# Purification The chanting of the holy name cleanses the heart of all material contamination, frees one from sinful reactions, and revives one's dormant, eternal Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This purifying power is unmatched by any other spiritual process. --- ## Reviving Kṛṣṇa Consciousness **As a snake-bitten man is revived by chanting mantras, so one in material life is revived by the mahā-mantra:** In the Garuḍa Purāṇa the stress on hearing is expressed very nicely. It is said there: "The state of conditioned life in the material world is just like a man lying unconscious, having been bitten by a snake. This is because both such unconscious states can be ended by the sound of a mantra." When a man is snake-bitten he does not die immediately, but first becomes unconscious and remains in a comatose condition. Anyone who is in the material world is also sleeping, as he is ignorant of his actual self or his actual duty and his relationship with God. So materialistic life means that one is bitten by the snake of māyā, illusion, and thus, without any Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is almost dead. Now, the so-called dead man bitten by a snake can be brought back again to life by the chanting of some mantra. **Similarly, one can be brought back into Kṛṣṇa consciousness from the deadly unconscious state of material life by hearing of the mahā-mantra: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.** —*The Nectar of Devotion* --- ![[cc/madhya/22/107#purport|Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, the living entity naturally awakens]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/22/107|Madhya 22.107]] Purport --- **Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the original, natural energy of the living entity:** The transcendental vibration established by the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare is the sublime method for reviving our transcendental consciousness. As living spiritual souls, we are all originally Kṛṣṇa conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now adulterated by the material atmosphere... **Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original, natural energy of the living entity.** When we hear this transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. —*The Science of Self-Realization* --- **Hearing is the beginning of revival:** Overpowered by this material conditioning, our spiritual consciousness is presently sleeping, but it can be revived by this transcendental vibration of Hare Kṛṣṇa. **If a man is sleeping, he can be awakened by sound vibration.** You can call him, "Come on, it's time to get up!" Although the person is unconscious, hearing is so prominent that even a sleeping man can be awakened by sound vibration. **Similarly, our spiritual consciousness is presently sleeping, but it can be revived by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.** —*The Path of Perfection* --- ## Freeing from Sinful Reactions **The holy name vanquishes all sinful activities:** > "'The holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa is the annihilator of all sinful reactions...'" —*Padyāvalī* (29), by Rūpa Gosvāmī, cited in Cc. [[cc/madhya/15/110|Madhya 15.110]] --- ![[sb/6/2/7#purport|Simply by chanting one holy name of Hari, a sinful man can counteract the reactions to more sins that he is able to commit]] —SB [[sb/6/2/7|6.2.7]] Purport --- ![[sb/6/2/16|Chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra vanquishes all the effects of sinful activities, regardless of whether heavy or light]] —SB [[sb/6/2/16|6.2.16]] --- ![[sb/6/13/8#purport|One who has killed a brāhmaṇa, one who has killed a cow or one who has killed his father, mother or spiritual master can be immediately freed from all sinful reactions simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Nārāyaṇa]] —SB [[sb/6/13/8|6.13.8-9]] Purport --- **One can be freed from all sinful reactions simply by chanting the holy name:** ![[sb/2/7/15#purport|One can be free from all sinful reactions after reaching a place of pilgrimage, but one can have the same benefit at home or at any place simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord]] —SB [[sb/2/7/15|2.7.15]] Purport --- **By chanting, sinful reactions of many millions of lives are gone:** ![[cc/madhya/18/205|Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Please get up. You have chanted the holy name of Kṛṣṇa; therefore the sinful reactions you have accrued for many millions of lives are now gone. You are now pure."]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/18/205|Madhya 18.205]] --- ## More Effective Than Vedic Rituals ![[sb/6/2/11#purport|What cannot be achieved through the performance of Vedic rituals can be easily achieved through the chanting of the Lord's holy name]] —SB [[sb/6/2/11|6.2.11-12]] Purport --- **Chanting attracts the Lord's protection:** ![[sb/6/2/9|The chanting of the holy name of Lord Viṣṇu is the best process of atonement for a thief of gold...for a drunkard...for one who betrays a friend...for one who kills a brāhmaṇa...Simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Viṣṇu, such sinful persons may attract the attention of the Supreme Lord, who therefore considers, "Because this man has chanted My holy name, My duty is to give him protection."]] —SB [[sb/6/2/9|6.2.9-10]] --- ## Chanting Knowingly or Unknowingly ![[sb/6/2/18#purport|As a fire burns dry grass to ashes, so the holy name of the Lord, whether chanted knowingly or unknowingly, burns to ashes, without fail, all the reactions of one's sinful activities]] —SB [[sb/6/2/18|6.2.18-19]] Purport --- ![[sb/6/2/14|One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly, jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even neglectfully]] —SB [[sb/6/2/14|6.2.14]] --- ![[sb/5/25/11|Even if he be distressed or degraded, any person who chants the holy name of the Lord, having heard it from a bona fide spiritual master, is immediately purified. Even if he chants the Lord's name jokingly or by chance, he and anyone who hears him are freed from all sins]] —SB [[sb/5/25/11|5.25.11]] --- ## Controlling the Mind **Chanting engages the mind at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa:** ![[cc/madhya/11/10#purport|Chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra engages the mind at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa constantly; thus the mind's enemies do not have a chance to strike]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/11/10|Madhya 11.10]] Purport --- ![[bg/6/34#purport|The easiest way to control the mind, as suggested by Lord Caitanya, is chanting "Hare Kṛṣṇa," the great mantra for deliverance, in all humility]] —Bg. [[bg/6/34|6.34]] Purport --- **Chanting controls the wild horses of the mind:** The mind is always concocting objects for happiness. I am always thinking, "This will make me happy," or "That will make me happy. Happiness is here. Happiness is there." In this way the mind is taking us anywhere and everywhere. It is as though we are riding on a chariot behind an unbridled horse. We have no power over where we are going but can only sit in horror and watch helplessly. **As soon as the mind is engaged in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness process—specifically by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa—then the wild horses of the mind will gradually come under our control.** —*On the Way to Kṛṣṇa* --- ## Cleansing the Heart ![[cc/adi/8/26#purport|Simply chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra without offenses vanquishes all sinful activities. Thus pure devotional service, which is the cause of love of Godhead, becomes manifest]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/8/26|Ādi 8.26]] Purport --- ![[sb/1/2/17#purport|Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who relishes His messages]] —SB [[sb/1/2/17|1.2.17]] Purport --- **By chanting, the more the heart is cleansed:** Our students can chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra twenty-four hours a day, and they will never get tired. They will continue to dance and chant. **The more one chants, the more his heart will be cleansed of material dirt** and the more the problems of his life within this material world will be solved. —*The Science of Self-Realization* --- ## Eradicating Material Desires **By chanting, one can remove the seeds of desire from the heart:** Śukadeva points out that austerity, charity and the performance of ritualistic ceremonies for counteracting sinful activities are recommended processes, but that by performing them one cannot remove the sinful desire-seed from the heart, as was the case with Ajāmila in his youth. **This sinful desire-seed can be removed only by achieving Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And this can be accomplished very easily by chanting the mahā-mantra**, or Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, as recommended by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. —*The Nectar of Devotion* --- ## Developing Good Qualities **By chanting, the quality of forbearance automatically develops:** ![[cc/adi/17/27#purport|When one actually engages in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the quality of forbearance automatically develops. A person advanced in spiritual consciousness through the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra need not practice to develop it separately, for a devotee develops all good qualities simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra regularly]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/17/27|Ādi 17.27-28]] Purport --- **To avoid pride, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra incessantly:** Being meek and humble, the brāhmaṇa Vāsudeva worried that he would become proud after being cured by the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. **To protect the brāhmaṇa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised him to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra incessantly.** By doing so, he would never become unnecessarily proud. —*Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā* [[cc/madhya/7/146|7.146-47]] --- **[← Back to Śrī Nāmāmṛta](wiki/compile/sri-namamrita)**