Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare…
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:
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Hare Rama hare Rama ‘rama Rama hare hare hare Krishna hare Krishna Krishna Krishna hare hare
I like this mahamantra very much
My naman to Shrila Prabhupadha who gave his life removing darkness from the world by spreading Krishna conciousness
love kirshna
Hare krisna hare krisna krisna krisna hare hare
Hare ram hare ram ram ram hare hare.i want to know its real from
Hari Krishna,
Just I want ask about peace of mind.I always feel disturb and sad mood.I want get krishna Bhazan & feel relax and cofident person.How I will be like become strong person.
Thanks
Hare Krishna Monica
There is no peace of mind in the material world, even if you become Krishna conscious then there are still so many disturbances because being Krishna conscious disturbs the demons…
So forget about this ‘peace of mind’ and think about how you can be constantly engaged in the service of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krsna Madhudvisa dasa prabhuji. i am confused. how can you say to forget about peace of mind. I agree they is no peace in the material world or material platform as even if you become Krsna Conscious demons will be there to disturb. i don’t mean to offend you in any way. i am just confused.
Let me cite one letter now that says you can achieve peace of mind by in one of srila prabhupada.
Letter to: Sharon Suzuki
75-09-04
Sharon Suzuki
P.O. Box 742
Keaau, Hawaii
My dear Sharon Suzuki;
Please accept my best wishes. I am in due receipt of your letter and I have noted the contents carefully. It is quite evident that you are feeling anxiety in your mind. The best way to overcome this, the way to control the mind is to become Krsnaconscious. This is stated in the Bhagavad gita in the sixth chapter, that one has to control the mind otherwise the mindwill become his worst enemy. The process for Krsnaconsciousness is that we control the mind through hearing and chanting. We hear the maha mantra, Hare Krsna Hare KrsnaKrsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama RamaHare Hare and we hear the lectures from the spiritual master and read his books. Also we speak by preaching and by chanting. This is the easy method for controlling the mind, by hearing and chanting.
So my advice to you is to somehow or other fix your mind onKrsna then you will experience peace of mind and your mind will be your best friend.
I hope this meets you in the best of health.
Your ever well wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS/bs/hdb
Of course a devotee has peace of mind. But that does not mean that the disturbances of the material world stop for a devotee. It means he transcends them. So if you become Krishna conscious of course you will have peace of mind. But the sorts of disturbances Monica was mentioning will go on, that is the nature of the material world. We do not become devotees to change these things, and these things will go on, we become devotees to render service to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and that will transfer us to the spiritual platform, the transcendental platform, and on that platform we will no longer be disturbed by these things….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna guruji,
when i first chanted the mantra then i got the bliss and very much attracted to krishna .that was two years back but now when iam chanting i am not getting the same bliss..did i do anything wrong .please help me in giving guidelines and instrucuions to what to do to get my krishnas bliss back..please..
Hare Krishna Sumanth
Yes. If you are not feeling bliss when you are chanting Hare Krishna you are doing something wrong. Most ‘devotees’ today are mislead into believing that Krishna consciousness is a very cheap thing and you can chant one round a day and follow a couple of the regulative principles sometimes and that makes you a devotee… But this is of course not true.
I constantly stress that we must every day chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra, we have to strictly follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and we have to read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day. And honestly most ‘devotees’ do not seriously follow these things. But without following these things Krishna consciousness does not even begin. This is the beginning standard and things increase from there. So you have to surrender to these basic principles to begin Krishna consciousness.
And simply following the four regulative principles and chanting Hare Krishna and reading Prabhupada’s books does not guarantee that you will feel bliss while chanting, at least no immediately. Because that bliss does not happen in the initial stages of devotional service. The process is ado sraddha, in the beginning somehow one must get a little faith in Krishna consciousness, without some faith you can not start. Then tato sadhu sanga, we need to associate with devotees. And this step has now become very difficult these days unfortunately and can be a great trap. Because the temples these days are full of non-devotees and sometimes even envious demons. So you can go to a temple and try to associate with devotees but they are not actually devotees and that will be no good for your advancement in Krishna consciousness. Really at the moment the safest way to associate with devotees is to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. Then you are personally associating with Srila Prabhupada, a pure devotee of Krishna, and you are also associating with all the other devotees you find in Prabhupada’s books and through Prabhupada you are associating with the whole disciplic succession and of course Krishna as well. So reading Prabhupada’s books is the best association with devotees.
So then if you have had a little faith and been fortunate enough to associate with real devotees then result of this is ‘anarta nivritti shat’, this means all the dirty things become gradually cleaned from your heart. And then, when those dirty things are cleared from your heart, you get to the stage of ‘tato premna’. You begin to feel prema, love of God. That is when you really feel transcendental bliss while chanting Hare Krishna. This is when you can chant Hare Krishna offenslessly.
We have to get to the platform of offensless chanting to feel bliss while chanting Hare Krishna. If we are chanting with offenses we will not feel that bliss and it may actually be difficult for us to chant Hare Krishna. But the only way we can clear out our offenses is by chanting Hare Krishna. So even though in this stage we are not feeling any real pleasure from chanting Hare Krishna, it may even be painful, but it is the medicine that will cure the material disease. While we are diseased we can not enjoy things like a healthy person. So we have the material disease at the moment, and without curing that disease we do not have the ability to feel bliss when chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, we may not even like chanting Hare Krishna or even feel like chanting Hare Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada often gives a very nice example to explain this situation. A man who is suffering from jaundice loses all taste for sweet things, sweet things, because of his diseased condition, taste bitter to him. So if you offer a man with jaundice sugar candy when he tastes it it will be bitter for him. But actually sugar candy is not bitter, it is very sweet. It is only because of the disease that the man can not appreciate this sweetness and it tastes bitter to him. So it is like that for us in the beginning with chanting Hare Krishna, chanting Hare Krishna is very sweet, but because of our diseased condition it seems bitter to us.
The cure for jaundice is to take sweet things like sugar candy and sugarcane juice and fruit juice and other nice sweet things. But a man with jaundice does not like to accept these things because his diseased condition makes these sweet things taste bitter to him. But as he drinks the fruit juice and other sweet things his disease is cured and his taste for sweet things is again restored. It is the same with chanting Hare Krishna, when we are in the material diseased condition we have no attraction to chanting Hare Krishna, it appears to be bitter to us. But chanting Hare Krishna is not bitter, it is very sweet, it only appears bitter to us because of our material disease. But the only cure to the material disease is chanting Hare Krishna, so even though we have no taste for chanting Hare Krishna and we don’t feel any bliss when chanting Hare Krishna, we must chant Hare Krishna, because that will cure the material disease we are suffering from and restore our taste for chanting Hare Krishna.
So this is the way to get your Krishna bliss back. You have to surrender to the process Srila Prabhupada has given us [chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, strictly follow the four regulative principles (no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling, no intoxication) and read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day] and stick to this very strictly even though in the beginning you may not be able to feel any bliss. But gradually your heart will be purified of all the dirty things and that bliss will be there. This is the way.
Also you need to study the ten offenses. For this you should read Srila Prabhupada’s Nectar of Devotion, you should read the whole book, but on the offenses specifically chapters 8 & 9.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Please give me an ideal example so that i can do both my material and spiritual works.
Do your Krishna conscious duties nicely and everything else will automatically fall into place.
Hare Krishna,
I have a problem while chanting in the morning i do not have very good feeling of the hare krishna mantra which i have in the day but i do not have time to CHANT in day.Although i keep singing the mantra in the day also but i am not satisfied with what i am doing.please help i feel like i miss one day away from lord krishna everyday and i feel very very bad.how i change my feelings for morning.
thank you
hare krishna
Hare Krishna Sanat
Your feelings are maya. Ignore them and chant the Hare Krishna mantra at least 16 rounds a day. That is the only hope, otherwise you are lost.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
when I chant my rounds, is it okay if I say in my head as I touch each bead,
or do i have to say out loud for it to count? I say to my self because my throat gets sore
from so many rounds.
Hare Krishna Lissa
You have to chant the Hare Krishna mantra aloud. The power is in the transcendental sound vibration of the Hare Krishna mantra so you will not get the benefit of chanting and hearing the Hare Krishna mantra if you don’t chant it. Just thinking it in you mind is not chanting nor is it hearing. It is remembering which is another process out of the nine processes of bhakti, so it is also good to remember Krishna and there is benefit to this. But it is not chanting and not hearing and in this age of Kali the only practical way of making spiritual advancement is chanting the name of Hari, Krishna.
It doesn’t matter if your throat gets sore, you just keep chanting Hare Krishna, and after a few days your throat will get used to it. It will not always be easy. Maya will always be putting ideas like this into our minds to discourage us from chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. So we have to be careful to follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on beads daily.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
U mentioned chants of a non devotee
What does that mean ? Am I a non devotee coz I can’t keep up the chants?
A non devotee? I think you understand what a non-devotee is? A devotee is someone who is surrendered to Krishna by surrendering to Krishna’s representative, His pure devotee, the bona fide spiritual master and whose only purpose in life is to serve Krishna. And a non-devotee is someone who is world to serve himself, his family, his country or some other extended form of selfishness. A devotee has no conception of pleasure or enjoyment beyond serving Krishna to increase Krishna’s pleasure and enjoyment. He understands that his position is to serve Krishna and he has no desire or aspiration to do anything more than to serve Krishna…
Anyone can become a devotee if they want to, anyone can chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily if they want to. But it may take time. So in the beginning we have to have a very strong desire to become Krishna conscious but we may not be able to immediately come to the standard, but we should not be discouraged by this, we have to always keep trying to get to the standard, no matter how many times we may fail or fall down, and no matter how hopeless or impossible it seems for us to become Krishna conscious.
Krishna is in all our hearts and He knows our true desires. So if, in spite of all our apparent failings, within our heart we have the sincere desire to serve Krishna, He knows that and He will help us. So never give up, never become discouraged, always try to become completely Krishna conscious and you will be successful in the end.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I am a fallen soul.
I had the attraction to Krishna ever since I was a teenager.
I have been trying very hard to gain Krishna conscious and
Repenting heavily for waterer I hv done.
My friend told me to chant 108 rounds daily and increase the chanting
As days go by. Though I tried, to keep up is so difficult…
I have no temple nor a guru here
Hare Krishna Kannan
You can not do anything about the past. Do not worry about that. You can, however, change the future. Chanting 108 rounds is probably not practical for most people these days but be very careful not to miss chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day. That anyone can do without any big endeavor. And also read Srila Prabhupada’s books 1-2 hours per day and strictly follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication]. Then you are surely on the path to success in spiritual life. It may take some time and we have to expect that and be patient. We must know that we are on the path and progressing and be patient and know that the results will come in due course of time.
You have Prabhupada there with you and if you do not have his books get them from http://www.Krishna.org or read them online at http://www.PrabhupadaBooks.com, if you surrender to Srila Prabhupada he will be very happy to be your guru and you can make a little temple with pictures of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna in your room or house. Then you will have both temple and guru with you there…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I think you have read my writing.is carring on material reading(duties) called maya?will i stop my duties and chant mahamantra only? Please recover me from this situation. Hare krishna.
Not that we stop our material duties and chant Hare Krishna. Chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and read Srila Prabhupada’s books 1-2 hours a day and continue with your material responsibilities and everything will become clear. Krishna will guide you from within your heart and Srila Prabhupada will guide you as you read his books….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Can i continue mahamantra kirtan and carry on my reading(academic career) together? How? Please sir write details to me and erase my brightless thinking about this.HARE KRISHNA.
Yes, of course you can. Chanting Hare Krishna can be done in any situation of life. How? Get up every morning before 4:00 AM and offer Mangal-aroti and chant on your beads the Hare Krishna mantra. It is not very difficult???
I am trying to chant mahamantra but every time i fail. I want a gurudev.but nobody is here. Can i continue my reading during this process?
Of course. Read Prabhupada’s books always and chant Hare Krishna always. Just develop some determination and keep chanting Hare Krishna even though it seems you have no attraction for the chanting and no inspiration to chant. If you keep chanting Hare Krishna the attraction and inspiration will come. Don’t stop chanting Hare Krishna and don’t stop reading Prabhupada’s books
Revered Madhudvisa,
I have finally learned how to properly chant the mahamantra and just wanted to say I have never felt such bliss in my life! A complete oneness with the sky, the grass and I feel apart of some greater purpose in this world of Maya. I am curious to ask: I think I read somewhere that Krsna himself said that he has many forms. Is it wrong to view the Lord in another form like, say, jagannath, and continue to chant the mantra? I don’t want to offend Krsna, and want to continue to practice my Bhakti path.
Hare Krishna Miles
Jagannatha is Krishna…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I very much want to come close to shri krishna, shri krishna has helped me many a times in the recent past in wordly situations , i am now doing 11 round on an average ( since a month)of the mahamantra, but my biggest sin is i am still smoking and it has increased.previosly i used to communicate with krishna and get out troubles ,now ever since i started with the mahamantra i seem to have lost the closeness.i dont want to give up a good thing which i have initiated.can you help ?
I WANT KRISHNA BHAKI & harekrishna mantra
Pujaniya Souls –
What is the correct tune of chanting Hare Krishna Mantra? Is there an audio I can listen? I normally can chant 108 times, that is, one round in 10 minutes. Not sure whether it is too fast?
Also, I am having a feeling that I am losing interest in my career and family. I am scared. I have a family that depends on me.
–Avijeet
Hare Krishna Avijeet
One round in 10 minutes is a fairly average time for devotees chanting Hare Krishna, it is not too fast. The main thing is that you are actually pronouncing the whole Hare Krishna mantra completely and hearing all the syllables:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
You have the responsibility to look after your family and you need to make some income to do that so you have to keep that side of your life going also. But it is natural that as you become more attached to Krishna you will become less attached to the career and family. But you can take the family as your service to Krishna and as you are the head of your family naturally they look up to you and respect you so by your good example you can encourage the other members of your family to take to Krishna consciousness also and then you can all serve Krishna together as a family.
Srila Prabhupada wanted that the householders would have a similar morning program in their houses for all the family members as we have in the temples. So if you can interest your family members in cooking for Krishna, in taking part in the Mangal Aroti, worshiping the Deities, etc, in your house, then you can make your house into a temple of Krishna and if your family members are so inclined they may also enjoy serving Krishna in this way.
So a devotee sees like this, that my family members are all devotees of Krishna and it is my responsibility to guide them in such a way that they can awaken their original Krishna consciousness. It is the duty of a father to see that his dependents do not have to take birth in the material world again. So if somehow you can engage your family in Krishna consciousness then they will not be separate from your Krishna conscious activities…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
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…
Hi prabu
Though I dont chant any other mantra other than Hara Krishna I listen to Jagadhguru Kripaluji maharaj’s leactures which has become an addiction ,he seems to quote the scriptures with great authority and Prabupada said that one can accept Jesus Crist as Guru as he is distributing God consciousness so is there any thing wrong in my considering Kripaluji also as Guru.Is it also my maya?He claims he comes from Vyasa-Shuka-Goudyapada-Govindachary-Shankara sampradaya and claims to follow lord chaitanyas philosophy of achintiya bheda abheda could you please guide me out of it if its my maya.
Try and get addicted to hearing Srila Prabhupada’s lectures instead at:
http://www.Krishna.TV
That will be a much better addiction.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
thankyou prabu i have now stopped listening to kripaluji ‘s leactures ,today is my birthday and i am frustrated being alone locked in four walls with no friends and my in ability to follow prabupadas 16 rounds ad four regulative principles
Hare Krishna and I wish you a very auspicious and Krishna conscious birthday.
It is very good news you have stopped listening to Kripalu’s lectures. Now start listening to Srila Prabhupada’s lectures instead. You can listen to them and download them also at:
http://www.Krishna.tv
We can not just give up something, we have to replace it with something better. So if you are habituated to listening to some gurus lectures if you change that habit to listening to Srila Prabhupada’s lectures that will be a very good thing for you.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
Thank you for this information about chanting hare krishna.
I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TOLD THAT THE HARE KRISHNA MANTRA IS ALL YOU NEED.
So if we should only chant hare krishna, does this mean not even any mantras at kirtan LIKE the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra GAYATRI MANTRA? Does this mean also not to do the Hanuman Chalisa either? OR ARE THESE okay?
Hare Krishna Lissa
We should surrender to Srila Prabhupada and follow his instructions and chant the mantras he suggests that we chant. Actually the most important mantras really are Srila Prabhuapda’s pranam mantras, they are not chanted many times, but at least three times a day, and before any kirtan. These mantras are offering our respects and surrender to Srila Prabhupada and we should clearly understand that we can not advance in Krishna consciousness without the mercy of Krishna’s pure devotee. So first we need the mercy of Srila Prabhupada so first we have to chant his pranam mantras. Then the most important mantra is the panca tattva maha mantra: sri-krsna caitanya prabhu nityananda sri advaita gadadhar srivasadi gaura bhakta vrinda. That is the mantra offering respects to Lord Caitanya and His principal expansions and associates. Because Lord Caitanya is patita pavana gaura hari, he is the most munificent avatara. He has come and He is delivering Krishna consciousness, love of God, to everyone without considering if one is qualified to receive it or not. So actually we are not qualified to chant the Hare Krishna mantra but by Lord Caitanya’s mercy we can become qualified.
There are many offenses in regard to chanting the Hare Krishna mantra but Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu does not consider any offenses. So chanting the Panca-Tattva Maha Mantra is very powerful. This also we chant at the beginning of a kirtan for not a very long time generally, maybe 4 or 6 times and many devotees including myself chant one panca-tattva maha mantra before each round of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and we can then remember Lord Caitanya and glorify Him and remember that we need His mercy also to get the mercy of Krishna.
And then of course the Hare Krishna maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
These are the essential matras and you need all of them and you don’t really need anything else. But as Gaudiya Vaisnavas we are very attached to the songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas, particularly the ones that Srila Prabhupada sings and the ones he has given us to sing. So I like very much chanting these bhajans. And of course all the verses of Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, etc, they are all mantras and are liked and chanted by the Vaisnavas.
So the key to spiritual advancement is to please Krishna’s pure devotee. So we have to please Prabhupada, that is our key to spiritual success. So it is better to chant the mantras that he recommends that we should chant…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna!
Thank you for telling me about the mantras. I will do the Srila Prabhupada Pranati the Panca-tattva Maha-mantra and the Hare Krsna Maha-mantra everyday.
I am learning so much from your writings. I am very much looking forward to your next writing.
Dear friend we come close to Krishna when we do more and more selfless services and improving our character.
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
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
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. I do not have a spiritual master. Should I chant hare krishna anyway, and will that be like surrendering to krishna even with out a guru?
Hare Krishna Lisa
If you are chanting Hare Krishna you have a guru because somehow you are chanting Hare Krishna and you got that instruction from your guru. So that guru that you have got this instruction to chant Hare Krishna from is Srila Prabhupada either directly or via one of his followers. So Prabhupada is your guru, don’t worry, you have a guru and please chant Hare Krishna very sincerely and you will get the full benefit from this chanting of Hare Krishna.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
If Prabhupada is my guru, how can that be if I never met him?
I am a harmonium player and attend regular kirtan that is not facilitated by devotees. I have been asked to lead a kirtan for the group. it okay to lead the Maha Mantra at Kirtan, even though I am not a pure devotee?
Hare Krishna Lissa
There is no point really leading kirtan unless we are at least strictly following the four regulative principles and ourselves chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. Otherwise if we do not have at least this much purity ourselves our kirtans will not be of any benefit to others. So the idea is that we have to be at least on the path of pure devotional service. We may not be actually pure devotees, that does not matter, but if we have surrendered to Srila Prabhupada and we are sincerely following his instructions and actually strictly following the four regulative principles and ourselves chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily then we can lead kirtan and our kirtans will actually have the spiritual quality and potency that will be able to awaken the dormant Krishna consciousness in the hearts of the hearers.
It is actually forbidden for us to hear the chanting of the non-devotees. Because when a non-devotee chants Hare Krishna hearing that chanting has poisonous effects. If someone is just chanting Hare Krishna as a way to make money for example, he has made a bhajan band and he has a sweet voice, and he is chanting Hare Krishna as a living, but his personal life is full of sinful activities, then his chanting is poison. So we have to be careful not to hear the chanting of non-devotees and we have to be careful to maintain the devotional standards set by Srila Prabhupada ourselves to ensure that we are not non-devotees ourselves….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa,
I understand about pure devotees leading kirtan, but here are no devotees leading any kirtans anywhere around here. So now what?
You can lead the kirtan yourself. Pure devotee is not a very wonderful thing. One may not be very advanced but if we have a sincere desire to surrender to and serve Srila Prabhupada and we have no desire for getting and sort of sense gratification out of Krishna consciousness and if we are following the four regulative principles and chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily on our beads then we can lead the kirtan and that will be very nice.
Prabhupada can not be your guru if you do not meet him obviously. But you can meet him, he is living in his books and his followers are living with him. So you have to actually realize this and actually meet Srila Prabhupada and realize that he is living and you can talk to him and he can talk to you. Otherwise how can you accept him as your guru?
HARE KRISHNA
THANK YOU SO MUCH I UNDERSTAND.