Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.2.19
Mukti· LiberationChanting Works Like Potent Medicine
“If a person unaware of the effective potency of a certain medicine takes that medicine or is forced to take it, it will act even without his knowledge because its potency does not depend on the patient’s understanding. Similarly, even though one does not know the value of chanting the holy name of the Lord, if one chants knowingly or unknowingly, the chanting will be very effective.”
What the purport teaches
- A potent medicine acts even when the person taking it does not understand its power. Similarly, chanting the holy name is effective without full knowledge of its value.
- The purport describes people addicted to drugs becoming pure Vaiṣṇavas through chanting. They voluntarily became servants of Kṛṣṇa and humanity.
- Their freedom from illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling demonstrates chanting’s purifying effect. The holy name purifies whether chanted knowingly or unknowingly.
Try this today
Spend two minutes chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra without waiting for complete understanding.
Ask yourself
How does the medicine example encourage me to chant while I am still learning?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.