One Vaiṣṇava Purifies the Whole Dynasty: The Holy Name, Ajāmila and the Power of Vaiṣṇava-darśana
A Disciple Attains Goloka: Speaking in the home of Rājalakṣmī Devī, a disciple of Śrīla Gurudeva who received dīkṣā (initiation) and chanted the holy names until she departed three weeks earlier at over eighty years of age, Gurudeva assures her family that she has attained Goloka Vṛndāvana and serves Śrīmatī Rādhikā under Gurudeva’s guidance. Quoting kulaṁ pavitraṁ jananī kṛtārthā (the family is purified and the mother fulfilled) from the Padma Purāṇa, he explains that when one Vaiṣṇava appears, the dynasty, the mother and even Pṛthivī Devī (Mother Earth) become successful.
Prahlāda’s Benediction and the Generations Delivered: When Nṛsiṁhadeva offered Prahlāda Mahārāja a benediction, Prahlāda asked only that his demon father Hiraṇyakaśipu be delivered, and the Lord’s heart melted. Nṛsiṁhadeva explained that a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī (neophyte devotee) who has taken Viṣṇu-dīkṣā and follows the four principles delivers seven generations on both his mother’s and father’s side, a madhyama-adhikārī (intermediate devotee) fourteen, and an uttama-adhikārī (topmost devotee) twenty-one.
The House Becomes Goloka: Citing Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s gṛhete goloka bhāya (Goloka appears in the home), he says that a house where bhajana (worship) and sādhana (spiritual practice) are performed, and where guru and Vaiṣṇavas come, is Goloka Vṛndāvana. Even the bricks of this house are witnesses to her chanting, because nāma-brahma (the holy name is the Absolute) is so powerful that a śvapaca (dog-eater) who chants is higher than a Sāma-vedī brāhmaṇa.
B-O-D-Y and Citragupta: Gurudeva explains the word “body” as birth, old age, disease (including mana-pīḍā, mental suffering) and Yamarāja, the lord of death. After death the subtle body comes before Yamarāja, and his clerk Citragupta, whose name means a hidden picture, records everything like a CCTV camera and shows each person their good and bad karma, while the atheistic philosophy of ṛṇaṁ kṛtvā ghṛtaṁ pibet (borrow money and drink ghee) is foolish.
The Laughing Sinner in Hell: A sinner pushed again and again into a hell of stool laughed each time he surfaced, because in his vision he saw a great Vaiṣṇava coming in his dynasty who would deliver him, so that the Yamadūtas (messengers of Yamarāja) would one day worship his feet. Even one Vaiṣṇava son or daughter delivers the family from the ocean of māyā (illusion); one who chants, wears tilaka and wears tulasī beads will not go to Yamaloka.
Godly and Demoniac, and the Gītā in the Home: There are two kinds of beings, devatās (godly), who are devotees of Viṣṇu, and asuras (demons), their opposite. Every home should keep Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā in any language, Gaṅgā-jala (Ganges water) and Tulasī; Kṛṣṇa says gītā me hṛdayaṁ pārtha (the Gītā is My heart), and Gurudeva recalls a Bhagavad-gītā found safe after the burning airliner crash from Ahmedabad.
Ajāmila and the Viṣṇudūtas: Ajāmila, a great sinner who had named his son Nārāyaṇa, cried out that name at death, and four Viṣṇudūtas (messengers of Viṣṇu) stopped the Yamadūtas, explaining that the Lord’s name is eternal and existed before the son. By sāṅketyaṁ pārihāsyaṁ vā (chanting even indirectly or jokingly) all sins are destroyed through nāmābhāsa (the semblance of the holy name), but the Lord does not give mercy to one who commits vaiṣṇava-aparādha (offence to a Vaiṣṇava), which Ajāmila never did.
The Purifying Darśana of a Vaiṣṇava: The sukṛti (spiritual merit) from calling his son’s name gave Ajāmila darśana (sight) of the Viṣṇudūtas, and as darkness disappears when the sun rises, the darśana of a Vaiṣṇava destroys all sins and purifies like bathing in the Ganges. Yamarāja then told his messengers to bring only those who do not chant, do not remember the Lord’s lotus feet (jihvā na vakti) and do not perform viṣṇu-kṛtya (duties to Viṣṇu) such as Ekādaśī, Rāma-navamī and Janmāṣṭamī.
Observe Ekādaśī: Gurudeva requests everyone to chant the holy names and observe Ekādaśī, avoiding the five grains (rice, dāl, wheat, barley and millet), since on that day all sins reside in grains, and to take milk, yoghurt and fruits instead.
By the mercy of guru and the holy name, even one Vaiṣṇava in a family purifies its home and delivers its generations, so everyone should chant, keep the Gītā, Tulasī and Gaṅgā-jala, and observe Ekādaśī.
