# Great Souls Chant the Holy Name A real mahātmā is always engaged in chanting the glories of Kṛṣṇa. Out of compassion for the people in general, saintly persons take to chanting. It is our misfortune that we have no attachment for chanting. --- ## Mahātmās Always Chant **A real mahātmā is always engaged in chanting the glories of Kṛṣṇa, praising His holy name:** ![[bg/9/14|Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion]] —Bg. [[bg/9/14|9.14]] **The mahātmā cannot be manufactured by rubber-stamping an ordinary man.** His symptoms are described here: **a mahātmā is always engaged in chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa,** the Personality of Godhead. He has no other business. He is always engaged in the glorification of the Lord. In other words, he is not an impersonalist. When the question of glorification is there, one has to glorify the Supreme Lord, **praising His holy name,** His eternal form, His transcendental qualities and His uncommon pastimes. —Bg. [[bg/9/14|9.14]] Purport --- **Understanding Kṛṣṇa to be the primal source of everything, great souls glorify Him by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa:** Understanding Kṛṣṇa to be the primal source of everything, how do the great souls act? Kṛṣṇa Himself characterizes them in this way: *satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ* *yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ* *namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā* *nitya-yuktā upāsate* "Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion." (Bg. 9.14) **That glorification is this process of bhakti-yoga, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa.** —*Rāja-vidyā: The King of Knowledge* --- **A mahātmā chants the glories of the Lord via the mahā-mantra:** This process of kīrtana (*kīrtayantaḥ*), always chanting the glories of the Lord, is the beginning of mahātmā. **That process is simplified by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who imparted to mankind this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.** —*Rāja-vidyā: The King of Knowledge* --- **Out of compassion for the people in general, saintly persons take to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra:** ![[sb/4/14/37#purport|Even though saintly persons have no business in political affairs, they are always compassionate upon the people in general...In this Age of Kali, everything is disturbed. Therefore saintly persons should take to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, as recommended in the śāstras]] —SB [[sb/4/14/37|4.14.37]] Purport --- ## Our Misfortune: No Attachment for Chanting **It is our misfortune that although Kṛṣṇa makes Himself so available through His name, we have no attachment for chanting:** The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving all facilities so that people may come here, chant, dance, live very peacefully, take kṛṣṇa-prasāda, and be happy, but people will not accept it. That is called misfortune. **Caitanya Mahāprabhu, portraying the people of this age, therefore said, "I am so unfortunate that I have no attachment for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa."** —*Teachings of Queen Kuntī* --- **Lord Caitanya's prayer expressing this misfortune:** ![[cc/antya/20/16|My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting]] —Cc. [[cc/antya/20/16|Antya 20.16]] --- Kṛṣṇa is so magnanimous that He is present before us by the transcendental vibration of His name, which has all the potencies of Kṛṣṇa Himself, and if we remain in contact with that name we shall get all the benefits of Kṛṣṇa's benedictions. **But still we are not inclined to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. This is our misfortune.** —*Teachings of Queen Kuntī* --- ## To Preach Effectively, One Must Chant **In order to have potency to preach, the preachers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should become purified by chanting the holy name:** ![[cc/madhya/24/252#purport|Our preachers who are preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world should follow in the footsteps of Nārada Muni and become purified by following the four principles and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This will make them fit to become Vaiṣṇavas. Then, when they speak to sinful people about the teachings of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, people will be affected and take the instructions]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/24/252|Madhya 24.252]] Purport --- **[← Back to Śrī Nāmāmṛta](wiki/compile/sri-namamrita)**