Lord and His holy name non-different?

Answer by Danavir Goswami

Your question is valid. Krsna and His name are the same. The holy name is a further extension of Krsna’s mercy upon the jivas. A prominent offence to the holy name is offending the devotees of the Lord. In this sense, offending the Lord’s pure devotee is more distasteful than offending the Lord Himself. The example is given that a man may tolerate mistreatment or insults to himself but he will not tolerate mistreatment to his little son.

If the understanding does not come clear immediately, I suggest thinking about it for a while and you can also ask other senior devotees and revisit the item later. Here are some quotes to consider:

 

Quotes:

In the Padma Purana it is stated that even a person whose life is completely sinful will be completely protected by the Lord if he simply surrenders unto Him. So it is accepted that one who surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes freed from all sinful reactions. And even when a person becomes an offender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, he can still be delivered simply by taking shelter of the holy names of the Lord: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. In other words, the chanting of Hare Krsna is beneficial for eradicating all sins; but if one becomes an offender to the holy names of the Lord, then he has no chance of being delivered. (The Nectar of Devotion)

 

An offense at the lotus feet of the holy name is extremely dangerous:

 

Once the Lord explained the glories of the holy name to the devotees, but some ordinary students who heard Him fashioned their own interpretation. When a student interpreted the glories of the holy name as a prayer of exaggeration, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, greatly unhappy, immediately warned everyone not to see the student’s face henceforward. Without even changing His garments, Lord Caitanya, with His companions, took bath in the Ganges. There He explained the glories of devotional service.

      There are many kinds of offenses, but the offense known as namaparadha, an offense at the lotus feet of the holy name, is extremely dangerous. The Lord therefore warned everyone not to see the face of the offender. He immediately took a bath in the Ganges with all His clothes to teach everyone to avoid such a namaparadha. The holy name is identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 17.72-74)

 

Without chanting offenselessly, one cannot properly advance in Krsna consciousness:

 

One should know for certain that without chanting the holy name of the Lord offenselessly, one cannot be a proper candidate for advancement in Krsna consciousness. (The Nectar of Instruction Text 5)

 

If one commits offenses against the holy name, he will not achieve attachment for chanting:

 

[Lord Caitanya to Svarupa Damodara and Ramananda Raya]: “My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila 20.16)

 

If one chants the holy name offensively, one does not achieve love for the Supreme Lord:

 

If one chants the exalted holy name of the Lord again and again and yet his love for the Supreme Lord does not develop and tears do not appear in his eyes, it is evident that because of his offenses in chanting, the seed of the holy name of Krsna does not sprout. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 8.29-30)

 

If one chants with offenses, even many lifetimes of chanting will not bring him love of Godhead:

 

If one is infested with the ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, despite his endeavor to chant the holy name for many births, he will not get the love of Godhead which is the ultimate goal of this chanting.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says in this connection that unless one accepts Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, although one goes on chanting the Hare Krsna mantra for many, many years, there is no possibility of his attaining the platform of devotional service. One must follow strictly the instruction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu given in the Siksastaka:

 

trnad api sunicena taror iva sahisnuna

amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih

 

 “One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.”

 

One who follows this direction, being freed from the ten kinds of offenses, becomes successful in Krsna consciousness and ultimately reaches the platform of loving service to the Personality of Godhead. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 8.16)