# The Mahā-mantra The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is a spiritual sound vibration from the spiritual world—not a material sound. It is a prayer for deliverance and engagement in the Lord's service. It contains the essence of all Vedic knowledge and is ever fresh, never becoming hackneyed. --- ## A Spiritual Sound Vibration ![[sb/6/4/33#purport|The vibration of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is not a material sound, and similarly the form of the Lord and His appearance and activities are all nonmaterial]] —SB [[sb/6/4/33|6.4.33]] Purport --- ![[cc/madhya/20/217#purport|No one should consider the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra to be a material vibration]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/20/217|Madhya 20.217]] Purport --- **The holy name is a spiritual sound from the spiritual world:** The mahā-mantra is not a material sound like the sounds we hear on the radio. **It is a spiritual sound that comes from the spiritual world.** Even in the material world we can release a sound from one place, and it can be heard thousands of miles away. A spiritual sound can be released from many trillions of miles away, and it can be heard, provided that one has the machine to capture it. **That machine is bhāgavata-prema. Those who have developed love of Godhead can hear it.** —*Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti* --- ![[cc/adi/7/74#purport|Since Kṛṣṇa and His holy name are identical, the holy name is eternally pure and beyond material contamination]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/7/74|Ādi 7.74]] Purport --- **The chanting of the mahā-mantra is enacted from the spiritual platform:** By practical experience, one can perceive that by chanting this mahā-mantra, or the Great Chanting for Deliverance, one can at once feel a transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual stratum. In the material concept of life we are busy in the matter of sense gratification as if we were in the lower, animal stage. A little elevated from this status of sense gratification, one is engaged in mental speculation... A little elevated from this speculative status, when one is intelligent enough, one tries to find out the supreme cause of all causes—within and without. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding, surpassing the stages of sense, mind, and intelligence, he is then on the transcendental plane. **This chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is enacted from the spiritual platform, and thus this sound vibration surpasses all lower strata of consciousness—namely sensual, mental, and intellectual.** There is no need, therefore, to understand the language of the mantra, nor is there any need for mental speculation nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this mahā-mantra. It is automatic, from the spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in the chanting without any previous qualification. —*The Science of Self-Realization* --- ## The Holy Name Is Ever Fresh **Because the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is spiritual, chanting never becomes hackneyed or tiresome:** In the material world we are simply chewing the chewed, throwing it away, picking it up and then chewing it again. Spiritual variety is not like this. Spiritual variety is *ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam*: it is constantly increasing. It is even greater than the ocean, because the ocean does not increase. However, **the ocean of bliss is constantly increasing. The more we enter into that spiritual bliss, the more we become joyful.** The young people in the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra all the time. If this mantra were material, how long would they chant it? It is not possible to chant a material name for very long because the chanting would become hackneyed and very tiresome. No one could be satisfied simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa unless Hare Kṛṣṇa itself were spiritual. We may chant, "Mr. John, Mr. John, Mr. John," but after an hour we will be fed up. However, **the more we become spiritually advanced, the more bliss we will derive from chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.** —*Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti* --- **Transcendental subject matter is nitya-navāyamāna—eternally fresh:** It is said that it is the nature of a devotee to constantly apply his mind, energy, words, ears, etc., in hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and for one who is rapt in hearing and chanting Kṛṣṇa, the subject matter never becomes hackneyed or old. That is the significance of transcendental subject matter in contrast to material subject matter. Material subject matter becomes stale, and one cannot hear a certain subject for a long time; he wants change. But as far as transcendental subject matter is concerned, it is called *nitya-navāyamāna*. **This means that one can go on chanting and hearing about the Lord and never feel tired but will remain fresh and eager to hear more and more.** —*Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead* --- **Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī said he wished for millions of ears and tongues:** The devotee does not feel hackneyed or stereotyped, nor does he feel that he is in a stagnant position. In the material world, if one engages in chanting a material name, he will feel tired after chanting a few times. However, **one can chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra all day and night and never feel tired.** As chanting is increased, it will come out new and fresh. **Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī said that if he could somehow get millions of ears and tongues, then he could relish spiritual bliss by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.** —*Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* [[sb/4/30/20|4.30.20]] --- **The more one chants, the more his heart is cleansed:** Our students can chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra twenty-four hours a day, and they will never get tired. They will continue to dance and chant. And anyone can try it; because it is not material, one will never get tired of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. In the material world, if one chants anything, any favorite name, for three, four, or ten times, he will get tired of it. That is a fact. **But because Hare Kṛṣṇa is not material, if one chants this mantra, he will never get tired. The more one chants, the more his heart will be cleansed** of material dirt and the more the problems of his life within this material world will be solved. —*The Science of Self-Realization* --- ## The Mahā-mantra Is a Prayer **The meaning and significance of the mahā-mantra:** 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. The material energy, called māyā, is also one of the multienergies of the Lord. And we, the living entities, are also the energy, marginal energy, of the Lord. The living entities are described as superior to material energy. When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an incompatible situation arises; but when the superior marginal energy is in contact with the superior energy, Harā, it is established in its happy, normal condition. **These three words, namely Hare, Kṛṣṇa, and Rāma, are the transcendental seeds of the mahā-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His energy to give protection to the conditioned soul.** This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mother's presence. Mother Harā helps the devotee achieve the Lord Father's grace, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely. —*The Science of Self-Realization* --- **A prayer for engagement in the Lord's service:** Simply by offering prayers to the Supreme Lord one can become perfect... The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is also a prayer, for a prayer addresses the Supreme Personality of Godhead by His name and invokes good fortune by petitioning the Lord to allow one to engage in His devotional service. **The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra also says, "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, my dear Lord Rāma, O energy of the Lord, Hare, kindly engage me in Your service."** —*Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* [[sb/4/24/69|4.24.69]] --- **The actual meaning: "Please engage me in Your service":** Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is asking the Lord, **"Please engage me in Your service."** This is the mantra taught by Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself. Hare refers to the energy of the Lord, and Kṛṣṇa and Rāma are names for the Lord Himself. When we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, we are asking Kṛṣṇa to please engage us in His service. This is because our entire material disease is due to our having forgotten to serve God. In illusion, we are thinking, "I am God. What is the other God that I have to serve? I myself am God." —*The Path of Perfection* --- **A prayer for acceptance and deliverance:** Hare refers to the energy of the Lord, and Kṛṣṇa and Rāma refer to the Lord Himself. Therefore, when we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, we are praying, **"O Lord, O energy of the Lord, please accept me."** We have no other prayer than "Please accept me." Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught us that we should simply cry and pray that the Lord accept us. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself prayed: > *ayi nanda-tanūja kiṅkaraṁ* > *patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau* > *kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja* > *sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya* "O Kṛṣṇa, son of Nanda, somehow or other I have fallen into this ocean of nescience and ignorance. Please pick me up and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet." —*The Path of Perfection* --- ## The Essence of All Vedic Knowledge ![[cc/adi/7/16#purport|The essence of all Vedic knowledge—comprehending the three kinds of Vedic activity, the chandaḥ or Vedic hymns, and the process for satisfying the demigods—is included in the eight syllables Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/7/16|Ādi 7.16]] Purport --- ![[cc/adi/7/74#purport|In the present age the vibration of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is the only process which is in a transcendental position beyond material contamination. Since the holy name can deliver a conditioned soul, it is the essence of all Vedic hymns]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/7/74|Ādi 7.74]] Purport --- **Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the chanting of the mahā-mantra, is the essence of the Vedic principle:** In the Nārada Pañcarātra it is stated that all the Vedic rituals, mantras, and understanding are compressed into the eight words Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare. Similarly, in the Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad it is stated that these sixteen words, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, are especially meant for counteracting the degrading and contaminating influence of this materialistic Age of Kali.... **The process of chanting is, therefore, not only the sublime method for practical perfection of life, but the authorized Vedic principle** inaugurated by the greatest Vedic scholar and devotee, Lord Caitanya. —*The Science of Self-Realization* --- **One who chants is understood to have passed through all Vedic rituals:** ![[sb/3/33/7#purport|Anyone who is engaged in the chanting of the holy name of the Lord—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—must have already passed all lower stages]] —SB [[sb/3/33/7|3.33.7]] Purport --- ![[bg/6/44#purport|One who simply chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra stands always above the ritualistic principles of the scriptures]] —Bg. [[bg/6/44|6.44]] Purport --- ## "Oṁ" and "Hare Kṛṣṇa" **Oṁkāra is a sound representation of the Supreme Lord:** The principal word in the Vedas, praṇava oṁkāra, is the sound representation of the Supreme Lord. Therefore oṁkāra should be considered the supreme sound... In his Bhagavat-sandarbha, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says: "Oṁkāra is the most confidential sound representation of the Supreme Lord." The sound representation or name of the Supreme Lord is as good as the Supreme Lord Himself. **By vibrating the sound of oṁkāra, or of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, one can be delivered from the contamination of this material world.** —*Teachings of Lord Caitanya* --- **The sound "Hare Kṛṣṇa" contains "oṁ":** ![[bg/8/13#purport|The impersonal sound of Kṛṣṇa is oṁ, but the sound Hare Kṛṣṇa contains oṁ]] —Bg. [[bg/8/13|8.13]] Purport --- **The scriptures recommend Hare Kṛṣṇa rather than oṁkāra in Kali-yuga:** ![[sb/9/14/48#purport|Since almost everyone is a śūdra, unfit for pronouncing the praṇava, oṁkāra, the śāstras have recommended the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra]] —SB [[sb/9/14/48|9.14.48]] Purport --- ![[sb/6/5/26#purport|Although there is no difference between Hare Kṛṣṇa and the Vedic mantras beginning with oṁkāra, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended that one chant Hare Kṛṣṇa]] —SB [[sb/6/5/26|6.5.26]] Purport --- **Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is more practical—no rules of time and place:** ![[sb/7/15/31#purport|The difference between chanting oṁkāra and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is that the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra may be chanted without consideration of the place or the sitting arrangements]] —SB [[sb/7/15/31|7.15.31]] Purport --- **[← Back to Śrī Nāmāmṛta](wiki/compile/sri-namamrita)**