SB 5.24.20
yasya ha vava ksuta-patana-praskhalanadisu vivasah sakrn namabhigrnan purusah karma-bandhanam
añjasa vidhunoti yasya haiva pratibadhanam mumuksavo ’nyathaivopalabhante.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
If one who is embarrassed by hunger or who falls down or stumbles chants the holy name of the Lord even once, willingly or unwillingly, he is immediately freed from the reactions of his past deeds. Karmis entangled in material activities face many difficulties in the practice of mystic yoga and other endeavors to achieve that same freedom.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
It is not a fact that one has to offer his material possessions to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and be liberated before he can engage in devotional service. A devotee automatically attains liberation without separate endeavors. Bali Maharaja did not get back all his material possessions merely because of his charity to the Lord. One who becomes a devotee, free from material desires and motives, regards all opportunities, both material and spiritual, as benedictions from the Lord, and in this way his service to the Lord is never hampered. Bhukti, material enjoyment, and mukti, liberation, are only by-products of devotional service. A devotee need not work separately to attain mukti. Srila Bilvamangala Thakura said, muktih svayam mukulitañjalih sevate ’sman: a pure devotee of the Lord does not have to endeavor separately for mukti, because mukti is always ready to serve him.
In this regard, Caitanya-caritamrta (Antya 3.177-188) describes Haridasa Thakura’s confirmation of the effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord.
keha bale — ‘nama haite haya papa-ksaya’
keha bale — ‘nama haite jivera moksa haya’
Some say that by chanting the holy name of the Lord one is freed from all the reactions of sinful life, and others say that by chanting the holy name of the Lord one attains liberation from material bondage.
haridasa kahena, — “namera ei dui phala naya
namera phale krsna-pade prema upajaya
Haridasa Thakura, however, said that the desired result of chanting the holy name of the Lord is not that one is liberated from material bondage or freed from the reactions of sinful life. The actual result of chanting the holy name of the Lord is that one awakens his dormant Krsna consciousness, his loving service to the Lord.
anusangika phala namera — ‘mukti’, ‘papa-nasa’
tahara drstanta yaiche suryera prakasa
Haridasa Thakura said that liberation and freedom from the reactions of sinful activities are only by-products of chanting the holy name of the Lord. If one chants the holy name of the Lord purely, he attains the platform of loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this regard Haridasa Thakura gave an example comparing the power of the holy name to sunshine.
ei slokera artha kara panditera gana”
sabe kahe, — ‘tumi kaha artha-vivarana’
He placed a verse before all the learned scholars present, but the learned scholars asked him to state the purport of the verse.
haridasa kahena, — “yaiche suryera udaya
udaya na haite arambhe tamera haya ksaya
Haridasa Thakura said that as the sun begins to rise, it dissipates the darkness of night, even before the sunshine is visible.
caura-preta-raksasadira bhaya haya nasa
udaya haile dharma-karma-adi parakasa
Before the sunrise even takes place, the light of dawn destroys the fear of the dangers of the night, such as disturbances by thieves, ghosts and Raksasas, and when the sunshine actually appears, one engages in his duties.
aiche namodayarambhe papa-adira ksaya
udaya kaile krsna-pade haya premodaya
Similarly, even before one’s chanting of the holy name is pure, one is freed from all sinful reactions, and when he chants purely he becomes a lover of Krsna.
‘mukti’ tuccha-phala haya namabhasa haite
ye mukti bhakta na laya, se krsna cahe dite”
A devotee never accepts mukti, even if Krsna offers it. Mukti, freedom from all sinful reactions, is obtained even by namabhasa, or a glimpse of the light of the holy name before its full light is perfectly visible.
The namabhasa stage is between that of nama-aparadha, or chanting of the holy name with offenses, and pure chanting. There are three stages in chanting the holy name of the Lord. In the first stage, one commits ten kinds of offenses while chanting. In the next stage, namabhasa, the offenses have almost stopped, and one is coming to the platform of pure chanting. In the third stage, when one chants the Hare Krsna mantra without offenses, his dormant love for Krsna immediately awakens. This is the perfection.