The Devotional Expert: Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja
Adapted from Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā, Year 19, Issue 10 (16/12/1967) page 395 and Śrī Bhāgavata Patrikā, Year 13, Issues 5–6, page 122:
The Unseen Stalwart
As we observe the grand battle for the salvation of our souls in this age of hypocrisy and conflict from our narrow vantage point that is oft obscured by the grogginess of tāmasa and various filters of self-centred absorption in our immeditate physical needs and gratifications, we do notice and on special occasions pay heed to certain stalwart luminaries leading the charge against the deluding potency of māyā. We honor them with flowers, ārati, glorifications, feasts, and other grand gestures of recognition. Right behind those leading generals, or off to one side or the other, or in the very back, are other notable and refulgent personalities who have chosen to take a supporting role, filling out the ranks of this great spiritual army. Without the whole of the army, there is no victory over the nescience afflicting our souls. Our guru-varga does not engage in solo efforts. They serve in unison, in anugatya, and constantly endeavour to recruit new, worthy cadets from among us to join the mission—the only real mission, that of spreading the immortal word of Śrī Śacīnandana Gaurahari.
Today is the disappearance day of one such exalted luminary, one of a glorious constellation that filled our skies in the earlier part of the 20th century, serving and assisting Jagad-guru Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. The name we know him by is Śrīla Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja, but he was born Śrī Vīrendra Ghoṣa in Piljaṅga-grāma in the Khulnā district of East Bengal. The seed of religious contemplations had sprouted early on in his childhood, but it was in his early teenage years that his religious life began to unfold in earnest when he had the darśana of Ācārya-bhāskara Vaiṣṇava-kula-cuḍāmaṇi Paramahaṁsa-svāmī Śrīla Prabhupāda who was preaching the mission of Śrīman Mahāprabhu in the region. This marked the beginning of an entirely new chapter of his life. His mother and father had always been keenly religious, but now the intoxication of worldly knowledge and this fleeting life could not hold his attention any longer. Realizing the transience of life, he felt he could not hesitate. As soon as he could get away from his studies, he went to Māyāpura, where he took full shelter [initiation] at the feet of Ācārya-keśarī Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, becoming Śrī Vīracandra Brahmacārī.
After receiving initiation, he stayed in Māyāpura for a short time and then returned home for a period, taking a job as a government surveyor, perhaps to appease familial obligations. But before long, he returned to Māyāpura and began living full-time in the maṭha. By the blessing of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s merciful glance, this exalted personality adopted a lifelong vow of celibacy and resolved to practice and preach the message of the immortal realm in this world. He was appointed editor of the Śrī Nadiyā Prakāśa and Śrī Gauḍīya for several years. He was enthusiastic in this service to propagate śrī gaura-vāṇī and would often live at the Śrī Bhāgavata Press in Kṛṣṇanagara.
Uncle to Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja
In 1931, Śrī Vīracandra’s young nephew, Śrī Santoṣa, a bright and saintly boy of nine years, visited Māyāpura for the first time. After a week-long parikramā of Navadvīpa Dhāma, hearing hari-kathā, meeting Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Prabhu, and other extraordinary Vaiṣṇavas, young Santoṣa refused to return home. He saw his uncle was living there and he too wanted to live in the āśrama and devote his life to Śrīla Prabhupāda. Though this caused a stir in the family, Śrī Vīracandra Prabhu pacified his sister and other relatives, assuring them he would look after his nephew, have him enrolled in the newly inaugurated school, and see that he received a well-rounded education in the invaluable association of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
This young boy, Santoṣa, would go on to become the leading prodigy of the Gauḍīya Maṭha. While there were other youngsters living in the maṭha at that time, most left later on. It was Santoṣa who stayed, even through the ghastly turmoil that ensued after Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda’s disappearance. He served all the Vaiṣṇavas with utmost sincerity under the guidance of Śrī Narahari Sevā-vigraha Prabhu and Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Kṛti-ratna Prabhu and earned their blessings, as is the way of Vedic sages and students. He developed a perfect eidetic and echoic memory, was the epitome of humility and sincerity, dedicating his whole heart and soul to serving the mission of Śrīman Mahāprabhu and Śrīla Prabhupāda. Though he was very shy and reserved, his brilliance and purity could not go unrecognized. Though he had no desire for leadership, he was eventually appointed the successor of Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. He held together the mission of his gurudeva and Śrīla Prabhupāda with a grace and finesse seldom seen in such arenas, creating a mood of perfect harmony and cooperation. Thus he served as one of the most influential ācāryas of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism in the modern age.
“The Expert in Devotion”
The image of Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja’s life is something every living entity seeking auspiciousness ought to have memorized. The distinguishing characteristics that form this image were his keen service tendency from the very beginning of his maṭha life, his unflinching conviction in Śrīla Prabhupāda, his diligent search for self-realization, his one-pointed dedication to guru and Vaiṣṇavas that manifested in the finesse with which he rendered his services, his inclination to rendering service to the exclusion of everything else, his lack of ego and arrogance, his composure and gravitas, and his self-control, sincerity, quietness, freedom from envy, and dedication to the service of the bṛhad-mṛdanga. Seeing the expertise he devoted to his services, Śrīla Prabhupāda was very pleased with him and awarded him the title “Bhakti Kuśala – The Expert in Devotion.” His lifelong goal was to preach the message of Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta.
Taking sannyāsa from Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja
It was Śrīla Prabhupāda’s entrance into nitya-līlā that signalled the start of this new chapter in his life, as he reeled from the burden of separation from Śrīla Prabhupāda. He resolved to take tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa and preach bhaktisiddhānta-vāṇī, thereby serving Prabhupāda. He accepted tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa from one of the senior-most sannyāsīs who had been showered with Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy: Ācārya-varya 108-śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja. Seeing his one-pointed devotion, Prapūjyapāda Śrīla Mahārāja adorned him with the name Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja.
Śrīla Gurudeva Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja fondly recounts how Śrīla Nārasiṁha Mahārāja would make fun of himself, saying that when people would hear his name—“Nārasiṁha”—they would be expecting some large, imposing figure. When they would meet him, a slender brāhmaṇa type with a gentle disposition, they would be puzzled: “You’re Nārasiṁha?!”
The Lifelong Editor
From the very beginning of his life in the maṭha, he was always assisting the founder and president of Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti, Paramahaṁsa-svāmī Parivrājakācārya-varya 108-śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Seeing his ever-increasing eagerness to preach śrī bhaktisiddhānta vāṇī and knowing he was most suited to the task, Ācāryadeva Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja installed him as the editor of the monthly spiritual periodical Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā. He remained in this role for a long fifteen years and preached the message of Śrī Gaura with great expertise in this way.
He was not only preoccupied with preaching in Bengali, but was eager to preach in Hindi. His contribution to the establishment of Śrī Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Mathurā-dhāma is incomparable and it was by his inspiration and enthusiasm that publiction of the Hindi language spiritual periodical, Śrī Bhāgavata Patrikā, was begun. Seeing his unflagging enthusiasm in this service, Śrīla Paramagurudeva appointed him the “Pracāra Sampādaka – Preaching Editor” of Śrī Bhāgavata Patrikā.
Right up until his departure, he was avowedly dedicated to these services and served as a pillar of Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti. On the 5th of Kārtika, October 23 1967, a Monday, at 8 o’clock in the evening, at the age of 76, Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja, the recipient of Jagad-guru Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Ācārya-varya Aṣṭottara-śata-śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura’s mercy, entered the eternal pastimes in Śrīdhāma Mathurā, in full awareness, performing kīrtana of śrī harināma.
Writing at the time of his departure, a disciple of Śrīla Paramagurudeva, Śrī Viśvarūpa Prabhu, reports: “The sevakas of the Samiti are burning in separation from him and are experiencing a darkness in their hearts in his absence for having lost such a luminary. His memorial assembly was held on the 22nd of Kārtika, the 9th of November, a Wednesday, in Śrī Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha. The Samiti’s president, Śrīla Ācāryadeva himself presided as chairman of the assembly. Many gave griefstricken speeches and conveyed their distress with tear-filled eyes. At the end, the chairman briefly narrated the history of his long life and expressed his own sorrow, saying, ‘Śrīla Mahārāja was my right hand. Today it feels like I have lost a limb. Though today he is invisible to our external vision, perhaps we can embody his inspiration and enthusiasm.’”
Śrīla Gurudeva's Sannyāsa Memory
Śrīla Gurudeva Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja shares another fond memory of Śrīla Mahārāja that was a crucial turning point in his own life. The following is cited from the introduction of A True Servant, A True Master:
“…all three of us expressed that we did not feel qualified to take sannyāsa. First, Vāmana Mahārāja was asked, or perhaps it was Trivikrama Mahārāja, as he was the eldest. Trivikrama Mahārāja was asked if he would take sannyāsa and he said no. When asked why, his reply was: “Look how learned Śrīla Prabhupāda was and also his disciples, what a great scholar Nemi Mahārāja is, how learned Śrauti Mahārāja is, and Guru Mahārāja is. We see them all, what exalted, learned scholars they are.” When Vāmana Mahārāja was asked, he too said he would not accept, so when I was asked, I also said I would not take. Then Śrīla Narasiṁha Mahārāja [Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s uncle] came to me and asked, “You will not take sannyāsa?”
“No,” I said.
“Why?”
“Because I am not qualified.”
“Are you going to decide whether or not you are qualified or is your gurudeva going to decide that?” he asked. “Is your not wanting to take sannyāsa for your own sake or will you take it to serve your gurudeva? What should happen – what your gurudeva wants or what you want? If it’s what you want, then why didn’t you stay in family life?”
He was very persuasive. He got it into my head, so I said, “Fine, I will take, whatever happens. If Gurudeva wants me to be naked, I will be naked. If he gives me sannyāsa, then I will take sannyāsa. If he gives me red cloth, I’ll take that. Whatever he says, I will do. I won’t do anything of my own accord.”
So, then it was decided that just I, Gaura-nārāyaṇa, would take sannyāsa. Guru Mahārāja said, “Yes, it will just be him. No one else is ready to take.”
Later, as the sannyāsa preparations were being made, Pūjyapāda Vāmana Mahārāja and Trivikrama Mahārāja also agreed that if Guru Mahārāja wanted them to take sannyāsa, then they should also take. This is how the three of us were the first to take sannyāsa [in Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti].”
Today, on the disappearance of Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja, our uncle or grand-uncle, we remember his tireless service to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrīman Mahāprabhu has literally shaped and curated the vāṇī that is coming to us from the time of Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, nourishing and informing us, keeping us fixed on cultivation of śrī gaura-vāṇī. As editor of the Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā, he surely had a close working relationship with Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda who contributed numerous articles to the Patrikā throughout the ‘50s and early ‘60s. We pray fervently to him that he bless us with even a fraction of such dedication and diligence, so that the divine form of śrī bhaktisiddhānta-vāṇī, Viśuddha Sarasvatī Devī herself, may remain enshrined in our hearts and minds and guide us step-by-step to the loving service of Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga Rādhā-Vinoda-bihārī Jīu!
The final installement here is of Śrīla Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja’s own vāṇī: a simple, straightforward delineation of the process to attain the service of Bhagavān, a process of which Śrīla Mahārāja is surely an expert. Translated from Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā, Year 4, Issue 9, page 350:
Bhagavat-sevā Prāpti Upāya | How to Attain the Service of Bhagavān
By Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Kuśala Nārasiṁha Mahārāja
Bhajana of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is to be performed via the limbs of bhakti such as śravaṇa etc., in a favorable manner. To curb all other desires in this world and the next besides service to Kṛṣṇa and attain tanmayatva (absorption) in that Parabrahma known as Kṛṣṇa through prema is the highest fruit of bhajana. This bhajana is naiṣkarmya (freedom from fruitive action) and, concomitantly, bestows liberation. The characteristics of this uttamā-bhakti, or bhajana, is described in Nārada Pañcarātra in this way:
sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tatparatvena nirmalam |
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate ||
In other words: Besides service to Kṛṣṇa, all other ambitions (anyābhilāṣa) are upādhi (false and limiting). The inclinations of the soulless, gross body and those of the subtle body, the mind, are referred to as anyābhilāṣa (extraneous desires), or upādhi. Being completely free from all the upādhi of physical and mental functions, completely devoted to Bhagavān and not covered by jñāna, karma, etc., or in other words, becoming pure and serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the lord of the senses, with all one’s senses is called ‘bhakti’.
This bhakti is performed in nine ways, as described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s Seventh Canto, Fifth Chapter, in the utterance of Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja:
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā
kriyeta bhagavaty addhā tan manye ’dhītam uttamam
(Bhā. 7|5|23–24)
“Hearing descriptions related Śrī Viṣṇu, performing kīrtana thereof, remembering such things, serving Viṣṇu, engaging in pūjā (worship), vandana (prayer), dāsya (servitude), sakhya (friendship) and surrendering one’s soul via body, mind and words (cultivating devotional service to Viṣṇu by surrendering everything to Him without any concern for one’s own nurturement, like cows and other animals who think not for their own maintenance)—if someone directly practices these nine limbs of bhakti after first surrendering to Viṣṇu and without the interference of hankering for some result, then that person has done the greatest study. That is my opinion.”
If the service of sādhus and guru is performed with the conception that they are devatā (gods), then only can one attain this bhagavad-bhakti; otherwise, it is not possible to attain that by any other means. The topic of serving sādhus with such ‘devatā-jñāna’ is seen in the Śrutis too: “devatā-jñāne vaiṣṇava atithi-sevā karibe – One must serve the uninvited Vaiṣṇava guest as a god.” Śrī Bhāgavata describes how bhakti is acheived only by sādhu-sevā.
naiṣāṁ matis tāvad-urukramāṅghriṁ, spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ |
mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ, niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat ||
Those whose senses are restless, who are attached to family life, and whose consciousness is thus extroverted cannot, in the slightest, touch Śrī Bhagavān’s lotus feet, which uproot all anarthas, unless and until they bathe themselves in the footdust of greatly realized niṣkiñcana Vaiṣṇavas.
Hereafter, to illustrate the performance of service to guru with the knowledge that he is devatā, or Bhagavān, there are the words “ācārya-devo bhavaḥ” (from Taittirīya-śruti, 1st Vallī, 10th Anuvāk). In Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23) also, it has been stated as follows:
yasya deve parābhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau |
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ ||
“The purports of the Śrutis only manifest in the hearts of those who have parā-bhakti (supreme devotion) for the Supreme Lord (Viṣṇu) and similar parā-bhakti for gurudeva.” The words of Bhāgavatam corroborate that bhakti is only obtained by service to guru:
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam |
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam ||
tatra bhāgavatān dharmān śikṣed gurv-ātma-daivataḥ |
amāyayānuvṛttyā yais tuṣyed ātmātma-do hariḥ ||
(Bhā. 11.3.21–22)
Prabuddha Ṛṣi said, “One who wishes to know the ultimate attainment should take shelter at the feet of a bona fide guru. The characteristics of that sad-guru (bona fide spiritual master) are that he is expert in the conclusions of the scriptures, always immersed in the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and not controlled by lust, anger, greed, and other vices born of absorption in the material energy. One should cherish śrī gurudeva as dearly as one does one’s own self and honor him like Bhagavān. Thus one should render sincere service to guru and take instruction in bhāgavata-dharma from that sad-guru whereby Śrī Hari, who gives Himself to the qualified disciple, will be satisfied.
avāpta-pañca-saṁskāra labdha-dvividha-bhaktikaḥ |
sākṣāt-kṛtya hariṁ tasya dhāmni nityaṁ pramodate ||
In order to illustrate various types of bhakti, Prabuddha Ṛṣi said, “Only one who has been initiated via the five types of saṁskāras into the two types of bhakti (vaidhi and rāgānuga) will attain direct audience with Bhagavān Śrī Hari and come to dwell in His eternal abode for all eternal time in the bliss of service.
The Smṛtis have outlined what those five saṁskāras are; see the following, from the Uttara-khaṇḍa of Padma Purāṇa:
tāpaḥ puṇḍraṁ tathā nāma mantro yāgaś ca pañcamaḥ |
amī hi pañca saṁskārāḥ paramaikanti-hetavaḥ ||
Tāpa, puṇḍra, nāma, mantra, and yāga—by these five saṁskāras, one-pointed bhakti arises. The first word, ‘tāpa’, refers to tapta-cihna-dhāraṇa, or bearing symbols branded into the skin, which refers to wearing markings of Hari’s name. Bhagavān Śrīman Mahāprabhu Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, deliverer of the fallen, saw that for jīvas afflicted by the age of Kali, getting symbols branded into their skin was something rather difficult, so He ordained the practice of wearing the holy name printed with candana, which is also accepted practice by the ancient mahājanas. The evidence for this in Smṛti is as follows:
harināmākṣarair-gātram-aṅkayec-candanādinā |
sa loka-pāvano bhūtvā tasya lokam-avāpnuyāt ||
“A person who uses candana to mark his body with the names of Hari becomes a purifier of the world and attains the abode of Bhagavān.”
‘Puṇḍra’ refers to urdhva-puṇḍra. This has been mentioned in scripture in many ways. Some attribute great auspiciousness to the urdhva-puṇḍra by fashioning it after the footprint of Hari. Another name for urdhva-puṇḍra is ‘hari-mandira-tilaka’. The Vaiṣṇavas refer to accepting a name that denotes servitude to Śrī Hari as ‘nāma’. When Śrī Gurudeva gives dīkṣā to the disciple, at that time he mercifully bestows upon him a name that denotes hari-dāsya, servitude to Śrī Hari. The various japya (chantable) mantras, such as the eighteen-syllable mantra or other similar mantras, depending on the form of one’s chosen iṣṭadeva (worshipful deity), are referred to as ‘mantra’. The word ‘yāga’ refers to the worship of śālagrāma etc. There are many, many references recorded in the Purāṇas and other scriptures on the topic of these five saṁskāras, such as the following:
navadhā bhaktir vidhi-ruci-pūrvā dvedhā bhaved yayā kṛṣṇaḥ |
bhūtvā svayaṁ prasanno dadāti tat-tad-īpsitaṁ dhāma ||
“The aforementioned nine types of bhakti, such as hearing and chanting, fall into the two categories of vaidhi and rāgānugā. By this bhakti, Śrī Kṛṣṇa becomes pleased and personally grants the devotees residence in the eternal abodes they desire.”
Depending on the type of bhakti one engages in, we also see differences in the bhajanīya-vastu, or object of devotional worship. Through vaidhi-bhakti, Bhagavān is worshipped in His caturbhuja (four-armed), aṣṭabhuja (eight-armed), daśabhuja (ten-armed) forms, etc. And on the ruci-mārga, through rūpānuga-bhakti, the transcendental two-armed form of Yaśodānandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa is worshipped most beautifully. The limbs of vaidhi-bhakti are as follows: “Worship of Śrī Tulasī, the aśvattha tree, and Dhātrī (Mother Earth), and residence in the holy dhāmas like Śrī Mathurā—physically, if one is capable; otherwise, if one is not capable of doing so physically, then one should dwell in the dhāmas by mind. Other crucial principles are the observance of Janmāṣṭamī, Ekādaśī and other vratas dedicated to Śrī Hari. It is important to note that all of these tithis must not be sūryodaya-biddhā [beginning after sunrise]. There is extensive discussion of the various considerations in this regard in Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa.
Svaniṣṭha, pariniṣṭha, and nirapekṣa—these three types of people are worthy of bhakti. The svaniṣṭha person inhabits any particular āśrama and, as per his prescribed varṇāśrama-dharma, conducts himself without kāma (excessive material desire) to achieve, without any sort of violence, the results of his actions. The nirapekṣa person is totally fixed on Hari; he performs arcana of Śrī Hari in his mind. He does not occupy any āśrama, or socially functional station in life, so he has given up karma on the constitutional level of his svarūpa, his true spiritual identity. And one who is pariniṣṭhita is situated within an āśrama. Well-established in his āśrama, he organizes many functions or mechanisms that promote bhakti-oriented activities, some of which are constant and daily and others that are intermittent or occasional (nitya and naimittika), in order to draw in many people; however, he does not abandon the predominance of bhakti. In other words, he does not forget that service to Bhagavān is the jīva’s supreme goal. And he is very diligent in completely eradicating the ten types of nāmāparādha—“daśa-nāmāparādhāṁstu yatnataḥ parivarjayet.”
Various sevāparādhas, such as going into the temple of Hari on a palanquin or other vehicle, have been described in Varāha Purāṇa and other places; all those sorts of offenses are to be strictly avoided. By constantly performing service to Hari, all those sevāparādhas can be washed away. The nāmāparādhas as described in Padma Purāṇa are listed as follows: (1) Criticizing sādhus who are engaged in the service of Śrī Hari; (2) criticizing a bona fide guru who proficient in the Vedas and fixed in brahma; and (3), seeing the foremost of the demigods, Sadāśiva, and Śrī Viṣṇu and their names, qualities, and so on to be different from Them. (In other words, if one thinks Sadāśiva is a separate independently powerful God and Viṣṇu is just another God, then the idea of many Gods arises. That creates obstacles to having one-pointed bhakti towards Bhagavān. Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone is the Supreme Lord and the godliness of Śiva and other demigods only comes from His power. In other words, those various demigods do not have any individual power of their own. One will not commit offenses if one chants harināma with this attitude.) (4) Criticizing the Śrutis and their Sātvata Vedic corollaries; (5) thinking the glories of śrī harināma are exaggerations; (6) thinking the names of Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, etc., are simply the fabrications of various Ṛṣis to achieve their own purposes; (7) engaging in sinful activity on the strength of the holy name; (8) equating harināma with nyāsa-dharma, or the renunciation of all fruitive activity associated with varṇāśrama and dāna-dharma or various types of yajña and aṣṭāṅga-yoga, etc.; (9) giving unfaithful persons harināma-mahā-mantra for the sake of fame and money; (10) remaining unattached to the holy name despite having heard these glories. There are injunctions found in many places in the scriptures that outline diligent avoidance of these ten types of offenses. It is only by giving up these ten offenses and incessantly serving Śrī Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas that one can attain the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This is the purport of scripture. The mahājanas, exalted personalities of past ages, took to this path and attained the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān, which bestow eternal peace. If we follow these teachings and activities properly at all times, we too will surely be able to attain the eternal bliss of service.