Seminar on Chanting Suddha Nama | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | Villaggio HARE Krishna, Medolago, Milano, Italy | Aug 14, 2025
Our Acharyas tell us that in order to get prema we have to do pure bhakti and we have to have pure chanting or suddha nama. Other people may be chanting, but they are chanting namabhasa. So this word is mentioned in the scriptures, but not too much details are given.
For instance, in Caitanya Caritamrta, we find the statement, a devotee never accepts mukti even if Krishna offers it. Mukti, freedom from all sinful reactions, is obtained even by namabhasa. In other words, by namabhasa we get results, but we don’t get prema. So chanting the holy name is for everybody, but people are chanting in different ways. But those devotees following Lord Caitanya and desire prema, have to aspire for pure chanting. So we have to understand also what is namabhasa. We find in India, particularly in places like Bengal, many people are wearing Vaishnava tilak, and they may have beads, and they can be chanting. But Srila Prabhupada also warned the devotees, don’t associate with these people [Laughs]. In other words, they were not real devotees. And by associating with them, we could also become contaminated. So the devotee has to be intelligent enough in distinguishing pure chanting and namabhasa .
So what is abhasa ? It literally means a dull image of an object. So for instance, we have the sun covered by clouds. So we can see some nice bright spot on the cloud, which is like the sun, but it’s not the clear image of the sun. And the cause is, there is some obstruction. So of course we know that ultimately, if we go up in the air, the sun is always shining brightly. But if we are on earth, then there may be an obstruction of clouds. Similar to the sun is the holy name. So of course the holy name, like the Lord, is ultimately pure. But it can be obstructed because the individual has impurities. And this makes the result weaker. Just as when there are clouds in the sky, in the daytime, we still get light. But there may not be so much heat. And when there are no clouds, then the sky is very bright and there’s lots of heat. So when we chant, when we have all of these impurities or obstructions, then the effect of the chanting is weaker. Of course we also know that if the sun continually shines, generally it will dissolve the clouds. So similarly, by continually chanting, we can also destroy the obstructions.
So what are these impurities? They are classed as two things. One is ignorance and the other are material tendencies or anarthas. If they are very prominent, then they cause a big obstruction to the power of the name. If those tendencies are not strong, then they give less obstruction. So according to the amount of anartha, obstruction, etc., we get various powers of the name manifesting. We get various powers of the name manifesting according to the amount of covering [Laughs].
So sometimes we say the name is covered. The name is never covered like Krishna is never covered. So it is the senses and the mind of the jiva which are a covering for the name. And if we remove those coverings of the mind, senses, etc., then of course we get a purer name. Because of this, some people chant and they get very immediate and strong effects. They have less coverings, less obstructions. Other people may chant, but they get much less effect. So that means more ignorance, more anarthas. So, as I said, the obstructions are ignorance, which may be compared to fog, and anarthas, which are like clouds, both cover the sun.
So, the ignorance is ignorance of different things. We have ignorance of different things. We have ignorance of the position or nature of the name. Of course, the scriptures say that the name is non different from Krishna and is always spiritual and eternal. But the ignorant people say that the name is a material sound, just temporary, like all material sounds. So this of course, this type of belief that the name is material will begin to limit the power of the name.
We may also be ignorant of the position of Krishna. We may think all forms are Maya. So therefore, Krishna has a form, and Krishna is also Maya [Laughs]. We may think that the Devatas and Krishna are the same. Krishna is not in a higher position. And of course, they believe that name is material, Krishna is material. So we limit the powers and qualities of Krishna, and consequently limit the powers of the name. Of course, we also have one aparadha to think that the names of Shiva, Brahma, are equal to the name of Vishnu.
Another ignorance is about the position of the Jiva. So, of course, in ISKCON, from the very beginning, we understand that the Jiva is the servant of the Lord, and he is a small particle, different from Krishna. But the followers of impersonal philosophy, like Mayavada, think that Jiva actually isn’t real, and we destroy ignorance, and the Jiva becomes God. If the Jiva is God, then there is no question of having any Bhakti, because Bhakti depends on the difference between Jiva and the Supreme Lord [Laughs]. If there is no difference between Jiva and God, there is no Bhakti [Laughs]. Of course, there are some people, atheists [Laughs], who believe that the Jiva is the material body. So then, even if we chant, there is no question of the Jiva getting either liberation or Brahman.
And the fourth ignorance is ignorance of the goal. So, if we think the goal is material enjoyment, or the goal of chanting is liberation, then definitely we don’t attain Prema. That’s why yesterday I emphasized that we do have to know what the goal is. If we do Bhakti, but we don’t know what it finally achieves, it’s very difficult to get that goal. Of course, if one is ignorant and wants chance for material benefit, for liberation, one can get that. But one cannot get Prema [Laughs].
So we have Namabhasa with any of these types of ignorance, we do get some results from chanting, but this may be material results or liberation, but not Prema. So for some people who have a little bit of faith in the Lord, such ignorance is not hostile. So, it can be easily, the ignorance can be quickly destroyed by knowledge. We give people knowledge of Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam, then all this ignorance is cleared up. Of course, to accept that knowledge, a person would have to have some faith in those scriptures.
There are other people that are hostile to the Lord. Definitely, they are not going to accept scripture. In fact, preaching to the faithless is one of the offenses to the Holy Name [Laughs]. So, it is more difficult to get rid of the ignorance of such people. But those people who are ignorant, not because of hostility, but simply because they don’t have the scripture, then we can preach to those people and get rid of that ignorance. So, this knowledge actually is what we call our philosophical knowledge.
We understand that there is a Supreme Lord, independent of everyone else, and superior to the Jiva. We understand that the Jiva is a small spiritual particle, dependent on the Lord. And we also understand that the Jiva can attain bliss by serving the Lord. So, if we have that type of knowledge, then we can clear up a lot of our Abhasa. So, this Abhasa, ignorance is cleared up by the knowledge of scripture.
So, the other abhas is the anarthas. Anartha actually means something which is of no value. Something which is useless [Laughs]. So, actually, anartha is something which is useless for Bhakti. And rather, it obstructs Bhakti if we are attached to it. So, when we have a little faith and we begin the process of Bhakti, we definitely have anarthas. Some people may have more anarthas than others. And those anarthas may have great influence upon them, so it is more difficult to perform Bhakti.
So, these anarthas are divided into three categories. So, the first is desires for unimportant things. We may want to get happiness in this life, on earth. Of course, that is a general desire of most Jivas in the material world [Laughs]. And it is quite difficult to get rid of. In ancient times, in India, people not only strive for happiness now, but they strive for happiness in Svargaloka. In other words, not in this life, but in the next life or next life, their desire to get their material happiness [Laughs]. And of course, that is the goal of Karma [Laughs]. Others may desire siddhis, these are the Yogis. So, these three types of desires are material. So, the fourth desire is the desire for liberation. Liberation is not material, it is beyond the material world. So, the question may arise, how can this be an anartha? We try to get out of the material world, how can that be an obstacle for us? So, liberation is an obstacle, if we are attached to that goal of merging in Brahman. Because if you merge in Brahman, your existence is one, not two, so you don’t see the Lord. There is no possibility of doing Bhakti. So, therefore, we will find in Bhagavatam, particularly, the desire for liberation is condemned [Laughs] for the devotees. It is unfavorable for developing Prema. Of course, a person may be mixed in these other processes. Mix Karma with his Bhakti, mix Yoga with his Bhakti, or mix Jnana with his Bhakti, and you will have these desires quite commonly in his Bhakti. He may mix Karma, Jnana, or Yoga. But even if he doesn’t mix those processes, he may have these desires for happiness, next life, siddhis, or liberation.
So, the definition of pure Bhakti excludes all of these desires. So, if the desires are present in our execution of Bhakti, it becomes anartha. Of course, because we are doing sadhana Bhakti, and we have anarthas, we don’t immediately get rid of all the anarthas. By performing Bhakti, we destroy the anarthas. This is called anartha-nivrutti. And as we go through nistha, ruchi, asakti, and bhava, more and more anarthas are destroyed. As we go through the different stages of Bhakti, the anarthas are destroyed more and more.
So, definitely, when we’re doing sadhana Bhakti, there’s always going to be some anartha [Laughs]. However, these desires should not influence our execution of Bhakti. So, in other words, when we chant Hare Krishna, or we’re making an offering to the Lord, we’re praying, may I serve you purely. We’re not praying, I’m giving this flower to you because you should give me some money [Laughs]. So, in other words, when we’re executing Bhakti, we’re deliberately excluding asking for material benedictions, or liberation, or whatever. So, the desires are still there somewhere, and they’re not over until we get into bhava, but nevertheless, we’re not explicitly desiring these things in our performance of Bhakti.
So, from these basic material desires, we get other distortions. Unfortunately, the human mind is subject to a lot of peculiar qualities [Laughs]. In other words, the human shows a great quality, a great amount of anarthas that animals don’t have [Laughs]. So, we may have greed, that is, a desire to possess things. And if somebody has something that I don’t have, then I get envy [Laughs]. And because I want something, but I don’t have the ability to get it, I may cheat to get it. Or I may desire position and fame so that I can exploit others. Of course, there are many other weaknesses of the heart, like anger, etc. And if these are very strong, it’s also difficult to advance in Bhakti.
So, like these desires or whatever, they may be present to some degree, but we try not to exhibit them in our performance of Bhakti. In other words we don’t develop a greed within bhakti and hold on to material things when we are doing devotional service, we get possessive material identities. We don’t desire fame among the devotees or position among the devotees. We don’t cheat [Laughs]. So, all of these things have to be controlled within chanting and performing Bhakti. Of course, all of this arises because we do have desire to enjoy in the material world.
So, the third type of anartha is called the aparadhas. So, we have different types of aparadhas. So, we have the ten nama aparadhas, very famous. So, these are obviously aparadhas against the name. But we can say also they are offenses against the process of Bhakti. But, of course, within Bhakti then we do have the position of Supreme Lord and whatever like that. So, therefore, we have offenses against the Lord also in that.
And we have offenses against the devotee within that also. But we can also separate the offense against the process from offense against the devotee and have Vaishnava aparadha as a separate aparadha. The Vaishnava aparadha is very serious. Mercy of the devotee is the main cause of advancement in Bhakti. And offense of the devotee is the main cause of destruction of Bhakti.
The other type of aparadha is Seva aparadha, which is actually offense against the deity. So, we may come into the deity room unclean and touch the deity, that’s offense. So, we have many rules in the scriptures for purity and proper conduct. And in the presence of the deity we have to follow those rules.
The fourth type of offense is offense against Jivas in general. So, this is what we call sinful activity. When we talk about sinful activity in scripture, most of the sins are violence against Jivas [Laughs]. So, the general result of that is karma and we have to suffer in next life. So, such sins do not necessarily destroy Bhakti.
The aparadhas against the name or against the Vaishnava, they can actually destroy Bhakti. So, these are much more serious than the Jiva aparadha. However, if we do look in the Nectar of Devotion among the 64 Angas of Bhakti, one is, don’t disturb other living entities [Laughs]. And if we look in Kapila’s teaching in the third canto, there’s a whole section on how the devotee has to respect all living entities. So, as much as possible the devotee has to avoid sinful activities, Jiva aparadha. Now, if these aparadhas are from ignorance, the effect is not so serious.
But if the Nama aparadhas , the Vaishnava aparadhas are done with bad intentions, then the effect can be very destructive. So, they are the most destructive [Laughs] type of aparadhas.
So, of course, as I mentioned, anarthas are destroyed by Bhakti. We have a stage called anartha-nivrutti. So, by doing Bhakti itself and not taking shelter of karma or jnana, we can get rid of the desires and the weakness of heart. Of course, we have to do the Bhakti properly. If we deliberately mix the Bhakti with weeds like cheating and desire for fame, then the process doesn’t really get rid of the anarthas.
We have the tenth offense to the holy name. What is that offense? To maintain too much material attachments. So, that devotee is like, well, I can’t even do Bhakti then [Laughs] because I am so materially attached. So, if we look in Bhagavatam, there it says, qualification for Bhakti is, of course, attraction for hearing and chanting, etc., and not too much attachment to material things. So, if our material attachments are very great, bhakti becomes very difficult. If our material attachments are too great, if we don’t really have a desire to give up our material attachments, it’s difficult to advance.
So, we have the example of the boatman trying to go up the river. So, the people pay the boatman, because they want to go to a wedding in the next village up the river, and it’s going to take some hours, maybe five hours, six hours. So, they think, well, we’ll get in the boat at night, pay the boatman, go to sleep happily, wake up in the morning, get off the boat and go to the village [Laughs]. So, they pay the boatman, get on the thing, have a nice party, go to sleep, get up in the morning, wake up, and they expect to be in the village, but they wake up and they look around and say, we didn’t move, we’re in the same spot [Laughs]. So, they get very angry, they go to the boatman and say, you cheated us, you just slept all night, you didn’t go up the river. And he says, no, I’ve been awake all night, I’ve been working, I’m pulling like this, going up the river [Laughs]. And then someone looked and they found that the boat had an anchor, and the anchor was still stuck there in the river[Laughs]. So, in other words, too much material attachment, we’re so attached, that it’s very difficult to advance, even if we do bhakti [Laughs].
So, therefore, in the beginning of devotion, faith is necessary, some attraction to scripture and chanting, etc., and not too much material attachment. So, we have that stage of namabhasa, which may have ignorance as a covering, we destroy the ignorance by knowledge. We destroy the anarthas by the process of bhakti, anartha nivrutti. And we come to suddha-nama, pure name. And then we can progress nicely to prema, which is the goal.
So, if one just performs namabhasa, we get some effect. Chanting the name in ignorance or with material desires gives one material effects. Whatever you obtain by karma, that is artha, dharma, kama, you can attain by chanting the holy name in namabhasa [Laughs]. You can also get liberation from namabhasa. So, chanting the holy name in namabhasa, we destroy all karmas, as in the case of Ajamila. So, the best effect of namabhasa is to proceed to pure chanting. And we attain that state by association with devotees. So, we see that Ajamila did namabhasa, accidental chanting, he got free of his karmas. But he got association of the servants of Vishnu, then he started the process of pure chanting.
So, this namabhasa is of several types. One is no faith, we chant maybe by accident, but also without offense. So, if we chant in that manner, as Ajamila did, you can destroy all your karmas. The other type of namabhasa is chanting with faith. So, it is no longer accidental or just chanting once, we are continually chanting [Laughs]. But it may be mixed with material desires or whatever, or different types of ignorance or whatever. So, it is called namabhasa.
So, without faith, of course, there are many types described in the Sixth canto of Bhagavatam. So, if you utter the name, but it means something else, it is called sankhetya.
So Ajamila named his son Narayana, not because he liked Narayana [Laughs], but he named his son Narayana so he chanted Narayana because it was the name of his son, that is sankhetya. Of course, in India, many people do name their sons after Krishna or Vishnu, so they are getting sankhetya namabhasa. Another type of chanting without faith is to say the name of the Lord as a joke [Laughs]. Another is to use the names of Narayana or Krishna, whatever, when you are singing, just to fill up syllables [Laughs]. We fill up the song with syllables. Another is to just utter the name of the Lord out of inattention [Laughs]. Or people may say the name of the Lord when they are falling off a cliff, or stumbling on the road, or getting injured, or having accidents, or bitten by snakes, or whatever [Laughs]. Krishna, Krishna, whatever [Laughs]. So, all of that has effect [Laughs]. It can destroy your [Not clear]. But it does not produce prema [Laughs].
So, if we chant with faith in namabhasa, there are two types. So we may chant with a little faith but we have ignorance etc. So if we get association with devotees practicing pure bhakti then we can progress nicely to pure chanting.
So the other type of namabhasa, with faith, is actually to chant with a false faith. So, they are deliberately chanting the name of the Lord. But, they may have very strong desires for material enjoyment or liberation. So, sometimes we see that even followers of Sankaracharya involved in Vedic philosophy say that [Laughs] the Lord’s form is maya, they may be doing kirtan. So they are actually being very offensive because they don’t believe in the form of the lord, they think the name is material, they think the lord is material etc. So this type of namabhasa is great aparadha and it destroys bhakti.
So, if we are at the stage of namabhasa, what is the remedy? One is to destroy our ignorance by getting proper knowledge. And, that is why in Bhagavatam and other scriptures, there is always emphasis on Guru, because Guru gives knowledge. And, with that knowledge, we understand position of Krishna, position of Jiva. Then, we get instructions on how to chant with no material desires. And though, in sadhana bhakti, we do have anarthas, we don’t mix those anarthas with our bhakti. So, then, this leads us to Suddha nama. And, when we get to Suddha nama, we get to Prema.
OK. Hare Krishna.
Q & A
1.) Thank you very much. So, I have two questions, actually. You explained that there are different types of anarthas. And, I want to see if there are more words like enjoy, and then weeds, and then aparadhas. So, aparadh, is the word for…?
Yeah. So, these are actually divided in this way by Bhaktivinoda Thakur [Laughs]. So, he mentions these in Harinama Cintamani and Bhajana Rahasya. So, the desires for enjoyment, or whatever, there’s also desires for liberation there. So, different types of desires, these are called ‘Asat-trsna’, which means what, I guess.. Trsna means, thirst. Thirst for the Asat, things which are not bhakti. Desires for insignificant material things, or even for liberation, which is also unfavorable for bhakti [Laughs].
And the second category is called ‘Hradya durbalayam’ or weakness of the heart [Laughs]. These are, of course, as I said, offshoots from our desire for material enjoyment. If we want to enjoy, we may get greed. If we want to enjoy, we may cheat [Laughs]. And because we want to enjoy, we get envious of other people. Or, we may desire fame. And by getting fame, we get followers, when we get followers, we can exploit them, to get our enjoyment. So, we can say, these are all, let’s say, by-products of desire to enjoy in the material world [Laughs].
Devotee: So, aparadha is the last consequence of self-enjoyment?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, yeah. So, the aparadh, we see that three of them are concerning devotees and bhakti and Supreme Lords. That’s all about spiritual things. The others can be involving just material things or other material people, but offenses against the name, offenses against the deity, offenses against the Vaishnava, it’s all to do with bhakti [Laughs]. So, these things become very destructive of bhakti itself, and that’s why they’re more dangerous and put it into another category. If we have cheating, greed, and envy, and it’s directed towards a devotee also, that becomes aparadh [Laughs].
Of course, all of this, why we have aparadh against devotees, ultimately also comes out of our material attachment. We see that big demons, what do they do? They hate the Lord. Why do they hate the Lord? Because they want to enjoy in place of the Lord, that’s why. So, this is again, material desire.
2.) So, Maharaj was saying that his material desire is a big obstacle. How come that Krishna gives the devotees that were not, that did not reach perfection of bhakti, Krishna gives them the pleasures of the heavenly planets? How come Krishna gives his devotees that didn’t reach perfection of bhakti, he gives them the pleasure of heavenly planets?
So, the Lord responds to different devotees in different ways [Laughs]. If the devotee’s desire is mixed bhakti, they do have some material enjoyment in worshipping Krishna or whatever, he may put them in Svarga Loka, say, OK, you desire some material enjoyment in bhakti, then, become like a devata or whatever. So, often those who do karma-misra-bhakti, they may go to Svarga Loka. Nothing is lost, because they can do bhakti again, they purify themselves, get to Brahma Loka, and then purify some more, then they can go to Vaikuntha [Laughs]. So, this is a gradual process of advancement.
If we do pure bhakti, then we can go directly to spiritual world. Of course, some devotees may be a little curious about upper planets, so Krishna may put them there for a little while [Laughs]. For instance, also we have the Dhruva Loka, Dhurva went to Dhurva Loka, which is still in the material world, before going to spiritual world. And in the Brahad Bhagavatamrta, Gopa Kumar goes to all the planetary systems, up to Brahma Loka and Shiva Loka, then to Vaikuntha, then to Ayodhya, etc. So, generally, for the devotees practicing pure bhakti, they more or less go directly to spiritual world.
3.) Maharaj, sometimes we are disturbed with our desires, though we try to overcome we cannot, and we may pretend, but we may wish to experience that. So how does Krishna consider this type of devotees ?
So, again, Krishna has individual arrangements for each devotee [Laughs]. And, of course, it’s also said that Krishna may take everything away in order to make you surrender [Laughs]. But, some devotees, you take everything away, they won’t surrender, they will get very disturbed. So, the Lord doesn’t do that, in that case. So, therefore, the Lord may give, in next lifetime, many material enjoyments, just so that the devotee can experience them, with the hope that, he overcomes that, and then he progresses further.
4.) So, Maharaj, it is about the Seva Parada. Is it just for the deities, or the devotional service in general? You said just about the deities.
So we see that the Seva Paradas are mentioned in the Nectar of Devotion there, and it’s all, mostly, 90% probably, it’s concerning the Deity [Laughs]. I think there are 33 aparadhs mentioned. Such as, don’t touch the Deity when you’re impure. Don’t offer food which the dog has touched [Laughs]. Don’t come in the temple with your shoes on. Don’t argue in front of the Deities [Laughs]. So, most of those are concerning the Deity. That’s called Seva aparadh.
So, our Acharyas say that, generally these are not committed with bad intentions, so therefore they don’t give such serious effect. But, offense against Vaishnava, offense against the name, is much more serious. The Lord actually takes those more seriously. And those are particularly serious, when they are filled with hostility or bad intentions, envy etc.
5.) If we avoid or reject devotional service in my mind, is this aparadh ?
If we reject devotional service, that means generally that I think, this process does not work, it’s material [Laughs]. So, we have like an offense, like we consider the chanting of Holy name to be like Punya in the material world, to get to svarga loka, but does not go further than that [Laughs].
Some people may fall from their position, commit sinful activity, but they don’t commit aparadh. So, those devotees continue to devotional service and Krishna accepts them. So, that is why Krishna says, even if you committed the most sinful activity, I can still consider you My devotee. But the Lord makes that statement, with the provision that you don’t commit aparadhs, you don’t offend the devotees, you don’t stop devotional service, you keep devotional service, no offenses.
6.) So, about the Nama abahas, you explained about two types of Nama abahas, with faith and without faith. But you said that without faith, it’s also without offenses. And with faith, it’s with aparadh also, because I’m the best, means she’s the best one. Without faith and also without aparadh, also with faith but with aparadh [Laughs].
[Laughs] So, if we have accidental chanting Nama abhas with no aparadh, we’ll get a very quick effect of destruction of karmas, as in the case of Ajamil. No offense, no faith, and we’re doing Nama abhas. No faith, no offense, but we get destruction of karmas quickly [Laughs]. But if Ajamil had committed some sort of aparad in previous lifetimes, then of course the effect would not be so quick, in terms of destruction of karmas.
So, if we are performing Bhakti with some faith, if there’s no aparadhs, then quickly we can get to the level of pure chanting by association of devotees. And we can quickly go through sadhana, bhava, to prema.
Now, if there are aparadhs in previous or in this lifetime, then that again, that process is slower.
7.) So, it is said that, if we are virtuous, then Lord does not take mental offenses. Like in the beginning of devotional life or immature stage.. So it is said that, Shri Caitanya Mahaprabhu doesn’t take offenses, mental offenses, but could be that someone judged only mentally and not verbally on a Vaishnava..
So, what this means is that, verbal or physical [Laughs], violence against devotees or whatever, then that is serious. So, the mental offense doesn’t destroy your bhakti or anything, but if we continue to have mental offense, eventually it will manifest [Laughs] verbally or physically or whatever way [Laughs], so we have to be very careful.
So, we should not take advantage of the fact, that we don’t get any effects [Laughs] from mental violence, and start thinking all sorts of offensive things about everybody [Laughs], thinking that I don’t get any effect [Laughs].
Ok. Hare Krsna !
Devotees: Thank you very much Maharaj. HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki.. Jai !! HDG Srila Prabhupad Ki.. Jai !!