Harer Namashtakam 2 Japa forces us to practice bhakti undistractedly
abrahma-stamba-paryantam
sarvam maya-mayam jagat
satyam satyam punah satyam
harer namaiva kevalam
The entire universe, from exalted Brahma down to the lowly clump of grass, is a product of the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. The only thing that is reality, reality, again I say reality—The holy name of Shri Hari alone is everything.
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna. a-brahma-stambh-paryantam sarvam maya mayam jagat satyam satyam puna satyam harer na meva kevalam a-brahma-stambh-paryantam From Brahma down to Stambha.
Stambha is like the blade of a grass. sarvam maya mayam jagat This whole world is filled with maya. satyam satyam puna satyam I declare that the only reality is harer na meva kevalam the holy name of the Lord alone.
So, everything in life that we are engaged in as sadhaka devotees is generally, or potentially, a source of distraction and illusion. When we live in the material world, we try to engage material things in devotional service. Our body, our relationships, our professions, our talents.
At the same time, all of these can also drag us towards illusion. Through them, we may become infused with the enjoying mentality and we may become excessively influenced by lust, anger, greed. Even when we are trying to engage our talents, we may become proud through them.
So, actually, everything in this world can become a source of distraction. And that’s why here, sarvam maya mayam jagat that actually, everything in this world is just filled with maya. It is maya, mayam means it is actually made of maya.
This doesn’t mean that it is illusion. The world is real, but it can put us in illusion. It can put us in illusion by making us think that this is what will make me happy.
And to drive home the point that nothing in this world can make us happy, the poet here gives a contrast between that which is the topmost position in the world and that which is an utterly insignificant position. Brahma is the most powerful living being within the universe, above even Indra and the other devatas. And a blade of grass is utterly insignificant, something nobody notices.
And even a relatively small animal like a cat tramples it underfoot while walking. What to speak of human beings. And yet, both these, the hugely powerful pose of Brahma and the utterly insignificant body of a grass, neither can give the soul any happiness.
Because they have got nothing to do with the soul and they have got the potential to cover the soul. So of course, when there is more developed consciousness, Brahmaji can render service to the Lord, and he does render service to the Lord, but along with the greater facility and freedom and power, there is also the chance that one can misuse that. So therefore, everything in this world is potentially a source of distraction and illusion.
And in this world, the only object that can keep us forever connected with Krishna is the holy name. Krishna manifests himself in many ways, but his primary, his foremost manifestation in this Kali Yuga is as the holy name. Kali Kaale Nama Rupai Krishna Avatar.
So, when Krishna appears as the holy name, especially when we are chanting the holy name, we are forced to put aside all other ulterior motives. Because nothing else matters when we start chanting. We cannot exhibit our intellectual skills, our talents, our wealth, our resources, our influences over others.
None of these matter. We are forced to confront Krishna in our hearts, and to confront our own paucity, shortage, deficit of devotion, and our consequent lack of tastelessness. And in this way, the holy name offers us a solid reality check, which forces us to become free from the hallucinations of grandeur that all of us have.
And makes us realize that I have a lot of work to do in advancing Krishna Consciousness. So, to some extent, the chanting of the holy name forces us to come to the level of pure devotional service, even in the sadhata stage. Because there are very little other rewards that we can get through chanting, especially through japa.
To kirtan, we might get musical entertainment, we might be dancing, and we might get some kinesthetic pleasure. When we see others dancing, we might get some visual pleasure. But none of these other… Of course, all of these pleasures are also connected with Krishna, in the sense that they are spiritual.
But we may not necessarily be remembering Krishna when we are appreciating the music, or when we are enjoying the dance, or enjoying watching others dance. We may not necessarily be remembering Krishna. So that pleasure is not entirely or purely spiritual.
But when we chant the holy names as japa, there is no other pleasure that we can get except the pleasure of remembrance of Krishna. And that’s why this is the reality. Because that, only when we start getting pleasure in remembrance of Krishna, by pleasing Krishna through our remembering Him, then we are connected with reality, and we are set on the path by which we can go back to the ultimate reality of the kingdom of God.
So chanting of the holy name offers an opportunity to give up our ulterior motives in the practice of bhakti and focus on the motive of pleasing Krishna and relishing the sublime and pure pleasure of remembering Krishna after having pleased Him.