Divine words of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Goswami
‘ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi
na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau
svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ’
—-Srila Rupa Goswami
There are many sayings in the scriptures to encourage our realisation of the Holy Name in different ways, but Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī has given us a central thought. He quotes from the Padma Purāṇa: ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ. Our senses, physical or mental, are ineligible to come in touch with the transcendental. The Name is nonmaterial (aprakṛta), without mundane limitation (vaikuṇṭha). It belongs to another plane. So, nothing about Kṛṣṇa, His Name, Form, Qualities, or Pastimes can be touched by our physical or mental senses. But when we have a serving attitude, He comes down to us of His own accord. Only then can our tongue really pronounce the Name of Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, only the physical sound of the letters of the Name can be produced. Our tongue, our hands, physical sound, all these mundane things cannot come in touch with Kṛṣṇa. Some intervening medium is necessary to connect this body with the supramundane. And that connection is our earnest desire to serve Kṛṣṇa, to satisfy Him. A bulb won’t light if there is no electricity. Only when the electrical current is there will the bulb be illumined. So, the name may appear on the tongue and in the ear, in the mind, or in writing, but we must have a connection from Vaikuṇṭha to this mundane world. And that connection is devotional service, a functional serving attitude. That alone can connect the physical realm with Vaikuṇṭha and Vṛndāvana.
