Sri Guru Pranama

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
cakshur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes,
which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.

Sri Rupa Pranama

sri-caitanya-mano-’bhishtam sthapitam yena bhu-tale

svayam rupah kada mahyam dadati sva-padantikam

When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material
world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus
feet?
 Srila Prabhupada Pranati

nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.

namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvisesha-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord
Chaitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with
impersonalism and voidism.

Mangalacarana
 vande ‘ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaishnavams ca
sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam tam sa jivam
sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam krishna-caitanya-devam
sri-radha-krishna-padan saha-gana-lalita- sri-visakhanvitams ca
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and of all
the other preceptors on the path of devotional service. I offer my respectful
obeisances unto all the Vaishnavas and unto the six Gosvamis, including Srila Rupa
Gosvami, Srila Sanatana Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami,
and their associates. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Advaita Acarya Prabhu,
Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and all His devotees, headed by
Srivasa Thakura. I then offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord
Krishna, Srimati Radharani, and all the gopis, headed by Lalita and Visakha.

Sri Krishna Pranama

he krishna karuna-sindho dina-bandho jagat-pate

gopesa gopika-kanta radha-kanta namo ’stu te
O my dear Krishna, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the
source of creation. You are the master of the cowherdmen and the lover of the gopis,
especially Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
 Sri Radha Pranama

tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrindavanesvari

vrishabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye

I offer my respects to Radharani, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and
who is the Queen of Vrindavana. You are the daughter of King Vrisabhanu, and You
are very dear to Lord Krishna.
Sri Vaishnava Pranama

vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca kripa-sindhubhya eva ca

patitanam pavanebhyo vaishnavebhyo namo namah
I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They
are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of
compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.
 Sri Gauranga Pranama

namo maha-vadanyaya krishna-prema-pradaya te

krishnaya krishna-caitanya-namne gaura-tvishe namah
O most munificent incarnation! You are Krishna Himself appearing as Sri Krishna
Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati Radharani,
and You are widely distributing pure love of Krishna. We offer our respectful
obeisances unto You.

Sri Panca-tattva Pranama

 panca-tattvatmakam krishnam bhakta-rupa-svarupakam
bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam namami bhakta-saktikam

I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Kirishna, who is nondifferent from His
features as a devotee, devotional incarnation, manifestation, pure devotee, and
devotional energy.

Panca-tattva Maha-mantra

(jaya) sri-krishna-caitanya prabhu nityananda

sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Purport by
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is always accompanied by His plenary expansion Sri
Nityananda Prabhu, His incarnation Sri Advaita Prabhu, His internal potency Sri
Gadadhara Prabhu, and His marginal potency Srivasa Prabhu. He is in the midst of
them as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should know that Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu is always accompanied by these other tattvas. Therefore our
obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are complete when we say, sri-krishna-
caitanya prabhu nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda. As
preachers of the Krishna consciousness movement, we first offer our obeisances to
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting this Panca-tattva mantra; then we say,
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
There are ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, but these
are not considered in the chanting of the Pancatattva mantra, namely, sri-krishna-
caitanya prabhu nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhaktavrinda. Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu is known as maha-vadanyavatara, the most magnanimous
incarnation, for He does not consider the offenses of the fallen souls. Thus to derive
the full benefit of the chanting of the maha-mantra
(Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare),
we must first take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, learn the Panca-tattva
mantra, and then chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. That will be very effective.

Hare Krishna Maha-mantra

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

Purport by
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

The transcendental vibration established by the chanting of

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

is the sublime method of reviving our Krishna consciousness.

As living spiritual souls we are all originally Krishna conscious entities, but due to our
association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now polluted by
the material atmosphere. The material atmosphere, in which we are now living, is
called maya, or illusion. Maya means "that which is not." And what is this illusion?
The illusion is that we are all trying to be lords of material nature, while actually we
are under the grip of her stringent laws. When a servant artificially tries to imitate the
all-powerful master, this is called illusion. In this polluted concept of life, we are all
trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more
and more entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although we are engaged in a
hard struggle to conquer nature, we are ever more dependent on her. This illusory
struggle against material nature can be stopped at once by revival of our Krishna
consciousness. Krishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind; this
consciousness is the original energy of the living entity. When we hear the
transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. And this process is
recommended for this age by authorities. By practical experience also, one can
perceive that by chanting this maha-mantra, or the Great Chanting for Deliverance,
one can at once feel a transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual
stratum. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding —
surpassing the stages of senses, mind, and intelligence—one is situated on the
transcendental plane.
This chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare
Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
is directly enacted from the spiritual platform, and thus this sound vibration
surpasses all lower strata of consciousness—namely sensual, mental, and
intellectual. There is no need, therefore, to understand the language of the mantra,
nor is there any need for mental speculation or any intellectual adjustment for
chanting this maha-mantra. It springs automatically from the spiritual platform, and
as such, anyone can take part in the chanting without any previous qualification, and
dance in ecstasy.

We have seen this practically. Even a child can take part in the chanting, or even a
dog can take part in it. Of course, for one who is too entangled in material life, it
takes a little more time to come to the standard point, but even such a materially
engrossed man is raised to the spiritual platform very quickly. When the mantra is
chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord in love, it has the greatest efficacy on the
hearers, and as such, this chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee
of the Lord, so that immediate effects can be achieved. As far as possible, chanting
from the lips of nondevotees should be avoided. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent
has poisonous effects.

The word Hara is the form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words
Krishna and Rama are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Both Krishna and
Rama mean "the supreme pleasure," and Hara is the supreme pleasure energy of
the Lord, changed to Hare in the vocative. The supreme pleasure energy of the Lord
helps us to reach the Lord. The material energy, called maya, is also one of the
multienergies of the Lord. And we, the living entities, are also the energy—marginal
energy—of the Lord. The living entities are described as superior to material energy.
When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an incompatible
situation arises; but when the superior marginal energy is in contact with the superior
energy, called Hara, the living entity is established in his happy, normal
condition. These three words, namely Hare, Krishna, and Rama, are the
transcendental seeds of the maha-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord
and His internal energy, Hara, to give protection to the conditioned soul. This
chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mother. Mother Hara helps
the devotee achieve the grace of the supreme father, Hari, or Krishna, and the Lord
reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely.

No other means of spiritual realization, therefore, is as effective in this age as

chanting the maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.