# Offenseless Chanting The offenseless chanter of the holy name is as auspicious as the Lord Himself, and the movement of pure devotees of the Lord all over the world can at once change the troublesome face of the world. Only by the propagation of the chanting of the holy name of the Lord can we be immune from all effects of the Age of Kali. --- ## General Instructions **One should avoid offenses against the holy name:** ![[cc/madhya/22/117#purport|The eleventh item is to avoid offenses when rendering devotional service and chanting the holy names]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/22/117|Madhya 22.117]] Purport --- **Mechanical chanting is not as powerful as offenseless chanting:** ![[cc/adi/10/43#purport|Mechanical chanting is not as powerful as chanting of the holy name without offenses]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/10/43|Ādi 10.43]] Purport --- **The offenseless chanter of the holy name is as auspicious as the Lord:** ![[sb/1/16/32#purport|The offenseless chanter of the holy name of the Lord is as auspicious as the Lord Himself, and the movement of pure devotees of the Lord all over the world can at once change the troublesome face of the world]] —SB [[sb/1/16/32|1.16.32-33]] Purport --- ## How to Develop Offenseless Chanting **Repeated chanting brings one to the stage of offenseless chanting:** ![[sb/6/3/24#purport|The chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is recommended even for persons who commit offenses, because if they continue chanting they will gradually chant offenselessly]] —SB [[sb/6/3/24|6.3.24]] Purport --- **To become free from offenses, one must continue to chant constantly and humbly offer prayers:** ![[sb/7/5/23#purport|There is no way to atone for any of these offenses. It is therefore recommended that an offender at the feet of the holy name continue to chant the holy name twenty-four hours a day. Constant chanting of the holy name will make one free of offenses]] —SB [[sb/7/5/23|7.5.23-24]] Purport --- **By developing one's service attitude toward the Lord, one can come to chant without offense:** Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended that everyone chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra just to cleanse the dust from the heart. If the dust of the heart is cleansed away, then one can actually understand the importance of the holy name. **One should, therefore, be encouraged to develop his service attitude toward the Lord, because this will help him to chant without any offense.** And so, under the guidance of a spiritual master, the disciple is trained simultaneously to render service and at the same time to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. As soon as one develops his spontaneous service attitude, he can immediately understand the transcendental nature of the holy names of the mahā-mantra. —*The Nectar of Devotion* --- **One can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa offenselessly by developing genuine humility:** ![[cc/adi/17/31|tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā / amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/17/31|Ādi 17.31]] If one is interested in advancing in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Caitanya Mahāprabhu advises that **one be humbler than the grass and more tolerant than the trees. One should not be very proud of his intelligence but should give all respect to others. In this way, one can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa offenselessly.** —*Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti* --- **When one realizes that the holy name and the Lord are identical, he can chant offenselessly:** ![[cc/adi/7/73#purport|When one realizes that the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Supreme Person, he becomes completely eligible to chant the holy name of the Lord]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/7/73|Ādi 7.73]] Purport --- **The holy name cannot be chanted offenselessly by one who is not pure:** It is said in the Padma Purāṇa: "There is no difference between the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself. As such, the holy name is as perfect as the Lord Himself in fullness, purity and eternity. The holy name is no material sound vibration, nor has it any material contamination." **The holy name cannot, therefore, be chanted offenselessly by one who has failed to purify his senses.** In other words, materialistic senses cannot properly chant the holy names of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. But, by adopting this chanting process, one is given a chance to actually purify himself so that he may very soon chant offenselessly. —*The Nectar of Devotion* --- ## Effects of Offenseless Chanting ### Realization of Non-difference **By chanting offenselessly, one comes to realize that the Lord and His name are nondifferent:** **The chanting of the holy names of Kṛṣṇa is so sublime that if one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra offenselessly, carefully avoiding the ten offenses, he can certainly be gradually elevated to the point of understanding that there is no difference between the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself.** —*The Nectar of Instruction* Text 5 --- ![[cc/adi/8/16#purport|One must come to the understanding that the holy name of the Lord and the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself are identical. One cannot reach this conclusion unless one is offenseless in chanting the holy name]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/8/16|Ādi 8.16]] Purport --- **To realize that Kṛṣṇa and His name are nondifferent, one has to chant offenselessly:** Unless one is advanced in kṛṣṇa-prema, love of Kṛṣṇa, he cannot see or understand. By the blunt material senses, we cannot even understand the name of Kṛṣṇa. The name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are nondifferent, but we cannot realize this intellectually. **We have to practice chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa to realize it. When we actually advance in devotional service and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra offenselessly, we will realize that Kṛṣṇa and His name are nondifferent.** —*Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti* --- ### Spiritual Advancement **The meaning and effect of offenseless chanting:** ![[sb/1/18/19#purport|To chant the holy name under the direction of a pure devotee is offenseless chanting. Offenseless chanting of the holy name of the Lord is transcendental, and, therefore, such chanting can at once purify one from the effects of all kinds of previous sins. This offenseless chanting indicates that one has fully understood the transcendental nature of the holy name and has thus surrendered unto the Lord]] —SB [[sb/1/18/19|1.18.19]] Purport --- **Offenseless chanting awakens one's original dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness:** ![[cc/madhya/19/177#purport|Devotional service is always dormant in everyone's heart, and by the offenseless chanting of the holy names of the Lord, one's original dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness is awakened. This awakening to Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the beginning of sādhana-bhakti]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/19/177|Madhya 19.177]] Purport --- **By chanting offenselessly, one gets immediate shelter at Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet:** ![[cc/madhya/25/199#purport|Chanting the holy name of the Lord inoffensively will help one get immediate shelter at Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. This means that by chanting purely, one will immediately be situated on the transcendental platform]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/25/199|Madhya 25.199]] Purport --- ### Symptoms of Ecstasy **One can come to the bhāva stage only by offenseless chanting of the holy name:** ![[sb/2/3/24|Certainly that heart is steel-framed which, in spite of one's chanting the holy name of the Lord with concentration, does not change when ecstasy takes place, tears fill the eyes and the hairs stand on end]] —SB [[sb/2/3/24|2.3.24]] If the reaction does not take place, even after continuous hearing and chanting of the holy name of the Lord, it may be considered to be due to offenses only. **In the beginning of chanting of the holy name of the Lord, if the devotee has not been very careful about avoiding the ten kinds of offenses at the feet of the holy name, certainly the reaction of feelings of separation will not be visible by tears in the eyes and standing of the hair on end.** —SB [[sb/2/3/24|2.3.24]] Purport --- **One who chants offenselessly develops symptoms of ecstasy and becomes eligible to enter the kingdom of God:** ![[sb/3/15/25#purport|When one is free from all ten offenses in chanting the holy name of God, he develops the ecstatic bodily features called pulakāśru. Pulaka means "symptoms of happiness," and aśru means "tears in the eyes." The symptoms of happiness and tears in the eyes must appear in a person who has chanted the holy name offenselessly...those who have actually developed the symptoms of happiness and tears in the eyes by chanting the glories of the Lord are eligible to enter the kingdom of God]] —SB [[sb/3/15/25|3.15.25]] Purport --- **By offenseless chanting, one attains God realization, develops mystic powers and becomes a confidential devotee:** ![[sb/1/5/38#purport|By such pure contact with the Lord, without offense of material conceptions (numbering ten), the devotee can rise above the material plane to understand the inner meaning of the Vedic literatures, including the Lord's existence in the transcendental realm...After this, the devotee is endowed with mystic opulences...And above all, the devotee is accepted in the confidential entourage of the Lord]] —SB [[sb/1/5/38|1.5.38-39]] Purport --- **[← Back to Śrī Nāmāmṛta](wiki/compile/sri-namamrita)**