T here are seven stages of transcendental purification and elevation that takes place when we chant the Holy Names of Krishna. Those who are sincere to make progress in Krishna consciousness should carefully understand this.
FIRST PURIFICATION
Ceto darpanam marjanam Lord Caitanya begins by chanting Ceto darpanam marjanam. The congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord cleanses the mirror of our consciousness. Originally we are all pure Krishna conscious entities. Mamai vamsa jiva loke, jiva bhuta sanatana. Jiva soul is part and parcel of the supreme soul, Krishna. As it is said, nithya, siddha, krsna, prema, sadhya, kabhu and naya. The pure love of Krishna is within the heart of every living being. Ecstatic bliss is waithin the heart of every living being. But somehow the consciousness, which is compared to the mirror, has been covered with layers and layers of dust. Why is Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu comparing consciousness to the mirror? It is because the function of the mirror is to reflect the true identity and the nature of our own self. When we look in the mirror, we do not expect to see someone else. It is reflecting the real beauty of our self. The soul is unlimitedly beautiful because it is qualitatively one with Krishna, Who is the supreme beauty. Krishna explains one spark of His beauty is creating all the intoxication for pleasure within this entire material existence. Far greater than the perverted reflection of the spark within this material universe is the soul. Factually the beauty of one infinitesimal jivatma within any species of life has more qualitative beauty and enchantment than all the things within this entire cosmic manifestation, all the way up to the Brahma loka. What is the beauty of a soul that we cannot even imagine? It is part and parcel of Krishna, the all beautiful. When we look into the mirror, we are supposed to see the reflection of our self. The nature of our consciousness is to be the mirror of the very nature of our soul. Our soul is meant to love Krishna and to feel the ecstasy of loving Krishna. But it is covered by layers and layers of dust that has been accumulated birth after birth. And so we cannot see who we are or what we are meant to be. All we see is that dust. Lord Caitanya explains what that dust is — it is all of our selfish, egoistic desires to want to enjoy this material existence. It is the dust of lust. We have so many ambitions, aspirations of how we will enjoy. We are intoxicated by the illusory phantasmagoria of so-called beautiful things of this world, which are compared to mirages. We are chasing after these mirages birth after birth looking for happiness but finding no real satisfaction. When that is unfulfilled, we often become very angry and frustrated. Our selfish desires are not satisfied, so we want to blame someone else or something. And we make so many offences. And if somehow or other we get a little bit of pleasure in this material world, we are not satisfied. We want more and more. So we become greedy which is another species of dust. Krishna explains, just like fire, what will satisfy a fire? The more fuel you put in, the hungrier it becomes. The more you have, the more you become greedy for more and more. And if somehow or another someone has something you want or something more than what you want, then the dust of envy manifests. You become hateful of that person. You are wishing and praying that this person will lose everything and suffer. You become envious. Why does he have? Why not me? I deserve. And through all of this — lust, anger, envy we become very proud of whatever little we have. Even the pauper is proud of his penny. We think we are very great and illusion we become mad by all this illusion. So this false ego, this desire to enjoy and all the by-products that come along with it and the reactions are the types of dust are that cover the mirror of the soul. Sometimes less intelligent people, frustrated in so many ways with the dissatisfaction of all the pursuits in the material life, take to a process of religion where they want to be liberated, by becoming God, which is another type of dust, bhukti, and mukti. Material enjoyment and the desire to be God are the dust that covers our heart and obscures the true blissful nature of the soul. So the first stage of chanting the holy names of the Lord removes all the dust from the mirror of the mind.
SECOND PURIFICATION
Bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam which means the chanting of the Holy Names extinguishes the forest fire of material suffering. This world is, Krishna says, dukhalayam asasvatam. It is a place of suffering. We are trying to be happy in a place of suffering. It is just like trying to be dry when you are submerged in the ocean. Is it possible? Can you get dry when you are in the ocean? If you want to get dry, you have to get out of the ocean. So if you want to enjoy, you need to get out of this material existence. We can have only little pleasure in this material world. That pleasure is actually not meant for happiness. That pleasure is meant to keep us suffering. It is maya’s trick. She gives you enough pleasure to make you never want to leave and then you never stop suffering. Because all you want to do is to get out of material existence. Chant the names of God and go back to Godhead. So why are we staying in this material existence? Maya’s great power is The only thing that keeps us here is our desire to stay here. And she gives us these few tokens of happiness just so that we can feel oh! I like it here. It’s worth all these miseries and sufferings death after death. Just to get some nice food, touch some soft object or just watch some television. It is worth it! In this way, she keeps us in this miserable situation. But actually, this material existence is compared to a burning forest fire. What can extinguish a burning forest fire? No fire brigade has any hope. Only by the power of God, when He sends rain showers it is possible. So the chanting of the Holy Names of Krishna is like that rainstorm. What is impossible for us to do individually or what is impossible for the whole collective human society and earth to do, extinguish forest fire, can be done by Krishna’s mercy alone. Sometimes there are big forest fires. America is a very prominent country. Just a few years ago there was such a big forest fire. Thousands of acres just burned and burned. The US Army, the Navy, and all the politicians in Washington DC and the whole population of so many hundreds of millions of people in America yoga collectively and individually — there was nothing they could do about the forest fire. It was out of control. A fire that is millions of times greater is burning within our hearts. And the flames of that fire implicate us in the threefold miseries of material existence: Adhiatmika — miseries of our own body. Which has so many inconveniences, and discomforts. Like the trains in Bombay — It is Adhyatmika express. People are not happy. Rarely do you see smiling blissful faces? Everyone is hoping to get out. There is the disease. One little creature enters your body and can cause so much misery. And then there are the miseries of the mind — mental anxiety and distress and lamentation and disappointment. So many tears flow from tour eyes due to these miseries of adhyatmika. Then there are the miseries caused by others — may be our brothers and sisters, our families. Oftentimes — husbands and wives. Sometimes politicians and insects, there are so many other living beings that create suffering to the conditioned soul. Then there is adhybhautika — the miseries caused by natural disturbances be it too much heat, too much cold, too much rain or too little rain. In this material world, too much or too little of anything and you suffer. Everything has to be just right in the middle for there to be any relief or happiness. When there is a drought we pray for rain; when there is a flood we pray for drought. Let the rain come, no I changed my mind, let the rain stop. When it is too hot we are praying let there be a nice breeze. And then a frigid cyclone comes and no I changed my mind, I don’t want this breeze, let it be hot. The dualities of material existence are always there. Earthquakes, cyclones, tornados, floods etc. These are all the miseries of material nature. No one can control the infliction of the threefold misery upon us. And therefore birth after birth after birth there is so much pain, miseries. So the second stage of chanting of the Holy Name is bhava maha davagni nirvapanam. Krishna’s mercy flows as reciprocation to the chanting of the holy name, just like a rainstorm that completely extinguishes the blazing forest fire of material existence and we achieve mukti in the truest sense — in the sense, we are alleviated from all suffering forever from material existence.
This is part 1 of the three-part series.
Gauranga Sundar Das is Iskconinc Communication Director and SM IT Head.