# Initiation and Chanting Sincere eagerness to chant the holy name is the main qualification to be initiated. The chanting of the holy name does not depend upon initiation—it is self-sufficient. Yet initiation and Deity worship are still necessary for purification. --- ## Qualifications for Initiation **Sincere eagerness to chant the holy name is the main qualification to be initiated according to the pāñcarātrika process:** ![[cc/madhya/24/331#purport|If one actually wants to serve Kṛṣṇa, it doesn't matter whether one is a śūdra, vaiśya, or even a woman. If one is sincerely eager to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra or dīkṣā-mantra, he is qualified to be initiated according to the pāñcarātrika process]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/24/331|Madhya 24.331]] Purport --- **When the disciple has become competent and purified by chanting, the spiritual master offers him the sacred thread:** ![[sb/3/33/6#purport|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 brāhmaṇa in his purified state of chanting the holy name of the Lord]] —SB [[sb/3/33/6|3.33.6]] Purport --- **Even without recitation of kāma-gāyatrī, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is sufficient to elevate one to the highest spiritual platform:** This kāma-gāyatrī is received from the spiritual master when the disciple is advanced in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. In other words, this kāma-gāyatrī mantra and saṁskāra, or reformation of a perfect brāhmaṇa, are offered by the spiritual master when he sees that his disciple is advanced in spiritual knowledge. Even then, the kāma-gāyatrī is not uttered under certain circumstances. **In any case the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is sufficient to elevate one to the highest spiritual platform.** —*Teachings of Lord Caitanya* --- **Haridāsa Ṭhākura formally initiated Māyā by asking her to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra:** ![[cc/antya/3/259#purport|Now even Māyā wanted to be favored by Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Therefore Haridāsa Ṭhākura formally initiated her by asking her to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra]] —Cc. [[cc/antya/3/259|Antya 3.259]] Purport --- ## Chanting Does Not Depend on Initiation **The chanting of the holy name does not depend upon initiation:** ![[cc/madhya/15/108|One does not have to undergo initiation or execute the activities required before initiation. One simply has to vibrate the holy name with his lips. Thus even a man in the lowest class can be delivered]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/15/108|Madhya 15.108]] In other words, **the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is so powerful that it does not depend on official initiation**... The offenseless chanting of the holy name does not depend on the initiation process. Although initiation may depend on puraścaryā or puraścaraṇa, the actual chanting of the holy name does not depend on puraścaryā-vidhi, or the regulative principles. If one chants the holy name once without committing an offense, he attains all success. —Cc. [[cc/madhya/15/108|Madhya 15.108]] Purport --- **The holy name is self-sufficient:** **"Simply by touching the holy name with one's tongue, immediate effects are produced. Chanting the holy name does not depend on initiation, pious activities or the puraścaryā regulative principles generally observed before initiation. The holy name does not wait for all these activities. It is self-sufficient."** —*Padyāvalī* (29), by Rūpa Gosvāmī (cited in Cc. [[cc/madhya/15/110|Madhya 15.110]]) --- **Whether or not one is properly initiated, if he chants the holy name offenselessly, he is a pure Vaiṣṇava and must be respected:** ![[cc/madhya/15/111#purport|Whether a Vaiṣṇava is properly initiated or not is not a subject for consideration. One may be initiated and yet contaminated by the Māyāvāda philosophy, but a person who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly will not be so contaminated. A properly initiated Vaiṣṇava may be imperfect, but one who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly is all-perfect]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/15/111|Madhya 15.111]] Purport --- ## Initiation Is Still Necessary for Purification **Although chanting the holy name is sufficient for perfection, one should receive brahminical initiation for purification:** ![[sb/7/5/23#purport|The special purpose of Deity worship is to keep oneself always pure and clean...Deity worship should be continued along with hearing and chanting...By chanting the holy name of the Lord, one can reach the platform of love of Godhead. One might ask, then what is the necessity of being initiated? The answer is that even though the chanting of the holy name is sufficient to enable one to progress in spiritual life to the standard of love of Godhead, one is nonetheless susceptible to contamination because of possessing a material body. Consequently, special stress is given to the arcana-vidhi]] —SB [[sb/7/5/23|7.5.23-24]] Purport --- **Although chanting of the holy name is complete in itself, initiation and Deity worship are still necessary for purification:** ![[cc/adi/7/76#purport|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]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/7/76|Ādi 7.76]] Purport --- **[← Back to Śrī Nāmāmṛta](wiki/compile/sri-namamrita)**