(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Durban – South Africa, April 2011)
The more we are chanting the maha-mantra, the more we are becoming freed from the sinfulness of Kali, and that is of course the first benefit of chanting – that one becomes freed from the influence of ignorance and darkness. One meaning of the name Krsna – ‘Krish’ is dark and ‘na’ means no – no more darkness. So ‘Krsna’ means that we become free from the influence of ignorance in the material world. Then comes the other translation of the word ‘Krsna’, which means – ‘Krish’ for a person or the one who can attract, and ‘na’, for ananda, for happiness. Then we come to (Sanskrit) the higher taste in Krsna Consciousness, where we become attracted to Krsna.