View source for Bhakti-yoga begins with sravanam kirtanam visnoh (SB 7.5.23), hearing and chanting of Lord Visnu's names, as in the maha-mantra - Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

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{{terms|"Bhakti-yoga begins with sravanam kirtanam visnoh"|"hearing and chanting of Lord Visnu's names, as in the maha-mantra"|"Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare"|"Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare"}}
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{{compiler|SharmisthaK}}
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[[Category:Bhakti-yoga - Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Beginning of Devotional Service to God]]
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[[Category:Sravana - Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Kirtana - Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Hearing about God]]
[[Category:Chanting about God]]
[[Category:God Is Lord Visnu]]
[[Category:God's Name]]
[[Category:Maha-mantra]]
[[Category:Hare Krsna Mantra]]
[[Category:Chanting Hare Krsna]]
[[Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 06 Chapter 01 Purports - The History of the Life of Ajamila]]
[[Category:Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 06 Purports]]
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<h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
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<h3>SB Canto 6</h3>
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Bhakti-yoga begins with śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23), hearing and chanting of Lord Viṣṇu's names, as in the mahā-mantra—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Chanting is the beginning of bhakti-yoga.
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[[Vanisource:SB 6.1.21|SB 6.1.21, Translation and Purport]]
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In the city known as Kānyakubja there was a brāhmaṇa named Ajāmila who married a prostitute maidservant and lost all his brahminical qualities because of the association of that low-class woman.
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The fault of illicit connection with women is that it makes one lose all brahminical qualities. In India there is still a class of servants, called śūdras, whose maidservant wives are called śūdrāṇīs. Sometimes people who are very lusty establish relationships with such maidservants and sweeping women, since in the higher statuses of society they cannot indulge in the habit of woman hunting, which is strictly prohibited by social convention. Ajāmila, a qualified brāhmaṇa youth, lost all his brahminical qualities because of his association with a prostitute, but he was ultimately saved because he had begun the process of bhakti-yoga. Therefore in the previous verse, Śukadeva Gosvāmī spoke of the person who has only once surrendered himself at the lotus feet of the Lord (manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ) or has just begun the bhakti-yoga process. Bhakti-yoga begins with śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.23-24|SB 7.5.23]]), hearing and chanting of Lord Viṣṇu's names, as in the mahā-mantra—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Chanting is the beginning of bhakti-yoga. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu declares:

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:harer nāma harer nāma
:harer nāmaiva kevalam
:kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
:nāsty eva gatir anyathā 
:([[Vanisource:CC Adi 17.21|CC Adi 17.21]])
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"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).
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