When Sanatana Goswami met Lord Caitanya for the first time, with straw in his teeth, in a mood of extreme humility he fell at the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu.
Sanatana Goswami said,
ke āmi’, ’kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya’
ihā nāhi jāni—’kemane hita haya’
Who am I? Why do the threefold miseries always give me trouble? If I do not know this, how can I be benefited? CC Madhya 20.102
HH Radhanath Maharaja says in this connection, “Sanatana Goswami didn’t tell the Lord about his accomplishments. What accomplishments of yours can you speak before the Supreme Personality of Godhead?”
That is so true!
When we go in front of the creator of the whole universe, can we tell him I have built this building?
When we go in front of the person who is Jagannath, the Lord of the whole universe, whose fame is spread all over the three worlds, can we tell him – I have got one million followers on my Instagram account?
When we go in front of the most merciful Personality, one who grants deliverance to even those who try to kill Him, can we tell him how great we are because we are tolerating others?
Yet, when we chant the Holy Names of the Lord, we are many a times absorbed in our own thoughts. While chanting the Holy Names, we think about our own accomplishments. It is as if before the sun, we take our tiny candles out and try to show our light! It’s ridiculous! Rather than taking shelter of the Lord during chanting, we seek shelter of our own accomplishments.
Do we like someone who keeps on bragging about himself or herself all the time? We will become absent-minded after some time and start thinking of something else while appearing to be listening to that person. Then how can we expect Krishna to listen to us when are speaking and contemplating our own things while chanting His Holy Name?
We also forget that the sole reason we are able to accomplish anything is only by the grace of Krishna. Lord Narayan Himself tells to Brahma,
yac cakarthāṅga mat-stotraṁ
mat-kathābhyudayāṅkitam
yad vā tapasi te niṣṭhā
sa eṣa mad-anugrahaḥ
O Brahmā, the prayers that you have chanted praising the glories of My transcendental activities, the penances you have undertaken to understand Me, and your firm faith in Me—all these are to be considered My causeless mercy. Sb 3.9.38
Seeking the shelter of Krishna doesn’t add one more subscriber in the list of Krishna’s followers, He already has trillions of devotees serving Him in the spiritual world. But we benefit ourselves when we approach in a mood of seeking shelter.
Therefore, giving up all other thoughts, all other reservations, we must whole heartedly take shelter of the Lord in chanting of the Holy Names. When we do that, then Krishna is present in the Holy Name. And then Krishna cleanses the heart of such a devotee to make it a place of playground for His pastimes.
