What is actually attained by chanting the Mahamantra: “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare; Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare,” which was taught by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and is recommended by ISKCON to be chanted for 16 rounds daily? Is there a profound spiritual science hidden behind this?
Chanting of God’s Name has a great power in it. The Name and the Sound contains the essential quality and the vibratory rhythm which embodies the Word-body of God. It draws the Presence of the Godhead near and around us with its inevitable effect of purification and liberation of the soul of the devotee.
While this applies in general to the different Divine Names, the names of Avatars carries a special power for earthly beings. The material life upon earth carries the imprint of the Avatars and responds readily to the Divine Name with joy and gratitude. It has a great power to connect the earthly life to the Divine and hence has an influence not only on the Soul of the seeker but also on the body.
Chanting of God’s Name helps the mind grow quiet as the mind now gets the true object of its seeking. If done with faith and devotion, an intuitive knowledge opens its doors.
The life energy feels strengthened and protected by the power of the Divine Name since the vibrations of the Name itself keeps away the harmful adverse forces.
Any Name with which the seeker connects inwardly is fine, as the Gita itself says. The Name of Sri Krishna, of course, is special even more as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a partial incarnation of Sri Krishna, made it even more active upon earth. The 16 rounds relates to the 16 attributes, Kalas, of Sri Krishna’s Divine Personality. It is a form of meditation whose glimpse is given in the Srimad Bhagavatam that describes meditating upon the different aspects of the Lord.
Of course, chanting of the Divine Name is best done with feeling in the heart and focus of the Mind upon the Deity. Mechanical chanting does have some effect too, but it is best done consciously. An exclusive chanting can cut off the sadhak from the world and hence is used by the seekers after liberation from earthly life, to enter a state from which there is no return to birth again.
In the yoga of transformation, one uses Sri Aurobindo’s Name and the Mother’s, or only the Mother’s Name, but not in an exclusive way, but as the greatest of inner support.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
