Jan 15 2013, Bangalore, India — In one of the Puranas there is a story of one old man who was addicted to sinful activity, a very cruel person. But when he was on his death bed, at the last minute he had a change of heart. He said, “Well, why not try chanting the Lord’s name? All my life I’ve seen these Vaishnavas chanting Hare Krishna. I’m going to die anyway, so I might as well try it.” He called his servant and told him “Go to the marketplace and purchase some of those beads I see the devotees chanting on, those japa malas.” His servant was surprised. “You want japa-mala? What are you going to do with them?” “I’m going to chant Hare Krishna. Give it a try.” So the servant went to the market place, but unfortunately the old man died before his servant returned.
So at that time the Yamadutas and the Vishnudutas came at the same time. Both questioned the other’s presence. The Yamadutas said, “This man was a very sinful person. He never did one pious activity. There is nothing in his record to show that he did anything pious or transcendental. So what are you doing here?” The Vishnudutas replied, “We have come to take this man back to Godhead simply because he had a desire to chant Hare Krishna.
If contaminated chanting of the Holy name, Namabhasa, is so powerful then what of those devotees who are chanting the pure name?
Purport: Even a faint light from the holy name of the Lord can eradicate all the reactions of sinful life. Sinful life and its reactions are certainly serious matters, not to be easily dismissed. Yamaraja metes out hellish torments to all sinful living beings. But the process of bhakti is so potent that it drives away all sinful reactions as if they were merely enemies one might see in a bad dream. The chanting of the holy name of Krishna has been recommended as the best way to attain freedom from the miseries of birth and death. Namacarya Haridasa Thakura has declared that even the shadow of pure chanting of the holy names, known as namabhasa, destroys the entire stock of sins one has accumulated for many lifetimes and thus grants liberation.
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The old man who was on his death bed at least had the sincere and serious desire to try out to chant the Holy Name of the Lord and thus thinking of the Lord at the time of his death simply gave him liberation from his entire sinful life. That is the potency of the Holy name indeed as it is also confirmed in the Bhagavat Gita whatever state of mind one quits ones’ body at the time of death, the Jiva atma gets that body accordingly.
Jaya Srila Prabhupada.
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