No Subject

[Guest guest]

To Whom it may concern,

 

PAMHO AGTSP

 

N.B. Please note that for the pusposes of this discussion the word mantra

means Pancaratric Mantra and does not refer to mantras like the Hare Krishna

maha mantra which is technically Hari Nama or Nama.

 

Recently there has been some discussion about the validity of mantras given

casually between devotees. The sloka most often quoted by devotees regarding

this is:

 

sampradaya vihinam ye

mantras te nisphala matah

 

This translated means “Those mantras without a tradition produce no fruit or

result”

 

This can be interpreted in several different ways.

 

1. One interpretation of this sloka would be that a mantra needs to be

formally given (ie at the time of foraml mantra diksh/ initiation)to the

student by the teacher (diskha guru) having been received by him/her from

his/her own diksha guru in an unbroken chain in order for it to be

effective.

 

The problem with this interpretation is that in the context of ISKCON such

an interpretation presents the following problems.

 

a. There are several mantras used by ISKCON devotees in deity worship that

they have not been formally initiated into.

 

b. It is not possible to trace the exact diksha parampara of the mantras

that ARE given formally at initiation. (This second problem may or may not

be of concern to those within ISKCON vis a vis the idea of Bhagavat

Paramapara)

 

2. Another interpretation of the same sloka would be that a mantra simply

needs to have a tradtion in order to be effective. In other words a made up

mantra which has no tradition is ineffective. Then the mantras involved

would need to be examined as to whether they have traditions or not. One

problem with this interpretation is the mention of mantra samskara in Hari

Bhakti Vilasa. This is the process by which a person creates a new mantra

for use when necessary. The mantra is created and samskaras are performed to

purify it, just as a new child’s body is created by the father and offered

all the necessary samksaras. An example of this is the creation of a

combined mula mantra for the worship of Prahlada Nrsimha which I did over 25

years ago for the installation of Lord Narasimha on the ISKCON farm in

Germany. So it would seem that if a mantra does not have a tradition it may

attain one by certain procedures.

 

3. There is another idea regarding this sloka that seems to be in vogue

amongst several Vaisnava traditions. It seems that some Vaisnavas suggest

that there is a particular mantra which is the main mantra of their

Sampradaya. In the case of Gaudiya Sampradaya that would be the 18 syllable

Gopal mantra, since it is identified with the flute song of Lord Krishna

which entered the eight ears of Lord Brahma after he meditated for 1000

celestial years, according to Brahma Samhita. The suggestion is made that

although formal initiation into the main mantra is essential, subsiduary

mantras which are considered offshoots of the main one may be chanted with

success by those who have initiation into the main one.

 

If other devotees have more ideas as to the interpretation of this sloka I

would be pleased to hear them.

 

So concerning the casual giving and recieving of mantras by devotees in

ISKCON. It would seem that one needs to first of all characterize these

dealings between devotees according to which interpretation of this sloka

one holds (or which one the GBC holds?).

 

Those who feel that the communication of any Pancaratric Mantra from one

person to another constitutes Mantra Diksha should be careful to receive all

such mantras from their Diksha Gurus. (However this presupposes that their

Diksha Guru is initiated into the mantra/s him/herself OR is willing to

initiate someone with a mantra that s/he has not been initiated into)

 

Those who feel that the mantras may be freely communicated between those

(second initiates) who are initiated into the main Pancaratric Mantra (ie

Gopal mantra, etc) would seem to have no problem, except that they should

keep such mantras confidentially secret from first and non initiated

devotees. (This would seem to me to be the defacto ISKCON standard)

 

Others may feel that only the mantras given at second initiation need to be

kept confidential and that all others can be freely exchanged by those who

need to use them whether second initiated or not. And it would seem that

from the recent emails there are many instances in ISKCON where first or non

initiated devotees actually do perform deity worship even though this does

not seem to conform to Srila Prabhupada’s instructions.

 

Since there does not seem to be a lack of persons giving diksha within

ISKCON, maybe there needs to be a re-evaluation of this situation and it’s

consequences by the relevant authorities to bring reality in line with

Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy and the wishes of His Divine Grace.

 

sincerely,

 

Gaura Keshava das