“This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.2)

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राज-विद्या राज-गुह्यं
पवित्रम् इदम् उत्तमम्
प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं
सु-सुखं कर्तुम् अव्ययम्

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ
su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

1. Meditation

The Sanskrit word is dhyana. If given the choice between the ability to concentrate and the tendency to be distracted, the wise person would likely choose in favor of concentration. A person sets objectives, after all. They make goals. A person has different stages and points they wish to reach. They look to summit the mountain, to reach the pinnacle, so to speak.

Concentration helps in achieving the goals. The maha-mantra can be used to facilitate such dhyana, as it is a sacred formula roughly dated from an ancient period of time. In reality, that mantra is as timeless as the individuals represented within. The names of Hare and Krishna refer to the inexhaustible and original potencies, both the energy and the energetic.

If I am looking for a way to concentrate, to meditate in a manner to clear the mind of impure thoughts, I can chant the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. I can make a routine out of the chanting process, building what is known as numerical strength.

The more the meditation becomes a habit, the more easily it will be followed in a routine. This means that attachment to a single sequence of words can solve so many problems that otherwise plague us, in the manner of finally removing a nagging injury or a chronic ailment.

2. Artistic expression

We can also sing the maha-mantra. If done in a public setting, with a call-and-response format, the process is called sankirtana. There is no limitation on the type of melody that can be used. Classic or modern. Simple or complex. Rooted in a longstanding tradition or conceived in the mind mere moments prior.

The sequence of words are as universally relatable as the Supreme Himself. In the manner that we can perceive the sunlight in different ways, depending on our juxtaposition, the weather in our area, and the intent to associate, so we can interact with the maha-mantra in a variety of ways based on our artistic outputs.

We may have come across someone singing the words in a long and drawn-out way. The first two words might take a minute to complete. While some in the audience might lose their patience or fall asleep in the meantime, the artist has a particular expression they wish to present. They may intend to speed up the tempo a few moments later, creating a nice contrast between beginning and ending.

3. Bhakti-yoga

The dhyana based on the maha-mantra can also be a kind of yoga. It is a way to connect with the Almighty in a mood of love. We can translate the maha-mantra as the following:

“O Supreme Personality of Godhead, please let me serve you. Let me always be focused on your transcendental glories. May I never forget your energy, which is inseparable from you. The feminine and the masculine – let the two together be my singular point of focus for as long as time continues to move forward.”

4. Delivering the mind

This is one way to translate the word mantra. It is a way to deliver the mind. As explained in Bhagavad-gita, the mind is one of the elements of the material nature. As it is a subtle element, we cannot necessarily see it. We know of its presence based on our interaction, on the influence it has on us.

उद्धरेद् आत्मनात्मानं
नात्मानम् अवसादयेत्
आत्मैव ह्य् आत्मनो बन्धुर्
आत्मैव रिपुर् आत्मनः

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ
nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur
ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ

“A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 6.5)

The mind can lead us astray by constantly dwelling on the negative. We cannot let go of an offense committed by someone else. We repeatedly relive that traumatic incident, which no longer has any substance. The people involved have long since moved on. The physical location has long since ceased to exist. But the imprint is there in the mind, and so we have a difficult time letting go.

A mantra can deliver the mind, and the maha-mantra is the great mechanism for delivering the mind through sound. At the most basic level, if we are chanting the holy names then we are not doing things that will hurt the mind. The more we chant in a concentrated fashion, steering clear of offenses and eliminating unwanted interference, anartha, the clearer the mind will be.

5. Increasing the power of intake for actual knowledge

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada provides this important usage of the maha-mantra. It should be understood that there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is binding. No matter the exact subject matter. In spite of the perceived benefit. Even considering the positives of temporary significance, knowledge by itself will bind us to material life, which continues in the manner of a spinning wheel, through the cycle of birth and death.

Wisdom is that knowledge which frees us from material living. The Vedas represent wisdom. The derivative works which touch upon the same subject matter are also wisdom. Sacred texts like Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavata Purana, and Ramayana can deliver us from material living. These works contain wisdom, and so every person should take advantage of the wonderful facility bestowed to the human population.

The maha-mantra can help with our power of intake. The knowledge is there within the books. With steadiness in chanting the maha-mantra, either alone or with others, the more prepared we will be for realizing the wisdom to the knowledge, for realizing in truth that the knowledge shared is the king of education, which is joyfully performed.

In Closing:

Since for my welfare caring,
Sadhu the wisdom sharing.

From Gita, Ramayana, and more,
Release from rebirth for.

Mantra for power to sustain,
Such that knowledge to retain.

And to realize the meaning true,
The source of everything who.

Categories: the five

Tags: hare krishna, maha mantra, meditation, poem, poems, poetry, yoga