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Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare,
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa
And now, Chapter 22: The Glories Of the Holy Name, from Canto 6, Chapter 3, texts 30-35
of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
[Then Yamarāja, considering himself and his servants offenders, spoke as follows, begging
pardon from the Lord:] "O my Lord, my servants have surely committed a great offense by arresting
a Vaiṣṇava such as Ajāmila. O Nārāyaṇa, O supreme and oldest person, please forgive
us. Because of our ignorance, we failed to recognize Ajāmila as a servant of Your Lordship,
and thus we have certainly committed a great offense. Therefore with folded hands we beg
Your pardon. My Lord, since You are supremely merciful and are always full of good qualities,
please pardon us. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You."
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear king, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord
is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the
saṅkīrtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try
to understand this so that others will take it seriously.
One who constantly hears and chants the holy name of the Lord and hears and chants about
His activities can very easily attain the platform of pure devotional service, which
can cleanse the dirt from one's heart. One cannot achieve such purification merely by
observing vows and performing Vedic ritualistic ceremonies.
Devotees who always lick the honey from the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa do not care at all
for material activities, which are performed under the three modes of nature and which
bring only misery. Indeed, devotees never give up the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa to return
to material activities. Others, however, who are addicted to Vedic rituals because they
have neglected the service of the Lord's lotus feet and are enchanted by *** desires, sometimes
perform acts of atonement. Nevertheless, being incompletely purified, they return to sinful
activities again and again. After hearing from the mouth of their master
about the extraordinary glories of the Lord and His name, fame, and attributes, the Yamadūtas
were struck with wonder. Since then, as soon as they see a devotee, they fear him and dare
not look at him again. When the great sage Agastya was residing in
the Malaya Hills and worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I approached him,
and he explained to me this confidential history. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.3.30-35)
Yamarāja Prays for Pardon Lord Yamarāja took upon himself the responsibility
for the offense committed by his servants. If the servant of an establishment makes a
mistake, the establishment takes responsibility for it. Although Yamarāja is above offenses,
his servants, practically with his permission, went to arrest Ajāmila, which was a great
offense. The nyāya-śāstra confirms, bhṛtyāparādhe svāmino daṇḍaḥ: "If a servant makes an offense,
the master is punishable." Taking this seriously, Yamarāja, along with his servants, prayed
with folded hands to be excused by the Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa.
Achieving Perfection We should note that although Ajāmila chanted
the name of Nārāyaṇa imperfectly, he was delivered from all sinful reactions. The chanting of
the holy name is so auspicious that it can free everyone from the reactions of sinful
activities. However, as we have mentioned several times before, no one should conclude
that he may continue to sin with the intention of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa to neutralize the reactions.
Rather, one should be very careful to remain free from all sins and never think of counteracting
sinful activities by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, for this is another offense. If by
chance a devotee accidentally performs some sinful activity, the Lord will excuse him,
but one should not intentionally perform sinful acts.
One may very easily practice chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord and thus
become ecstatic in spiritual life. The Padma Purāṇa states,
nāmāparādha-yuktānāṁ nāmāny eva haranty aghaṁ
aviśrānti-prayuktāni tāny evārtha-karāṇi ca
Even if one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra offensively, one can nullify these offenses by continuously
chanting without deviation. One who becomes accustomed to this practice will always remain
in a pure transcendental position, untouchable by sinful reactions.
A devotee's duty is to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. One may sometimes chant with offenses
and sometimes without offenses, but if one seriously adopts this process, he will achieve
perfection, which cannot be achieved through Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of atonement.
Persons who are attached to the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies but do not believe in devotional
service, who advise atonement but do not appreciate the chanting of the Lord's holy name, fail
to achieve the highest perfection. Devotees, therefore, being completely detached from
material enjoyment, never give up Kṛṣṇa consciousness for Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. Those who
are attached to Vedic ritualistic ceremonies because of *** desires are subjected to
the tribulations of material existence again and again.
Since this incident, the Yamadūtas have given up the dangerous behavior of approaching devotees.
For the Yamadūtas, a devotee is dangerous.