Mantra - an essential subject

'Man' is 'mind' and 'tra' is 'to free'. Mantra means to free the mind and has spiritual connotations. It is the utterance of sacred words or syllables which have some spiritual powers. There are multitudes of mantras in Vedic literature, and uttering even one of them will uplift one's life because of the positivity that they exude. This is due to the fact that all mantras are directly or indirectly about the creator of this cosmic manifestation; Lord Sri Krishna. Since He is all good, anything related to Him will be all good. One may ask as to which mantra is the best among all; the answer to that question is very simple - the Hare Krishna mahamantra which was propagated by Lord Caitanya. It is evidenced to be the most effective for one's spiritual progress in today's day and age.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Mantra category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 8 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		Anything sung in the praise of the Lord is Śruti-mantra. There are songs of Ṭhākura Narottama dāsa, one of the ācāryas in the Gauḍīya-sampradāya, composed in simple Bengali language. But Ṭhākura Viśvanātha Cakravartī, another very learned ācārya of the same sampradāya, has approved the songs by Ṭhākura Narottama dāsa to be as good as Vedic mantras. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.10.20)



vanipedia.org 		Austerity in the form of meditation is My heart, Vedic knowledge in the form of hymns and mantras constitutes My body, and spiritual activities and ecstatic emotions are My actual form. The ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices, when properly conducted, are the various limbs of My body, the unseen good fortune proceeding from pious or spiritual activities constitutes My mind, and the demigods who execute My orders in various departments are My life and soul. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.4.46)



vanipedia.org 		By chanting Vedic mantras or chanting the Gāyatrī or ṛg-mantra one can attain the results one desires. In the present age of Kali it is recommended by Lord Caitanya that simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa one can attain all perfection. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.4.33)



vanipedia.org 		One who is thus initiated in the disciplic succession is able to achieve the same result or power of creation. Chanting of this holy mantra is the only shelter of the desireless pure devotee of the Lord. Simply by such tapasya, or penance, the devotee of the Lord achieves all perfections like Lord Brahmā. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.9.6)



vanipedia.org 		One should silently murmur the mantra 108 times and offer prayers to the Lord for His glorification. Then one should circumambulate the Lord and finally, with great delight and satisfaction, offer obeisances, falling straight like a rod (daṇḍavat). (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.16.42)



vanipedia.org 		In this age, the performance of yajña has been forbidden because no one can properly chant the Vedic mantras. If Vedic mantras are chanted properly, the desire for which a sacrifice is performed must be successful. Therefore the Hare Kṛṣṇa chant is called the mahā-mantra, the great, exalted mantra above all other Vedic mantras, because simply chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra brings so many beneficial effects. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.1.17)



vanipedia.org 		The transcendental form of eternal bliss and knowledge can be experienced by our original spiritual senses, which can be revived by chanting of the holy mantras, or transcendental sound representations. Such sound should be received from the transparent agency of the bona fide spiritual master, and the chanting may be practiced by the direction of the spiritual master. That will gradually lead us nearer to the Lord. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.38)



vanipedia.org 		The bona fide spiritual master is he who has received the mercy of his guru, who in turn is bona fide because he has received the mercy of his guru. This is called the paramparā system. Unless one follows this paramparā system, the mantra one receives will be chanted for no purpose. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.16.24)


Mantra - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

HOME

Choose Another
Essential Subject

   


Retrieved from "https://vanipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mantra_-_an_essential_subject&oldid=531387"