New Life

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Giving initiations to devotees in Malaysia
18 December 2015

First chant the Pancha-tattva's name:

শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য প্রভু নিত্যানন্দ ।
শ্রীঅদ্বৈত গদাধর শ্রীবাসাদি গৌরভক্তবৃন্দ ॥

sri krishna chaitanya prabhu nityananda
sri advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura bhakta-vrinda

This is the Pancha-tattva's name. They brought the Holy Name to this abode, so without their mercy we cannot chant. That is why first we must chant their name.

In Satya-yuga, the lifetime was 100 000 years, and their religion was meditation. In Treta-yuga, the lifetime was 10 000 years, and they did fire sacrifice. In Dvapar-yuga, when Krishna's Pastimes took place, people did archan, puja; at that time the lifetime became 1 000 years. Now people's lifespan is very short, 120 years—in this age of Kali people do not live so long, so Krishna Himself came in the form of the Name. Krishna's Name, Beauty, Qualities, and Pastimes are nondifferent from Krishna.

The Name comes through a Guru-parampara. It first came from Krishna to Brahma, from Brahma to Narad, from Narad to Vyasadev, from Vyasadev to Madhvacharya—in this way it reached Madhavendra Puri. From Madhavendra Puri it came to Ishwar Puri, and from Ishwar Puri to Mahaprabhu. (Mahaprabhu Himself took initiation because He was showing us: if you want to tell somebody, "Do this," first you must do it yourself, so Mahaprabhu Himself took initiation from Ishwar Puri and showed, "You must take initiation, accept a bona fide Guru.") So, in this way the Name came to Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj, then Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, our Param Gurudev Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, then our Gurudev Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, and then it came to me. Srila Gurudev told me, "If somebody is a sincere seeker, has got good association and wants to receive the Name, you can give initiation to them; that will be good for you."

So, I think you were born in a devotees' family and have seen everything. You have been vegetarian since you birth, and when you were in your mother's womb, you listened to Hari-katha, Krishna-katha from great Vaishnavs, so you know everything, you know what Krishna consciousness is. But starting from this age you must practise properly, must chant the Holy Name without any material desires and you will get a great benefit. Do you understand? You will get a great benefit! However, if in lieu of devotion you search for other things, you have some other material desires, you will get what you want, but devotion will run away from you. So, be careful. Be careful about Nama aparadh, about seva aparadh, Vaishnav aparadh, Dham aparadh. You must avoid the offences.

So, first chant the Pancha-tattva's name, then start chanting from the big beads,

হরে কৃষ্ণ হরে কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ হরে হরে ।
হরে রাম হরে রাম রাম রাম হরে হরে ॥

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Chant in this way from the big beads to the small beads, take turn and chant from the small beads to the big beads. Chant sixteen rounds of the Holy Name in this way, that will be good for you. Sometimes you go to school, you go to the temple and if you do not get time to properly chant on the beads, at least four rounds must be chanted. Not less than four rounds. If you think, "I have not chanted four rounds today," you must fast on that day: you make your beads fast, and you will also have to fast then. Four rounds must be chanted; not less than four rounds.

Then, take this book about the ten offences. There are so many offences, but these ten offences are the main. You must understand what they are, must recite and memorise them and you must avoid these ten offences. Chant without offences and Krishna will reveal Himself in your heart and you will be successful in your spiritual life...

— — —

...You know that there are four rules that must be followed to take initiation. You must understand them.

Dyuta, pana, striya, suna. You must avoid (1) gambling, (2) drinking alcohol, smoking, (3) illegal sex, and (4) do not kill anybody, not even an ant or a mosquito—everything is connected with the Lord, everything exists for the service to the Lord, so you must engage everything in the service of the Lord. This is the main thing.

You have come to take initiation from me, but actually you are going to get connection with the Lord, you are going to become a member of the Lord's family. From today you are a member of the family of the Lord. Maya, the illusory environment, will always want to remove you from this family, but you have got your membership in Krishna's family and through practising you must always renew that membership. If you only take initiation from your Guru but do not practise properly, you will lose your membership.

It is like you are going to a doctor and the doctor prescribes, "Take this medicine and your disease will removed from you," but you do not take that medicine—you only hear the doctor's advice but do not follow it. The disease will not be removed... It is bhava-rog (heart disease)... We are all sick, we are all patients. Who can cure that kind of sickness? The Guru. How can the Guru remove it? If you listen to his advice, then the Guru, the doctor, can remove your disease. Practise properly and follow what I am telling you 100%.

শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য প্রভু নিত্যানন্দ ।
শ্রীঅদ্বৈত গদাধর শ্রীবাসাদি গৌরভক্তবৃন্দ ॥

sri krishna chaitanya prabhu nityananda
sri advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura bhakta-vrinda

This is the Pancha-tattva's name. First chant their name. They have brought the Holy Name to this abode and without their mercy you cannot chant, so we must first chant the Pancha-tattva's name. This mantra is also written in the book, you can later read it properly and memorise it. After that, start chanting from the big beads. The beads have beads on both sides—there are small beads on one side, and big beads on the other. Start from the big beads,

হরে কৃষ্ণ হরে কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ হরে হরে ।
হরে রাম হরে রাম রাম রাম হরে হরে ॥

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

Chant in this way from the big beads to the small beads, and do not jump over. Start where you finish—from the big beads to the small beads, from the small beads to the big beads, then again from the big beads to the small beads, and again from the small beads to the big beads, and so on. Chant sixteen rounds or more in this way, that will be good for you.

If some day you are busy with service—sometimes you cook, sometimes you make garlands, or wash the plates—you can also chant at that time. You can chant without the beads also, no problem. Do not gossip, do not talk nonsense—you can chant the Holy Name while you are serving, while you are working, that is good for you. It is not necessary to always take beads to chant—when you are doing service, when you are cooking, washing the plates, or making a garland, you can chant also, that is good for you. Otherwise, sixteen rounds or minimum four rounds must be chanted, then Krishna will be happy.

You can also see there is the Nama aparadh book. You can read this book. Many people chant the Holy Name, but they do not get the result because they make so many Nama aparadhas, offences to the Name. Read this book, understand what Nama aparadh is and avoid it. If you can chant without offence, Krishna will reveal Himself in your heart, you will get the result quickly, and you will be successful in your spiritual life...

— : • : —

Additional reading:
The Holy Name and the Offences to Be Avoided
Spiritual Guidance—Rules and Regulations
Chanting Constantly

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