What
is a Mantra?"Mananaat traayate iti mantrah" -That which uplifts by
constant repetition is a Mantra. There are some many different explanations and
meaning for this word and people use them so much interchangeably that I have
decided to actually give up trying to explain it. Everyone knows, what a Mantra
is - right from Saints, Sadhus to the today's corporate World. I would rather
try to give my experiences of Mantras and about the Hare Krishna Maha
(Greatest) Mantra.
In
Hinduism and other religions, there are so many mantras that are chanted by the
aspiring spiritualists.A Mantra consists of a sacred Syllable when chanted by a
practitioner produces a particular result for the practitioner. I remember my
father telling me this incident, that his uncle was a ardent worshiper of
Goddess Durga and he somehow got a mantra from someone and started worshiping
Durga. After a month or so, he literally became mad, unable to remember or
recognize anyone, anything.Apparently, he while doing the mantra, he had
pronounced the Bija akshrras - the seed syllable incorrectly.It took the family
members a lot of pain and suffering to make him normal.He was taken to few
Sadhus and finally one Sadhu gave him, Holy water to drink.After taking it for
two weeks, he became normal.When, he was asked about, the last thing he
remembered - my fathers uncle told an interesting experience.He had a dream, in
which he saw a gigantic form of Durga. The goddess called him to come near and
he was sacred and did not dare to go near her.And, she was angry and said"
go away".And, then he lost his consciousness.
In
Srimad Bhagavatham, we find an example of incorrect chanting of this Mantra,
which produced the opposite result.As explained by Srila Prabhupad "There
was some defect in Tvastā's chanting of the mantra because he chanted it long
instead of short, and therefore the meaning changed. Tvastā intended to chant
the word indra-śatro, meaning, "O enemy of Indra." In this mantra,
the word indra is in the possessive case (sasthī), and the word indra-śatro is
called a tat-purusa compound (tatpurusa-samāsa). Unfortunately, instead of
chanting the mantra short, Tvastā chanted it long, and its meaning changed from
"the enemy of Indra" to "Indra, who is an enemy."
Consequently instead of an enemy of Indra's, there emerged the body of
Vrtrāsura, of whom Indra was the enemy."(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Canto 6,Chapter
9: Appearance of the Demon Vrtrāsura).
Of
course, the Mantras are sometimes handy for example, the Snake charming ones.
Sometime ago, about 20 yrs - my Grandfathers Home in a small village surrounded
by fields was becoming an abode for snakes.Once,when one of my uncle was
sleeping a snake dropped from the ceiling and fell into a bed.Similarly there
are snakes everywhere in the house.They contacted a local snake charmer and he
gave them some sand ( which was charmed by his mantra) and the sand was
sprinkled all over the house.Since, that day the snakes have stopped
frequenting rooms and ceilings in the house.Hmm. Is it due to Mantra or
something else.? It is said that these snake charmers also have to undergo a
rigid methods of practicing the mantras, following particular rules and
regulations etc.
And
one time in the same place, I must have been about 11 or 12 years old, I was
building houses with mud.And, mixing the mud ready to plaster the walls,that I
have built.And, something bit in my index finger.Initially, I thought that it
is just a ant or something. But when the
pain started to spread to my whole palm, hand, arms, I know something is
wrong.I immediately lifted moved the brick from the place where I was bitten
and found a red scorpion.I went running and told the elders that I had been
bitten by a scorpion.The pain was unbearable. Immediately Raya Narsadu - our head servant was called to
apply the mantra for the bite.So, that's it.I never went to a Doctor.Again, you
might say, all scorpions are not dangerous, the pain goes by itself etc.I don't
know, but the Mantra worked for me.I was alright within an hour.
Thus,
we can understand that Chanting any mantra or a mantra is not a simple,
straight forward method and has many implications that need to be taken into
account.
Whereas,
in chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra - In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (8.23.16) it is
said:
mantratas
tantratash chidram, desha-kalarha-vastutah;
sarvam
karoti nishchidram, anusankirtanam tava.
“There
may be discrepancies in pronouncing the mantras and observing the regulative
principles, and, moreover, there may be discrepancies in regard to time, place,
person and paraphernalia. But when the Hare Krishna maha-mantra is chanted,
everything becomes faultless”
This
is further confirmed by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself in Sri Siksastakam
Text 2
namnam
akari bahudha nija-sarva-shaktis
tatrarpita
niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrishi
tava kripa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam
idrisham ihajani nanuragaha
O
my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and
thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Krishna and Govinda. In these
transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There
are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of
kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I am so
unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.
Thus,
I feel that for this, age, time, place and circumstances, Chanting of the Hare
Krishna Maha Mantra is the most suitable and sublime.
So
what does, this Hare Krishna Mantra means and what it can do for us is
beautifully explained below by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada, founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness
"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."
Just to create a right mood for chanting the Hare Krishna
Mantra, I have added some photos from my last visit to the Holy Dham, Vrindavan
(India).The first one is my son riding on a bicycle Rickshaw, the second one is
a picture taken in one of the Holy Kund (Bathing Places) with name of "Sri
Radha" painted on the walls, third one is a part of sacred Govardhan Hill.
The
manvantara incarnation chastises all the miscreant rulers of different planets
and disseminates the transcendental glories of the Lord. Manu creates
scriptural regulations for the salvation of the conditioned souls, who come to
the material world for material enjoyment. The Lord is so kind that any soul
who wants to enjoy in this material world is given full facility for enjoyment,
and at the same time he is shown the path of salvation. The Manus compiled the
Manu-samhita. The word samhita means Vedic knowledge, and manu indicates that
this knowledge is given by Manu.
In
Hinduism and other religions, there are so many mantras that are chanted by the
aspiring spiritualists.A Mantra consists of a sacred Syllable when chanted by a
practitioner produces a particular result for the practitioner. I remember my
father telling me this incident, that his uncle was a ardent worshiper of
Goddess Durga and he somehow got a mantra from someone and started worshiping
Durga. After a month or so, he literally became mad, unable to remember or
recognize anyone, anything.Apparently, he while doing the mantra, he had
pronounced the Bija akshrras - the seed syllable incorrectly.It took the family
members a lot of pain and suffering to make him normal.He was taken to few
Sadhus and finally one Sadhu gave him, Holy water to drink.After taking it for
two weeks, he became normal.When, he was asked about, the last thing he
remembered - my fathers uncle told an interesting experience.He had a dream, in
which he saw a gigantic form of Durga. The goddess called him to come near and
he was sacred and did not dare to go near her.And, she was angry and said"
go away".And, then he lost his consciousness.
