What's
So Special About Chanting Hare Krishna?
By Stephen Knapp
Most
people have heard the Hare Krishna mantra at some time
or other, but what the heck is so special about this
mantra? Why are we supposed to spend time chanting it?
What can it do for us?
First of all, let me explain
a little about mantra-yoga. Mantra-yoga is actually
a mystical tradition found in almost every spiritual
path in the world. It may involve the softly spoken
repetition of a prayer or mantra for one's own meditation,
or it may be the congregational singing of spiritually
uplifting songs, prayers, or the sacred names of the
Supreme Being. It all involves the same process, but
in the Eastern tradition it is called mantra-yoga because
it is the easy process of focusing our minds on the
Supreme, which helps spiritualize our consciousness.
Man means the mind, tra means deliverance. Therefore,
a spiritual mantra is the pure sound vibration for delivering
the mind from material to spiritual consciousness. This
is the goal of any spiritual path. Although all spiritual
traditions have their own prayers or mantras, the Vedic
mantras are especially powerful and effective in uniting
us with the spiritual realm. However, a complete yoga
process is generally a blend of a few yoga systems,
such as bhakti-yoga with mantra-yoga. Therefore, bhakti-yoga,
as described in the previous chapters, also includes
mantra-yoga, or the process of concentrating on the
sound vibration within a mantra. This is especially
important in this age of Kali.
According to the predominant
types of sound vibration people associate with through
T.V. and radio, or in reading articles in magazines
and newspapers, they become attracted to certain things
or drawn towards certain viewpoints. When television
shows, songs on the radio, stories in magazines, and
advertising everywhere propagates the concern for temporary
sense gratification, then people lose their interest
in the real goal of life. They simply become absorbed
in the thoughts of whatever type of sound vibration
enters their consciousness. When nonsensical sound vibrations
enter and contaminate the ether, the air, water, and
the very molecular structure of each and every person,
place and thing, then we cannot expect anything else
but continued and worsening turmoil and perplexities
in the world.
There are many kinds of sound
vibrations, mantras, or prayers that can be used for
gaining money, maintaining health, defeating enemies,
getting good luck, subduing evil spirits, counteracting
snake bite, and so on. There are countless mantras or
prayers for temporary results, not only in the Vedic
culture but in other cultures as well. The most powerful
mantras are those that can completely free one from
this material world and the cycle of birth and death
and allow one to enter the spiritual realm. As already
established, there is no mantra more powerful for this
purpose than the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
The way the maha-mantra works
is a science. The proper way to chant is to give up
all of our internal thoughts. As mentioned before, it
is almost impossible to meditate on the void and empty
our mind of all thinking. Our mind is always being pulled
here and there by something. But the chanting process
is easy because we simply concentrate on the mantra.
However, our meditation on the mantra will be most effective
if we can avoid the internal dialogue we always have
within our mind. We should not be chanting while we
make plans for the day, or while focusing our attention
on other things. The maha-mantra is the Supreme in the
incarnation of sound. Therefore, we must chant with
complete respect and veneration. The process is to simply
chant and hear. That is all. If we can do that, then
we will make rapid progress in self realization.
To begin progressing on the
path of chanting the maha-mantra, it is prescribed that
the practitioner chant on beads called japa-mala, similar
to a rosary that consists of 108 beads with one extra
head bead, which is larger than the others. This represents
the 108 Upanishads, or, as described elsewhere, Krishna
represented as the head bead surrounded by 108 of His
most beloved devotees. For making your own japa beads,
read this complete article at: http://www.stephen-knapp.com/chanting_hare_krishna.htm
One chants the Hare Krishna
mantra once on each bead from the head bead all the
way around the 108 beads. This is one round, or one
mala. Then without chanting on the Krishna bead, turn
the beads around in your hand and go in the opposite
direction and chant another round. One should try to
set a certain amount of time aside each day, preferably
in the morning, to peacefully sit down or walk and chant
the particular number of rounds you have set for yourself.
One may chant two rounds, four rounds, or whatever one
can do.
For those who are serious,
it is prescribed that they chant a total of at least
sixteen rounds every day. With a little practice, this
normally takes about two hours. Two rounds will take
about fifteen minutes. But one should set a fixed number
of rounds to chant every day. Then one can also spend
some time reading Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam
to enhance his or her spiritual development. A daily
program of chanting and reading will produce definite
results very quickly.
As you become regulated in your chanting and study,
on a daily basis, changes will begin to manifest in
your consciousness that may be imperceptible at first,
while other changes begin that will be noticeable from
the start. You will often notice an internal energy
within you that was not there before. Amongst other
things, you may also feel self confidence in your own
position and purpose in life, and a closer affinity
with God and all beings. Of course, this is just the
beginning, so if you do this regularly, deeper insights
and realizations will occur as your consciousness acquires
more clarity and purification.
This is an edited version
of a detailed, comprehensive article written by Stephen,
Sri Nandanandana das. To read the article in full click
here: http://www.stephen-knapp.com/chanting_hare_krishna.htm
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