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e Seven Wonders of the Word
e names of the Lord—Hare, K ṣ a, and Rāma—are invested with His full potencies. Singing God’s names, therefore, is to contact Him through the medium of transcendental sound. us, the e ect of chanting is the same as the e ect of directly associating with the Lord. e following beautiful verse, written by Lord Caitanya, describes the seven e ects the Hare K ṣ a mantra has on chanters.
ceto-darpa a-mārjana bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpa a śreya -kairava-candrikā vitara a vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam ānandāmbudhi-vardhana prati-pada pūr ām tāsvādana sarvātma-snapana para vijayate śrī-k a-sa kīrtanam
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“Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord K ṣ a, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing re of material existence. at chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. e chanting of the holy name of K ṣ a expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling e ect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.” (Śrī Śik ā aka 1)
Although many books have been written explaining the theological implications of this verse, the following is a simple summary of the seven e ects of chanting Hare K ṣ a:
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(1) e chanting of K ṣ a’s name is a purifying agent that cleanses our hearts of envy—the root cause of our descent to this world—and other bad qualities we have since acquired like lust, greed, and anger. (2) As it puri es the heart, K ṣ a’s name also protects sincere chanters from any further contamination from the worldly energy and from those e ected by it. (3) Chanting awakens pure devotion to K ṣ a, the soul’s dormant propensity to serve the Lord with love; and further, chanting revives the loving devotion that quali es one for the greatest good fortune—K ṣ a’s association. (4) A result of acquiring devotion is that one becomes illuminated with spiritual knowledge. Further chanting matures that knowledge into realisation, which in time reveals a devotee’s original position in one of the ve relationships with K ṣ a. (5) As much as the heart is relieved of unwanted habits, to that degree we become devoted to K ṣ a; as much as devotion is rmly xed in our hearts, to that degree we acquire realised knowledge; and as much as the heart is illumined by both devotion and knowledge, to that degree we taste spiritual happiness. In this way the ocean of bliss swells. (6) Chanting frees conditioned souls of the illusion of identifying themselves with their body and mind, and establishes in them the cooling reality that they are eternal spiritual entities. (7) When devotees nally achieve the perfection of chanting, they taste the full nectar of loving devotion to K ṣ a—a nectar that makes the bliss of liberation seem insigni cant.
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