Really, originally, the, I mean to say, regulator of religious principles is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is sometimes addressed as dharma-setu. Setu means bridge. We have to cross over. The whole plan is that we have to cross over the ocean of nescience in which we are now fallen. The material existence means it is ocean of ignorance and nescience, and one has to cross over it. Then he gets his real life.
This is not real life. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). We are . . . na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). People are so foolish, they do not take it very seriously, because they do not know that they are eternal. That is another ignorance. Bhagavad-gītā begins from this knowledge that living soul is eternal, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre. But they are in ignorance. They take it as a matter of fact that: "This life, this body, is all in all, and after death there is no more any body, so who cares for sinful activities?" That is another ignorance. And in order to give them direction there are so many religious scriptures in human society.
Therefore it is said, dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ (Hitopadeśa): if one is not following the principles of religious scriptures . . . it doesn't matter whether it is Hindu religion or Christian religion or Muslim religion. It doesn't matter. But human civilization, a civilized human being must follow some religious principles. That is the aim of human life. And anyone who does not follow any religious scripture, he is simply animal. That is the position of the present world. We may claim to be Hindu or Muslim or Christian, but nobody cares for religion. They are simply karmīs. Therefore they are all sinful.
Na niṣkṛtair uditair brahma-vādibhiḥ (SB 6.2.11). Now here the Viṣṇudūta says that: "The direction given in the religious principles, to get out of reaction of the sinful activities, they are not sufficient." Just like in Christian religion there is the direction that if anyone is sinful he should go to a priest and confess that "I have committed these things." And if the priest or the father who is supposed to be representative of God or Christ, if he excuses for his confession, then his sinful activities become null and void.
Here it is said, na niṣkṛtair uditair brahma-vādibhis tathā viśuddhyaty aghavān. Just try to understand that this direction cannot purify the sinful man so nicely, because the same man who has confessed that "I have committed these sins," he again comes out of the church and again commits the same sin. Therefore he is not purified. He is not purified. Here it is said, na viśuddhyaty aghavān vratādibhiḥ. It is not only in Christian religion; in every religion there are some prescribed method that . . . accepting as a matter of fact that every man is sinful, therefore in religious scriptures there are certain methods to purify them.
But here the Viṣṇudūta says that these prescribed methods, although they are authorized and fact, but they cannot purify the heart of the follower of that religion. And you can see that as our Hindu-Muslim religion, even they perform the ritualistic ceremonies, they do not cease from committing the sins. Just like a rascal patient: He goes to the physician. The physician gives some medicine and gives some direction that, "You take this medicine. Do not do this. You do not eat so many things. You eat like this." But he takes the medicine. For the time being he follows, and again he commits the same mistake and again he goes to the physician, and "Doctor, please give me medicine." This is going on.
So this kind of treatment is not accepted by the Viṣṇudūta. Therefore it is said tathā viśuddhyaty:
- na tathā viśuddhyaty aghavān vratādibhiḥ
- yathā harer nāma-padair udāhṛtais
- tad uttamaśloka-guṇopalambhakam
- (SB 6.2.11)
So this is the superexcellence of chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, or God. Here it is said that: "Such description or prescription for performing ritualistic ceremony, they are not sufficient to purify a man. But if one chants the holy name of God, Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra," yathā harer nāma-padair udāhṛtaiḥ, padaiḥ, "once, once only, Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, Nārāyaṇa . . ." So harer nāma, not other name, only harer nāma. Yathā harer nāma-padair udāhṛtaiḥ. "Simply once chanting." Uttamaśloka-guṇopalambhakam. The purification of chanting harer nāma (CC Adi 17.21) means as soon as you chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, immediately you will see the form of Kṛṣṇa, you will realize the qualities of Kṛṣṇa, you will immediately remember the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. That is pure chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.