# Concocted Mantras One does not have to search for or concoct a name of God to chant. The śāstras recommend particular names such as the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. One should chant the mahā-mantra and not manufacture different types of chanting. --- ## Follow the Śāstras **One does not have to search for or concoct a name of God to chant. The śāstras recommend particular names such as the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra:** ![[sb/8/1/13#purport|The śāstras recommend which names we should chant, such as Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare. It is not that we have to search for some name or manufacture one. Rather, we must follow the saintly persons and the śāstras in chanting His holy name]] —SB [[sb/8/1/13|8.1.13]] Purport --- ## Do Not Manufacture New Chants **One should chant the mahā-mantra and not concoct new types of chanting:** ![[sb/7/5/23-24#purport|Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet: simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, one is liberated and returns home, back to Godhead...One should not, however, manufacture different types of chanting. One should adhere seriously to the chanting of the holy name as recommended in the scriptures: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare]] —SB [[sb/7/5/23-24|7.5.23-24]] Purport --- **One should not concoct a mahā-mantra of one's own:** ![[cc/adi/7/4#purport|Taking advantage of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, there are many unscrupulous devotees who manufacture a mahā-mantra of their own]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/7/4|Ādi 7.4]] Purport Sometimes they sing, *bhaja nitāi gaura rādhe śyāma hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma* or *śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma śrī rādhe govinda.* Actually, however, **one should chant the names of the full Pañca-tattva** (*śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda*) **and then the sixteen words** Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, but these unscrupulous, less intelligent men confuse the entire process. Of course, since they are also devotees they can express their feelings in that way, but **the method prescribed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pure devotees is to chant first the full Pañca-tattva mantra and then chant the mahā-mantra.** —Cc. [[cc/adi/7/4|Ādi 7.4]] Purport --- ## Concocted Chants Cannot Help Us **Concocted chants cannot help us advance in devotional service:** ![[cc/adi/7/168#purport|The Pañca-tattva is a very important factor in understanding Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. There are sahajiyās who, not knowing the importance of the Pañca-tattva, concoct their own slogans such as bhaja nitāi gaura, rādhe śyāma, japa hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma or śrī kṛṣṇa caitanya prabhu nityānanda hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma śrī rādhe govinda. Such chants may be good poetry, but they cannot help us to go forward in devotional service]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/7/168|Ādi 7.168-69]] Purport Strictly speaking, when chanting the names of the Pañca-tattva, one should fully offer his obeisances: *śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu ninyānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda.* By such chanting one is blessed with the competency to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra without offense. **One should not foolishly adopt any of the slogans concocted by imaginative devotees. If one actually wants to derive the effects of chanting, one must strictly follow the great ācāryas.** This is confirmed in the Mahābhārata. *Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ:* "The real path of progress is that which is traversed by great ācāryas and authorities." —Cc. [[cc/adi/7/168|Ādi 7.168-69]] Purport --- **[← Back to Śrī Nāmāmṛta](wiki/compile/sri-namamrita)**