Student: I have one question about chanting the Hare Krishna mantra on beads (japa-mala). My spiritual master has given me many preaching duties, so sometimes when I am trying to concentrate on my japa-mala, instead of hearing the Holy Name, I think of all these different duties I have to do.
Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Maharaj: Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur emphasised that kirtan means not only loudly singing the Holy Name, but preaching. Jiva Goswami has given a definition of sankirtan, “Bahubhir militva yat kirtanam tad eva sankirtanam: when many people come together and glorify the Supreme Lord, Krishna, it is known as sankirtan.” Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came and introduced sankirtan. In this Age of Kali, if the Holy Name is chanted congregationally, the combined efforts will be fruitful (sangha-saktih kalau yuge). There is the difference between the preaching mission of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and the so-called bhajan of the sahajiyas, or imitationists.
Once, one of our godbrothers was the subject of our Guru Maharaj’s stern remark. He was a man of good character, but his tendency was generally towards Nam-bhajan. He did not like to do any other service but was only inclined to chant the Name of Krishna on his beads. I was in charge of the Delhi temple at the time and was intimate with him, so I wrote to Prabhupad: “If you permit, I would like to engage my godbrother in some preaching work here in the Delhi temple.” The letter that Prabhupad wrote is still here. He wrote me in his letter, “If you can bring him there and make him help you in the work of preaching, then you will be doing the service of a real friend to him. I don’t recognise that sitting in the jungle of Balihati only chanting, counting beads, is Krishnanusilanam, the proper cultivation of Krishna consciousness.”
So, kirtan means preaching, sravanam, kirtanam. Kirtan does not simply mean loudly chanting, but preaching. And preaching means there must be a fight with the opposition party. Kirtan means a fight. Kirtan creates the divine vibration which will fight with all the ordinary vibrations that are floating in this world in subtle and gross waves. So, Prabhupad told us that our tulasi beads should not fast. His minimum advice was that we must do some service in the form of chanting Hare Krishna while counting on beads, at least once daily. His exact words were, “Malika upavasa na: the beads should not fast.” And his general instruction was to preach as much as possible.
Once, I had a talk with one of the big spiritual leaders of the Udupi temple in Madras. He told me, “Sometimes I preach about Madhva Acharya and the bhakti cult, but I have no time for sadhana; regulated spiritual practices such as japa, gayatri-mantra, scriptural study, and so on. I supported him. Our Guru Maharaj said that Hari-katha, preaching about Krishna, is no less important than sadhana. Rather, it is a more living thing. Preaching is more vital. When we are preaching, automatically we must have the maximum concentration. On the other hand, while chanting on our japa beads, we may be absent-minded. When we are speaking about Krishna to another person, we must be all-attentive. Otherwise, we cannot speak accurately. All our attention will automatically be concentrated when we talk about Krishna. And in writing about Krishna, accuracy is even more necessary than in speaking about Krishna. So, writing is also kirtan. The cultivation of Krishna consciousness may even be more intense when we are engaged in writing about Krishna.
So, the preaching mission of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, the Gaudiya Math, has declared totalitarian war against maya, illusion, and even all other existing conceptions of religion. And our authority is Srimad Bhagavatam and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Divine love is the supreme most goal of every soul. Beauty and love is the summum bonum, our highest attainment; that is the ultimate controlling principle, and not power. And beauty and love are found at their highest position in Krishna in Vrndavan. The ultimate conception of the Absolute Truth is that of reality the beautiful and divine love. At the same time, the difference between lust and love should be clearly realised. That should not be misconceived. The acme of dedication is demonstrated in the love of the inhabitants of Vraja.
So, preaching (sankirtan), and not counting beads (japa), is the real service of Krishna. But because we have taken a vow, and it is ordered by Mahaprabhu and our Gurudev, we must chant the Holy Name while counting beads; it is our duty. Our Guru Maharaj told us, “The japa beads must not fast.” So, if we engage ourselves in preaching work, there should be no doubt that we are really obeying the order of Mahaprabhu. Although He has advised us to chant one hundred thousand Names, or sixty-four rounds daily, that is a provincial saying. What is really all-important is the spirit of service. We are not told that the gopis always count the Name on tulasi beads, yet they possess the highest position in the service of Krishna in Vrndavan.
So, Krishna-nam will help us greatly to go towards Vrndavan. Its importance is there. Like an express train, the Holy Name of Krishna carries us to the goal without stopping at any other station. If we are chanting the Name without any formal petition, without asking, “Give me this, give me that”, it acts like a special train that will go to Vrndavan non-stop. There, the impurities of karma and jnan are absent. The devotees of Vrndavan simply think, “I want Krishna. I do not know what is good or bad. I simply want Krishna.”
Source: THE SEARCH FOR SRI KRISHNA
Reality The Beautiful
By Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj