The Mahā-mantra
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many births worshiped Vāsudeva.” It is further said in the  Padma Purāṇa : “There is no difference between the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself. As such, the holy name is as perfect as the Lord Himself in fullness, purity and eternity. The holy name is no material sound vibration, nor has it any material contamination.” The holy name cannot, therefore, be chanted offenselessly by one who has failed to purify his senses. In other words, materialistic senses cannot properly chant the holy names of the  Hare Krṣṇa mahā-mantra . But, by adopting this chanting process, one is given a chance to actually purify himself so that he may very soon chant offenselessly.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended that everyone chant the  Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra  just to cleanse the dust from the heart. If the dust of the heart is cleansed away, then one can actually understand the importance of the holy name. For persons who are not inclined to clean the dust from their heart and want to keep things as they are, it is not possible to derive the transcendental result of chanting the  Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra . One should, therefore, be encouraged to develop his service attitude toward the Lord, because this will help him to chant without any offense. And so, under the guidance of a spiritual master, the disciple is trained simultaneously to render service and at the same time to chant the  Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra . As soon as one develops his spontaneous service attitude, he can immediately understand the transcendental nature of the holy names of the  mahā-mantra .
In the  Padma Purāṇa  there is a statement about the importance of living at holy places like Mathurā or Dvārakā. It is stated there: “To travel to different places of pilgrimage means to attain emancipation from material bondage. This emancipation, however, is not the highest perfectional stage. After attaining this liberated stage, one has to become engaged in devotional service to the Lord. After attainment of the  brahma-bhūta  [liberation] stage one can further advance to engagement in devotional service. So this attainment of transcendental loving devotional service to the Lord is the goal of life, and it can be achieved very easily for one who lives in Mathurā-maṇḍala even for a few seconds.”