The Maha-mantra

[Arjuna Haridas 0]

I have 2 discussion questions about the Maha-mantra.

 

1) I have read that it goes "Hare Rama" and then "Hare Krishna", but when I see people chanting it, I hear it backwards (they start with "Krishna" and end with "Rama"). Do you think it's OK?

 

2) What is your opinion on the meaning of the Maha-mantra?

 

 

My answers will probably be different than your's. However, here are my answers:

 

1) I think it's OK because I've heard that Chaitanya taught the mantra this way in order to not break the Shashtras (which state that non-Brahmins can't recite Scripture). Now I think it's OK to chant it both ways, because in both ways they mean the same.

 

2) I think that the meaning of the Maha-mantra is "O Krishna, remove my sorrows, my failures, and my pains. O Rama, remove my sorrows, my failures, and my pains". I think this because "Hare" is from "Haran", which means to remove. "Hari" (The Remover, another Name for Lord Vishnu) can also be another meaning for "Hare". If this is so, then you are chanting 3 Names of Vishnu in the mantra. This would also agree with Scripture where it says

 

"O ye who wish to gain realization of the Supreme Truth, utter the Name of Vishnu at least once in the steadfast faith that it will lead you to such realization" (Rig Veda V.I.15b.3)

 

These are my opinions. What are your's?

[Guruvani 0]

 

 

2) I think that the meaning of the Maha-mantra is "O Krishna, remove my sorrows, my failures, and my pains. O Rama, remove my sorrows, my failures, and my pains".

 

These are my opinions. What are your's?

 

The great pure devotees and acharyas have told that we should not ask for the removal of misery or pain, but that we only pray to be allowed to perform some devotional service and never forget Krishna under any circumstance.

 

So many great devotees have suffered for their dedication to Lord Krishna, but they never asked for relief from the misery.

 

We don't need to ask for relief of misery.

 

Misery goes away automatically when we practice pure devotional service.

 

Still, as an example to the world, the great devotees accept suffering to teach us that we should serve even if we are in a suffering condition.

 

We only ask for service......... nothing else.

 

We don't ask for relief of misery or liberation to Goloka.

The only pure prayer is for service alone and the chance to remember Krishna.

[Arjuna Haridas 0]

 

The great pure devotees and acharyas have told that we should not ask for the removal of misery or pain...

 

I see. In that case, I would say that the meaning of the Maha-mantra is that you are chanting 3 of Vishnu's Names. What is your belief on the meaning of it?

[Guruvani 0]

 

I see. In that case, I would say that the meaning of the Maha-mantra is that you are chanting 3 of Vishnu's Names. What is your belief on the meaning of it?

The Maha-mantra is not a prayer as much as it is simply a glorification of the Lord.

By glorifying Krishna and his internal energy we bring our consciousness into focus on the absolute.

 

When we focus on the absolute, then all the relative considerations are automatically satisified.

 

If we glorify Lord Krishna then we can attract his attention to our plight.

If we can get the attention of Krishna, then he will take care of everything else.

 

We only pray for service to Krishna.

 

Krishna takes care of all the small stuff even without our asking.

He knows what we need better than we do.

 

Call out the name of Krishna and get his attention!

If we can get the attention of Krishna then all our needs are fulfilled automatically.

 

The chanting is the dovetailing of the individual consciousness into the absolute supreme consciousness.

 

All relative factors are satisfied when we dovetail into the absolute.

[gHari 0]

Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Madhya 25.64:

 

<center>

"haraye namaH kRSNa yAdavAya namaH

gopAla govinda rAma zrI-madhusUdana"

</center>

haraye--unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; namaH--obeisances; kRSNa--Lord KRSNa; yAdavAya--to the descendant of the Yadu family; namaH--obeisances; gopAla--GopAla; govinda--Govinda; rAma--RAma; zrI-madhusUdana--SrI MadhusUdana.

They chanted, "Haraye namaH kRSNa yAdavAya namaH, gopAla govinda rAma zrI-madhusUdana."

PURPORT

 

This is another way of chanting the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra. The meaning is as follows: "I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, KRSNa. He is the descendant of the Yadu family. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto GopAla, Govinda, RAma and SrI MadhusUdana."

 

 

 

In the Teachings of Lord Kapila (The Son of Devahuti), Srila Prabhupada writes about the mahamantra:

 

Caitanya MahAprabhu teaches us that we should only beg God for His service life after life. This is the actual meaning of the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra. When we are chanting Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma, RAma, Hare Hare, we are actually addressing God and His energy, HarA. HarA is KRSNa's internal potency, SrImatI RAdhArANI or LakSmI. Jaya rAdhe! This is daivI prakRti, and the devotees take shelter of the daivI prakRti, SrImatI RAdhArANI. Thus the VaiSNavas worship RAdhA-KRSNa, LakSmI-NArAyaNa and SItA-RAma. In the beginning of the Hare KRSNa mahA-mantra we first address the internal energy of KRSNa, Hare. Thus we say, "O RAdhArANI! O Hare! O energy of the Lord!" When we address someone in this way, he usually says, "Yes, what do you want?" The answer is, "Please engage me in Your service." This should be our prayer.

 

 

We should not say, "O energy of the Lord, O KRSNa, please give me money. Please give me a beautiful wife. Please give me many followers. Please give me some prestigious position. Please give me the presidency." These are all material hankerings, which should be avoided. Lord Buddha advocated that we give up all material desires. It is not possible to become desireless, but it is possible to give up material desires. It is the nature of the living entity to desire; it is not possible to be desireless. If one is desireless, he is dead. Desirelessness means purifying one's desire, and desire is purified when we only desire the service of KRSNa.

 

 

Lord Caitanya MahAprabhu teaches:

 

<center>

 

na dhanaM na janaM na sundarIM

 

kavitAM vA jagad-Iza kAmaye

 

mama janmani janmanIzvare

 

bhavatAd bhaktir ahaitukI tvayi

 

[Cc. Antya 20.29, SikSASTaka 4]

 

</center>

 

"O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth." (SikSASTaka 4) He requests Lord KRSNa's service birth after birth. It is not that He is seeking salvation; rather, He simply wants to serve KRSNa one life after another.

 

 

The devotees are not anxious to merge into the existence of the Supreme. The Buddhist philosophy advocates nirvANa, the negation of all material desires. Buddha does not offer more than this. SaGkarAcArya gives a little more, saying that we should become desireless in this material world and then enter into the Brahman effulgence. This is called brahma-nirvANa.

 

 

According to the VaiSNava philosophy, however, we should negate material desires and be situated on the Brahman platform, but in addition we should engage in the devotional service of the Lord. This is called bhakti. MAyAvAdI philosophers cannot understand this, but KRSNa says that this devotional service is on the transcendental platform.

 

[gHari 0]

In this short essay, recorded on his first LP in late 1966, SrIla PrabhupAda illuminates the inner meaning of the Hare KRSNa mantra:

 

 

The transcendental vibration established by the chanting of Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare is the sublime method for reviving our transcendental consciousness. As living spiritual souls, we are all originally KRSNa conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now adulterated by the material atmosphere. The material atmosphere, in which we are now living, is called mAyA, or illusion. MAyA means "that which is not." And what is this illusion? The illusion is that we are all trying to be lords of material nature, while actually we are under the grip of her stringent laws.

 

 

When a servant artificially tries to imitate the all-powerful master, he is said to be in illusion. We are trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although we are engaged in a hard struggle to conquer nature, we are ever more dependent on her. This illusory struggle against material nature can be stopped at once by revival of our eternal KRSNa consciousness.

 

 

Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare is the transcendental process for reviving this original, pure consciousness. By chanting this transcendental vibration, we can cleanse away all misgivings within our hearts. The basic principle of all such misgivings is the false consciousness that I am the lord of all I survey.

 

 

KRSNa consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original, natural energy of the living entity. When we hear this transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. This simplest method of meditation is recommended for this age. By practical experience also, one can perceive that by chanting this mahA-mantra, or the Great Chanting for Deliverance, one can at once feel a transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual stratum.

 

 

In the material concept of life we are busy in the matter of sense gratification, as if we were in the lower, animal stage. A little elevated from this status of sense gratification, one is engaged in mental speculation for the purpose of getting out of the material clutches. A little elevated from this speculative status, when one is intelligent enough, one tries to find out the supreme cause of all causes--within and without. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding, surpassing the stages of sense, mind, and intelligence, he is then on the transcendental plane.

 

 

This chanting of the Hare KRSNa mantra is enacted from the spiritual platform, and thus this sound vibration surpasses all lower strata of consciousness--namely sensual, mental, and intellectual. There is no need, therefore, to understand the language of the mantra, nor is there any need for mental speculation nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this mahA-mantra. It is automatic, from the spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in the chanting without any previous qualification. In a more advanced stage, of course, one is not expected to commit offenses on the grounds of spiritual understanding.

 

 

In the beginning, there may not be the presence of all transcendental ecstasies, which are eight in number. These are: (1) being stopped as though dumb, (2) perspiration, (3) standing up of hairs on the body, (4) dislocation of voice, (5) trembling, (6) fading of the body, (7) crying in ecstasy, and (8) trance. But there is no doubt that chanting for a while takes one immediately to the spiritual platform, and one shows the first symptom of this in the urge to dance along with the chanting of the mantra. We have seen this practically.

 

 

Even a child can take part in the chanting and dancing. Of course, for one who is too entangled in material life, it takes a little more time to come to the standard point, but even such a materially engrossed man is raised to the spiritual platform very quickly. When the mantra is chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord in love, it has the greatest efficacy on hearers, and as such this chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord, so that immediate effects can be achieved. As far as possible, chanting from the lips of nondevotees should be avoided. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects.

 

 

The word HarA is the form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words KRSNa and RAma are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Both KRSNa and RAma mean "the supreme pleasure," and HarA is the supreme pleasure energy of the Lord, changed to Hare in the vocative. The supreme pleasure energy of the Lord helps us to reach the Lord.

 

 

The material energy, called mAyA, is also one of the multienergies of the Lord. And we, the living entities, are also the energy, marginal energy, of the Lord. The living entities are described as superior to material energy. When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an incompatible situation arises; but when the superior marginal energy is in contact with the superior energy, HarA, it is established in its happy, normal condition.

 

 

These three words, namely Hare, KRSNa, and RAma, are the transcendental seeds of the mahA-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His energy, to give protection to the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mother's presence. Mother HarA helps the devotee achieve the Lord Father's grace, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely.

 

 

No other means of spiritual realization is as effective in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy as the chanting of the mahA-mantra: Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare.

 

[gauragopala dasa 0]

 

In this short essay, recorded on his first LP in late 1966, SrIla PrabhupAda illuminates the inner meaning of the Hare KRSNa mantra:

 

The transcendental vibration established by the chanting of Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare is the sublime method for reviving our transcendental consciousness. As living spiritual souls, we are all originally KRSNa conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now adulterated by the material atmosphere. The material atmosphere, in which we are now living, is called mAyA, or illusion. MAyA means "that which is not." And what is this illusion? The illusion is that we are all trying to be lords of material nature, while actually we are under the grip of her stringent laws.

 

 

When a servant artificially tries to imitate the all-powerful master, he is said to be in illusion. We are trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although we are engaged in a hard struggle to conquer nature, we are ever more dependent on her. This illusory struggle against material nature can be stopped at once by revival of our eternal KRSNa consciousness.

 

 

Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare is the transcendental process for reviving this original, pure consciousness. By chanting this transcendental vibration, we can cleanse away all misgivings within our hearts. The basic principle of all such misgivings is the false consciousness that I am the lord of all I survey.

 

 

KRSNa consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original, natural energy of the living entity. When we hear this transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. This simplest method of meditation is recommended for this age. By practical experience also, one can perceive that by chanting this mahA-mantra, or the Great Chanting for Deliverance, one can at once feel a transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual stratum.

 

 

In the material concept of life we are busy in the matter of sense gratification, as if we were in the lower, animal stage. A little elevated from this status of sense gratification, one is engaged in mental speculation for the purpose of getting out of the material clutches. A little elevated from this speculative status, when one is intelligent enough, one tries to find out the supreme cause of all causes--within and without. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding, surpassing the stages of sense, mind, and intelligence, he is then on the transcendental plane.

 

 

This chanting of the Hare KRSNa mantra is enacted from the spiritual platform, and thus this sound vibration surpasses all lower strata of consciousness--namely sensual, mental, and intellectual. There is no need, therefore, to understand the language of the mantra, nor is there any need for mental speculation nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this mahA-mantra. It is automatic, from the spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in the chanting without any previous qualification. In a more advanced stage, of course, one is not expected to commit offenses on the grounds of spiritual understanding.

 

 

In the beginning, there may not be the presence of all transcendental ecstasies, which are eight in number. These are: (1) being stopped as though dumb, (2) perspiration, (3) standing up of hairs on the body, (4) dislocation of voice, (5) trembling, (6) fading of the body, (7) crying in ecstasy, and (8) trance. But there is no doubt that chanting for a while takes one immediately to the spiritual platform, and one shows the first symptom of this in the urge to dance along with the chanting of the mantra. We have seen this practically.

 

 

Even a child can take part in the chanting and dancing. Of course, for one who is too entangled in material life, it takes a little more time to come to the standard point, but even such a materially engrossed man is raised to the spiritual platform very quickly. When the mantra is chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord in love, it has the greatest efficacy on hearers, and as such this chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord, so that immediate effects can be achieved. As far as possible, chanting from the lips of nondevotees should be avoided. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects.

 

 

The word HarA is the form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words KRSNa and RAma are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Both KRSNa and RAma mean "the supreme pleasure," and HarA is the supreme pleasure energy of the Lord, changed to Hare in the vocative. The supreme pleasure energy of the Lord helps us to reach the Lord.

 

 

The material energy, called mAyA, is also one of the multienergies of the Lord. And we, the living entities, are also the energy, marginal energy, of the Lord. The living entities are described as superior to material energy. When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an incompatible situation arises; but when the superior marginal energy is in contact with the superior energy, HarA, it is established in its happy, normal condition.

 

 

These three words, namely Hare, KRSNa, and RAma, are the transcendental seeds of the mahA-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His energy, to give protection to the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mother's presence. Mother HarA helps the devotee achieve the Lord Father's grace, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely.

 

 

No other means of spiritual realization is as effective in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy as the chanting of the mahA-mantra: Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare.

 

 

What a wonderful post!

[gHari 0]

 

What a wonderful post!

Yes, Prabhupada is our most gifted poster without doubt.

[HareRama123 0]

This is my humble opinion:

 

All the scriptures speak about the Divine Name of God being the only recourse for every soul in this Kali Yuga:

 

kalau kalmasha chittaanaam paapadravyopa jiivinaam|

vidhikriya vihIInaanaam gatir govinda kiirtanam ||

 

harer naamaiva naamaiva naamaiva mama jiivanam |

kalau naastyeva naastyeva naastyeva gatir anyata||

 

kaler dosha nidhe rajan asti hyeko mahanguna: |

kirtanaad eva krishnasya mukta-sanga: param vrajaet ||

 

naama sankiirtanam yasya sarva paapa pranaasanam|

pranaamo dukha samana: tam namaami harim param ||

 

Srimad Bhagavatam speaks purely about Bhagavan Nama as the easiest path to attaining the lord.

 

The Upanishads (Kali Santarana Upanishad) points us to those specific Divine Names of God that will help us cross this ocean of Samsara and enjoy the union of the Lord in this lifetime itself - and that is verily the Mahamantra.

 

The order is not important. by continuously chanting it, we get the order that we require.

 

By chanting the Mahamantra, we show our allegience to Krishna and surrender unto His Holy feet, showing our incapacity to tear apart this veil of Maya and transcend the false coverings to realize the True Self.

Only through His grace can we reach that divine state of Bliss.

And the easiest way to invoke His grace is by chanting the Mahamantra.