Subject: Hare Krsna Mahamantra a far superior mantra for an inferior age

[Paramananda das]

Subject: Hare Krsna Mahamantra a far superior mantra for an inferior age
pranams to the readers
All glories to Sri Guru Gauranga
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Jaya Sri Sri Gaura Nitai ,Krsna Balarama ,Jaya Radhe Shyam
So in Satya Yuga what was chanted ? Mantras Like om namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, Narasimha Mahamantra was also chanted ,though this Mantra is even sometimes the most prominent mantra in Kali yuga as stated in Narasimha Tarpani Upanisad :
\ ugram viram maha-vishnum
jvalantam sarvato mukham
nrisimham bhishanam bhadram
mrityur mrityum namamy aham
TRANSLATION
'May my head be protected by the moon colored one, who is the greatest among humans. My obeisances unto the ferocious and powerful, the great Visnu, the fiery one, who's faces are on all sides, the fearful one, Nrsimha, who causes the death of even death personified, (or who can overcome death)
Dhruva Maharaja chanted Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya ,so did Narada Muni in Satya Yuga, so did many sages in the Himalayas ,
In Treta Yuga there was Lord Ramachandra : Lord Narasimha is described in Narasimha Purana to be the Yuga Avatar for Satya Yuga, Lord Ramachandra for Treta Yuga
Sri Rama Rama Rameti Mantra with Meaning
Sanskrit Shloka
श्री राम राम रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे ।
सहस्रनाम तत् तुल्यं रामनाम वरानने ॥
Transliteration
śrī rāma rāma rāmēti ramē rāmē manōramē ।
sahasranāma tat tulyaṁ rāmanāma varānanē ॥
English Meaning
Chanting Sri Rama’s name even once is equivalent to saying Vishnu Sahasranamam a thousand times (as Lord Shiva said to Parvati). Therefore, the advice is to chant at least this line if one cannot find the time to chant all of Vishnu Sahasranama.
In Dvarapara Yuga Krsna is the Yuga Avatar 108 names of Krsna was especially chanted in Dvarpara Yuga was the opinion of one Sri Vaisnava
but we know each Yuga has it Yajnas and in the Kali Yuga it is chanting Hare Krsna Mahamantras that is the Yuga Dharma
well there are other mantras chanted like this one mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam and this mantras was chanted in Deity worship also in Dvarpara Yuga :
TEXT 37
oṁ namo bhagavate tubhyaṁ
vāsudevāya dhīmahi
pradyumnāyāniruddhāya
namaḥ saṅkarṣaṇāya ca
SYNONYMS
oṁ—the sign of chanting the transcendental glory of the Lord; namaḥ—offering obeisances unto the Lord; bhagavate—unto the Personality of Godhead; tubhyam—unto You; vāsudevāya—unto the Lord, the son of Vasudeva; dhīmahi—let us chant; pradyumnāya, aniruddhāya and saṅkarṣaṇāya—all plenary expansions of Vāsudeva; namaḥ—respectful obeisances; ca—and.
TRANSLATION
Let us all chant the glories of Vāsudeva along with His plenary expansions Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Saṅkarṣaṇa.
PURPORT
According to Pañcarātra, Nārāyaṇa is the primeval cause of all expansions of Godhead. These are Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Vāsudeva and Saṅkarṣaṇa are on the middle left and right, Pradyumna is on the right of Saṅkarṣaṇa, and Aniruddha is on the left of Vāsudeva, and thus the four Deities are situated. They are known as the four aides-de-camp of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
This is a Vedic hymn or mantra beginning with oṁkāra praṇava, and thus the mantra is established by the transcendental chanting process, namely, oṁ namo dhīmahi, etc.
The purport is that any transaction, either in the field of fruitive work or in empiric philosophy, which is not ultimately aimed at transcendental realization of the Supreme Lord, is considered to be useless. Nāradajī has therefore explained the nature of unalloyed devotional service by his personal experience in the development of intimacy between the Lord and the living entity by a gradual process of progressive devotional activities. Such a progressive march of transcendental devotion for the Lord culminates in the attainment of loving service of the Lord, which is called premā in different transcendental variegatedness called rasas (tastes). Such devotional service is also executed in mixed forms, namely mixed with fruitive work or empiric philosophical speculations.
Now the question which was raised by the great ṛṣis headed by Śaunaka regarding the confidential part of Sūta's achievement through the spiritual master is explained herein by the chanting of this hymn consisting of thirty-three letters. And this mantra is addressed to the four Deities, or the Lord with His plenary expansions. The central figure is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because the plenary portions are His aides-de-camp. The most confidential part of the instruction is that one should always chant and remember the glories of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, along with His different plenary portions expanded as Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Those expansions are the original Deities for all other truths, namely either viṣṇu-tattva or śakti-tattvas.
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/1/5/37
:
kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ
tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ
dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ
kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt
(SB 12.3.52)
Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
In Kali Santarana Upanisad and also in Caitanya Upanisad it is also clear the mantra for Kali yuga is the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra. Actually it is a Yugal Kisora mantra and Hare Krsna refers to Radha Krsnas Nisanta Lilas Niśānta- lila – (the last six daṇḍas of the night: approximately 3.30 a.m. – 6.00 a.m.)
and the second Hare Krsna refers to Radha Krsnas pastimes from
the next set of Hare Krsna is Prātaḥ- Lila – (the first six daṇḍas of the morning: approximately 6.00 a.m. – 8.30 a.m.)
Danda is a time period as around 24 minutes in one Danda
so when we are chanting Hare Krsna Hare Krsna it is really a meditation on what is Radha Krsna doing in their Nisanta Lilas and Pratah Lila and as Srila Prabhupada said Dear Krsna and Energy of Krsna, Sri Radha please engage me in your service ..what service really to be engaged in the service of Radha Krsna eternally but specifically in Their Lordships service during this period ...and so on the whole Mahamantra is praying to serve Radha Krsna in their Astakaliya Lilas ,this very high understanding of the Hare Krsna Mahamantra is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his book Bhajan Rahasya ,who has given such high mantra to us fallen soula in this Kali yuga is non other than Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that only appears once in the day of Lord Brahma ,and there is 1000 Yuga cycles so once in the 1000 Kali yugas in a day of Lord Brahma this Mahamantra is given The Mahamantra is not chanted in every Kali yuga ...so you see how fortunate we are ?Feel free to ask questions if something is not clear