If one is simply interested in destroying sinful reactions and fulfilling material desires then the mantra is effective even when chanted offensively. Those who want to taste Krishna Prema should be wary of all offenses especially the first, which can destroy a person’s spiritual progress.
kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ
dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt
“Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Deity of the Lord can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the name of Lord Hari”. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 12.3.52)1.
Other Purāṇas emphatically proclaim:
harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
“In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.”Nārada-purāṇa (1.41.115) and Bṛhan-nāradīya-purāṇa (38.126)2
The holy name, mantra and mahā-mantra
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī (1874-1937), the guru of Bhaktivedānta Swami, explains:
“That very teaching that Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave to the world, we received from our guru in the form of mantra. What our guru gave us is not an ordinary mantra, but a mahā-mantra. That which delivers one from anxiety and excessive intellectual reasoning is called mantra. Ordinary mantras are in the dative case and contain such words as “namaḥ”, “svāhā” or “svadhā” etc., while mahā-mantra is in the vocative case. The holy name of the Lord is mahā-mantra . The holy name contains such potency that cannot be found in any other object whatsoever.”
Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is thus simultaneously “nāma” (God's name) and “mantra.” .
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 7.73-74) succinctly explains why the holy name is more important than any mantra:
kṛṣṇa-mantra haite habe saṁsāra-mocana
kṛṣṇa-nāma haite pābe kṛṣṇera caraṇa
“By chanting the kṛṣṇa-mantra one can obtain freedom from material existence. By chanting Kṛṣṇa's names one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.
Although there is no difference between any forms of Viṣṇu (and thus Hari, Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu are ontologically the same Supreme God), there is a special potency in the name of Kṛṣṇa is the original form of God (svayaṁ-bhagavān), the source of all other Viṣṇu forms. Several Purāṇas confirm this:
nāmnāṁ mukhyatamaṁ nāma kṛṣṇākhyaṁ me parantapa12
[Kṛṣṇa speaking to Arjuna]: “O afflicter of enemies, the chief of all names is that of Kṛṣṇa.”
In the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa it is stated:
sahasra-nāmnāṁ puṇyānāṁ trir āvṛttyā tu yat phalam
ekāvṛttyā tu kṛṣṇasya nāmaikaṁ tat prayacchati13
“The result of chanting a thousand names of Viṣṇu three times is attained by chanting one name of Kṛṣṇa only once.” (2.36.19)
The reason behind this excellence of Kṛṣṇa's names is explained in the Padma Purāṇa (Pātāla-khaṇḍa, Mathurā-māhātmya):
tārakāj jāyate muktiḥ prema-bhaktis tu pārakād14
“All other names of Viṣṇu (including Rāma) give mukti (liberation), while Kṛṣṇa's names give the love of God (prema).”
Yuga-dharma, Śrī Caitanya and hari-nāma
Besides prescribing yuga-dharma for each of the four ages Purāṇas also state that Viṣṇu himself comes in every age to institute a particular recommended spiritual process. By collating the following two crucial verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Caitanya's associates and contemporaries, as well as later Gauḍīya-commentators effectively conclude that in Kali-yuga Kṛṣṇa comes in a body of golden color and is no other than Śrī Caitanya:
āsan varṇās trayo hy asya gṛhṇato 'nuyugaṁ tanūḥ
śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ
“Your son Kṛṣṇa appears as an incarnation in every millennium. In the past, He assumed three different colors—white, red and yellow—and now He has appeared in a blackish color. All such incarnations have now assembled in Kṛṣṇa." (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.8.13)
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ
“In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.” Since Viṣṇu had white complexion in Satya-yuga, red in Tretā-yuga and blackish (kṛṣṇa) in Dvāpara-yuga, the only remaining color from the above-mentioned four colors is yellow or golden (pīta). Śrī Caitanya's mission and activities perfectly correspond to the description of the last verse – as stated in his hagiographies he virtually did not do anything which had no relation to nāma-saṅkīrtana. It is due to him and his followers and their preaching that saṅkīrtana and the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā -mantra became universally known. Or, as described in the songs of his later contemporaries, “the mission of saṅkīrtana was brought by him from the spiritual world.”16
References to the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra
The majority of works where Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is mentioned belongs to the category of vaiṣṇava-āgamas or sātvata-tantras. This is again in accord with the Bhāgavata (11.5.31) which states that in the Kali age the path of vaiṣṇava-tantras is prominent:
iti dvāpara urv-īśa stuvanti jagad-īśvaram
nānā-tantra-vidhānena kalāv api tathā śṛṇu
“O King, in this way people in Dvāpara-yuga glorified the Lord of the universe. In Kali-yuga also people worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead by following various regulations of the revealed scriptures. Now kindly hear of this from me.”17
Detailed description of the Kali -yuga found in the most Purāṇas sums up to the fact that in this age people are mostly sinful, fallen and do not have the necessary qualification to study the original Vedas (śruti). But everyone has a right to study āgamas and vaiṣṇava-tantras, therefore such an important ingredient of the worship in the age of Kali, Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, is mainly mentioned in such smṛti works.
That being said, we still find direct references to the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in several śruti texts. One of the most famous examples is the Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad (literally “Knowledge how to cross over the Kali age”), which is the only Upaniṣad that gives the entire Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This minor Upaniṣad is very short – its prose text, usually divided into three paragraphs, equals to 13 ślokas approximately. It belongs to the Kṛṣṇa-yajur-veda and is listed in the Muktikā-canon at number 103. Its summary is as follows: at the end of the Dvāpara-yuga the great sage Nārada approached Brahmā, the creator of the universe, and asked him how one can overcome the evil effects of the imminent Kali-yuga. In reply to his question Brahmā said that one can do so by chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa, the primordial person. While asked again which exactly names should one chant, Brahmā speaks to Nārada the entire Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra:
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
iti ṣoḍaśakaṁ nāmnāṁ kali-kalmaṣa-nāśanaṁ
nātaḥ parataropāyaḥ sarva-vedeṣu dṛśyate18
“These sixteen names counteract the evil effects of the Kali-yuga. After searching through all the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method so sublime as the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.”
“All śāstras agree that the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, which is composed of sixteen names divided into thirty-two syllables, is the great mantra for delivering the jīvas in Kali-yuga. The original guru, Lord Brahmā, received these holy names, which which deliver one from material existence, from Lord Hari, as described in the Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad and other śrutis. The intelligent sage Nārada, the disciple of Lord Brahmā, received these highest names by the process of hearing from a spiritual authority.”
Another śruti, Caitanyopaniṣad from the Atharva-veda, which was published by Kedāranātha Datta (Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura) in 1887, also refers to the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā -mantra. What appears to have been a single manuscript of this Upaniṣad was sent to Kedāranātha by a devotee named Madhusūdana Dāsa from Sambalpur, Odisha24. Therein Brahmā tells Pippalāda about the upcoming advent of the Supreme Lord as Śrī Caitanya, who will chant the confidential mantra of his own names:
sa eva mūla-mantraṁ japati harir iti kṛṣṇa iti rāma iti
“He chants a mūla-mantra consisting of the names Hari, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma.” (Caitanyopaniṣad, 11)25.
Here Brahmā clearly alludes to the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā -mantra by mentioning three names constituting it in the nominative case. And in the following verse he again alludes to it by stating the number of names in it:
nāmāny aṣṭāv aṣṭa ca śobhanāni, tāni nityaṁ ye japanti dhīrās te vai māyām atitaranti nānyaḥ, paramaṁ mantraṁ parama-rahasyaṁ nityam āvartayati.
“These two parts of eight names each are very glorious. Those wise persons who always chant them surely cross beyond the illusion of material existence. Others do not. The liberated persons always chant this supreme mantra which is very confidential.” (Caitanyopaniṣad, 14)26.
References to the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra from a number of Purāṇas are quoted in the post-Caitanya works. Unfortunately not all of them can be traced to the current editions of these Purāṇas.
For example, Dhyānacandra Gosvāmī in his paddhati (manual for mediation and worship) quotes
Padma-Purāṇa:
dvātriṁśad akṣaraṁ mantraṁ nāma ṣoḍaśakānvitam
prajapan vaiṣṇavo nityaṁ rādhā-kṛṣṇa-sthalaṁ labhet
“A vaiṣṇava who constantly chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, composed of sixteen names divided into thirty-two syllables, will certainly attain the abode of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.” (Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇāṣṭa-kālīya-līlā-smaraṇa-krāma-paddhatiḥ 161)27.
Nayanānanda Ṭhākura quotes Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa in his Kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-kadamba (A.D. 1730):
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
iti japtvā pramucyeta pātakā nātra saṁśayaḥ
“Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare."
“Any sinful person who chants these holy names is at once liberated. There is no doubt about it."
And Agni Purāṇa:
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
śvapaco'pi japan nityaṁ mucyate śṛnu bhārgava28:
“Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.”
“O Bhārgava! If a dog eater constantly chants these holy names he will be liberated.” (Kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-kadamba, chapter 6).
Agni Purāṇa also states:
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
raṭanti helayā vāpi te kṛtārthā na saṁśayaḥ29
“Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare.”
“Whoever chants this mantra, even neglectfully, will attain the supreme goal of life. Of this there is no doubt.”
Rādhā-hṛdaya, which is of tāntrika outlook and is said to once have been a part of Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa mentions entire Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. In the 6th chapter there is a conversation between king Vṛsabhānu and Kratu Muni. The king after performing severe penances for many years hears a celestial voice (vāk aśārīriṇī) that instructs him to take to the chanting of Hari's names. When he asks which names exactly should he chant, the demigoddess sends him to a sage named Kratu who lives nearby deeply immersed in meditation. The king approaches the sage and asks him for harināma. The sage gives him harināma-mantra and at this moment Lomaharṣaṇa Sūta interrupts Vedavyāsa's narration and requests him to repeat the mantra given by Kratu to Vṛsabhānu:
yat tvayā kīrtitaṁ nātha hari-nāmeti saṁjñitam
mantraṁ brahma-padaṁ siddhi-karaṁ tad vada no vibho
“O powerful sage! You glorified the mantra called “hari-nāma,” please instruct me in this spiritual vibration that bestows all perfection.”
In reply, Śrī Vedavyāsa gives the following instruction:
grahaṇād yasya mantrasya dehī brahma-mayo bhavet
sadyaḥ pūtaḥ surā-po ‘pi sarva-siddhi-yuto bhavet
tad ahaṁ te 'bhidhāsyāmi mahā-bhāgavato hy asi
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
ity aṣṭa-śatakaṁ nāmnāṁ tri-kāla-kalmaṣāpy aham
nātaḥ parataropāyaḥ sarva-vedeṣu vidyate30
“I will certainly instruct you, a great devotee, in that mantra by which an embodied soul can be liberated and even a drunkard can quickly become purified and attain all perfection. Hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare, hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare. By chanting this mantra one hundred and eight times thrice a day destroys all sins. In all the Vedas there is no other method for achieving liberation from material bondage.” (Rādha-hṛdaya 6.52-56).
In the āgamas such as the Brahma-yāmala, Lord Śiva describes the mahā-mantra as follows:
hariṁ vinā nāsti kiñcit pāpa-nistārakaṁ kalau
tasmāl lokoddhāraṇārthaṁ hari-nāma prakāśayet
sarvatra mucyate loko mahā-pāpāt kalau yuge
hare-kṛṣṇa-pada-dvandvaṁ kṛṣṇeti ca pada-dvayam
tathā hare-pada-dvandvaṁ hare-rāma iti dvayam
tad-ante ca mahā-devi rāma rāma dvayaṁ vadet
hare hare tato brūyād dhari-nāma samuddharet
mahā-mantraṁ ca kṛṣṇasya sarva-pāpa-praṇāśakam31
“Without Hari there is no other way to eradicate the sins in the age of Kali. Therefore hari-nāma should be revealed in order to save the world. The people in Kali -yuga everywhere can be liberated from the greatest sins by chanting the following mantra.
Lord Śiva said: “Kali does not harass those who only chant the holy names of Hari always or the auspicious vibrations like “Hare Rāma”, “Hare Kṛṣṇa” and “Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa.” (Padma Purāṇa, Pātāla-khaṇḍa 80. 2-3).
Evidence that Śrī Caitanya chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra
Śrī Caitanya's hagiographies have numerous mentions that he himself chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and instructed others to chant it. For example, the very first authentic biography, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-caitanya-caritāmṛta (ca. 1533-1542) or simply Murāri-gupter kaḍacā by Murāri Gupta, an early associate of Śrī Caitanya, states:
gṛhe vasan prema-vibhinna-dhairyaṁ
rudaty alaṁ rauti muhur muhuḥ svanaiḥ
sa vepathur gadgadayā girā lapaty
alaṁ hare kṛṣṇa hare mudā kvacit36
While dwelling in his home, his gravity was sometimes broken by his sentiments of love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa. At times He would weep, at other times He would repeatedly make thundering sounds. At times his body trembled and at other times he would joyously utter with faltering voice, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare..."37 (1.16.12)
The first Bengali biography, Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura (ca. 1550) contains several references to Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra:
jaya jaya ‘hare-kṛṣṇa’-mantrera prakāśa
jaya jaya nija-bhakti-grahaṇa-vilāsa
Glory to he who revealed the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra! Glory to he who enjoys the pastimes of accepting his own devotional service. (Madhya-khaṇḍa 6.117)
prasanna śrī-mukhe ‘hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa’ bali’
vijaya hailā gauracandra kutūhalī
“Happily chanting “Hare Kṛṣṇa” and “Kṛṣṇa” Gauracandra was joyful when he came.” (Antya-khaṇḍa 7.142).
“hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa” bali’ prema-sukhe
pratyakṣa hailā āsi’ advaita-sammukhe
“The Lord was chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in ecstatic love as He came before Advaita.” (Antya-khaṇḍa 9.46).
There are two instances when Śrī Caitanya pronounces the entire mantra while instructing other to chant it:
1) When answering Tapana Miśra's question regarding sādhya (goal of life) and sādhana (process of attaining the goal of life) in Eastern Bengal:
sādhya-sādhana-tattva ye kichu sakala
hari-nāma-saṅkīrtane milibe sakala
“In the chanting of the holy names you will achieve everything, including the goal of life and the process for attaining it.
harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
“For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.”
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
ei śloka nāma bali’ laya mahā-mantra
śola-nāma batriśa-akṣara ei tantra
“This verse consists of the holy names and is called the mahā-mantra. It contains sixteen names composed of thirty-two syllables.”
sādhite sādhite yabe premāṅkura habe
sādhya-sādhana-tattva jānibā se tabe”
“By continually chanting this mahā -mantra the seed of love of God will sprout in your heart. Then you will understand the goal of life and the process for achieving it.” (Ādi-khaṇḍa 14.143-147).
2) When speaking to the inhabitants of Navadvīpa:
prabhu bale,—“kṛṣṇa-bhakti hauka sabāra
kṛṣṇa-nāma-guṇa bai nā baliha āra”
The Lord said: “May you all attain devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Do not speak about anything other than the names and qualities of Kṛṣṇa.”
āpane sabāre prabhu kare upadeśe
“kṛṣṇa-nāma mahā-mantra śunaha hariṣe
The Lord personally instructed everyone: “Happily hear the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare'”
prabhu bale,—“kahilāṅa ei mahā-mantra
ihā japa' giyā sabe kariyā nirbandha
The Lord said: “I have told you the mahā-mantra. All of you chant this mantra according to a prescribed number.”
ihā haite sarva-siddhi haibe sabāra
sarva-kṣaṇa bala' ithe vidhi nāhi āra
“Everyone will attain all perfection by it. At every moment chant it, there is no other rule.”
prabhu-mukhe mantra pāi' sabāra ullāsa
daṇḍavat kari' sabe cale nija-vāsa
Everyone became joyful after receiving this mantra from the Lord's mouth. After offering obeisances they all returned to their respective homes. (Madhya 23.74-78, 82).
These instructions to the resident of Navadvīpa are also related in Narahari Cakravartī's Bhakti-ratnākara (12.2047-2054) where Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is also recorded in its entirety (12.2049).
Another biography, Caitanya-maṅgala by Locana dāsa Ṭhākura (ca. 1560s), describes the meeting of devotees headed by Śrī Caitanya with a toll-collector on their way to Purī. After seeing Śrī Caitanya toll-collector started chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra:
jharajhara nayana -- pulaka kalevara
hare-kṛṣṇa-nāma sei bole nirantara38
“Tears flowed from his eyes. The hairs of his body stood erect. He incessantly chanted the holy names, Hare Kṛṣna mantra.” (Madhya-khaṇḍa, Prabhura Nīlacala gamana o daṇḍa-bhaṅga-līlā, 114).
Besides biographers, there are many of Śrī Caitanya's direct associates who mention him chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Below are some quotes from their works.
Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī's Vṛndāvana-mahimāmṛta (17.89):
hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇeti kṛṣṇeti mukhyān
mahāścarya-nāmāvalī-siddha-mantrān
kṛpā-mūrti-caitanyadevopagotān
kadābhyasya vṛndāvane syāṁ kṛtārthaḥ
When will I attain all perfection of life in Vrndavana by chanting the siddha-mantra of very wonderful names “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa!” that came from the mouth of Lord Caitanya, who is compassion personified?
Caitanya-candrāmṛta (16) of the same author:
badhnan prema-bhara-prakampita-karo granthīn kaṭī-ḍorakaiḥ saṅkhyātuṁ nija-loka-maṅgala- hare-kṛṣṇeti-nāmnāṁ japan aśru-snāta-mukhaḥ svam eva hi jagannāthaṁ didṛkṣur gatā-yātair gaura-tanur vilocana-mudaṁ tanvan hariḥ pātu vaḥ39
“Chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā -mantra, His own holy names which bring auspiciousness to the world, His hand trembling with love as He touches the knotted string about His waist to count the number of names, His face bathed in tears as He comes and goes, eager to see His own form of Lord Jagannatha, and bringing great delight to the eyes of all, may the golden form of Lord Hari protect you all.”40
Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's Śrī Caitanya-śataka:
aṇu-brahmāṇḍayor madhye caitanyena samāhṛtām
hare-kṛṣṇa-rāma-nāma-mālāṁ bhakti-pradāyinīm
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya has offered everyone in the universe the garland of the holy names “Hare,” “Kṛṣṇa,” and “Rāma” and thereby taken away their sins. (verse 79).
Rūpa Gosvāmī's Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta:
śrī-caitanya-mukhodgīrṇā hare-krsneti-varṇakāḥ
majjayanto jagat premṇi vijayantaṁ tad-āhvayāḥ41
Glory to the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, the Lord's names emanated from Śrī Caitanya's mouth, which drown the world in pure love! (Pūrva 1.4).
Commenting on this verse, Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa (first half of the 18th century), writes:
hare kṛṣṇeti - iti-śabda ādy-arthaḥ, "iti hetu-prakaraṇa-prakāśādi-samāptiṣu" ity amarokteḥ, tena dvātriṁśad-akṣaro nāma-mantro bodhyate42.
"Here iti in “ Hare-kṛṣṇa iti” means “beginning.” Amara -koṣa says: iti indicates cause, a topic, explanation, beginning and an end." Thus it indicates the whole nāma-mantra consisting of thirty-two syllables.”
Rūpa Gosvāmī's Stavamālā:
hare kṛṣṇety-uccaiḥ sphurita-rasano nama-gaṇana-
kṛta-granthi-śreṇī-subhaga-kaṭi-sutrojjvala-karaḥ
viśalakṣo dīrghargala-yugala-khelañcita-bhujaḥ
sa caitanyaḥ kiṁ me punar api dṛśor yasyati padam43
Śri Caitanya Mahāprabhu chants “Hare Kṛṣṇa” in a loud voice, the holy name dancing on His tongue as He counts the number of recitations with His effulgent hand. His eyes are large, and His long arms. bending as He performs His pastimes, reach down to His knees. Will He again become visible before the path of my eyes? (Prathama-caitanyāṣṭaka 5).
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa writes in his commentary on this verse:
hare kṛṣṇeti mantra-pratīka-grahaṇaṁ soḍaśa-nāmātmanā dvātrīṁśad-aksareṇa mantreṇoccair-uccāritena sphuritā kṛta-nṛtyā rasanā jihvā yasya saḥ44.
“'Hare Kṛṣṇa' means that mantra was resounding in his mouth. He was uttering the mantra consisting of sixteen names and thirty-two syllables. “Uccaiḥ” means that he was pronouncing it in a loud voice and it was dancing on his tongue.”
Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī's Stavāvalī:
nijatve gauḍīyān jagati parigṛhya prabhur imān
hare-kṛṣṇety evaṁ gaṇana-vidhinā kīrtayata bhoḥ
itiprāyaṁ śikṣāṁ janaka iva tebhyaḥ paridiśan
śacī-sūnuḥ kiṁ me nayana-saraṇīṁ yāsyati punaḥ45.
Will Śacī's son who, accepting the people of Bengal as his own and teaching them as a father, said, "Please chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra a fixed number of times," again walk on the pathway of my eyes? (Śrī Caitanyāṣṭaka 5)46.
Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is also discussed in Śrī Bhakti-candrikā, which is a collections of instructions that are said to have been spoken by Śrī Caitanya's close associate Narahari Sarakāra and collected by his disciple Lokānanda Ācārya. Chapter 7 of the book is devoted to Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra47.
A Sanskrit biography of Śrī Caitanya by an Oriya poet Govindadeva named Gaura-kṛṣṇodaya (A.D. 1758)
describes Śrī Caitanya's deep ecstasy in the last years of his life in Purī:
niśamya tat-krandita-vāk karambitaṁ
gabhīra-ghoṣaṁ naga-bhitti-bṛṁhitaṁ
vadan harekṛṣṇa sa dattavān mudaṁ
mahattamebhyas tad-avastha utthitaḥ48
“Hearing their crying mixed with tumultuous sounds, similar to elephant's roar that splits rocks, he woke up from that state and said “Hare Kṛṣṇa”, thus giving joy to his greatest associates.” (17.60).
Nayanānanda Ṭhākura in his Kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-kadamba (1730) writes49:
hari kṛṣṇa rāma – ei ekatre smaraṇa
sahasra aśvamedha nahe tāhāra sama
The result one obtains by remembering the holy names of Hari, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma together is not equal to performing thousands of horse sacrifices.
yathā bṛhad-vasiṣṭha-saṁhitāyām–
kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇeti rāmeti harīty uktvā tataḥ param
rājasūya-sahasrāṇāṁ phalam āpnoti mānavaḥ
In Bṛhad-Vasiṣṭha-saṁhitā it is stated: If a person chants the names of the supreme Lord such as Kṛṣṇa, Rāma and Hari, he obtains more results than performing thousands of rājasuya sacrifices.
ataeva mahāprabhu śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
tina nāma prakāśiyā jagat kaila dhanya
Therefore Mahāprabhu Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya has made the world fortunate by manifesting the three names Hare, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma.
hare kṛṣṇa rāma – ei nāma-yajña sāra
kali-yuge mahāprabhu karilā pracāra
In Kali-yuga Śrī Caitanya preached that the essence of all sacrifices is the chanting of the holy names of Hare, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma. (Chapetr 6)
Śrī Caitanya's followers also chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī (ca. 1615) states that one of Śrī Caitanya's associates in Purī, Vāṇīnātha Paṭṭanāyaka, was chanting mahā-mantra while under arrest:
se kahe—“vāṇīnātha nirbhaye laya kṛṣṇa-nāma
’hare kṛṣṇa, hare kṛṣṇa’ kahe aviśrāma
The messenger said: “Vāṇīnātha without any fear incessantly chants Kṛṣṇa's names - “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa...” (Antya 9.56).
Nityānanda Dāsa's Prema-vilāsa (first part of the 17th century) mentions mahā-mantra several times:
In the fourth chapter regarding Viṣṇupriyā Devī's strict sādhana after Śrī Caitanya took sannyāsa:
ekabāra jape ṣola-nāma batriśa akṣara
eka taṇḍula rākhena pātre ānanda antara
tṛtīya-prahara paryanta layena hari-nāma
tāte ye taṇḍula haya laiyā pāke yāna50
“After each mantra of sixteen names and thirty -two syllables she would blissfully place one grain of rice in the empty bowl. She chanted holy name till afternoon and then she would cook the rice accumulated in the bowl.”
And in the fourteenth chapter regarding the initiation of Govinda Kavirāja by Śrīinivāsa Ācārya:
rāmacandra kole kari baise āpanāra
prabhu 'harekṛṣṇa' mantra karṇe dilā tāra51
"Rāmacandra sat and took his brother on his lap. Then Śrīnivāsa chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra into his ears."
After this Śrīnivāsa gave him also a kṛṣṇa-mantra and a rādhā-mantra.
Karṇānanda of Yadunandana Dāsa (ca. 1610) describes the ecstasy that Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī experienced in the following way:
hare kṛṣṇa nāma mātra jihvāya uccārite
ha ha ha ha śabde yāra kare avirate52
“As soon as he tried to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra with his tongue, he could only utter sounds “ha, ha”, “ha, ha” after which he fainted.” (5.152).
Śrī Gopījanavallabha Dāsa's Rasika-maṅgala (the biography of Śrī Rasikānanda, the chief disciple of the famous Śyāmānanda Prabhu, written in the second half of 17th century) also has numerous references to the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra:
In the Eastern part, chapter 2, Śyāmānanda's guru Hṛdayānanda orders him:
tāre laye sarva-jīve kara prema-dāna
caitanyera ājñā hare kṛṣṇa ṣola nāma53
"Taking the order of Śrī Caitanya in the form of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra of sixteen names, give the love of God to all living entities."
Eastern part, chapter 7:
hare kṛṣṇa nāma dilā acyutera sthāne
pratyakṣe kahila saba tāra vivaraṇe54
"[Dayāla Dāsī] gave Rasikānanda Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and personally told Acyuta everything about him."
In the same place:
kona dina āsana kariyā baise dhyāne
hare kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra karena smaraṇe55
"One day Rasikānanda was sitting in meditation remembering Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra."
Southern part, chapter 1:
kole kari' devakīre śyāmānanda rāya
'hare kṛṣṇa' ṣola nāma tāhāre śunāya56
"Taking Devakī [Rasikānanda's daughter] on his lap, Śyāmānanda chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra of sixteen names into her ears."
Western part, chapter 8:
hare kṛṣṇa ṣola nāma batriśa akṣara
hastī karṇe śunāila rasika śekhara57
"The best of rasika-devotees [Rasikānanda] chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra of sixteen names and thirty-two syllables into its ear."
Bhakti- ratnākara of Narahari Cakravartī Ṭhākura (early 18th century) also mentions Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra several times.
keha kahe – harināma mahāmantra dāne
jīvera dāruṇa duḥkha khaṇḍaye āpane
tathāhi–
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
keha kahe – hari-kṛṣṇa rāma-nāmākṣare
prasave adbhuta artha svāde vijñavare58
Some people said: "By giving them the mahā-mantra of Lord Hari's holy names, the Lord personally destroys the terrible sufferings of the conditioned souls.
[This mahā-mantra is] Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Another person said: "The syllables of the names Hari, Kṛṣṇa, and Rāma contain wonderful import and the best of wise men relishes them." (5.2212-2214)
Dīkṣā, puraścaraṇa and hari-nāma
According to the numerous statements in the Gauḍīya literature, hari-nāma-mahā-mantra does not depend upon such related to mantra procedures as puraścaraṇa and even dikṣā (initiation):
dīkṣā-puraścaryā-vidhi apekṣā nā kare
jihvā-sparśe ā-caṇḍāla sabāre uddhāre
“The holy name does not depend upon initiation or the activities required before initiation. As soon as it touches the tongue, it delivers everyone, even a caṇḍāla.” (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.108)
Puraścaryā (or puraścaraṇa) is a prescribed method for purifying mantras before being used. This term is a combination of puraḥ (“before”) and caryā (“activities”). It is described in various vaiṣṇava literature. For instance Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (17.11-12) quoting Agastya-saṁhitā says:
pūjā traikālikī nityaṁ japas tarpaṇam eva ca
homo brāhmaṇa-bhuktiś ca puraścaraṇam ucyate
guror labdhasya mantrasya prasādena yathā-vidhi
pañcāṅgopāsanā-siddhyai puraś caitad vidhīyate59
“In the morning, afternoon and evening, one should worship the Deity, chant the mantra, offer oblations, perform a fire sacrifice, and feed the brāhmaṇas. These five activities constitute puraścaryā . To attain full success when taking initiation from the spiritual master, one should first perform these five processes of worship.”
In the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (17.4–5, 7) it is also stated:
vinā yena na siddhaḥ syān mantro varṣa-śatair api
kṛtena yena labhate sādhako vāñchitaṁ phalam
puraścaraṇa-sampanno mantro hi phala-dhāyakaḥ
ataḥ puraṣkriyāṁ kuryāt mantra-vit siddhi-kaṅkṣayā
puraṣkriyā hi mantrāṇāṁ pradhānaṁ vīryam ucyate
vīrya-hīno yathā dehī sarva-karmasu na kṣamaḥ
puraścaraṇa-hīno hi tathā mantraḥ prakīrtitaḥ60
“Without performing the puraścaryā activities, one cannot become perfect even by chanting this mantra for hundreds of years. But one who has undergone the puraścaryā-vidhi process can attain success very easily. If one wishes to perfect his initiation, he must first undergo the puraścaryā activities. The puraścaryā process is the life force by which one is successful in chanting the mantra. Without the life force, one cannot do anything; similarly, without the life force of puraścaryā-vidhi, no mantra can be perfected.”61
But as has already been seen above, hari-nāma-mantra itself destroys one's sins and gives liberation (mukti) which cannot be achieved by any puraścaraṇa ritual and thus it does not depend upon the latter. Śrī Caitanya confirm this in his conversation with the Kulīna-grāma residents:
anuṣaṅga-phale kare saṁsārera kṣaya
citta ākarṣiyā karāya kṛṣṇe premodaya
The destruction of the material bondage is a side effect of the chanting of the holy name. [While its main effect is that] it attracts one's mind to Kṛṣṇa and awakens one's love for him. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 15.109). Thus hari-nāma is accessible to one and all:
ākṛṣṭiḥ kṛta-cetasāṁ su-manasām uccāṭanaṁ cāṁhasām
ācaṇḍālam amūka-loka-sulabho vaśyaś ca mukti-śriyaḥ
no dīkṣāṁ na ca sat-kriyāṁ na ca puraścaryāṁ manāg īkṣate mantro ’yaṁ rasanā-spṛg eva phalati śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmātmakaḥ62
“‘The holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa is an attractive feature for many saintly, liberal people. It is the annihilator of all sinful reactions and is so powerful that, save for the dumb who cannot chant it, it is readily available to everyone, including the lowest type of man, the caṇḍāla. The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is the controller of the opulence of liberation, and it is identical with Kṛṣṇa. When a person simply chants the holy name with his tongue, immediate effects are produced. Chanting the holy name does not depend on initiation, pious activities or the puraścaryā regulative principles generally observed before initiation. The holy name does not wait for any of these activities. It is self-sufficient.’” (Padyāvalī 29)63.
Dīkṣā is defined by the vaiṣṇava-āgamas as:
divyaṁ jñānaṁ yato dadyāt kuryāt pāpasya saṅkṣayam
tasmād dīkṣeti sā proktā deśikais tattva-kovidaiḥ64
“Dīkṣā gives transcendental knowledge and vanquishes sinful reactions. Persons who know the spiritual science call such process 'dīkṣā.'”
What follows from the above statements and especially from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta verse (Ādi 7.73),
is that the hari-nāma-mantra gives exactly these results: it destroys one's sins (as a side effect – this is “saṁsāra-mocana”) and gives one transcendental knowledge of relationship with Kṛṣṇa (as the main result - “kṛṣṇera caraṇa”). Thus anyone can take to the chanting of Hari-nāma and get the results even without having undergone the process of mantra-dīkṣā (pāñcarātrika-dīkṣā).
However, there is a more subtle consideration here, which is mentioned by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura in his commentary on Śrīmad-bhāgavatam (6.2.9-10) which further clarifies the importance of guru and dīkṣā:
“Those persons who are offenders against the Lord’s name but have no tendencies of karma, jñāna, and so on, are engaged in performing devotional service by hearing, chanting, and so on, yet have not received initiation because they have not taken shelter at the lotus feet of a guru—they also should be called by the name Vaiṣṇava. Indeed, the word Vaiṣṇava can be understood as derived by the sūtra [of Pāṇini’s grammar] sāsya devatā (“that is his Deity”) or else by the sūtra that reads bhaktiḥ (“that is his object of devotion”); thus those who by their initiation have made Viṣṇu their Deity and also those who by their practice of worship have made Viṣṇu their object of worship are both called Vaiṣṇavas, since there is no other term to properly describe them. For these Vaiṣṇavas also, as for the ones described before, there is no fall into hell and so on; such is the opinion of some. But this opinion is not very cogent; since it is said in the verse beginning nṛ -deham ādyam that the guru is the pilot of the ship, they cannot easily obtain the Supreme Lord without a guru. Therefore it is said that only those saintly persons who in a previous lifetime had achieved the shelter of the feet of a guru can merely by the power of their worship obtain the Personality of Godhead; one cannot otherwise obtain the Supreme Lord just by his devotion.”
“Well, we see that even Ajāmila, who hadn’t taken shelter of a guru, easily obtained the Supreme Lord. So this should be explained as follows: Those who like cows and asses simply graze their senses on objects of gratification and have no idea even in their dreams of who is God, what is devotion, and what is a guru can like Ajāmila and others who uttered the names of Lord Hari be saved by bhakti alone even without a guru by the method of nāmābhāsa and what it involves. Lord Hari alone is the proper object of worship, devotional worship is the means of obtaining Him, the guru is the proper person to give instruction about these matters, and in the past it was devotees instructed by gurus alone who obtained Lord Hari—even if one can make these specific discriminations, he may adopt the viewpoint of such scriptural evidence as the statement “There is no need to pay any regard to initiation, proper rituals being performed, or preliminary purification. This mantra consisting of the names of Śrī Kṛṣṇa bears fruit simply by touching one’s tongue” and take the examples of Ajāmila and others like him to decide “Why do I have to take the trouble of accepting a guru? I can expect to obtain the Supreme Lord simply by nāma-kīrtana and other devotional practices.” But then, because of his grievous offence, namely that of disregarding the guru, He cannot obtain the Supreme Lord. Rather only when in the same life or the next life his offense is dispelled can he take shelter of a divine spiritual master and obtain the Lord.”65 (end of commentary).
Thus, anyone can attain perfection by chanting of the holy names, however, if a person deliberately avoids surrendering to guru and being disciplined by him, he commits an offense and will not get the result of his chanting.
Commenting on the chant given by Śrī Caitanya to his students, which has the holy names in the dative case and “namaḥ” word as well the names in the vocative case - “hare haraye namaḥ kṛṣṇa yādavāya namaḥ, gopāla govinda rāma śrī-madhusūdana” - Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī writes:
“Here first of all two holy names - Hari and Yādava – are combined with the dative case, which is indicative of seeking shelter (śaraṇāgati) and self-surrender (ātma-sampradāna). In other words, a person desiring to receive the name of Kṛṣṇa should first of all receive the transcendental knowledge (divya-jñāna) from a true guru, who has taken a solemn vow to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, after surrendering unto him. Then he should incessantly hear about the holy names of Kṛṣṇa from the guru and Vaiṣṇavas and then he should himself cultivate the loud, offenseless and incessant chanting of Kṛṣna's holy names calling out to Him.
If one wants to sincerely worship the Lord by surrendering oneself to Him and by using the dative case, which is indicative of surrender, combined with the Lord's names, then one receives mantra; and when one chants the holy name using the vocative case, then one worships the holy names. Names ending in the dative case indicate seeking shelter and the holy names in the vocative case indicate the chanter's desire for eternal service. One who has received initiation is released from the bondage of material existence by chanting mantra; one's calling out to the person denoted by mantra is an inherent manifestation of one's eternal worship. Knowing that kṛṣṇa-mantra is a sādhana (process of devotional service) and kṛṣṇa-nāma is both sādhana and sādhya (the goal of such process), one accepts that both sādhya and sādhana are non-different and are both belong to the category of uniterrupted devotional service. Mantra and the holy name are non-different from one another vibrations denoting Lord Viṣṇu, the object of such vibrations. The chanting of mantra is meant to receive the knowledge of one's relationship with the Lord and when one achieves perfection in chanting mantras, then begins the bhajana of such liberated soul. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 7.73) it is stated: 'kṛṣṇa-mantra haite habe saṁsāra-mocana, kṛṣṇa-nāma haite pābe kṛṣṇera caraṇa' - 'By chanting the Kṛṣṇa -mantra one can obtain freedom from material existence. By chanting Kṛṣṇa's names one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.'”66.
The process of receiving the shelter of the guru and instructions on how to chant the holy name successfully has come to be known as hari-nāma-dīkṣā (hari-nāma initiation).
One can find instances of such initiation into the holy names in the śāstra. For example, in the above-mentioned conversation from the Rādhā-hṛdaya king Vṛṣabhānu tells Kratu Muni:
nāsty alabhyaṁ tri-bhuvane prasanne tvayi me vibho
dehi me hari-nāmani yadi te 'nugraho mayi
“There is nothing unattainable in the three worlds for me if there is you mercy upon me. Kindly give me the names of Lord Hari, if you are pleased to do so”. (6.49)
brahmovāca –
prasannāruṇa-pāthojānanaḥ sa muni-sattamaḥ
prapannāya prasanno 'dād dhari-nāmāny anukramāt
“Brahmā continued: Then the best of all sages, whose face was beautiful like blossoming reddish lotus, being satisfied with the king, who took shelter of him, gave him the holy names of Lord Hari along with the instructions how to chant it”. (6.51)
Later in the text after the glorification of the hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana we find the following statement:
vedavyāsa uvāca –
iti mantraṁ pradāyaiva tadā sa bhagavān kratuḥ
idam āha vacaḥ pathyaṁ bhūyo harim anusmaran
“Vedavyāsa said: After giving him the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra highly powerful sage Kratu, remembering Hari, then again spoke the suitable words.” (6.64)
It should be noted here that the texts speaks of the holy names (actually the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, as has already been seen above) as “mantra” and it is received from a guru just like any other mantra during dikṣā. It is also remarkable that in his Bengali translation of these verses Nandakumar Kaviratna Bhattacharya uses the words “hari-nāma-dikṣā”.67
Also, Nārada-pañcarātra (Jñānāmṛta-sāra) prescribes giving Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra to a disciple before initiating him with the gopāla-mantra:
śiṣyasyodaṅmukha-sthasya harer nāmāni ṣoḍaśa saṁśrāvyaiva tato dadyān mantraṁ trai-lokya-maṅgalam
“The guru should first recite the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra consisting of sixteen names to the disciple, facing north. After that he should give him the dīkṣā-mantra, which brings auspiciousness to the three worlds.”68
One can find mentions of such initiation in several Gauḍīya-vaiṣṇava writings. For example, Prema-vilāsa (ca. 1610s) describes king Vīrahamvīra's initiation by Śrīnivāsa Ācārya:
ṭhākura kahena baisa śuna kṛṣṇa-nāma
ye ājñā baliyā rājā pātilena kāna
nikaṭe basāṣā rājāya kahe harināma
mahā-mantra hari nāma karila pradāna 69
“After bathing, Śrīnivāsa ordered the king to take a seat near him. He then chanted the hari-nāma-mahā-mantra into the ear of the king.”
It appears from the verses following these that this was only the "first" initiation of Vīrahamvīra, the mantra-dīkṣā happened some days after this.
Also, Karṇānanda of Yadunandana Dāsa (ca. 1610s) describes initiation of king Vīrahamvīra's wife in a similar way:
āge harināma mantra karā-i śravaṇa
tabe to yugala-mantra karāya grahaṇa70
“Śrīnivāsa first made her hear the holy name and then gave her Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa mantra.” (Karṇānanda 1.337)
At the same time hari-nāma-dīkṣā is not identical with the mantra-dīkṣā proper (pāñcarātrika-dīkṣā), thus many present-day Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇavas undergo both of them and this is not considered punar-dīkṣā (reinitiation), which is forbidden by śāstra71.
Grammatically dīkṣā is derived from a verbal root dīkṣ which has the following meanings: dīkṣ – mauṇḍyejyopanayana-niyama-vratādeśeṣu72 - “'dīkṣ' means “to shave”, “to sacrifice”, “to give the sacred tread”, “to practice self restraint”, “to follow a vow”, “to order.”
“Dīkṣā” is one of the principal terms used in the Vedas which denotes initiation into performing a sacrifice (yajña)73. It is interesting to note that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32) and a number of Śrī Caitanya's biographies repeatedly proclaim hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana to be the yajña prescribed for the Kali age:
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ
"In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions."74
This idea is explicitly stated many times in Murāri Gupta's Śrī Kṛṣṇa-caitanya-caritāmṛta:
taṁ vai bibharṣi garbhe tvaṁ yo yajñaṁ prathayiṣyati
kīrtanākhyaṁ mahā-puṇyaṁ yad yajñair nopapadyate75
"In your womb You bear He who will spread the process of yajña named saṅkīrtana. This yajña has great purificatory potency unobtainable through the Vedic process of yajña." (1.5.10)
avatīrṇo’si bhagavan lokānāṁ prema-siddhaye
khedaṁ mā kuru yajño’yaṁ kīrtanākhyaḥ kṣitau kalau
tvat-prasādāt susampanno bhaviṣyati na saṁśayaḥ76
"O Lord! You have descended to bring people the love of God. Do not be despondent. This sacrifice of the chanting of Kṛṣṇa's names on the earth in this age of Kali will be supremely successful by Your mercy. Of this there is no doubt." (2.2.9-10)
evaṁ dināntaṁ sa nināya yajña-bhuk
yajñaiḥ susaṅkīrtanakair jagad-dhitaiḥ77
"Thus did the Lord, the enjoyer of all sacrifice, pass His time until the day's end in the sublime sacrifice of saṅkīrtana, for the benefit of all living entities." (2.14.17).
And also in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta:
saṅkīrtana-pravartaka śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
saṅkīrtana-yajñe tāṅre bhaje, sei dhanya
"Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is the initiator of saṅkīrtana [congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord]. One who worships Him through saṅkīrtana is fortunate indeed." (Ādi 3.77)78.
From Caitanya-maṅgala:
dhanya dhanya kali-yuga – yugera upari
saṅkīrtana yajñe sabhe hailā adhikārī79.
"Fortunate, fortunate is this Kali-yuga. It stands above all other yugas. In this yuga everyone became eligible to perform the saṅkīrtana-yajña." (Ādi-khaṇḍa, Pauganga-lila, 575)
For a detailed description of the correlation between the saṅkīrtana-yajña and Vedic sacrifices please refer to Caitanya-maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa (Mahāprabhura vividhāveśe prema-vitaraṇa), verses 81-90.
Therefore, initiation into chanting of the holy names (hari-nāma-dīkṣā) may be likened to the yajña-dīkṣā for the Kali-yuga. This is corroborated by the statement of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, the nāma-ācārya - “the great teacher of the chanting of the holy names”:
“saṅkhyā-nāma-saṅkīrtana—ei ‘mahā-yajña’ manye
tāhāte dīkṣita āmi ha-i prati-dine
“I have been initiated into a vow to perform a great sacrifice by chanting the holy name a certain number of times every day.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 3.240).
Śrī Caitanya's diksa
In this context it is interesting to note that the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, describes Śrī Caitanya's initiation from Īśvara Purī with a pronounced emphasis on the holy name. There he uses "mantra" and "nāma" interchangeably. According to the early biographies, Śrī Caitanya was initiated with a ten-syllable kṛṣṇa-mantra:
sa ittham ākarṇya harer vaco’mṛtaṁ
mudā dadau mantra-varaṁ mati-jñaḥ
daśākṣaraṁ prāpya sa gauracandramāṁ
tuṣṭāva taṁ bhakti-vibhāvitaḥ svayam80
Hearing the nectarean words of Gaura Hari, Īśvara Purī could understand His pure mentality, and gladly he awarded Him a sublime mantra of ten syllables. Experiencing a spontaneous awakening of pure devotion, Śrī Gaura Candra offered some words of praise to His gurudeva. (Kṛṣṇa-caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.15.18)81.
tabe tāna sthāne śikṣā-guru nārāyaṇa
karilena daśākṣara-mantrera grahaṇa
Then the Supreme Lord, who is śikṣā-guru of everyone, accepted the ten syllable mantra from Īśvara Purī. (Caitanya-bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa 17.107).
tatraiva daiva-vaśataḥ samupeyivāṁsaṁ
nyāsīndram īśvara-purīm urarī-cakāra
śikṣā-gurur gurutayā daśa-varṇa-vidyām
āsādya mādhava-purīndra-vaśāṁ vaśīśaḥ82
“There He accepted as His guru Iśvara Purī, who by fate had come there. Śri Caitanya, the master of all self-controlled yogīs, then accepted the ten-syllable mantra from His guru, who had learned it from Mādhavendra Purī.” (Caitanya-candrodaya-naṭaka of Kavi Karṇapūra, 1.77).83
However, in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta Śrī Caitanya and Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī use the description of his dīkṣā as an opportunity to connect this very important point in his life (initiation) with the mission of his descent to this world – nama-saṅkīrtana and widespread propagation of the holy names. This mission indeed started immediately after Śrī Caitanya returned to Navadvīpa from Gayā, where he met his guru and received dīkṣā. Since both kṛṣṇa-mantra and kṛṣṇa-nāma are philosophically non-different from Kṛṣṇa himself, there is no fault in describing Śrī Caitanya's dīkṣā by using these both terms interchangeably.
Thus, according to Śrī Caitanya, his guru told him the following84:
mūrkha tumi, tomāra nāhika vedāntādhikāra
‘kṛṣṇa-mantra’ japa sadā,—ei mantra-sāra
“‘You are a fool,’ he said. ‘You are not qualified to study Vedānta philosophy, and therefore You must always chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. This is the essence of all mantras, or Vedic hymns.
kṛṣṇa-mantra haite habe saṁsāra-mocana
kṛṣṇa-nāma haite pābe kṛṣṇera caraṇa
“‘Simply by chanting Kṛṣṇa-mantra one can obtain freedom from material existence. Simply by chanting Kṛṣṇa's names one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.
nāma vinu kali-kāle nāhi āra dharma
sarva-mantra-sāra nāma, ei śāstra-marma
“‘In this Age of Kali there is no religious principle other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures.’” (Ādi 7.72-74).
eta bali’ eka śloka śikhāila more
kaṇṭhe kari’ ei śloka kariha vicāre
“After describing the potency of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, My spiritual master taught Me another verse, advising Me to always keep it within My throat.
harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
“‘For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.’” (Ādi 7.75-76).
We can clearly see how the emphasis in this verses gradually gravitates from a specific dīkṣā-mantra (which is known only to the initiated disciple and not to be openly chanted or even disclosed to others) towards kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana (which is open to one and all).
After this Śrī Caitanya is described as only chanting the name and not mantra:
ei ājñā pāñā nāma la-i anukṣaṇa
nāma laite laite mora bhrānta haila mana
“Since I received this order from My spiritual master, I always chant the holy name, but I thought that by chanting and chanting the holy name I had been bewildered. (Ādi 7.77)
tabe dhairya dhari’ mane kariluṅ vicāra
kṛṣṇa-nāme jñānācchanna ha-ila āmāra
“Collecting My patience, therefore, I began to consider that chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa had covered all My spiritual knowledge. (Ādi 7.79).
However, when he asks his guru what had happened to him, he again uses the word "mantra":
kibā mantra dilā, gosāñi, kibā tāra bala
japite japite mantra karila pāgala
“‘My dear lord, what kind of mantra have you given Me? I have become mad simply by chanting this mahā-mantra! (Ādi 7.81).
Īśvara Purī replies by using the broad term "kṛṣṇa-nāma-mahā-mantra":
kṛṣṇa-nāma-mahā-mantrera ei ta’ svabhāva
yei jape, tāra kṛṣṇe upajaye bhāva
“‘It is the nature of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra that anyone who chants it immediately develops his loving ecstasy for Kṛṣṇa. (Ādi 7.83).
However, later on he again speaks of the results of chanting of any holy name of the Lord and not just dīkṣā-mantra:
kṛṣṇa-nāmera phala—‘premā’, sarva-śāstre kaya
bhāgye sei premā tomāya karila udaya
“‘The conclusion of all revealed scriptures is that one should awaken his dormant love of Godhead. You are greatly fortunate to have already done so.” (Ādi 7.86).
And finally, he gives Śrī Caitanya the order to chant holy names and instruct others to do so:
nāca, gāo, bhakta-saṅge kara saṅkīrtana
kṛṣṇa-nāma upadeśi’ tāra’ sarva-jana
“‘My dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing saṅkīrtana in association with devotees. Furthermore, go out and preach the value of chanting kṛṣṇa-nāma, for by this process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls.’” (Ādi 7.92).
So, this was the reason behind Śrī Caitanya's constant saṅkīrtana:
ei tāṅra vākye āmi dṛḍha viśvāsa dhari’
nirantara kṛṣṇa-nāma saṅkīrtana kari
sei kṛṣṇa-nāma kabhu gāoyāya, nācāya
gāhi, nāci nāhi āmi āpana-icchāya
“I firmly believe in these words of My spiritual master, and therefore I always chant the holy name of the Lord, alone and in the association of devotees. That holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa sometimes causes Me to chant and dance, and therefore I chant and dance. Please do not think that I intentionally do it. I do it automatically. (Ādi 7.95-96).
We can see from this description how mantra and holy name are interconnected and at the same time that the holy name is more important than a secret dīkṣā-mantra.
Some say that since Caitanya-caritāmṛta, which is the most authoritative biography of Śrī Caitanya, does not mention Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra explicitly and since it is a mantra, then it should not be chanted loudly but only pronounced very softly or, even better, meditated upon in one's mind, just as any dīkṣā-mantra, which should not be disclosed to anyone. Nārada-pañcarātra states:
sva-mantro nopadeṣṭavyo vaktavyaś ca na saṁsadi85
"A disciple should not instruct others in the mantra he has received from his spiritual master, nor should he chant it loudly in front of others."
However, śāstras do not forbid loud chanting of the hari-nāma-mahā-mantra but instead encourage everyone to chant it loudly. For example, Padma Purāṇa (Svarga-khaṇḍa 50.6, 12, 14-15)86 states:
harer nāma mahā-mantrair naśyet pāpa piśācakaṁ “The mahā-mantra of the holy names destroys all witches of sin.”
harer agre svanair uccair nṛtyaṁs tan-nāma-kṛn naraḥ
punāti bhuvanaṁ viprā gaṅgādi-salilaṁ yathā
O brāhmaṇas! A person who dances in front of Lord Hari and loudly chants his names, purifies the world just as the water of Gaṅgā and other sacred rivers.
hareḥ pradakṣiṇaṁ kurvann uccais tan-nāma-kṛn naraḥ
karatālādi-sandhānaṁ su-svaraṁ kala-śabditam
brahma-hatyādikaṁ pāpaṁ tenaiva kara-tālitam
A person who, while circumambulating Lord Hari, loudly sings his holy names with a melodious voice and claps his hands, is relieved of sins like killing of brāhmaṇa.”
One should refer to Caitanya-bhāgavata, Ādi -khaṇḍa, Chapter 16, for a detailed discussion of the benefits of loud chanting of the holy names.
And as we have already seen above, Śrī Caitanya's associates explicitly state that he chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra consisting of sixteen names and thirty-two syllable in a loud voice and in public. Moreover, he engaged others in a loud chanting:
tataḥ śrī-gaurāṅgaḥ samavadad atīva-pramudito
hare kṛṣṇety uccair vada muhur iti śrī-maya-tanuḥ
tato’sau tat procya prativalita-romāñca-lalito
rudaṁs tat-tat-karmārabhata bahu-duḥkhair vidalitaḥ87
“In great joy, beautiful Gaurāṅga said, “Chant 'Hare Kṛṣṇa' loudly at all times!” When he said this, the barber, torn apart with sorrow, performed his task while crying, his hairs standing on end." (Caitanya-caritāmṛta-mahā-kavya of Kavi Karṇapūra, 11.54)88.
Explanations of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was the first among Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇavas who showed the connection between the eight pairs of names in Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and Śrī Caitanya's famous Śikṣāṣṭaka ("Intructions in eight verses"), and hence – with the progressive path of bhakti described by Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.4.15-16). In his Bhajana-rahasya Bhaktivinoda writes:
hare kṛṣṇa ṣola nāma aṣṭa-yuga haya
aṣṭa-yuga arthe aṣṭa-śloka prabhu kaya
ādi hare-kṛṣṇa arthe avidyā-damana
śraddhāra sahita kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana
Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra consists of sixteen names in eight pairs. The Lord composed eight verses that explain these eight pairs of names.
The first pair, “Hare Kṛṣṇa,” means the removal of ignorance and the chanting of Kṛṣṇa’s holy names with faith (śraddhā).
āra hare-kṛṣṇa nāma kṛṣṇa sarva-śakti
sādhu saṅge nāmāśraye bhajanānurakti
seita bhajana-krame sarvānartha-nāśa
anarthāpagame nāme niṣṭhāra vikāśa
The second pair, “Hare Kṛṣṇa,” means that the holy name has all Kṛṣṇa’s potencies. They indicate the attachment for bhajana by taking shelter of the holy names in the association of saintly persons (sādhu-saṅga).
In this gradual process of bhajana all the anarthas are destroyed and then the firm faith in the holy name appears (bhajana-kriyā and anartha-nivṛtti).
tṛtīye viśuddha-bhakta caritrera saha
kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa nāme niṣṭhā kare aharaha
The third pair, “Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa," means that one chants Kṛṣṇa's names with firm faith day and night in the company of pure devotees (niṣṭhā).
caturthe ahaitukī bhakti uddīpana
ruci saha hare hare nāma-saṅkīrtana
The fourth pair, "Hare Hare," means that unmotivated devotion is awakened and one chants the holy
names with a taste (ruci).
pañcamete śuddha dāsya rucira sahita
hare rāma saṅkīrtana smaraṇa vihita
The fifth pair, "Hare Rāma," indicates an attitude of pure service and a taste for it. Here one should start the practice of smaraṇa (rememberance) (āsakti).
ṣaṣṭhe bhāvāṅkure hare rāmeti kīrtana
saṁsāre aruci kṛṣṇe ruci samarpaṇa
The sixth pair, "Hare Rāma", indicates the beginning of bhāva (transcendental emotions), which makes one lose all taste for material life and directs one's attachment to Kṛṣṇa (bhāva).
saptame madhurāsakti rādhā-padāśraya
vipralambhe rāma rāma nāmera udaya
The seventh pair, "Rāma Rāma," indicates the attachment for the conjugal love and taking shelter of Śrī Rādhā's lotus feet. Here one chants the holy name in the mood of separation.
aṣṭame vrajete aṣṭa-kāla gopī-bhāva
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-prema-sevā prayojana lābha
The eighth pair, "Hare Hare," indicates the attainment of the goal of life – loving service to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, in the mood of the gopīs, throughout the eight divisions of day and night (prema). (Bhajana-rahasya, prathama-yāma-sādhana).
Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (17.129), quoting from Mantrārṇava, describes the main components of mantra-japa:
manaḥ-saṁharaṇaṁ śaucaṁ maunaṁ mantrārtha-cintanam
avyagratvam anirvedo japa-sampatti-hetavaḥ
"Activities such as controlling the mind, striving for purity, observing silence, contemplating the meaning of the mantra, exhibiting peacefulness, and showing eagerness for chanting are the qualities that enable one to attains the maximum benefit of japa."
Since mantrārtha-cintanam (contemplating the meaning of the mantra) is necessary for a successful chanting, many Gauḍīya-ācāryas have written explanation of Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī (Kusumasarovara-vale) has collected and published eight different explanations of the Hare Kṛṣṇa-mahā-mantra in 195489. All of them explain each of the sixteen names in the mantra. Among them Gopāla-guru Gosvāmī's Hari-nāma -mahā-mantra-vyākhyā is fairly well-known. Others, like explanations attributed to Jīva Gosvāmī or Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, are not wel-known and some are not mentioned anywhere in the works of Gauḍīya writers. Rājendralāla Mitra records a notice of a manuscript of Hare-kṛṣṇa-mahā-mantrārtha-nirūpaṇam in 25 verses ascribed to Rūpa Gosvāmī90.
These commentaries explain the words of the mantra in the mood of mādhurya, very sweet and close relationship with the Lord, which is the highest mood of worship for the followers of Śrī Caitanya. For example, one the of the standard and often quoted explanations is the one given by Śrī Gopāla Guru Gosvāmī (early 17th century), where he explains the meaning of the three names as follows:
vijñāpya bhagavat-tattvaṁ sac-cid-ānanda-vigraham
haraty avidyāṁ tat kāryam ato harir iti smṛtaḥ
The truth regarding Bhagavān should be known. He has a form of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. Because he takes away (harati) the ignorance and its work (material existence), he is known as Hari.
harati śrī-kṛṣṇa-manaḥ kṛṣṇāhlāda-svarūpiṇī
ato harety anenaiva śrī-rādhā parikīrtitā
Śrī Rādhā, who is Lord Kṛṣṇa's pleasure potency, steals his mind. Therefore she is glorified as Harā.
ānandaika-sukha-svāmī śyāmaḥ kamala-locanaḥ
gokulānandano nanda-nandanaḥ kṛṣṇa īryate
The lotus-eyed Śyāma is the only happiness and master of Rādhā, the personification of his pleasure potency. Thus the beloved son of Nanda, who gives bliss to the inhabitants of Gokula, is known as Kṛṣṇa.
vaidagdhī sāra-sarvasvaṁ mūrti-līlādhidaivatam
rādhikāṁ ramya-nityaṁ rāma ity abhidhīyate
He is unexcelled in his cleverness and is the presiding deity of amorous pastimes. Because he always brings pleasure to Rādhikā, he is known as Rāma91.
However, before one takes to such intimate worship, especially in the modern age, one is advised to begin with understanding the greatness of the Lord and his opulences (aiśvarya ). On this stage of philosophical approach to the God realization the three names may have other meanings and the subtle differences between the different forms of the Lord are not necessarily crucial. Explaining this, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī writes:
“In the inclination for service from the point of view of aiśvarya (opulence), 'Hare Rāma' refers to Lord Rāma, the son of Daśaratha. But the devotees who worship the Lord on the path of mādhurya (sweetness) know 'Rāma' to be 'Gopī -Rāmana', or the enjoyer of the gopis. He is the son of Nanda (Kṛṣṇa). Whenever the name 'Rāma' indicates service to Rādhā-Rāmaṇa (Kṛṣṇa, who enjoys and gives enjoyment to Rādhā), then the name 'Hare' refers to the original form of the spiritual energy, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the daughter of king Vrsabhānu.”92
Similarly, due to the rules of Sanskrit grammar and the mood of the chanter there may be certain ambiguity regarding the name “Hare,” which grammatically is the vocative case of both “Hari” (Kṛṣṇa) and “Harā” (Rādhā).
Although both meaning are possible and accepted, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas usually stress the latter meaning
– “Hare” being the vocative of Harā (Rādhā), who is the personification of the pleasure potency of the Lord and the dearest devotee of Kṛṣṇa. This was the meaning given to the people of the western world by A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda along with the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra which he brought from India in 1965:
“The word Harā is the form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words Kṛṣṇa and Rāma are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Both Kṛṣṇa and Rāma mean the supreme pleasure, and Harā 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.”93
The prayerful mood in which one should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is explained by
Bhaktivedānta Swami as follows: “This Hare Krishna Mantra is addressed to the energy of the Lord and the Lord Himself to keep the chanter in his eternal position of being enjoyed. The prayer is "My Lord, Oh the Spiritual Energy of the Lord, kindly keep me engaged in Your service.” Thus, according to the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is an easy and sublime spiritual practice ( sādhana), which is deeply rooted both in scriptures and in a centuries-long tradition. It is available to everyone and the result of it is awakening of one's dormant love of God. The closer one comes to this goal, the more one experiences how the transcendental reality unfolds within these holy names.
sources
https://www.academia.edu/33704686/Hare_K%E1%B9%9B%E1%B9%A3%E1%B9%87a_mah%C4%81-mantra_from_the_Caitanya-vai%E1%B9%A3%E1%B9%87ava_perspective_Journal_of_Vaisnava_Studies_Vol._24_No._2_Spring_2016_pp._213-257
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-advantage-of-chanting-Hare-Krishna-Maha-Mantra/answer/Murari-Das-1
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