Vageesh Express

November 2006 Edition

Vedic Bytes

Mantras & Religion

Mantras Continued….

Mantras in Different Religions:

This month, we continue with the Mantras. This time we discuss about ‘Hare Krishna’ Mantra.

Chanting Hare Krishna

Chanting the transcendental invocation Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is the sublime method for reviving our transcendental consciousness, or 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 the material atmosphere, called maya, or illusion. 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 becoming ever more dependent on her. This illusory struggle against material nature can be stopped at once by revival of our eternal 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 and chant the transcendental vibration Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, this consciousness is revived.

This simplest method of meditation is recommended by learned authorities for this age. By practical experience also, one can perceive that by chanting this maha-mantra, or the Great Chant for Deliverance, one at once feels 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 engages 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, one is situated on the transcendental plane. The chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is directly enacted from this 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 of any mental speculation or intellectual adjustment for chanting this maha-mantra. It springs automatically from the spiritual platform, and thus anyone can take part in the chanting without any previous qualification and dance in ecstasy. 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 person is very quickly raised to the spiritual platform. When the mantra is chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord, it has the greatest effect on hearers, and therefore 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, just as one would avoid milk touched by the lips of a serpent because it has poisonous effects.

The word Hara is a form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words Krishna and Rama (which mean "the highest pleasure eternal") are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Hara is the supreme pleasure energy of the Lord, and when addressed as Hare in the vocative, She helps us to reach the Supreme Lord.

The material energy, called maya, is also one of the multienergies of the Lord, and we, the living entities, are the marginal energy of the Lord. The living entities are described as superior to the material energy. When this superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an incompatible situation arises, but when the superior marginal energy is in contact with the spiritual energy, Hara, the living entity is established in his happy, normal condition.

These three words, namely Hare, Krishna, and Rama, are the transcendental seeds of the maha-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His internal energy Hara to 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.

Why Chant Hare Krishna?

Each reason is fully upheld by evidence from Vedic writings like Bhagavad-gita, the Upanisads, and the Puranas.

· Chanting Hare Krishna awakens love of God.

· Chanting Hare Krishna brings liberation as a side benefit along the way.

· When you chant Hare Krishna, you automatically develop knowledge and detachment.

· Chanting Hare Krishna gets you out of the endless cycle of birth and death.

· It is the most effective means of self-realization in the present Age of Quarrel. Nothing else works nearly as well.

· Chanting Hare Krishna cleanses the heart of all illusions and misunderstandings.

· By chanting Hare Krishna, you become free from all anxieties.

· Chanting Hare Krishna brings you to self-realization—and shows you how to act as a self-realized soul.

· It keeps you ever mindful of Krishna, the reservoir of pleasure.

· There are no hard and fast rules for chanting. You can chant anywhere, any time, under any circumstances.

· Krishna Himself is fully present in the transcendental sound of His name. And the more you chant, the more you realize it.

· All other Vedic mantras are included in the chanting of Hare Krishna. So just by chanting this mantra, you get the benefit of all others.

· Chanting Hare Krishna purifies not only you but every living entity around you. Whoever hears the chanting gets spiritual benefit.

· A person who chants Hare Krishna develops all good qualities.

· You can chant Hare Krishna softly for personal meditation or loudly with your family or friends. Both ways work.

· Srila Prabhupada chanted Hare Krishna, and so did great souls in the past. So why not you?

· It’s free. Chanting Hare Krishna never costs you money.

· Chanting Hare Krishna brings the highest states of ecstasy.

· There are no previous qualifications needed for chanting Hare Krishna. Young or old, anyone can chant—from any race, any religion, or any country of the world.

· Even if you don’t understand the language of the mantra, it works anyway.

· Chanting Hare Krishna brings relief from all miseries.

· Chanting Hare Krishna is easy. When the best way is also the easiest, why make life hard for yourself?

· Chanting Hare Krishna invokes spiritual peace—for you and for those around you.

· When you chant Hare Krishna, Krishna Himself becomes pleased.

· When you chant Hare Krishna, Krishna dances on your tongue.

· By chanting Hare Krishna you can return to Krishna’s world, the eternal abode of full happiness and knowledge.

· Chanting Hare Krishna frees you from the reactions of all past karma. Chanting Krishna’s name even once, purely and sincerely, can free you from the reactions of more karma than you could possibly incur.

· Chanting Hare Krishna counteracts the sinful atmosphere of Kali-yuga, the present Age of Hypocrisy and Quarrel.

· By chanting Hare Krishna you can relish at every step the full nectar that’s the real thirst of the soul.

· The more you chant Hare Krishna, the closer to God you get.

If you look through all the Vedic scriptures, you’ll find nothing higher than the chanting of Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

References:

1. http://www.krishna.com/main.php?id=316

2. Vedic Samhitas and Brahmanas by Vishal Agarwal

3. http://www.answers.com/topic/mantra?method=22

4. http://www.jswami.info/WhyChant

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