What is Nama Hatta?
Nama Hatta - means the Marketplace (Hatta) of the Holy
Names (Nama) of God. The marketplace of the Holy Name was
founded in the 1500's in West Bengal by Sri Nityananada Raya
on the Island of Godruma in Navadvip. Based on the
principle that the price for chanting purely the Names of
God is sincere faith. With however much faith one
possesses, that much benefit can be derived from the
chanting. One does not need to leave his(her) home,
family or position in life. One needs only to come to the
market, buy what one desires and take it home. Thus Nama
Hatta is for teaching the world to advance spiritually at
home. It does not require extraneous endeavor or great
investments of money. Any place where one can easily
obtain the mercy of receiving the pure Holy Names of God
to chant is a part of the Nama Hatta.
For more information on the importance of chanting
please read this.
A
Description of Nama Hatta
Part One of a Serialized
Presentation of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Godruma
Kalpatavi:
The Desire Tree
of Godruma
First Desire Tree
Sri Sri Godruma-Chandraya namah
-
Obeisances unto Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, the moon of Godruma,
(one of the nine islands of Sri Sri Navadvipa dhama).
Sri Sri Nama Hatta
The market place of the holy name,
located at Sri Sri Navadvipa dhama,
whenever and wherever a part of the holy dhama is
manifested.
nama-cintamanih krsnas
caitanya-rasa vigrahah -
The holy name of Krishna is
transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual
benedictions,
for it is Krishna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure.
The Storehouse:
The great scripture Srimad
Bhagavatam,
the well-known Vedanta
literature, the essence of the Upanisads and the embodiment
of rasa.
The Owner of the Goods:
Lord Sri
Nityananda Prabhu.
His
Partners:
Sri Advaita Prabhu in Bengal,
Sri Rupa and Sanatana
Gosvamis in Vrindavan,
Sri Svarupa Damodar Gosvami and Ramananda Raya in Jagannath Puri.
The
Store-keepers:
Sri Gadadhara Pandit Gosvami, Srimati
Visnupriya Thakurani and
Srimati Jahnava Thakurani in Bengal;
Sri Raghunatha Das Gosvami in Vrindavana;
Sri Paramananda Puri in Jagannath Puri.
The Guards of
the Market:
Sri Vamsivadanananda, Sri Vasu
Ramananda, Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi,
Sri Damodara Pandita, Sri Jagadananda, Sri Jagadisa and
Sri Hiranya Pandita in Bengal;
Sri Lokanath Goswami and Sri Raghava Pandita in
Vrindavana;
Sri Haridasa Thakura in Jagannatha Puri.
The
Treasurers:
Srivasa Pandita and his brothers and
Acaryaratna in Bengal;
Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami in Vrindavana;
King Prataparudra in Jagannatha Puri.
The
Clerks and Accountants:
Sri Vrndavana dasa Thakura in Bengal;
Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami and Sri Visvanatha
Cakravarti in Vrindavana;
Sri Vaninatha Pattanayaka in Jagannatha Puri.
The
Cooks:
Sri Jagannatha Misra and others,
Srimati Sacimata Thakurani, Srimati Sitadevi and
Srimati Malinidevi in Bengal;
The Sanodiya brahmana in Vrindavana;
The wife of Sri Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya in Jagannatha
Puri.
The
Currency Examiners:
Sri Gauridasa Pandita, Sri Abhirama
Gosvami and Sri Kavi Karnapura in Bengal;
Sri Pradyumna Misra in Jagannatha Puri.
The Brokers,
Sales Agents:
Sri Isvara Puri, Sri Kesava Bharati and
Sri Vidya-vacaspati in Bengal;
Sri Bhugarbha Gosvami in Vrindavana;
Sri Madhavendra Puri in Jagannatha Puri.
The
Weighers:
Sri Murari Gupta and Sri Vasu Ramananda
in Bengal:
Sri Kaviraja Gosvami in Vrindavana;
Sri Kasi Misra in Jagannatha Puri.
The
Servants:
Sri Buddhimanta Khan, Sri Vijayadasa
Ratnabahu, Sri Vanamali Pandita,
Sri Garuda Pandita, Sri Nrsimhananda, Sri Ramai Pandita
and others in Bengal;
Sri Balabhadra Bhattacarya in Vrindavana;
Sri Govinda, Sri Krsnadasa and Sri Kasisvara Pandita in
Jagannatha Puri.
The
Porters:
Sri Sanjaya, Sri Suklambara, Kholaveca
Sridhara, Sri Nakula Brahmacari and
Sri Pradyumna Brahmacari in Bengal.
The
Cart-pullers:
Sri Vasudeva Datta, Sri Vasudeva Ghosh,
Sri Sivananda Sena and
Sri Gopinatha Simha in Bengal.
The
Customers:
Sri Sarvabhauma
Bhattacarya,Jagai-Madhai, Sri Prakasananda Sarasvati and
other devotees.
Explanation by H.H. Jayapataka Maharaja
The mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda comes
down through Their devotees. Thus the devotees are
recipients of Krishna-prema by the mercy of Lard Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, and are able to distribute this love of
Godhead. Bhaktivinoda Thakura illustrates this using the
analogy of the transcendental market place of the holy
name of the Lord.
Every devotee of Lord Caitanya has some position of
devotional service in the Nama Hatta, either assisting
some devotes, or carrying the message of the Lord, or
helping in analyzing the purity of the devotion
exhibited, or training the new devotees.
Lord Nityananda,
being the owner of the commodities for sale, is
ultimately responsible for the sales and distribution of
the holy name,
Svarupa Damodara
and Ramananda Raya in Jagannath Puri, Rupa and Sanatana
Gosvamis in Vrindavan and Advaita Acarya in Bengal were
Lord Nityananda's assistants, His delegated
representatives responsible for all the devotional
activities conducted in their respective
prabhu-datta-desa. For instance, during the
Gundica-marjana-lila (cleaning of the Gundica Temple) one
Bengali devotee who was visiting Puri drank the water
from Lord Chaitanya's lotus feet. The Lord called Svarupa
Damodara and chastised him, showing that Svarupa Damodara
was held responsible for everyone's activities.
The guards
in the market were concerned with preserving the
spiritual purity of devotional service. Damodar Pandit,
for instance, would immediately point out something that
he thought may taint the reputation of the Lord. Haridas
Thakura would always defend the glories of the holy name.
The storekeepers
stored the Lord's mercy, whereas the treasurers
were responsible to see that the mercy was
distributed to the right people. Srivasa Pandita would
decide who could participate in the confidential kirtanas of Lord Caitanya.
Gopal Bhatta Goswami would decide which Vaisnava practices were
allowed and he wrote the Hari Bhakti Vilasa to that end.
King Prataparudra was personally financing the sankirtana movement of the
Lord in Jagannatha Puri.
Clerks and
accountants kept track on how the money was
spent. As such Vrindavan das Thakura wrote the sastra known as Sri Caitanya
Bhagavata.
The mercy of Srimati
Radharani comes through in the form of Krishna-prasada to the conditioned
souls. Therefore the Nama
Hatta cooks are also preachers, by their
cooking they are preaching. Srila Prabhupada mentioned
that an army runs on its stomach. Therefore prasada is
considered one of the special weapons of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, and the cooks are placed in a high position
here in the Nama Hatta. The great cooks mentioned here
used to cook for Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
The currency
examiners check whether the
devotion is pure or is an imitation. When Abhirama
Thakura bowed down before the children of Lord Nityananda
they died because they couldn't withstand the force of
his obeisances. When Abhiram Thakura would offer
obeisances to some non-bonafide salagrama silas (self
manifesed deity of the lord)
they would explode immediately so powerful were his
obeisances. So it is important to consider whether the
devotional service exhibited is true or not.
The mercy of the Guru Parampara
came down through Madhavendra Puri and Isvara Puri and so
they are the brokers
of the whole Parampara.
It is hard to understand the meaning of all these
terms used by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur to describe the
various personalities in the marketplace of the holy
name.
The weighers
had to weigh the goods to be given out according to how
much the customers deserved it. Various devotees
participated in the Lord's pastimes and were given the
mercy according to how much they deserved.
The servants
were personal associates of Lord Caitanya assisting Him
in various ways.
The porters and
cart-pullers carried the mercy. Nakula
Brahmacari carried Lord Caitanya within himself; thus he
was a saktyavesa (empowered). Lord Caitanya spoke and
acted through him. Suklambara Bramhacari used to go from
house to house to preach and take some alms; thus he
always carried the mercy to various people. Sivananda
Sena and Vasudeva Gosh always carried with them a lot of
the Lord's mercy. Sivananda Senu took care of all the
devotees when they traveled from Bengal to Jagannath Puri
for the annual Ratha Yatra festival (festival of the
chariots). Vasudeva Datta was also a great carrier of the
mercy of the Lord; he took the sins of all living
entities in the world.
The customers
of the holy name got the mercy of Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was a Mayavadi but he was delivered
by Lord Caitanya. Jagai and Madhai were rascals,
ruffians, criminals and murderers; nevertheless they got
the mercy of the Lord. Prakasananda Sarasvati was a
Mayavadi sannyasi but he
also got the mercy. Some gentlemen, some ruffians, some
Mayavadis, and others got the mercy of the Lord
Thus Bhaktivinoda Thakura has nicely explained the
entire preaching movement of Lord Chaitanya in the
context of the transcendental market of the holy name.
Thr purport is that in accordance with the order of
Lord Caitanya everyone has to accept Krishna
consciousness and give it to others. Somehow everyone
should become a vehicle in spreading the holy name of
Krishna. It is not stereotyped. Everyone can do it under
the guidance of the bonafide spiritual master, the
representative of Lord Nityananda, the original spiritual
master.
Back to Top
Part Two
of a Serialized Presentation of Srila Bhaktivinoda
Thakur's
Godruma Kalpatavi
The Desire Tree of Godruma
Description of the Transcendental
Currency
1. Sraddha (faith) is compared to a
paisa (a small coin worth only 2-5 cents) by which the
Holy Name can be be purchased.
2. Nistha (steady devotional service)
is compared to two annas or a 1/8 silver coin by which
the Holy Name imbued with the Lord's form
(rupa-yukta-nama) can be purchased.
3. Ruci (taste) is compared to four
annas or a 1/4 silver coin by which the Holy Name imbued
with the Lord's qualities (guna-yukta-nama) can be
purchased.
4. Asakti (attachment) is compared to
a 1/2 silver coin by which the Holy Name imbued with the
Lord's pastimes (lila-yukta-nama) can be purchased.
5. Bhava or Rati (preliminary ecstatic love of
Godhead) is compared to a silver coin by which
the Holy Name imbued with transcendental mellow
(rasita-yukta-nama) can be purchased.
6. Prema (pure love of Godhead) is
compared to a golden coin by which the Holy Name imbued
with the full potency of all transcendental mellows
(sarva-rasa-yukta-nama) can be purchased.
According to the price one pays one will receive the
corresponding commodity. But there is a mystery here:
when the customer pays and gets the Holy Name and chants
the Holy Name, by the mercy of` the owner and His
partners, the customer gets back his original payment
multiplied many times over.
Commodities for Sale in the Market
- The Holy Name (nama), compared
to sugarcane juice.
- The Holy Name imbued with the Lord's form
(rupa-yukta-nama), compared to
liquid molasses (gur).
- The Holy Name imbued with the Lord's qualities
(guna-yukta-nama), compared to solid
molasses.
- The Holy Name imbued with the Lord's pastimes
(lila-yukta-nama), compared to
sugar: "
- The Holy Name imbued with transcendental mellow
(rasita-nama), compared to rock
candy. "
- The Holy Name imbued with the full potency of all
transcendental mellows (sarva-rasa-yukta-nama),
compared to lozenges made from rock candy.
Rules of Payment
"Rupees, Paisa, Silver or Gold Coins are not
the real currency to purchase the commodities sold in
the market place of the Holy Name. Transcendental
faith and the like is the the only acceptable
currency. Anyone who tries to purchase the above
commodities with ordinary material currency makes a
great mistake."
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Comment by H.H. Jayapataka Maharaja
In America some companies give rebate coupons:
whatever you buy, they mail you back a check of, say,
twenty per cent of what you spent, or they send you some
other offer. But whatever price you pay in the Market of
the Holy Name you get back from the Company a rebate of
many many times what you paid.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura is describing the supreme
bargain. In the material world we give our love and faith
to people, but they can hardly reciprocate a fraction of
what was given. The loved ones may sometimes even cause
us harm. Here Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that if you
give your faith to Krishna, not only you get back the
equivalent, but you get many times the value back. So why
are we hesitating?
It is not required to live in the temple: everyone
gets the benefit according to the faith and devotion he
gives, no matter how big or small. Whatever devotion you
have, you invest, you get the profit. Thus your capital
builds up. Then you reinvest your enhanced capital and in
this way very soon you will be spiritually rich.
To live in a temple one should be on the level of
bhajana kriya (dedicated or devoted practice) or anartha
nivritti (cleansing of unwanted faults). Devotees living
in their homes, however, can be on any level, higher or
lower. But even if one has only some faith, that still
has value and can be invested. Therefore the preachers
should encourage people to invest their faith in Krishna.
When Bhaktivinoda Thakura was preaching there was no
temple. The members of the Nama Hatta were all grihasthas
living at home, but they could still reach love of God;
and so it stands today. Krishna consciousness is a free
market economy: the actual currency is love and faith.
Everyone can invest in Krishna and achieve the highest
perfection of life, Krishna Prema (pure love of God).
The all-merciful Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu desired
propagation of the chanting of the holy name of the Lord
in every town and village throughout the world. The Nama
Hatta, or the marketplace of the holy name, is the
manifestation of that desire; in different times it takes
different forms, but the essence is the same - to go out
amongst the people and offer the most valuable commodity,
the holy name of the Lord, to anyone who can pay the
simple price of sincerity.
Today this marketplace has been expanded all over the
world through the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness (ISKCON), founded by His Divine Grace AC
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In little over a decade,
the holy name of Krishna has become practically a
household word in every country of the world.
In Bengal, where Lord Nityananda under instruction
from Lord Chaitanya first began the preaching of Krishna
consciousness on a mass scale, Krishna consciousness is
an inherent part of the culture. But due to the influence
of these materialistic times, the pure understanding and
practice of Krishna consciousness has practically become
lost. Now, seeing the purity and vitality of ISKCON,
thousands of visitors are coming weekly to Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir to
revive their dormant Krishna consciousness.
However, not everyone can leave their villages, homes,
and jobs and come to stay in ISKCON communities. Neither
is this necessary, for Krishna consciousness can be
practiced anywhere provided one follows strictly the
religious principles given by the acharyas. The only
requirement to make thousands of localities throughout
Bengal fully Krishna conscious is a practical system for
holding regular sankirtana functions and for giving
Krishna conscious association and instruction from
full-time ISKCON devotees.
Seeing this need, His Divine Grace Jayapataka Swami
began contemplating how to form an organization through
which people of various degrees of advancement in Krishna
consciousness could affiliate themselves with ISKCON, and
make gradual advancement to the point where they could
themselves form full-fledged ISKCON branches in their
locality. Thus in 1979, the official ISKCON approved Hare
Krishna Nama Hatta program began and within the first two
years more than 600 sangas (associations) were registered
in Bengal alone. The program expanded faster than the
devotees could service it.
The Nama Hatta program has an elaborate structure,
designed to give facility to practically anyone in any
situation. There are programs for individuals (samskar
patra, league of devotees), groups (Nama Hatta sanghas,
kendras, mandirs), and entire regions (Bhaktivedanta
Reading Rooms, district centers, etc.). Thus a net of
preaching has been cast out to rescue everyone from
drowning in the ocean of materialism which is flooding
the world in kali-yuga.
For the individual, the process of purification begins
with the samskar patra (samskara means a reformatory
process, and patra means certificate). Anyone who
promises to chant the Hare Krishna mantra 108 times daily
receives a special certificate attesting to his pledge.
At large preaching programs, Srila Jayapataka Maharaj
personally signs the certificates and thousands have so
far taken up the pledge.
The next stage is the League of Devotees, wherein
individuals are required to chant four rounds of Hare
Krishna mantra daily and practice pure vegetarianism.
Groups are classified as sangha, kendra or mandir based
on their spiritual advancement. A Sangha is any group of
at least five persons who meet once a week and have a
program of chanting, aratik, and reading from Srila
Prabhupada's books. As soon as a sangha reaches the stage
of having at least six League of Devotees members and is
holding daily meetings, it becomes a Nama Hatta Kendra.
Finally when it holds both morning and evening programs
and has at least four fully initiated ISKCON disciples it
becomes recognized as a full fledged ISKCON Nama Hatta
Mandir.
Nama Hatta preaching doesn't stop at the level of
regular meetings amongst the members. Rather, as the
members continue in their practice of Krishna
consciousness under the guidance of ISKCON preachers,
they become inspired to spread the Nama Hatta program and
the teachings of Lord Chaitanya with great determination.
For instance, the Chandpara sangha on its own initiative,
began organizing book distribution at large festivals
such as Durga Puja. For another festival, twenty of its
members hired a boat, and left on the high tide up the
Ganges at midnight to distribute Srila Prabhupada's
literatures to remote villages.
In effect the Nama Hatta comprises a network of agents
for Krishna conscious literature, especially the
"Hare Krishna Sankirtan Samachar" (a
fortnightly Bengali Hare Krishna newspaper) and
"Bhagwat Darshan" (the Bengali monthly magazine
of the Hare Krishna Movement). Some sanghas have started
Gurukula programs.
Once a year the regional directorate of the Nama Hatta
program organizes a huge festival Sri Mayapur. Delegates
from sanghas throughout Eastern India come to attend the
three day program of lecture, workshops, kirtan, drama,
cinema and feasting on mahaprasad An initiation ceremony
is held and awards of sets of Srila Prabhupada's books,
public address systems, mridangas, karatalas and other
preaching tools are given for the most successful
sanghas.
In spite of such grand preaching successes, the Nama
Hatta workers claim this is only the beginning. They see
a day in the near future when every town and village will
be resounding with the holy name of the Lord through the
agency of the Nama Hatta program. This will he the
fulfillment of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's desire that,
from the holy land of Sri Mayapur, the sankirtana
movement would spread out throughout the world. This
great flood is now inundating the vicinity of Sri Mayapur
and W. Bengal. May it inundate the whole.
In the words of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
Thakur: "Try to serve Mayapur and make it brighter
and brighter day by day. By establishing printing
presses, distributing devotional scriptures, and by
spreading Name Hatta, one can serve Sri Mayapur
perfectly."
At present we are developing a home study program for
certification for our Bhakti Sastri program. We are also
developing an individual support system so that each
member has a personal quide to help him/her through
his/her growth in Krishna Consciousness. Our local
director has spent five years in Mayapur (see Mayapur Nama Hatta)
involved in local Nama Hatta preaching and counseling. We
look forward to many exciting programs and hope you join
us as we expand the marketplace of the Holy Name.
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ISKCON Nama Hatta Sangha
Last modified: January 24, 1997
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