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Relative importance of chanting

and deity worship
Posted on Oct 16, 2015 in 06 Important
Instructions

In Kaliyuga, chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra is more powerful than Deity
worship:
As it is said in SrimadBhagawtam (12.3.52):
krte yad dhyayato vi tretayam yajato makhaih
dvapare paricaryayam kalau tad dharikirtanat
"Whatever result one obtained in Satyayuga by meditating on Visnu, in Tretayuga by
performing sacrifices and in Dvaparayuga by serving the Lord's lotus feet one can also
obtain in Kaliyuga simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mahamantra."
In Satya yuga, every person was spiritually advanced, and there was no envy between
great personalities. Gradually, however, because of material contamination with the
advance of the ages, disrespectful dealings appeared even among brahmanas and
Vaisnavas. When great saintly persons saw this contamination, they introduced worship
of the Deity in the temple. This began in Treta yuga and was especially prominent in
Dvapara yuga (dvapare paricaryayam). But in Kali yuga, worship of the Deity is being
neglected. Therefore chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra is more powerful than Deity
worship. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu set a practical example in that He did not establish
any temples or Deities, but He profusely introduced the sankirtana movement.
Srimad Bhagavatam 7.14.39

Although chanting of the holy name is complete in itself, initiation and Deity
worship are still necessary for purification:
To chant the holy name of the Lord, one need not depend upon other paraphernalia, for
one can immediately get all the desired results of connecting or linking with the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. It may therefore be questioned why there is a necessity for
initiation or further spiritual activities in devotional service for one who engages in the
chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The answer is that although it is correct that one
who fully engages in chanting the holy name need not depend upon the process of
initiation, generally a devotee is addicted to many abominable material habits due to
material contamination from his previous life. In order to get quick relief from all these
contaminations, it is required that one engage in the worship of the Lord in the temple.
The worship of the Deity in the temple is essential to reduce one's restlessness due to
the contaminations of conditional life. Thus Narada, in his pancaratriki vidhi, and other
great sages have sometimes stressed that since every conditioned soul has a bodily
concept of life aimed at sense enjoyment, to restrict this sense enjoyment the rules and
regulations for worshiping the Deity in the temple are essential. Srila Rupa Gosvami has
described that the holy name of the Lord can be chanted by liberated souls, but almost
all the souls we have to initiate are conditioned. It is advised that one chant the holy name
of the Lord without offenses and according to the regulative principles, yet due to their
past bad habits they violate these rules and regulations. Thus the regulative principles for
worship of the Deity are also simultaneously essential.
Sri Caitanya caritamrta Adi lila 7.76

Sankirtana, chanting of the holy name, must go hand in hand with Deity worship:
Especially in this age of Kali, sankirtana alone is sufficient. If the members of our temples
in the different parts of the world simply continue sankirtana before the Deity, especially
before Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they will remain perfect. There is no need of any other
performances. Nevertheless, to keep oneself clean in habits and mind, Deity worship and
other regulative principles are required. Srila Jiva Gosvami says that although sankirtana
is sufficient for the perfection of life, the arcana, or worship of the Deity in the temple,
must continue in order that the devotees may stay clean and pure. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati thakura therefore recommended that one follow both processes
simultaneously. We strictly follow his principle of performing Deity worship and sankirtana
along parallel lines. This we should continue.
Srimad Bhagavatam 6.3.25
Nama diksa, Brahminical Initiation, and the
Holy Name
Posted on Oct 17, 2015 in 06 Important Instructions

Sincere eagerness to chant the holy name is the main qualification to be initiated
according to the pancaratrika process:
The following injunction is given in the Haribhaktivilasa (1.194):
tantrikesu ca mant diksayam yositam api
sadhvinam adhikaro 'sti sudradinam ca saddhiyam
"Sudras and women who are chaste and sincerely interested in understanding the
Absolute Truth are qualified to be initiated with the pancaratrikamantras."
This is also confirmed in Bhagavadgita (9.32):
mam hi partha vyapasr ye 'pi syuh papayonayah
striyo vaisyas tatha sudras te 'pi yanti param gatim
"O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birthwomen,
vaisyas [merchants], as well as sudras [workers]can approach the supreme destination."
If one actually wants to serve Krsna, it doesn't maner whether one is a sudra, vaisya, or
even a woman. If one is sincerely eager to chant the Hare Krsna mantra or diksamantra,
he is qualified to be initiated according to the pancaratrika process. According to Vedic
principles, only a brahmana who is fully engaged in his occupational duties can be
initiated. Sudras and women are not admitted to a vaidika initiation. Unless one is fit
according to the estimation of the spiritual master, one cannot accept a mantra from the
pancaratrikavidhi or the vaidikavidhi. When one is fit to accept the mantra, he is initiated
by the pancaratrikavidhi or the vaidikavidhi. In any case, the result is the same.
Sri Caitanya caritamrta Madhya lila 24.331

When the disciple has become competent and purified by chanting, the spiritual
master offers him the sacred thread:
Usually, initiation depends on the bona fide spiritual master, who directs the disciple. If
he sees that a disciple has become competent and purified by the process of chanting,
he offers the sacred thread to the disciple By the process of initiation by the spiritual
master, a person is accepted as a brahmana in his purified state of chanting the holy
name of the Lord.
Srimad Bhagavatam 3.33.6

Even without recitation of kamagayatri, the chanting of Hare Krsna is sufficient to

elevate one to the highest spiritual platform:
Lord Krsna is worshiped by the Gayatri mantra, and the specific mantra by which He is
worshiped is called kama gayatri. Vedic literatures explain that that sound vibration which
can elevate one from mental concoction is called gayatri. The kama gayatri mantra is
composed of 24 syllables thus:
klim kamadevaya vidmahe
puspabanaya dhimahi
tan no 'nangah pracodayat
This kamagayatri is received from the spiritual master when the disciple is advanced in
chanting
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
In other words, this kama gayatri mantra and samskara, or reformation of a perfect
brahmana, are offered by the spiritual master when he sees that his disciple is advanced
in spiritual knowledge. Even then, the kama gayatri is not uttered under certain
circumstances. In any case the chanting of Hare Krsna is sufficient to elevate one to the
highest spiritual platform.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Haridasa thakura formally initiated Maya by asking her to chant the Hare Krsna
maha mantra:
After speaking in this way, Maya worshiped the lotus feet of Haridasa thakura, who
initiated her by saying, "Just perform chanting of the Hare Krsna mahamantra."
Now even Maya wanted to be favored by Haridasa thakura. Therefore Haridasa thakura
formally initiated her by asking her to chant the Hare Krsna maha mantra.
Sri Caitanya caritamrta Antya lila 3.259

When one situated on the platform of love of God chants the holy name loudly,
everyone becomes initiated in the chanting of the holy name:
When a devotee is perfectly qualified in chanting the transcendental vibration of the holy
name, he is quite fit to become a spiritual master and to deliver all the people of the world.
The chanting of the holy name is so powerful that it gradually establishes its supremacy
above everything in the world. The devotee who chants it becomes transcendentally
situated in ecstasy and sometimes laughs, cries and dances in his ecstasy. Sometimes
the unintelligent put hindrances in the path of chanting this mahamantra, but one who is
situated on the platform of love of Godhead chants the holy name loudly for all concerned.
As a result, everyone becomes initiated in the chanting of the holy names
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Teachings of Lord Caitanya