God's holy names embody His complete potency and require no restrictions, rituals, or timing to invoke His grace.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Prabhupāda: …ādi-puruṣaṁ; tam ahaṁ; bhajāmi. Audience: ādi-puruṣaṁ; tam ahaṁ; bhajāmi. Hansadutta: The following lecture was recorded in [indistinct] in December 18, 1970 by his Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Mahārāja Prabhupāda. Prabhupāda: Very good. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. Prabhupāda: cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣalakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.29] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of lakṣmīs or gopīs.] Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: Chant everyone, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣambarhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.30] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept in playing on His flute, with blooming eyes like lotus petals with head decked with peacock's feather, with the figure of beauty tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and His unique loveliness charming millions of Cupids.] Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: ālola-candraka-lasad-vanamālya-vaṁśīratnāṅgadaṁ praṇaya-keli-kalā-vilāsam śyāmaṁ tri-bhaṅga-lalitaṁ niyata-prakāśaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.31] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, round whose neck is swinging a garland of flowers beautified with the moon-locket, whose two hands are adorned with the flute and jeweled ornaments, who always revels in pastimes of love, whose graceful threefold-bending form of Śyāmasundara is eternally manifest.] Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.32] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane.] Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.33] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is inaccessible to the Vedas, but obtainable by pure unalloyed devotion of the soul, who is without a second, who is not subject to decay, is without a beginning, whose form is endless, who is the beginning, and the eternal puruṣa; yet He is a person possessing the beauty of blooming youth.] Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor athāpi manaso muni-puṅgavānām so 'py asti yat-prapada-sīmny avicintya-tattve govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.34] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, only the tip of the toe of whose lotus feet is approached by the yogīs who aspire alter the transcendental and betake themselves to prāṇāyāma by drilling the respiration; or by the jñānīs who try to find out the nondifferentiated Brahman by the process of elimination of the mundane, extending over thousands of millions of years.] Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo 'stu te [Śrī Kṛṣṇa Praṇāma] [O my dear Kṛṣṇa, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherd men and the lover of the gopīs, especially Rādhārāṇī. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.] tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgī rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṇamāmi hari-priye [Śrī Rādhā Praṇāma] [I offer my respects to Rādhārāṇī, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vṛndāvana. You are the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, and You are very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa.] vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ [Vaiṣṇava Praṇāma] [I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.] śrī kṛṣṇa caitanya prabhu nityānanda śrī advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda [I offer my obeisances to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Prabhu Nityānanda, Śrī Advaita, Gadādhara, Śrīvāsa and all others in the line of devotion.] hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare [My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service.] ki ānanda, kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ saṅga [Padyāvalī ?] antara rāṣṭriyaḥ [?] kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ saṅga. International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. Our worshipable person is Govindam, ādi-puruṣaṁ, original person, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Just like the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā [Bg 10.2]: aham ādir hi devānāṁ, among all demigods, only material demigods, Brahmājī, origin of brahma-rūpa. No material demigods, Nārāyaṇa, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, Vāsudeva etc., who are viṣṇu-tattva are Para-brahman, and their origin is also Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, it is said in an aphorism of Vedānta, “who is the nondual bhagavān-tattva?” Let’s continue kīrtana. Chant again: govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭiṁ yac-chaktir asti jagad-aṇḍa-cayā yad-antaḥ aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthamgovindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.35] [He is an undifferentiated entity as there is no distinction between potency and the possessor thereof. In His work of creation of millions of worlds, His potency remains inseparable. All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time. Such is the primeval Lord whom I adore.] Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.37] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, residing in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, resembling His own spiritual figure, the embodiment of the ecstatic potency possessed of the sixty-four artistic activities, in the company of Her confidantes [sakhīs], embodiments of the extensions of Her bodily form, permeated and vitalized by His ever-blissful spiritual rasa.] Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti yaṁśyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.38] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.] Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Audience: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Prabhupāda: This prayer [stotra] which you have sung it is Brahmā-saṁhitā. Brahmā, Brahmājī.
This prayer was composed by Brahmājī at the time of creation with the help of Bhagavān. It is Brahmā, Brahmā-saṁhitā. Herein, he gives an introduction of God: cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣalakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam [Bs 5.29] [I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of lakṣmīs or gopīs.] Bhagavān Govinda, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, his abode is cintāmaṇi. It is a spiritual abode, not the material abode.
You might have heard, cintāmaṇi, you may not have seen it, cintāmaṇi is a gem which when touches an iron, the iron becomes gold. It is called a touchstone. And it is said that the abode of God and the buildings there are not made of stones, they are made of cintāmaṇi. This cintāmaṇi stone, cintāmaṇi stone is not a material thing.
Therefore it is called cintāmaṇi. There everything—name of the God, abode of the God, form of the God, glories of God and God’s paraphernalia—are cinmaya, not material. Everything is cinmaya, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam [Bs 5.1] [Kṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.] Just like God’s body is full of bliss, truth, knowledge and eternal, similarly everything pertaining to God—name of God and God are non-different. A name of God has the same potency as the potency of God. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ [Cc Antya 20.16] [My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as “Kṛṣṇa” and “Govinda,” by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.] Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is praying for us, “O God, just like You are all powerful, kindly invest all power in Your holy name”. Just like God is all powerful, His holy name is also all powerful. And, God has many names.
For instance, viṣṇu-sahasranāma. God’s potency has been invested in all His holy names: nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis. And to chant His holy name there are no rules, and no time bound. “God’s name has to be chanted in this time period”.
No—niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ. For chanting God’s holy name there is no concept of kālaḥ [time]. While in other processes of worshiping [arcanā] there involves consideration of time. For instance, maṅgala-ārati is to be performed in the morning, bhoga-ārati in the noon, sandhya-ārati in evening.