Caitanya Caritamrta – Adi Lila – 7.74 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 23 September 2025
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevaya
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Reading from Caitanya Caritamrita Adi lila Chapter 7 Verse 74
CC Ādi 7.74
nāma vinu kali-kāle nāhi āra dharma
sarva-mantra-sāra nāma, ei śāstra-marma
Synonyms
nāma — the holy name; vinu — without; kali–kāle — in this Age of Kali; nāhi — there is none; āra — or any alternative; dharma — religious principle; sarva — all; mantra — hymns; sāra — essence; nāma — the holy name; ei — this is; śāstra — revealed scriptures; marma — purport.
Translation
“ ‘In this Age of Kali there is no religious principle other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures.’
Purport
The principles of the paramparā system were strictly honored in previous ages — Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga and Dvāpara-yuga — but in the present age, Kali-yuga, people neglect the importance of this system of śrauta-paramparā, or receiving knowledge by disciplic succession. In this age, people are prepared to argue that they can understand that which is beyond their limited knowledge and perception through so-called scientific observations and experiments, not knowing that actual truth comes down to man from authorities. This argumentative attitude is against the Vedic principles, and it is very difficult for one who adopts it to understand that the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is as good as Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa and His holy name are identical, the holy name is eternally pure and beyond material contamination. It is the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a transcendental vibration. The holy name is completely different from material sound, as confirmed by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura: golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. The transcendental vibration of hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana is imported from the spiritual world. Thus although materialists who are addicted to experimental knowledge and the so-called “scientific method” cannot place their faith in the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, it is a fact that simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra offenselessly one can be freed from all subtle and gross material conditions. The spiritual world is called Vaikuṇṭha, which means “without anxiety.” In the material world everything is full of anxiety (kuṇṭha), whereas in the spiritual world (Vaikuṇṭha) everything is free from anxiety. Therefore those who are afflicted by a combination of anxieties cannot understand the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which is free from all anxiety. In the present age the vibration of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is the only process that is in a transcendental position, beyond material contamination. Since the holy name can deliver a conditioned soul, it is explained here to be sarva-mantra-sāra, the essence of all Vedic hymns.
A name that represents an object of this material world may be subjected to arguments and experimental knowledge, but in the absolute world a name and its owner, the fame and the famous, are identical, and similarly the qualities, pastimes and everything else pertaining to the Absolute are also absolute. Although Māyāvādīs profess monism, they differentiate between the holy name of the Supreme Lord and the Lord Himself. For this offense of nāmāparādha they gradually glide down from their exalted position of brahma-jñāna, as confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.32):
āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ
patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ
Although by severe austerities they rise to the exalted position of brahma-jñāna, they nevertheless fall down due to imperfect knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Although they profess to understand the Vedic mantra sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma (Chāndogya Up. 3.14.1), which means “Everything is Brahman,” they are unable to understand that the holy name is also Brahman. If they regularly chant the mahā-mantra, however, they can be relieved from this misconception. Unless one properly takes shelter of the holy name, he cannot be relieved from the offensive stage in chanting the holy name.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj :
So this verse is again glorifying chanting of the holy name. And of course it is simply called Nama, which means name, but it means the name of the Lord. But when we talk about the name being the Yuga Dharma, we actually talk about a particular form of the name.
Of course in English language, a name is a name, and there is no difference, all the names, one name is used for all sorts of grammatical forms. But in Sanskrit, the grammar is different. So we have a name like Krishna. And if Krishna is a subject, like Krishna goes to the forest, then it is ‘Krishnaha’. And if we say, the cowherd boys went to Krishna, it is ‘Krishnam’. And if we say Mother Yashoda gave to Krishna some sweets, then it is ‘Krishnaya’. So in this way there are seven different ways in which you can express a relationship with Krishna. But they all depend upon a verb. So Krishna goes, somebody goes to Krishna, I give Krishna something. So there is an action verb there also.
And mantra, as defined by scripture, means a statement with a verb and a noun. So we have pancharatric mantras. We have Vedic mantras. So they are combinations of words with a subject, an object or whatever, and a verb. So in Pancharatra, there are mantras, mantras for Krishna, mantras for Rama, mantras for Narasimhadeva. Often the verb is expressed by the word Namaha or Swaha. Like we say ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya’. Nama is the verb. I offer my respects to Vasudev, Vasudevaya. Or Narasimaya Namaha. Or Vishnave Namaha. So these are technically called mantras. And they have the name of the Lord in there. So we have ‘Krishnaya’ or ‘Vasudevaya’ or ‘Vishnuve’, so the name of the Lord is also there.
However, when we talk about Nama as in this verse, in the Yuga Dharma, it doesn’t just refer to any name of the Lord in any position, it refers to a particular utterance of the word Krishna or Vishnu. So this is a form of the noun, of the name, in which we call out Krishna, no verb at all or we call Rama, O Rama. But if we call Vishnu, it’s ‘Vishno’. If it’s Radha, we say ‘Radhe’. So these are in a certain case called the ‘Vakada’ or the ‘Sambodhana’, calling out with no verb at all. So calling out the name with no verb at all is the Yuga Dharma.
In Dwapara Yuga they worship the deity, but to worship the deity you needed mantra. And even in Kali Yuga to worship the deity by pancharatric standards you need mantra. But these mantras are secret. You chant them only in relation to the deity. And you don’t publicly announce them.
The name however is simply the name that is public, it’s not secret. So the reason is that usually things require qualification. So to chant the mantras you require qualification. To chant Vedic mantras you have to take Upanayanam and then study the Vedas. In Kali Yuga of course the pancharatra system is more merciful, so therefore you don’t have to take Upanayanam, but if the guru chooses you as qualified, even if you are any caste or mleccha or whatever but you happen to get the mantra from guru then you can, you are qualified. But there are also many rules required in order to make the mantra effective. With Nama, however we don’t have to consider qualification. And it is not private or secret. It is public. And it is more powerful. Therefore it is the Yuga Dharma. People without qualification at all can chant and get effect. And of course if we get guidance from devotees and scriptures and whatever and we chant, then we can get the highest goal, Prema, in the quickest possible manner. Of course by Vaishnava Pancharatrika mantras, we can also get Prema. But it is not open for everybody. And it takes longer. So the name is the principle way in which we advance in spiritual life in Kali Yuga.
Of course we can chant the name even without knowledge, as in the case of Ajamila and at least we get all of our karmas destroyed. But if we want Prema, then again we do have to accept devotees, we do have to accept scripture. This of course means that Bhakti is not dependent on anything in the sense that it does not depend on karma, jnana and yoga. So Bhakti itself is independent of everything else. And similarly chanting the name is independent of karma, jnana and yoga. Whatever one is supposed to attain by these different processes one attains simply by chanting the holy name. And as I said you can chant the holy name even without knowledge and still you get great effect. In fact you can get the results of karma and jnana and yoga. But if you want Prema then you do have to accept knowledge from Guru. Then one gets to Prema.
So this name, as I said is just calling out to the Lord. So when we call out to Krishna it is Krishna, no change. We call out to Rama, it is Rama. We call out to Narasimha Dev, it is Narasimha. So in that way it is very easy. But if we call out to Vishnu, it becomes ‘Visnoh’. If we call out to Hari it becomes ‘Hare’. And if we call out to Radha it becomes ‘Radhe’. So some words with not ending in a or feminine words, then the ending may change a little bit. However there still is no verb. We are simply calling out to Krishna.
So we call out to Krishna and then what happens? Krishna should come. But then why are we calling him? So that is why we have to be a little intelligent and get some knowledge in order to state the correct question [Laughs] or what we want. Krishna says what do you want and then they say, well, I don’t know and Krishna will disappear. So of course if we are foolish, Krishna comes here and Krishna comes and says what do you want? Oh give me some money. And of course that is a waste of time [Laughs]. So we do have to have a little bit of scriptural knowledge to understand what is the best thing to ask for. Holy name can give anything but according to what we desire. So we have to know what to desire. When we are calling out to Krishna we call with a certain expectation. So scripture will teach us what is the correct thing to ask for. And of course the correct thing to ask for is the highest thing that which is permanent, eternal and blissful. And that is Prema.
So of course, how is that Prema expressed? To express our love for Krishna, we serve Krishna. And thus, the prayer becomes calling out to Krishna to request service eternally. So this is the basic power of the name. It elevates us to that position directly. Actually in the previous verse, (CC Ādi 7.73) it says,
kṛṣṇa-mantra haite habe saṁsāra-mocana
kṛṣṇa-nāma haite pābe kṛṣṇera caraṇa
So by the name of Krishna, we attain the lotus feet of Krishna, so we serve him eternally. And by Krishna mantra, we get liberation from samsara. So that verse shows that nama is higher than mantra. So of course even with the mantra, Krishna mantra we can get higher than simply liberation. But yet, it is inferior in one sense to chanting the name.
In the Brihad Bhagavatamrita, Gopakumar was given a Krishna mantra. This was a ten syllable mantra with a Swaha and a Krishnaya in it. And he chanted throughout the day of Brahma and then next day [Laughs]. He went to Swarga Loka, he went to Brahma Loka, he went to Shiva Loka and finally he got to Vaikuntha. But even though, he got to Vaikuntha, he was not really satisfied, because there was no Krishna there. So then Narada Muni said, if you want Krishna, you have to do Nama Sankirtana. So he did Krishna Nama and then he went to Goloka. So this also illustrates, how the name of Krishna is the most effective way of getting to Krishna, even more than the Krishna mantra.
So since it is the most direct and most powerful way of getting the highest goal, then it is recommended for everyone in Kali Yuga. And other processes, Karma, Jnana and Yoga are discarded as inferior. For some reason, we may do Karma, Jnana or Yoga along with Bhakti as long as it does not interfere with the goal of Prema. But if it interferes with that goal, then we should reject it. So that is also confirmed by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita, where it says ‘sarva-dharmān parityajya’ , completely give up all other Dharmas, just surrender to Krishna. But how to surrender to Krishna? So Lord Caitanya gives us the method, Krishna Nama. We chant the name of Krishna, Nama Sankirtana, then everything is satisfied. And we attain the lotus feet of Krishna. So therefore, as said in this verse, there is no other Dharma.
What does Dharma mean? It means any other process. Largely this means Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Astanga Yoga. And within Dharma, we have Varnashram. And within Jnana, we will have Sankhya and Vairagya. So all of these are included within Nama. Plus Nama surpasses them all. And it says here, ‘Sarva mantra sar’. It is the essence of all mantras. So you may be desiring some secret mantra to get success, but the best mantra is the name of Krishna. And it is not secret. It does not require Diksha. So this is the conclusion of the scriptures. It says ‘śāstra-marma’. So this is a very basic understanding of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings.
Hare Krsna !
Q&A
1) Question not audible
We have different types of mantras. One type is Vedic Mantras. So in general all the verses in the Vedas can be called Mantra. But then we also have a particular mantra for their Vedic Diksha. That is the Brahma Gayatri. So that is given at the Upanayanam Samskara. Now of course, these mantras are all requiring qualification. You have to take Upanayanam and then you have to be a Vaishya, Kshatriya or a Brahmana and never a Sudra.
So in Pancharatric scriptures, which are not Vedic, just as Puranas and Mahabharata are not Vedic. So we have a class of scriptures called Pancharatra. So they have some mantras for worshipping the deity. In order to worship the deity and offer things to the deity, you have to utter this mantra. So there are various mantras for Krishna, Rama, Narasimha, Varaha, Vamana, Vishnu etc. So these mantras are given at Vaishnava Diksha. And they should be secret, not revealed by the disciple. But there is no regard for Varna or Ashrama. Anybody the Guru chooses, he can give that mantra to. So it is independent of Vedic Diksha.
2) Question based on yesterday’s class Maharaj. Maharaj, one should not commit Aparadh. But because of previous life vasanas or tendencies, he may sometimes commit Aparadh. At the time, to avoid those Aparadhs, what he should do?
Well, first of all, we should have knowledge. So we should have knowledge of the Aparadhs. And if we have faith in Bhakti, by and large, we are not going to intentionally commit those Aparadhs.
And if it so happens that we do, then we do have to correct ourself. So in Harinam Chintamani, Bhaktivinoda Thakur describes each Aparadh and each remedy for each Aparadh. And what it requires is, we have to realize the significance of our offense and then correct the offense.
3) What does exactly, when we say Bhakti is independent of everything, it’s indeed dependent on faith and mercy and few other things, right? How do I understand this statement?
Bhakti is independent of other processes. And the name is Bhakti, so it’s independent of Karma, Jnana, Yoga, or Sankhya, or Vairagya, etc. And most Angas of Bhakti, they are interdependent.
So one Anga may be prominent, so we say that Sukadeva was prominently doing Kirtan, and Parīkṣit was doing Sravana, hearing, and Prahlad was doing remembering. But that does not mean that they didn’t do anything else. So in the Kirtan and in the Sravana, obviously there is Sadhu Sangha [Laughs]. So, these are all Angas of Bhakti. That means they are parts of one whole Bhakti and we cannot absolutely separate one from the other. But of course, even on their own, they can be very powerful and have great effect. And thus, particularly for the name, even if there is no other Sravana, whatever, just uttering the name Narayana was enough to destroy the sins of Ajamila.
But to get Prema, we need pure Bhakti. To get Prema, we need pure name. So to get that purity, we require knowledge, Sadhu Sangha, avoidance of aparadhs. But of course, all of this is Bhakti itself. So, in this way, Bhakti is dependent on Bhakti. And not dependent on Karma, Jnana and Yoga.
4) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj, we see inattentive chanting is an offence. As a sadhana, we meditate on the first four verses of Shikshashtaka. While thinking of ‘trnad api sunicena’ or ‘na dhanam na janam’, we think of our own Anartha and try to mitigate that. On the context, we are thinking of our own Anartha, which is averse of the Lord. So is it attentive or inattentive? What comes attentive, what comes inattentive? Because we are confused on that.
It depends on how we are meditating on the Anarthas. If we are meditating on the Anarthas to develop more attraction for them, then of course this is an obstacle to Bhakti. And if we are meditating on the Anarthas to get rid of them, then we are aiming for pure Bhakti. So as I mentioned, in order to practice pure Bhakti, we have to be aware of Anarthas, Aparadhas, etc. So in that sense, they are a part of the process of chanting and performing Bhakti.
5) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Thank you for the wonderful lecture. If someone happens to read hare Krishna mantra written behind the car after reading that mantra immediately all the karma will be destroyed and that nama will guide that person to take the knowledge about Bhakti and everything?
Well, of course the karmas may get immediately destroyed, as in the case of Ajamila. But Ajamila had no Aparadhas in this life or previous life, so therefore, that’s why it was immediate. If we do have Aparadhas, then the process will be more gradual but nevertheless, karmas can get destroyed.
If that person gets the good fortune of mercy of a devotee, then he can chant more seriously.
As I said, the angas of Bhakti cannot be separated from each other. Of course by chanting the holy name we get knowledge. Or as stated in Bhagavatam, Jnana and Vairagya are automatically attained through the process of Bhakti. And by chanting the holy name, we get realization of Krishna, which is ultimate knowledge. But then I said that in order to realize Krishna with chanting, we have to chant purely. So to create that purity, we need some knowledge of Bhakti, knowledge of mixed Bhakti, knowledge of Aparadhas.
In order to chant the holy name, we have to have a little intelligence so we can remember the syllables of Krishna’s name even.
6) Krishna is Bhavagrahi Janardhana, He understands our Bhava, correct ? So it doesn’t depend on his rules or the grammar also ?
Ultimately that is so, but still, if you chant Vedic mantras incorrectly, they don’t get accepted. The reason behind this is that, if you don’t chant correctly, you don’t have the correct devotion. So to chant with correct intonation and the correct chandas etc.,and correct knowledge behind it and but then you should also have correct bhakti. So then to jumble up the grammar or something would indicate you don’t have bhakti. So that is, we can say, a limitation of Vedic mantras. And therefore, Sudras and Melachas are not supposed to chant them or whatever, hear them even.
So, the Lord is more merciful than that and therefore He provides pancharatika mantras. But even then, it’s secret. So, then the third alternative is Nama, which is not secret and no qualification. So, the Lord’s mercy is expressed in different ways.
7) Maharaj, sometimes you see even while chanting the name also, sometimes there is a mispronunciation of the name. Like Prabhupada used to chastise, someone say Krishno, Ramo. Still it is Nama, but it is a mispronunciation of the name. So, how would be the effect of the name?
Well, in the third canto when Devahuti speaks, she said, even the name achieved ‘agrae’, just on the tip of the tongue or partially chanted is fine. And even the syllables of the name separated by another syllable in a different word, then it’s still okay. So, it all has power, but of course if we have devotion and we have knowledge, then we can chant more correctly and more power.
8) But sometimes during the Homa, you know, we use some kind of mantra that we don’t get it. Like for the Narashima Homa, we need to chant Narashima Bija Mantra, but that normally Guru doesn’t teach us, it’s gone normally. Then how then we will do Homa and other things, Narashima Homa and other things, you know? Because we didn’t get that Bija Mantra from the Guru, but we chant still that Bija Mantra. So, how to do that? Because we are not getting it.
So, the main mantra that we chant in Pancharatha should be given by the Guru, Diksha Guru. In regards to Lord Caitanya, of course, main process is not that mantra at all, but Nama Sankirtana. So, Yajnas and other mantras which we use in different places, these are all very secondary. And if they have any fault in them, that is resolved by the chanting of the Holy Name.
9) Maharaj, while we are chanting, we get Krishna. If we call Krishna name, we will get Krishna. If we call Rama name, we will get Rama. If it is pure and devotion. In Prahlad’s case, how he chanted the Narashima name, how Narashima came out from the pillar? He is supposed to get Prema for Vishnu only, right? So, how can I understand that?
So, Prahlad was always speaking about Bhakti to Vishnu. When we understand about Vishnu, there are many forms of Vishnu. So ofcourse the Lord appeared in the form of Narasimha and this was very surprising to most people. But not so surprising to Prahlad. Because he understood the power of the Lord to assume any form suitable to the situation.
10) In this world, we see Harinam is the only religious principle could you please explain how Harinam can be the only activity in our daily religious life?
Well, in the religious life? So, it is the main Dharma, so it is the main practice we do to attain realization of Prema. That does not mean that therefore we give up all activity and just sit there and starve to death. So, we can see the example of the followers of Lord Chaitanya. They lived for Nama Sankirtan.
But they kept up their jobs or whatever profession they had in the day time. Most of them were householders. So, they did not give up their wives and children and run off to Puri. They stayed with their family. So, along with their duties to maintain their body and their families, then they were chanting the Holy Name.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatham Ki Jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki Jai!!!