namnam akari bahudha nija sarva saktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrisi tava kripa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrisam ihajani nanuragah

O Lord! You have given us many names of Yours to chant, investing them with all Your transcendental power, and there are no strict regulations as to when to chant or remember these names. Such is Your mercy, O Lord, but I am so unfortunate that I have no taste for this chanting.

Commentary:

Sriman Mahaprabhu descended with all devotional mellows and indicated the supremacy of nama-sankirtana in His first verse. Remembering the sweetness of the name, the Lord, since devotion is by nature never satiating, thought: “How much mercy Krishna has placed in His names! But alas! I am deprived of relishing their mellows! I do not have taste for chanting these names!” The Lord’s heart then became filled with humility and sorrow and He spoke this second verse, pretending to be a struggling practitioner, although He is the Supreme Absolute truth Himself. Srila Kaviraja Gosvami wrote:

uthilo vishada dainya pade apana sloka
yara artha suni sab yaya duhkha soka

“While humility and sorrow appeared in His heart, the Lord spoke this verse. But the sorrow and lamentations of anyone who hears it will go far away!”

This means that one will get love for the chanting of hari- nama, and the misery of material existence will vanish as a mere side-effect. Another meaning of duhkha-soka is that the misery of and the lamentation over one’s lack of taste for chanting will disappear. After all, this second verse describes both the great mercy of the Lord, as He has invested all His transcendental potencies in His holy name, as well as the fact that there is no love and taste for chanting this holy name. Therefore we have to hear the explanation of this verse with great attention.
According to their nature and backgrounds people have different tastes. Bhinna rucir hi lokah. Aneka lokera vancha aneka prakara. (Caitanya Caritamrita) Therefore it is not possible for everyone to have taste or greed for one single name of the Lord. It is natural for the practising devotee to have a particular taste for the name of his favorite, chosen deity (ishta-deva), therefore the all-merciful Lord descended in innumerable forms with innumerable names like Krishna, Rama, Nrisimha, Vamana etc. Apart from the main names, like Krishna and Rama, the Lord also has many other names according to His birth, activities, attributes and pastimes. Some of His names that are related to His birth are for instance Yasoda-nandana, Nanda Kumara, Dasarathi etc. The names that are related with His activities are for instance Govardhana-dhari (the lifter of Govardhana Hill), Putana-mokshana (the redeemer of Putana), Kamsari (the enemy of king Kamsa) and Ravanari (the enemy of Ravana). The names that are related to His attributes are for instance Dayamaya (the all-merciful One) and Bhakta Vatsala (He who is affectionate towards His devotees), and names that are related to His pastimes are Damodara (He who was bound with a rope around the belly by His mother), Rasa Vihari (the enjoyer of the Rasa-dance) and so on. Everyone chants that name which he likes the most and thus purifies his heart and is blessed by attaining prema, love of God, and the service of the Lord’s lotus feet. The greatness of such chanting of one’s favorite name is clearly described in Srimad Bhagavata (11.2.40):

evam vratah sva priya nama kirtya
jatanurago druta citta uccaih
hasaty atho roditi rauti gayaty
unmadavan nrityati loka bahyah

“As the dedicated devotee thus sings the name of His beloved deity, his heart melts as his anuraga (sacred passion) appears and he loudly laughs, cries, sings and dances like a madman, not caring for the external world.”

In his Sarartha Darsini-commentary on this verse, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti explains that prema is infused into the heart of the devotee while he chants the name of his beloved deity and he loses sight of this external world. Because he sees the enchanting transcendental pastimes of the Lord day and night he laughs and cries. During such transcendental revelations the devotee may see that Krishna enters some cowherd-woman’s house to steal butter. When the old woman spots Him, she cries out: “Catch the butter thief! Catch Him!” and comes running out. When Krishna hears her screaming, He becomes afraid and goes off. Such a funny pastime makes the devotee laugh, but when he can not see Krishna anymore because He ran off, then he cries. When Krishna hears the crying of His beloved devotee then He reveals Himself again, and the devotee sings about His form and qualities and dances in great ecstasy.
In the raganuga-bhajana of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, hearing, chanting and meditating on the pastimes of the beloved deity are also ascertained as the main limbs of sadhana. In his Brihad Bhagavatamrita Srimat Sanatana Gosvami glorifies the chanting of the glories of one’s own beloved deity as the most internal limb of bhajana:

taddhi tat tad vraja krida dhyana gana pradhanaya
bhaktya sampadyate preshtha nama sankirtanojjvalam

“The best means to meditate on Krishna’s Vraja-lila is the splendid process of devotional nama-sankirtana.”

The question is now that if any devotee can attain prema by chanting the holy name of his own favorite deity, then are all the names of the Lord equally glorious? In the scriptures it is seen that the holy name of the Lord is transcendental, as is the Lord Himself, and all these names are equal in value. Still, when one considers the different glorifications of the holy name, it is seen that the holy name of Krishna is the greatest of all.
If the holy name and the holy named are non-different – abhinnatvat-nama-naminoh – then can there be any doubt that the holy name of Krishna, who is the original personality of Godhead is also the original holy name? Sri Krishna personally told Arjuna: namnam mukhyatamam nama krishnakhyam me parantapa – “O Arjuna! My name Krishna is the foremost of all the holy names of God!” In the scriptures it is seen that the holy name of Lord Nrisimhadeva is superior to the names of Lord Vishnu’s descensions such as Kurma and Matsya, and that the holy name of Sri Ramacandra is again superior to that of Lord Nrisimhadeva. On the basis of the nondifference between the Lord and His holy name, the Padma Purana declares the holy name of Lord Ramacandra to be greater than the different other names of Vishnu. In the Padma Purana Lord Mahadeva (Siva) tells Bhagavati Durga that the holy name of Vishnu is superior to the names of all the demigods, but that the holy name of Rama is superior even to the 1000 names of Vishnu. Ramo rameti rameti rame rame manorame. Sahasra namabhis tulyam rama nama varanane. Again in the Brahmanda Purana it is said: sahasra namnam punyanam trir avrittya tu yat phalam; eka vrittya tu krishnasya namaikam tat prayacchati – “The pious merit that is attained by reciting the thousand names of Vishnu is given by one single recitation of the holy name of Krishna.” In Sri Caitanya Caritamrita it is said: rama nama taraka kore mukti-dana, krishna nama paraka kore prema dana – “The holy name of Rama is the saviour and bestows liberation, and the holy name of Krishna is ‘the competent one’ and bestows prema.” Krishna’s holy name stands supreme, as one great saint has said: vrindavana se vana nahi nandagao se gao; vamsivata se bata nahi, krishnanama se nama – “There’s no forest like Vrindavana, there’s no village like Nandagrama, there’s no Banyan-tree like Vamsivata and there’s no name like Krishna’s name!” This Sri Krishna-nama is the source of all the names, hence it is said in the first verse: param vijayate sri krishna sankirtanam! “Victorious is the supreme glorification of the holy name of Sri Krishna!”

Sriman Mahaprabhu says: nija sarva saktis tatrarpita – God has invested all His transcendental power in His names. It is not so that power was not there before and now it is. All that power has always been invested in it, because there is absolutely no difference between the name and then named. Srimat Jiva Gosvami says that the Lord descends in the form of the syllables of His name (varna-avatara): avatarantaravat paramesvarasyaiva varna rupenavataro’yam iti (Bhagavat Sandarbha, 48), and Caitanya Caritamrita states: kali kale nama rupe krishna avatara – “In the age of Kali, Krishna descends in the form of His holy name.” So if the name is a direct descension of God, then it must be invested with eternal powers; there is no question of the power being placed in it at some point. Why, then, does Mahaprabhu speak here about arpana, investing the power? To make it clear that the name of God is far superior to the names of the conditioned souls.
Sri Jiva has written: manograhyasya vastuno vyavaharartham kenapi sanketitah sabdo nameti (Bhagavat Sandarbha, 46) – “A name is something with which we indicate or want to call some object that is mentally conceivable.” For instance, when we say “water” we indicate some substance with which we can quench our thirst. But as long as we don’t drink the water, we cannot quench our thirst by simply muttering the word “water, water”. There is no object or person in this material world whose name has the attributes of the named, the name is simply an indication of the named. But if anyone thinks that this also counts for God’s holy name, then Mahaprabhu says: nija sarva saktis tatrarpita. The Lord has eternally placed all of His potencies in His name. If water had the same power, then one would be able to quench one’s thirst by chanting “water, water!”. In this world everyone wants to show his own greatness, but nobody and no object has such power as God’s holy name. The Lord has all inconceivable potencies, so He has eternally invested all of His energies in His name. His names are not just sounds indicating something different. Because the Lord is non-different from His name, the name is fully invested with His prowess, His sweetness, His love for His devotees, His compassion and all of His other blessed attributes.
The question is: “It is said that the Lord has invested all His transcendental potencies in His holy name. Is there no disparity at all, then, between the Lord and His name?” Srimat Rupa Gosvami wrote in his Namashtakam:
vacyam vacakam ity udeti bhavato nama-svarapa-dvayam
purvasmat param eva hanta karunam tatrapi janimahe
yas tasmin vihitaparadha nivahah prani samantad bhaved
asyenedam upasya so’pi hi sadanandambudhau majjati
“O holy name! We know that you have appeared as the transcendental form of Krishna (vacya) and as His holy name (vacaka), but of the two the holy name is more merciful, for if one offends the Lord one can be delivered from the reaction by loudly calling out His name and thus always be immersed in an ocean of transcendental bliss!” Thus it is shown that the holy name is more merciful than the Lord Himself.

Sriman Mahaprabhu said: niyamita smarane na kalah – “O Lord! You have not set any strict rules about when to hear, chant, or remember Your holy name. Any person can, at any time and in any circumstance, sing Your name!” In his Hari Bhakti Vilasa, Srila Sanatana Gosvami quotes verses from the Vishnu Dharmottara and the Skanda Purana to prove that there are no hard and fast rules as to when and where to chant the holy name:
na desa niyamas tasmin na kala niyamas tatha
nocchishtadau nishedho’sti sri harer namni lubdhaka
na desa kalavasthasu suddhyadikam apekshate
kintu svatantram evaitan nama kamita kamadam
“There are no fast rules as to when and where the name is to be chanted. It can be chanted in any contaminated place by any contaminated person. There is no restriction in time, place, circumstance or purity. In all circumstances the holy name fulfills all desires!”
It is also said:
svapan bhunjan vrajams tishthannutishthams ca vadams tatha
ye vadanti harer nama tebhyo nityam namo namah
“I offer my obeisances again and again to those who chant the holy name, even while speaking, eating, sleeping, walking and rising up.”
The revealed scriptures and the saints have set rules for such devotional items as mantra-japa (meditating on one’s initiation-mantra), seva (deity-worship) etc. One must take a bath and put on clean clothes for that for instance, but the chanting of the holy name is not dependent on such considerations of purity and impurity.
Sriman Mahaprabhu said: etadrisi tava kripa bhagavan mamapi durdaivam idrisam ihajani nanuragah – “O Lord! Your holy name is so extraordinarily merciful, but my misfortune is so great that I have no attachment for it!” The scriptures and the saints say that only offenses committed to the holy name can dim its greatness. There is no greater misfortune in the world for a practising devotee than this!

eka krishna name kore sarva papa nasa
premera karana bhakti korena prakasa
premera udaye hoy premera vikara
sveda kampa pulakadi gadgadasru dhara
anayase bhava kshaya krishnera sevana
eka krishna namera phale pai eto dhana
heno krishna nama yadi loy bahubara
tabu yadi prema nahe, nahe asrudhara
tabe jani aparadha tahate pracura
krishna nama bija tahe na hoy ankura
(Caitanya Caritamrita, Adi-lila, chapter 8)

“One utterance of Krishna’s name destroys all sins and causes devotion and love of God to appear. When prema arises, the devotee shows all its symptoms, such as sweating, shivering, horripilating, a faltering voice and crying streams of tears. Liberation from the material world, which is attained by serving Krishna, is easily attained by simply once uttering the name of Krishna. When you chant this name of Krishna many times, but still you don’t feel love and there are no tears of love streaming from your eyes, then I know that there must be many offenses committed, so that the seed of Krishna’s name cannot sprout.”

One may ask here: If the glories of the holy name are so unhindered, then why is there still consideration of offenses? If offenses dim the greatness of the name, then how can the holy name be called unrestricted? The answer is that mist cannot cover the sun, it can only cover the sun from our eyes. Because mist may cover the sun, the sunrays cannot fall on us. Similarly, nothing can actually cover the self-manifest greatness of the holy name, but offenses cover our hearts in such a way that its powers cannot fall into our hearts. But when the mist dissolves, the sunrays can fall on us unhindered. Similarly, when offenses disappear, the strength of the holy name is freely experienced in the heart. It is just like a king, who is able at any time to make any poor man rich.
But if the king is displeased with someone, and he does not want to give his wealth to him, it does not mean that he is not able to give that wealth! In the same way, the holy name is able to give prema to the offensive chanter, but he will not give it because he simply does not want to give it. That is why the practising devotee should chant the holy name without committing offenses.
Even if one chants for a long time, prema will not come in the heart as long as one commits offenses. That is why the devotional scriptures are always warning the practising devotees to beware of offenses.
When we investigate the root cause of offenses, then we can see that it is an envious mood that stops love from entering our hearts. This envy finds its cause in false egotism, and as a result a low person may consider himself to be the greatest, the ignorant may think themselves to be very learned, and one is unable to see one’s own fault and another person’s qualities. Thus one praises oneself and criticises others.
In this way offensive persons are envious of another person’s success and cannot tolerate the greatness of another Vaishnava, although he can clearly recognise that greatness. They may even consider the guru, who is the very form of God’s great mercy (karunya ghana vigraha) to be an ordinary human being and they cannot have faith in the glorification of the holy name, even if they have clearly heard it.
False words, violent behaviour and sinful acts like theft and so will create great offenses in the heart of such an envious and deceitful person. In the Padma Purana ten offenses to the holy name are written down and we will briefly describe them below:

1) sadhu ninda (blaspheming the saint):

Blaspheming the saint is a grave offense, and is called mahad aparadha. A sadhu is a devotee of God through whose preaching the holy name has become world famous. How can the holy name tolerate blasphemy of such a person? Many people think that there is no harm in discussing the fault of some devotee who is engaged in some wicked activities, because that criticism is true and justified, but Sripada Sridhara Svami writes in his commentary on Srimad Bhagavata: nindanam dosha kirtanam – “There is no question whether the devotee who is under discussion is at fault or not, speaking bad about such a person is called blasphemy.” It is natural that we wonder: “Who are these devotees, offending whom we commit an offense to the holy name?” In his book Madhurya Kadambini, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti gives the answer: “It is not proper to think that only those devotees who are merciful, nonviolent, tolerant etc. are to be considered saints, and that those who are not endowed with such qualities are not saints, and that one can thus blaspheme them without committing an offense to the holy name. Actually, anyone who worships God, be he deceitful, ill-behaved, hypocritical and unclean, is a saint, and to blaspheme or criticise such a person is an offense to the holy name. Sri Krishna Himself says in Bhagavad Gita (9.30):

api cet suduracaro bhajate mam ananya bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah samyag vyavasito hi sah

“Even if one commits the most abominable activities, he is to be considered a saint when he exclusively worships Me, for he is on the right path.”

Those who have fixed the thought in their mind, “I will be blessed by worshipping the Supreme Lord”, and who do not worship demigods, but only the Supreme Lord, are saints, even if they misbehave, and to criticise even them is an offense to the holy name.

2) to think that sri vishnu and sri siva are independent truths:

Those who think that the qualities and names and so of Sri Vishnu are separate from those of Sri Siva are offenders to the holy name (sri vishnoh sivasya tad guna namadi sakala dhiyah bhinnam pasyet sa khalu hari namahitakarah). In other words, to become a bahvisvara vadi, one who thinks that there are many Gods, that Lord Siva has separate powers from Lord Vishnu, and vice versa, is an offense to the holy name. The Vaishnavas think of Lord Siva as the servant of Sri Krishna and of Sri Krishna as the Supreme Controller.

3) to disrespect the guru:

To consider Sri Guru to be an ordinary human being is an offense, for he is the Lord’s karunya ghana vigraha, the personification of His great mercy. Just as ice is the result of cooling off liquid water, so the Lord’s mercy becomes substantial and descends to earth in the form of the guru to redeem the fallen souls. This is how the proper disciple looks at his guru. The disciple always thinks of the transcendental attributes of his guru, he never looks at the external or titular shortcomings in his divine form, for that would make him seem human and then the holy name will not be pleased with such a chanter.

4) to blaspheme the sruti-scriptures:

The sruti-scriptures are super-human. It is said vedayatiti vedah: The Vedas explain themselves. Vedic scriptures like Srimad Bhagavata are also self-manifest. The Puranas and history-books are full with clear explanations of the Vedas, so they are also on Vedic level. It is an offense to the holy name to blaspheme such scriptures. Those scriptures which preach jnana (intellectual spiritual realisation) and karma (work) are also most merciful, for they engage those people who are not ready yet for the path of devotion, being still too attached to jnana and karma. These scriptures gradually bring such souls into the temple of devotion, so one certainly commits an offense to the holy name by blaspheming such scriptures.

5) to consider the glorification of the holy name to be exaggerated:

This glorification is done by the revealed scriptures and self-realized souls and one should not think that their statements are exaggerated. As a matter of fact, their glorifications are only a drop of the shoreless ocean of the holy name’s glories! Even the thousand-headed Lord Ananta can never find the end to its glories, so one should never think: “Those glorifications are only made to create faith in the minds of the practising devotees.” The holy name is self-manifest and self-perfect and is not dependent on any ritual or glorification. Therefore there is no question of any exaggeration in the glorification of the holy name.

6) to consider the glories of the holy name to be imaginary:

To minimize the glorifications of the holy name in scriptures such as Srimad Bhagavata is another great offense to Vaishnavism. It is not good to be an unbeliever or atheist, by arguing and counter-arguing, thinking: “I don’t accept the existence of what I cannot understand.” Our brains are never able to grasp the truth about transcendental matters, therefore it is not good to argue about them or to disbelieve them. When our intelligence becomes spiritualised beyond the three modes of the material psyche, then one will be able to grasp transcendental truth. In this material world we can experience the wonderful powers of mantras, herbs, stones and so on, and we can also not ascertain these powers simply by arguing about them. If we cannot even argue about material powers, what then to speak of spiritual powers? Therefore, one should not argue about spiritual things, as they are inconceivable to material brains:

acintyah khalu ye bhava na tams tarkena yojayet
prakritibhyah param yac ca tad acintyasya lakshanam

7) to commit sinful activities on the strength of chanting the holy name:

In the scriptures we can read that all sins are destroyed by chanting the holy name. Even the greatest sins are burned by the holy name as a heap of cotton is burned to ashes by fire. But if one willingly sins, thinking that these sins will be destroyed on the strength of the holy name, one commits a terrible offense to the holy name. It is only the greatest rascal who would commit disgusting sins on the strength of that holy name, which can easily give us the greatest blessings of human life, love of God and ecstatic devotional service. The reactions to sins committed in that consciousness will count millions of times heavier than normal. Even many rituals of atonement or a long term punishment by Yamaraja, the god of death and punishment after death, cannot purify one from such sins.

8) to consider the holy name to be equal to other auspicious activities:

It is a terrible offense to the holy name to consider it to be equal to pious acts such as dharma (following religious principles), vrata (keeping vows), tyaga (renunciation) homa (fire sacrifices) and so on. Thus one tries to limit the glories of the holy name and this is counted as an offense.

9) to advise a faithless person to chant the holy name:

It is an offense to instruct an unwilling person, for that person will react in a disrespectful way and that is an offense on the part of the preacher.

10) not to love the holy name, even after hearing its glorification:

A practising devotee who gives no attention to the holy name, who is intoxicated by sense-enjoyment and is filled with bodily feelings of “I” and “mine”, is an offender to the holy name.

The primary result of the chanting of the holy name is love for the Lord’s lotus feet. Destruction of sinful reactions and liberation from material existence are secondary results. The only reservation is offense. If one avoids the aforementioned offenses one can become freed from the “bad luck” of having no taste and be blessed with prema, love of God. In this connection the Padma Purana says:

namaparadha yuktanam namany eva haranty agham
avisranta prayuktani tany evartha karani hi

“One who untiringly chants the holy name can become freed from all the offenses to the chanting.”

When one has consciously offended a great soul, one can be forgiven by falling at his feet and begging forgiveness. But the results of the offense will not leave the person who thinks: “Why should I apologise personally? Let me just constantly chant to become free from my offenses!” Then that offense to the saint will not be forgiven by the Lord. Rather, the offense will weigh even heavier on the offender! Also, when one commits seva-aparadha unknowingly, these offenses can be eradicated by chanting nama-sankirtana. But when one purposefully commits such offenses, thinking they will be forgiven by chanting the holy name, that is another terrible offense to the holy name. Other than that, all offenses, committed knowingly or unknowingly, are forgiven if one constantly chants nama-sankirtana with repentance.
One should chant harinama with love and repentance, having firm faith that “If I take shelter of Bhakti-devi, my offenses will certainly cease and as a result of my sankirtana I will surely attain devotion!” Faith is absolutely required if one wants to give up committing offenses, and that faith can be attained by those in whose heart repentance and eagerness arises. How can a person become freed from offenses if he is not repenting from the beginning? For the sake of destroying offenses one repents, and if the offenses do not cease, then one anxiously takes shelter of the holy name. Certainly the holy name will become pleased with such a chanter and bless him with the treasure of prema.
Sriman Mahaprabhu teaches all the practising devotees of the world how to chant the holy name with attachment by pretending that He Himself has no attachment to it, although He is love of the holy name personified. The chanting of the practising devotee should be full of such attachment. The holy name contains the full savour of Sri Krishna’s form, qualities and sweetness, but an offender cannot experience any of it, therefore he can also not chant with eagerness and attachment. The name is coming out of his mouth mechanically while his contaminated mind freely wanders through the forest of the sense-objects. So, while he has a beadbag in his hand and he is chanting his prescribed number of rounds, he speaks on different local and foreign subjects, about sense-objects, and even about other devotees’ faults and shortcomings. Actually “bhaktipathe podoye vigati”, “a disaster happens on the path of devotion”. If sugati (auspiciousness) is not there, there will be vigati (calamity) and durdaiva (bad luck). But a person who offenselessly chants the holy name in the company of saints, aiming at the savour of the nectar of the holy name, will easily be blessed with loving attachment to the life of bhajana.

– commentary by Srila Ananta das Babaji
– translation by Sripad Advaita das