matter from time
immemorial, our consciousness is now adulterated by the
material atmosphere. The material atmosphere, in which
we are now living, is called mäyä, or illusion. Mäyä
means “that which is not.” And what is this illusion?
The illusion is that we are all trying to be lords of
material nature, while actually we are under the grip of
her stringent laws. When a servant artificially tries to
imitate the all-powerful master, he is said to be in
illusion. We are trying to exploit the resources of
material nature, but actually we are becoming more and
more entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although
we are engaged in a hard struggle to conquer nature, we
are ever more dependent on her. This illusory struggle
against material nature can be stopped at once by
revival of our eternal Krishna consciousness.
Hare Krishna, Hare
Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare is the
transcendental process for reviving this original, pure
consciousness. By chanting this transcendental
vibration, we can cleanse away all misgivings within our
hearts. The basic principle of all such misgivings is
the false consciousness that I am the lord of all I
survey.
Krishna consciousness is
not an artificial imposition on the mind. This
consciousness is the original, natural energy of the
living entity. When we hear this transcendental
vibration, this consciousness is revived. This simplest
method of meditation is recommended for this age. By
practical experience also, one can perceive that by
chanting this mahä-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 for the purpose of getting out of the
material clutches. 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 Krishna 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 mahä-mantra. It is automatic, from the
spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in
the chanting without any previous qualification. In a
more advanced stage, of course, one is not expected to
commit offenses on the grounds of spiritual
understanding.
In the beginning, there may not be the presence of all
transcendental
ecstasies, which are eight in number. These are: (1)
being stopped as though dumb, (2) perspiration, (3)
standing up of hairs on the body, (4) dislocation of
voice, (5) trembling, (6) fading of the body, (7) crying
in ecstasy, and (8) trance. But there is no doubt that
chanting for a while takes one immediately to the
spiritual platform, and one shows the first symptom of
this in the urge to dance along with the chanting of the
mantra. We have seen this practically. Even a child can
take part in the chanting and dancing. Of course, for
one who is too entangled in material life, it takes a
little more time to come to the standard point, but even
such a materially engrossed man is raised to the
spiritual platform very quickly. When the mantra is
chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord in love, it has
the greatest efficacy on hearers, and as such this
chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee
of the Lord, so that immediate effects can be achieved.
As far as possible, chanting from the lips of
non-devotees should be avoided. Milk touched by the lips
of a serpent has poisonous effects.
The word Harä is the
form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words
Krishna and Räma are forms of addressing the Lord
Himself. Both Krishna and Räma mean “the supreme
pleasure,” and Harä 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 mäyä, is also one of the multi-energies 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,
Harä, it is established in its happy, normal condition.
These three words,
namely Hare, Krishna, and Räma, are the transcendental
seeds of the mahä-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
Harä helps the devotee achieve the Lord Father’s grace,
and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants
this mantra sincerely.
No other means of
spiritual realization is as effective in this age of
quarrel and hypocrisy as the chanting of the mahä-mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/
Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
