THE TEN OFFENCES TO BE AVOIDED WHILE CHANTING HARE KRISHNA

By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda

Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita

Adi Leela Chapter 8 verse 24

‘krishna-nāma’ kare aparādhera vicāra

krishna balile aparādhīra nā haya vikāra

SYNONYMS

krishna-nāma—the holy name of Lord Krishna; kare—takes; aparādhera—of offenses; vicāra—consideration; krishna—Lord Krishna; balile—if one chants; aparādhīra—of the offenders; nā—never; haya—becomes; vikāra—changed.

TRANSLATION

There are offenses to be considered while chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. Therefore simply by chanting Hare Krishna one does not become ecstatic.

PURPORT

It is very beneficial to chant the names śrī-krishna-chaitanya prabhu-nityānanda before chanting the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra because by chanting these two holy names—śrī-krishna-chaitanya prabhu-nityānanda—one immediately becomes ecstatic, and if he then chants the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra he becomes free of offenses.

There are ten offenses to avoid in chanting the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra. The first offense is to blaspheme great personalities who are engaged in distributing the holy name of the Lord. It is said in the śāstra (Cc. Antya 7.11), krishna-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: one cannot distribute the holy names of the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra unless he is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not criticize or blaspheme a devotee who is thus engaged.

Śrī Padma Purāna states:

satām nindā nāmnah paramam aparādham vitanute

yatah khyātim yātam katham u sahate tad-vigarhām

To blaspheme the great saintly persons who are engaged in preaching the glories of the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra is the worst offense at the lotus feet of the holy name. One should not criticize a preacher of the glories of the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra. If one does so, he is an offender. The Nāma-prabhu, who is identical with Krishna, will never tolerate such blasphemous activities, even from one who passes as a great devotee.

Devotee chants Hare Krishna silently on his beads before the holy tulsi plant

The second nāmāparādha is described as follows:

śivasya śrī-visnor ya iha guna-nāmādi-sakalam

dhiyā bhinnam paśyet sa khalu hari-nāmāhita-karah

In this material world, the holy name of Vishnu is all-auspicious. Vishnu’s name, form, qualities and pastimes are all transcendental, absolute knowledge. Therefore, if one tries to separate the Absolute Personality of Godhead from His holy name or His transcendental form, qualities and pastimes, thinking them to be material, that is offensive. Similarly, to think that the names of demigods such as Lord Śiva are as good as the name of Lord Visnu—or, in other words, to think that Lord Śiva and the other demigods are other forms of God and are therefore equal to Visnu—is also blasphemous. This is the second offense at the lotus feet of the holy name of theLord.

The third offense at the lotus feet of the holy name, which is called guror avajnā, is to consider the spiritual master to be material and therefore to envy his exalted position. The fourth offense (śruti-śāstra-nindanam) is to blaspheme Vedic literatures such as the four Vedas and the Purānas. The fifth offense (artha-vādah) is to consider the glories of the holy name to be exaggerations. Similarly, the sixth offense (hari-nāmni kalpanam) is to consider the holy name of the Lord to be imaginary.

The seventh offense is described as follows:

nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhir

na vidyate tasya yamair hi śuddhih

To think that since the Hare Krishna mantra can counteract all sinful reactions one may therefore go on with his sinful activities and at the same time chant the Hare Krishna mantra to neutralize them is the greatest offense at the lotus feet of hari-nāma.

The eighth offense is stated thus:

dharma-vrata-tyāga-hutādi-sarva-

śubha-kriyā-sāmyam api pramādah

It is offensive to consider the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra to be a religious ritualistic ceremony. Performing religious ceremonies, following vows and practicing renunciation and sacrifice are all materialistic auspicious activities. The chanting of the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra must not be compared to such materialistic religiosity. This is an offense at the lotus feet of the holy name of the Lord.

The ninth offense is described as follows:

aśraddadhāne vimukhe ’py aśrnvati

yaś copadeśah śiva-nāmāparādhah

It is an offense to preach the glories of the holy name among persons who have no intelligence or no faith in the subject matter. Such people should be given the chance to hear the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, but in the beginning they should not be instructed about the glories or the spiritual significance of the holy name. By constant hearing of the holy name, their hearts will be purified, and then they will be able to understand the transcendental position of the holy name.

Real ecstasy can be felt while chanting Hare Krishna by avoiding the ten offences to the Holy Name

The tenth offense is as follows:

śrute ’pi nāma-māhātmye yah prīti-rahito narah

aham-mamādi-paramo nāmni so ’py aparādha-krt

If one has heard the glories of the transcendental holy name of the Lord but nevertheless continues in a materialistic concept of life, thinking “I am this body and everything belonging to this body is mine [aham mameti SB 5.5.8],” and does not show respect and love for the chanting of the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra, that is an offense.

[Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi Leela 8.24]