By Achyutananda Das
The Name of God can only be spoken through spiritual lips; in which case, in our Krishna Consciousness society, which preaches the group chanting of the Name of God, exactly what are we all doing? Why chant the 16-word mantra of Hare Krishna if God's Name is beyond our power to utter? This sensible question deserves a sensible answer, and to do justice to this common inquiry we can only go to the writings of those souls who actually have had spiritual bodies, senses and faculties and who had regular intimate communion with Krishna. Bhaktivinode Thakur is one such spiritual entity whose poems, writings and powerful, inspiring personality is moving mountains of darkness from the hearts of the devotees. He has written, "O Harer Nama [the Name of God], You enter my ear, my tongue and penetrate my heart and tears spring from my eyes, turning the dust at my feet to clay. Thus the impressions of my steps are left so that others will follow my way." So it is not by his own initiative that anyone may chant the Name, but it is the Name which takes the initiative and out of His own prerogative descends to the soul of the aspirant.