Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare…
February 24, 2010 by back-to-godhead-magazine
Filed under Chanting
Once you’ve hear it you’ll never forget it. You may not know what the words mean–nevertheless there’s something captivating about the Hare Krishna chant. Is it the catchy tune or the fascinating way in which the words are repeated and reversed? People who chant Hare Krishna say both contribute to its appeal. But they know that the secret of the chant’s attraction is the quality of the sound itself.
Anyone can take three words and make a song out of them, combining them in a cleaver way. But can that concoction be meditated on all day and all night? Would the chanters of those words report, as do the chanters of Hare Krishna, that the practice is freeing them from anxiety, opening up their minds to a liberated view of themselves, and investing them with blissfulness? No, of course not. The invented litany would only drive its creators to distraction.
But the sound of Hare Krishna is so enriching that a whole culture has been founded on it. Furthermore the people who chant Hare Krishna are developing good character, gaining knowledge of both the material and spiritual worlds, and helping other people to be free from pain. There is, then, a special quality to the sound of Hare Krishna. What is it?
The words Hare, Krishna and Rama have a special quality because they are seeds of spiritual consciousness. They are not a product of an earthbound language changing through the centuries. They are names of God, as ceaselessly energetic as God Himself.
When you pronounce these sounds, you are propelled into your eternal position as a particle of spiritual energy, a person living in a transcendental nature. Hare Krishna reveals to you the person you really are.
Read more about Krishna consciousness in the other articles on this website.
Hiiiiiiii , I am not regular in chantting, nd i want to regular . How can i do the same? thnks
You just have to become determined to chant Hare Krishna. And if when you become determined you will do it somehow or other, no matter what obstacles maya puts in our way.
The best time for chanting Hare Krishna is early in the morning, it is peaceful then and no one will disturb you. So it is just a matter of going to bed a little earlier in the evening and setting the alarm and getting out of bed in the morning and taking bath and chanting Hare Krishna.
I see that many, many materialists are getting out of bed early because they have to be at work early. They are doing this for money, so we want to get out of bed early to chant Hare Krishna to please Krishna. So like the man who has to get out of bed for work to please his boss, he does, that, because if he does not his boss will fire him from his job. So we have to think similarly and rise early in the morning to chant Hare Krishna to please Krishna. We need to convince ourselves that rising early in the morning and chanting Hare Krishna is essential for my advancement in spiritual life, and that is very important to me, and if I do not do it then I will not be able to chant regularly and will not please Krishna and will not be able to make much spiritual advancement. It is like that.
In the beginning we have to convince ourselves of the necessity of this rising early and chanting Hare Krishna but after we have been doing it for a while we will develop a natural taste for it and will automatically jump out of bed in the morning anxious to chant Hare Krishna. First stage is called regulative bhakti. In this stage the devotee rises early in the morning and chants Hare Krishna in accordance with the order of the spiritual master even if he has not got any real attachment or taste for doing it. And second stage is spontaneous bhakti. It means he has developed a taste for chanting Hare Krishna and he will do it automatically because he is getting great spiritual bliss from chanting Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna PAMNHO, AGTSP.
The following is a selection of quotes from Prabhupadabooks.com we hope you catch it in the air.
“Birds of the same feather flock together.”(1)
That was “his indirect” hint. “You are not satisfied by, even after compiling Vedānta-sūtra. That means, that indicates that these literatures will not be satisfactory for the swan class of men, or paramahamsa (2)
And “when one is experienced in everything” and he is above all material affection that is called paramahamsa. Hamsa. Why…? Hamsa means swan. Why he’s compared with hamsa? The hamsa has got a qualification “to take the essence.” If you give a swan milk mixed with water, he’ll, he has got some tactics, he’ll simply take the milk case in and the water will be there, remain there. (3)
The Vedic literatures [śāstras] vividly describe how to understand the Supreme Lord, the source of all material and spiritual energy. Indeed, they elaborately explain these two energies. The swan [hamsa] is one who discriminates between matter and spirit, who “accepts the essence of everything.” (4)
Brahmā is also known as Hamsa (swan) because he can “grasp the essence of everything.” (5)
…They cannot understand, because they are not muni. The muni means very thoughtful. And how one can become perfect muni? That is also said here. Amalātmanām. Amala. Mala means dirty things, and amala, amala means just the opposite. No. Amala, “a” means “no.” His heart is cleansed of all dirty things. Such men. Amalātmanām. So these are the qualifications. Paramahamsa, one must be only spiritually interested like the swan. He is interested only to drink the milk, not the water. Similarly, one must become paramahamsa. One must be interested with spiritual advancement of life, not material. Reject. Reject it. (6)
…those who are fortunately advanced in “spiritual sense” take shelter of the paramahamsa and thus successfully complete the mission of human life. (7)
“You are meant to be understood by the paramahamsas.”(8)
The mind is rājahamsaḥ. It should be trained to be entangled with the lotus stem of Krishna’s lotus feet. (9)
“To accept all varieties of creation” and engage them in Krishna’s service, that is Krishna consciousness. (10)
hARIBOL.
(1)- Lectures : Song Purports : Purport to Bhajahu Re Mana — Los Angeles, May 27, 1972 : 720527PU.LA
(2)-: Lectures : Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.11 — New Vrindaban, June 10, 1969 : 690610SB.NV : [O my dear Krsna, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cow :
(3)-Lectures : Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.9-11 — New Vrindaban, June 6, 1969 : 690606SB.NV :
(4)-SB 6.5.18
(5)-SB.3.24.20
(6)-Lectures : Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.20 — Mayapura, September 30, 1974 : 740930SB.MAY :
(7)-KRSNA, The Supreme Personality of Godhead - 1970 Edition : Volume 2 : KB 2-30 / Spiritual Instruction for Vasudeva and Return of the Six Dead Sons of Devaki by Lord Krsna :
(8)-TQK 3:
(9)-Cc m 25-271
(10)-Lectures: Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures: Canto 1: Lectures: SB 1.16: Lectures: Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.5 — Los Angeles, January 2, 1974 : 740102SB.LA
Revered Madhudvisa ji, I read your Article for chanting ”Harekrishna…”I had have been doing so since long and have been experiencing what you have written in your Article.This very inspiring and practical.-Hare krishna—yours-Dr.S.P.Thakua devotee of lord Krishna–HAREKRISHNA
Dear friend we come close to Krishna when we do more and more selfless services and improving our character.
I want to ask a question..
Is it fine if we chant “Krishnaradhama” instead of hare Krishna Mahamantra…??
I chant Krishnaradhama all the time and I have got used to it..it is not like I cannot chant harekrishna mahamantra it is just that I like to chant krishnaradhama..
I am not sure if i am doing any offense or not…AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada said that we can chant any names of lord so I started chanting Krishnaradhama…
(I know it’s a stupid question but please try to answer madhuvisa dasa ji)
Hare Krishna Tushar
In one sense chanting the name of Krishna, any name of Krishna, is all-auspicious and on the absolute platform there is no difference.
However, making spiritual advancement is not dependent on chanting the name of Krishna only. Actually we can only really chant the name of Krishna if we get the mantra from a pure devotee of Krishna. Krishna is not so easy to approach and He has given the method how we can approach Him in the Bhagavad-gita. And that is “tad viddhi pranipat…” “Just approach my pure devotee, surrender to him, serve him, offer him obeisances, inquire submissively from him. Such a self-realized soul can give you real knowledge because he has seen the truth.”
So the point you are missing here is that our advancement in spiritual life is actually dependent on us pleasing our bona-fide spiritual master. So that means we have to please Srila Prabhuapda.
So it is very important to follow the instructions of Srila Prabhupada and he clearly instructs us to chant:
sri krishna caitanya prabhu nityananda sri advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura bhakta vrinda
and
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
So, if we want to please Srila Prabhuapda, and that is the key to making spiritual advancement, then we have to follow his instructions and chant the Panca-Tattva Maha Mantra and the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra.
Srila Prabhupada does not approve of this “chant any names of the Lord” idea. Many do this. They concoct their own mantra. Like “Nitai Gaur Radhe Shyam Hare Krishna Hare Rama” and chant it. It is all the names of the Lord. But it is not standard. It is not approved of by the acharyas. And although they are chanting the names of the Lord and there is some benefit in this because this is a concocted mantra, it is not according to the disciplic succession, it is very difficult to make advancement chanting this mantra. These mantras are chanted by the sahajiyas. The sahajayas do not accept the standard way as it is passed down through the disciplic succession. Instead they concoct their own mantras and their own ways of worship. They take everything very cheaply.
So the real answer to your question is no, it is not OK to chant something else other than the Hare Krishna mantra.
And yes, you may find it difficult to chant the Hare Krishna mantra in the beginning and easy to chant something else. That is maya. Maya is always trying to distract you from following the disciplic succession. You are chanting the name of God, but not in the standard way. So it is a deviation. Because you are chanting the name of God that is good, but because you are chanting it in a concocted way that is bad…
So please make the vow to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha mantra daily. Yes in the beginning it may be difficult, but actually there is no way to advance materially or spiritually without performing some tapasys, voluntary austerity for the purpose of making advancement. So it may be an austerity in the beginning to chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. But we have to accept this tapasya if we want to make advancement. There is a saying that in the beginning spiritual life is like poison but later on it turns into nectar. But material life, in the beginning, is like nectar, but soon turns into poison… So you have to expect that chanting Hare Krishna will be difficult in the beginning. But if you stick to it it you will develop a real attachment to the chanting and it will turn into nectar…
Chant HARE KRISHNA and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
we can chant harekrishna mantra by only thinking of krishna
No. You can’t chant the Hare Krishna mantra by only thinking of Krishna. Chant means to vibrate the tongue and hear with your ears. If you don’t vibrate the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra:
Hare Krshna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
with your tongue and hear it with your ears YOU ARE NOT CHANTING HARE KRISHNA.
Please do not speculate on these things. Accept the process as it is, as it has been given to us by Srila Prabhupada and just follow it…