Sri Harināma Cintāmani – Part 1 – HH Bhānu Swāmi Maharaj @ ISKCON Japan on Feb 1, 2021.
Okay, This is a summary of a work written by Bhaktivinoda Thākur, a poetic work, explaining about mainly the nature of the Holy Name and the offenses to the Holy Name. So we know that the name and Kṛṣṇa are non different. We also know the offenses to the Holy Name, we recite them every day.
This work of Bhaktivinoda Thākur explores these subjects in little more detail. So, we can say the name of that work, Hari Nāma Cintāmani, comes from this verse that we see here, from the Padma Purāna, Nama Cintāmani Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Rasa Vigraha… That verse is quite famous, it’s quoted in many places.
nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś
caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ
pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto
’bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ
-Padma Purana.
So “Cintāmani” refers to a special stone which produces anything you think of. Nāma Cintāmani Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Rasa Vigraha. The name Cintāmani comes from this verse. Cintāmani is a jewel that comes true when you touch it. Mani, of course, means a jewel. And Cinta means thought. It’s a “Thought jewel”. So anything you desire, you get from that jewel. It’s similar to the desire tree.
So Kṛṣṇa is Cintāmani, whatever you desire, Kṛṣṇa can give. And the name also is Cintāmani, because it’s non-different. So Kṛṣṇa has a form, or a Vigraha. And it is full of spiritual rasa, Caitanya rasa. And rasa produces bliss. So therefore Kṛṣṇa is full of all bliss through rasas. And the name is non-different from Kṛṣṇa, so by chanting the name you can realize all of Kṛṣṇa’s rasas.
Kṛṣṇa is pūrṇa, that means he is complete. So within Kṛṣṇa we have all spiritual qualities, all spiritual forms, all spiritual pastimes. So by chanting Kṛṣṇa’s name we can realize all those forms and qualities of Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa is śuddha, he is completely pure, he does not arise from anything in this material world. He is not contaminated by anything of the material world. And even if he appears in the material world, he is completely pure.
So he is Nityamukta, and the name also is the same, it appears in the material world, but it is not contaminated by anything material. So therefore the name being nondifferent from Krsna, can yield everything to the Jīva.
So the first chapter deals with the philosophy where we place the name within our Sādhana. So this is, we can say, the philosophical content. We have, it’s not too difficult, we have a Supreme Lord at the top. He is completely independent, and then he has different śaktis.
So we have the internal energy or the Antaranga śakti, so this manifests everything in the spiritual world. Of course it has three parts to it, that is Hlādini, Samvid and Sandhini.
So the Sandhini manifests the spiritual world, the names of the Lord, the forms of the Lord, the activities of the spiritual world. So once these things exist, name, form, qualities, activities, then there can be relationships established between these things. We establish relationships through the Samvid śakti – knowledge, we become aware of everything. And then we experience the bliss through the Hlādini śakti.
So the second energy is called the Taṭhasta Shakti, or the marginal energy. So through this energy of the Lord, all the Jīvas manifest. So the Jīvas are conscious, like the Lord, but they are very small. So they are capable of having knowledge. They are capable of action, and they can experience happiness and distress. They have a sense of I – “I exist”. So they are similar to the Lord, but then, the difference is that the Jīva is dependent on the Lord.
So there is similarity and there is difference. So the Jiva is called Taṭhasta, or borderline, because it can exist in the spiritual world or in the material world. The Supreme Lord can exist in the spiritual world and the material world, but the Supreme Lord, when he comes in the material world, is never affected by maya. So the Jīva, he gets affected by this material world, falls into ignorance, and he gets material bodies and is subject to Karma. But this never happens to the Supreme Lord.
So the third energy, is the external energy, Bahiranga śakti. So this produces all the elements of the material world, all the planetary systems, all the bodies for the living. So we have the Supreme Lord, īśvara at the top, we have the internal energy or the Cit śakti- Antaranga śakti which produces the spiritual world, we have the Acit śakti or Bahiranga Shakti, which produces the material world, and then we have the Jīva śakti, Taṭhasta Shakti, who can be in the material world and try to enjoy there, or he can go to the spiritual world, enjoy there. So the purpose of the Vedic scriptures is to get the Jīva from the material world to the spiritual world.
So in the scriptures, we have different sādhanas for going to the spiritual world. But some of these processes are indirect. So if we just do one process, it’s incomplete. We have to go through all the processes.
So we can do Karma Yoga, if we stop there, then we enjoy the material world only. If we do Jñāna or Yoga, we can get liberation. So this will take us out of the material world, but it doesn’t get us into the spiritual world.
So if we do Bhakti, then we can get to the spiritual world. So, one can proceed from Karma Yoga to Jñāna Yoga to Aṣṭānga Yoga to Bhakti Yoga, and then you can go to the spiritual world. Or you can just do Bhakti Yoga. So if you have faith in Bhakti, you don’t have to go through Karma Yoga, Jñāna Yoga, Aṣṭānga Yoga or Bhakti Yoga. If you have faith in Bhakti Yoga, you can start with Bhakti Yoga.
So we start with Sādhana Bhakti and then that turns into Bhāva Bhakti, then it turns into Prema Bhakti. When we get to Prema, then we can go to the spiritual world.
Now, within Bhakti, then we have different processes, and one of these processes is chanting the holy name. So in Sādhana Bhakti, we start chanting Kṛṣṇa’s name. When we get to Bhāva Bhakti, when we chant Kṛṣṇa’s name, we experience Kṛṣṇa’s form and qualities. When we attain Prema, we continue to chant Kṛṣṇa’s name, and we can also experience Kṛṣṇa’s pastime. And then we’re qualified to go to the spiritual world. And we continue to chant Kṛṣṇa’s name. So the whole process of chanting is eternal. We do it in Sādhana, we do it in Prema, we do it in the spiritual world.
So we talked about the Sandhini śakti as a part of Antaranga śakti or spiritual śakti. So, from this Sandhini śakti, we get the name, form, the qualities, and the activities of the Lord.
By chanting the name, we can also access the form, qualities, and activities of the Lord. They’re all included within the name. So in the beginning, as I said, the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa himself are non-different. So Kṛṣṇa has form, qualities, and activities. If we chant the name, we can realize form, qualities, and activities. Therefore the name is complete, because we can realize everything about Kṛṣṇa through chanting the name.
So there are different types of names. Lord has many names, but we can classify them. We have the primary names and the secondary names.
So the primary names are those names which will describe Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in the spiritual world such as Govinda, Gopāla, śyāmasundara, etc. And if we chant these names, then we can get to Prema.
Secondary names describe the Lord and his features as Brahman and Paramātma. By chanting these names, we can get liberation. But the devotees don’t desire liberation, so therefore we don’t want to chant the secondary names, we chant the primary names.
Translator Devotee: Maharaj, Could you please give examples of secondary names ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh ! Brahman, Sakshi – witness of everything in the material world, Atma, Paramatma, Sarsta – creator.
So, the devotee does not aspire for liberation because there is no perception of forms, qualities, activities. So the devotee chants the primary names, so he can realize the forms, qualities, and activities of the Lord.
So, in chanting, we have different types of chanting. Of- course, there is Nāma aparādha, that is no progress at all. So if we have aparādha we think that Kṛṣṇa and His name are different and Kṛṣṇa and His name is material. Nāmābhāsa means we have ignorance, but we don’t have offense. We don’t think of the Lord as material and we just know what He is.
So the last is called śuddhanāma, or pure name. So, in this pure name, we have knowledge, proper knowledge of who the Lord is, and what the name is, what the pastimes of the Lord are, what the goal is. By Namābhāsa, we can become purified, but it’s slow. By śuddhanāma or pure chanting, we can get quick progress, and we can get Prema.
There is another way through which we can classify the names. First is, anyone somehow or the other you chant the name, that’s ok. Then, if we chant constantly, that’s better. If we can chant the name so that we can influence others to pick up pure chanting of the name, that’s the best.
When we chant the name, it is very special. Anybody can chant. There is no restriction on man, woman, child, old person, educated person, ignorant person, any country, etc. Of course, we can say that to chant seriously, we need faith. However, even without faith, chanting has effect.
Ajāmila chanted the name Nārāyaṇa, to mean his son. He didn’t have any faith. But by chanting that name, he got rid of all of his karmas. So the name has no restriction for time, you can do it any time, at any place. Other procedures like Karma, Jñāna, and Yoga require particular time and particular place.
Though we can say that anybody can chant whatever, still we have favorable conditions for chanting and certain things that give us Prema. So we have to chant the primary names, not the secondary names. We have to chant pure name-śuddhanāma, instead of nāmābhāsa. And of course, we should not chant with offense.
There are certain activities which are favorable to Bhakti, so we should do those activities. But we avoid some activities which are unfavorable for Bhakti. So, to chant purely, we need knowledge and to get the knowledge, then we have to associate with the devotee. So if we chant with these rules in mind, then we can attain to Prema. With these rules in mind, we can attain to Prema.
Okay, I think that’s everything.
Q & A
1. Maharaj, If we are chanting, that means we already have faith? And how is that faith?
Oh, well, yeah, if we are chanting regularly, obviously we have some faith. But the faith could be, we can be chanting with faith, but we may not be chanting properly, could be nāmābhāsa.
nāmābhāsa can be accidental, which is no faith, or it can also have faith. But we may be chanting five rounds of japa or something, but we don’t know who Kṛṣṇa is, so that’s nāmābhāsa .
2. Maharaj, we are generally chanting the primary names, right? We generally read (the secondary names) in Bhagavad Gita or Bhagavatam, we don’t chant like “Paramatma.. Pramatma..”, right ?
Yes, but Yogis and Jñānis chant those(secondary) names instead.
3. What about non vedic mantras or name like christians they chant sometimes, which sounds like seondaray names. Example : “rescue” / “hosanna doka” like that ? .
I think “Jehova” actually comes from Hebrew . something which means no name, you cannot describe them. You can’t give name to God.
4. Maharaj, when people unknowingly taking name, like people who don’t know the names but they say “Govinda” Restaurant or “Kṛṣṇa” Palace etc, what category is it?
Thats nāmābhāsa.
Devotee: Still it has effect ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yes !!
5. Sometimes we discuss with our family members while we are chanting. For example, we are going for a walk and chanting and all of a sudden we met some friends and we have some discussion. So you said like if we do this aparadha , this will hinder our spiritual advancement. So for example, while chanting, if we discuss with our family members or do some other stuff subconsciously, does that hinder our spiritual advancement? For example, I’m not certain at some point of time, but still I’m chanting and my wife calls me or my children come to me and I started talking to them. So does that really hinder my spiritual advancement?
Well, it distracts you, but it’s not a conscious attempt to avoid chanting or to think badly of the Lord. So we can’t call it aparādha in that sense.
Devotee: Maharaj, I can’t get you, So is it also considered as aparadha ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: No. Well, see, the aparadha is out of ignorance or whatever. But the real aparadha is, when we have some hostility towards the Supreme Lord and devotees.
6. You were talking about the Jiva Tattva. So I’m wondering to know a little bit deeper Some people, like some of my Muslim friends, they think the senses they have got from God, this is a gift. And they are supposed to have the sense gratification because they think this is a gift from God. So why don’t we make sense gratification? So it’s a little bit confusing Like, actually, the human beings, like, why actually we I also asked last time, like, why the number is so high that do offenses unto the Lotus Feet of Lord and come to this material world? What is the reason behind that? That huge number, for example, like 700 million people, they do the offense. And or maybe if you consider the other species of life, there are so many species of life. So how come these big number they do offense on the Lotus Feet of Lord and they become, you know, they want to get worship like Lord and they fall down and come to the material world. So, What is the reason behind that, we do offense to the Lord or.. ?
We desire our own enjoymentand then that will take many forms and different bodies in the material world.. So the Jīva can choose to get its own enjoyment or it can choose to give enjoyment to Kṛṣṇa. That’s why it’s called the taṭhāstha
Devotee: Ok Maharaj, understand, Thank you so much Maharaj.
7. Dandavat Pranams Maharaj, what would be the primary names which makes us think about Kṛṣṇa in spiritual world? Like Krishna, Govinda.. ?
Gopal, Shyam Sundar, Giri Govardhan[Laughs], Radha Ramana.
Devotee: This includes the Vaikuntha names also like Ram, Narasinga?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, they’re also primary names. Of course, they’ll lead you to Vaikuntha and Ayodhya instead of vrṇdāvan though. But they’re all Bhagavān names. So they lead to Bhagavān.
Devotee: Thank you very much Maharaj.
8. Could you explain about Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahamantara – Hare, Krsna, Rama ?
Yeah, yeah. So of all the primary names, “Kṛṣṇa” is the number one name. So that word “Kṛṣṇa”, of course, means all source of all power, source of all sweetness, etc. So it represents, this is the most important name of all. “Rāma” means one who gives enjoyment or He gives pleasure to Radha.
Devotee: Means.. it is not Ramachandra / Balaram ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh! Not for us. But they can be.
Devotee: Means.. Radhika ramana.. ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: hmm.. And “Hare” stands for “Harā”, which is the energy of “Hari”. So that’s “Radha”.
Devotee: “Hari” means ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Hari means attractor. One who steals your heart [Laughs].
Devotee: What is “Hara” ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: “Harā” becomes “Hare”. When we call out to “Harā” becomes “Hare”.
Devotee: “Hara” means stealing of heart?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: “Harā” is the feminine form.
Devotee: Means.. Radharani ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yes.
9. What is the form for “Hare, Kṛṣṇa, Hare, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Hare, Hare, Hare, Rama, Hare, Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare”? Why this form is used?
Simply because, it’s found like that in the scriptures.
Devotee: I hear about Rasa-abhasha sometimes.. I don’t know they are Vaishnavas or not.. they combine (the names).. ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh that’s like Radhe Shyam, Nitai Gour.. something or other, so they mix up different rasas in that. That’s not good. Like Nitai Gour is not Madurya rasa, it is Sakhya rasa, we can’t mix that with Madhurya rasa.
Devotee: So, we should not combine any primary names of Krsna ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh! we have songs like Jaya Radha Madhava, Giri Govardhan or whatever like that. Like poets and even Goswamis they write poems with names of Krsna like “Hari Haraya Namah.. Krsna Yadhavaya Namah..” etc. These are names.
Devotee: Can I produce different combination of names like Jagannatha, Gour – Nitai, Nitai – Baladeva etc ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, as long as there is no Rasa-abash in that [Laughs].
10. Maharaj, in “Cintāmani”, you mentioned that “Cintā” means “thought” but in Marati / Sanskrit, it means “worry” also? So it means like worry stone, it sounds like more, more, more worry is coming, So, How to understand? [Laughs]
“Cintā” can mean both things. It can mean worry, but also used for contemplation. Like meditation. It has several meanings to it. Both involve mind.
Devotee: Thank you Maharaj.
Devotees : Thank you Maharaj. Dandavat Pranams Maharaj. HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki… Jai !!