Text Seven 69

state of humanity, Krsna consciousness, the chanting of the
holy name of the Lord—Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna
Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama,
Hare Hare—is the only remedy for setting the world aright.
Although Krsna consciousness may not be very palatable for
a diseased person, Srila Rapa Gosvami nonetheless advises
that if one wants to be cured of the material disease, he must
take to it with great care and attention. One begins his treat-
ment by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra because by
chanting this holy name of the Lord a person in the material
condition will be relieved from all misconceptions (ceto-dar-
pana-marjanam). Avidyd, a misconception about one’s
spiritual identity, provides the foundation for aharkara, or
false ego within the heart.

The real disease is in the heart. If the mind is cleansed,
however, if consciousness is ¢leansed, a person cannot be
harmed by the material disease. To cleanse the mind and
heart from all misconceptions, one should take to this chant-
ing of the Hare Krsna mahd-mantra. This is both easy and
beneficial. By chanting the holy name of the Lord, one is im-
mediately freed from the blazing fire of material existence.

There are three stages in chanting the holy name of the
Lord—the offensive stage, the stage of lessening offenses,
and the pure stage. When a neophyte takes to the chanting
of the Hare Krsna mantra, he generally commits many
offenses. There are ten basic offenses, and if the devotee
avoids these, he can glimpse the next stage, which is situated
between offensive chanting and pure chanting. When one
attains the pure stage, he is immediately liberated. This is
called bhava-mahda-davagni-nirvapanam. As soon as one is
