"Another class, another kirtan, another day, another month. Time does not count, so do not count time. As death will simply come to devour you, absorb your life at once in the heart-felt chanting of the Holy Names and time will stop, because Lord Krsna will take you beyond time and space."
“Taking initiation from a spiritual master will help us to focus our mind on the Holy Names, to find a direction in life, and to make spiritual progress rapidly.”
"You cannot blame the seed if you do not water it correctly. The maha mantra comes along with a concept."
"Above all - thank Krishna for everything that He has done for you. You can also ask for the mercy to help others, enthusiasm for the service and strength to tolerate the tests."
"Mantras enable us to scientifically get in contact with higher consciousness. And because the higher consciousness is superior it will elevate our present consciousness."
"The chanting of the holy names is a meditation that lets us have something, for which the yogis make infinite austerities. So catch your japas every morning with all enthusiasm, and clarify your relation with the Supreme Lord. In this way you will not lose the spiritual force; the holy protection
that we all need. This is also the reason why we should preach the chanting of the Holy Names to each and everyone, because with so many sorrows that humanity has, a meeting with the Supreme Personality of God would be the most spectacular that could happen to a person."
"According to the Sri Siksastakam from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, there are no hard and fast rules for chanting the Holy Names of the Lord, but it is very important to sing them with all our heart. Our acaryas give clear instructions about the usage of japa beads for chanting the Maha-mantra. Usually we chant one complete maha-mantra on one bead and then go on to the next bead, without passing over the main bead, which is usually somewhat larger and represents the Lord himself. When we reach this bead, we change the direction and continue chanting the maha-mantra, bead by bead."
"To chant the maha-mantra on the Japa mala is always auspicious. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spread this mantra, which connects us with the abode of the highest love, and said that there are no hard and fast rules how to chant the mantra. Therefore we can chant this Hare Krishna maha-mantra everywhere and anytime."
“For chanting on the Japa mala, Srila Prabhupada recommended that while chanting we should engage the mind in hearing the Hare Krsna mantra. So, simply by concentrating on chanting and hearing the sound vibration we will be connected with the transcendental realm.”
"For the chanting of Krishna's Names there is a translation: "My dear Lord, please let me become an instrument of your love, and occupy me in your service." And if you have this feeling while you are chanting, you will become so happy about it that you naturally want to be an instrument of His love. So to say: then you are ready for action. That is the real goal of the internalization of meditation."
"By chanting the Holy names of the Lord with all our heart, by praying to become an instrument of the love of Sri Krishna, Srimati Radharani, we will become more and more aware of the great opportunity of this human life, namely to enter the service of the devotees of the Lord."
“It is important to chant a certain amount of rounds on your Japa mala (rosary with 108 pearls) every day, with a lot of steadiness and determination. Of course the maha mantra can be chanted anytime and everywhere, but it is helpful to dedicate a certain amount of time especially for concentrated mantra meditation on the rosary. This will help us to establish a real connection with the highest spiritual plane.”
""Man" signifies "mind" and "tra" signifies "liberation". So by chanting vedic mantras our mind will become liberated from material and egoistic thoughts. Which means we will be able to receive and understand spiritual, loving conceptions."
"Actually there is no difference between chanting and meditation. Chanting is also called mantra-meditation. There are different types of chanting: it can be performed loudly with music, it can be performed silently by yourself and it can be one done in the mind like the Gayatri mantra. That is called mind-meditation."
"One can not expect the same result as from mantras from repeating any arbitrary sentence. Vedic mantras are in themselves joyful, virtuous and full of love. Therefore one will automatically obtain good qualities by remembering and chanting them."
"There are no hard and fast rules for chanting the maha mantra. It can be done all the time and everywhere, silently or loudly. And it is completely free of charge! Just try it."
"If the Guru calls for you, but you are chanting, and you answer that you cannot come, because you are chanting, is that Sadhana? No. This is one's principle to please oneself, hidden behind the chanting."
"Of course, the Supersoul speaks to everyone through the inner voice, but with the chanting of the holy names, you also agree to talk with Him. You also call for Him and ask Him to help you, and this is a big difference, because if you dial the phone number to a person and when he picks up the
phone, he does not speak, it does not make much sense, rather it is disturbing."
"Nama bhajana means the chanting of the holy names, the sankirtana yoga which connects us congregationally to the sweet will of the supreme. Nama bhajana also means preaching, speaking to others about the sweet names of the lord. And it also means writing about the lord in form of journals, books, internet pages, so that others may read about this divine message later."
"All samskaras are purificatory rituals which are great pretexts to get everybody to chant the Holy Name of Sri Krsna. Without the chanting of the Holy Name, no ritual can be successful."
"Of course, when people come to the temple they have to be treated with kindness. So the temple devotees have to be very in the mood of service. So when someone comes to the temple, the devotee should think: "oh my lord, you have send this soul to take shelter of you." The temple devotee is like a receptionist in the spiritual world. When someone reaches the door of the temple he is reaching the door of the embassy of Goloka Vrindavana. Temples are giving visas for Goloka Vrindavana, only the people have to prepare with devotional service and chanting the maha mantra. That is the price to be paid. Then you have to be soooooo kind with the people, that they want to
come back. You have to be sooooooo comforting, you have to make sure they are feeling at home, that they have something to drink, a nice place to sit on, nice prasada, that they are listening to some good preaching and some good word. That is the duty of a temple devotee. Otherwise you are not a good devotee. If you're a lazy bum, not receiving nicely the people who are coming to the temple, then you are very bad and eventually you will be removed. Krishna will not tolerate having a nonsense guy in his temple giving trouble to others. That is so important to understand. Discipline
with kindness."
"When I go on sankirtana to collect and connect I want to give you my guru. Actually I do not have anything from my side that I can give. What can I give you? An ugly old man? What can I give you? A mind with bad memory? And about my past I do not want to talk, to not contaminate the atmosphere. So what can I give you? I can give you the best thing of my life and that is my gurudeva. He has saved me and he made my life meaningful. That’s is why I am feeling enthusiastic to give him to you. And that is why I feel that I am your well-wisher. I am giving you the best of the best of the best of the best of the best of what I have found in this life time. I did not find anything good before meeting my guru. I did not find anything comparable to him and to the values of true vaisnava behavior he has taught me. I have not found anybody better then those who are serving Krishna. I have not found anybody who eats better food then the vaisnavas. I have nor found any places more meaningful and more mystic then the places where the devotees are worshiping Krishna, like in Vrindavana and Mayapur. I have not found any place with a better philosophy and books. I have not found any art style more soothing and with a greater variety then the vaisnava arts. In other words, we can connect to Krishna in so many ways and we can do so many wonderful things for Krishna. This is our business to connect people to the best which is there. I have not found anything better in the world. "
"Sankirtana means being active in preaching, going out to schools, going from door to door, into public transports or where ever you go - connect and collect. That is the spirit of ekadasi I learned from my gurudeva. Making people happy. That is the greatest austerity and the greatest nectar at the same time. If you want to be happy in this life, never stop connecting and collecting for Krishna. Thank you very much. Simple message but it is right down to earth. Means where we are, and where our children and great children will be."
"Preaching will increase our realization. When you are preaching and taking in consideration guru, sastra and sadhu, something magical happens in you. You start to understand what you are talking about. If you are speaking again and again what you have heard from the proper source, then it starts moving within you. It starts to reveal its true nature. And that realization is Krishna Himself. You are realizing Krishna. Step by step. When you talk about Krishna, Krishna is so pleased with you that he is revealing to you what he wants you and others to know, even if it is spoken imperfectly."
"Preaching is life. Life is not worth living if you do not share the nectar. You have not been born to loose your life in front of a tv. Men, women, young, old, married or single. Preach. Make contact with people invite them to conferences and to the parikrams to our sanctuaries invite to the world to eat prasadam and become vegetarians better then, invite them to learn how to offer their food."
"The sankirtan was begun by Sri Nityananada Prabhu and Srila Haridas thakur. It make us humbles and burns our lust."
"The sankirtan is the meaning of our life thanks to Srila Prabhupada. Sankirtan open the doors of the spiritual love, universal love, freeing us of many prejudices because we have to deliver the message to all kinds of persons. Sankirtan is the cause of all the publications of the vaishnava
world to distribute the nectar, the fruits of the tree of love, planted personally by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It's so nice to preach. What a mercy to talk about Krishna, study his saints messages. Really, this mission of sankirtan show us our commitment with others, with the world. Sankirtan
substitute the indifference towards the pain of others with deep compassion. The month of december is by tradition the month of distributing extra many of books and dvd lectures."
"Do not be surprised if there are a lot of obstacles in the way of your preaching activities; rather be surprised if somebody takes up the path of spiritual life. We are spirit souls surrounded by the kingdom of Maya. Do not be attached to the results of your activities. Good association, a sincere heart and strong determination will help us to make our lives successful."
"We are simply the carriers of the message of love of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. All rights are reserved by the Supreme Lord. He is the supreme controller of everything. Even though it may be difficult to spread this message of transcendental loving service in the age of Kali, it is still the foremost duty and pleasure of a devotee to do so. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu predicted that eventually the Holy Name of the Lord will be heard in every town and village around the world. We do not have to worry about success or failure of our efforts. Everything is already arranged. In the Bhagavad-Gita it is stated that Arjuna was given the order to fight, without being concerned about the results of the battle, by Lord Sri Krishna Himself. Everything was already arranged by the Lord. Arjuna just had to fulfill his duty; to stand up and fight."
"Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted in every town and every village his
representation and representation means that a person is willing to give
spiritual refuge. Without surrender to the spiritual master there is not
this actual refuge."
"The purpose of the Harmony School of Conscious Art is to enthuse artists of all kinds to utilize the language of their art to awaken consciousness and to spread the glories of the Holy Name. We take shelter of this part of the Siksastakam, where Sri Caitanya says that there are no hard and fast rules to chant the Holy Names."
"There are different types of standards. I heard that my parama Gurudeva did not like the music of harmoniums in the temples, but my Gurudeva enchanted many thousands of people with beautiful harmonium bhajanas. He enthused George Harrison and had Yamuna Govinda-prayers played in every temple every day."
"Personally, I cannot tolerate loud bells, wampers or gongs. When they create an incredible amount of decibel, “deafening” sounds, I have to run away immediately. Sometimes one cannot even hear which song they are singing. I asked many older devotees about that circumstance and most of them have the same feelings as I do. When I visit one of my temples, I first send somebody to find all the wampers and gongs and hide them. I tell the devotees not to use them but some devotees, who were previously attached to the heavy metal music still like to play them. So it may be a relative point. I do not think Krsna is deaf. He does not need so much noise to hear what the devotees are singing."
"One has to judge the rules of music according to place, time and circumstance. We have some straight-edge or heavy metal musicians amongst our devotees. They make this music for Krsna. Most of them are actually very serious devotees and they simply utilize this tool for attracting friends from that scene."
"Nowadays there exists vaisnava music in practicaly all musical styles. Of course in our temple ceremonies we prefer soft and classical styles, but that is not a hard and fast rule. When I was temple president in Sao Paolo, a famous Brasilian musician, Ceatano Veloso, came sometimes to the temple to sing the kirtana in the Sunday feast, in samba rhythm. We want to preserve the classic styles, but there is also space for expanding into new areas of devotional music."
"Everything can be utilized for Krsna. I am very fond of singing bhajans in any local respective language. That is so helpful for the devotees to understand the real meaning of the message. I have been critisized for introducing this singing, but I checked with senior Gaudiya Vaisnavas and got approval from them, both Srila Sridhara Maharaja and Srila B.P. Puri Maharaja welcomed it."
"There is a lot of advice coming from our tradition on how to play kartalas and mrdanga and how to dance in a harinam, but that is a topic which is better to be organized locally and according to the musical capacity of the devotees involved. In general I would say, whatever music we make it should sound as good as possible. Singing of any type which makes people run away is not the best choice. Even in the Caitanya Caritamrta it was pointed out that there were some expert dancers and singers."
"Bhajana was explained by Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja as a mood; a mood of worship. A word that can hardly be translated by a song or a prayer. The whole mood of bhajana, of wanting to enter in the eternal relationship of service to the sweet will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is really the surcharging goal of devotional life."
"We want to go deep into the mood of service, like when we sing Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur's song "Gopinatha", which is so full of remorse and prayer for real purity and service. If we sing that song in our local languages like we do in South America or in Germany, it is helpful to go much deeper in one's prayer. Therefore we have introduced with the blessings of Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Maharaja and Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja the singing of Vaisnava prayers, bhajanas and songs in local languages as well as the original Sanskrit and Bengali prayers."
"If you want to give something clean you have to purify yourself. You have to go to the essence, dive deep and you have to be connected."
"Collecting money is boring. As soon as you get money, everybody says: now you have money, what you are going to do? Of course money is laxmi and it should be used properly for Narayana. But externally speaking it is boring, it is a headache. You have to count the paper, then you have to make sure that nobody steals it, then you have to put it in the bank and see how to spend it quickly before the bank goes bankrupt. Money is a headache. So I am not collecting money. I am collecting people. Collect and connect. Collecting people by connecting them to Prabhupada and telling them to connect others."
"An example of the material world of collecting is the mosquito. The mosquito is flying around and trying to collect blood and is not interested to give anything. Maybe he is giving malaria, but I do not think he is doing this consciously. I do not think he knows what he is doing. At least the mosquito knows that he wants to suck your blood. Same like the mosquitos are the sales people. They are playing that they are interested in you. Devotees are not sales people. Devotees are giving benefits. They want to give you the best thing they have found in life."
"3 T's. Transparent, Transcendental, transmission. Transparent means: no cheating. Transcendental means, it deals with the priority of the soul, its relationship with the supreme and which course to take in life. And Transmission means the ear and mouth. First you hear and then you speak. So this is transmission. That is why you got a ear and a mouth."
"What matters is that you want to glorify and please Krishna. That you are transparent and that you want to help people. This is the key point."
"Transmitting transcendental sound is the secret of Krishna, because Krishna is there. It is so important to understand this."
"Never stop the TTT, the transcendental, transparent transaction. It is good for you. You preach to your self. While you are talking about Krishna, you yourself are reflecting and you are under the protection of the audience. This protection is very important.You are so kind that you are giving me the chance to speak about Krishna. And you are also checking me, if I am speaking something beneficial."
"Hearing and realizing that there is no bar or restriction about who can hear and preach the message of God - men, women, even Germans can preach (if any people in the world should shut up, then the Germans should do this) -- of course provided, that they have received the message from a bonafide source, from a representative of Narada, we are getting very important information."
"How can we transmit transcendental transparent items? We have to receive first. And not only receiving. We have to practice sincerely what we are receiving and we have to give it to others. Then it will be a real thing. So everybody is enthused to preach. Everybody should preach."
"Lord Gauranga is the one who has appeared to give the divine gift. He even brought the love for Sri Sri Radha Govinda in Vrindavana. The eternal secret which is entirely manifested within him.
Lord Gauranga. The deeper understanding of Lord Gaurangas transcendental position, comes along with serious nama bhajana. You can not take any intellectual shortcut."
"I think you would agree, that there are many people in this world who are much worse off then you. Do you agree? If you say: 'yes', then get out there and do something to help them, rather than to lament like an old woman, because her partners for playing bridge did not show up. This life is very serious and it will never get more serious then practising devotional service, because even at the moment of death, only the Holy Name will save you."
"The process of transmitting has 3 features: personal conversation, lecturing and writing. All these three are powerful. Writing is the most intensive, because every thing will be scrutinized. Only one wrong word, and the people will complain. So more attention and concentration is necessary,
so that everything is written down according to our philosophy and siddhanta. Guru, Sastra, Sadhu must coincide. This is our system of control, also called pramana. Proof must be there. These proofs help us to keep the track."
"It is business of the devotee to give classes, to look for an opportunity
to give a class. And if there is no place to give the class, then write a
book or speak the class against the wall and you record it. Prabhupada gave
once a class to the wall and he recorded it.
That became the introduction of the Bhagavad Gita as it is."
"First we should be thankful. Next we should be compassionate. If you have no enthusiasm to help others, it means that you forget the sweet will of Lord Krishna. He said, that dearest of all to Him is the one, who takes His message to others."
"Just look at the example of our acaryas, they all went on with their service, despite a lot of hardship and difficulty. We should rather follow them than listening to our mind. The mind is great if it comes to cheating yourself and producing excuses for not serving and not surrendering. So the problem is common, and it will continue until you give a good kick to your mind with a lot of maha-mantra, reading the transcendental books, hearing lectures or asking for personal guidance from an advanced devotee."
"Sadhana means service, to have the senses engaged in the service and to modify our habits of eating, walking, dressing, etc - all in service for Krishna. The deliverance of the character and the behaviour is the effect of doing a good Sadhana."
"You have to please the senses of Govinda. And how do you please the senses of Govinda? By telling others to please the senses of Govinda. My business is that your business is to please the senses of Govinda. And Govinda will be pleased by your senses when your senses tell others that their senses should also be dedicated to Govinda because we got nothing else to do."
"Sadhana is life. We need it. Without Sadhana we are nothing. Thus it is real that our life should be well organized. Disciple in reality exists through discipline."
"I insist in convincing you to practice Bhajam Sadhana with such love, that your spiritual body is waiting for you when you leave this covering of flesh and bones."
"Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakura: "The best form of remuneration to the Guru is to render selfless service by distributing the knowledge one has received to others."
"Any type of offensive or frustrated mentality with a touch of anger towards other devotees is just a trick of maya to disturb or to destroy your nama bhajana."
"There are three important things in the life of the devotee. The first is how to invite people and to pay more attention to what our masters gave to us. The second is how to relate to people when they come to the ashrams to know more. The third is how we care for each other, the ones that want to be devotees. We are not going to make all these things well, if we don't try to chant purely the sacred name of Krsna and try to become pure devotees. But if we do that, the package is full. Practice and preach. What we want to find is what we want to give. This is the process, the path and the goal."
"Everything that we can do to take the meditation of the holy name to all souls is a definite blessing for us and for everyone that receives this message, inclusive if they do not chant. Only having received the message that they should chant, is already the most auspicious that has happened in
their life".
"Once on ekadasi a devotee asked Srila Prabhupada if one should chant 25 rounds to which Prabhupada replied: 'Yes, one can do that, very nice.' Then the same person asked; 'but what about if someone goes out and preaches?' and Prabhupada immediately answered: 'This is not for them. This is only for the lazy people.' If someone is preaching he is doing already the greatest work. Somebody is giving out the books, organizing the programs in the temples, this is extra ordinary."
"Devotees making contacts with love and kindness - That is the essence of preaching."
"A devotee who executes 8 hours of disinterested service for Krishna to support his spiritual master, who is always nice with others and performs his service in a pleasing way may be understood as an advanced devotee. This kind of devotee is called Lakhpatti because he has got an attitude as if he would chant 64 rounds per day. It is very important to perform service and
to nurture the sadhana, the transformation in one's life. Imagine a devotee who is making efforts to serve others. That is a very beautiful symptom [of a vaishnava]."
"There is a mystery when all worldly habits disappear. It is most amazing. It is when nistha, spiritual steadiness is established as an irrevocable fact. When transcendental feelings start to overcome your heart. When your desire to hear and to chant will become more important than pizza ... oh
sorry, the wonderful meal that has been offered to Krishna."
"In the Maha-Mantra, "maha" signifies "great" or "most important", it's a famous vedic mantra consisting of 16 simple words: Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. By remembering and singing this mantra one will directly be connected with the highest transcendental platform. It is like the phone-number of God himself."
"Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu especially recommended the maha mantra as the sublime method and the only way for obtaining liberation and living joyfully in these times: Chant Hare Krsna and be happy!!"
"Meditation, concentration is described as smaranam, dharanam, dhyana, dhruva, anusmrti and samadhi. The first step is smaranam, remembering. To remember the things one heard which he felt to be calming and explaining. To remember "Ah yes, that's how it is. I am not this body. I am really a spiritual soul. I ought to discover my relation with God." And so on. Then there is dharanam. Dharanam is when one gets absorbed in that kind of thoughts; when these thoughts almost become a part of you and external things cease to distract you. And in this way it continues till samadhi is reached, where you discover your complete spiritual identity."
"Meditation itself is just an attempt of western people to describe what is happening when one devotes himself to transcendence. Mantra meditation is described as something very important because it is related to a humble prayer. That humble prayer will appear when you want to surpass the lack of humbleness you had before. It is just a question of time. Maybe someone has already come to dhyana but he is still not humble. This may be the case."
"Harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam, kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha - Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that in this age of conflicts the repeating of the inner prayer of the names of the Lord is the only way to become free from arrogance and more spiritually devoted; until samadhi. Samadhi means uninterrupted - not meditating half an hour and then forgetting everything again. It means that you are living a spiritual life. Eyes open or closed - that does not matter. That is what you could consider as the highest level of meditation."
"So to chant the three words "hare", "krsna" and "rama" is not a sectarian process. Somebody may think that those are Hindu names or some other language, but that does not matter. Actually Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that you can chant any genuine name of God and there are no fast rules and regulations to chant the names of the Lord. Whether we are Christian or Hindu or something else is not important. Important is to chant the names of God to develop our love for Him. That is the essence of the instructions of Krishna consciousness: to develop love for God. And that is the perfection of life."
"This maha mantra, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare - is a prayer to become engaged in spiritual life, in the service of the Lord. "Oh! My Lord, supremely attractive, source of all pleasure, oh! spiritual energy of the Lord; please engage me in your service with devotion.""
"If you fall into the ocean you are in danger even if you are a good swimmer. There is no land in sight and every wave tries to swallow you. So in order to be found and saved you have to draw the attention onto you by moving your arms and shouting for help. Similarly we have to chant the holy names of the Lord with all our heart so that the waves of Maya
will not overcome us and in order to draw the Lord's attention to us. We are all dependent on the mercy of the Lord."
"The Maha mantra definitely is in the stage of madhurya rasa. Even more specific: it contains the spirit of parakiya bhava (paramour relationship). In comparison to those who chant Radhe Syam Radhe Syam Syam Syam Radhe Radhe I heard sadhus in Vrindavan say that it is in the mood of svakiya bhava (marital relationship). The one is direct, the other one occult."
“The highest goal of life is to chant the Holy Name purely and to become a pure devotee. All rules and regulations hint in that direction.”
“There may be some other traditions too but actually there is no need for alteration of the process, because our acaryas are the best examples that this process leads to the highest goal possible, true love for Sri Krishna, which is really the more important part; to chant the Holy Names without offenses. All forms and artificial behavior will not help us in the end. Sincerity in the process will be the best protection for our love.”
“Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the great preacher of love for God, said that there are no hard and fast rules for chanting the Holy Names of the Lord. So Everybody can participate and help to distribute the Message of Love. It is a not matter of the color of your skin, social status, birth, age or any other material associations. We are all spirit souls and we have to satisfy the needs of the soul.”
“We should always try to chant with all our heart. Do not try to concentrate the mind on something else as the mind is very flickering and will jump from one thing to the other. Just engage your senses in the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. The internal attitude, or the motivation, for chanting should be 'Oh my Lord, please let me be an instrument of your love, please let me do some service for you.'”
“It is not necessary to become a great singer or a nice musician to sing the maha-mantra. To chant it nicely means to chant it sincerely and with great attention.”
“Generally the correct pronunciation of vedic mantras is very important. In order to make a sacrifice successful the mantra and the Sanskrit words must be chanted with the right pronunciation. But in this age of Kali yuga there are no brahmanas who are capable of chanting the mantras correctly. So in this age one can attain the highest benefit by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. This mantra is so merciful and at the same time so powerful that one gains the effect even if it is not chanted completely correctly.”
“For someone who just started chanting this maha-mantra, it is very much recommended to concentrate on the correct pronunciation of the mantra. This will also help us not to fall asleep while chanting. The lips and the tongue should actively be engaged in chanting the words of the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. The words should be pronunced and heared with great attention. Actually the process of chanting is very simple, and everybody can participate, but one has to practice it seriously and with great attention.”
“However the proper pronunciation is not the goal of chanting the maha-mantra. For very advanced devotees who really chant with a lot of affection, the pronunciation may not be so important.”
“Chanting the maha mantra is always auspicious. Gradually it will clean our heart from all bad influences and nourish the longing of the soul. This transcendental sound vibration has so much power and mercy that it will always and under any circumstances have some positive effect.”
“However, the highest effect of the mantra can only be achieved when it is received from a spiritual master. Only then it is possible to chant the Holy Names of the Lord without offenses. Our faith and dedication to the spiritual master will help us to overcome all offenses.”
“In our sampradaya I do not know of any guru who initiates disciples exclusively in the names of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda prabhu. The names of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda are part of the life of a Vaishnava and surely will give mercy and spiritual insights to a person who meditates upon them and renders service to Gurudeva; but excluding the maha mantra certainly does not come in the line of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada.”
“Srila Prabhupada said that the maha mantra is the solution for everything. If we accept the instructions of our eternal well-wisher, there won't be any doubt about what is to be done.”
“A great help to control the mind comes from chanting mantras. The word 'mantra' itself consists of the two syllables 'man' and 'tra'. 'Man' comes from 'manah', meaning mind, and 'tra' comes from 'trayate', meaning liberation. So, mantras are destined to help us to control our mind.”
“The hare krsna maha mantra, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, is called the great mantra because it directly connects us with the supreme platform and automatically helps us to fix our mind.”
“It is said that the Holy Name is not dependent upon initiation, any religious activities, purifying ceremonies, pious activities, rules or regulations. The Holy Name does not wait for such activities. It is self-sufficient. If the true nature and the reality of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and the result of chanting the Holy Name is known to a person, there is no need for such things.”
“The chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord does not depend upon anything else, for one immediately attains all desired results by this connection with the highest platform, the Lord Himself. Just by using the tongue to chant the maha mantra immediate effects are produced.”
“Making efforts to spread the universal message of love in this age of Kali can be compared to a battle. This age of Kali is full of unlimited faults. Actually it is compared to an ocean of faults. But the Lord as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu provided the great opportunity to get free from the contamination of Kali-yuga: simply chant the Hare Krishna maha mantra, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. This mantra will naturally reveal all good qualities and eliminate all bad qualities of the persons involved in the process.”
"We organize Ratha Yatra and Sunday feasts to spread nama bhajana."
"Of course nama bhajana also extends into the puja - the worship of the deities, and into the worship and the service of the vaishnavas."
"The greatest and most beautiful nama bhajan, is when our heart is crying for shelter and we are trying to become pure."
"Life in true Krsna consciousness is nama bhajana."
"When the fathers instruct their children on the path of devotion, that is
also nama bhajana."
"Whatever helps to carry the divine invitation to the conditioned souls is all part of nama bhajana. If we lose that, it would be a greater loss than if the whole world would be burned to ashes. So we should not risk this life no matter what, especially not for personal comfort or prestige."
"Nama bhajana is not self centered. Nama bhajana is hari nama bhajana, or
sankirtana bhajana as promulgated by the supreme lord himself."
"And within the pure nama bhajana, the secret ontological identity, the
siddha svarupa of every soul, as an eternal servant of the sweet madhurya
lila of the lord, will be revealed in due course of time."
"Even though we are establishing temples and think about preaching Lord Gaurangas message and the glories of his pure devotees in order to give a tangible access to conditioned souls to the divine realm, simultaneously by the grace of our guru varga, we are dancing in front of Radha Shyamasundara and worshipping their transcendental forms. Thus actively preparing ourselves, knowingly or unknowingly, to become eternal maidservants of the Lord. But in the meantime, our main engagement, according to the vaishnava tradition, is to distribute the prema phala, the fruits from the love tree planted by Sri Gauranga. Anything done in this world to help the distribution of these love fruits, is certainly the most auspicious effort. Nothing could be more desirable then that. Therefore we cherish any opportunity to address the devotee audience with our speaking nama bhajana, which by the grace of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada we hopefully never lose. But please do not forget it dear friends. If you do not want to lose it, you have to take it seriously and cultivate it. Like anything this world you cherish, you want to keep, you have to be very cautious, attentive and lovingly concerned."
“The Maha Mantra is Krishna Himself.”
"It's difficult to promote purity in Kali Yuga, but we are here. Conquer
them with the mahamantra and prasadam, without fear. We have the most
valuable in the world: sraddha, faith. Have strengh and compassion and put
yourself daily tasks. Loving competition to serve better. :)"
"Originally the Maha Mantra was mentioned in the Kali Santarana Upanisad. Where Lord Brahma says to the great sage Narada Muni: - hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare iti sodasakam namnam kali-kalmasa-nasanam natah parataropayah sarva-vedesu drsyate - These sixteen names destroy the sins of the Kali age. No method higher than this is found in all the Vedas."
"Srila Prabhupada explained the meaning of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra in the following way: The maha mantra consists of three words: Hare, Krsna and Rama. The first word is "Hare", which is a form of "Hara", the spiritual energy or internal potency of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, Srimati Radharani. So at first we address the internal potency of Krsna, the shelter of the devotees. The second word is Krsna. Krsna is the Supreme Lord Himself. Krsna is a Sanskrit word and means "all-attractive". And the third word is Rama. To explain the word Rama, Srila Prabhupada told us a story of two sannyasis who were quarrelling about the meaning of Rama in the maha-mantra. One of the sannyasis said that Rama means Sri Balarama and the other one argued that Rama means Lord Ramachandra. Which one of them is right? Actually both of them are correct because there is no difference between Sri Balarama and Lord Rama according to the teachings of the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaisnava-sampradaya. Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead and everything emanates from Him. The meaning of Rama is unlimited happiness and joy. Unlimited happiness is spiritual happiness. So Rama means endless joy and unlimited happiness through living a spiritual life. Krishna is all pleasure and to live a spiritual life is also all pleasure."
"The two names Rama and Krishna combined give the meaning of God. God is all-attractive and full of supreme pleasure. If these two meanings are not granted it would not be possible to be satisfied with God. How can someone be God without being attractive to each and every living being and full of enjoyment? It is not possible."
"The beauty of spiritual life is in the unity in diversity. We are all individuals and therefore we have different approaches to spiritual life and we will develop different relationships with the Lord. But the first and essential thing is to come in contact with the Holy Names of the Lord. The first of the nine devotional processes is 'sravanam', hearing about the Lord, His transcendental nature and activities. The most powerful mantra, the maha mantra, can change people and their consciousness so much, it is amazing. We can see it happen every day. Therefore we try to distribute this message of Universal Love through so many different channels."
"We should praise the mantras that connect us with the truth of the wish of God. These mantras help us to overcome all hindrances that are churned up inside of us. The mantras of Krishna`s holy name are so mighty that they can liberate us from ignorance. So we should be very thankful that we are able to receive something like the holy names. They can also prepare the ground for us to enter the world of goodness."
“Whether a person is initiated or not is of second importance. One may be initiated and yet be an impersonalistic or atheistic person. But a person who chants the Holy Name of the Lord purely will be protected from all material influences. A properly initiated Vaishnava may be imperfect, but one who chants the Holy Name of the Lord without offenses, he is perfect.”
“The scriptures have given many different examples of persons who attained liberation without the benefit of a guru. Seeing all these facts one may ask: why then is it necessary to take initiation or practice other spiritual activities in devotional service? Why should I strictly and attentively follow the orders of the guru if by chanting the Holy Name, without following any rules or regulations, others attained perfection? Why should I work so hard for a guru? The answer is that even though it is true that chanting the Holy Name does not depend upon initiation, generally people accumulate lots of bad habits due to a materialistic life-style. The initiation which is imparted by a spiritual master, or guru, is the process through which transcendental knowledge is passed from the spiritual master to the disciple. Therefore the bad habits of the disciple's previous life will be destroyed. It is like pulling the plug of a rotating fan. It will continue rotating a little bit longer, but soon the rotation will come to an end. In the same way, by diksa, or initiation, our unfavorable tendencies will come to an end by establishing a connection with the Absolute Truth. The meaning of initiation is to discover one's inner wealth, and getting relief from all outward obligations. Therefore initiation is important even though the Holy Name does not depend upon it.”
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