Q. Does it follow that the process of purification commences as soon as one hears ‘Naam’? Delay only occurs in being completely relived of sin according to the weight of the accumulated sins?

A. Yes.

Q. I am repeating the same question time and again; please do not get annoyed with me.

A. I shall certainly be annoyed if you do not sing ‘Naam’ all the time.

Q. Indeed, I am singing ‘Naam’, please hear me.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare.
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Even if a person murders his mother or father, even if he is a drunkard or covets his Guru’s wife, he will gain his ‘Mukti’ (liberation) by singing the Naam, Krishna, Krishna.

Sins arising out of theft of gold, drinking wine and coveting Guru’s consort are soon destroyed by singing Govinda’s Naam.

Q. Do you mean to say that all these grave sins will soon be destroyed by singing Govinda’s Naam?

A. Yes, hear further; these are not very serious sins. Even sins arising out of thousands of murders, thousand types of drinking bouts, adultery with Guru’s wife a million times, theft of much gold and other materials — are all immediately destroyed by singing Govinda Naam, which is dear to Hari.

Q. Please excuse me, but you seem to be exaggerating.

A. If a person, on hearing ‘Hari-Naam Mahatmya’ (greatness of Hari-Naam), thinks that this is only praise and actually it does not happen, that sinner amongst men certainly falls to hell.

Q. I have heard this before also. But is it not a sin to conceal one’s actual thought and outwardly agree with this view? Please explain this to me by an illustration. How is it possible that as soon as one utters the Naam of Govinda all sins arising out of drinking, killing cows and killing Brahmins get destroyed?

A. Well, how long does it take for darkness to be dispelled when the sun rises?

Q. The sun rises after dispelling darkness.

A. In the same way, sins are dispelled even before the sun of Naam arises.

Q. I do not quite understand what you are saying.

A. Whenever in a man’s heart awakens the desire to sing Naam, it is evident that night of sins is about to end. Thereafter, as soon as he starts singing ‘Naam’, his sins are destroyed. Just as a heap of cotton-wool burns rapidly and a heap of straw takes some time to burn, in the same way the understanding that the sin has been destroyed comes to some quickly and to some with delay.

Q. Does it mean that the man’s sin is destroyed at once, only he takes time to realise it?

A. Take for instance a man entering the Ganga for a bath. His bath starts as soon as he enters the Ganga but its completion comes when he immerses himself. Suppose you set fire to piece of wood; the wood starts burning immediately but the end comes only when the entire wood is reduced to ashes. There is something more. Those who sing ‘Naam’ only for the destruction of their sins, do not realise the greatness of ‘Naam’. Sin is destroyed even otherwise.

A sinner gets relieved of his sins by confessing his sins to others, by repentance, by Tapasya (penance), by the study of the Vedas and by helping others in their times of difficulty. Sin is destroyed by 'Prayaschitta' (expiation). Naam is great because it generates love for God. By using Naam for the purpose of destroying sin, which is insignificant, the singer deprives her/himself of the real fruit of singing ‘Naam’. When the sun rises one does not have to implore the sun to remove darkness? Darkness is automatically destroyed as soon as the sun rises.

Ram, Ram, Sitaram