The divine sound of the pure Name (Suddha-nam) must have its origin beyond the area of misconception or maya. The extent of maya is up to the highest planet in the material world, Satyaloka. Beyond Satyaloka is the Viraja River and the world of consciousness, Brahmaloka, and then the spiritual sky, Paravyoma. The pure Name of Krishna must have its origin in Paravyoma, the spiritual sky. And if we are to examine it further, the Holy Name of Krishna really comes from the most original plane of all existence: Vraja, Goloka. According to this understanding, the sound must have its origin in the highest plane of the spiritual world in Vrndavan if it is to be considered the genuine Krishna Name.
The mere physical sound is not the Holy Name of Krishna. A true conception of the Holy Name is necessary, not only to free us from this world of misconception, but also for the attainment of service to Krishna in Vrndavan. Only that true Name of Krishna which has its origin in the plane of Vrndavan can lift us up and take us there.
Otherwise, although the spirit is within the Name, if the sound we vibrate is based on any other conception, it may only take us to that layer of conception. This is quite scientific; it is not unreasonable. The mere word Krishna is not the Holy Name. What is important is the meaning of that sound and the depth of meaning, the deep conception of the meaning of the Name. That is everything — it is all-important in serving our purpose.
There’s a nice story that illustrates this point. When our spiritual master, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, was a young boy, both he and his father, Bhakti Vinod Thakur, went to visit the holy place of Kulina Gram, which is located in the Hooghly district near Kolkata. Kulina Gram was a village where the great devotee Haridas Thakur, as well as other famous Vaisnavas, used to live and was the home of four generations of devotees.