bhakti-sÄdhana-Å›reá¹£á¹ha Å›unite haila mana
prabhu upadeÅ›a kaila nÄma-saá¹…kÄ«rtana
bhakti-sÄdhana - in the execution of devotional service; Å›reá¹£á¹ha - the most important item; Å›unite - to hear; haila - it was; mana - the mind; prabhu - Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; upadeÅ›a - advice; kaila - gave; nÄma-saá¹…kÄ«rtana - chanting of the holy name of the Lord.
Then the Bhaá¹á¹ÄcÄrya asked Caitanya MahÄprabhu, “Which item is most important in the execution of devotional service?†The Lord replied that the most important item was the chanting of the holy name of the Lord.
There are nine items to be executed in devotional service. These are enumerated in the following verse from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (7.5.23):
Å›ravaṇaá¹ kÄ«rtanaá¹ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaá¹ pÄda-sevanam
arcanaá¹ vandanaá¹ dÄsyaá¹ sakhyam Ätma-nivedanam
Hearing the glories of the Lord, chanting, remembering, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering worship in the temple, offering prayers, becoming a servant of the Lord, becoming the Lord’s friend, and sarvÄtma-nivedana, offering oneself fully at the lotus feet of the Lord — these are the nine devotional processes. In The Nectar of Devotion, these are expanded into sixty-four items. When SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹á¹ÄcÄrya asked the Lord which item was most important, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu immediately answered that the most important item is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord — Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare RÄma, Hare RÄma, RÄma RÄma, Hare Hare. He then quoted the following verse from the Bá¹›han-nÄradÄ«ya PurÄṇa (thirty-eighth chapter, verse 126) to confirm His statement.
