<>_<>'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna' <>_<>

 

 

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The Practice of Chanting the Holy Name,The Transcendental Effects of the Holy Name  

 

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare 

 

Chant or pray continously if you can but as a minimum chant the mantra above 3 times with reverence and devotion, protecting the mind from distraction of trivial or directionless thought.

 

 

Since the holy name is spiritual, it must be received from spiritual sources. The holy name-and, ultimately, all spiritual wisdom—is preserved and transmitted by generation after generation of realized souls comprising a disciplic succession of spiritual teachers. The mantra, the holy name, which is the seed of spiritual devotion, is planted within the heart of the sincere disciple by the spiritual master at the time of formal spiritual initiation. When uttered in devotion by a fully realized guru, the holy name has great efficacy upon the hearer, who achieves immediate benefit. Having received the holy name from the lips of a spiritual master, the student embarks upon the path of daily chanting, being careful to pronounce the mantra clearly and distinctly and to chant loudly enough to hear himself. The chanter must absorb his consciousness deeply within the divine sound of the mantra, vigilantly protecting the mind from the distraction of trivial or directionless thought.

 

The chanting of the holy name is not, however, a mechanical process depending merely upon contemplative prowess. It is a devotional art, a form of prayer, and thus one must chant with reverence and devotion. The Hare Krishna mantra is a prayer for protection and deliverance, a prayer to the Lord for His divine presence and for the opportunity to serve Him. Chanting is compared to the helpless cry of a child for its mother. It is a prayer from the core of the repentant heart. It is chanted, therefore, in humility.

 

 Sri chaitanya described the quintessential importance of chanting with the mood of humility. He said, "One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor but is always prepared to give all respect to others, can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord."

 he will achieve the ultimate goal of life, the lotus feet of Sri Krishna."

 

When and where is chanting appropriate? There is no restriction as to the appropriate time or place for chanting the holy name. The devotee is advised to chant always and everywhere. The process of God realization is not a mere liturgical or social formality to be restricted to circumscribed times and places. It is a quest that should underlie and pervade all one's activities. In Bhagavad-gita, Krishna describes that great souls (mahatmas) constantly chant His glories (satatam kirtayanto mam). The final line of Sri chaitanya's prayer mentioned above recommends that one chant the holy name continuously (kirtaniyah sada harih). without stopping."

 

To experience the full effects of the holy name, one must attain the stage of offenseless chanting. According to Vaishnava scripture, there are three progressive stages in the development of chanting: the offensive stage (nama- aparadha), the stage of lessening offenses (namabhasa), and the offenseless, pure stage. A neophyte commits offenses against the holy name. , there are ten offenses, involving misuse of or mundane misconceptions about the holy name and the scriptures and Saints who embody and teach the holy name. One who remains at the offensive stage does not attain the ultimate goal of chanting, love of God. , "If one chants the exalted holy name of the Lord again and again and yet his love for the Supreme Lord does not develop and tears do not appear in his eyes, it is evident that because of his offenses in chanting, the seed of the holy name of Krishna does not sprout." In fact, without giving up the offenses in chanting, one does not develop a spontaneous attachment for chanting.

 

How can one overcome offenses and develop pure chanting? By more chanting. In his commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata-Purana), Srila Vishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura quotes averse from Padma Purana stating that even if in the beginning one chants the Hare Krishna mantra with offenses, one can become free from such offenses by repeated chanting. By the immense purificatory power of the holy name, constant chanting frees one from offenses to the holy name and gradually elevates one to the transcendental platform of pure chanting, by which one can attain pure love of God. Elsewhere it is recommended that one can also overcome offenses by realizing that the holy name is nondifferent from the Lord, by chanting in humility, and by developing an attitude of service to the Lord.

 

After the offensive stage, as one's offenses cease, one approaches the platform of pure chanting. Finally, with offenseless chanting, one becomes completely enlightened and liberated, and one's dormant love of God fully awakens. In that stage, one actually enters the kingdom of God, although physically he may apparently be within the material world.

The holy name exerts the deepest and most profound influence upon those who invoke it in a mood of reverential devotion.

First, the holy name eradicates the results of sins committed both in the present and in prior lifetimes. According to the law of karma, a human being is responsible for the sinful acts he performs and must suffer for them ("As ye sow, so shall ye reap"). Deeply enmeshed in a complex web of material actions and their reactions, one must suffer the duality of pleasure and pain, lifetime after lifetime. The holy name, however, eradicates all reactions to past sins, both those manifesting themselves at present and those destined to manifest themselves in the future. Simply by chanting the holy name, one attracts the attention of the Supreme Lord, who therefore considers, "Because this person has chanted My holy name, My duty is to give him protection." The power of the holy name to absolve sins is declared emphatically in the scriptures. The Garuda Purana tells us, "If one chants the holy name of the Lord, even in helplessness or without desiring to do so, all the reactions of his sinful life depart,.  " Says the Brihad-vishnu Purana, "Simply by chanting the name of Han, a sinful man can counteract the reactions to more sins than he is able to commit." In the Vishnu-dharmottara we read, "This word krishna is so auspicious that anyone who chants this holy name rids himself immediately of the reactions of sinful activities from many, many births." But for the chanting of the holy name to exert such a powerful purifying effect, the devotee must chant the holy name in purity, without offense. Having ceased to indulge in sinful actions, he must live a pure and holy life.

By chanting the holy name in purity and devotion throughout his life, the devotee returns to Krishna at the time of death. Lord Krishna explains in Bhagavad-gita,

Whoever, at the time of death, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt. Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail… . He who meditates on Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated from the path, … is sure to reach Me.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare 

 

Thus by chanting at the time of leaving the material body, the devotee who has practiced krishna-smarana, remembrance of Krishna, by chanting Krishna's holy names throughout his life can escape the painful cycle of birth and death and return to Krishna in the spiritual realm (Vaikuntha) to render Him intimate, ecstatic. loving service.

 

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