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Remember the holy names

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 13 - 18

As far as internal cleanliness is concerned, one should always remember the holy names of God and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
BG 16.7, Purport: The demons are not clean, either externally or internally. One should always be careful to keep his body clean by bathing, brushing teeth, shaving, changing clothes, etc. As far as internal cleanliness is concerned, one should always remember the holy names of God and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. The demons neither like nor follow all these rules for external and internal cleanliness.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 1

The only business is to chant and remember the holy name, fame and pastimes of the Lord and, according to personal capacity, to distribute the message for others' welfare without motive of material gain.
SB 1.6.26, Purport: A devotee, after his initiation by the Lord or His bona fide representative, takes very seriously chanting of the glories of the Lord and traveling all over the world so that others may also hear the glories of the Lord. Such devotees have no desire for material gain. They are conducted by one single desire: to go back to Godhead. This awaits them in due course on quitting the material body. Because they have the highest aim of life, going back to Godhead, they are never envious of anyone, nor are they proud of being eligible to go back to Godhead. Their only business is to chant and remember the holy name, fame and pastimes of the Lord and, according to personal capacity, to distribute the message for others' welfare without motive of material gain.

SB Canto 3

Ajāmila remembered the holy name of the Lord, Nārāyaṇa, by merely calling the name of his son Nārāyaṇa, and that gave him a complete opportunity to achieve the highest perfection of life.
SB 3.9.15, Purport: When the Lord appeared as Lord Kṛṣṇa, He played the part of the son of Yaśodā and Nanda, and He lifted the Govardhana Hill, although lifting a hill is not His concern. He can lift millions of Govardhana Hills by His simple desire; He does not need to lift it with His hand. But He imitates the ordinary living entity by this lifting, and at the same time He exhibits His supernatural power. Thus His name is chanted as the lifter of Govardhana Hill, or Śrī Govardhana-dhārī. Therefore, His acts in His incarnations and His partiality to the devotees are all imitations only, just like the stage makeup of an expert dramatical player. His acts in that capacity, however, are all omnipotent, and the remembrance of such activities of the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is as powerful as the Lord Himself. Ajāmila remembered the holy name of the Lord, Nārāyaṇa, by merely calling the name of his son Nārāyaṇa, and that gave him a complete opportunity to achieve the highest perfection of life.
The spiritual potency of chanting, hearing or remembering the holy name of the Supreme Lord is greatly stressed.
SB 3.33.6, Translation and Purport: To say nothing of the spiritual advancement of persons who see the Supreme Person face to face, even a person born in a family of dog-eaters immediately becomes eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices if he once utters the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or chants about Him, hears about His pastimes, offers Him obeisances or even remembers Him. Herein the spiritual potency of chanting, hearing or remembering the holy name of the Supreme Lord is greatly stressed. Rūpa Gosvāmī has discussed the sequence of sinful activities of the conditioned soul, and he has established, in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, that those who engage in devotional service become freed from the reactions of all sinful activities. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā. The Lord says that He takes charge of one who surrenders unto Him, and He makes him immune to all reactions to sinful activities. If by chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead one becomes so swiftly cleared of all reactions to sinful activities, then what is to be said of those persons who see Him face to face?

SB Canto 5

The real success in life is remembering the holy name, attributes, activities and form of the Lord at the time of death.
SB 5.3.12, Purport: The real success in life is ante nārāyaṇa-smṛti—remembering the holy name, attributes, activities and form of the Lord at the time of death. Although we may be engaged in the Lord's devotional service in the temple, material conditions are so tough and inevitable that we may forget the Lord at the time of death due to a diseased condition or mental derangement. Therefore we should pray to the Lord to be able to remember His lotus feet without fail at the time of death, when we are in such a precarious condition.

SB Canto 7

Everyone should bathe twice a day, cleanse his teeth and body externally, and cleanse his mind internally by remembering the holy name of the Lord. The Lord is one, whether one is Hindu, Muslim or Christian.
SB 7.11.8-12, Purport: Nowadays there is propaganda everywhere, all over the world, for a secular state, a state interested only in mundane activities. But if the citizens of the state are not educated in the above-mentioned good qualities, how can there be happiness? For example, if the total populace is untruthful, how can the state be happy? Therefore, without consideration of one's belonging to a sectarian religion, whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or any other sect, everyone should be taught to become truthful. Similarly, everyone should be taught to be merciful, and everyone should observe fasting on certain days of the month. Everyone should bathe twice a day, cleanse his teeth and body externally, and cleanse his mind internally by remembering the holy name of the Lord. The Lord is one, whether one is Hindu, Muslim or Christian. Therefore, one should chant the holy name of the Lord, regardless of differences in linguistic pronunciation. Also, everyone should be taught to be very careful not to discharge semen unnecessarily. This is very important for all human beings. If semen is not discharged unnecessarily, one becomes extremely strong in memory, determination, activity and the vitality of one's bodily energy. Everyone should also be taught to be simple in thought and feeling and satisfied in body and mind. These are the general qualifications of a human being.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Madhya-lila

This process entails hearing, chanting and remembering the holy name, form, pastimes, qualities and entourage of the Lord
CC Madhya 9.259-260, Translation: “‘This process 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 Kṛṣṇa, making friends with Him and dedicating everything unto Him. These nine items of devotional service, when directly offered to Kṛṣṇa, constitute the highest attainment of life. This is the verdict of the revealed scriptures.’
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 Kṛṣṇa, making friends with Him and dedicating everything unto Him.
CC Madhya 15.107, Purport: “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 Kṛṣṇa, making friends with Him and dedicating everything unto Him. These nine items of devotional service, when directly offered to Kṛṣṇa, 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 Kṛṣṇa 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 śravaṇa and kīrtana, can all be attained at once if one simply chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly.

CC Antya-lila

He helped Mādhavendra Purī remember the holy name and pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa at the time of death.
CC Antya 8.29, Translation: Īśvara Purī was always chanting the holy name and pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa for Mādhavendra Purī to hear. In this way he helped Mādhavendra Purī remember the holy name and pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa at the time of death.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Renunciation Through Wisdom

In the age of Kali the only process for attaining perfection is to hear, chant, and remember the holy name of the Supreme Lord.
Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.6: In the age of Kali the only process for attaining perfection is to hear, chant, and remember the holy name of the Supreme Lord. Numerous quotes from the scriptures substantiate this. All inauspiciousness is destroyed by chanting the all-auspicious name of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Lectures

Initiation Lectures

Simply by remembering the holy name of the Lord, Viṣṇu, one is purified in any stage of life.
Initiation Lecture -- London, August 22, 1971: Simply by remembering the holy name of the Lord, Viṣṇu, one is purified in any stage of life. That is a fact. It is said, there is a Bengali verse which says, eka kṛṣṇa nāme yata pāpa hare, ai haya tati pāpa karibare nare (?). "By chanting once the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, the sinful man can vanquish so much volumes of sinful activities, reaction, that he's unable to perform." A sinful man is very expert to commit sinful activities, but the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is so strong that he will be unable to commit so much sins as can be extinguished simply by uttering once the name of Lord Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

As far as internal cleanliness is concerned, one should always remember the holy names of God and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Garden Discussion on Bhagavad-gita Sixteenth Chapter -- June 26, 1976, New Vrindaban: In every civilized human society there is some set of scriptural rules and regulations which are followed from the beginning, especially among the Aryans, those who adopt the Vedic civilization and who are known as the most advanced civilized peoples. Those who do not follow the scriptural injunctions are supposed to be demons. Therefore it is stated here that the demons do not know the scriptural rules, nor do they have any inclination to follow them. Most of them do not know them, and even if some of them know, they have not the tendency to follow them. They have no faith, nor are they willing to act in terms of Vedic injunctions. The demons are not clean either externally or internally. One should always be very careful to keep his body clean by bathing, brushing teeth, changing clothes, etc. As far as internal cleanliness is concerned, one should always remember the holy names of God and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. The demons neither like nor follow all these rules for external and internal cleanliness.
Remembering the holy names of the Lord.
Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- December 7, 1976, Hyderabad:

Devotee (4): How shall the worship be in the temple, Śrīla Prabhupāda, the small temples. What shall they worship?

Prabhupāda: Yes, you introduce kīrtana.

Devotee (4): Kīrtana?

Prabhupāda: That's all. And whatever they eat must be offered. That's all.

Devotee (4): Pañca-tattva picture?

Prabhupāda: Hm. Yes, any viṣṇu-tattva. We have got in our, what is called, cover so many Viṣṇu names.

Devotee (5): Yes, on the Bhāgavatam.

Mahāṁśa: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, all the different planets.

Prabhupāda: They'll be glad to have darśana. "Here is Padmanābha; here is Mādhava; here is Govinda; here is Pradyumna," like that.

Mahāṁśa: And then there must be one main temple over there, one major temple.

Prabhupāda: No, every temple is... You can make a main temple there. They'll be remembering Viṣṇu's name always. "Here is Padmanābha temple; here is Mādhava temple; here is Govinda temple," that's all.

Devotee (5): When the cows goes on grazing, they'll go...

Prabhupāda: Nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sa... Remembering the holy names of the Lord.

Correspondence

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Simply by remembering the holy name of Krishna or by serving His lotus feet one can at once become a liberated person.
Letter to Ratanshi Morarji Khatau -- Bombay 5 August, 1958: It is forbidden that a mundane person should not indulge in hearing Rasalila or one should not hear Rasalila from a mundane person. In your organization both the audience and the lecturer are mundane persons and their indulgence in the matter of Rasalila out of sheer foolishness will result in imitating Rudra who swallowed up an ocean of poison. There is nothing immorality in the transcendental activities of the lord neither it requires to be defended by any immoral man because simply by remembering the holy name of Krishna or by serving His lotus feet one can at once become a liberated person. (Bhag. 10/33/34) Besides that the result of reading or hearing the Rasalila in the devotional mood is stated (Bhag. 30/33/39) to become culminated in complete disappearance of the devotee's lust disease in the heart. Persons who are not pure devotees and must have therefore an impure heart full with dirty things of mundane affairs will not only try to defend Rasalila by interpretations or decry the dealings but also shall be ruined as by drinking poison a man goes to hell.
Page Title:Remember the holy names
Compiler:Laksmipriya, Madhavananda
Created:22 of Dec, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=1, SB=5, CC=3, OB=1, Lec=1, Con=2, Let=1
No. of Quotes:14