Topic: Nama-tattva

"In the land of Nadiya, on the island of Godruma, the magnanimous Lord Nityananda has opened up the Marketplace of the Holy Name, meant for the deliverance of all fallen souls”

For the holy name to take effect, in the Garuḍa Purāṇa, ten offences to the holy name are listed that must be avoided. One should simply avoid them. It is not difficult. One or two take a little more practice than the others. The last one is the biggest hangup. The first one is the worst of all, but it is very easy to avoid that. So these are the ten offences to be avoided while chanting of the holy name.

What should be the meditation of the mind while engaged in chanting the Holy Names of the Lord?

The following is a compendium of verses and quotes about the appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the advent of the Holy Name and the Sankirtana Movement, compiled by Swami B.G. Narasingha Maharaja.

There’s a proper way to cultivate Krsna Consciousness and there's a proper line. We have to understand what that is.

How should we chant the Holy Name of Krsna? What should be our mood and what should be our meditation?

The Gaudiya conception of the maha-mantra is exclusive and stands distinct from all other sampradayas. The Gaudiya conception is exclusive in that it surpasses even the greatest expectations of the Vedas (liberation) and affords one the highest fulfillment of the ultimate goal of life. This is not simply party spirit propaganda or sampradaya jingoism, but an ontological fact.

There have been some recent discussions about techniques for meditation and controlling the mind while chanting japa [the Holy Name]. It is often said that we are doing mantra meditation, so I was wondering if our acaryas or the sastra have recommended any particular techniques that we can use while doing mantra meditation?

We are very far from the Infinite, yet the simple process of chanting His Holy Name, which is non-different from the Lord Himself, allows us to touch His essence, to experience a closeness with Him and His wonderful pastimes.

Devotional life or Bhakti-yoga is a science which follows very exact guidelines — which are both very easy to follow and at the same time difficult for many, because their feet may be firmly rooted in material desires and sinful activities. Yet the Holy Name chanted purely will pull them out of the muck and propel them into an eternal life of sat, cit and ananda — an eternal life full of knowledge and great pleasure.

The holy name is not a physical sound, but the descent of the spiritual realm through sound vibration- golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana. The name is all spiritual-cinmaya. Thus it is beyond material contamination and can connect us to the higher reality.