Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 15.107

"eka krishna-name kare sarva-papa kshaya

nava-vidha bhakti purna nama haite haya

SYNONYMS

eka krishna-name -- one holy name of Krishna; kare -- can do; sarva-papa -- of all sinful reactions; kshaya -- destruction; nava-vidha -- nine processes; bhakti -- of devotional service; purna -- complete; nama haite -- simply by chanting the holy name; haya -- are.

TRANSLATION

"Simply by chanting the holy name of Krishna once, a person is relieved from all the reactions of a sinful life. One can complete the nine processes of devotional service simply by chanting the holy name.

PURPORT

The nine types of devotional service are mentioned in Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.5.23):

sravanam kirtanam vishnoh smaranam pada-sevanam

arcanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam

iti pumsarpita vishnau bhaktis cen nava-lakshana

kriyeta bhagavaty addha tan manye 'dhitam uttamam

"The process of devotional service entails hearing, chanting and remembering the holy name, form, pastimes, qualities and entourage of the Lord, offering service according to the time, place and performer, worshiping the Deity, offering prayers, always considering oneself the eternal servant of Krishna, making friends with Him and dedicating everything unto Him. These nine items of devotional service, when directly offered to Krishna, constitute the highest attainment of life. This is the verdict of the revealed scriptures."

As for being freed from all sinful reactions by chanting the holy name of Krishna only once, one must chant the holy name without committing any offenses. Then chanting one name is sufficient to rescue a living being from all sinful reactions. Such a person who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly is very important and woshipable. Indeed, the nine devotional processes, beginning with sravana and kirtana, can all be attained at once if one simply chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly.

In this regard, Srila Jiva Gosvami states in his book Bhakti-sandarbha (173): yadyapi anya bhaktih kalau kartavya, tada; kirtanakhya-bhakti-samyogenaiva. Out of the nine processes of devotional service, kirtana is very important. Srila Jiva Gosvami therefore instructs that the other processes, such as arcana, vandana, dasya and sakhya, should be executed, but they must be preceded and followed by kirtana, the chanting of the holy name. We have therefore introduced this system in all of our centers. Arcana, arati, bhoga offering, Deity dressing and decoration are all preceded and followed by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord -- Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness