourself and the glories of chanting Your Holy Name. Your Name and Glories are known everywhere. Right now, in Brahmaloka, kirtana is reverberating in glorification of Your Name. How many of us are You going to punish for this?" Just then, something miraculous happened. Thousands of people from all over India, who had come to see Lord Jagannatha, suddenly appeared at Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu's door, being anxious to see Him. Their voices rang out, "All glories to Shri Krishna Chaitanya, the Supreme One, who relishes devotional service to Himself! All glories to the Supreme Lord Gauranga, who has accepted the dress of a sannyasi."In this way, thousands were chanting, singing and dancing in ecstasy. Shrivasa Pandita said, "My Lord, where will You hide now? The whole world is and will chant Your Name and Glories. You cannot stop this. You are invisible, unmanifest and imperceptible, and yet out of Your causeless mercy, You have personally appeared. You hide Yourself and then, by Your will alone You manifest Yourself. Only those who are recipients of Your divine grace are able to know this." Lord Shri Gauranga replied, "Shrivasa, you have displayed your mystic power by making the people chant and sing as they have and in this way, I have been defeated by you. You are certainly fully empowered as a result of your devotional service and your desire to spread the glories of chanting my Name." Krishna Nama and Gauranga Nama are same but there are some differences also. The following are some differences: 1. There are 10 offenses to be avoided in Krishna Nama.whereas there are no offenses considered in Gauranga Nama. 2. Although Krishna is Gauranga, but Gauranga is audarya vigraha. It is said in Navadvipa Dhaam Mahatmya that if one worships Krishna without Gauranga, then Krishna Prema will come after a very prolonged period of time, but if Gauranga is worshipped along with Krishna, then Krishna Prema will come in a short time. Those who say that Krishna Mantra includes everything so that there is no need of chanting Gauranga Mantra, should think why scriptures say in the above way. The actual understanding is that Krishna Prema can be obtained very quickly by chanting Gauranga's Name. If Krishna's Name alone, (without Gauranga's Name) is chanted then sage Narada and Pushkara Tirtha both state in Navadvipa Dhaam Mahatmya that it will take millions and millions of years to awaken Krishna Prema. Why it is said that by chanting Gauranga's Name along with Krishna's Name very quickly Krishna Prema will come? This is because Gauranga's Name eradicates all types of namaparadha (offenses) in the chanting of Krishna's name. "namaaparaadham sakalam vinasya chaitanya naamashrita maanavaanaam" 3. Lord Nityananda Prabhu says that offenders are punished in Vrindavana but they are given Krishna Prema in Navadvipa. 4. In Anubhasya commentary to Chaitanya Charitaamrita, Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur says that although Krishna Nama and Gauranga Nama are non-different from each other, still Krishna Nama shows mercy on liberated souls and Gauranga Nama shows mercy on fallen and offensive jivas. Hence he recommends to chant Nityananda and Gauranga Nama. We have to consider whether chanting Pancha Tattva Mantra three times before kirtana and one time before Hare Krishna mantra is sufficient for the most fallen souls of Kali Yuga? When Prabhupada said chant Krishna's Name always he meant the Hare Krishna Mantra, and when he says chant Gauranga's Name always he meant the Gauranga Mantra not the Pancha Tattva Mantra. This is clear from the fact that he told to chant Gauranga's Name always but not to chant Pancha Tattva Mantra always ie. only three times before Hare Krishna Kirtana and one time before one round of Hare Krishna. All bonafide Vaishnava Mantras can be chanted on Tulasi Beads. If devotees of Lord Nrisingha can chant japa of Nrisingha Mantra on beads, if devotees of Lord Rama can chant Rama Mantra on japa beads, if devotees of Lord Narayana can chant the Narayana Mantra on japa beads, why can't a devotee of Lord Gauranga exclusively attached to Lord Gauranga chant japa of the most bonafide and sublime Gauranga Mantra on beads considering the fact that Lord Gauranga is the ultimate origin of all the above Vishnu Tattvas and the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself? Shrila Prabhupada said Christians and others can chant the bonafide Names of God known in their religions(Christ, Allah etc) on beads. Please refer science to the book the Science of Self-Realisation.. So why would Shrila Prabhupada object to the chanting of Lord Gauranga's name on beads especially when he came specially to preach the Holy Name of Lord Gauranga around the world as per his own words found in this book? As per the greatest Vedic book Jaiva Dharma by Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, there are three kinds of devotees who enter into the supreme abode of Goloka Vrindavana (Chp 17, Jaiva Dharma): (33) ONE CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY WORSHIP GAURANGA BY CHANTING THE GAURA-GOPALA MANTRA AND RADHA-KRISHNA BY CHANTING THE HARE KRISHNA MAHA-MANTRA Vrajanatha: What is the final destination of the soul who is a devotee of Lord Gauranga)? Babaji: Krishna and Gauranga are not different. They are both shelters of the feature of sweetness (madhurya-rasa). They do have one difference. Madhurya-rasa (the Lord's sweetness) has two features: 1. madhurya (sweetness), and 2. audarya (mercy). When sweetness is prominent, Lord Krishna is manifested. When mercy is prominent, Lord Gauranga is manifested. The spiritual world of Vrindavana is divided into two abodes: 1. the abode of Lord Krishna, and 2. the abode of Lord Gauranga. The eternally perfect and eternally liberated souls who have sweetness first and mercy second reside in Lord Krishna's abode. They are Lord Krishna's associates. The eternally perfect and eternally liberated souls who have mercy first and sweetness second reside in Lord Gauranga's abode. They are Lord Gauranga's associates. Some souls manifest two forms and reside in both abodes simultaneously. Other souls manifest only one form and are present in one of the abodes and not in the other. Souls who during the time of sadhana worship only Lord Gauranga, at the time of attaining perfection go to Lord Gauranga's abode and serve Him there. Souls who during the time of sadhana worship only Lord Krishna, at the time of attaining perfection go to Lord Krishna's abode and serve Him there. Souls who during the time of sadhana worship both Lord Krishna and Lord Gauranga, at the time of attaining perfection manifest two forms, go to both Lord Krishna's abode and Lord Gaurngaa's abode, and in their two forms serve the two Lord's simultaneously in both places. This truth: that Lord Gauranga and Lord Krishna are simultaneously one and different from each other, is a very confidential secret. Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: So it is very clear that there are three kinds of souls who enter the topmost Vaikuntha planet Goloka which has two partitions: Navadvipa and Vrindavana. Those who worship only Lord Gauranga by chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas enter into Navadvipa and those who worship only Lord Krishna by chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra may enter into Vrindavana only when they become free from all offenses which may take a very long time. The third kind of souls are those who worship both Gauranga and Krishna simultaneously by chanting both Their Names and they enter into both Navadvipa and Vrindavana simultaneously with two spiritual bodies after attaining perfection. Even the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas can take us into eternal Vrindavana as per Navadvipa Dhaam Mahatmya and even the Hare Krishna Mahamantra can take us to the eternal Navadvipa because they are totally non-different. The only biggest problem is that since the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and Krishna's Name has the consideration of the ten offenses for the conditioned souls, they may not achieve either of the two abodes even for thousands of lifetimes or millions of years simply by only the chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra as per the revealed scriptures. It is greatly unfortunate and inauspicious for the world that some devotees worship the Deities of Their Lordships Shri Shri Nityananda-Gauranga daily but criticize the sublime process of chanting The Holy Names of Nityananda and Gauranga on a daily or regular basis on beads. This is a clearly a big offense of differenciating between the Holy Name and Deity (Form) of the Lord. Imagine a devotee standing before the Deities of Their Lordships Shri Shri Nityananda-Gauranga in a temple. And if there are 1000 visitors in that day asking which Deity is this, he or she will have to chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas 1000 times each that day. So this is not prohibited. But just because you hold the most purifying Tulasi beads in your hand while chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas it becomes a taboo for some. To say that Krishna's Name in the form of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra can be chanted on japa beads and Gauranga's Name in the form of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas cannot be chanted on beads is clearly commiting the biggest offense of considering difference between the Holy Names of Lord Krishna and Lord Gauranga. (35) GAURANGA NAMA IS MOST PRINCIPAL AMONG THE MOST PRINCIPAL NAMES OF KRISHNA (I) In the Brihad-vishnu-sahasranama-stotra, Uttara-khanda, Padma Purana (72.335) it is said: rama rameti rameti, rame rame manorame; sahasra-namabhis tulyam, rama-nama varanane. Lord Shiva addressed his wife, Durga: "O Varanana (lovely-faced woman), I chant the holy name of Rama, Rama, Rama and thus constantly enjoy this beautiful sound. This holy name of Ramacandra is equal to one thousand holy names of Lord Vishnu (Vishnu-sahasra-nama-stotram)." (II) In the Padma Purana it its mentioned: vishnor ekaika namapi, sarva vedadhikam matam tadrk nama sahasrena, rama nama samasmritam "Each Name of Lord Vishnu is greater and more potent than the entire Vedas combined together, and Lord Rama's Name alone is more superior that a thousand Names of Lord Vishnu." (III) In the Brahmanda Purana it is stated: sahasra-namnam punyanam, trir-avrittya tu yat phalam; ekavrittya tu krishnasya, namaikam tat prayacchati. "And the pious results (punya) achieved by chanting the thousand holy names of Vishnu (Vishnu-sahasra-nama-stotram) three times or the Holy Name of Rama thrice can be attained by only one utterance of the Holy Name of Krishna." (IV) Prabhasa Khanda of Padma Purana states: namnam mukhyataram nama, krishnakhyam me parantapa; prayascittam aseshenam papanam mocakam param. "O Arjuna, the Holy of Krishna is the most principal (mukhyataram) among all Names of God. One can atone for unlimited sinful deeds by chanting the Name of Krishna which is the supreme destroyer of all sins." (V) Finally in the Brahma-Rahasya it is stated: krishna-caitanyeti nama, mukhyan mukhyatamam prabhoh; helaya sakrid uccarya, sarva-nama-phalam labhet. "The Holy Name Krishna Chaitanya or Gauranga is the topmost or the most principal (mukhyan) even among all the important primary and most principal (mukhyatamam) Holy Names of the Lord Krishna. By chanting this name just once, a person attains the spiritual results (punya) of chanting all the other holy names of the Lord." So from the above five very important verses we can easily come to the following conclusion: Secondary Names of God like Brahma, Paramatma, Shrishtikarta etc. take us only to the heavenly planets or maximum can grant us liberation or mukti. But the following Primary Names of God can elevate the soul to the Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual world: Vishnu’s Name = Principal Name of God more powerful than all the Vedas combined together Rama’s Name = More Principal Name (Mukhya) of God = 1000 Names of Vishnu Krishna’s Name = Most Principal Name (Mukhyataram) of God = 3 Names of Rama or 3000 Names of Vishnu Gauranga’s Name = Most Principal (Mukhyan) among the Most Principal Names (Mukhyatamam) of Krishna = Sum Total of results obtained by chanting all the Names of Krishna, Rama and Vishnu Please note there is absolutely no difference between the Holy Name of Krishna and Gauranga (They are of equal potency totally non-different) for the liberated souls but for the conditioned souls the Name of Gauranga is even more beneficial than the Name of Krishna. Thus the above difference as described in the scriptures is purely due to the difference in benefit achieved by the chanting of These Names by the conditioned souls not the liberated souls. Since there is no difference between Krishna and Gauranga, the liberated offenseless souls get equal benefit form chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra so for them they can chant any one of them and get the same absolute benefit. But that is not applicable to the conditioned souls because their ten offenses block the full light and power of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra from coming through in the conditioned stage. But as per Navadvipa Dhaam Mahatmya (aparadha sattva jiva labhe prema dhana and aparadha badha tara kichu nahi kare) the full potency and power of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas is fully available even to the conditioned and offensive chanters. Mukhya is the first degree, Mukhyataram is the second degree and Mukhyatamam is the third degree of emphasis. So in the above verses from the scriptures, Rama's Name is Mukhya, Krishna's Name is Mukhyataram and Gauranga's Name is Mukhyan Mukhyatamam. In the Vishnu-yamala it is said: krishna-chaitanya-namna ye, kirtayanti sakrin narah; nanaparadha-muktas te, punanti sakalam jagat. "Those who chant the name of Krishna Chaitanya or Gauranga even once, bnome free from all offenses and purify all the worlds by their very presence." Shrila Jagadananda Pandita says in Prema-vivarta Chapter 4: gaura ye visala nama sei nama gau; anya saba nama-mahatmya sei name pau. "The most powerful names of God are the names of the most merciful incarnation of God, who is known as Lord Gauranga. The glories and power of all the other names of Vishnu Tattvas, God, demigods, goddesses are completely present in the Names of Lord Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu and thus They should be constantly chanted." gaura bina guru nahi ei bhava samsare; sakala gauranga bhakti shikhau sabare. "There is no greater Guru in this world then the Name of Lord Gauranga and the Lord Himself. So please teach each and everyone you meet the process of Gauranga Bhakti through the chanting of the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra." So considering these authorized scriptural statements about the supreme glories of Lord Gauranga's Name which person in this world will not chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas along with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra? And who can have the courage to challenge all the above Vedic statements and stop others from chanting the most merciful Names of Nityananda and Gauranga along with the Mahamantra. (36) ALL THE RESIDENTS OF NAVADVIPA CONSTANTLY CHANT THE NAMES OF NITYANANDA AND GAURANGA From Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Jaiva Dharma Chapter 3: The saintly sannyasi said, "Ah! Now I can see the wonderfully blissful spiritual abode. The Ganga shore is splendid, garlanded with light from many great jewel palaces, temples, and archways. In many places tumultuous chanting of Lord Hari's holy names fills the sky. Hundreds of devotees playing vinas chant and dance like Narada Muni. "In one place Lord Shiva, the master of the demigods, manifests a white form. Playing a dambaru drum, he chants, "O Gauranga, O maintainer of the universes, please be merciful to me!" Wildly dancing again and again, he finally falls to the ground. "In another place four-faced Brahma lectures on the Vedas to an assembly of sages. He quotes and then purely explains these words (Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.12): "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Gauranga Mahaprabhu who disseminates transcendental enlightenment. Just to be in touch with Him is to be correct with the indestructible brahmajyoti." In another place Indra and the demigods jump and chant: "Glory to Lord Gaurangaa! Glory to Lord Nityananda!" The birds on the branches chirp: "Gauranga! Nityananda!" Everyone is intoxicated by drinking the nectar of Lord Gauranga's holy names. From the gardens in the four directions come sweet humming sounds. Intoxicated by drinking the nectar of Lord Gauranga Holy Name, Prakrti-devi (the goddess of the nature) fills every place with beauty and splendor. Ah! Now that I see the Shri Mayapura, what can I not see? What do I see now?" Remembering his spiritual master, he said, "O master, now I understand. It is by your mercy that I am able to see the spiritual Mayapura. From this day I will stay in the association of Lord Gauranga devotees and chant His Name. Now that I have seen the spiritual Mayapura, I will wear tulasi beads, tilaka, and the writing of the holy names. This I will do." Saying this again and again, the saintly sannyasi fell unconscious for a moment. After a moment he became conscious again. However he could no longer see the wonderful spiritual vision he saw before. Weeping again and again, the saintly sannyasi said, "I am very unfortunate. By my spiritual master's mercy I was able for a moment to see the holy abode of Shri Navadvipa." (37) SECTARIANISM IN SPIRITUAL LIFE Thakura Bhaktivinoda in Krishna Samhita 8.22: Sloka and Purport are by him: sampradaya-virodho 'yam davanalo vicintyate "The eleventh obstacle for the Vaishnavas is sectarianism, which takes the shape of the forest fire. Due to sectarianism a person cannot accept anyone outside of his own group as a Vaishnava, and as a result he faces many obstacles in finding a guru and associating with sincere devotees. Therefore extinguishing the forest fire is most important by giving up this mentality." Shrila Prabhupada writes that: "Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami gives equal respect to all the preachers of the cult of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who are compared to the branches of the tree. Iskcon is one of these branches." (Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi-lila 10.7, purport) "There are many societies and associations of pure devotees, and if someone with just a little faith begins to associate with such societies, his advancement to pure devotional service is rapid." (Nectar of Devotion: Chapter Nineteen p.41) "Party spirit - that great enemy of the truth - will always baffle the attempt of the inquirer who tries to gather truth from the religious works of his nation and will make him believe that the Absolute Truth is nowhere except in his old religious book." (Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakur) "Regarding the disciplic succession coming from Arjuna, disciplic succession does not always mean that one has to be initiated officially. Disciplic succession means to accept the disciplic conclusion." (Shrila Prabhupada Letter to: Dinesh, Tittenhurst, 31 October, 1969) He (Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada) explained that there are two kinds of parampara: Bhagavata and Pancaratriki. Pancaratriki means the line from guru to disciple, or father to son, but the essence may get lost. However, in the Bhagavata parampara, someone may be living at a far place, he may not be formally initiated by a guru, but he may grasp the spirit of Lord Chaitanya. The Pancaratriki parampara will inevitably break down in course of time. (From Bhakti Vikasa Maharaja's upcoming book on SBSST)\ "A sannyasi should have an institution meant to preach Krishna consciousness" SB 7.13.34 "When Kesava Bharati came to His house, the Lord asked him to award Him the sannyasa order of life. This was a matter of formality. The sannyasa order is to be accepted from another sannyasi." (SP in SB Intro) Out of these, the renounced order of life, or the order of sannyasa, is considered the highest of all, and a sannyasi is constitutionally the spiritual master for all the orders and divisions. (Bhag. 1.3.13 purp.) Cc. Adi 17.265 PURPORT: Among the spiritual orders, the sannyasa order is the most elevated. Therefore a sannyasi is the spiritual master of all the varnas and asramas, and a brahmana is also expected to offer obeisances to a sannyasi. "One is duty bound to show respect to a sannyasi, for a sannyasi is considered to be the master of all varnas and asramas.(Bhag Intropage 15) A person who is a householder but is initiated by a sannyasi has the duty to spread Krishna consciousness at home [...] There are immense literatures for spreading Krishna consciousness, and it is the duty of each and every householder to learn about Krishna from his sannyasi spiritual master. (Bhag. 3.21.31, purp.) In the varnasrama institution the sannyasi, or the person in the renounced order of life, is considered to be the head or the spiritual master of all the social statuses and orders. (B.g. 16.1-3 purp.) "Therefore, in the line of Lord Chaitanya even the sannyasis can speak about Krishna consciousness everywhere, and if someone is seriously inclined to become a disciple, the sannyasi always accepts him. The one point is that without increasing the number of disciples, there is no propagation of the cult of Krishna consciousness."(SP in NOD 7) "The idea of an organized church in an intelligible form, indeed, marks the close of the living spiritual movement. the great ecclesiastical establishments are the dikes and dams to retain the current that cannot be held by any such contrivances. They, indeed, indicate a desire on the part of the masses to exploit a spiritual movement for their own purpose. They also unmistakably indicate the end of the absolute and unconventional guidance of the bonafide spiritual teacher. The people of this world understand preventive systems, they can have no idea of the unprevented positive eternal life. Neither can there be any earthly contrivance for the permanent preservation of the life eternal on this mundane plane on the popular scale." (Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Harmonist 29.7) "Why is there this politics? This is not good. If politics come, then the preaching will be stopped. That is the difficulty. As soon as politics come, everything is spoiled." (SPL 30th September, 1975) "We should be careful about power politics. Our only aim should be that each and every devotee is fully dedicated to Krishna, then things will go nicely." (SPL 19th July, 1973) Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: An Acharya like Shrila Prabhupada is a Jagadguru, just like a sun. A sun is never Indian, American, Chinese etc. Anyone can bask in the sunlight in any country. Similarly anyone can take up the practice and preaching of the Acharya's instructions and please him and Their Lordships Shri Shri Nityananda-Gauranga anywhere in the world whether offcially inside the society founded by the acharya or outside the four walls of the soceity or in some other organizational setup. One's external standing in any particular organization has nothing to do whatsoever with the implementation of the practice of the teachings and instructions of the illustrious Acharya. Infact the real and true society of the Acharya is there where a devotee is sincerely trying to follow and practice the teachings of the Acharya whether inside or outside the four walls of an institution. Sometimes a person maybe externally be within the four walls of very society founded by the Acharya but if one is deviating from the instructions of guru, sadhu and shastra, one cannot actually be in the pure Vaishnava society as envisioned by the Acharya. That is what is meant by Krishna or Gauranga consciousness. Walls cannot have consciousness, it is in the devotees' hearts. The allegiance to an Acharya's teachings is not a sectarian phenomenon. Also one should first clean up one's house before saying that no one outside the house can be clean. As Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta points out in his extraordinary quote above, that an organizational arrangement created by the unconventional Acharya who descended from the spiritual world may or may not last in his physical absence but his eternal teachings are actually the life and soul of his followers who may be born even after 1000 years from now. As per the Gita, even the parampara started by Krishna Himself gets lost due to the degrading effect of time. So it does'nt make sense to simply be stuck up in the shadow or the externals of the four walls of an organization which is anyway going to wither away by time. The real thing to consider is the vani of the Acharyas. Because through this medium they eternally remain in this realm guiding their followers who may be externally situated in some other organization or in no external organization at all. A Vaishnava organization meant for preaching should understand that it is one of the branches of Gaudiya Parampara. But if it claims that it is the only branch and rejects the devotees in other organizations outright, it is committing the greatest offense of indulging in partisan, bigoted and dogmatic sectarian considerations which lead to mass-scale Vaishnava aparadha. This has repeatedly happened in the past and everyone knows the consequences also. Still persons in general don't seem to learn from the mistakes of themselves and others in the past and thus do not fear to criticize others at the drop of the hat just based on a narrow-minded, bigoted and sectarian understanding. Infact it has become a kind of habit or an intoxication to indulge in minimizing devotees outside one's group. No one even thinks of the dire consequences for themselves if the person being minimized has genuine desires to please Guru and Gauranga even though he may be apparently acting or preaching in a externally separate group than the others who are criticizing him. It is not surprising because even inside the group one may be criticizing each other so it can be obviously expected that they will criticize anyone who is outside their group or leaves their group without caring a least to try to find out about the genuinity of intentions. Both internal and external mud-slinging infact becomes a part of life or a strong irrevocable habit in these close-minded secular groups. CONCLUSION: One should thus associate and hear from Gauranga Bhaktas not on the basis of such a narrow-minded secular organizational understanding rather one should consider their adherence to the teachings of Guru-Sadhu-Shastra and how nicely they have imbibed the instructions of Guru and Gauranga and how much faith they have in the process of chanting the Holy Names of Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna. (38) SHOULD LORD GAURANGA BE WORSHIPED AS GOD SINCE HE APPERARED IN THE MOOD OF A DEVOTEE? Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Madhya 22.15-17: nija murti sila saba kari nija kole; apana prakase gauracandra kutuhale. Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu sat on the throne of Lord Vishnu because He is actually the origin of all Vishnus. He took all His own salagrama-silas forms on His lap and very joyfully revealed Himself as follows. muni kali-yuge krishna muni narayana; muni rama rupe kailun sagara bandhana. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Gauranga declared: "In Kali-Yuga, I am Krishna and I am Narayana. In the form of Rama, I built a bridge to cross over the ocean." sutiya achilun ksira sagara bhitare mora nidra bhangileka nadara hunkare "I was sleeping in the milk ocean as Kshirodakashayi Vishnu in My Yoga Nidra, but My sleep was broken by the loud cries of Shrila Advaita Acharya." Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata, Madhya 23.286-287: akapate kshane kahaye apane muni deba narayan kamsasura mari' muni se kamsari boli choliya baman "Assuming His actual mood, Lord Gauranga personally dnlared, "I am Lord Narayana. As Lord Krishna when I killed the demon Kansa, I bname known as Kansari. It is Me who bname Vamana and cheated Bali." setu-bandha kori rabana samhari muni se raghaba-ray koriya hunkar tattwa apanar kohi' cari-dige ca'y Lord Gauranga continued: "I built the bridge over the ocean. I killed Ravana. I am Ramacandra, king of the Raghavas." Loudly declaring the truth about Himself, Lord Gauranga looked in the four directions. "samharimu saba" bali' karaye hunkara "muni sei, muni sei" bale bare-bara Lord Gauranga roared loudly, saying, "I will personally kill all the atheists and demons who haress or ridicule my devotees." He repeatedly exclaimed, "I am He, I am He, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Adi 6.61-62: Another brahmana said: "I kept the ingredients for worshiping Vishnu-flowers, durva grass, bhoga, sandalwood pulp, and the Lord's asana-on the bank of the Ganges. When I went to take bath your son Gauranga sat on the Lord's asana, ate the bhoga, smeared Himself with the sandalwood pulp, decorated Himself with the flowers, and ran off. Then He said, 'Why are you unhappy? He for whom you arranged those ingredients has Himself enjoyed them.'" Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada states in Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Madhya Khanda 3.8-17 purport: "Sometimes He would proudly manifest His opulence, smile, and exclaim, 'I am He.' If Lord Gauranga reveals Himself as God to people, there is no deviation from the truth. But if demoniac offenders try to ruin themselves by accepting the statement, 'Everyone is God,' then they will never be benefited." Shripada Ramanucharya's Determination to make the whole Universe into Gauranga Bhaktas in Shri Navadvipa Dhaam Mahatmya Chp 15: "Hearing this, the sober-minded Ramanuja was agitated with love for Lord Gauranga. He told Lord Jagannatha, 'Lord, Your pastimes are truly astounding. The scriptures cannot know Your opulences. Why isn't Gauranga-lila clearly described in the scriptures? When I closely examine the sruti and Puranas, I can now see all the verses about Gauranga-tattva. After hearing Your instructions, my doubts are gone and the sweet mellows of Gauranga's Name and Pastimes have arisen in my heart. If You order me, after going to Navadvipa I will preach Gauranga-Nama-Lila throughout the three worlds. I will give people evidence from the hidden scriptures and establish devotional service to Gauranga throughout the universe and make all the living entities in all the three worlds into Gauranga Bhaktas. Please instruct me to do it now.'" Commentary by Swami Gaurangapada: Some devotees falsely and strangely claim that since Lord Gauranga is Lord Krishna in the mood of Shrimati Radharani so one should worship Him only as the topmost Vaishnava or Guru but not God Himself. But if this was the case Lord Gauranga would not have spoken the above verses establishing His own position and worship in Kali Yuga. Nor would He have shown His 6-handed form to Lord Nityananda and Shrila Sarvabhauma or His 8-handed form to the brahmana or His Universal or 4-handed from to Lord Advaita Acharya or His Yugala form of Radha-Krishna to Shrila Ramananda Raya if He did not want the devotees to worship Him as God. Since sometimes He played the role of a devotee and sometimes as the Lord, He externally may shown His apparent displeasure about His own worship when He was in the mood of the devotee. But so many times He directly played His original role of God also. All the moods of the Lord are eternal and cannot be rejected but have to be worshiped. In both these cases all His associates have worshiped Him as the Supreme Lord and offered exquisite prayers to Him directly as the Supreme Lord as found all over Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata which is the topmost scripture of Gauranga Dharma. There is a verse in Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata which states very clearly that Lord Gauranga in His pastimes sometimes accepts role of God Himself and sometimes the role of the topmost devotee. When He is the mood of God, He instructs everyone to chant His own Name and when He is in the mood of His own devotee, He instructs everyone to chant His Name of Krishna. So both of His orders should be followed. Or one of His orders cannot be minimized or rejected. In the manifest pastimes in this material world since He comes to teach His own bhakti He many times assumes the role of a devotee. In the unmanifest and eternal pastimes (nitya lila) in the spiritual world though, He is constantly worshiped by all the residents of Navadvipa and Vrindavana as the Supreme Personality of Godhead as described in Shri Chaitanya Mangala by Shrila Lochana Dasa Thakura. Shrila Narada Muni personally saw the Mahabhishekha of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu being conducted in Goloka by Shrimati Radharani and the all gopies of Vrindavana on one side and Shrimati Rukmini and all the queens of Dvaraka on the other side. If Lord Gauranga should not be worshiped as God even though He is God Himself then why did Lord Nityananda Prabhu, Lord Advaita Acharya and all His great associates including Shiva, Brahma, demigods etc. worshiped Him repeatedly with sixteen ingredients (shodasha seva) and boldly and emphatically declared to the world in all the scriptures to accept and worship Lord Gauranga as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and chant His Name constantly? Why did all the acharyas establish the Deities of Lord Gauranga and Their Lordships Shri Shri Nityananda-Gauranga and instruct all their followers to worship and serve Them in the same way as Their Lordships Shri Shri Radha Krishna and Krishna-Balarama? This is because They are totally non-different, They are the same personalities and should be worshiped as God because They are God. If Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu wanted to hide Himself as God, He would have never manifested the topmost sapta prahariya lila (21 hours) Maha-Prakasha Lila where He accepted all worship and offerings of His intimate devotees as described in Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Madhya Chp 9: "On another day, the Lord came to Shrivasa Thakura's house, accompanied by Nityananda Prabhu. After all the devotees had assembled, the Lord began looking around Him in the mood of a great king surveying His entourage. Understanding His mood, the devotees began a rousing kirtana. On other days, the Lord would dance in ecstasy, in the mood of a devotee. Then, changing His mood, He would reveal Himself as the Omnipotent Supreme Lord. But again, that mood would change, and He would revert back to the mood of being a devotee. One day, when the Lord stood up to dance as usual, instead of doing so, He went and sat on Lord Vishnu's throne. Previously, He had sat upon the throne while immersed in devotional ecstasy, but this day was different, for He sat upon the altar purposely. Lord Gauranga sat continuously for twenty-one hours, so that the pastime became known as "saat-prahariya-bhava", "the ecstasy of twenty-one hours". The devotees stood before the Lord with folded hands, and they felt as if they were residing in the spiritual world. Vishvambhara sat like the Lord of Vaikuntha, and indeed, no one could feel the influence of the illusory energy. Lord Gauranga instructed, "Sing the bathing song" and so the devotees responded. As the devotees sang, the Lord moved His head side to side rhythmically while showering His servants with merciful glances. To perform the abhisheka, the devotees brought water from the Ganga. First of all, they strained the water and then they added musk, sandalwood paste, camphor and saffron. Nityananda Prabhu was the first to pour water over the Lord's head, while chanting, "jaya, jaya". Other leading devotees, such as Advaita Acharya and Shrivasa Pandita then bathed the Lord while chanting the "Purusha-sukta" prayers. The devotees of Lord Gauranga are very well-versed in shastra and the chanting of mantras. The Lord remained seated while the devotees came, one by one, and bathed Him. Usually, on such occasions, 108 water pots were utilized but on this day, the number far exceeded this. At this time, the demigods came there, but they were disguised so as not to be recognized. Shrivasa's servants and maidservants were engaged in bringing water. A maidservant named Duhkhi (meaning, "one who is sad") was one of the water carriers. Seeing her thus engaged, the Lord told her, "Bring more, bring more". Indeed, He was so impressed with her attitude of devotional service that He changed her name to Sukhi (meaning, "one who is happy"), thus indicating that He had taken away all of her material distress. After bathing the Lord, the devotees dried His body, dressed Him in new clothes and smeared His body with sandalwood paste. The area was then cleaned and worship with sixteen customary items was arranged. Sandalwood paste mixed with tulasi manjaris was offered to the lotus feet of the Lord while the Gopala mantra of ten syllables was chanted. Afterwards, all of the devotees fell down like sticks at the Lord's lotus feet to offer obeisances. Feeling great love for the Lord, tears falling from their eyes, the devotees prayed, "All glories to the Lord of the universe. Kindly direct Your merciful glance toward the people of this world, who are oppressed by the three-fold miseries. You have appeared within this world to inaugurate the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord." "All glories to Lord Gauranga, the redeemer of the most fallen souls and the supreme shelter of the meek and poor. All glories to Lord Gauranga, who does not see the faults of the living entities, although He is the husband of the goddess of fortune." The devotees were drowning in an ocean of ecstasy, for the Lord had mercifully lifted the veil of maya from within their hearts and offered to them His lotus feet, to be worshiped. Some devotees brought perfumed oil and smeared it over the Lord's lotus feet and others worshiped Him with offerings of tender tulasi leaves. Some devotees brought precious gems and articles of silver and gold and offered them while falling down at the Lord's lotus feet. Indeed, the number of gifts was countless. There were variously colored silk clothes and varieties of metal containers. Due to their having served a pure devotee, all of Shrivasa's household servants now had the opportunity to directly serve the Lord's lotus feet. They offered many articles of worship without fear or hesitation because the Lord had put aside His mood of awe and reverence. Each one worshiped the Lord according to his heart's inclination, placing unhusked rice, tulasi, darba grass, musk, saffron, camphor, sandalwood, and varieties of fruit and flowers at His lotus feet. Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu then told the devotees, holding out His hand, "Bring Me something-I want to eat." Upon hearing this, the devotees hurriedly went and brought a variety of food-bananas, mung dal, dahi, sweetened condensed milk, butter, and milk. They placed their offerings in the Lord's hands, and He ate everything. Some of the devotees ran to the market and returned with the choicest food. They offered the Lord coconuts, varieties of sweets, blackberries, melons and sugar cane. Some people brought water from the Ganga. Indeed, hundreds of devotees brought hundreds of liters of Ganga water and the Lord, who is the greatest mystic, drank it all. (39) REAL VAISHNAVAS BECOME VERY HAPPY ON SEEING OTHER VAISHNAVAS SPREAD THE HOLY NAMES ALL OVER THE WORLD Shrila Prabhupada in Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya Lila 1.218: "The spiritual master initiates the disciple to deliver him, and if the disciple executes the order of the spiritual master and does not offend other Vaishnavas, his path is clear. Consequently Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu requested all the Vaishnavas present to show mercy toward the two brothers, Rupa and Sanatana, who had just been initiated by the Lord. When a Vaishnava sees that another Vaishnava is a recipient of the Lord's mercy, he becomes very happy. Vaishnavas are not envious. If a Vaishnava, by the mercy of the Lord, is empowered by Him to distribute the Lord's holy name all over the world, other Vaishnavas become very joyful-that is, if they are truly Vaishnavas. One who is envious of the success of a Vaishnava is certainly not a Vaishnava himself but is an ordinary, mundane man. Envy and jealousy are manifested by mundane people, not by Vaishnavas. Why should a Vaishnava be envious of another Vaishnava who is successful in spreading the holy name of the Lord? An actual Vaishnava is very pleased to accept another Vaishnava who is bestowing the Lord's mercy. A mundane person in the dress of a Vaishnava should not be respected but rejected. This is enjoined in the sastra (upeksa). The word upeksa means neglect. One should neglect an envious person. A preacher's duty is to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, make friendships with Vaishnavas, show mercy to the innocent and reject or neglect those who are envious or jealous. There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaishnavas in this Krishna consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is in the dress of a Vaishnava. When Narottama dasa Thakura says chadiya vaishnava seva nistara peyeche keba, he is indicating an actual Vaishnava, not an envious or jealous person in the dress of a Vaishnava." Shrila Prabhupada in Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya Lila 1.220 purport: "This behavior is indicative of real Vaishnavas. When they saw that Rupa and Sanatana were fortunate enough to receive the mercy of the Lord, they were so pleased that they all congratulated the two brothers. A jealous person in the dress of a Vaishnava is not at all happy to see the success of another Vaishnava in receiving the Lord's mercy. Unfortunately, in this Age of Kali there are many mundane persons in the dress of Vaishnavas, and Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has described them as disciples of Kali. He says, kali-cela. He indicates that there is another Vaishnava, a pseudo Vaishnava with tilaka on his nose and kanthi beads around his neck. Such a pseudo Vaishnava associates with money and women and is jealous of successful Vaishnavas. Although passing for a Vaishnava, his only business is earning money in the dress of a Vaishnava. Bhaktivinoda Thakura therefore says that such a pseudo Vaishnava is not a Vaishnava at all but a disciple of Kali-yuga. A disciple of Kali cannot become an acarya by the decision of some high court. Mundane votes have no jurisdiction to elect a Vaishnava acarya. A Vaishnava acarya is self-effulgent, and there is no need for any court judgment. A false acarya may try to override a Vaishnava by a high-court decision, but Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that he is nothing but a disciple of Kali-yuga."