Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.7 Prabhupada: ayam hi krta-nirveso janma-koty-amhasam api yad vyajahara vivaso nama svasty-ayanam hareh So the order carriers of Lord Visnu, Visnuduta, declared that “This man, although he was very sinful, but now he is cleared of all sinful reaction. He is now clean.” How he is clean? Yad vyajahara: “He has uttered the name of Narayana,” yad vyajahara vivaso, “not any artificially, but automatically,” vivasah, nama, “the holy name.” Svasty-ayanam: “To chant the holy name of the Lord means to achieve all auspicity.” Hare. Now, this name, hare… Sometimes the Mayavadis, they say that any name, either of Hari or any other demigod, is equal. No. That is not. That is namaparadha. If one thinks that the holy name of Hari is as good as the name of other demigods, then it is namaparadha. That is not suddha-nama. So people are being misguided in that way. But the sastra does not say that. The sastra says, harer nama, harer nama [Adi 17.21], the holy name of Hari, Krsna, Visnu, Visnu-tattva. Hari means Visnu-tattva. There are… Tattva is manifested in different ways: Visnu-tattva, Visnu-sakti-tattva, jiva-tattva, like that. So sastra says that harer nama, Visnu-tattva. Visnu… Of course, Lord Visnu has several thousands of names according to His different activities: Visnu, Narayana, Hari, Govinda, Madhava, many names. So any name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari… Harer nama harer nama harer nama. The sastra reminding us three times. Just like we stress upon something that “Do this! Do this! Do this!” Thrice. So therefore it is said three times, harer nama harer nama harer nama, so that he may not forget. He may not be misguided by the so-called Mayavadis that any name… No. Harer nama, three times. Harer nama harer nama harer nama eva [Adi 17.21], again eva. Then again three times: kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha. You cannot deviate from this process. There is no other alternative process. You cannot say that “I will be liberated by this process or that process,” no. Because it is Kali-yuga, any other process will not be successful. You adopt any process; ultimately you have to come to this process, bhakti-yoga. You can work on karma-yoga. You can work on jnana-yoga. You can work on hatha-yoga. There are different yogas. Yoga means how to connect with the Supreme. Yoga means connection, and viyoga means distraction. We know, anyone who knows mathematics, yoga. Yoga means addition, and subtraction, viyoga. So at the present moment, in our conditional stage, we are separated. Not exactly separated, but we have forgotten. We have forgotten our relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So we have to connect it again. That is called yoga. Because we are now disconnected somehow or other, now we have to connect it again. So any yoga system means an endeavor to connect our relationship with the Supreme Lord. That is called yoga. So someone is trying to make the connection—karma-yoga. Someone is trying by jnana-yoga. Someone is trying hatha-yoga. But the real aim is bhakti-yoga. Just like different steps. You are on the first step, and other is on the second step, and other is on the third step, and other is on the fourth step. But the ultimate goal is bhakti-yoga. You cannot understand God or Krsna by any other yoga. It may be a step forward, but ultimately you have to come to the bhakti-yoga. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita it is said, bahunam janmanam ante: [Bg. 7.19] “After many, many births’ endeavor to execute the yoga system,” bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan, “one who is actually practicing jnana-yoga or mystic yoga, he comes to the bhakti-yoga.” Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate. Prapadyate. This is bhakti-yoga. And still clearly explained. What is that prapatti? Vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah: [Bg. 7.19] “When one comes to this understanding that Vasudeva, Krsna, is everything. I surrender to Krsna.’ ” Krsna is canvassing personally. Krsna is so kind that sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66] That we’ll not take. “Oh, Krsna is claiming too much.” But that is the ultimate goal, that you have to surrender to Krsna. That is the highest perfection. So this conclusion, that “Let me surrender… Krsna is asking me. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate Absolute Truth, He is asking me to surrender. Why shall I delay? Let me surrender,” this is intelligence. Jnanavan. So those who are intelligent, they will take immediately. It is explained in the Caitanya-caritamrta, ‘sraddha’-sabde visvasa sudrdha niscaya krsne bhakti kaile sarva karma krta haya This is the real sraddha, faith. What is that faith? Sraddha sabde visvasa. Faith means strong faith, not flickering faith, visvasa, “to believe.” What is that visvasa? Sraddha sabde visvasa sudrdha niscaya: very firm faith and with surety. Surety must be because Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, says that “You surrender unto Me, and I shall give you protection from all sinful reaction.” He is assuring. Then why we shall doubt? Because we are doubting Krsna, that is the defect, that Krsna says; “It may be or may not be,” doubt. That is called doubt. Krsna says in many places, asamsaya: “Don’t doubt what I say. Accept it.” Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru mam evaisyasi asamsayah: [Bg. 18.65] “You do this, and without any doubt, rest assured, you will come to Me.” In another place Krsna said, mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan mad-asrayah, asamsayam. Again asamsayam. Asamsayam samagram mam yatha jnasyasi tac chrnu [Bg. 7.1] So it is our misfortune that we become doubtful about Krsna. This is our misfortune. Otherwise, to become liberated, to go back to home, back to Godhead, very easy thing—provided we accept the Krsna’s version as it is, without any change. It is very easy. Krsna, when He comes personally, He comes to bestow the mercy to the fallen souls, and He speaks very clearly that mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya: [Bg. 7.7] “There is no more better positive truth than Myself.” But we don’t believe. That is the misfortune. But this man, although he did not know what he is doing, but very faithfully he chanted, vivasah, vivasah, without any hesitation. Vivasah. Vivasah means being forced. He was forced to chant. So yena tena prakarena. If you chant without any committing any offense the holy name of the Lord, then you become liberated. This is the purpose of this Ajamila upakhyana. Ayam hi krta-nirvesah. Nirvesa means atonement. If you commit some sin, then you should atone for it. Otherwise you have to carry the reaction of your sinful life to the next life. Therefore, according to the Vedic system, there is prayascitta. So prayascitta, that is also very heavy task. In this age nobody can perform prayascitta. And even one is able to perform prayascitta, then he…, there is possibility of again falling down unless one is clear consciousness, and that, Krsna consciousness. Unless one is Krsna conscious, there is every chance of falling down. So anyway, this Ajamila is krta-nirvesa. The Visnuduta informed to the Yamaduta that “You cannot touch him anymore. He is now pure.” Krta-nirvesa. Krta-nirvesa. Then the next question is… The Yamaduta may say that “How he has become krta-nirvesa? He is so sinful that there is no limit of his sinful activities, and you say that it is clear immediately?” And therefore he says, janma-koty-amhaam api: “Not only one life’s sinful activity, but many, many crores of births’ sinful activities.” So we do not know how many births we had previously, but from the sastra we understand crores, many millions of times, we had to take birth. Therefore it is used, janma koti: not one birth or two birth or second birth or fifth birth. So unless we come to Krsna consciousness, this repetition of birth and death will continue. Therefore it is said janma koti… We are passing through many forms of different forms of life. We are creating one family, that “I belong to this family.” But what about my other families? Because janma koti, in every family, when I enter, there must be father and mother and family members. So which family I am especially concerned? That is our ignorance. We become interested in the particular family where we are at present. But we do not know that in the past we had to pass through many hundreds and millions of families. So which family is correct? And again, if I do not correct myself at the present moment, I have to go through many millions of families until we come to the point: vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah [Bg. 7.19]. This is the point. So this vasudevah sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19], we are distributing on the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. People may take that Krsna consciousness movement means that we are preaching vasudevah sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19]—no compromise, only Vasudeva, Krsna. Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. This is Krsna consciousness movement. If people can take it without any hesitation… As Krsna says, ma sucah: “Don’t be worried.” Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. Krsna says Even out of sentiment we take to Krsna consciousness, believing on the word of Krsna, out of sentiment, still, we are benefited. Tyaktva sva-dharmam caranambujam hareh. It is said that if by sentiment one takes to Krsna consciousness, tyaktva sva-dharmam Everyone has got his occupational duty. The brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, or anyone—everyone has got some particular duty, obligation. But Krsna says, “There is no need of executing all this obligation. Simply surrender to Me.” Krsna says. So if somebody, out of sentiment, if one thinks that “Simply by surrendering to Krsna, I will be perfect? Why not take it? Let me give up my so-called religious principle.” So that is confirmed in the Bhagavata. Tyaktva sva-dharmam caranambujam hareh. He is giving up. Just like these European, American boys, they belong to Jewish religion, they belong to Christian religion, but out of their pious activity or even by sentiment, they have given up. Now they have taken to Krsna consciousness. But they are perfect. You may say that some of them are fallen. So sastra says that “Even one has fallen, where is the wrong there? And another person, who has not taken to Krsna consciousness, who has not fallen, what is the benefit there?” Even one has not fallen, sticking to his own particular religious system, he is not gainer. But a person who has taken to Krsna consciousness even by sentiment and has fallen, he has great benefit because once he has taken to Krsna consciousness, Krsna becomes attached to him. That is ajnata-sukrti. Therefore, in all circumstances, we should accept the Krsna’s instruction, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66], and surely we shall be benefited. So it doesn’t matter whether he is advanced. Of course, everyone should try his best to advance more and more in Krsna consciousness, but even though one falls down circumstantially… Tyaktva sva-dharmam caranambujam harer patet tato yadi bhajann apakvo [Bhag. 1.5.17]. Bhajan means this execution of devotional service. Gradually it should be strong and ripe. But if one falls down, even it is not ripened, bhajann apakvo, so sastra says that “What is the wrong there? What is the loss there? Because he has begun this line of devotional service, even it is stopped at a certain point circumstantially, he is not loser.” He is not loser because he will get the opportunity of another human form of life. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrastah sanjayate: “Even one has fallen down, still, he will get the chance of taking birth”—sucinam srimatam gehe—“in the family of brahmana, first-class brahmana,” sucinam, suci, “very pure,” or srimatam, “or very rich man, a rich vaisya.” Generally the vaisyas are rich. So he will get chance either in a very good family of brahmana or vaisyas. Vaisyas are generally devotees. Therefore he gets the chance of taking birth in a nice family. And if he is fortunate or if he is guided, then he begins again Krsna consciousness from the point where he lost it. Therefore he is not loser, whereas others who are not in Krsna consciousness, he may be diverted, and there is no guarantee what is the next birth. Krsna does not guarantee. Krsna says, tyaktva deham punar janma… [Bg. 4.9]. Krsna says, dehino ’smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, yatha dehantara-praptih [Bg. 2.13]. Dehantara-praptih. He will get another body. But what kind of body he is going to get, that is not certain. He may be a demigod or he may be a dog, according to his karma. But this man who is a devotee of Krsna, if he is fallen and if he has to take birth again, it is guaranteed, sucinam srimatam gehe: “He will take birth in a very rich family or in a very pure family.” This is guaranteed. For others there is no guarantee. He may take birth out of the 8,400,000’s of different forms of life. There is no guarantee. So our request is that, some way or other, take to Krsna consciousness. Even if you fall down without being ripened, still, you are not loser. That is our request. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vrndavana, September 10, 1975