We have all traveled to many holy places in Vraja-maṇḍala, participating in many religious festivals. Presently, we are participating in Jhulan-Yātrā, the “Swing Festival”, of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. Actually, it was performed in Kāmyavana from Ekādaśī to Pūrṇimā, the full moon. We generally perform vaidhī-bhakti—bhakti as per the injunctions of the scriptures. We are not entitled to perform rāga-bhakti. We are not in that position. Our guru-varga has introduced this practice as vaidhī-bhakti. But what is the actual definition of bhakti? We are busy moving from one place to another. We have circumambulated Gīrīrāja and Vraja-maṇḍala with the Vaiṣṇavas. We perform this kind of devotional activity, going to the various holy places of pilgrimage. We go to these places to participate in the holy festivals and to hear about the Supreme Lord’s Names, Forms, Attributes, etc., from a śuddha bhakta—a pure devotee. We chant, we remember. We are engaged in all these devotional forms but, at the same time, we remain attached to worldly objects. We do not experience any improvement. What is the cause?

If you do not understand the definition of bhakti, then, throughout your life, even though you continue to perform bhajana, you will derive no actual benefit.

sarvopādhi vinir-muktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
(Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhu, Purva Vibhāga, 1.12)

What is upādhi? Upādhi is any quality that you have acquired by performing some action. “Now, I have become a professor.” I am not a professor, but I have gone through the education process and, having become employed, I am now called “professor”. I am not actually a professor. I am not actually a doctor, etc. These are all qualities I have obtained. This is known as “upādhi”: title. They are denotations by which one individual is distinguished from another. All such denotations are there. But, with these false egos, misconceptions, we cannot perform bhakti. We think that we belong to the designations of varṇāśrama-dharma: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, sannyāsī, vānaprastha, gṛhastha, brahmacārī. We think, “I am of India, I am of Uttar Pradesh, I am of Delhi, I am of Punjab, I am of London.” All these false egos have to be given up completely. Not even one cent of them should remain. “Sarvopādhi vinir-muktaṁ”: we have to remove all such kinds of false egos completely. Should there be any false ego, karma will predominate, not bhakti. If we do anything by means of our false ego, vanity, we will get only temporary, mundane benefits. We will become attached to this world. This world is made of matter. Consequently, our minds will become inert like matter. Our minds will have no connection with the spiritual realm. After performing such activities, we will find ourselves in the same position as we were when we first started. We cannot deliver ourselves from the contact of the material things of this world. We cannot get bhakti only by moving from place to place and going through the motions. This is not bhakti. This is karma.

You have to give up every kind of false ego of this world. You must believe, “I am not of this world. This world is unholy.” Even the realm of Brahman is unholy. If you think, “I am of the realm of Brahman,” then you will become unholy. Thinking in this way, you cannot perform bhakti, what to speak of thinking oneself to be a part of this world. I am not of this world, I am not of my family, I am not of London, I am not of Birmingham, I am not of Delhi, I am not of Punjab. These are all unholy. Everything is unholy. If you become unholy, whatever you do will be undone. There should not even be one cent of false ego. How can you do this? It is very difficult.

“Hari oṁ tat sat.” If I think, “I am of Kṛṣṇa,” then I shall become holy, sacred. Then, whatever I do will be for the satisfaction of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This is properly called bhakti. There are sense organs and objects of the sense organs. Without them, we cannot move. But simply engaging the sense organs and the objects of the sense organs is not bhakti if the ego is not correct. Should there be material ego, then the benefit will also be material. By performing devotional practices while deluded by egoistic misconceptions, we will achieve only material benefit. But, if we desire eternal, spiritual benefit, we should think, “I am of Kṛṣṇa! I am of the Vaiṣṇavas! I am of the Guru!” Then, we will become holy. If we think like this while engaging the sense organs and the objects of the sense organs, we will actually be practicing the devotional forms.

I shall provide an example. In our social system in Bengal, and here in Vṛndāvana also, the bridegroom and his party would go to the house of the bride for the marriage ceremony. There is so much rainfall in Bengal. So, to go from one place to another, people would take the help of a rowboat, navigating through the rivers. Once, a particular bridegroom and his party boarded a rowboat, along with a helmsman to steer the boat.

The bridegroom said to the pilot, “I need to go to such-and-such place in the dead of night, as the wedding is set for a fixed time tomorrow. We must reach that village no later than 2 AM.”

“Oh, that is not far!” the pilot said. “We can reach it by 10 PM. It will not be difficult.”

They started on their journey. It was the dark fortnight. The helmsman sat at the front of the boat, rowing with oars. The boat started to move, or at least they thought the boat was moving. A cold breeze was blowing. Everyone became hungry. The bridegroom’s party had brought many good dishes for the journey and everyone was fed sumptuously. After eating, they felt drowsy and wanted to go to sleep. The bridegroom reminded the pilot, “Remember that we must be there before 2 AM.” The pilot said, “Yes, it is alright,” and the party fell asleep.

Everyone slept. When they awoke, it was morning.

“Hey! What is this?” the bridegroom cried. He was enraged. “We are in the same place as when we started. We have not moved an inch all night! You have spoiled everything! You have not navigated the boat! You have sat idle all night!”

A big argument broke out.

“No, no, no!” the pilot protested. “I have been rowing throughout the night. I am perspiring from the effort!”

The party looked about and was shocked to see that no one had lifted the anchor when they had started their journey.

If we think, “I am of this world, I am of this family, I am of London, I am of Delhi, I am of such-and-such family,” and other such material egos, we will be anchored to this world. We perform bhajana in this state of mind. Throughout our life, we are performing bhajana and, at the end, we see that we are at the same place. We have not moved an inch. If we go on doing this for hundreds and thousands of births, we will not succeed in our spiritual endeavors. If, however, we wish, “If only I could be associated with Kṛṣṇa, if only I could serve Him,” then the eternal nature of the real self could be imparted to that soul, and that fortunate soul would become awakened. This we should do. Only when we say, “I am of Kṛṣṇa,” then the real ego will come—the spiritual ego. Then, whatever we do will be bhakti.

Bhakti is very difficult for those who have no submissive tendency. They cannot perform bhakti. It is easiest for those who have the aptitude for taking shelter of the Supreme Lord and His absolute counterpart, the śuddha bhakta. The practice of bhakti is simultaneously the easiest and the most difficult process. If there should be the presence of material ego, it will render the performance of bhakti impossible. People such as Hiraṇyakaśipu and others could perform immense penances, but they could not perform bhakti. They did not want to give up their ego, their vanity. We are a part of the potency of the Supreme Lord, but we are not the Supreme Lord. Why is it that we have become jīvās and received this conditioned state, encountering all kinds of difficulties as we pass through countless births and deaths? Would God pass through births and deaths? Obviously, we are not God, the Supreme Lord. We are a part of His potency. We have committed an offense and forgotten our real position. For this reason, the illusory energy has enveloped us and we have assumed these false egos. If we wish to perform pure devotion, then we have to give up these false egos.

During the time of our Guru Mahārāja (Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Mādhava Gosvāmī Mahārāja), a Janmāṣṭamī celebration occurred when there was a scarcity of rice. Even householders could not donate rice to the Maṭh. So, we could take rice at only one meal a day. At the other meals we would take wheat and pound it together with mung dal into a mixture to make a kitri—a hodgepodge. Ordinarily, kitri is made with rice and dal, not wheat. Those were difficult times. But then, every institution declared that they would not be distributing kitri during Janmāṣṭamī, as there was no rice. Generally, we would make a large amount of kitri—it is very easy to prepare—and distribute it to thousands of people. But at that time, there was no rice. We appealed to Guru Mahārāja, “Please announce at tonight’s Janmāṣṭamī celebration that we will not be celebrating the usual festival with distribution of kitri to all tomorrow. Instead, every institution will give sweets instead of kitri.” Guru Mahārāja said, “Alright, alright.”

That evening, at the Janmāṣṭamī function, many distinguished Vaiṣṇavas spoke till about 10:30 PM. At around 11 PM, Guru Mahārāja began his discourse on the chapter of the advent of Śrī Kṛṣṇa from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. After he completed his lecture, he announced, “There will now be abhiṣeka for Kṛṣṇa’s advent time at midnight. After that, there will be pūjā, followed by bhoga-rāga. Today, we are observing a fast and may only take some fruits. Tomorrow, Nanda Mahārāja will come to know that he has a Son! So, he will be very glad, and will distribute prasādam. So, I invite all of you to come again tomorrow and we shall feed you.”

The devotees were astounded. “How can this be? We have no rice!” They knew very well that, in Bengal, if one person were invited, he would bring ten others. So, one thousand invitees instantly become ten thousand. They were quite perturbed.

Guru Mahārāja went to his room and many of us followed. We asked him, “How can we feed all these people tomorrow? We have no rice.”

Then Guru Mahārāja declared, “It is true there is a scarcity of rice. But, nonetheless, we see that everybody is still carrying on celebrating their own marriage ceremonies, birthday ceremonies and the like. Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the only Master and Enjoyer of these infinite brahmāṇḍas. Will there be no festival to celebrate His advent? There must be a feast tomorrow!”

I do not know who sent rice, but the next day there was a huge function and all were fed with kitri. From where had it come? Who had sent it? We do not have this sort of faith.

There was once a brahmacārī from Assam who came to visit our temple in Madhuvana. He lived alone in a very nice, secluded place performing bhajana. He used to come to Vṛndāvana to see us whenever Guru Mahārāja was there. He was very simple-hearted and we would always have fun when speaking with him. Once, when he came, we teased him, saying, “By remaining alone, you cannot be rescued! You have to serve the Vaiṣṇavas!”

“What am I to do?” he asked.

“We shall all come to stay with you!” There were ten of us saying this to him. “We ten Vaiṣṇavas shall go to your house and remain there for ten days. We Bengalis find it very difficult to digest the kind of bread you eat there, so you will have to get rice, curries, etc., for us.”

The brahmacārī was in the habit of obtaining his meals by begging alms from the Vrajavāsis. They gave him only roṭi (bread) and some gaur (molasses-like sugar). Only occasionally did he receive some small preparations. “Where shall I get such things?” he protested. But, being very witty, he said, “No, no, no! I shall serve you always! I shall take photographs of all ten Vaiṣṇavas and put them in my temple. Every day I shall make an offering to Giridhāri, then to Gurudeva and then to you, always. But, if all of you, in your living forms, come to my house and take so many things, I will not be able to supply it all. It is not possible! I do not want living Vaiṣṇavas, I want to serve ‘Photo-Vaiṣṇavas’!”

Photo-Vaiṣṇavas are very easy. Every day, you can serve them. We do not want to be guided or restrained or regulated by Vaiṣṇavas. We are thinking, “If I remain in a secluded place, I can do whatever I desire. I can serve myself and perform bhajana.” Our Paramgurudeva (Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda) said that this sort of bhajana is hypocrisy. It is not befitting behavior for Vaiṣṇavas.

The great Vaiṣṇava saint, Vaṁsī dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, was no ordinary sādhu. Outwardly, he had his advent in what is now known as Bangladesh, in Majidpur Village, Maimansingh district, near Jamālpur. But later, he came to Navadvīpa-dhāma, accepted the bābājī order and performed his bhajana under a tree. The order of sannyāsa is given for preaching, but a bābājī will perform bhajana in a holy, secluded place. A bābājī will not go outside for pracāra (preaching). Many people would come to Bābājī Mahārāja and offer to build him a cottage, but he chose to remain always beneath a banyan tree. He would not move from there. He was surcharged with kṛṣṇa-prema. He was a very tall figure. He never shaved, but remained like a madman. Many people would offer him various things, but he would pay them no attention. Whatever he might receive, he would distribute to others. He was an anchorite. Nobody could understand his behavior. He had only two big cloth bags—he had no temple. In one cloth bag was Gaura-Nitāi and, in the other, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes, he would take the Deities out and perform pūjā. So, is his bhakti less because he had just small Deities, and ours greater because we have a big temple? Gaura-Nityānanda were most satisfied by his service. Our Parampūjyapāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura used to bow down to him from a distance. He prohibited his disciples from visiting Bābājī Mahārāja. His disciples asked, “Shall we not have darśana of the sādhus?” But Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura replied, “You will not be able to understand his behavior and you will commit offenses. He is not within this world, but is moving in the transcendental realm. If I commit an offense, it will be anti-devotional. For this reason, I am bowing down to him from a distance. Only a śuddha bhakta can understand his wonderful behavior. An ordinary novice of bhajana will be unable to understand, so he should not go there. Bābājī Mahārāja is always surcharged with kṛṣṇa-prema!”

There was a person from Navadvīpa-dhāma who used to come to Bābājī Mahārāja. One day, he thought, “I have the desire to obtain the Supreme Lord. How can I get Bhagavān?” He was only murmuring, speaking to himself, so Bābājī Mahārāja did not reply. This person came back repeatedly to see Bābājī Mahārāja. Finally, one day, he approached Mahārāja directly.

“What do you want?” Bābājī Mahārāja asked him.

“I want to see Bhagavān,” the man said.

Bābājī Mahārāja replied with only one word: “Weep!”

We might supply so much scriptural evidence to try to explain, in so many ways, how to obtain the Supreme Lord, but what did Vaṁsī dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja say? “Weep for Him!” If you can weep for Him, then you can get Him. If there is want for Him, then He will come. We are uttering His Names, but we do not want Him. So, we are uttering the Names of Kṛṣṇa—“hare kṛṣṇa, hare kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa, hare hare, kṛṣṇa rāma, hare rāma, rāma rāma, hare hare”—and Kṛṣṇa appears before us. He says to us, “Come along!”

We say to Him, “No, I cannot go now. Right now I require a million dollars to save my business. I have my children. I have just bought a building. I cannot go now.”

“So, why have you called Me?” Kṛṣṇa asks.

“I have called you to give me a million dollars,” we reply. “Remove my difficulties. I do not have time to go now.”

From where are we uttering the Name? Not from the heart! We are chanting, “hare kṛṣṇa” but, if Kṛṣṇa were to come, we would be unable to go.

A certain Svāmījī gave an illustration. It is an illustration involving the ordinary day-to-day life of a householder but, nonetheless, there is something very impressive about this illustration. In a town in Bengal, there was a man who worked in an office. He lived with his wife and two children. One of the children was only three or four months old and the other was seven years old. One day, the man told his wife, “You will have to prepare breakfast early today because I have to go into the office early. After I eat, I shall leave right away.” When the wife went to cook, she first put the baby on the bed and then went into the kitchen. But, whenever she would enter the kitchen, the child would cry. She thought, “With the child in my lap, how will I be able to cook? It is very difficult.” She was thinking what she should do. Then she thought of a way she could manage. She called the seven-year-old child.

“Darling, come here!” she called. “Do you know that red toy in the shop?”

“Yes, I know it,” the child answered.

“Go and buy that toy, but be sure that it makes a nice jingling sound.”

The child took some money and went off to buy the toy. He brought it home and gave it to the mother. The mother laid the baby down on the bed and hung the red-colored toy with the jingling sound above him, at the end of a rope. The baby saw the toy and immediately started to play with it, hitting it from side to side. The child was most delighted as he continued to slap the toy and hear the jingling sound. For one hour he played like that, and the mother went to do her cooking. After that, the child started to feel hungry. For the entire time that the child was playing, he did not remember his mother. But, now that he felt hungry, he thought, “Oh, where is my mother?” But his mother did not come. Then, he started crying, signifying, “I am hungry! Come!” He could not speak, so he beckoned his mother by crying. “Come to me and suckle me! I am hungry!”

His mother, however, was busy cooking. “No,” she thought, “let the child cry.”

After some time, the child stopped crying and went back to playing with the toy—jingle, jingle, jingle. After playing like that for a while, the pangs of hunger returned. His hunger increased and increased and he became more and more unhappy. He began to cry for his mother even more loudly than before.

His mother heard the crying of the baby, but thought that she should first finish her cooking.

Finally, the hunger became unbearable for the child. The child thought, “I don’t want toys!” All he could think about was his mother. His crying became louder and louder until he was screaming. He started to throw his arms about and kick his legs, in a tantrum.

Then the mother thought, “Oh, I cannot stay away any longer!” The mother ran toward the child, embraced him and suckled him.

Like this, the Supreme Lord has given us toys—the toy of a wife or husband, toys of children, toys of buildings, toys of radios, toys of videos, toys of computers. Seeing this, Kṛṣṇa thinks, “They are absorbed in their toys! I have no worries. I am engaged in My pastimes in the transcendental realm. They do not want this. They want those things instead. Here, take this computer! Take that video! Take this! Take that!”

Upon the awakening of his real self (ātmā), a man feels the want of the sweetest affection of the Supreme Lord. He cries, “Oh Supreme Lord! In this world, nothing gives me happiness. Everything is temporary. Everyone is selfish. You are my most beloved! Where are You? I have forgotten You! Come! Come! I am in a furnace! Come! Come!” Weeping, he calls, but Kṛṣṇa does not come. “I am engaged in My pastimes,” Kṛṣṇa says. For some time, the man then becomes absorbed in the affairs of his family and relatives, and forgets Kṛṣṇa. Time passes and he cries again, “Where is My beloved Supreme Lord? Where is He?” Crying, crying. But, the Supreme Lord still does not come. Ultimately, he shouts, “I do not want a house! I do not want anything! Nobody is mine—You are mine! Oh beloved Supreme Lord! Come! Come! Come!” He cries and weeps, tossing his arms and legs about. Then Kṛṣṇa cries, “Oh!” and comes to him. This sort of perturbation of the heart, extreme eagerness for getting Bhagavān, must be there.

Vaṁsī dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja said only one word: “Weep!” But that single word has great significance. When we associate with the śuddha bhakta who is crying for Kṛṣṇa, then the eternal nature of ātmā will be awakened. You have love for God. Love is there in your soul. It exists, but it is presently enveloped by the external potency of the Supreme Lord and you have become averse to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Passing through different species, our minds have become enveloped by so many evil desires.

There was once an exhibition at our Calcutta Maṭh. A part of the exhibition was a tightly sealed glass bottle full of honey, covered with bees. The bees were trying to taste the honey through the glass. The narrator explained the significance of the exhibition. If bees, or even human beings, attempt to taste that honey through the transparent covering, they may think that they are actually tasting the honey. But the honey is covered by transparent glass. In reality, they are tasting only glass. There is only one obstacle between the honey and the tongue, but the glass is so transparent that they are not even aware of its presence. By tasting the transparent glass, they think, “Oh, honey is not sweet at all. I have tasted it. It is sour. It is pungent. It is nothing.” What is the taste of glass? Nothing. They believe this because the tongue has not touched the honey itself. But, should that glass be broken, then—oh!

In a similar way, we utter the Name of Bhagavān. It is Complete, Transcendental Ambrosia. But, we are not able to relish the taste because there are so many evil ideas and motives that create an obstruction. We actually only taste our evil motives. We have no connection with the Name itself. So, how can we utter the Holy Name?

Initially, Ajāmila was a staunch brāhmaṇa. He was a very good child who had love for his parents and respect for saintly persons. He possessed all twelve brahminical qualities: following religious principles, speaking truthfully, controlling the senses by undergoing austerities and penances, being free from jealousy, being intelligent, being tolerant, creating no enemies, performing yajña, giving charity, being steady, being well-versed in śāstra and observing vows. Therefore, all his father’s money was entrusted to him. But, one day, his father ordered him to bring some articles to him in order to perform oblations. He went to the forest to collect the articles, such as kuśa grass and sacred wood. On his way back, he saw something obscene: a harlot and a man engaged in illicit sexual activity. Upon seeing this, his mind became perturbed. This obscene event disturbed his mind greatly and, consequently, he felt the urge to associate with the harlot. We should therefore avoid obscene sights. They are a very bad influence for us. After all, why do so many young boys and girls lose their character? By seeing such obscene things. Ajāmila is a good example of this. He tried to control himself, thinking, “I am a brāhmaṇa. I should not associate with a prostitute. I am married and have my own wife. My parents are also to be considered.” When you try to withdraw the mind from worldly things, those worldly things will come. You may try to think, “I will not think about my wife. I will not think about my children. I will not think about my house.” But, if you think about Kṛṣṇa, then you engage all your senses in the service of Kṛṣṇa, your mind is for Kṛṣṇa and all the objects of your attachment are given for the service of Kṛṣṇa. Automatically, your attachment to worldly objects goes to the positive side. But, if you try to negate things, saying, “I shall not think this, I shall not think that,” those things will come. This is not a good procedure.

Ajāmila would secretly go to visit that harlot. He would give her money and enjoy her company. In fact, he spent all his money on her. The prostitute always wanted something or other. “Give me money! Give me ornaments!” she would demand. Eventually, all his money, meant for maintaining his unsuspecting wife and elderly parents, was gone. He left his home and went to live with the prostitute and, for her satisfaction, performed all kinds of sinful activities and crimes, such as theft and robbery.

Ajāmila fathered ten sons in the womb of the harlot. By dint of his previous good status, he named the youngest son Nārāyaṇa, who was born when Ajāmila was eighty-eight years old. Ajāmila had great affection for this youngest son. He always had firm attachment to that beautiful, small boy. He was attracted to his every move and word. He would call to the boy, “Oh darling, come here. You should not go there or you will fall down.” He walked with him, slept with him and ate with him. It was always, “Nārāyaṇa! Nārāyaṇa! Nārāyaṇa! Nārāyaṇa!”

But soon, the time for Ajāmila’s death arrived. Up until that point, he had been completely absorbed and engrossed in worldly matters. He did not even realize that his ultimate end had come. He saw three messengers of the god of death (Yāmarāja) approaching. They were horrible figures, with fiery eyes and brown hairs that stood straight up on their heads. Significantly, there were three messengers because every person of this world commits sin in three ways: by words, body and mind (thoughts, words and deeds). So, at the time of death, three messengers will appear.

There is still one person living in Navadvīpa-dhāma today who saw Yāma-purī—the realm of the god of death. He was taken there by mistake. After seeing that he had died, his family took him to the cremation ground for burning. But, when they arrived there, people noticed some movement in his body. Suddenly he sat up.

The people asked, “Are you a ghost?”

“No, I am not a ghost!” he said.

“What happened?” they asked.

“I was taken to the realm of Yāmarāja by the messengers of death. They were judging me, stabbing me with pointed spears, injuring me, giving me pain. When it was my time to be judged, they put me before Yāmarāja in his court. When he saw me, he said, ‘No, no, no. This man will live to be seventy-eight. You have made a mistake.’ The messengers left me and so I have come back here. What I have seen is horrible—I will not remain in my house.”

After this experience, he left and searched, wondering, “Where to go? Where to go?” Eventually, he went to Navadvīpa where our Paramgurudeva was staying at the time.

“What have I seen?” the man asked Paramgurudeva.

“You have seen the realm of the god of death. After death, you will be taken there for punishment.”

“No! I shall not return there! How can I get help for this?”

“You should perform harināma!”

He still lives in Navadvīpa today.

This is not mythology. The government of the Supreme Lord is a reality. The three messengers of the god of death take souls by thrusting them into another subtle covering, a painful covering. That subtle covering is then taken to the realm of Yāmarāja. At the critical moment of death, Ajāmila could only think of his son, Nārāyaṇa. Ajāmila saw the Yāmadūtas (the messengers of Yāmarāja) and, out of intense fear, shouted, “Nārāyaṇa! Nārāyaṇa!” Then, as he uttered the four syllables of the Name “Nā-rā-ya-ṇa”, four associates of Nārāyaṇa, all resembling Nārāyaṇa, each possessing four arms, holding a conch shell, disc, club and lotus flower, appeared before him. They were very beautiful. They stopped the messengers of Yāmarāja, shouting, “Stop! Why are you taking this man?”

Then the messengers of the god of death said, “Your appearance is very beautiful. Perhaps you are demigods. Perhaps you are ṛṣis or munis. But you are not doing any good by interfering. We are the servants of the god of death and we have come here upon his order. You do not know that this man was originally a good brāhmaṇa. He used to serve his parents and he had devotion to his Gurudeva. He was always very well behaved and full of good qualities. But once, when his father sent him to get some articles for sacrifice, he witnessed an obscene sight to which he became attracted. He then spent all his father’s money in the association of a harlot. He left his parents destitute. How will they manage in their old age? He did not even think about this. He also left his duly married wife. He committed many crimes, such as theft and robbery, and he has not done anything for atonement of these sins. So, we are taking him for retribution. Why are you objecting?”

Then, the very beautiful personal associates of Nārāyaṇa replied, “He has uttered the Name of Nārāyaṇa! He has made expiation not merely for one birth, but for crores [tens of millions] of births! All his sins have been destroyed. This is only nāma-abhāsa—a glimpse of the Name. The rays of the sun, coming directly from the sun, reflect in a tank of water. When that reflection shines on you, it is called abhāsa. When this man, Ajāmila, called to his son, Nārāyaṇa, the utterance went directly to Nārāyaṇa Himself—nāma-abhāsa. He uttered the Name ‘Nārāyaṇa.’ Even if a person, being unable to utter the whole Name, utters only ‘Nā’—any part of Infinity—he will gain benefit. This man uttered ‘Nārāyaṇa!’ All his sins from crores and crores of births and deaths have been destroyed. He has been rescued and has attained salvation. So, why are you taking a pure heart to punish? Where will people go to take shelter if Dharmarāja [Yāmarāja] is doing such things? He is punishing someone who is pure and completely divested of all sins. What type of crimes has he committed?

stenaḥ surā-po mitra-dhrug
brahma-hā guru-talpa-gaḥ
strī-rāja-pitṛ-go-hantā
ye ca pātakino ’pare

sarveṣām apy aghavatām
idam eva suniṣkṛtam
nāma-vyāharaṇaṁ viṣṇor
yatas tad-viṣayā matiḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, 6.2.9-10)

Committing theft is a sin. If one steals valuables, gold, etc., it is a great sin. If one takes drugs or intoxicants, that is also sinful. If one kills a human being, that is certainly a great sin but, if I kill a man who has placed his trust in me then that is an even greater sin. Killing a brāhmaṇa or having an illicit connection with a woman are also sinful deeds. But, having an illicit connection with the wife of one’s superiors, such as an elder brother, is an even more serious crime. The killing of one’s wife or parents, the killing of the king, who is protecting us—all these heinous crimes, one may have performed. One may have committed any of these sinful acts but, by uttering His Name, God responds. ‘Who is calling My Name? I will come to that person!’ When He comes to that person, all sins are destroyed. There are no sins in this man. You should not take him.”

It is said at the conclusion of the story of Ajāmila in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam:

mriyamāṇo harer nāma
gṛṇan putropacāritam
ajāmilo ’py agād dhāma
kim uta śraddhayā gṛṇan
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, 6.2.49)

At the time of death, at the age of eighty-eight years, Ajāmila, due to his fear at seeing the horrible figures of the messengers of the god of death, thinking about his son, uttered the Name: “Nārāyaṇa!” He was rescued. So, those who utter the Name with great faith, with firm faith—how can we estimate the extent of their benefit? Nobody can. Ajāmila was certainly a great sinner, but he had become pure. He had been divested of all the contamination of sin. If such a great sinner became sanctified, how can we possibly chant the glories of those who perform harināma with great faith?

Actually, our position is even worse than that of Ajāmila’s. The western devotees have changed their custom and now give their sons the names of Bhagavān, such as “Kṛṣṇa” and “Rāma”. They now give their daughters the names of the internal potency of the Supreme Lord, such as “Rādhā”. But, nowadays in India, in many places, you will find that parents are now giving their sons and daughters worldly names. We ask them, “You have given up the heritage of your forefathers, who gave their sons and daughters the names of Bhagavān, the Supreme Lord. Why are you doing this? What have you called your son?”

“Pinky!” one person replied.

So, that child has the name “Pinky”. His parents love him very much. They are always thinking, “Pinky, come here. Pinky, come here.” They move with Pinky; they eat with Pinky; they sleep with Pinky—Pinky, Pinky, Pinky. Then, when the messengers of the god of death come, out of fear they will cry, “Pinky!” and the messengers will take them. If they were to call out, “Govinda,” “Nārāyaṇa,” “Rāmacandra,” “Rādhā-Ramaṇa,” etc., they could be saved.

Keep the Name. Then, at the time of death, if you utter the Name of the Supreme Lord, you will go to Vaikuṇṭha.