The Lord’s Order To Process Around Town and Chant

The Lord’s Order To Process Around Town and Chant by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

nadīyā-godrume nityānanda mahājana
patiyāche nām-haṭṭa jīvera kāraṇa

In the land of Nadiya, on the island of Godruma, the magnanimous Lord Nityananda has opened up the Market place of the Holy Name, meant for the deliverance of all fallen souls.

(śraddhāvān jan he, śraddhāvān jan he)
prabhura ājñāy, bhāi, māgi ei bhikṣā
bolo `kṛṣṇa,’ bhajo kṛṣṇa, koro kṛṣṇa-śikṣā

O men of faith! O men of faith! By the order of Lord Gauranga, O brothers, I beg this one request: Chant “Krishna!”, worship Krishna, and follow Krishna’s instructions.

aparādha-śūnya ho’ye loho kṛṣṇa-nām
kṛṣṇa mātā, kṛṣṇa pitā, kṛṣṇa dhana-prān

Being careful to remain free of offenses, just take the holy name of Krishna. Krishna is your mother, Krishna is your father, and Krishna is the treasure of your life.

kṛṣṇera saṁsāra koro chāḍi’ anācār
jīve doyā, kṛṣṇa-nām—sarva-dharma-sār

Giving up all improper behavior, carry on your worldly duties only in relation to Krishna. The showing of compassion to all fallen souls by loudly chanting the holy name of Krishna is the essence of all forms
of religion.

Purport

“Sri Mahaprabhu displayed His mercy towards the living entities who are tortured by Kali-yuga by ordering Sri Nityananda Prabhu to preach the holy name door to door. Therefore Sri Nityananda Prabhu is certainly the chief proprietor of the Nama Hatta located at Godruma. Even though all the employees of the Nāma Haṭṭa are qualified for performing the ‘Patrol According to the Lord’s Order’, still the great personalities, who are like patrolling watchmen, are especially empowered to render these duties in an entirely selfless manner. Above all of them, Prabhu Nityananda and patrolman Haridas Thakura have each exhibited the glories of this post in their own unique ways. If onegoes out on patrol with hopes of simply collecting money and rice, then that is not the pure form of ‘patrolling’.

The chief inspector on patrol plays his karatāls and calls out, “O faithful persons ! I do not wish to beg from you any worldly thing or mundane favor. The only alms I beg is that all of you honor the order of the Lord by chanting the name of Krishna, worshiping Krishna, and teaching others about Krishna. Just invoke the true name of Krishna. Please transcend the partial stage and chant the purely spiritual holy
name of the Lord.”

O faithful persons,to give up the partial stage of chanting (nāmābhāsa) and sing the pure holy names is certainly the true welfare of the living entities. Please worship Lord Krishna by chanting His holy names. Perform worship of Krishna by engaging in the nine processes of bhaktiśravaṇa, kīrtana, smaraṇa, sevana, archana, vandana, dāsya, sakhya, and ātma-nivedana. Execute your worship either on the path of regulated devotion (vidhi-mārga) or spontaneous devotion (rāga-mārga), according to your specific
qualification.

O faithful persons, keep yourself free from the ten offenses and simply worship Lord Krishna. Krishna is the living entities’ true mother, father, offspring, wealth, husband, and life-treasure. The living entities are the spiritual ray, Krishna is the spiritual sun, and the material world is the living entities prison. Truly the pastimes of Krishna, which lie beyond the material realm, are your factual riches to be sought. O faithful persons hear me! You have turned away from Krishna and thus suffered the experience of so-called happiness and distress in the realm of material world. This situation is not befitting you.

All the following things come under the heading of unfavorable actions, performed either by oneself or by society: theft, speaking lies, cheating, and hostility, lust, inflicting bodily harm, duplicitous politics, and so forth. Abandoning all these, just resort to scripturally sanctions activities and consider yourself as a member of Krishna’s household. The ultimate statement is this: showing mercy to all living beings,
living a pure lifestyle, just chant the holy name of Krishna. There is no difference whatsoever between Krishna’s names and Lord Krishna Himself. By the mercy of the holy name, Krishna in the form of His names, forms, attributes and pastimes will personally reveal Himself to the vision of the spiritually awakened. Truly in a few days your spiritual consciousness will be aroused and you will remain floating in the ocean of eternally sweet Kṛṣṇa-prema.

— Gītāvalī, Śrī Nagar-Kīrtan, song 1, Purport. Published by Ishvara Das.