Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 6: “Prescribed Duties for Mankind”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Two
Ajāmila Delivered by the Viṣṇudūtas
SB6.2Summary
In this chapter the messengers from Vaikuṇṭha explain to the Yamadūtas the glories of chanting the holy name of the Lord. The Viṣṇudūtas said, “Now impious acts are being performed even in an assembly of devotees, for a person who is not punishable is going to be punished in the assembly of Yamarāja. The mass of people are helpless and must depend upon the government for their safety and security, but if the government takes advantage of this to harm the citizens, where will they go? We see perfectly that Ajāmila should not be punished, although you are attempting to take him to Yamarāja for punishment.”
It was due to Ajāmila’s glorifying the holy name of the Supreme Lord that he was not punishable. The Viṣṇudūtas explained this as follows: “Simply by once chanting the holy name of Nārāyaṇa, this brāhmaṇa has become free from the reactions of sinful life. Indeed, he has been freed not only from the sins of this life, but from the sins of many, many thousands of other lives. He has already undergone true atonement for all his sinful actions. If one atones according to the directions of the śāstras, one does not actually become free from sinful reactions, but if one chants the holy name of the Lord, even a glimpse of such chanting can immediately free one from all sins. Chanting the glories of the Lord’s holy name awakens all good fortune. Therefore there is no doubt that Ajāmila, being completely free from all sinful reactions, should not be punished by Yamarāja.”
As they were saying this, the Viṣṇudūtas released Ajāmila from the ropes of the Yamadūtas and left for their own abode. The brāhmaṇa Ajāmila, however, offered his respectful obeisances to the Viṣṇudūtas. He could understand how fortunate he was to have chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa at the end of his life. Indeed, he could realize the full significance of this good fortune. Having thoroughly understood the discussion between the Yamadūtas and the Viṣṇudūtas, he became a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He lamented very much for how very sinful he had been, and he condemned himself again and again.
Finally, because of his association with the Viṣṇudūtas, Ajāmila, his original consciousness aroused, gave up everything and went to Hardwar, where he engaged in devotional service without deviation, always thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus the Viṣṇudūtas went there, seated him on a golden throne and took him away to Vaikuṇṭhaloka.
In summary, although the sinful Ajāmila meant to call his son, the holy name of Lord Nārāyaṇa, even though chanted in the preliminary stage, nāmābhāsa, was able to give him liberation. Therefore one who chants the holy name of the Lord with faith and devotion is certainly exalted. He is protected even in his material, conditional life.
SB6.2.1 TEXT 1 śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca evaṁ te bhagavad-dūtā yamadūtābhibhāṣitam upadhāryātha tān rājan pratyāhur naya-kovidāḥ SYNONYMS śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca—Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Vyāsadeva, said; evam—thus; te—they; bhagavat-dūtāḥ—the servants of Lord Viṣṇu; yamadūta—by the servants of Yamarāja; abhibhāṣitam—what was spoken; upadhārya—hearing; atha—then; tān—unto them; rājan—O King; pratyāhuḥ—replied properly; naya-kovidāḥ—being conversant in good arguments or good logic.
TRANSLATION Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, the servants of Lord Viṣṇu are always very expert in logic and arguments. After hearing the statements of the Yamadūtas, they replied as follows. SB6.2.2 TEXT 2 śrī-viṣṇudūtā ūcuḥ aho kaṣṭaṁ dharma-dṛśām adharmaḥ spṛśate sabhām yatrādaṇḍyeṣv apāpeṣu daṇḍo yair dhriyate vṛthā SYNONYMS śrī-viṣṇudūtāḥ ūcuḥ—the Viṣṇudūtas said; aho—alas; kaṣṭam—how painful it is; dharma-dṛśām—of persons interested in maintaining religion; adharmaḥ—irreligion; spṛśate—is affecting; sabhām—the assembly; yatra—wherein; adaṇḍyeṣu—upon persons not to be punished; apāpeṣu—who are sinless; daṇḍaḥ—punishment; yaiḥ—by whom; dhriyate—is being allotted; vṛthā—unnecessarily.
TRANSLATION The Viṣṇudūtas said: Alas, how painful it is that irreligion is being introduced into an assembly where religion should be maintained. Indeed, those in charge of maintaining the religious principles are needlessly punishing a sinless, unpunishable person. PURPORT The Viṣṇudūtas accused the Yamadūtas of violating the religious principles by attempting to drag Ajāmila to Yamarāja for punishment. Yamarāja is the officer appointed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to judge religious and irreligious principles and to punish people who are irreligious. However, if completely sinless people are punished, the entire assembly of Yamarāja is contaminated. This principle applies not only in the assembly of Yamarāja, but throughout human society also.
In human society, properly maintaining religious principles is the duty of the king’s court or the government. Unfortunately, in this yuga, Kali-yuga, the religious principles are tampered with, and the government cannot properly judge who is to be punished and who is not. It is said that in the Kali-yuga if one cannot spend money in court, one cannot get justice. Indeed, in courts of justice it is often found that magistrates are bribed for favorable judgments. Sometimes religious men who preach the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement for the benefit of the entire populace are arrested and harassed by the police and courts. The Viṣṇudūtas, who are Vaiṣṇavas, lamented for these very regrettable facts. Because of their spiritual compassion for all the fallen souls, Vaiṣṇavas go out to preach according to the standard method of all religious principles, but unfortunately, because of the influence of Kali-yuga, Vaiṣṇavas who have dedicated their lives to preaching the glories of the Lord are sometimes harassed and punished by courts on false charges of disturbing the peace.
SB6.2.3 TEXT 3 prajānāṁ pitaro ye ca śāstāraḥ sādhavaḥ samāḥ yadi syāt teṣu vaiṣamyaṁ kaṁ yānti śaraṇaṁ prajāḥ SYNONYMS prajānām—of the citizens; pitaraḥ—protectors, guardians (kings or government servants); ye—they who; ca—and; śāstāraḥ—give instructions concerning law and order; sādhavaḥ—endowed with all good qualities; samāḥ—equal to everyone; yadi—if; syāt—there is; teṣu—among them; vaiṣamyam—partiality; kam—what; yānti—will go to; śaraṇam—shelter; prajāḥ—the citizens.
TRANSLATION A king or governmental official should be so well qualified that he acts as a father, maintainer and protector of the citizens because of affection and love. He should give the citizens good advice and instructions according to the standard scriptures and should be equal to everyone. Yamarāja does this, for he is the supreme master of justice, and so do those who follow in his footsteps. However, if such persons become polluted and exhibit partiality by punishing an innocent, blameless person, where will the citizens go to take shelter for their maintenance and security? PURPORT The king, or in modern times the government, should act as the guardian of the citizens by teaching them the proper goal of life. The human form of life is especially meant for realization of one’s self and one’s relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead because this cannot be realized in animal life. The duty of the government, therefore, is to take charge of training all the citizens in such a way that by a gradual process they will be elevated to the spiritual platform and will realize the self and his relationship with God. This principle was followed by kings like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Lord Rāmacandra, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa and Prahlāda Mahārāja. The leaders of the government must be very honest and religious because otherwise all the affairs of the state will suffer. Unfortunately, in the name of democracy, rogues and thieves are electing other rogues and thieves to the most important posts in the government. Recently this has been proven in America, where the president had to be condemned and dragged down from his post by the citizens. This is only one case, but there are many others. Because of the importance of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, people should be Kṛṣṇa conscious and should not vote for anyone who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious. Then there will be actual peace and prosperity in the state. When a Vaiṣṇava sees mismanagement in the government, he feels great compassion in his heart and tries his best to purify the situation by spreading the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.
SB6.2.4 TEXT 4 yad yad ācarati śreyān itaras tat tad īhate sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute lokas tad anuvartate SYNONYMS yat yat—whatever; ācarati—executes; śreyān—a first-class man with full knowledge of religious principles; itaraḥ—the subordinate man; tat tat—that; īhate—performs; saḥ—he (the great man); yat—whatever; pramāṇam—as evidence or as the right thing; kurute—accepts; lokaḥ—the general public; tat—that; anuvartate—follows.
TRANSLATION The mass of people follow the example of a leader in society and imitate his behavior. They accept as evidence whatever the leader accepts. PURPORT Although Ajāmila was not punishable, the Yamadūtas were insisting on taking him away to Yamarāja for punishment. This was adharma, contrary to religious principles. The Viṣṇudūtas feared that if such irreligious acts were allowed, the management of human society would be spoiled. In modern times, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to introduce the right principles of management for human society, but unfortunately the governments of Kali-yuga do not properly support the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement because they do not appreciate its valuable service. The Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is the right movement for ameliorating the fallen condition of human society, and therefore governments and public leaders in every part of the world should support this movement to completely rectify humanity’s sinful condition.
SB6.2.5-6 TEXTS 5–6 yasyāṅke śira ādhāya lokaḥ svapiti nirvṛtaḥ svayaṁ dharmam adharmaṁ vā na hi veda yathā paśuḥ sa kathaṁ nyarpitātmānaṁ kṛta-maitram acetanam visrambhaṇīyo bhūtānāṁ saghṛṇo dogdhum arhati SYNONYMS yasya—of whom; aṅke—on the lap; śiraḥ—the head; ādhāya—placing; lokaḥ—the general mass of people; svapiti—sleep; nirvṛtaḥ—in peace; svayam—personally; dharmam—religious principles or the goal of life; adharmam—irreligious principles; vā—or; na—not; hi—indeed; veda—know; yathā—exactly like; paśuḥ—an animal; saḥ—such a person; katham—how; nyarpita-ātmānam—unto the living entity who has fully surrendered; kṛta-maitram—endowed with good faith and friendship; acetanam—with undeveloped consciousness, foolish; visrambhaṇīyaḥ—deserving to be the object of faith; bhūtānām—of the living entities; sa-ghṛṇaḥ—who has a soft heart for the good of all people; dogdhum—to give pain; arhati—is able.
TRANSLATION People in general are not very advanced in knowledge by which to discriminate between religion and irreligion. The innocent, unenlightened citizen is like an ignorant animal sleeping in peace with its head on the lap of its master, faithfully believing in the master’s protection. If a leader is actually kindhearted and deserves to be the object of a living entity’s faith, how can he punish or kill a foolish person who has fully surrendered in good faith and friendship? PURPORT The Sanskrit word viśvasta-ghāta refers to one who breaks faith or causes a breach of trust. The mass of people should always feel security because of the government’s protection. Therefore, how regrettable it is for the government itself to cause a breach of trust and put the citizens in difficulty for political reasons. We actually saw during the partition days in India that although Hindus and Muslims were living together peacefully, manipulation by politicians suddenly aroused feelings of hatred between them, and thus the Hindus and Muslims killed one another over politics. This is a sign of Kali-yuga. In this age, animals are kept nicely sheltered, completely confident that their masters will protect them, but unfortunately as soon as the animals are fat, they are immediately sent for slaughter. Such cruelty is condemned by Vaiṣṇavas like the Viṣṇudūtas. Indeed, the hellish conditions already described await the sinful men responsible for such suffering. One who betrays the confidence of a living entity who takes shelter of him in good faith, whether that living entity be a human being or an animal, is extremely sinful. Because such betrayals now go unpunished by the government, all of human society is terribly contaminated. The people of this age are therefore described as mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ [SB 1.1.10]. As a consequence of such sinfulness, men are condemned (mandāḥ), their intelligence is unclear (sumanda-matayaḥ), they are unfortunate (manda-bhāgyāḥ), and therefore they are always disturbed by many problems (upadrutāḥ). This is their situation in this life, and after death they are punished in hellish conditions.
SB6.2.7 TEXT 7 ayaṁ hi kṛta-nirveśo janma-koṭy-aṁhasām api yad vyājahāra vivaśo nāma svasty-ayanaṁ hareḥ SYNONYMS ayam—this person (Ajāmila); hi—indeed; kṛta-nirveśaḥ—has undergone all kinds of atonement; janma—of births; koṭi—of millions; aṁhasām—for the sinful activities; api—even; yat—because; vyājahāra—he has chanted; vivaśaḥ—in a helpless condition; nāma—the holy name; svasti-ayanam—the means of liberation; hareḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION Ajāmila has already atoned for all his sinful actions. Indeed, he has atoned not only for sins performed in one life but for those performed in millions of lives, for in a helpless condition he chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa. Even though he did not chant purely, he chanted without offense, and therefore he is now pure and eligible for liberation. PURPORT The Yamadūtas had considered only the external situation of Ajāmila. Since he was extremely sinful throughout his life, they thought he should be taken to Yamarāja and did not know that he had become free from the reactions of all his sins. The Viṣṇudūtas therefore instructed that because he had chanted the four syllables of the name Nārāyaṇa at the time of his death, he was freed from all sinful reactions. In this regard Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura quotes the following verses from the smṛti-śāstra:
nāmno hi yāvatī śaktiḥ “Simply by chanting one holy name of Hari, a sinful man can counteract the reactions to more sins than he is able to commit.” (Bṛhad-viṣṇu Purāṇa)
avaśenāpi yan-nāmni “If one chants the holy name of the Lord, even in a helpless condition or without desiring to do so, all the reactions of his sinful life depart, just as when a lion roars, all the small animals flee in fear.” (Garuḍa Purāṇa)
sakṛd uccāritaṁ yena “By once chanting the holy name of the Lord, which consists of the two syllables ha-ri, one guarantees his path to liberation.” (Skanda Purāṇa)
These are some of the reasons why the Viṣṇudūtas objected to the Yamadūtas’ taking Ajāmila to the court of Yamarāja.
SB6.2.8 TEXT 8 etenaiva hy aghono ’sya kṛtaṁ syād agha-niṣkṛtam yadā nārāyaṇāyeti jagāda catur-akṣaram SYNONYMS etena—by this (chanting); eva—indeed; hi—certainly; aghonaḥ—who possesses sinful reactions; asya—of this (Ajāmila); kṛtam—performed; syāt—is; agha—of sins; niṣkṛtam—complete atonement; yadā—when; nārāyaṇa—O Nārāyaṇa (the name of his son); āya—please come; iti—thus; jagāda—he chanted; catuḥ-akṣaram—the four syllables (nā-rā-ya-ṇa).
TRANSLATION The Viṣṇudūtas continued: Even previously, while eating and at other times, this Ajāmila would call his son, saying, “My dear Nārāyaṇa, please come here.” Although calling the name of his son, he nevertheless uttered the four syllables nā-rā-ya-ṇa. Simply by chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa in this way, he sufficiently atoned for the sinful reactions of millions of lives. PURPORT Previously, when engaged in sinful activities to maintain his family, Ajāmila chanted the name of Nārāyaṇa without offenses. To chant the holy name of the Lord just to counteract one’s sinful activities, or to commit sinful activities on the strength of chanting the holy name, is offensive (nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ). But although Ajāmila engaged in sinful activities, he never chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa to counteract them; he simply chanted the name Nārāyaṇa to call his son. Therefore his chanting was effective. Because of chanting the holy name of Nārāyaṇa in this way, he had already vanquished the accumulated sinful reactions of many, many lives. In the beginning he was pure, but although he later committed many sinful acts, he was offenseless because he did not chant the holy name of Nārāyaṇa to counteract them. One who always chants the holy name of the Lord without offenses is always pure. As confirmed in this verse Ajāmila was already sinless, and because he chanted the name of Nārāyaṇa he remained sinless. It did not matter that he was calling his son; the name itself was effective.
SB6.2.9-10 TEXTS 9–10 stenaḥ surā-po mitra-dhrug brahma-hā guru-talpa-gaḥ strī-rāja-pitṛ-go-hantā ye ca pātakino ’pare sarveṣām apy aghavatām idam eva suniṣkṛtam nāma-vyāharaṇaṁ viṣṇor yatas tad-viṣayā matiḥ SYNONYMS stenaḥ—one who steals; surā-paḥ—a drunkard; mitra-dhruk—one who turns against a friend or relative; brahma-hā—one who kills a brāhmaṇa; guru-talpa-gaḥ—one who indulges in sex with the wife of his teacher or guru; strī—women; rāja—king; pitṛ—father; go—of cows; hantā—the killer; ye—those who; ca—also; pātakinaḥ—committed sinful activities; apare—many others; sarveṣām—of all of them; api—although; agha-vatām—persons who have committed many sins; idam—this; eva—certainly; su-niṣkṛtam—perfect atonement; nāma-vyāharaṇam—chanting of the holy name; viṣṇoḥ—of Lord Viṣṇu; yataḥ—because of which; tat-viṣayā—on the person who chants the holy name; matiḥ—His attention.
TRANSLATION The chanting of the holy name of Lord Viṣṇu is the best process of atonement for a thief of gold or other valuables, for a drunkard, for one who betrays a friend or relative, for one who kills a brāhmaṇa, or for one who indulges in sex with the wife of his guru or another superior. It is also the best method of atonement for one who murders women, the king or his father, for one who slaughters cows, and for all other sinful men. Simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Viṣṇu, such sinful persons may attract the attention of the Supreme Lord, who therefore considers, “Because this man has chanted My holy name, My duty is to give him protection.” SB6.2.11 TEXT 11 na niṣkṛtair uditair brahma-vādibhis tathā viśuddhyaty aghavān vratādibhiḥ yathā harer nāma-padair udāhṛtais tad uttamaśloka-guṇopalambhakam SYNONYMS na—not; niṣkṛtaiḥ—by the processes of atonement; uditaiḥ—prescribed; brahma-vādibhiḥ—by learned scholars such as Manu; tathā—to that extent; viśuddhyati—becomes purified; agha-vān—a sinful man; vrata-ādibhiḥ—by observing the vows and regulative principles; yathā—as; hareḥ—of Lord Hari; nāma-padaiḥ—by the syllables of the holy name; udāhṛtaiḥ—chanted; tat—that; uttamaśloka—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; guṇa—of the transcendental qualities; upalambhakam—reminding one.
TRANSLATION By following the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies or undergoing atonement, sinful men do not become as purified as by chanting once the holy name of Lord Hari. Although ritualistic atonement may free one from sinful reactions, it does not awaken devotional service, unlike the chanting of the Lord’s names, which reminds one of the Lord’s fame, qualities, attributes, pastimes and paraphernalia. PURPORT Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments that the chanting of the holy name of the Lord has special significance that distinguishes it from the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of atonement for severe, more severe or most severe sinful actions. There are twenty types of religious scriptures called dharma-śāstras, beginning with the Manu-saṁhitā and parāśara-saṁhitā, but herein it is stressed that although one may become free from the reactions of the most sinful activities by following the religious principles of these scriptures, this cannot promote a sinful man to the stage of loving service to the Lord. On the other hand, chanting the holy name of the Lord even once not only frees one immediately from the reactions of the greatest sins, but also raises one to the platform of rendering loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is described as uttamaśloka because He is famous for His glorious activities. Thus one serves the Lord by remembering His form, His attributes and pastimes. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that this is all possible simply by chanting the Lord’s holy name because of the Lord’s omnipotence. What cannot be achieved through the performance of Vedic rituals can be easily achieved through the chanting of the Lord’s holy name. To chant the holy name and dance in ecstasy is so easy and sublime that one can achieve all the benefits of spiritual life simply by following this process. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu declares, paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam: “All glories to Śrī Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana!” The saṅkīrtana movement we have started offers the best process for becoming purified of all sinful reactions and coming immediately to the platform of spiritual life.
SB6.2.12 TEXT 12 naikāntikaṁ tad dhi kṛte ’pi niṣkṛte manaḥ punar dhāvati ced asat-pathe tat karma-nirhāram abhīpsatāṁ harer guṇānuvādaḥ khalu sattva-bhāvanaḥ SYNONYMS na—not; aikāntikam—absolutely cleansed; tat—the heart; hi—because; kṛte—very nicely performed; api—although; niṣkṛte—atonement; manaḥ—the mind; punaḥ—again; dhāvati—runs; cet—if; asat-pathe—on the path of material activities; tat—therefore; karma-nirhāram—cessation of the fruitive reactions of material activities; abhīpsatām—for those who seriously want; hareḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; guṇa-anuvādaḥ—constant chanting of the glories; khalu—indeed; sattva-bhāvanaḥ—actually purifying one’s existence.
TRANSLATION The ritualistic ceremonies of atonement recommended in the religious scriptures are insufficient to cleanse the heart absolutely because after atonement one’s mind again runs toward material activities. Consequently, for one who wants liberation from the fruitive reactions of material activities, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, or glorification of the name, fame and pastimes of the Lord, is recommended as the most perfect process of atonement because such chanting eradicates the dirt from one’s heart completely. PURPORT The statements in this verse have been confirmed previously in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.17):
śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ “Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who relishes His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.” It is the special mercy of the Supreme Lord that as soon as He knows that one is glorifying His name, fame and attributes, He personally helps cleanse the dirt from one’s heart. Therefore simply by such glorification one not only becomes purified, but also achieves the results of pious activities (puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtana). Puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtana refers to the process of devotional service. Even if one does not understand the meaning of the Lord’s name, pastimes or attributes, one is purified simply by hearing or chanting of them. Such purification is called sattva-bhāvana.
One’s main purpose in human life should be to purify his existence and achieve liberation. As long as one has a material body, one is understood to be impure. In such an impure, material condition, one cannot enjoy a truly blissful life, although everyone seeks it. Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.1) says, tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ śuddhyet: one must perform tapasya, austerity, to purify his existence in order to come to the spiritual platform. The tapasya of chanting and glorifying the name, fame and attributes of the Lord is a very easy purifying process by which everyone can be happy. Therefore everyone who desires the ultimate cleansing of his heart must adopt this process. Other processes, such as karma, jñāna and yoga, cannot cleanse the heart absolutely.
SB6.2.13 TEXT 13 athainaṁ māpanayata kṛtāśeṣāgha-niṣkṛtam yad asau bhagavan-nāma mriyamāṇaḥ samagrahīt SYNONYMS atha—therefore; enam—him (Ajāmila); mā—do not; apanayata—try to take; kṛta—already done; aśeṣa—unlimited; agha-niṣkṛtam—atonement for his sinful actions; yat—because; asau—he; bhagavat-nāma—the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; mriyamāṇaḥ—while dying; samagrahīt—perfectly chanted.
TRANSLATION At the time of death, this Ajāmila helplessly and very loudly chanted the holy name of the Lord, Nārāyaṇa. That chanting alone has already freed him from the reactions of all sinful life. Therefore, O servants of Yamarāja, do not try to take him to your master for punishment in hellish conditions. PURPORT The Viṣṇudūtas, who are superior authorities, gave orders to the Yamadūtas, who did not know that Ajāmila was no longer subject to tribulation in hellish life for his past sins. Although he had chanted the holy name Nārāyaṇa to indicate his son, the holy name is so transcendentally powerful that he was automatically freed because he had chanted the holy name while dying (ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ). As Kṛṣṇa confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (7.28):
yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ “Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination.” Unless one is freed from all sinful reactions, one cannot be promoted to the platform of devotional service. Elsewhere in Bhagavad-gītā (8.5) it is stated:
anta-kāle ca mām eva If one remembers Kṛṣṇa, Nārāyaṇa, at the time of death, one is certainly eligible to return immediately home, back to Godhead.
SB6.2.14 TEXT 14 sāṅketyaṁ pārihāsyaṁ vā stobhaṁ helanam eva vā vaikuṇṭha-nāma-grahaṇam aśeṣāgha-haraṁ viduḥ SYNONYMS sāṅketyam—as an assignation; pārihāsyam—jokingly; vā—or; stobham—as musical entertainment; helanam—neglectfully; eva—certainly; vā—or; vaikuṇṭha—of the Lord; nāma-grahaṇam—chanting the holy name; aśeṣa—unlimited; agha-haram—neutralizing the effect of sinful life; viduḥ—advanced transcendentalists know.
TRANSLATION One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to indicate something else], jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even neglectfully. This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures. THIS WEB PAGE URL: http://causelessmercy.com/SB6.2.htm
pāpa-nirharaṇe hareḥ
tāvat kartuṁ na śaknoti
pātakaṁ pātakī naraḥ
kīrtite sarva-pātakaiḥ
pumān vimucyate sadyaḥ
siṁha-trastair mṛgair iva
harir ity akṣara-dvayam
baddha-parikaras tena
mokṣāya gamanaṁ prati
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi
vidhunoti suhṛt satām
janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ