SB 06.03.22 etavan eva loke 'smin... cited

Expressions researched:
"Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord" |"bhakti-yogo bhagavati" |"etavan eva loke 'smin" |"pumsam dharmah parah smrtah" |"tan-nama-grahanadibhih"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: "6.3.22" or "Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord" or "bhakti-yogo bhagavati" or "etavan eva loke smin" or "pumsam dharmah parah smrtah" or "tan-nama-grahanadibhih"

SB Canto 6

SB 6.1.21, Purport:

"In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way." The process of chanting the holy name of the Lord is always superbly effective, but it is especially effective in this age of Kali. Its practical effectiveness will now be explained by Śukadeva Gosvāmī through the history of Ajāmila, who was freed from the hands of the Yamadūtas simply because of chanting the holy name of Nārāyaṇa. Parīkṣit Mahārāja's original question was how to be freed from falling down into hell or into the hands of the Yamadūtas. In reply, Śukadeva Gosvāmī is citing this old historical example to convince Parīkṣit Mahārāja of the potency of bhakti-yoga, which begins simply with the chanting of the Lord's name. All the great authorities of bhakti-yoga recommend the devotional process beginning with the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa (tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ).

SB 6.3.22, Translation and Purport:

Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle for the living entity in human society.

As stated in the previous verse, dharmaṁ bhāgavatam, real religious principles, are bhāgavata-dharma, the principles described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself or in Bhagavad-gītā, the preliminary study of the Bhāgavatam. What are these principles? The Bhāgavatam says, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra: (SB 1.1.2) in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there are no cheating religious systems. Everything in the Bhāgavatam is directly connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Bhāgavatam further says, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje: (SB 1.2.6) the supreme religion is that which teaches its followers how to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond the reach of experimental knowledge. Such a religious system begins with tan-nāma-grahaṇa, chanting of the holy name of the Lord (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam (SB 7.5.23)). After chanting the holy name of the Lord and dancing in ecstasy, one gradually sees the form of the Lord, the pastimes of the Lord and the transcendental qualities of the Lord. This way one fully understands the situation of the Personality of Godhead. One can come to this understanding of the Lord, how He descends into the material world, how He takes His births and what activities He performs, but one can know this only by executing devotional service. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti: (BG 18.55) simply by devotional service one can understand everything about the Supreme Lord. If one fortunately understands the Supreme Lord in this way, the result is tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti: (BG 4.9) after giving up his material body, he no longer has to take birth in this material world. Instead, he returns home, back to Godhead. That is the ultimate perfection. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (8.15):

mām upetya punar janma

duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam

nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ

saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ

"After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection."

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 8.256, Translation and Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, "Among all worshipable objects, which is the chief?"

Rāmānanda Rāya replied, "The chief worshipable object is the holy name of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra."

According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.22):

etāvān eva loke ’smin puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ

bhakti-yogo bhagavati tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ

“In this material world the living entity's only business is to accept the path of bhakti-yoga and chant the holy name of the Lord.”

CC Madhya 11.99, Purport:

The real meaning of religion is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.19–22):

dharmaṁ tu sākṣād-bhagavat-praṇītaṁ

na vai vidur ṛṣayo nāpi devāḥ

na siddha-mukhyā asurā manuṣyāh

kutaś ca vidyādhara-cāraṇādayaḥ

svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ

prahlādo janako bhīṣmo balir vaiyāsakir vayam

dvādaśaite vijānīmo dharmaṁ bhāgavataṁ bhaṭāḥ

guhyaṁ viśuddhaṁ durbodhaṁ yaṁ jñātvāmṛtam aśnute

etāvān eva loke ’smin puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ

bhakti-yogo bhagavati tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ

The purport of these verses is that dharma, or religion, cannot be manufactured by a human being. Religion is the law or code of the Lord.

CC Madhya 11.99, Purport:

Bhāgavata-dharma, or the principle of religion enunciated by the paramparā system, is the supreme principle of religion. In other words, dharma refers to the science of bhakti-yoga, which begins by the novice's chanting the holy name of the Lord (tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ).

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 4.71, Purport:

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.22) Yamarāja says:

etāvān eva loke ‘smin

puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ

bhakti-yogo bhagavati

tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ

"Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle for the living entity in human society."

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 3.25.44 -- Bombay, December 12, 1974:

Still, the śāstra gives us instruction that "You try for this śreya. Don't be captivated by the preya." Preya and śreya. And this śreya, the supreme śreya, is bhakti-yoga. Therefore it is said that etāvān eva loke 'smin puṁsāṁ niḥśreyasa udayaḥ. śreyasa and niḥśreyasa. Niḥśreyasa means ultimate. Niḥśreyasa udayaḥ. As soon as you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then your ultimate good or ultimate perfection begins immediately.

Lecture on SB 6.3.18-19 -- Gorakhpur, February 12, 1971:

If actually one understands the religious principle, he becomes, I mean to say, free from all material contamination. Amṛtam aśnute: "He is a fit candidate to drink the nectar of devotion." Amṛtam aśnute. Etāvān eva loke 'smin puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ. Now, what is the best principle of executing dharma, religion? So he says, etāvān eva loke 'smin: "Especially in this material world," puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ, "this is the first-class religious principle." What is that? Bhakti-yogo bhagavati: "Of rendering devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead." That is first-class religion. Bhakti-yogo bhagavati tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ. Tan-nāma. And how it begins? "Simply by chanting His holy name." These are the authoritative statements of Yamarāja. Tam eva dharmam etāvān iti. This is dharma.

Lecture on SB 6.3.18-19 -- Gorakhpur, February 12, 1971:

So our movement, the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, that is authorized. Here it is stated, tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ. And you have seen that our..., in Back to Godhead, Hayagrīva has also quoted many passages from Bible, the chanting, Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra chanting.

Lecture on SB 6.3.20-23 -- Gorakhpur, February 14, 1971:

Therefore we have named the book Nectar of Devotion. You drink it and become immortal. That's all. Amṛtam aśnute.

etāvān eva loke 'smin

puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ

bhakti-yogo bhagavati

tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ

(SB 6.3.22)

So dharma, this religion, so although it is very difficult to understand, still, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, it has been made very simple and easy.

Lecture on SB 6.3.20-23 -- Gorakhpur, February 14, 1971:

They think something cumberous, something speculative, something very difficult is the process of executing religion. No. Yamarāja says that etāvān eva loke 'smin puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ: "The highest principle of religion is this." What is that? Bhakti-yogaḥ bhagavati. Bhakti-yoga. One may... Just like some people, some foolish say, "Bhakti-yoga... I have got very much devotion to Goddess Kālī, to Goddess Durgā, or so many demigods. This is also bhakti." No.

Lecture on SB 6.3.20-23 -- Gorakhpur, February 14, 1971:

So if somebody says, "If everything is Bhagavān, why not worshiping the Goddess Kālī and Durgā becomes bhakti?" No. That is not. Here it is distinctly stated, bhakti-yogaḥ bhagavati. Bhakti-yogaḥ bhagavati. And that bhakti-yoga, how it begins? Tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ. Tan-nāma, His name, His holy name, grahaṇa, chanting. The method is very simple. Tan-nāma-grahaṇa-ādibhiḥ. Ādibhiḥ means beginning is chanting. There are other processes. Chanting, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam, arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyam... (SB 7.5.23). There are different processes, but the beginning is chanting and hearing. Tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ. Nāma-grahaṇa. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, nāma saya sari tako apana karya.(?) So this, our process, first of all, we give the chanting process. Sixteen rounds. That whole process of bhakti-yoga begins from that point. And the more you become experienced and more you relish the chanting, the more you become advanced.

General Lectures

Lecture -- London, August 23, 1973:

Therefore dharma means to understand God and to abide by His order. To learn this scientific method, one has to approach...

etāvān eva loke 'smin

puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ

bhakti-yogo bhagavati

tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ

So dharma means first-class dharma which teaches the followers how to know God, how to love Him. That is first-class religion. So etāvān eva loke 'smin puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ. Paraḥ means superior, not inferior. Or transcendental. So what is that? Bhakti-yogo bhagavati. Bhakti-yoga. This bhakti-yoga, devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is dharma. Bhakti-yogo bhagavati tan-nāma grahaṇādibhiḥ. And it begins by chanting the holy name of God. This is dharma. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is preaching the saṅkīrtana movement just to make the whole world to know God and how to love God. Thank you very much.