Three necessary shelters for devotees – nama brahma, daru brahma & shabda brahma

Supreme Lord appears in all the four yugas. In Satya Yuga, in the north he appears as Badrinath, in Treta Yuga in south as Ramnath i.e. Lord Rama, in Dwapar Yuga in the west as Dwarkanath and in Kali yuga in the east, the Supreme Lord appears as Lord Jagannath.

Those who are born in the eastern part of India like Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and northeastern states are very fortunate because they are closer to Lord Jagannath.

Not just that even Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appears in Bengal. And our founder acharya, Srila Prabhupada is also from Kolkata, Bengal. Our vaisnava songs are in Bengali, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta is in Bengali. So, we can understand that Lord is very merciful to the people of West Bengal.

From here the teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spread all over the world. Krishna who appears in Vrindavan also appears in Mayapur as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. His purpose is to enlighten the suffering souls who is struggling hard because of ignorance.

Forgetting his real identity the souls covered in the material body tries to enjoy in this world little realizing that the more he tries to enjoy the more he will be subjected to suffering.

So, the Supreme Lord comes to tell us to give up the false hope of happily living here. But instead break free from the material bondage and take complete shelter of Lord Krishna. 

Echoing the sentiments of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, his ardent follower and a great vaisnava saint, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, “bolo krishna bhajo krishna koro krishna-sikha.” The revered saint is asking us to be fully absorbed in serving Krishna.

nama brahma, daru brahma & shabda brahma

Bolo Krishna means “nama brahma” i.e. chanting the names of Krishna. Bhajo Krishna means “daru brahma” i.e. worshipping Lord Jagannath. Koro Krishna siksha means “shabda brahma” i.e. teaching Srimad Bhagavatam.

Srila Prabhupada, the founder acharya of Iskcon, taught us how to do it.  The sincere followers of Srila Prabhupada are constantly engaged in these activities.

Regarding śabda-brahma, Srila Prabhupada says, “…the real essence of śabda-brahma is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. By vibrating this transcendental sound, the meaning of everything, both material and spiritual, is revealed.” Śrimad Bhagavatam  4.24.40

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu performed many pastimes to educate us how to take shelter of nama brahma, daru brahma and shabda brahma.

He constantly chanted the names of Krishna, preached people to dedicate their life to Krishna and by his personal example showed how to be engaged in the worship of the Lord especially Lord Jagannath. These wonderful pastimes of Mahaprabhu are given in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

In Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is described how Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to participate in Rath Yatra festival, how he used to perform sankirtan in front of the chariot of Lord Jagannath and how he used to visit the temple of Lord Jagananth daily to take his darshan.  Mahaprabhu used to see Jagannath as Radha Shyamsundar.

While taking darshan of Lord Jagannath, he would recite the verses of Jagannathastakam.

kadacit kalindi-tata-vipina-sangitaka-ravo
mudabhiri-nari-vadana-kamalasvada-madhupah
rama-sambhu-brahmamara-pati-ganesarcita-pado
jagannathah svami nayana-patha-gami bhavatu me

“Sometimes in great happiness Lord Jagannatha makes a loud concert with His flute in the groves on the banks of the Yamuna. He is like a bumblebee tasting the beautiful lotus like faces of the cowherd damsels of Vraja, and great personalities such as Laksmi, Siva, Brahma, Indra, and Ganesa worship His lotus feet. May that Jagannatha Svami be the object of my vision.”

If we remain under the shelter of nama brahma, daru brahma and shabda brahma as taught by Mahaprabhu, we will always be protected by the Lord.

(Reference: Srimad Bhagavatam Class by HH Bhakti Vijay Bhagvat Swami Maharaj, June 23, 2025, Iskcon Newtown Kolkata)

Three Reflections

• In Satya Yuga, Lord appears as Badrinath, in Treta Yuga as Ramnath (Lord Rama), in Dwapar Yuga as Dwarkanath and in Kali yuga as Jagannath.
• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us always take shelter of nama brahma, daru brahma and shabda brahma.
• Nama brahma means the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, daru brahma means Lord Jagannath and shabda brahma means Lord Jagannath.

Ask Yourself

• Do I regularly take shelter of nama brahma, daru brahma and shabda brahma?

Action Item

• Daily chant the names of Krishna, worship Jagannath or Krishna or Mahaprabhu and read Srimad Bhagavatam.