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Most Principal Holy Name of God
Q. What is the most
princpal Holy Name of God?
A. by Swami Gaurangapada:
"GAURANGA" IS
MOST PRINCIPAL AMONG THE MOST PRINCIPAL NAMES OF LORD KRISHNA, WHO IS GOD
HIMSELF.
(I) In the
Brhad-visnu-sahasranama-stotra, Uttara-khanda, Padma Purana (72.335) it is
said:
rama rameti rameti, rame
rame manorame;
sahasra-namabhis tulyam,
rama-nama varanane.
Lord Siva addressed his
wife, Durga: "O Varanana (lovely-faced woman), I chant the holy name of
Rama, Rama, Rama and thus constantly enjoy this beautiful sound. This holy name
of Ramacandra is equal to one thousand holy names of Lord Vishnu
(Vishnu-sahasra-nama-stotram)."
(II) In the Padma Purana
it its mentioned:
visnor ekaika namapi,
sarva vedadhikam matam
tadrk nama sahasrena,
rama nama samasmrtam
"Each Name of Lord
Vishnu is greater and more potent than the entire Vedas combined together, and
Lord Rama's Name alone is more superior that a thousand Names of Lord
Vishnu."
(III) In the Brahmanda
Purana it is stated:
sahasra-namnam punyanam,
trir-avrttya tu yat phalam;
ekavrttya tu krishnasya,
namaikam tat prayacchati.
"And the pious
results (punya) achieved by chanting the thousand holy names of Vishnu
(Vishnu-sahasra-nama-stotram) three times or the Holy Name of Rama thrice can
be attained by only one utterance of the Holy Name of Krishna."
(IV) Prabhasa Khanda of
Padma Purana states:
namnam mukhyataram nama,
krishnakhyam me parantapa;
prayascittam asesenam
papanam mocakam param.
"O Arjuna, the Holy
of Krishna is the most principal (mukhyataram) among all Names of God. One can
atone for unlimited sinful deeds by chanting the Name of Krishna which is the
supreme destroyer of all sins."
(V) Finally in the
Brahma-Rahasya it is stated:
krishna-caitanyeti nama,
mukhyan mukhyatamam prabhoh;
helaya sakrd uccarya,
sarva-nama-phalam labhet.
"The Holy Name
Krishna Chaitanya or Gauranga is the topmost or the most principal (mukhyan)
even among all the important primary and most principal (mukhyatamam) Holy
Names of the Lord Krishna. By chanting this name just once, a person attains
the spiritual results (punya) of chanting all the other holy names of the
Lord."
So from the above five
very important verses we can easily come to the following conclusion:
Secondary Names of God
like Brahma, Paramatma, Shrishtikarta etc. take us only to the heavenly planets
or maximum can grant us liberation or mukti. But the following Primary Names of
God can elevate the soul to the Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual world:
Vishnu's Name = Principal Name of God more than all the
Vedas combined together
Rama's Name = More
Principal Name (Mukhya) of God =1000 Names of Vishnu
Krishna's Name = Most
Principal Name (Mukhyataram) of God = 3 Names of Rama or 3000 Names of Vishnu
Gauranga's Name = Most Principal (Mukhyan) among the Most
Principal Names (Mukhyatamam) of Krishna = Sum Total of all the result achieved
by chanting the Names of Krishna, Rama and Vishnu
Please note there is
absolutely no difference between the Holy Name of Krishna and Gauranga (They
are of equal potency totally non-different) for the liberated souls but for the
conditioned souls the Name of Gauranga is even more beneficial than the Name of
Krishna. Thus the above difference as described in the scriptures is purely due
to the difference in benefit achieved by the chanting of These Names by the
conditioned souls not the liberated souls. Since there is no difference between
Krishna and Gauranga, the liberated offenseless souls get equal benefit form
chanting the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas and the Hare Krishna
Mahamantra so for them they can chant anyone and get the same absolute benefit.
But that is not applicable to the conditioned souls because their ten offenses
block the full light and power of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra from coming
through in the conditioned stage. But as per Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya (aparadha
sattva jiva labhe prema dhana and aparadha badha tara kichu nahi kare) the
experience the full potency and power of the Nityananda and Gauranga
Mantrarajas is fully available even to the conditioned and offensive chanters.
Mukhya is the first
degree, Mukhyataram is the second degree and Mukhyatamam is the third degree of
emphasis. So in the above verses from the scriptures, Rama's Name is Mukhya,
Krishna's Name is Mukhyataram and Gauranga's Name is Mukhyan Mukhyatamam.
In the Vishnu-yamala it
is said:
krishna-chaitanya-namna
ye, kirtayanti sakrn narah;
nanaparadha-muktas te,
punanti sakalam jagat.
"Those who chant the
name of Krishna Chaitanya or Gauranga
even once, become free from all offenses and purify all the worlds by their
very presence."
Shrila Jagadananda
Pandita says in Prema-vivarta:
gaura ye visala nama sei nama
gau;
anya saba nama-mahatmya
sei name pau.
"The most powerful
names of God are the names of the most merciful incarnation of God, who is
known as Lord Gauranga. The glories and power of all the other names of God are
completely present in the Names of Lord
Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu and thus They should be constantly chanted."
So considering these
authorized scriptural statements about the supreme glories of Lord Gauranga's
Name which person in this world will not chant the Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas
along with the Hare Krishna Mahamantra? And who can have the courage to
challenge all the above Vedic statements and stop others from chanting the most
merciful Names of Nityananda and Gauranga along with the Mahamantra.