MANTRA

M E D I T A T I O N

The Hare Krishna Maha-mantra.

Mantra means 'that which delivers one from the influence of the mind', and is the only process of meditation recommended by scriptural authority of attaining self-realisation in this age.

Previous to this degraded age of Kali-yuga, where people's minds are always disturbed by anxieties, different methods were given for attainment of God consciousness; control of the senses and life-air to enable meditation on the Supersoul within the heart, elaborate fire-sacrifices, and opulent deity-worship in temples - in the respective ages of Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga and Dvapara-yuga. The milleniums, or 'yugas', run in cycles like the four seasons, gradually becoming shorter in duration and more degraded in human qualities, and as described in 'Bhagavad-gita' the present age of Kali-yuga lasts for 432,000 years, of which 5,000 have already passed. As a special concession to the misguided people of this civilisation, the method of sacrifice is the 'sankirtana-yajna', or chanting of the holy names of the Lord.

God is unlimited and thus has innumerable names, but the Sanskrit names contained in the Maha-mantra, which is the greatest of all mantra's for deliverance, are the principal names to address the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

'Krishna' means the all-attractive, and because God has all the opulence's in full; Beauty, Fame, Strength, Wealth, Knowledge, and Renunciation, He has the ability to attract all living beings to His association.

'Rama' means the reservoir of all pleasure, and since every living entity by constitution is pleasure-seeking, they can only satisfy this propensity when directed towards the Supreme Lord.

'Hare' refers to the pleasure giving energy of the Lord, personified in His eternal consort - Srimati Radharani, only through whom can we attain the favour of Lord Krishna.

Because Krishna is absolute, His names and Himself are non-different, and Krishna's full presence can be perceived by purely chanting the Maha-mantra. Because Krishna is the supreme pure, by His association we can cleanse away all material contamination from the heart enabling us to taste the full nectar of the holy names, and upon re-awakening our dormant love for Him, we can return to His eternal abode in the spiritual realm.