14 By chanting his holy name, one can remember Krsna
To always remember Krsna and never forget Him is possible by constantly chanting the holy name:
"'Krsna is the origin of Lord Visnu. He should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and regulations mentioned in the sastras should be the servants of these two principles.'"
This verse is a quotation from the Padma Purana. There are many regulative principles in the sastras and directions given by the spiritual master. These regulative principles should act as servants of the basic principle−that is, one should always remember Krsna and never forget Him. This is possible when one chants the Hare Krsna mantra. Therefore one must strictly chant the Hare Krsna maha mantra twenty−four hours daily.
– Sri Caitanya caritamrta Madhya lila 22.113
Those who are intelligent … are not concerned with the four−fold miseries of material life, but with elevation to the spiritual planets. One who is continuously in trance (nitya−yuktasya yoginah) does not divert his attention to anything else. He is always situated in trance. His mind is always filled with the thought of Krsna, without deviation (ananya−cetah satatam). Satatam refers to anywhere and anytime.
In India I lived in Vrndavana, and now I am in America, but this does not mean that I am out of Vrndavana, because if I think of Krsna always, then I'm always in Vrndavana, regardless of the material designation. Krsna consciousness means that one always lives with Krsna on that spiritual planet, Goloka Vrndavana, and that one is simply waiting to give up this material body. Smarati nityasah means "continuously remembering," and for one who is continuously remembering Krsna, the Lord becomes tasyaham sulabhah−easily purchased. Krsna Himself says that He is easily purchased by this bhakti yoga process. Then why should we take to any other process? We can chant
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
twenty−four hours daily. There are no rules and regulations. One can chant in the street, in the subway, or at his home or office. There is no tax and no expense. So why not take to it?
– Beyond Birth and Death
"The first−class yogi is he who always thinks of Me." One should always remember that Krsna is within his heart and think of Him. This is the proper system of meditation. If we always chant the Hare Krsna maha mantra, we will always remember Krsna, and immediately the form of Krsna will be awakened within our hearts. The process of always thinking of Krsna is the process of Krsna consciousness. The first−class yogi is he who is always conscious of Krsna. One can be conscious of Krsna by hearing about Him submissively.
– Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahuti
One can remember the Lord in constant devotion by the great blessing of the process of chanting the maha mantra:
[Lord Krsna to Arjuna]: For one who remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Prtha, because of his constant engagement in devotional service.
Bhakti yoga is very simple and pure and easy to perform. One can begin by simply chanting Hare Krsna. Krsna is very merciful to those who engage in His service, and He helps in various ways that devotee who is fully surrendered to Him so he can understand Him as He is. The Lord gives such a devotee sufficient intelligence so that ultimately the devotee can attain Him in His spiritual kingdom. The special qualification of the pure devotee is that he is always thinking of Krsna without considering the time or place. There should be no impediments. He should be able to carry out his service anywhere and at any time… A pure devotee constantly remembers Krsna and meditates upon Him. These are qualifications of the pure devotee for whom the Lord is most easily attainable… The pure devotee is always constantly engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord and cannot forget the Supreme Lord, and so for him the Lord is easily attained. A pure devotee cannot forget the Supreme Lord for a moment, and similarly, the Supreme Lord cannot forget His pure devotee for a moment. This is the great blessing of the Krsna conscious process of chanting the maha mantra, Hare Krsna.
– Bhagavad gita As It Is 8.14
Lord Caitanya says that one can practice remembering Krsna by chanting His names always:
[Krsna] does not advise Arjuna to simply remember Him and give up his occupation. No, the Lord never suggests anything impractical. In this material world, in order to maintain the body one has to work… The Lord therefore tells Arjuna that he need not give up his occupation, but while he is engaged in his occupation he should remember Krsna. If he doesn't practice remembering Krsna while he is struggling for existence, then it will not be possible for him to remember Krsna at the time of death. Lord Caitanya also advises this. He says that one should practice remembering the Lord by chanting the names of the Lord always. The names of the Lord and the Lord are nondifferent. So Lord Krsna's instruction to Arjuna to "remember Me" and Lord Caitanya's injunction to always "chant the names of Lord Krsna" are the same instruction. There is no difference, because Krsna and Krsna's name are nondifferent. In the absolute status there is no difference between reference and referent. Therefore we have to practice remembering the Lord always, twenty−four hours a day, by chanting His names and molding our life's activities in such a way that we can remember Him always.
– Bhagavad gita As It Is Intro
Hearing and chanting of the holy name in the process of krsna−smarana:
The essence of all advice is that one should utilize one's full time−twenty−four hours a day−in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord's divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually engaging one's tongue and mind.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati thakura has commented as follows upon this verse: "…In the neophyte stage one should always engage in hearing krsna−katha. This is called sravana−dasa, the stage of hearing. By constantly hearing the transcendental holy name of Krsna and hearing of His transcendental form, qualities and pastimes, one can attain to the stage of acceptance called varana−dasa. When one attains this stage, he becomes attached to the hearing of krsna−katha. When one is able to chant in ecstasy, he attains the stage of smaranavastha, the stage of remembering. Recollection, absorption, meditation, constant remembrance and trance are the five items of progressive krsna−smarana. At first, remembrance of Krsna may be interrupted at intervals, but later remembrance proceeds uninterrupted. When remembrance is uninterrupted, it becomes concentrated and is called meditation. When meditation expands and becomes constant, it is called anusmrti. By uninterrupted and unceasing anusmrti one enters the stage of samadhi, or spiritual trance. After smarana−dasa or samadhi has fully developed, the soul comes to understand his original constitutional position. At that time he can perfectly and clearly understand his eternal relationship with Krsna. That is called sampatti−dasa, the perfection of life."
– The Nectar of Instruction Text 8
When one is perfect in chanting and hearing, he will always remember Krsna:
The more one chants the names of Krsna, the more he becomes attached. Thus service by sravana and kirtana, hearing and chanting about Krsna, is the beginning. The next process is smarana−always remembering Krsna. When one is perfect in chanting and hearing, he will always remember Krsna. In this third stage, he becomes the greatest yogi.
– Krsna Consciousness: The Matchless Gift
By constantly chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, one can be fully in Krsna consciousness and perfect his life:
The example of the gopis is very instructive to persons who are trying to be absorbed in Krsna consciousness. One can very easily associate with Krsna simply by remembering His transcendental pastimes. Everyone has a tendency to love someone. That Krsna should be the object of love is the central point of Krsna consciousness. By constantly chanting the Hare Krsna mantra and remembering the transcendental pastimes of Krsna, one can be fully in Krsna consciousness and thus make his life sublime and fruitful.
-Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
While chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, one is reminded of the Lord's activities:
A devotee always thinks of the Lord continuously. While chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, the words Krsna and Hare immediately remind him of all the Lord's activities.
– Srimad Bhagavatam 5.1.6
