śrīman-nāma prabhos tasya śrī-mūrter apy ati-priyam |
jagad-dhitaṁ sukhopāsyaṁ sa-rasaṁ tat-samaṁ na hi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.184)
“Prabhu’s splendid name, dearer to him than even his beautiful form, is beneficial for the world, easily worshipped, and full of rasa. Indeed it has no equal.”
ekasminn indriye prādurbhūtaṁ nāmāmṛtaṁ rasaiḥ |
āplāvayati sarvāṇīndriyāṇi madhurair nijaiḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.163)
“The nectar of the name manifest in one sense floods all the senses with its own sweet rasas.”
tuṇḍe tāṇḍavinī ratiṁ vitanute tuṇḍāvalī-labdhaye
karṇa-kroḍa-kaḍambinī ghaṭayate karṇārbudebhyaḥ spṛhām |
cetaḥ-prāṅgaṇa-saṅginī vijayate sarvendriyāṇāṁ kṛtiṁ
no jāne janitā kiyadbhir amṛtaiḥ kṛṣṇeti varṇa-dvayī ||
(Vidagdha-mādhava: 1.33; cited in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.1.99)
[Paurṇamāsī to Nāndīmukhi:] “When they dance in my mouth, they increase my yearning to obtain numerous mouths. When they sprout in the hollows of my ears, they produce the desire for tens of millions of ears. When they appear in the courtyard of my heart, they conquer the functioning of all my senses [and thus render me senseless]. I do not know with how much nectar the two syllables ‘Kṛṣ-ṇa’ have manifest.”
ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyaṁ indriyaiḥ |
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.234; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.17.136)
“Therefore, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s name and so forth shall not be expressible by the senses. Indeed, it only manifests itself when the tongue and so forth are intent upon service.”
viṣṇor nāmaiva puṁsāḥ śamalam apaharat puṇyam utpādayac ca
brahmādi-sthāna-bhogād viratim atha guroḥ śrī-pada-dvandva-bhaktim |
tattva-jñānaṁ ca viṣṇor iha mṛti-janana-bhrānti-bījaṁ ca dagdhvā
saṁpūrṇānanda-bodhe mahati ca puruṣaṁ sthāpayitvā nivṛttam ||
(Vyāsapāda; cited in Padyāvalī: 24)
“Only Viṣṇu’s name removes impurity and produces meritorious action, detachment from enjoyment of the positions of Brahmā and so forth, bhakti to the two beautiful feet of guru, and knowledge of the nature of Viṣṇu; [only Viṣṇu’s name] burns away the seed [i.e., cause] of revolving in birth and death here [in this world], establishes a person in deep awareness of complete bliss [in the service of Śrī Viṣṇu], and [finally, seeing its work complete,] retires [i.e., manifests in the form of its bearer, Viṣṇu].”
śrī-caitanya-mukhodgīrṇā hare-kṛṣṇeti varṇakāḥ |
majjayanto jagat premṇi vijayantāṁ tad-āhvayāḥ ||
(Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.4)
“May these names made of the syllables Ha-re Kṛṣ-ṇa pronounced by Śrī Caitanya’s mouth inundate the world with prema and triumph completely!”
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare |
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare ||
prabhu kahe—kahilāṅ ei mahāmantra |
ihā japa’ giyā sabe kariyā nirbandha ||
ihā haite sarva-siddhi ha-ibe sabāra |
sarva-kṣaṇa bala’ ithe vidhi nāhi āra ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.23.76–78)
“‘Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare’—the Master [viz., Caitanya Mahāprabhu] said, ‘I have told you all this supreme (mahā) mantra. All of you go and perform japa of this, fostering absorption [alt., maintaining a quota]. By this, all attainments (siddhis) will be had by all of you. Chant at every moment. There is no other rule in this regard.’”
icchā-vaśāt pāpam upāsakānāṁ
kṣīyeta bhogonmukham apy amuṣmāt |
prārabdha-mātraṁ bhavatītareṣāṁ
karmāvaśiṣṭaṁ tad avaśya-bhogyam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.3.169)
“Even the sin which is about to be experienced [i.e., the prārabdha-karma] of upāsakas is destroyed by this [i.e., by nāma-saṅkīrtana] according to their will. For others, prārabdha [-karma] is the only remaining karma, since that is necessary to be experienced.”
tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo
yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api |
nāmāny anantasya yaśo’ṅkitāni yac
chṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.5.11; 12.12.52)
“Destructive of humanity’s sins is any composition of language in which, even if devoid of [syntactical] sense, there are names marked with [i.e., derived from descriptions of] the glories of Ananta [i.e., Bhagavān, lit., “he who is without end”] in every verse, since sādhus hear, sing, and speak [those names in the process of reciting the composition].”
ye sarva-nairapekṣyena rādhā-dāsyecchavaḥ param |
saṅkīrtayanti tan-nāma tādṛśa-priyatā-mayāḥ ||
anyeṣām iva teṣāṁ ca prāpyaṁ ced hṛn na tṛpyati |
aho nanda-yaśodāder na sahe tādṛśīṁ gatim ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.1.21–22)
“If the attainment of those who, without regard for all of this [i.e., all the aforementioned sādhyas and sādhanas of karmīs, jñānīs, and other bhaktas], desire only servitude to Rādhā and engage in saṅkīrtana of his name [i.e., the name of Kṛṣṇa, the relisher of the rāsa dance], filled with such fondness [i.e., the extraordinary prema of the gopīs, the recipients of the very essence of Bhagavān’s grace], is like that of others [i.e., is the same as that of the Yādavas, Pāṇḍavas, and so forth], then my heart is not satisfied. Aho! I cannot tolerate such a destination [being that meant] for Nanda, Yaśodā, and others [i.e., for the people of Vraja led by Nanda and Yaśodā, since an equal result for those who are great and those who are lesser is not befitting].”
