Nama Mahima!!!

We get to read so much these days about 'nama mahima'.Eveyone stresses that in Kaliyug only repeated chanting of 'nama'can give peace and happiness in the stressful life of the present days.This particular katha I heard was simply superI thought.So wanted to write whatever little I understood from the upanyasam.You can hear the upanyasam if you click here.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who was responsible for introducing chanting nama(HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE,HARE KRISHNA HARE HARE) has changed the lives of robbers,dacoits and so on and made them chant 'nama'.The beauty is that Mahaprabhu could do it so effortlessly.Now to the story.
A Baghvatha sapthaham is going on in a house in a city.Everybody is so involved and busy.A thief thinks it a good idea to steal from this house.He is sure nobody will notice him.He makes a quiet entry into the house and sits in corner where he will go un noticed and pretends to listen to the katha.The topic that day is on Sri Krishna Leela.Description of Krishna,his beauty, the jewels HE is wearing is going on.This catches the attention of the thief and starts listening with great concentration and makes anote of all the jeweley HE is weaing, claculates the total worth of all the jewelley.He decides that just this one last act of stealing is enough fo his entie life now.So he listens very carefullyand decides and plans his next act of kidnappping Krishna..The days katha is over and everyone is dispersing.He waits fo all to leave and finally follows the person who narrated the katha.He follows him up to his door and says 'I want to kidnap the kid you were talking about today,tell me his address properly or I will kill you'.
The baghavthar is amused and decides he will have some fun so tells him,'sure you can',the thief asks him for the boys details, name,address &where he can find him.
He tells him the name is Krishna,he is a cowherd and you can find him in Brindavan.Before leaving the thief asks him to describe the jewels Krishna was wearing,the way he did at the katha.Vey patiently baghavathar starts decsribing,the thief listens very attentively and suddenly tells the baghavathar to stop...he says you forgot the addigai,so start all over again.This goes on and on and the thief has now made the baghavathar to repeat atleast a dozen timesto get the sequence and list right.Finally he is satisfied that he has the full list of jewels in order,so decides he will now leave.Before leaving he again asks the name and addressand tells him if he does not find him there he will come back.The baghavthar is amused and simingly tells him Krishna ,Brindavan.
The thief starts his journey,he is constantly repeating Krishna, Krishna,Krishna lest he forget the boy's name.On the way he asks a few people the way to Brindavan and after a long tiring walk he steps in Bindavan.He is very happy that finally he is here and very soon he will catch Krishna and shall soon be rich.Thinking on these lines(all the while chanting Krishna) the thief sits under tree and is thinking how and where he will be able to see Krishna, when he cannot believe his eyes and his luck.He sees Krishna coming with his cows and Balarama too,and he us dessed exactly as mentioned by the baghavathar.He tries to see if all the jewels mentioned are there.Krishna comes with his cows and the thief is mesmerised by his beauty and just keeps staring at him,tears flowing from his eyes.Krishna talks with him,and asks him what he wa nts.The thief tells him he came to take all his jewels but now says he does not want the jewels but if he can be with Krishna always.Krishna however gives him all the jewels,asks him if everything in the list is there,HE wraps everything in his peetambaram and gives it the thief.The thief is now a changed man and the jewels no more interests him.He wants only Krishna now.He however decides that he must thank the baghavathar who told him about Krishna.So he tells Krishna, 'please wait here only,I will go and give all these jewels to the baghavathar as a token of my thanks and come back'. Krishna promises to wait for him.The thief runs to the baghavathar's house,thanks him very much for giving him the address.He tells him Krishna is so beautiful.The baghavathar cannot believe him inspite of seeing the jewels,pitambaram of Krishna.He tells the thief to take him too and show him Krishna.The thief takes him to Brindavan to the place where he met Krishna.Krishna is waiting there for him under the tree,the baghavathar is unable to see him though.The thief pleads with Krishna to show himself to the baghavathar,Krishna tells him he will not because the baghavthar does not have bhakti like the thief.
This is the power of nama.Without his knowledge the thief repeated the Lord's name.He did not know Krishna is GOD.His goal was the jewels that Krishna was wearing.Krishna Blesses him and the thief after this stays with the LORD a changed man.
Hare Rama Hare Rama,Rama Rama, Hare Hare,Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,Krishna Krishna Hare Hare!!!
JAI GURU DEVA!!!!