Shastra:
anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam
harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah saci-nandanah
May the Lord who is known as the son of Srimati Saci-devi be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant spiritual knowledge of the mellow taste of His service. (Cc. Adi 1.4)
yad advaitam brahmopanisadi tad apy asya tanu-bha
ya atmantar-yami purusa iti so ’syamsa-vibhavah
sat-aisvaryaih purno ya iha bhagavan sa svayam ayam
na caitanyat krsnaj jagati para-tattvam param iha
What the Upanisads describe as the impersonal Brahman is but the effulgence of His body, and the Lord known as the Supersoul is but His localized plenary portion. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, full with six opulences. He is the Absolute Truth, and no other truth is greater than or equal to Him. (Cc. Adi 1.3)
krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam sangopangastra parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah
In the age of Kali, Krishna appears in a golden form, chanting the two syllables krs-na. He descends along with His weapons, limbs, energies, and eternal confidential associates. Those with intelligence worship Him with the sankirtana yajna. (Bhag. 11.5.32)
antah krsnam bahir gauram darsitangadi-vaibhavam
kalau sankirtanadyai sma krsna-caitanyam asritah
I take shelter of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is outwardly of a golden complexion, but is inwardly Krishna Himself. In this age of Kali, He displays His expansions while performing congregational chanting of the holy name of Krishna. That He is blackish within means that internally He is Krishna; that He is golden without means that He has accepted the mood of Srimati Radharani. In the age of Kali that Golden Lord is seen accompanied by His expansions associates and intimate devotees performing sankirtana. (Bhagavata Sandarbha of Jiva Goswami)
Lord Krishna, the son of the King of Vraja, is the Supreme Lord. He eternally enjoys transcendental pastimes in His eternal abode, Goloka, which includes Vraja-dhama. (Cc. Adi 3.5)
Once in a day of Brahma (or once every 4.3 billion years), He descends to this world to manifest His transcendental pastimes. (Cc. Adi 3.6)
We know that there are four ages [yugas], namely Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. These four together comprise one divya-yuga. (Cc. Adi 3.7)
Seventy-one divya-yugas constitute one manvantara. There are fourteen manvantaras in one day of Brahma. (Cc. Adi 3.8)
The present Manu, who is the seventh, is called Vaivasvata [the son of Vivasvan]. Twenty-seven divya-yugas [27 x 4,320,000 solar years] of his age have now passed. (Cc. Adi 3.9)
At the end of the Dvapara-yuga of the twenty-eighth divya-yuga, Lord Krishna appears on earth with the full paraphernalia of His eternal Vraja-dhama. (Cc. Adi 3.10)
Servitude [dasya], friendship [sakhya], parental affection [vatsalya] and conjugal love [srngara] are the four transcendental mellows [rasas]. Lord Krishna is subdued by the devotees who cherish these four mellows. (Cc. Adi 3.11)
Absorbed in such transcendental love, Lord Sri Krishna enjoys in Vraja with His devoted servants, friends, parents and conjugal lovers. (Cc. Adi 3.12)
Lord Krishna enjoys His transcendental pastimes as long as He wishes, and then He disappears. After disappearing, however, He thinks thus: (This coincided for the time of the Yugavatara to appear). (Cc. Adi 3.13)
“For a long time I have not bestowed unalloyed loving service to Me upon the inhabitants of the world. Without such loving attachment, the existence of the material world is useless. (Cc. Adi 3.14)
“Everywhere in the world (universe) people worship Me according to scriptural injunctions. But simply by following such regulative principles one cannot attain the loving sentiments of the devotees in Vraja-bhumi. (Cc. Adi 3.15)
“Knowing My opulences, the whole world looks upon Me with awe and veneration. But devotion made feeble by such reverence does not attract Me. (Cc. Adi 3.16)
“By performing such regulated devotional service in awe and veneration, one may go to Vaikuntha and attain the four kinds of liberation. (Cc. Adi 3.17)
“These liberations are sarsti [achieving opulences equal to those of the Lord], sarupya [having a form the same as the Lord], samipya [living as a personal associate of the Lord] and salokya [living on a Vaikuntha planet]. Devotees never accept sayujya, however, since that is oneness with Brahman. (Cc. Adi 3.18)
“I shall personally inaugurate the religion of the age – Nama-Sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the holy name (Maha-Mantra). I shall make the world dance in ecstasy, realizing the four mellows of loving devotional service. (Cc. Adi 3.19)
“I shall accept the role of a devotee, and I shall teach devotional service by practicing it Myself. (Cc. Adi 3.20)
Srila B.R. Sridhara Deva Goswami Maharaja – The Golden Volcano of Divine Love, Ch.1:
Krishna wanted to come as the incarnation for this age of Kali, as well as to fulfill His promise that He made in Vrndavana: "I shall chant the glory of the gopis, especially of Srimati Radharani, I shall chant Her name, Her glory, and roll in the dust of the earth!' But Radharani objected and said, "I won't allow Your body to roll in the dust of this earth. I shall cover You with My luster"
Both the mood [bhava] as well as the luster [kanti] of Radharani captured Krishna when He appeared in Kali-yuga as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This does not occur in all Kali-yugas, but only in a special Kali-yuga - once in a day of Brahma [or once every 4.3 billion years].
Shastra:
The loving affairs of Sri Radha and Krishna are transcendental manifestations of the Lord’s internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Radha and Krishna are one in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now these two transcendental identities have again united, in the form of Sri Krishna Chaitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Srimati Radharani although He is Krishna Himself. (Cc. Adi 1.5)
Desiring to understand the glory of Radharani’s love, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She feels when She realizes the sweetness of His love, the Supreme Lord Hari, richly endowed with Her emotions, appeared from the womb of Srimati Saci-devi, as the moon appears from the ocean. (Cc. Adi 1.6)
Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:
Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has stressed that Lord Chaitanya appeared for three principal purposes of His own. The first purpose was to relish the position of Srimati Radharani, who is the prime reciprocator of transcendental love of Sri Krishna. Lord Krishna is the reservoir of transcendental loving transactions with Srimati Radharani. The subject of those loving transactions is the Lord Himself, and Radharani is the object. Thus the subject, the Lord, wanted to relish the loving mellow in the position of the object, Srimati Radharani.
The second reason for His appearance was to understand the transcendental mellow of Himself. Lord Krishna is all sweetness. Radharani’s attraction for Krishna is sublime, and to experience that attraction and understand the transcendental sweetness of Himself, He accepted the mentality of Srimati Radharani.
The third reason that Lord Chaitanya appeared was to enjoy the bliss tasted by Srimati Radharani. The Lord thought that undoubtedly Radharani enjoyed His company and He enjoyed the company of Radharani, but the exchange of transcendental mellow between the spiritual couple was more pleasing to Srimati Radharani than to Sri Krishna. Radharani felt more transcendental pleasure in the company of Krishna than He could understand without taking Her position, but for Sri Krishna to enjoy in the position of Srimati Radharani was impossible because that position was completely foreign to Him. Sri Krishna is the transcendental male (Predominating Moity), and Srimati Radharani is the transcendental female (Predominated Moity). Therefore, to know the transcendental pleasure of loving Krishna, Lord Krishna Himself appeared as Lord Chaitanya, accepting the emotions and bodily luster of Srimati Radharani.
Lord Caitanya appeared in order to fulfill these confidential desires, and also to preach the special significance of chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare and to answer the call of Advaita Prabhu. These were secondary reasons for the Lord’s appearance. (Cc. Adi-lila, Ch.4, Chapter summary – A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)
Shastra:
(Sri Krishna said:) “Unless one practices devotional service himself, he cannot teach it to others. This conclusion is indeed confirmed throughout the Gita and Bhagavatam. (Cc. Adi 3.21)
‘Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself. (Cc. Adi 3.22)
‘To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.’ (Cc. Adi 3.23)
‘If I did not show the proper principles of religion, all these worlds would fall into ruin. I would be a cause of unwanted population and would spoil all these living beings.’ (Cc. Adi 3.24)
‘Whatever actions a great man performs, common people follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.’” (Cc. Adi 3.25)
This boy Krishna, has three other colors: white, red and yellow as He appears in different ages. Now, in this Dvapara-yuga, He has appeared in a transcendental blackish color. (Bhag. 10.8.13)
We offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Him, the Lord, upon whom one should always meditate. He destroys insults to His devotees. He removes the distresses of His devotees and satisfies their desires. He, the abode of all holy places and the shelter of all sages, is worshipable by Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma. He is the boat of the demigods for crossing the ocean of birth and death. (Bhag. 11.5.33)
We offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord, upon whom one should always meditate. He left His householder life, leaving aside His eternal consort, whom even the denizens of heaven adore. He went into the forest to deliver the fallen souls, who are put into illusion by material energy. (Bhag. 11.5.34)
My Lord, You kill all the enemies of the world in Your multifarious incarnations in the families of men, animals, demigods, rishis, aquatics and so on. Thus You illuminate the worlds with transcendental knowledge. In the Age of Kali, O Mahapurusha, You sometimes appear in a covered incarnation. Therefore, You are known as Tri-yuga [one who appears in only three yugas]. (Bhag.. 7.9.38)
I will descend on the earth after the passage of four thousand years in the Kali-Age, and before the passage of five thousand years. I will come on the earth on the bank of the Ganges. I will be a tall and saintly brahmana devotee. I will have all the auspicious symptoms of an exalted person. I will exhibit renunciation. I will have all auspicious signs. I will be a devotee, practicing bhakti-yoga. I will taste the rasa of My own devotional service. (Atharva Veda)
In the seventh manvantara, in the beginning of the Kali-Yuga, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will, accompanied by His own associates, descend in a golden form to the earth. He will teach the chanting of His own names. (Atharva-Veda Purusa-Bodhini-Upanisad 8)
I shall come to the earth, accompanied by My associates, in a place by the bank of the Ganges. I will advent to save the people who are afflicted and devoured by the sins of the age of Kali. I will manifest as an avadhuta Brahmana sannyasi. (Sama Veda)
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Mahaprabhu, who disseminates transcendental enlightenment. Just to be in touch with Him is to be in contact with the indestructible Brahma-jyoti. (Svetasvatara Upanishad 3.12)
One who sees that golden-colored Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Lord, the supreme actor, who is the source of the Supreme Brahman, is liberated. (Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.3)
O best of the brahmanas, My disguised form is eternal. In this way, with My own form hidden from ordinary sight I take the form of a devotee and appear among the people in general in order to establish and protect religious principles. (Adi Purana)
O brahmana, I occasionally take the sannyasa ashrama in an attempt to bring the fallen people of Kali Yuga to take up the path of bhakti or devotional service to Lord Krishna. (Upa-purana)
The Supreme Person will appear in the first part of the age of Kali. He will appear in the home of a brahmana to save the embodied conditioned souls burning in the troubles of Kali-Yuga. (Kurma-Purana)
In the first part of the age of Kali, I will come among the brahmanas to save the fallen souls, who are being burned by the troubles of the age of Kali. I will take birth as the son of Sachi, in Navadvipa-Mayapura.. I will come in my complete spiritual form in the first part of Kali-Yuga. In the first part of Kali-Yuga, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will come in a gold-like form. First He will become the husband of Lakshmi (Srimati Lakshmpriya, Lord Chaitanya's first wife and Vishnupriya Devi, Mahaprabhu’s second wife). Then He will become a sannyasi, near Lord Jagannatha who will appear in a divine wooden form. (Garuda-Purana)
The Supreme Personality of Godhead who in the Satya-yuga appeared as a half-man, half-lion to cure a terrible disease that had ravaged the daityas, and who in the Treta-yuga appeared as a person named Rama (Lord Ramachandra), a person who defeated the ten-headed Demon Ravana, and who in the Dvapara-yuga removed the earth's burden, and protected the cowherd men of Vraja-pura, will appear again in the Kali-yuga. His form will be golden, He will delight in chanting the Lord's holy names, and His name will be Sri Chaitanya." (Nrsimha Purana)
The Supreme Personality, Janardana, who is the object of the yogis' meditation, who saves the devotees from various sufferings, and who is the master of all yogic practices, who is always full of divine transcendental ecstasy and bliss, will advent in His own divine form of Sri Chaitanya. I shall appear on this earth in the first part of Kali-yuga in a beautiful place on the bank of the Bhagirathi-Ganga. I shall have a golden form, and I shall take birth as the son of Sachi. (Padma-Purana)
O Vipra, in the age of Kali, I will come disguised as a devotee and I will save all the worlds. O demigods, please come and advent as devotees on this earth in the age of Kali-yuga. I will incarnate as the son of Sachi to inaugurate the congregational chanting of the name of Krishna. I shall advent in the form of a brahmana devotee and I shall hide my factual identity. I shall deliver all the worlds. (Narada Purana)
I will reveal my eternal golden form in the first part of Kali-yuga. I will advent on the earth on the bank of the Bhagirathi-Ganga. (Brahma-Purana)
O austere sage, you should know that in the age of Kali, everyone will see my transcendental form as a sannyasi. I will be exhibiting symptoms of ecstasy like shedding tears of bliss and hairs standing in ecstasy. (Bhavisya-Purana)
The Supreme Personality of Godhead will come in a golden form, full of peace, and a beautiful long neck. He will be surrounded by many saintly devotees. (Agni-Purana)
In the age of Kali, I shall advent where the three rivers meet. I shall have a shaven head. I shall have a golden complexion. I will be very kind and always chant the holy name of Krishna. (Matsya-Purana)
In the Kali-Yuga, I will leave Goloka and, to save the people of the world, I will become the handsome and playful Lord Gauranga. (Markandeya-Purana)
I shall come as the best of the brahmanas. I will exhibit many pastimes in the form of a devotee. I shall deliver the people of the world. (Varaha-Purana)
O Narada Muni, I will take birth in the womb of Sachi. I shall save the people, who have given up all good conduct, from the terrible darkness of the age of Kali-Yuga. (Vamana-Purana)
In the age of Kali-yuga, I shall come in a place on the bank of the Ganges. I will be very pure, have a fair complexion, and be very tall and chant the holy names of Krishna. (Vayu-Purana)
In the Age of Kali when the sankirtana movement is inaugurated, I shall descend as the son of Sachi-devi. (Vayu Purana).
He appears in a golden form, His limbs are the complexion of molten gold. His body is extremely beautiful and decorated with sandalwood pulp. (Mahabharata, Vishnu Sahasranama)
He accepts sannyasa and shows equanimity. He is peaceful. His mind is always fixed and He performs chanting of the holy names. (Mahabharata, Vishnu Sahasranama)
I shall appear in the holy land of Navadvipa as the son of Sachi-devi. (Krishna-yamala-Tantra)
Sometimes I personally appear on the surface of the world in the garb of a devotee. Specifically, I appear as the son of Sachi in Kali-yuga to start the sankirtana movement. (Brahma-yamala Tantra)
“My plenary portions can establish the principles of religion for each age. No one but Me, however, can bestow the kind of loving service performed by the residents of Vraja. (Cc. Adi 3.26)
“There may be many all-auspicious incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, but who other than Lord Sri Krishna can bestow love of God upon the surrendered souls?" (Cc. Adi 3.27)
“Therefore in the company of My devotees I shall appear on earth and perform various colorful pastimes.” (Cc. Adi 3.28)
Thinking thus, the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Himself, descended at Nadia early in the age of Kali. (Cc. Adi 3.29)
Thus the lionlike Lord Chaitanya has appeared in Navadvipa. He has the shoulders of a lion, the powers of a lion, and the loud voice of a lion. (Cc. Adi 3.30)
May that lion be seated in the core of the heart of every living being. Thus with His resounding roar may He drive away one’s elephantine vices. (Cc. Adi 3.31)
In His early pastimes He is known as Visvambhara because He floods the world with the nectar of devotion and thus saves the living beings. (Cc. Adi 3.32)
The verbal root “dubhrn” [which is the root of the word “visvambhara”] indicates nourishing and maintaining. Lord Chaitanya nourishes and maintains the three worlds by distributing love of God. (Cc. Adi 3.33)
In His later pastimes He is known as Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He blesses the whole world by teaching about the name and fame of Lord Sri Krishna. (Cc. Adi 3.34)
namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te
krsnaya krsna-caitanya-namne gaura-tvise namah
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is more magnanimous than any other avatara, even Krishna Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given—pure love of Krishna. (Cc. Madhya 19.53)
Srila B.P. Puri Maharaja – The Art of Sadhana, Ch. 13:
Krishna’s Vraja pastime is one of munificence (audarya) in which sweetness (madhurya) predominates, while His Navadvipa pastime as Gaura is one of sweetness in which munificence predominates. In this spirit of munificence, the compassionate Lord Gauranga played the role of a gardener who planted an orchard of love-fruit trees in Navadvipa. Mahaprabhu is sometimes said to be the tree of ecstatic love for Krishna, but by a divine twist, He is also the one who enjoys the fruits of this tree and distributes them. While the Lord relished the taste of these fruits, He also gave them away with such enthusiasm that He used both hands. As He did so, He said:
“As I am the only gardener, to how many different places can I go? And since I am all alone, how many fruits can I pick and give away? It is extremely tiring to gather up the fruits and distribute them alone; it disturbs Me to know that some people will receive My fruit and others will not. Therefore, I order everyone to distribute these fruits of love to everyone they see, wherever they go.” (Cc. Adi.9.34-6)
In this way, Mahaprabhu asked those who received His mercy to help Him. In this way they can render service to Him.
“I constantly water the tree with the nectar of My personal desire. As a result, there are countless fruits of love upon it. Therefore, I ask all of you to distribute these fruits to everyone everywhere so that by eating them, all can become free from old age and death.” (Cc. Adi.9.38-9)
Mahaprabhu further specifies that it is the special duty of those who are born in India to take up this service:
bharata-bhumite haila manusya janma jara
janma sarthaka kari kara para-upakara
“Whoever has taken a human birth in the land of Bharata should make his life successful and engage in welfare work for others.” (Cc. Adi 9.41)
Shastra:
nama cintamanih krsnas caitanya-rasa-vigrahah
purnah suddho nitya-mukto ’bhinnatvan nama-naminoh
The holy name of Krishna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krishna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Krishna‘s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krishna Himself. Since Krishna‘s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krishna‘s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are identical. (Padma Purana)
ekam eva sac-cid-ananda-rasadi-rupam
tattvam dvidhavirbhutam ity arthah
Krishna-tattva is the non-dual form of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. He has appeared in two forms – nami, the form of Sri Krishna Himself and nama, the form of His own name. (Jiva Gosvami)
‘nama', 'vigraha', 'svarupa’—tina eka-rupa
tine 'bheda' nahi,—tina 'cid-ananda-rupa'
deha-dehira, nama-namira krsne majo ‘bheda’
jivera dharma—nama-deha-svarupe 'vibheda'
ataeva krsnera 'nama', 'deha', 'vilasa'
prakrtendriya-grhya nahe, haya sva-prakasa
The Lord’s holy name, His form and His personality are all one and the same. There is no difference between them. Since all of them are absolute, they are all transcendentally blissful. There is no difference between Krishna’s body and Himself or between His name and Himself. But as far as the conditioned soul is concerned, one’s name is different from one’s body, from one’s original form and so on. The holy name of Krishna, His body and His pastimes cannot be understood by the blunt material senses. They are manifested independently. (Cc. Madhya, 17.131-132, 134)
kali-kale nama-rupe krsna-avatara
nama haite haya sarva-jagat-nistara
In this age of Kali, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, is the incarnation of Lord Krishna. Simply by chanting the holy name, one associates with the Lord directly. Anyone who does this is certainly delivered. (Cc. Adi 17.22)
prthivite ache yadi nagaradi-grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama
In every town and village of the world, My Holy Name will be sung. (Chaitanya-bhagavata, Antya-khanda. 4.126)
golokera prema-dhana
hari-nama sankirtana
The treasure of Love for Krishna has descended from Goloka as the congregational chanting of the holy name. (Prarthana by Narottama Dasa Thakura)
nama sankirtanam yasya sarva papa pranasanam
pranamo duhkha-samanas tam namami harim param
The chanting of the holy name can relieve us from all undesirable habits, all filthy characteristics and all miseries. Chant the maha-mantra! Nothing else is necessary. Take this! Chant the maha-mantra and begin your real life in this dark age of Kali-yuga with the most broad and wide theistic conception. Let us all bow down to Sri Krishna (Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu). (Bhag. 12.13.23)
The following is a compilation of verses glorifying the Holy Name found in Prema Vivarta by Sri Jagadananda Pandita:
One day, at the house of Kashi Mishra, Krishnadas expressed some of his personal feelings to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
[Krishnadas said:] “Please let me hear the glories of the Name of Krishna, the glories that even Brahma and Shiva do not know the end of.”
The Lord replied, “The glories of the Name of Krishna are unlimited. Even Krishna Himself does not know them. So, what can I understand? I am just a fallen soul.
“I can tell you what I have heard from the shastras. Listen with faith, and you will cross over material existence.
“The Holy Name always destroys all sin, cures all disease, relieves all misery, clears away the obstacles made by Kali, delivers the residents of hell, cuts away active karma, and removes all offences.
“Making all pious works successful is a Pastime of the Holy Name, and the appearance of the sun-like Name is superior to studying all the scriptures.
“All the scriptures say that chanting the Holy Name is superior to visiting all the holy places and superior to performing all pious work.
“The Holy Name is all-powerful, grants all desired ends, and naturally makes the world joyful.
“The Holy Name should be served everywhere and always. The Name gives all types of liberation, entrance into the spiritual world, and love for the Lord.
“The Holy Name is the goal of human life and the foremost practice of devotion. There is much evidence of this in the scriptures.
“Destroying all sin is one quality of the Name. Hear first the significance of this based on evidence from the scriptures.
Ajamila atoned for ten million births of sins because he desperately called out the auspicious Name of the Lord. (Bhag. 6.2.7)
Chanting the Name of Vishnu is the best means of atonement for a thief, a drunkard, a traitor, one who commits adultery with an elder’s wife, a murderer of a brahmana, woman, king, father, or cow, and all other sorts of sinners because the Lord becomes attentive to (the protection of) those who chant His Name. (Bhag. 6.2.9–10)
Rites and other means of atonement prescribed by the sages do not purify a sinner to the extent that chanting the Name of the Lord does because chanting the Name produces remembrance of the Lord’s qualities. (Bhag. 6.2.11)
Be it indirectly, jokingly, while sleeping, or neglectfully, the wise know that chanting the Name of the Lord removes innumerable sins. (Bhag. 6.2.14)
Having fallen, slipped, been injured, bitten, burnt, or beaten, souls who desperately call out ‘Hari’ never suffer the punishment of Yamaraja. (Bhag. 6.2.15)
All sins are burnt up, like dry grass in fire, by chanting the Name of the Lord, knowingly or unknowingly. (Bhag. 6.2.18)
The fire of chanting Lord Govinda’s Name quickly burns away all sins of the past, present, and future. (Laghu-bhagavata)
Even those who abuse the virtuous people of this world attain liberation by chanting the Holy Name. (Laghu-bhagavata)
The millions of atonements that exist in this world never compare with chanting the Name of Krishna. (Kurma Purana)
A sinner cannot commit as many sins as the Name of the Lord has the power to remove. (Brhad-Vishnu Purana)
There are no sins committed in thought, word, or deed in the Age of Kali that chanting the Name of Govinda does not destroy. (Skanda Purana)
I tell you truthfully that all diseases die of fright when the Names ‘Achyutananda’ and ‘Govinda’ are chanted. (Brhan-naradiya Purana)
By chanting the Name of the Lord day and night, even the greatest sinners become pure in heart and then purify their social class. (Brahmanda Purana)
Souls who are afflicted with terrible diseases or oppressed by kings become fearless by chanting the Name of Narayana. (Vahni Purana)
Chanting the Name of the Lord cures all diseases, ends all disturbances, and pacifies all calamities. (Brhad-Vishnu Purana)
When souls hear and chant about the Infinite Lord, He enters their hearts and removes all their difficulties, just as the sun dispels darkness and the wind disperses clouds. (Bhag. 12.12.48)
Those who are distressed, depressed, disheartened, fearful, or terribly diseased become free from sorrow and happy by once chanting the Name of Narayana. (Vishnu-dharma Purana)
Fiends, demons, evil spirits, ghosts, disembodied souls, monsters, witches, and other ferocious entities flee from the chanting of the Names of the God of gods, the immeasurably powerful Lord, Vishnu. Chanting and remembering the Lord’s Name removes all difficulties. Those who chant the Lord’s Name while hungry, thirsty, or injured immediately become free from all difficulties. There is no doubt about this. (Vishnu-dharma Purana)
Do not fear the sharp teeth of the poisonous serpent of Kali-yuga. The fire of Govinda’s Name will burn it to ashes. (Skanda Purana)
Souls who devote themselves to the Name of the Lord in the dark Age of Kali are successful. Kali cannot obstruct them. Kali cannot obstruct those who constantly chant, “O Hari! O Keshava! O Govinda!” (Brhan-naradiya Purana)
Only the Name of the Lord can cut away the active reactions to sins. Such a result is never attained through worldly knowledge or action. (Nrsimha Purana)
There is no better means for those who desire liberation to cut away the bondage of karma than chanting the Name of the Lord because after chanting the mind does not become attached to karma again. But, by all other forms of atonement, the mind again becomes polluted by passion and ignorance. (Bhag. 6.2.46)
Unfortunately, in the Age of Kali, people will not worship the Lord, by chanting whose Name even a dying, diseased, bedridden, faltering, desperate soul becomes free from the bondage of karma and attains the supreme destination. (Bhag. 12.3.44)
Chanting the Holy Name removes all flaws or faults concerning mantras, procedures, time, place, and paraphernalia, and fills one with the greatest joy. (Vishnu-yamala)
Chanting Your Holy Name nullifies all flaws concerning mantras, procedures, time, place, participants, and paraphernalia. (Bhag. 8.23.16)
Those who have uttered the two syllables ‘Ha-ri’ have certainly studied the Rg, Yajur, Sama and Atharva-veda. (Vishnu-dharma Purana)
Every single Name of Vishnu is superior to all the Vedas, and the Name of Rama is known to be equal to a thousand Names of Vishnu. (Padma Purana)
Once chanting the Name of Krishna produces the same result as chanting a thousand Holy Names of Vishnu three times. (Brahmanda Purana)
What are Kurukshetra, Kashi, and Pushkara to those on the tip of whose tongue the two syllables ‘Ha-ri’ reside? (Skanda Purana)
By constantly chanting the Name of Vishnu, the soul attains the result of visiting millions and billions of holy places. (Vamana Purana)
The various and numerous renowned holy places do not equal one ten-millionth of the value of chanting the Name of the Lord. (Vishvamitra-samhita)
My child, what is the use of the Vedas, Agamas, and other scriptures? What need is there for the numerous holy places? If you seek the means to your own liberation, then simply chant, “Govinda! Govinda!” (Laghu-bhagavata)
Donating ten million cows during a solar eclipse, residing in the waters of the Ganges at Prayag for billions of years, performing ten thousand sacrifices, and donating a Mount Sumeru’s worth of gold does not equal one one-hundredth of the value of chanting the Name of Govinda. (Laghu-bhagavata)
Public welfare works, even if performed many times, are a cause of bondage within the material world. Only chanting the Name of the Lord grants liberation. (Baudhayana-samhita)
O King, what will you do with metaphysics and yoga? You want liberation, O Emperor, so chant the Name of Govinda. (Garuda Purana)
How glorious! An outcast on the tip of whose tongue Your Name appears is exalted. Those who chant Your Name have performed all austerities and sacrifices, bathed in all the holy places, become virtuous, and studied all the scriptures. (Bhag. 3.33.7)
Constantly chanting the Name of Vishnu destroys lust, anger, greed, madness, pride, and envy, completely subdues enemies, and produces realisation of the higher self. (Skanda Purana)
The wise who know the qualities of the Age of Kali and appreciate its virtue praise this age in which all desired ends are attained simply by chanting the Name of the Lord. (Bhag. 11.5.36)
The Lord has drawn out all the purifying power to remove sin situated within charity, rites, austerities, pilgrimage, worshipping the gods, serving the virtuous, coronations, horse sacrifices, and knowledge of the higher self, and placed it within His Names. (Skanda Purana)
For the attainment of all desired ends, chant your favourite Name of the God of gods, the carrier of the chakra, who has the power to grant all desired ends.’ (Brahmanda Purana)
It is all fitting, O Master of the senses, that upon hearing the chanting of Your glories, the world rejoices and becomes attached to You, the demons flee in all directions, and the realised souls bow down. (Srimad Bhagavad-gita: 11.36)
Those who always chant ‘Narayana!’, ‘Jagannatha!’, ‘Vasudeva!’, and ‘Janardana!’ are worshipped everywhere. Eternally, I bow again and again to those who chant the Name of the Lord while resting, eating, walking, sitting, standing, or talking. (Brhan-naradiya Purana)
I bow again and again to those who chant the Name of the Lord with devotion, be they women, labourers, persons of mixed caste, or even outcasts. (Narayana-vyuha-stava)
Regardless of whether they are shelterless, hedonistic, harmful to others, devoid of knowledge and renunciation, undisciplined, or completely irreligious, those who just once chant the Name of Vishnu happily attain a destination that even the pious do not. (Padma Purana)
Neither are there rules regarding the time and place in chanting the Name of the Lord, nor are there regulations regarding food remnants. (Vishnu-dharma)
The Name of the Lord, the carrier of the chakra, should be chanted always and everywhere. There is no impurity within the chanting of His Name because He Himself is purifying. (Skanda Purana)
O King, there are no rules regarding the time and place for chanting the Name of Vishnu. Of this there is no doubt. There are rules concerning the time for giving charity, performing sacrifices, bathing, and chanting mantras, but on this earth there are no rules regarding the time to chant the Name of Vishnu (the Name should be chanted at all times). (Vaishnava-chintamani)
O King, constantly chanting the Name of the Lord is prescribed for ascetics who are indifferent and desire total fearlessness. (Bhag. 2.1.11)
The Name of the Lord, the carrier of the chakra, should be chanted always and everywhere. There is no impurity within the chanting of His Name because He Himself is purifying. (Skanda Purana)
O King, there are no rules regarding the time and place for chanting the Name of Vishnu. Of this there is no doubt. There are rules concerning the time for giving charity, performing sacrifices, bathing, and chanting mantras, but on this earth there are no rules regarding the time to chant the Name of Vishnu (the Name should be chanted at all times). (Vaishnava-chintamani)
Those who once chant the two syllables ‘Ha-ri’ are bound to attain liberation. (Skanda Purana)
Anyone free from laziness who once chants the Name of Narayana becomes pure in heart and attains liberation. (Padma Purana)
Souls entangled in the frightening world who desperately chant the Lord’s Name, whom Fear himself fears, are immediately liberated. (Bhag. 1.1.14)
Those who at the time of death desperately chant the Names of the Lord that describe His avataras, Qualities, and Pastimes immediately leave behind many births’ worth of sin and attain the uncovered Absolute. I surrender to that unborn Lord. (Bhag. 3.9.15)
While walking, sitting, dreaming, eating, breathing, or speaking, those who even neglectfully engage in chanting Vishnu’s Name, the subduer of Kali, realise the true self, attain devotion, and go to the supreme abode. (Liṅga Purana)
By chanting the Name of Vasudeva, even drunk and diseased persons attain liberation, and Maha-Vishnu becomes pleased. (Varaha Purana)
Chanting the Name of Damodara is true auspiciousness, true earning of wealth, and the fulfilment of life itself. (Skanda-purana, Padma Purana)
The Name of Krishna, the sweetest of the sweet, the most auspicious of the auspicious, the eternal spiritual fruit from the vine of the Vedas, delivers a soul when He is chanted even once, faithfully or even negligently. (Prabhasa-khanda)
Remembrance of Vishnu, which destroys sin, is practised with great exertion, but chanting Vishnu’s Name is practised simply by moving the lips. Chanting (kirtana) is thus superior to remembrance (smarana). (Vaishnava-chintamani)
O King, the Names of the Lord are always present in the mouth of those who have fully worshipped Vasudeva for hundreds of previous births. (Vaishnava-chintamani)
Whatever is attained in Satya-yuga by meditation, in Treta-yuga by sacrifice, and in Dvapara-yuga by worship, is attained in Kali-yuga by chanting Keshava’s Name. (Vishnu Purana)
In the Age of Kali, great devotees always chant the Name of the Lord. (Skanda Purana)
Thousand-mouthed Ananta Sesha and the creator Lord Brahma cannot describe the result of chanting the Lord’s spiritual Name even once. We have heard that the glories of uttering the Name are greatly astounding: by just once chanting the Name, the soul attains the supreme abode. (Brhan-naradiya Purana)
O Arjuna, the names of those who chant My Name, faithfully or negligently, always remain in My heart. There is no knowledge like My Name. There is no rite like My Name. There is no meditation like My Name. There is no attainment like My Name. There is no renunciation like My Name. There is no equanimity like My Name. There is no piety like My Name. There is no shelter like My Name. (Adi Purana)
My Name alone is the highest liberation. My Name alone is the highest shelter. My Name alone is the highest equanimity. My Name alone is the highest dedication. My Name alone is the highest devotion. My Name alone is the highest conception. My Name alone is the highest love. My Name alone is the highest remembrance. My Name alone is the soul’s origin. My Name alone is the soul’s master. My Name alone is the soul’s highest object of worship. My Name alone is the soul’s highest Guru. (Adi Purana)
Even outcasts are liberated from samsara by once hearing the Name of the Lord. (Bhag. 6.16.44)
While dreaming, waking, or walking, those who always chant, ‘Krishna! Krishna! Krishna!’ in the Age of Kali attain a form like that of Krishna Himself. (Varaha Purana)
I deliver from hell anyone who, like a lotus cutting through water, always remembers Me by chanting ‘Krishna! Krishna! Krishna!’ (Nrsimha Purana)
Amongst My Names, ‘Krishna’ is supreme. This Name atones for innumerable sins and grants the ultimate liberation. (Prabhasa Purana)
The Name is a wish-fulfilling jewel, Krishna Himself, and the embodiment of spiritual joy. He is complete, pure, eternally liberated, and non-different from the possessor of the Name. (Padma Purana)
O Vishnu! Understanding Your spiritual, all-revealing, and easily intelligible Name, we serve You. (Ṛg-veda: 1.156.3)
The sinners within human society who imagine the glories of the Name of the Lord to be exaggerated certainly fall into hell. (Katyayana-samhita)
Those who hear about the various results attained by chanting My Name but have no faith in them and think them to be exaggeration—I throw such persons into the dark, troublesome material world after subjecting them to a myriad of miseries. (Brahma-samhita)
Conclusion
harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way. (Brhad Naradiya Purana)
Avoiding The Ten Offences to the Holy Name (From Padma Purana)
Sri Sanat Kumara spoke to Narada:
(1) Criticising sadhus is the worst offence to the Holy Name. How can the Name tolerate condemnation of those who spread the Holy Name’s glories?
(2) (a) Those who see a distinction between the Lord who is the embodiment of auspiciousness, and His names form, qualities, pastimes and paraphernalia are certainly offenders of the Name.
(b) Those who see a distinction between Shiva’s powers and qualities and those of Vishnu are also offenders to the Name (Shiva and Vishnu are non-different in the sense that Shiva’s qualities are given and produced from the Lord).
(3) One should not disrespect Sri Guru.
(4) One should not criticise the sastra.
(5) One should not consider the glories of the Holy Name to be an exaggeration.
(6) One should not consider the Holy Name imaginary.
(7) One should not perform sins on the power of chanting the Holy Name. If one does so, one cannot be purified by any type of regulation.
(8) One must not disregard the Holy Name by considering pious activities, such as social duties, rituals, austerities, and sacrifices, to be equal to chanting the Holy Name.
(9) One must not instruct the faithless, the averse, or those who do not want to hear about the all-auspicious Holy Name.
(10) Fallen souls who, even after hearing the glories of the Holy Name, have no love for the Name and remain engrossed in the material conceptions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are offenders to the Holy Name.
Sri Sanat Kumara concluded: All kinds of offenders are delivered by taking shelter of the Lord, and even two-legged animals who offend the Lord are delivered when they take shelter of the Holy Name. The Holy Name is certainly the true friend of every soul, but you will certainly fall down by offending the Holy Name.
Without offense, may the pure Name of Krishna be chanted throughout the three worlds.
