“This is not the right place for the divine name”
“This is not the right place for the divine name”
I posted the picture above in a group recently and I got criticized for painting Krsnas’s name in a “dirty place”. They said “This is not the right place for the divine name”
I challenged my critic on their definition of dirty and quoted the following verse from the Chaitanya Charitamrta (originally from Padma Purana)
The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical
My critic was’nt convinced and stood by their claim that Krsna’s name under a bridge was like chanting Hare Krsna on the toilet. I responded to this by citing the pastime of Gopal Guru correcting the Lord about that exact thing:
There’s a story of a devotee in Jagannath Puri who was constantly chanting Hare Krishna. When he got the call of nature, he thought about how he shouldn’t chant Krishna’s Holy Name in an impure place because Krishna is non-different from His name. So that devotee caught his tongue so that he could stop chanting. On the way he met a small 5-year-old boy who asked why he was doing that? The devotee replied because I don’t want to take Krishna in an impure place.
The boy replied Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us that there are no hard and fast rules for chanting the Holy Name. You can chant anywhere, everywhere and Krishna is so pure and merciful that through His name He accepts the service in any situation. The boy asked What happens if you die when you are in that situation? Death can come at any time – padam padam yad vipadam na tesam. If you leave your body during the call of nature, what will happen if you are not chanting the Holy Name? It’s your duty to chant always without consideration.
So when he heard this, he let go and started chanting once again.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates happened to be watching this and They were so pleased with this boy Gopal that They named this boy Gopal Guru because he was a Guru – teaching the glories of the Holy Name.
What do you think? Is there a wall that shouldn’t have Krsnas name on it?
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You keep going prabhu - putting Krsna's name everywhere. Krishna's energy is everywhere and his name should be also - just so we don't forget him and we always have the opportunity to have full consciousness of him. It's a ridiculous claim and misunderstanding whoever said this. We studied this in Bhakti Sastri that the Holy Name can even be chanted in the dirtiest of places - including the urinal. The sun purifies the stool. What if I was a stab victim bleeding out under that bridge? This name on the wall could mean my liberation from material bondage. Why anyone would bother to one up you on this in unbeleivable. Keep up the good work. Hare Krishna. :-)