“Lord Gauranga Himself CONSTANTLY WROTE the HOLY NAMES of Krishna DAY AND NIGHT with astonishing blissful delight.” (CB 1.6.5-6)
● 1. Gauranga Wrote Nam Day and Night
In Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata Adi-khanda 6.5-6, Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura writes:
NIRANTARA LIKHENA
krishnera NAAM mala ।।
rama, krishna, murari
mukunda, vanamali ।
AHAR-NISHA LIKHENA,
padhena kutuhali ।।
“Lord Gauranga Himself CONSTANTLY WROTE the HOLY NAMES of Krishna DAY AND NIGHT with astonishing blissful delight.”
Commentary: “Nirantara Likhena” and “Ahar-nisha Likhena” means Lord Gauranga was Himself writing the holy names constantly day and night. Why would the Supreme Personality of Godhead practice something day and night and that too with supremely blissful delight, if it was not an important part of daily sadhana?
Lord Gauranga is inspiring us by His own example to follow in His footsteps by practicing Namlekhan daily. Since Nityananda’s merciful name is unarguably a bona-fide holy name, it is thus directly established that Nityananda Namlekhan is an authentic sadhana to help us attain Harinam Ruchi and Prema Bhakti.
● 2. Radha Wants Nam Written on Body
In the song Maribo Maribo Sakhi in his book Padyavali, Srila Govinddas Kaviraj reveals what Radha told Her beloved sakhis:
tomraa joteko sakhi
theke majhu sange ।
marana kaale krishna NAM
LIKHO mora ange ।।
“I request all of you sakhis, who are staying with Me, to please WRITE Krishna’s NAME on My body at the time of My death.”
● 3. Seeing Nityananda Nam Syllables Enchants Every Soul
Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat, Antya Khanda 5.357, categorically declares:
DARSHAN maatra sarva
jiva mugdha haya ।
NAM-tattva dui
nityananda-rasa-maya ।।
“All living entities become instantly enchanted in pure love when they SEE NITYANANDA’S NAME OR FORM. Because both of Them are full of eternal bliss and loving mellows.” (By writing Nityananda’s name in the air, we are forced to see each syllable very clearly in front of us through our mind’s eye, due to the persistence of vision, thus totally captivating us with with pure love.)
● 4. Nityananda’s Air Awards Krishna
Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata, Madhya Khanda 12.58, guarantees:
IHAANA VAAATAAS laagi
beka jaara gaaya ।
taahaareo krishna naa
chaadibe sarvathaaya ।।
“Krishna will never ever leave a person who is touched even once by the AIR which has touched Nityananda or His Holy Name.” (So we airwrite Nityananda’s name.)
● 5. Touch Nityananda Nam and Be Happy
Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada emphatically assures us in his lecture on the Nityananda-pada-kamala song given at Los Angeles on the 31st of January 1969:
“Just like if you touch electricity, immediately you become electrified. That is natural. Similarly, Nityananda is eternal happiness, IF YOU TOUCH NITYANANDA SOME WAY OR THE OTHER, then you become also eternally happy.” (Touching the Nam syllables during airwriting is touching the Lord, as They are totally non-different from Him.)
● 6. Touch Nityananda Nam to Get Krishna Bhakti
In the 4th chapter of Hari Nam Chintamani, verse 52, Srila Haridasa Thakura and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura guarantee us:
vaishnava dehete thaake
sri krishnera shakti ।
sei deha sparshe anye
haya krishna-bhakti ।।
“Sri Krishna’s power rests in the body of a pure devotee. Simply by the TOUCH OF HIS BODY, others instantly attain pure devotional service to Krishna.” (And who is a greater devotee than the cumulative Guru and Vaishnava Lord Nityananda Himself? And what is more higher than directly touching His syllables, which are fully non-different from His transcendental form?)
● 7. All Offenses End by Nityananda Nam
Shri Chaitanya Bhagavat reveals the secret in 3.22.136:
nityananda prasaade se
NINDAA haya kshaya ।।
“Only by the mercy of Nityananda, even the most unforgivable and heinous offense of CRITICIZING devotees (which is not even forgiven by Gauranga) is destroyed forever!” (What to speak of the other less heinous nine offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krishna mahamantra! They are also easily uprooted by Nityananda Namlekhan!)
● 8. Nityananda Accepts the Rejected
In Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya 4.35, Shrila Jiva Goswami prays before Lord Nityananda:
gaura danda kara yadi
tumi rakshaa kara ।
tumi yaare danda kara
gaura taara para ।।
“If Lord Gauranga punishes and rejects a devotee, only You accept and protect that soul and somehow still engage him or her in Gaura Krishna’s direct service. But if ever You would punish a soul (which You would never do), that soul would become forever estranged from Gaura Krishna for eternity.”
● 9. Nam Syllables are More Merciful than Even Nam Sound or Deity Form
Srila Rupa Goswami reveals in his Namashtakam, Verse 6:
vaachyam VAACHAKAM
ity udeti bhavato
naam svarupa dvayam
purvasmaat param eva
hanta KARUNAM
tatraapi jaanimahe ।
“Please understand that the SYLLABLE-FORM of the Lord is even more MERCIFUL than the direct Bodily or Deity form of the Lord. It is because one can worship the Nam Syllables at any time through Namlekhan, without any consideration of rules and regulations, unlike the Deity form.”
● 10. Nam Syllables Are God
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur sings in Gitavali, Namashtakam, Song 2:
jaya jaya harinam
chidaanandaamrita-dham
PARA-TATTVA
AKSHAR-AAKAAR ।।
“All glories, all glories to the holy name of the Lord, the divine abode of eternal transcendental bliss. The SYLLABLE-FORM of the Name is the highest SUPREME ABSOLUTE TRUTH.”
● 11. See Krishna in One Year by Namlekhan
From the biography of Srila Gaurkishor das babaji:
“A devotee came to Srila Gaurkishor das babaji and told him that he had been chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra for quite some time but he was not feeling the desired advancement and realizations. Babaji Maharaj asked Him to write the syllables of the holy name in big size in his house.
He told him to deeply meditate on each and every syllable while chanting. He gave that person a guaranteed assurance that he will SEE Lord Shyamsundar face to face WITHIN JUST ONE YEAR if he did what he had suggested.”
Commentary: This proves beyond doubt that the visualization of the syllable-form of the Lord in the form of airwriting will grant perfection in Harinam in a very short time. Lord Nityananda’s son Srila Virachandra Goswami Himself worshiped a Deity of the carved Syllables of the Holy Name while chanting.
● 12. Writing Nam is 100 Times More Powerful Than Japa
The Vaishnava Tantra and Sage Valmiki in Ramayana both emphatically state:
japaat shata gunam punyam ।
ram-naam PRALEKHANE ।।
“WRITING A MANTRA with visualization is 100 times more pious and beneficial than japa chanting.”
● 13. Namlekhan Quickly Grants All Desires
The Brihan-Naradiya Purana confirms:
smarnaat kirtanaacchaiva
shravanal LEKHANAAD api ।
DARSHAN DHAARNAAdev
ram-naam akhileshtadam ।।
“All the innermost desires of a person are fulfilled by remembering, singing, hearing, WRITING, SEEING, and VISUALIZING the syllables of the holy name.”
● 14. Become Dear to God by Namlekhan
The Lord Himself declares in the Hari Bhakti Vilasa 4.294:
dvaadashaAKSHAR mantraistu
niyuktaani kalevare ।
aayudhaani cha viprasya
mat SAMAH sa ca vaishnavah ।।
“A devotee whose body is decorated with the SYLLABLES of the My Name is respected by Me as My EQUAL, and only he or she is worthy to be called a Vaishnava.”
● 15. Guru Writes Nam Syllables on Disciples’ Body
In Rasika Mangala, Eastern Part, First Wave, it is described:
“Srila Rasikananda Thakura would constantly WRITE THE SYLLABLES OF THE HOLY NAME on the bodies of his playmates and persuade them to dance.”
● 16. Seeing Nam Syllables is Seeing God
In the Valmiki Ramayan, Sundara Kanda, Chapter 36, Verses 2-4, it is stated:
ram nam ANKITAM cha
idam PASHYA devi anguliyakam ।
bhartaaram iva sampraataa
jaanaki muditaa abhavat ।।
“Sita felt as if She was personally seeing Her beloved Lord Ram Himself when She saw the syllables of His holy name CARVED on the ring presented to Her by Hanuman in Ashok Vatika in Lanka.” (Nityananda Namlekhan in the air is like carving the holy name of Nityananda in the mind or in the air for the supreme benefit of the whole world.)
● 17. Nam Syllables are More Powerful than Nam Sound
In the Ramayan, the stones thrown by Lord Ram Himself and also the stones thrown even by the monkeys by chanting the name of Ram drowned in the sea. But the stones with His holy name written on them floated.
This proves that the syllable-form of the Lord (Akshar-Parabrahma) is not only more merciful but also MORE POWERFUL than the Lord and also the sound of His holy name.
How much more powerful must be the airwriting of Nityananda’s name then, considering Rama is just a plenary expansion of Lord Nityananda Balarama?
● 18. Nam Syllables Include the Whole Creation
The demigod Ganapati wrote the holy name in Sanskrit on a tulasi leaf and circumambulated it. Due to this simple faith in the syllables of the holy name, he is eternally worshiped first before all other 33 crore demigods.
Because by doing this, he was considered the first to circumambulate the whole creation, not just our universe. Thus, the eternal truthis that the syllable-form of the Lord INCLUDES THE WHOLE CREATION within it.
● 19. Writing of Nam on a Leaf
Sri Nrisingha Kavacha, verse 21, in the Trailokya Vijaya, Samhita of Brahma, states:
bhurje vilikhya gutikam
svarnastham dharayed yadi
kanthe va dakshine bahau
narasingho bhavet svayam
“If one writes this down on a leaf or bark of a tree and keeps it within a golden capsule on his neck or right arm, Lord Nrisinghadeva will be personally present.”
● 20. Writing of Nam on Our Arm
Sri Nrisingha Kavacha of Prahlad, verse 24, from the Brahmanda Purana, states:
bhuje va tala-patre va
kavacham likhitam shubham
kara-mule dhritam yena
sidhyeyuh karma-siddhayaha
“One may write this most auspicious prayer on his arm, or inscribe it on a palm-leaf and attach it to his wrist. Then all his or her activities will become perfect.”
● 21. Goswamis Wrote Nam on Their Bodies
From Prema Vilasa, Chapter 6:
“Srinivasa Acharya got up and bowed at their feet. With awe, he observed their beautiful golden complexions. They (Sri Rupa and Sanatana Goswamipada) wore a tuft of hair on their head, their foreheads were painted with tilaka, and tulasi beads hung from their necks. The NAMES OF RADHA KRISHNA WERE PAINTED on their bodies, and they wore outer garments.”
● 22. In Goloka, Nam is Written on the Bodies of All Associates
In Jaiva Dharma, Chapter 3, it is stated:
ami dekhitechi je, aprakrita nabadwipe shokolei tulasi mala, tilak o NAMAKSHAR dharon koriyachen. amio taha koribo.
Remembering his Gurudeva, Sannyasi Maharaj said, “I saw with my spiritual eyes that everyone in the divine eternal land of Navadvipa wears a necklace of tulasi-beads, has tilaka on their foreheads, and THE WRITING OF THE HOLY NAMES ON THEIR BODIES. I shall also do the same.”
● 23. Written Name is Also a Deity
In the Krishna Lila Stava by Sanatana Goswami, verse 409, it it clearly stated:
pasana dhatu mrd daru sikata mani LEKHAJA
“O Krishna; appearing in the forms of stone, metal, clay, wood, sand-drawings, and jewels; as the writings or drawings of Your Name, You permanently appear in Your Deity incarnation.”
● 24. Nam Syllables are 24.5 Moons
Sri Caitanya caritamrta 2.21.125 states:
kāma-gāyatrī-mantra-rūpa,
haya kṛṣṇera svarūpa,
sārdha-cabbiśa akṣara tāra haya
se akṣara ‘candra’ haya,
kṛṣṇe kari’ udaya,
trijagat kailā kāmamaya
“Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is identical with the Vedic hymn known as the Kāma-gāyatrī, which is composed of twenty-four and a half syllables. Those syllables are compared to the 24.5 moons present in Kṛṣṇa’s form. Thus, all three worlds are filled with transcendental desire.”
● 25. Touch Means Air
Srimad Bhagavatam 7.12.27 states:
sparśenādhyātmani tvacham
“The instrument of touch, along with the sense objects of touch, should be given to Vayu or air.” (That is why we do the airwriting of Nityananda Nam instead of writing with pen on paper, as it is directly touching Him with our palm and with our mind and soul.)
● 26. Namlekhan is Like Mental Japa
In the 17th Chapter of Hari Bhakti Vilasa, verse 158, it is clearly explained that visualization of the mantra-syllables is actually mental japa, which in turn is one thousand times more powerful than audible japa:
dhiyaa yad AKSHARA shrenya
VARNAAD varnam padaat padam ।
shabdaartha CHINTANaabhyaasah
sa ukto maanaso japah ।।
“Manasa Japa or mental chanting means the repeated practice, meditation, and VISUALIZATION of the shape and meaning of each and every SYLLABLE of a mantra in one’s heart, as one slowly progresses from one syllable to the next.”
Digdarshini tikaa (commentary) by Shrila Sanatana Goswami:
varnaad ekasmaat kramenanya-varnam vyaapya । evam padaat padam vyaapya । ittham shabdasya arthasya cha yac chintanam anusandhaanam tasya abhyaasah punah punar aavrittih ।।
“Mental Japa means that one meditates with one pointed attention on the form of each syllable of the mantra. When the meaning of one syllable of the mantra permeates the heart and mind during mental japa, then one should move on to concentrate on the meaning of the next syllable of the mantra.
Only then will the mind become fully absorbed in the mantra. In this way, the constant drilling and training of the mind and the heart by repeatedly seeking out and realizing the transcendental meaning of each syllable of the mantra, through the process of deep and profound visualization on each syllable of the mantra, is the most powerful form of japa or chanting known as Manasa Japa.”
● 27. Mental Visualization of Nam
Hari Bhakti Vilasa 17.159 reminds us that in the Yagyavalkya Smriti it is revealed:
upaanshu-japa-yuktasya
tasmaac-chata-guno bhavet ।
SAHASRO maanasah prokto
yasmaad dhyan-samo hi sah ।।
“Upanshu (murmuring) Japa is one hundred times more powerful than Vachika (loud) Japa. Manasa (mental) Japa, however, is one thousand times more powerful because it is direct Meditation.” (So Nityananda Namlekhan is the topmost form of meditation.)
Digdarshini tika by Shrila Sanatana Goswami:
upaanshu-japa-yuktasya japah shata-gunah syaad vaacikaj japaac chata-guno bhaved ity arthah ।।
“Upanshu Japa is one hundred times more powerful means that it is one hundred times more powerful than Vachika Japa.”
● 28. No Animal Life with Nam Visualization
In the Hari Bhakti Vilasa 17.160, the declaration from the scripture Mantrarnava is mentioned:
pashu-bhaave sthita mantrah
kevalam varna-rupinah ।
“Those who chant the mantra while simply uttering the syllables, but not visualizing and meditating on Their meanings, are chanting the mantra with an animalistic mechanical attitude.”
● 29. Nam Visualization is Always Pure
Hari Bhakti Vilasa 17.161 declares:
NA DOSHO maanase japye
sarva-deshe’pi sarvadaa ।
japa-nishtho dvija-shreshthah
sarva-yagya-phalam labhet ।।
“There can NEVER be any FAULT or defect whatsoever in manasa (mental) japa, and thus it can be performed in all places, at all times, and in all circumstances. O best of the brahmanas, that most fortunate person, who is staunchly and irrevocably engaged in mental japa always achieves the sublime fruits of all fire sacrifices in creation.”
Digdarshini tika by Shrila Sanatana Goswami:
ata eva maanaso japah
paramottama ity
aha-na dosha iti ।
“Thus manasa (mental) japa is Paramottama, which means the topmost spiritual practice in creation, since it has no faults of any kind.”
● 30. All Can Do Nam Visualization
The Hari Bhakti Vilasa 17.162 continues to establish the universal nature of mental japa and visualization:
ashuchir vaa shuchir vaapi
gacchaams tishthan svapann api ।
mantraika-sharano vidvaan
manasaiva sadaabhyaset ||
“Thus, one should incessantly practice mental japa or visualisation whether one is in a clean or unclean condition, moving or stationary, and sleeping or awake. In this way, only one who takes exclusive shelter of the syllables of the mantra in all circumstances is a truly learned and self-realized soul.”
Digdarshini tika by Shrila Sanatana Goswami:
mantraika-sharana ity anyena
purashcharanaadi-paras tu
yathokta-desha-kaalaadav
evaabhyaased ity abhipretam ||
“The final conclusion is that one should take full shelter of practicing manasa (mental) visualization, because it is completely independent of preliminary purificatory rites, the place, time, etc.”
Commentary: And there is no other greater and merciful form of manasa japa visualization than Nityananda Namlekhan. Normally, meditative manasa japa is very difficult to practice until our mind becomes very calm and silent. But Nityananda Namekhan enables everyone to do it without having to wait for that, due to the direct touch of the most merciful Lord in creation.
These are just some of the scriptural glories of Nityananda Namlekhan for Harinam Ruchi and Prema Bhakti. We fervently hope that these absolute and unequivocal truths from our Vedic scriptures and Acharyas will eradicate all doubts and solidify faith in all devotees about Nityananda Namlekhan and Nityananda Nam Syllables, thus enabling all devotees to relish pure love in offenseless Harinam Japa and Kirtan, within no time.”
PS. Wherever needed, further explanation of the meaning of the shastra verses has been given in the form of commentary.