Kevalastakam Verse 6 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 20 September 2025
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
jaya sri-krishna-Caitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
This is also from Kevlastakam
Verse 6:
aho duḥkhaḿ mahā-duḥkhaḿ
duḥkhād duḥkhataraḿ yataḥ
kācārthaḿ vismṛtam ratna
harer nāmaiva kevalam
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, first two lines are saying it is a very, very.. a lot of suffering, duhkham, mahaduhkham. It’s more suffering than the word suffering, ‘duḥkhād duḥkhataram yatah’. So, why ? So, the last two lines explain why the name of the Lord, which is a jewel, has been forgotten. And it’s a similar, one thinks it is like glass with no value to it. In other words, if we don’t take shelter of the holy name, then we must suffer. And not only we suffer, we get the greatest suffering. So, of course, the counter to that is that, if we do recognize the name and remember the name of the Lord at all times, we get the greatest treasure and we get the greatest bliss.
So, we get a similar statement in the Bhagavatam. And there, in the second canto, in the Chatur Sloki, it says that, the best sadhana is determined by seeing the positive results and seeing the negative results if we don’t do it. So, in other words, if something is good, very nice, but there could be other things that are also good. Seeing how valuable it is, is to see what happens when you don’t have it. So, if you don’t have it and then you suffer a lot, that means obviously, it is very good to have. And if you don’t have it and you don’t suffer, then that is not really needed [Laughs]. So, therefore the holy name is such that if you have it, you experience the greatest bliss, if you don’t have it, you have the greatest suffering. So, in this way, it is proved to be the best.
So, why don’t we choose, that which is best? And the answer is, we don’t recognize it. Instead of striving for a great jewel, we will pursue glass. So, Dhruva also makes a similar statement. And after seeing the Lord, then he says, well, ‘I am so foolish, because I have been pursuing something, I thought was greatly valuable, but on realizing the Lord, then I realized that all those things I was searching for, such as my kingdom, are like broken glass’.
The nature of the Jiva in the material world is, he is striving for happiness through various material arrangements. So persons interested in that, every day for his whole lifetime to get a certain material goal. So, he will get some material happiness. He will also get some material suffering. And at the end, when he is dying, he has to give it all up, so he suffers more. So, it is like a person who gathers a bunch of jewels and valuable gems with great effort. But he puts forth great effort because he understands this is very valuable. And so, when he is old and he has all this wealth, but it was worth it, because I put forth so great effort. But then, an expert jeweler comes along and he says, well, all these jewels are fake [Laughs]. So, then the man realizes, oh, I spent all my life for this and hopefully it was all for useless [Laughs]. Of course, even if he does collect his valuables throughout life and he has real jewels and real diamonds, etc. When he dies, he realizes he can’t use those jewels to prevent death. And when he dies, he has to give it all up. So, where is the happiness [Laughs]? So, whether he realizes it or not, in any case, it is all like broken glass.
So, this is the nature of striving in the material world. It is all temporary. And thus, it doesn’t stand with the test and giving the greatest happiness and avoiding the greatest suffering. It gives you a mixture of material happiness and distress. So, everything in the material world is impermanent. And even Brahma and his happiness is impermanent. So, therefore, anything in the material world, we have to reject is not the ultimate goal because it doesn’t stand this test. So, therefore, we strive for spiritual life and through spiritual life we get out of the material world. So, then we can say, I’m out of the material world. So, there is no dukha, no more mahadukha. So that is true, no more suffering, but is it the greatest bliss? No, there is no suffering and there is no bliss. So, again, it fails the test. So, if we attain Prema, definitely no material suffering, because Prema is eternal and it also gives the greatest bliss eternally. So, how do we get that Prema? Through the process of bhakti. So, in this way, the sadhana of bhakti is considered to be the best process.
And, of course, in the process of bhakti, the name of the Lord is considered to be the best. And, chanting the name, we get the easiest process to get that Prema. So the people in the material world should take advantage of this. But, unfortunately, most people have forgotten it. Instead of striving for the best jewel, they are striving for glass. And, thus, they get suffering and more suffering and more suffering. So, how do we get rid of that forgetfulness? So, of course, there are two ways. One is to recognize the nature of the material world. It is a place of suffering. And, that is plentifully described in Bhagavatam and other scriptures. Once we realize how much suffering is in the material world, then we strive to solve the problem. So the solution is chanting the name.
But, not everybody has faith. And, thus, the scriptures give us alternative methods. So, we have Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga. So, if a person does not recognize that chanting the name is the best jewel, then they are given these other jewels [Laughs]. So, in a sense, they are jewels, but not very valuable jewels. But, nevertheless, people get attracted to these things. So, we see, you go to the jewelry store, then, of course, the highest jewels are those that have diamonds in them. But, not everybody has got the money for diamonds. So, some will take the imitation diamonds [Laughs] or they will take other jewels which are not imitation. So, there are many cheap jewels like crystal and amethyst and citrine and whatever. Not very expensive. Quartz, in other words. And, they are very satisfied with that [Laughs].
So, the scriptures, therefore, present us with many methods and not the highest methods, but it is better than nothing [Laughs]. Some ornament is better than no ornament. But, the best ornament is the one who has got pure gold and the highest, the most precious jewels. So, the Vedic literature prescribes karma yoga, jnana yoga, ashtanga yoga for people who cannot recognize the great value of chanting the name of the Lord. So, it is better than doing nothing. But, nevertheless, they are all inferior because they give different results.
So, through karma yoga, we can get maximum material enjoyment and minimum material suffering. But, it is still temporary, and therefore, there is still suffering. If one practices jnana and yoga, one can get rid of that temporary nature of happiness. One can get rid of the suffering. So, we can get liberation, and in liberation, we can be eternal, and we can have no suffering. So, in this way, it is partially successful. But, the only process which will give us eternal bliss will be chanting the name. And thus, the name is considered to be the most valuable jewel.
It says, ‘naama eva kevalam’, only the name, nothing else. This means that chanting the name does not depend on karma yoga, jnana yoga, or ashtanga yoga. It gives prema without dependence on other processes. Of course, we can say that it is so powerful that it really does not depend on other processes of bhakti. So, even if you do not do deity worship, you can still get the prema by chanting the name. Of course, if we want prema, as I mentioned yesterday, we do need some knowledge. We need knowledge of the supreme position of the name. And we need knowledge of the Lord who is non-different from the name. And with that knowledge, we can get the result, prema.
So though the scriptures glorify many different processes, ultimately the highest process is the name. Ofcourse we will find so many glorifications of other processes. So, karma kanda section of the Vedas or in chapter 3 of Bhagavad Gita will glorify karma yoga. The jnana kanda, upanishads part of the Vedas, they glorify jnana. So, many processes are glorified in the scriptures. And the purpose of glorification is to encourage people to follow that process. So, the Lord supplies karma yoga for people who do not have faith in bhakti. So, therefore, he glorifies it, so people will follow that. By that glorification, then they will follow that process. So, therefore, for different processes, there is glorification. But by reading that glorification, we should not conclude that therefore karma yoga is the highest. But by reading that glorification, we should not conclude that therefore karma yoga is the highest. So, the glorification of karma yoga, jnana yoga, ashtanga yoga is a relative glorification. It does not stand the test of giving eternal happiness and eternal bliss. And therefore, we can’t take those statements as absolute.
Glorification of bhakti, however, is very different. The person who approaches bhakti, pure bhakti, he has no material desires. He has no desire for liberation. So, it is not necessary to tempt people and say that this is the highest process because you get rid of your suffering and you get nice material benefits like that. But the name is not different from Krishna. Krishna is most glorified, name is most glorified. And because it is supreme, none of the glorification is false. So, the name gives everything. Whatever people want from Karma yoga, jnana yoga, ashtanga yoga, they can also get from chanting the name. But the name of the Lord gives more than that, much more. So, in any case, the glorification of the name is never false. All the glorification is absolute.
So, often, of course, you will see even in Bhagavatam, bhakti is glorified because it delivers you from the material world. So, definitely that is true. Definitely that is true. But jnana yoga or ashtanga yoga can also deliver you from the material world. So, that is not the greatest glorification of bhakti. The greatest glorification is that, it gives bliss in prema. But some people are interested in getting rid of their suffering, they don’t want any more suffering, so therefore these glorifications are given to encourage those people.
The highest glorification is the example of the devotees in Prema. So, in the 10th canto of Bhagavatam, we have a description of Krishna’s pastimes. So, this is important because those pastimes reveal the great sweetness of Krishna. And the same pastimes also reveal the great bliss of the devotees. So, in other words, by description of Krishna’s pastimes, we understand how the name is the greatest jewel. The people of Vrindavan are constantly chanting the name of Krishna. And they are experiencing the highest bliss. By remembering those pastimes and those devotees, we get a chance to get rid of our attachment to the glass of the material world.
Hare Krsna !
Q & A:
1.) Maharaj, though the Holy name of the Lord, the form of the Lord, the pastimes of the Lord and the qualities of the Lord are all non different, Yet the naam sankirtan or chanting the name is considered to be the highest. Is it circumstantial because we are in Kali Yuga or because there is not much emphasis on other things? I mean, of course, we study scriptures, from there we come to know about the other, the form of the Lord, the glories of the form of the Lord or pastimes of the Lord. And we hear Bhagavatam, but the main sadhana remains the chanting of the holy name.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Is the question, is the name only the easiest way in Kali Yuga?
Devotee: There is so much emphasis on chanting the name, not so much really on chanting or singing the pastimes of the Lord or other things. So, naam sadhana is considered to be the main process for deliverance ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, there are many types of kirtan. And chanting the name we call naam sankirtan. But we could have rupa kirtan, glorifying the form of the Lord. We have lila kirtan, describing the pastimes of the Lord or guna Kirtan, glorifying the qualities of the Lord. So, all types of kirtan are wonderful and absolute.
But to do these kirtans, one fact is that it requires a little more expertise. We either have to take some ready-made glorifications [Laughs] or we have to make some of ours, which is more effort. And so that takes effort, it also takes good skill and intelligence. So, the simplest possible glorification is just name, Krishna. So, it’s simplest and it’s easiest. So, this means it’s available for everyone.
Of course, it’s available for everyone in all the yugas. But of course, in Kali Yuga it becomes emphasized, because no one is qualified for anything else [Laughs]. So, in Dwapara Yuga they do deity worship and of course they’re chanting the holy name. Kali Yuga, they can’t even do deity worship. But therefore they can chant the name, that’s the only thing for them. So, the name is absolute, non-different from Krishna. And through the name, we can realize Krishna’s form, qualities and activities.
So, of course, when we do that, then of course we can do guna kirtan, rupa kirtan and leela kirtan automatically.
2.) Hare Krsna Maharaj, this question is related to yesterday’s class. To chant the holy name, we need not to get initiate, then why in the 10 offenses to the holy name, disobeying the order of the Spiritual master is given ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Which offense?
Devotee: Disobeying the order of spiritual master.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: ami Maharaj: Oh.. Well, offenses to the name involve offenses to the devotees and the guru who are preaching about the name. And offenses against Krishna who is represented by the name. And offenses against not only the name but any process of bhakti which is a process to achieve Krishna.
So, the offenses mean, we must have hostility towards the Lord, the name, process of bhakti and devotees. So, therefore, if we’re hostile to the Lord, it means we don’t want to approach the Lord. And this hostility to the Lord is caused because of material attachment. So, committing the aparadas means that even if we are chanting, that our attraction to material energy is getting stronger.
So, if we’re going towards the material world, we cannot simultaneously go towards the spiritual world. So, the offenses, in other words, keep us bound into the material world. That offensive mentality decreases our bhakti. And it can even destroy our bhakti. Particularly the offense of criticizing devotees. And the reason for that is the devotee is the main process by which we come closer to Krishna.
Devotee: If a person is not initiated, how can he do Guru aparadh ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, whether you are initiated or not, you can commit Vaishnava aparadh, which is the same as Guru aparadh also. So, whether you have Guru or not, if you commit offense against a devotee, that destroys your bhakti.
Devotee: So, if I don’t take initiation, then how do I connect with the parampara, Maharaj?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, if you look in Bhagavad Gita, our parampara is traced not by diksha at all. It’s traced by shiksha. So, Bhaktivinoda did not take diksha from Jagannatha Das Babaji. But we’re tracing that lineage. This does not mean he had no diksha guru. He did, but we’re not tracing the line through the diksha guru. So, we can trace two lines. We can trace the diksha line and we can trace the shiksha line.
3.) Hare Krsna Maharaj, so Maharaj we heared that the chanting holy names, the name, form, qualities of Krsna would be revelaed. So, what is that revelation, Maharaj? What happens? How do I know if it is getting revealed or am I concocting something?
So, the revelation takes place in bhava, because in bhava one can realize the form of the Lord. After realizing the form, then you realize the qualities and pastimes. So, those are the gradual realizations within bhava itself. So, before that, we don’t have a direct revelation of Krishna in the name. Prabhupada makes a statement, ‘Perfection of chanting is to realize Krishna and his name are non-different. So, that realization takes place in bhava.
Devotee: So, Maharaj, if somebody is not reading or connected with Srimad Bhagavatam and yet if he is just chanting and he chants purely and he reaches bhava state, so the pastimes of Krishna he would automatically get to know without referring these scriptures. Is that understanding okay?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, of course, if we chant the name, the possibility that we have no knowledge is, we may commit aparadhas. And, of course, we may offend devotees [Laughs]. And if we don’t want to accept knowledge from devotees, where do we get our knowledge from? How do we start chanting the name?
So, somehow or other, we can, of course, accidentally chant like Ajamila, but generally we are talking about people who are consciously chanting, they must have been inspired by someone to start the process of chanting. So, in that process, they may get wrong teachings also [Laughs] or they may think that I’m chanting the name and the whole process is to go to Svargaloka, the whole process is to get liberation. They may not think about Prema at all.
So, definitely, chanting the name can give you material benedictions, it can get rid of your suffering and give you liberation. But, to get Prema, then we need some knowledge of Krishna [Laughs].
Devotee: Maharaj, so chanting the names alone can’t give Prema. So, names alone are not enough to give us the highest perfection, the Prema ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, just the name can get you up to liberation. To get more than that, then we do need association of devotees and we need the knowledge. But, through that knowledge, then we realize that the name is not different from Krishna.
If we don’t get that knowledge, then we can think Krishna is a material being and the name is a material thing. So, then chanting the name, I’ll just get liberation or I’ll just get material benefits. So, we limit ourselves by offense. And the offense is caused because we have material attachment.
4.) Hare Krsna Maharaj, you have mentioned chanting is one of the prominent angas among all the angas of Bhakti. And if you see in other Yugas – satya yuga, treta yuga, dvapara yuga, we have meditation, sactifice and deity worship. Why chanting is not mentioned as a mode of worship Maharaj ?
All the yuga dharmas are bhakti. And their goal is to attain the Supreme Lord. But, according to the qualification of the people, then scriptures recommend different processes. So, because the people are very qualified in satya yuga and they can control their minds, etc., then meditation is very easy, but meditation on the Lord. Of course, this does not mean that they do not do other processes, but that’s the main process for everyone. And it is not difficult for anyone. So, we say that all processes of bhakti are to always remember the Lord and never forget Him. So, they are always remembering the Lord by that meditation process.
Of course, in chanting the name, we should always remember the Lord also. But, in Kali Yuga, no one is qualified for meditation. So, therefore, the way in which we do remember the Lord is nama. In Dwapara Yuga, the process is deity worship. So, people are qualified to follow all the different rules. In Kali Yuga, they are not qualified. But, the worship and the results of worship are attained by nama kirtan. Now, of course, as I said, all of these processes are bhakti and they are all present in all cases, but different yugas give recommendations for different processes according to qualification.
All these practices are bhakti practices, but different practices are recommended according to the qualifications of the people in different yugas. And in Kali Yuga, the practice is nama sankirtan. Even in doing nama sankirtan, it is not that, we deny other processes. But this is the prominent process.
5.) Through Hari naam sankirtana, pastimes are happening both in spiritual and material world. Like in Spiritual world, pastimes are happening with gopis. In material world, Ajamila pastimes also happened, explaining the importance of Harinama Sankirtana. Can you please explain how much Krishna loves his pastimes? The question is basically, how much Krishna loves his pastimes, which he performs in spiritual and material worlds?
Well, we cannot separate the pastimes of Krishna. We cannot separate the name from Krishna. They are non-different. So, we cannot separate the form of Krishna from Krishna. We cannot separate the qualities from Krishna himself. And similarly, we cannot separate the pastimes from Krishna.
So, if we have Supreme Lord in the spiritual world, Krishna or any other form, they must have name, form, qualities and pastimes. If Krishna just has a form and doesn’t do anything, then what are we going to realize about Krishna? So, Krishna’s qualities are revealed to the devotee through pastimes. His sweetness is revealed through the pastimes.
6.) Thank you Maharaj. We have heard from your previous lectures that devotee’s mercy is the way to advance in Bhakti. In this regard, what is the difference between chanting versus pleasing the devotees for their mercy as a means to attain advancement?
Well, name, of course, we say is the ultimate process. Also, we don’t reject other processes. All processes of Bhakti are part of the Svarupa Shakti of Krishna, internal energy. But we give prominence to the name. And the other processes help to increase the ease of chanting the name.
So, as we know, the main process of the Bhakti process is mainly spread through devotees. Sometimes the Lord comes, but usually it’s through devotees. And to get the mercy of devotees, then we have to serve them. So, to start chanting purely, we have to approach devotees. To learn about the offenses to the name, we have to approach devotees. So, in the process of Bhakti, we are chanting and doing other processes of Bhakti, and gradually the Bhakti creeper grows. But we also have to skillfully cultivate that creeper. So, the devotees are the guides to give us expertise in cultivating that Bhakti.
Devotee: Some also say, it is difficult to achieve advancement through chanting, because of poor quality of chanting. So trying to attain devotee mercy is the only way to attain Krishna, how do we understand this ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So yeah, if we don’t chant attentively, then this also can become an offense. Of course, chanting in any way gives some benefit. So, if you chant by accident, as with Ajamila, or while falling off a cliff, or being bitten by a snake, it gives some effect. But if we’re chanting with the goal of Prema, and we’re chanting with intention, then we have to be attentive to that. And, of course, in that process of doing that, if we associate with devotees, we can get guidance from them.
But we should not think that I get mercy from a devotee, or mercy from Guru, and suddenly everything changes. Certainly, the proximity of a devotee can influence. But the main mercy we see from Bhagavatam is instruction. So, Sukadeva gives mercy to Pariksit by reciting Bhagavatam. So, getting mercy from devotee means getting some instruction and following the instruction. So, the devotee is going to instruct how to be attentive. If we accept the instruction and put it into practice, then, of course, we can succeed in being attentive. But if we don’t follow the instruction and say, just mercy, mercy is going to do this, that doesn’t make any sense [Laughs].
7.) When initiation is not mandatory and obligatory, why devotees are forcing other devotees to take initiation for performing deity worship, rather than chanting holy name?
Well, this is a misunderstanding. So, often there is a culture of making devotees take initiation. But the real goal is to encourage a person to take the process of bhakti and chanting seriously. And to take instruction from the scriptures. And through that, then we are able to chant the name steadily and attain prema. And initiation is there, if people want to do deity worship.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam Ki.. Jai !! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki.. Jai !!