This transcendental vibration, by chanting of:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
...is the sublime method for reviving our Krishna consciousness.
As living spiritual souls we are all originally Krishna conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now polluted by material atmosphere. In this polluted concept of life, we are all trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in her complexities. This illusion is called maya, or hard struggle for existence for winning over the stringent laws of material nature. This illusory struggle against the material nature can at once be stopped by revival of our Krishna consciousness.
Krishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original energy of the living entity. When we hear the transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived and the process is recommended by authorities for this age. By practical experience also, we can perceive that by chanting this maha-mantra, or the great chanting for deliverance, one can at once feel transcendental ecstasy from the spiritual stratum.
When one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding, surpassing the stages of sense, mind and intelligence, one is situated on the transcendental plane. This chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is directly enacted from the spiritual platform, surpassing all lower status of consciousness, namely sensual, mental, and intellectual.
There is no need of understanding the language of the mantra, nor is there any need of mental speculation, nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this maha-mantra. It springs automatically from the spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in this transcendental sound vibration without any previous qualification and dance in ecstasy. We have seen it practically. Even a child can take part in the chanting, or even a dog can take part in it.
This chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord so that immediate effect can be achieved. As far as possible, chanting from the lips of a non-devotee should be avoided, as much as milk touched by the lips of a serpent causes poisonous effect.
The word Hara is a form of addressing the energy of the Lord. Both Krishna and Rama are forms of addressing directly the Lord and they mean, "the highest pleasure eternal." Hara is the supreme pleasure potency of the Lord. This potency, when addressed as Hare, helps us in reaching the Supreme Lord.
The material energy, called maya, is also one of the multi-potencies of the Lord, as much as we are also marginal potency of the Lord. The living entities are described as superior energy than matter. When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, it becomes an incompatible situation. But when the supreme marginal potency is in contact with the spiritual potency, Hara, it becomes the happy, normal condition of the living entity.
The three words, namely Hara, Krishna, and Rama, are transcendental seeds of the maha-mantra, and the chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His internal energy Hara for giving protect the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mother. Mother Hara helps the devotee achieve the grace of the Supreme Father, Hari or Krishna, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely.
Therefore no other means of spiritual realization is as effective in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy as the chanting of the maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
By Srila Swami Maharaja Prabhupada
Pancha Tattva Maha Mantra
Maha Mantra
Gayatri Mantra
The Golden Gift
sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda, sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakti vrnda
golokera prema dhana, harinama-sankirttana:
The Golden Gift brought to this world From the topmost planet of the spiritual sky, Goloka dham, by the Golden Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – the Hare Krishna Mahamantra (Great Chant for Deliverance):
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam, kaulau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
“The Holy Name! The Holy Name! The Holy Name! Without chanting of the Holy Name, in this age of Kali there is certainly no means of deliverance. There is no other way. There is no other way.”
(Brhan-naradiya-Purana, 38.126
“Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age, all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of sankirttana, the congregational chanting of the Lord’s Holy Names.”
Sri Karabhajana Muni (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.36)
trnad api sunicena taror abi sahisnuna amanina manadena kirttaniyah sada harih
“One who is humbler than a blade of grass, more forebearing than a tree, who gives due honour to others without desiring it for himself is qualified to always chant the Holy Name of Krishna”
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Siksastakam, 3)
(Awakening The Absolute by Srila Sridhar Maharaja)
Nama Guru And Mantra Guru
Student: I have heard that one has an eternal connection with the Spiritual Master who first initiates one into the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahāmantra (Hari-nām-guru). Does he have a similar connection with the Mantra-guru? Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: Yes. We may see it as similar, with a slight difference. Student: Some devotees who took Hari-nām initiation from Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupād later took their gāyatrī mantra initiation from one of his disciples. Can you explain the distinction between the two initiations and how a disciple should view his relationship with two different Spiritual Masters?
Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: The first importance should be given to the Nām-guru, or the Guru who initiates one into the chanting of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa, and second to the Guru who gives initiation into the gāyatrī mantra. The Dīkṣā-guru, initiating Spiritual Master, must be shown respect, and then all the other disciples of Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupād. First, honour must be shown to Prabhupād, who is the Nām-guru, the Guru of the Guru, the second honour will go to the Dīkṣā-guru, and then to the rest, accommodating all. They should all be recognised according to their status.
Sri Guru And His Grace by Srila Sridhar Maharaja
Jīva Goswāmī has written that the Name of Kṛṣṇa is the principal thing in the gāyatrī mantra. Within the mantra, there are also so many other words, but the Name is the most important. If the Name of Kṛṣṇa is taken away and replaced with some other name, the whole thing will be rotten. This is the decision of Jīva Goswāmī. The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is all-in-all. The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is there in the gāyatrī mantra, and so many other words are couched there. But if Kṛṣṇa’s Name is taken away and replaced with the name of Śiva, then the whole thing will go to Śiva. The Holy Name is the all-important factor. The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is so important that even the gāyatrī mantra may not be necessary. It is said: no dīkṣāṁ na cha sat-kriyāṁ na cha puraścharyāṁ manāg īkṣate mantro ’yaṁ rasanā-spṛg eva phalati śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmātmakaḥ (Padyāvalī: 29) “One need not undergo all the purificatory processes, or follow the six ritualistic ceremonies mentioned in the Vedas for pious life; one need not even take initiation into the gāyatrī mantra. If one simply chants the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa without offence, everything will be successful.” The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is the most important consideration.
The gāyatrī mantra may not even be necessary. We accept the mantra only to help the Nām-bhajan, the worship of the Holy Name. Otherwise, it may not be nec- essary at all. It has been judged in such a way. The Name alone can do everything for a person. It is full and com- plete. The mantra helps us to do away with the aparādhs, offences, and the ābhās, or hazy conceptions in our bhajan. The mantra comes to help us only so far. An example is given of larger and smaller circles. The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is the larger circle. It extends from the highest to the lowest. The mantra circle is a smaller circle within the larger circle. The mantra cannot reach to the lowest point. The Holy Name can extend itself down to the lowest position. The mantra gives us entrance into liberation, and then the Name carries us further. This is the nature of our connection with the mantra and the Name. The Name extends to the lowest position, to the chaṇḍālas and yavanas. Everyone can receive the Name. But everyone is not eligible for the gāyatrī mantra. Only after one has reached a developed stage can the mantra be conferred upon him. And the mantra’s jurisdiction will be finished when liberation is attained.
Sri Guru And His Grace by Srila Sridhar Maharaja