A bonded soul can never truly chant harināma. Even if one forcefully sits for ten or twenty hours to chant, still it cannot be called actual harināma. Harināma Prabhu and Hari Himself are non-different, so naturally, such a transcendental objective cannot reveal its eternal feature before a conditioned soul. The Supreme Lord, His dhāma, His nāma, His associates—all are eternal. The Supreme Lord reserves the right not to be exposed to our material sense organs, because we are in bondage. We cannot challenge sva-prakāśa-vastu (self-effulgent reality). Neither manpower, money power, nor educational power can bring us success in attaining that Absolute Truth.
Gauḍīya-goṣṭhī-pati Śrī Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Gosvāmī Prabhupāda used to say:
“If I seek the path leading to that Absolute Truth, then I must ignore the countless voices of popular wisdom and listen only to that of the realized soul.”
Also, he often said:
“Logical interpretation cannot stand in the way of that Absolute Truth.”
That is why, according to authentic scriptural advice, one must approach a bona fide sat-guru (tattva-jñānī mahāpuruṣa) to receive full realization of the Absolute Truth, as stated:
tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Bhagavad-gītā 4.34)
Gauḍīya-goṣṭhī-pati Śrī Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda said:
“To chant harināma and to meet Hari Himself is all the same.”
By this instruction, we must carefully understand the real meaning of japa. Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sometimes advised those sincerely eager for real bhajana:
“You must chant harināma non-stop with your tongue, and at the same time engage your hands in continuous service. By this way, someday you may develop the chance to chant the pure harināma by the mercy of your tongue.”
Once some devotees approached Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja about how to complete one lakh harināma (as instructed by Śrīman Mahāprabhu), since their daily seva engagements left them unable to fulfill the quota set by Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Śrīla Mahārāja happily answered in a gentle, nourishing way:
“See, my son! Actually, Śrī harināma and Śrī hari-sevā are compensating factors for each other. First of all, we must understand this point, otherwise we cannot gain inspiration for perfect seva. We chant harināma to receive more and more seva, and we do seva to gain the opportunity to chant more and more harināma. This is the secret of hari-bhajana.”
Long ago, devotees once questioned Śrīla Kṛṣṇa-dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, who was habituated to continuous harināma-saṅkīrtana. In a joking mood, he replied:
“What are you doing the whole day? Why can’t you chant one lakh harināma? Your logic—that you have no time—is impractical. Maybe you chant less on your japa-mālā, but you have full scope to speak harināma all day long. Why don’t you do so? If you follow this, you can easily complete the quota of one lakh. Instead of speaking rubbish the whole day, develop this excellent habit and become firmly established.”
A similar example is found in the life of Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Mahārāja, who in the time of Śrīla Prabhupāda was known as Hayagrīva Brahmacārī. Some senior godbrothers urged him to ask Śrīla Prabhupāda about how to complete one lakh harināma, knowing well that Prabhupāda had great affection for him.
On their request, Hayagrīva Brahmacārī humbly raised the question one day while serving Śrīla Prabhupāda, fanning him as Prabhupāda chanted harināma. With hesitation, he put forth the inquiry. Śrīla Prabhupāda, who never compromised regarding śuddha-hari-bhajana, was not willing to reduce the standard. He firmly asked:
“At night—what are you doing?”
This reveals the exclusive and uncompromising ācārya-ship of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
We also find a sweet līlā of Śrīman Mahāprabhu in Nīlācala Purī, at Gambhīrā Mandira. Once Mahāprabhu tried to stop His tongue from its incessant chanting of harināma by holding it with His own hand, even during bodily functions (deha-kriyā). Small Gopāla, curious, asked about this unusual behavior. Mahāprabhu explained:
“O Gopāla! What to do? I cannot stop My tongue from chanting harināma even during deha-kriyā.”
Then little Gopāla replied like a guru:
“O Prabhu, what is wrong if someone chants harināma even during deha-kriyā?”
Hearing this, Mahāprabhu laughed and declared:
“From today, everyone will call you Guru.”
From this līlā, we learn the supreme glory of harināma-prabhu.