sarva-śakti nāme dilā kariyā vibhāga
āmāra durdaiva,—nāme nāhi anurāga!!
You have invested Your full potencies in each individual holy name, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attachment for chanting Your holy names. CC Antya 20.19
Which potency of Krishna has He invested in the Holy Name? The potency that comprises of everything, that potency which conquers the heart to such an extent that a devotee desires nothing else?
In one talk, HH Lokanatha Swami Maharaja was mentioning that this potency is none other than hladini sakti, the potency of Srimati Radharani.
When one chants the Holy Name, one comes under the internal potency of Krishna. Caitanya Caritamrita describes Srimati Radharani as the transformation of Krishna’s love.
Hladini sakti has two purposes – first, to give Krishna pleasure, and second, to nourish the devotees.
By chanting the Holy Names, a devotee is nourished in his or her bhakti. When Lord Caitanya performed a drama in Navadvipa and took the role of Rukmini Devi, in the mood of Jagan-mata, He personally fed all the devotees His own love. When Sivananda Sen came to meet the Lord with his son, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu put His toe in the child’s mouth. This same child went on to become Kavi Karnapura.
When we are chanting the Holy Names of Krishna, it is as if Krishna is personally feeding us through the grace of Srimati Radharani. This nourishment continues perpetually and culminates in development of love of God.
Shrila Prabhupada writes,
“When the pleasure potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is exhibited by His grace in the person of a devotee, that manifestation is called love of God. ”Love of God” is an epithet for the pleasure potency of the Lord. Therefore devotional service reciprocated between the Lord and His devotee is an exhibition of the transcendental pleasure potency of the Lord.” Adi 4.60 P
If we keep our minds absorbed in the Holy Names of Krishna, then there is no doubt that we will become situated in the internal potency of Krishna and taste the indefinitely sweet nectar arising out of Krishna’s love.
Therefore, when Krishna has put all His energies in His Holy Names, we must also put all our energy in chanting the Holy Names with attention, absorption and ultimately affection.
