If you can be liberated by chanting once, why continue chanting?

When a child is born, the doctors are anxious to see “Is the child breathing, does he have a heart beat ?” if yes, they are relieved, the child is alive, still, the child must go on breathing, and heart beating, otherwise it will be a dead child.

Dear Hansadutta Prabhu,
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! Please accept my humble obesiences.

Just one question on chanting and hearing the Maha-Mantra. It says that chanting is the most important thing, like breathing for a human or the essential battery for a car, but it also says that you can become liberated by simply hearing or uttering the Holy Name “once.” But why not just hear the Maha Matra once and then continue living a materialistic life, forgetting Krishna. Is it that we should chant the Holy Name to always remember Him, so at the time of death are mind is fixed on Him and therefore go to Him? Why does the one who chanted or heard the Holy Name only once, get liberated…. and someone who has tried for a very long (but who may not be perfect in Krishna Consciousness) not get liberated? or does everyone who even tries a little (whether only hearing once or vigorously practicing) get liberated? I am just wondering why the struggle, if liberation can occur as easily as just hearing. From what I gather, our goal is to attain love for Krishna and chanting is the up most way to attain this love, but that one person who only chanted “once” and poking fun at the same time, doesn’t have any love for Krishna- I would think,… so why then would Krishna take mercy on him?
Your Servant,
Gadadhara das

Dear Gadadhara Prabhu, Please accept my most humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada.
You have asked a very intelligent question. I will try to answer as I have heard from Srila Prabhupada.

Chanting just once the Holy Name does certainly liberate a person from material existence. But as you also noted, the actual goal of life is LOVE OF KRISHNA. which is far above the platform of liberation. liberation from material existence may be compared to a prisoner gaining release from prison, this is certainly very desirable, but if such a liberated prisoner does not get gainful employment after getting released from prison, he may very easily again fall into bad association , and become involved in criminal activity resulting in his re-incarceration in the prison house for vagrancy or some other criminal charge.

Similarly, the conditioned soul may gain liberation simply by chanting the Holy name one time, but if he does not get regular engagement and association of pure devotees, it is very likely he will again be entangled in sinful association and sinful activities, resulting in his falling back into material existence. When a child is born, the doctors are anxious to see “Is the child breathing, does he have a heart beat ?” if yes, they are relieved, the child is alive, still, the child must go on breathing, and heart beating, otherwise it will be a dead child. Yes, once chanting certainly means a person is immediately on the spiritual platform of liberation, but the chanting must go on so as to remain on the platform of spiritual life, and come to the mature spiritual platform of love of God.

Spiritual life is not something to be gained like a college degree, I have got it after struggling for some time, then I put it on my wall for display, or in my pocket to be produced on demand. No spiritual life is eternal, and it is the result of perpetual freedom and choice to serve Krishna, and love Krishna, as opposed to serving something non-Krishna, and loving someone other than Krishna. Krishna consciousness is our natural state of being, just as being awake, as opposed to being asleep, is our natural state of being. As water being liquid, rather than frozen solid is the natural state of water. It is a state of existence, as opposed to the state of non – existence. Krishna conscious means …. ” For one who sees me everywhere and sees everything in me, I am never lost to him, and he is never lost to me 

The foundation of this consciousness is the Chanting of Hare Krishna, just as the foundation of telephone communication is the dial tone on the phone. When we go to make a telephone call, we pick up the receiver and first of all listen to hear the dial tone, if we hear that, we know we are connected, and we proceed to make the call. Similarly, is someone is chanting Hare Krishna, we know he is a devotee, he is connected, we can associate with such a person and be in association of Krishna. But the person who does not chant, he is not connected to Krishna, and we are guarded in what we say and do with him. ” satatam kirtayanto mam “… ” Always chanting my glories, bowing down before me these great souls perpetually worship me with devotion ..”

I hope your program was sucessful. see you soon,

Your humble servant,

Hansadutta das