Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet
My dear king, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality
about this age: simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free
from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.
The chanting of Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, the mahā-mantra, is that bright light that dispels the all-
pervading ignorance (darkness) in this Age of Kali. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have taken Kṛṣṇa’s
holy name around the globe.
After five thousand years My mantra-upāsaka [worshiper of the holy name] will appear in
this world and spread the chanting of My holy name everywhere. (Lord Kṛṣṇa to Gaṅgā
Devī, Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa 4.129.50–51)
Even if the sinners reject religion or flee to foreign countries, I will send mor senāpati-
bhakta [My military field commander] to go there and deliver them. (Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu to Nārada Muni, Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala, Sūtra-khaṇḍa, song 12, texts 564–65)
A personality will soon appear in order to preach the teachings of Śrī Caitanya and move
unrestrictedly over the whole world with His message. (Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura,
Sajjana-toṣaṇī, circa 1885)
Taking the teachings of Lord Caitanya and focusing on the essence of bringing the chanting of
the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, a spiritual revolution is continuing to engulf the lives of millions
of living entities worldwide. Regarding the holy name for your followers, you taught us what was
your most important instruction: “Out of all my instructions to my disciples, my most important
one is to every day chant sixteen rounds of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra on beads.”
We find innumerable śāstric statements on the supreme glories of the holy name.
nāma-yajño mahāyajñaḥ kalau kalmaṣa-nāśanam
kṛṣṇa-caitanya-prityarthe nāma-yajña-samarpaṇam
The sacrifice of the name is the highest yajña, which destroys the contamination of Kali-
yuga. In order to please Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, I offer this sacrifice of the
holy name.
There is no vow like chanting the holy name, no knowledge superior to it, no meditation which
comes anywhere near it, and it gives the highest result. No penance is equal to it, and nothing
is as potent or powerful as the holy name. Chanting is the greatest act of piety and the supreme
refuge. Even the words of the Vedas do not possess sufficient power to describe its magnitude.
Chanting is the highest path to liberation, peace, and eternal life. It’s the pinnacle of devotion,
the heart’s joyous proclivity and attraction, and the best form of remembrance of the Supreme
Lord. The holy name has appeared solely for the benefit of the living entities as their lord and
master, their supreme worshipful object, and their spiritual guide and mentor. Whoever continu-
ously chants Lord Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, even in his sleep, can easily realize that the name is a direct
manifestation of Kṛṣṇa Himself, in spite of the influences of Kali-yuga.
There is no knowledge as pure as the name; there is no vow as powerful as the name.
There is no meditation more effective than the name, nor is there any fruit greater than
that attained by the name. There is no greater renunciation than the name; there is no
greater peace than the name. In this world there is no greater pious activity than taking
the name, nor is there any quicker progress than in the name. The name is the highest
liberation, the highest freedom, the highest destination, the highest peace, the point of
no more searching. The name is the highest devotion, the name is the purest inclination
of the jīva, the name is the highest love, and direct remembrance of the Lord. The name
is the cause of all causes, the Supreme Lord, most worshipable, and is a form of guru to
bring one to the Lord. (Spoken by Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, excerpted from Śrīla Bhakti-
vinoda Ṭhākura’s Harināma Cintāmaṇi)
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.33.7 states:
aho bata svapāco ’to gariyān
yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā
brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te
“Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the
families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your
Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good
manners of the Āryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at
holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas, and fulfilled everything required.”
In the Kali-sāntarana Upaniṣad Lord Brahmā says:
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
iti ṣoḍaśakam nāmnām kali-kalmaṣa-nāśanam
parataropāyah sarva-vedesu dṛśyate
“After searching through all the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion more sub-
lime for this age than the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have ignited a spiritual revolution of devotion to the Supreme Lord,
and these holy names of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are driving that fire of devotion to all corners of the
globe. We are hearing that people everywhere are accepting this great chanting, becoming happy,
and are deriving freedom from material suffering.
enechi auṣadhi māyā nāśibāra lāgi’
hari-nāma-mahā-mantra lao tumi magi’
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have brought that medicine of Kṛṣṇa’s holy name that is awakening all the
sleeping living entities who are asleep in the lap of ignorance of who they are and the actual goal
of life.
Falling at your lotus feet, begging to develop the strong desire to chant more and more and to
spread this mercy for the benefit of the suffering living entities.
Your happy servant,
Candramauli Swami

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