The Maha-mantra 109

many births worshiped Vasudeva.” It is further said in the Padma
Purana: ‘“‘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 Krsna
maha-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 Mahaprabhu has recommended that everyone chant the
Hare Krsna 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 Krsna 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 Krsna mantra. As soon as one
develops his spontaneous service attitude, he can immediately under-
stand the transcendental nature of the holy names of the maha-
mantra.

In the Padma Purana there is a statement about the importance of
living at holy places like Mathura or Dvaraka. It is stated there: “To
travel to different places of pilgrimage means to attain emancipation
from material bondage. This emancipation, however, is not the high-
est perfectional stage. After attaining this liberated stage, one has to
become engaged in devotional service to the Lord. After attainment
of the brahma-bhitta [liberation] stage one can further advance to
engagement in devotional service. So this attainment of transcenden-
tal loving devotional service to the Lord is the goal of life, and it can
be achieved very easily for one who lives in Mathura-mandala even
for a few seconds.”
