Chanting at impure places
When we are chanting our surrender is simply to hear because our mind will have many objects about what to contemplate on. The mind has so many attachments, desires, fears and aspirations. It is a great priority that we make a offering of our heart by concentrating and hearing the Holy Name. This is how we can worship Krishna in the temple of our heart. It is an offering of love.
There’s a story of a devotee in Jagannath Puri who was constantly chanting Hare Krishna. Always chanting and had so much ecstasy always. So when he got the call of nature, he thought how he can take Krishna’s Holy Name in an impure place because Krishna is non-different from His name. So that devotee caught his tongue so that he could stop chanting. On the way he met a small 5 yr boy who said why he was doing that? The devotee replied because I don’t want to take Krishna in an impure place.
The boy replied Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us that there are no hard and fast rules for chanting the Holy Name. You can chant anywhere, everywhere and Krishna is so pure and merciful that through His name He accepts the service in any situation. The boy asked What happens if you die when you are in that situation? Death can come at anytime – padam padam yad vipadam na tesam. If you leave your body while the call of nature, what will happen if you are not chanting the Holy Name? It’s your duty to chant always without consideration.
So the man when he heard this, he let go and started chanting once again.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates happened to be watching this and They were so pleased with this boy Gopal that They named this boy as Gopal Guru because he was a Guru – teaching the glories of the Holy Name.
