Offenseless chanting (Conv and Letters)

Expressions researched:
"Offenseless, he must be properly initiated. It does not mean that he should not be initiated and chant" |"Whether he is strictly offenseless? Then it is all right" |"chant Hare Krishna offenselessly" |"chant offenselessly" |"chant the Holy Name offenselessly" |"chanting 16 offenseless" |"chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra offenselessly" |"chanting Hare Krishna at least 16 offenseless rounds" |"chanting Hare Krishna offenselessly" |"chanting Hare Krsna Mantra offenselessly" |"chanting offenselessly" |"chanting offenselessly" |"chanting the Holy Names offenselessly" |"offenseless chanting" |"offenseless rounds daily are being chanted"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: "offenseless* chant*"@15

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Offenseless chanting is the ultimate goal. In the beginning we are not offenseless, but by chanting, chanting, by practice, we gradually become offenseless. But this is necessary, that you should be offenseless.

Morning Walk -- February 3, 1975, Hawaii:

Prabhupāda: Therefore it is recommended that you live with devotees. But if you cannot agree with the devotees, you have got your own opinion, then you cannot make a new opinion so far the process is concerned. That must be followed. This is not good idea, that "Whatever I do, it is my independence, and I will chant." So that is good in sense that some day he will come to senses. Otherwise, for the time being, the chant is not very powerful. The fire in wet wood is not powerful. It will create some smoke. Although the fire is there. But if you put dry wood, immediately it will be blazing, and your business will be quickly done. This is intelligence. There are many examples. A patient suffering from disease, a doctor said, "You should do; you should not do." So if we follow "You should not do," then it becomes quickly recovered. But if he becomes under the treatment of the doctor at the same time he does all nonsense, then how it can be successful? It will take time. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Pāpi jane aparādha āchāya pracūra. Pāpi jane aparādha āchāya... Offenseless chanting is the ultimate goal. In the beginning we are not offenseless, but by chanting, chanting, by practice, we gradually become offenseless. But this is necessary, that you should be offenseless.

If he is chanting without offense, then it is all right, but if he is committing offenses, it will not be effective. There are ten kinds of offenses. Whether he is strictly offenseless? Then it is all right.

Morning Walk -- February 3, 1975, Hawaii:

Rāmeśvara: They think just by chanting, they will go back to the spiritual world. That is enough.

Prabhupāda: Then what is the meaning of the ten kinds of offenses? If he is chanting without offense, then it is all right, but if he is committing offenses, it will not be effective. There are ten kinds of offenses. Whether he is strictly offenseless? Then it is all right. If he is offender, then it will not be fruitful. It will be fruitful; it will take long time because first of all you have to become offenseless. Then you will be admitted. (aside:) Don't come very near. That's it. So they are committing offenses, so how they can become perfect? He is committing not following the rules and regulation. That means he is thinking that "Whatever I do, it will be adjusted by chanting the name." Is it not?

Offenseless chanting, that will purify. That is the easiest process, given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Conversation with the GBC -- March 27, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: That purity process is chanting.

Atreya Ṛṣi: I have to chant very carefully...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Atreya Ṛṣi: ...and very seriously.

Prabhupāda: Offenseless.

Atreya Ṛṣi: Not that I'm already advanced.

Prabhupāda: Offenseless chanting, that will purify. That is the easiest process, given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Ceto-da...(?) He first of all recommends cleansing the heart. And as soon as your heart is cleansed, then you become immediately purified. This is the way. So be always engaged, either in chanting or reading or preaching. Then it will be clarified.

Offenseless.

Morning Walk -- September 30, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: But if they fix up their mind in Kṛṣṇa, the vidhi-niṣedha automatically will come. That process I adopted. When they came to me I never said that "You don't do this, don't do that, don't do that." No. "You simply come here and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." These are... Old students learned. I never said that "You have to follow these rules, these regulations, then you can come..." Because if chanting is properly done, then ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12)—the mind will be cleansed of all dirty things. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathā kṛṣṇa puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ (SB 1.2.17). Simply by hearing and chanting, they will be pious. Hṛdy antaḥ 'stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām. Kṛṣṇa is there. As soon as He sees one devotee is sincerely chanting, He'll help, cleansing the heart. Vidhunoti... You will read Ajāmila upākhyāna. Simply by chanting Nārāyaṇa...

Dr. Patel: Ajāmila got it.

Prabhupāda: Offenseless.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Mantra is not ordinary sound vibration. So we have to keep the mantra in potency, potent, by offenseless chanting, by remaining pure.

Room Conversation -- April 27, 1976, Auckland, New Zealand:

Prabhupāda: Now, actually, people are surprised: "What this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra has got power that it is changing so quickly?" And on the other hand, it is to be admitted, unless it has got power, how it is changing? So we have to keep that power. Don't make it an ordinary musical vibration. It is a different thing, spiritual. Although it seems like musical vibration, but it is spiritual, completely. Mantrauśadhi-vaśa. Even, by mantra, the snakes can be charmed. So mantra is not ordinary sound vibration. So we have to keep the mantra in potency, potent, by offenseless chanting, by remaining pure. If you pollute the mantra, then it will lose its effect.

You follow strictly the instructions. If you commit offense, how it is offenseless?

Morning Walk -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Makhanlāl: It's possible for even a neophyte to chant offenselessly?

Prabhupāda: Not possible, but he has to do it. This is offense, to think that "I have chanted once; my all sinful activities are now neutralized." This is offense. Nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ. This is the offense. (break)

Makhanlāl: Chanting, following the orders of the spiritual master...

Prabhupāda: That's all right. No calculation.

Makhanlāl: Is that considered offenseless chanting?

Prabhupāda: Hmm? Yes. You follow strictly the instructions. If you commit offense, how it is offenseless?

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Offenseless, he must be properly initiated. It does not mean that he should not be initiated and chant. That is not the idea.

Room Conversation With Artists and About BTG -- February 25, 1977, Mayapura:

Rāmeśvara: What about the idea that "You do not have to move into a temple, give up your family and everything, but you can actually chant Hare Kṛṣṇa in your own home," that idea that "It is available to you..."

Prabhupāda: No, that chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa does not mean whimsical.

Rāmeśvara: No.

Prabhupāda: Offenseless, he must be properly initiated. It does not mean that he should not be initiated and chant. That is not the idea. You can... Must be initiated, either you are a gṛhastha or sannyāsī or brahmacārī. Not that without being initiated you'll whimsically chant and the effect will be the same. No. You must be initiated. Ādau gurvāśrayam. You must accept a guru.

So offenseless chanting makes one liberated, and then pure chanting makes one lover of God. This is the process.

Evening Darsana -- May 13, 1977, Hrishikesh:

Prabhupāda: There are ten kinds of offenses. So in the beginning there may be offenses. It doesn't matter. It will be rectified. Offenseless chanting means mukti, and then pure chanting means love of Godhead. There are three stages. In the beginning, when one begins chanting, it is not pure. There are so many offenses. But chanting, chanting, the offenses become purified. Offenseless chanting is not purified completely, but it is offenseless. So offenseless chanting makes one liberated, and then pure chanting makes one lover of God. This is the process. So chanting is definite mystic power.

1967 Correspondence

The more one is used to chant the Holy Name offenselessly, the more one develops love of God, forgetting the whole material nonsense.

Letter to Umapati -- Calcutta 23 November, 1967:

I am so glad to learn that you are now getting the fruit of chanting Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna is so nice that it clears the dirty things from the mind of the devotee and the more one is used to chant the Holy Name offenselessly, the more one develops love of God, forgetting the whole material nonsense.

We should always be careful in the matter of being attacked by Maya's influence and the only means of guarantee is to chant Hare Krishna offenselessly.

Letter to Umapati -- Calcutta 23 November, 1967:

We should always, therefore, be careful in the matter of being attacked by Maya's influence and the only means of guarantee is to chant Hare Krishna offenselessly. The greatest offense is to defy the spiritual master and to act sinfully, thinking in the strength of chanting. If a man thinks that chanting will save him from all kinds of sinful reaction deliberately committee. by him, then he becomes the greatest offender. By chanting Hare Krishna certainly we become free from all sinful reactions, but that does not mean that we shall deliberately commit sins and counteract it by chanting.

1968 Correspondence

Kirtana is the universal principle, therefore, if you chant Hare Krishna offenselessly, that is to say, avoiding the 10 kinds of offenses, the vibration is sure to act.

Letter to Gurudasa -- Los Angeles 14 December, 1968:

It is very much encouraging to me to hear of so many activities of performing kirtana there. Kirtana is the universal principle, therefore, if you chant Hare Krishna offenselessly, that is to say, avoiding the 10 kinds of offenses, the vibration is sure to act. And anywhere this vibration is made, it will be liked because it is done on the spiritual platform. And on the spiritual platform, there will be certainly agreement. So long one is on the material platform, there is no agreement. So our movement is directly taken to the spiritual platform. So do it nicely, offenselessly, and it will be successful anywhere.

1970 Correspondence

Our process is for manufacturing sincere souls. How is it possible? Simply by your kindly following the rules and regulative principles and chanting the Holy Names offenselessly.

Letter to Vrndavana Candra -- Los Angeles 12 July, 1970:

I am so pleased to learn that your center is attracting so many persons some of whom are sincere. If you are sincere in your service of preaching our Krsna consciousness philosophy, other sincere souls will come. Our process is for manufacturing sincere souls. How is it possible? Simply by your kindly following the rules and regulative principles and chanting the Holy Names offenselessly. This program is given by Lord Caitanya specifically to change the hearts of the fallen souls of this Kali Yuga for picking up their spiritual life.

One who takes to chanting Hare Krsna Mantra offenselessly immediately becomes situated transcendentally and therefore he has no need of being initiated with sacred thread.

Letter to Acyutananda -- Bombay 14 November, 1970:

Actually one who takes to chanting Hare Krsna Mantra offenselessly immediately becomes situated transcendentally and therefore he has no need of being initiated with sacred thread, but Guru Maharaja introduced this sacred thread because a Vaisnava was being mistaken as belonging to the material caste. To accept a Vaisnava in material caste system is hellish consideration (naraki buddhi). Therefore, to save the general populace from being offender to a Vaisnava, He persistently introduced this sacred thread ceremony and we must follow His footsteps.

By the mercy of Lord Caitanya even such materially absorbed persons can be extricated from their entanglement in the maya by contact with offenseless chanting of the Lord's Holy Names Hare Krsna Mantra.

Letter to Bansidhari -- Bombay 16 November, 1970:

It is always the difficulty with the karmis that they "have no time" for attending spiritual functions or gatherings. Sukadeva Goswami analyzes the situation for the karmis in the narration of Bhagavatam as sleeping and indulging in sex-life in the night and in the daytime working hard "Where is money? Where is money?" and when they have got money, how to accumulate household paraphernalia, etc. Anyway, by the mercy of Lord Caitanya even such materially absorbed persons can be extricated from their entanglement in the maya by contact with offenseless chanting of the Lord's Holy Names Hare Krsna Mantra. If you vibrate these transcendental sounds everywhere continually, it will pierce their ears and enter their hearts, and then their natural attraction for Krsna will be revived. So do not care for the temporary excuses of the unwilling and unfortunate persons, you simply carry our program forward distributing Sankirtana, Prasadam and literatures and the effect will take place.

1971 Correspondence

If we work very hard for Krishna soon we lose our attachment and become satisfied just to be serving Krishna, and as long as at least 16 offenseless rounds daily are being chanted, know it for certain that our anxieties will disappear very soon.

Letter to Badarinarayana -- Delhi 18 November, 1971:

The difference between a devotee and a nondevotee is this, just like the bee and the fly: the bee always is attracted by the honey and flies go to the open sores. So the devotee is only attracted by the good qualities in other people and does not see their faults. He is friend to everyone and in this way he finds his life sublime. Of course we are not ourselves perfect, so sometimes there may be something, and we may lose our enthusiasm to do something—but these things come and go and you should not bother very much with them. Just be attached to Krishna and try always to think how to please Him, and He will personally rescue His devotee from all kinds of unfavorable situations. Even we may not like to do the work, if we work very hard for Krishna soon we lose our attachment and become satisfied just to be serving Krishna, and as long as at least 16 offenseless rounds daily are being chanted, know it for certain that our anxieties will disappear very soon.

I am always urging my students to follow the regulative principles without fail and to resist the onslaught of Maya by chanting Hare Krishna at least 16 offenseless rounds daily. In this way Krishna protects us.

Letter to Hamsaduta -- Delhi 20 November, 1971:

I am very pleased to note that things are improving nicely in Europe in general. I am glad to hear that Vasudeva has returned and is working cooperatively. He is a good boy, but sometimes in a weak instant Maya can capture us and we cannot resist. That is why I am always urging my students to follow the regulative principles without fail and to resist the onslaught of Maya by chanting Hare Krishna at least 16 offenseless rounds daily. In this way Krishna protects us.

1973 Correspondence

It is not sufficient for us to just chant 16 rounds, but we must endeavor to chant offenselessly 16 rounds.

Letter to Sarva Suhrit -- Los Angeles 17 April, 1973:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter undated and one letter from your wife dated 4.12.73 requesting sacred thread and mahamantra initiation respectively. I am expecting to go to London, and at that time I will personally initiate both of you. In the meantime you should both strictly follow the principles. This is our strength. It is not sufficient for us to just chant 16 rounds, but we must endeavor to chant offenselessly 16 rounds. Even we must be always chanting Hare Krsna, why only 16 rounds. So you are a good boy, but you just do everything carefully, never forgetting Krsna for a moment, and everything will come out for you successfully.

By offenseless chanting, when we associate with Krsna through His Holy Name, then all inauspicious things are cleared from the heart.

Letter to Cintamani -- Bhaktivedanta Manor 17 July, 1973:

You ask how you can become free of envy. Simply by chanting Hare Krsna, Lord Caitanya has said the heart will become cleaned of all the dirty things accumulated in the heart. It is not that we have to endeavor separately to become rid of envy or any deficiency or impurity. In this age the chanting of Hare Krsna is recommended as the only possible method to associate with Krsna. By offenseless chanting, when we associate with Krsna through His Holy Name, then all inauspicious things are cleared from the heart. So wherever you are you should always go on chanting, and that in itself will bring all perfection.

1974 Correspondence

N order to chant offenselessly, so that the chanting will have the greatest effect, one must avoid the four sinful activities.

Letter to Ravendra Gupta -- Vrindaban 12 February, 1974:

I am very glad to hear you are following my instructions by chanting 16 rounds daily. In order to chant offenselessly, so that the chanting will have the greatest effect, one must avoid the four sinful activities. You have asked "How serious would it be for me if I should miss the golden opportunity to become your initiated disciple?" You should know that the value of accepting a bona fide spiritual master is more than we can calculate. It is not a mere formality. Of course everyone is encouraged to chant Hare Krishna, but until one gives up sinful activities and becomes determined to serve Krishna through His representative then the firm fixing up of devotional service will not take hold, and there is every chance that one will fall prey to all sorts of material desires and have to come back again in the next life—and one cannot guarantee that he will be born in the form of life he may desire.

By chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra offenselessly, one immediately realizes himself as spirit soul.

Letter to Tarun Kanti Ghosh Babu -- New Delhi 11 March, 1974:

First of all, people are suffering on account of misunderstanding of self realization. The whole world is moving under the conception of the body in different names are caste, creed, nation, culture, like that. By chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra offenselessly, one immediately realizes himself as spirit soul which is described in the Vedas as aham brahmasmi. The Mayavadi philosophers cease to think further than this, but Bhagavad gita teaches us how to realize further advancement in spiritual life in devotional service.

Chanting offenselessly is the remedy for all diseases.

Letter to Vidarbha Kanya -- Vrindaban 19 August, 1974:

In spiritual life it is very important to set a good example. The teachings of the param para are simply based on this principle of acarya. Sometimes the wife must bring the husband to Krishna Consciousness, so you yourself must chant 16 rounds and follow the devotional practices and reading my books. If it is difficult for you and you are falling down then it would be better for you to live in any one of our temples. All of you are coming from backgrounds of bad habits, so to make progress in Krishna Consciousness we must overlook the faults of others. You must be patient with your husband. Chanting offenselessly is the remedy for all of these diseases. Therefore I have established that the duty of the president of each temple and also the GBC is to see that each devotee is following the rules and regulations, chanting 16 rounds so that they may be spiritually fit.

How will you withstand the material attraction if you are not chanting Hare Krishna offenselessly and regularly?

Letter to Radha-Kanta -- Vrindaban 20 August, 1974:

You should understand that when you sat at the fire sacrifice upon your initiation, you made a vow to the Spiritual Master at that time. So, you should not break these vows. You say that you appreciate the association of devotees but how will you withstand the material attraction? If you are not chanting Hare Krishna offenselessly and regularly? Affection for the spiritual master and following the instructions of the Spiritual Master is the same. My instruction is that all of my disciples must attend the mangala arati and chant 16 rounds daily.