The Bhagavad Gita mentions Naama-smaraṇa, Keertana, and the remembrance and worship of Bhagavan. Yes, it does mention the supreme nature of Lord Krishna, but no shloka explicitly identifies chanting the name of Lord Krishna as the easiest means of attaining Moksha specifically in Kali Yuga. However, the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa explains the special importance of chanting Bhagavan’s holy names in Kali Yuga. And there is a very nice answer to the ‘Why’ behind chanting Krishna’s name.
First of all, Krishna is so compassionate that, for the people of Kaliyuga, Krishna shortened the way to attain Moksha. Let me explain to you how lucky we all are. The Sages once assembled, and discussed about people of which yuga are the most lucky people? Some said, Kruta Yuga, because everyone followed Dharma.
But some said, ‘No, Treta Yuga had the luckiest people. Because Lord ShriRama had incarnated in that yuga.’ And some said, “No, Dwapara Yuga had the luckiest people, because Lord ShriKrishna had incarnated in that yuga.” One sage said, “No, the people of Kaliyuga are the luckiest people.” All the sages asked, “But in Kaliyuga, there is always Adharma, corruption, and illegal things happening. People don’t follow Dharma; only 1/4th part of Dharma would be remaining by the time of Kaliyuga. How is that lucky?”
That sage said, “Kaliyuga has the luckiest people, not because they don’t have to do anything, any Dharma kaarya, and sit idle and attain Moksha. But in fact, they are provided with the easiest way to attain Moksha. And that is by chanting the name of Lord Krishna. In the Kruta Yuga, people used to please Bhagavan and attain Moksha by doing penance. Some used to do penance for 1000s of years.”
“Some used to do penance for years, without taking any food, and only consuming air as their food. Some used to stand on one leg for 1000s of years to obtain the darshan of Bhagavan. Even after that, Bhagavan used to appear for such a short time that was equivalent to the time till a lightening would occur. Like how superfast is that lightning speed, in the same way Bhagavan would appear and disappear with the speed of light.
Now, you might have a question like: how did these people used to do penance for such a long time? The answer is simple. In the Shaastras, it is said that, in Kruta Yuga, a person was alive until his/her bones existed. So, at that time, people used to live for a long time, and even if they didn’t get food, they could have existed. Since they had that much energy, that’s why they were asked to perform this much penance.
[This form of Lord Vishnu in the above image is known as Yagya Narayana. In this form, He accepts all our karmas which we do in the form of yagyas, be it pooja, sandhyavandana, yagya, etc.]
In the Treta Yuga, people used to do Yagyas and please Bhagavan. Through the yagyas, they used to provide the ‘havis’ or the aahuti to the fire in the form of ghee, rice, sesame seeds, milk, dhurva grass, etc. These are all known as Havyas. Agnideva carries this Havya to the devatas, for whom the yagya was intended. That’s why Agnideva is known as Havyavaahana. We hear this at the end of the Yagya mantra:
Bhaktim shraddhaam yashah pragyaam sriyam balam aayushyam aarogyam dehi me havyavaahana iti praarthana samarpayaami ||
Agnideva acts as a transport system for the aahutis we provide to the devatas. These devatas, being dependent on the Supreme Bhagavan for the powers and position they have, pass on that aahuti to Vayudeva, who carries it to Bhagavan, and Bhagavan accepts the aahuti given by us. So, by doing this yagya, the people used to please Bhagavan in the Treta Yuga.
In Treta Yuga, a person was alive till his/her maamsa, or flesh, existed; that is, his/her life was in his/her flesh. So, that’s why they were asked to perform yagyas and please Bhagavan.
In the Dvaapara Yuga, a person’s life was in his/her blood. So, they used to please Bhagavan by doing Archana, or Vrata, niyama, nishtha, etc., as per the Shaastras. They used to do elaborate temple worship as per the Shaastras and Aagamas. Their energy was so great that they were asked to do Archana.
But if you see in the Kaliyuga, the Shaastras instruct us to do naama smarana of Bhagavan. In the Kaliyuga, the person’s life is in the food he/she eats. Without food, a person cannot exist at all in Kaliyuga. Therefore, in Kaliyuga, it is said, Annagata praanah. So, the person doesn’t have the energy to do penance for thousands of years, in a standing or a sitting position, or standing on one leg and doing penance by consuming only air as food.
He doesn’t possess the energy to do upavaasa for years and do penance to get just a glimpse of Bhagavan. He cannot do yagyas on his/her own, as the people who used to do in the Treta Yuga. They couldn’t do Archana as the Dvapara Yuga people could. But in Kaliyuga, the people can remember the holy name of Bhagavan.
Remembering the name of Bhagavan leads to the removal of all kinds of sins from us. Why? Because each name of Bhagavan describes His auspicious qualities. Bhagavan is full of all auspicious qualities and is free from all kinds of flaws. Plus, the Shaastras say, ‘Yad Bhaavam Tad Bhavati,’ which means, ‘The way in which you remember Bhagavan, the way is what you become.’ Another thing is, we humans have flaws.
Let’s understand this with an example. For example, we do Rama naama japa. What does Rama mean? It means, ‘Ramateeti Raamaha,’ which means the one who is full of eternal bliss and pure knowledge. So, if we do chintana of Rama as the one who is full of eternal bliss and pure knowledge, then Bhagavan would bless us with bliss and knowledge as per our competence and according to how much knowledge and bliss we deserve.
So here, Bhagavan removes the agyaana, which is present as a flaw within us, and provides us with pure knowledge. And that Agyaana is within us due to the sins we might have performed earlier. So, the main root cause of Agyaana was the sin that we committed. Bhagavan removes that root cause if we remember Him.
But this remembrance must be done with Bhakti. That’s why I said to chintana in the earlier paragraphs. Bhakti is nothing but knowledge about the greatness of Bhagavan + causeless and continuous love for Bhagavan flowing hand in hand with each other like an unbroken stream of oil. Without this, Moksha is not possible. If you remember Bhagavan with hatred, it will lead to hell, and not to Moksha. For attaining Moksha, only Bhakti is the way.
Plus, in Kaliyuga, both Rama and Krishna can be remembered. In fact, all the avatars of Bhagavan can be remembered with devotion in the Kaliyuga. The Sages praise the people of Kaliyuga as the luckiest people.
That’s why in the Kaliyuga, naama smarana is given this much importance, because in Kaliyuga, humans can perform naama smarana to their best and would attain Moksha. Yes, but that doesn’t mean that we should leave all other kartavyas of ours, like doing Bhagavan’s pooja, or nitya Sandhyavandana, or basic yagyas like Vaishvadevas, etc.
Because they are a part of our duty that Bhagavan has given us via the Shaastras. So, doing that is a must. But with that, Naama smarana must be done in Kaliyuga. Even if you offer a leaf, flower, fruit, and water to Bhagavan with Bhakti, He would give you His own abode Vaikuntha to you, and would bless you like anything.”
Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriKrishnarpanamastu!