What you are doing is right. Be as you are. Pray sincerely to God to bring change in others so as to enable you to carry out your job in a perfect manner. Continue to chant the Mahamantra. Everything will be alright.
answers and beyonds
Which is the best option to concentrate while chanting the Mahamantra? 1. Concentrate on the sound of the holy names 2. Thinking of Lord Rama or Lord Krishna or both in some shape or form. 3. Meditating on my ‘kula deivam’ in addition to Rama and Krishna
Don’t strain too much on your meditation. Concentrate on any form that you feel comfortable with and gives you joy. Once you decide on that form, stick to it forever.
During Upanayanam, the child is initiated into Gayatri Mantra and it is said that chanting the Gayatri Mantra is good. If Mahamantra is really powerful and can do good to anyone who chants it, why not give Mahamantra as the Upadesa?
There are two distinct Dharmas prescribed– the Vaideeka Dharma and the Bhagavata Dharma.
In Ramayana, we see that Rama protected the ‘Yagna’ (austerities) of the rishis This is Vaideeka Dharma. We also see that Rama blessed Ahalya. This is Bhagavata Dharma.
The most sacred sound in Vaideeka Dharma is ‘Om’. ‘Rama’ is the equivalent in Bhagavata Dharma. While Vaideeka Dharma talks about rituals and rites, Bhagavata Dharma talks about love for God. The former is for a few to follow, while the latter is meant for everyone.
Gayatri Mantra is a very powerful Mantra in the Vaideeka Dharma. Mahamantra is a very powerful Mantra in the Bhagavata Dharma. Thus one cannot substitute the other. They cannot be mixed.
When I chant Maha Mantra I meditate on the thoughts of my Guru who initiated me into the Mantra rather than Lord Krishna. I wish to meditate in the same way. Is it okay?
You can meditate in any way that you feel comfortable.
Can one attain self-realization in this birth itself just by chanting the mahamantra? How should the Mahamantra be chanted so that realization happens?
Chanting the Maha Mantra for attaining liberation is not a process.
We believe in the soul, life after death, sins, karma, punya, other lokas, re-birth, liberation and similar concepts. Why? Because it has been prescribed in the Shastras. Why do we believe in the Shastras? Because that is verily God’s mouthpiece Hence anything prescribed in the Shastras, should be taken as the eternal law and the final verdict, without questioning it any further.
One should not apply his intellect here.
Let me give you this illustration. A beggar comes to our door and begs for alms. What do we do? Do we care about his pitch and intonation or the number of times he calls out? No. If we are merciful enough and are in a position to help, we provide alms. That is all. Is it not?
In exactly the same way, by chanting the Mahamantra, we declare our incapacity to overcome this ignorance called ‘Maya’ by our own efforts and condescendingly beseech Him for His divine grace and help.
The Lord Almighty is an infinite ocean of love and mercy. After you are done with enjoying the fruits of your karma according to your ‘prarabdha’, in your deathbed, He will give you Jnana and Vairagya in a fraction of a second and liberate you, just as Bhagavan Ramana liberated his own mother and the cow Lakshmi.
While chanting the Mahamantra, my mind wanders, but still the mouth chants. Will there be any effect?
Definitely. Continue it. You will experience the bliss by yourself.
Can a Sri Vaishnava who has performed prapatti/sharanagati/bharanyasam unto his Sri Vaishnava Acharya chant the Maha Mantra ? Is there any conflict in chanting the Maha Mantra and yet being a Prapanna ?
A ‘prapanna’ should have ‘maha viswasa’ (unshakable faith) towards his Acharya (Master). He should not worship any other deity than Vishnu and should always chant the ‘Dhvaya’ and the ‘Ashtakshara’ Mantras.
And how should he spend the rest of his life? It has been said that he has to eagerly await the day of going to Vaikunta just as an engaged couple wait for the day of marriage.
His life has to be spent singing the glory of Sriman Narayana always — singing His praise without taking on any other Guru or Acharya.
Maha Mantra is nothing but the glory of Sriman Narayana, and does not need initiation. While the mantras that are given during initiation have restrictions for chanting, Maha Mantra does not have any!
So it is absolutely fine for a prapanna to chant the Maha Mantra.
I am not able to control my lust. Please suggest me a way so that I can practice Brahmacharya and attain the Lord.
Lust is human nature. It is unavoidable. Eradicating it completely is not an easy task. So you don’t need to feel guilty if you are not able to practice pure Brahmacharya. If you want to overcome lust and practice pure celibacy, try to adopt the following:
Practice strict diet and consume only saatvik foods, that too, only after offering it to Lord Krishna
Perform simple breathe control technique – Pranayam
Keep away from all possible distractions such as opposite sex, movies, novels which potentially trigger the feelings of lust in your mind.
Perform Maha mantra kirtan always and pray to the Lord sincerely to help you out.
It is a slow process. You will not be able to wake up one fine morning to find yourself free from lust. So be patient and practice the above. With these procedures you will definitely be able to control lust.
I have been chanting Maha mantra daily for the past six months. But my sexual desires and arrogance are getting increased. What should I do?
Continue what you are doing right now. The rest of the things will be taken care of automatically. If possible, increase your chanting.
Once a similar question was asked to Bhagavan Ramana. Bhagavan replied, “If the fort is to be captured, firstly all the soldiers from inside the fort should be allowed to come out and be killed one by one. Likewise, it is only your Vasanas (impressions) that are manifesting themselves. So there is nothing to worry. However, don’t stop chanting for any reason.
I love Krishna and am very eager to have His darshan. While I am motivated to engage with Him, I get disturbed by Kama (lust) which strikes me hard. Please advise me a method to win over ‘kama’.
Don’t worry. Just like hunger and thirst, lust is also inborn. No doubt, we have to overcome it. But it is not as easy as we think. It will not be gone one fine morning. It will happen slowly and will take time. Constant prayers and chanting will help this happen.
