the RAma in the Maha Mantra.

[KrishnaBhakta]

I think that there are people that mispronounce the maha mantra(Hare KRSNa Hare KRSNa KRSNa KRSNa Hare Hare/Hare RAma Hare RAma RAma RAma Hare Hare).

 

The word RAma is pronounced as: the A sound in RA is like the A in fAther; however, the ma is mispronounced(as in the hit song by George Harrison: Hare Krishna Maha Mantra) as the as the A in fAther. However, this a in RAma(that is, the second, short a) is silent. this is like the ma in mann(mind), so to say.

 

I used to chant the mantra as is chanted by the maha mantra by George Harrison. However, when I downloaded a file that had Srila Prabhupada chanting one round of the maha mantra on beads, I started chanting with making the a in RAma silent.

 

Most people pronounce KRSNa like Krishna. I believe that this is fine, but as my name is Kiran, and the n in it is the same as in KRSNa, that is it is pronounced like the N in KRSNa. Someone that knows what I am talking about, how do I explain this to people that have English as their primary language or do not know how to pronounce the N?

 

any comments are welcome.

[gHari]

in Rama Rama ding dong? Who is that man? I'd like to shake his hand.

 

I too find that while doing japa it comes out like Prabhupada's japa tape with only Ram now and then, but out loud it is always Rama.

 

Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare

 

I remember reading that it is important to pronounce all sixteen syllables. Likely Prabhupada is sounding the full Rama but it is so fast and esctatic that we can only pick up the Ram. I remember reading a senior disciple saying that Prabhupada is so ecstatic that he can't wait to hear the next word, but he does sound the ma very quietly.

 

Without better advice, I would go with trying for Rama and accepting Ram if it happens. It is said that the Mahamantra comes from the spiritual platform so we don't want to obstruct its natural flow too much. Lord Caitanya has garlanded the world with the Mahamantra; we just let that sound emanate and listen.

 

Sit properly!

 

[Guest guest]

GHari,

 

Rama is also not just Lord Rama, but Rama as in Radha Ramana

 

Then it is also pronounced as Ramaa, the feminine Godess Sri Rama described in Brahma Samhita.

 

-m.

[gHari]

Perhaps that is what I hear in this Ratha Yatra clip: <a href=http://canoeparts.ca/KINGDOM/LadySubhadra.mpg>Srila Jayapataka Swami rocks it on home</A>.

[Guest guest]

I thought that the second a is pronounced also.

 

However, when the maha mantra is written correctly as done by Srila Swami Prabhupada in roman transliteration: the first a has the accent over it, making it sound like "aa".

The second a does not have the accent over it.

This is like the word Vrindavana. The a after the d has the accent, but the last a does not, I believe. This is just a simple approach by me to explain how to pronounce the mantra

[theist]

PURPORT

It is the practice of the brähmaëas conversant with the science to pronounce a Vedic mantra in the right accent. The combination of the mantra and Sanskrit words must be chanted with the right pronunciation, otherwise it will not be successful. In this age the brähmaëas are neither well versed in the Sanskrit language nor very pure in practical life. But by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra one can attain the highest benefit of sacrificial performances. Even if the Hare Krsna mantra is not chanted properly, it still has so much potency that the chanter gains the effect. SB 4.13.27

[Govindaram]

hare krishna

 

a kind devotee mentioned this to me..( i should know really, i got lazy)

 

r, n and s are retroflexed

that means pronounced

with the tip of the tongue against the upper palate

----------------------

r in rama is against palate, Hare also is same.

K and H are pronounced without using the tongue.

 

sorry if the explanation is a little vague,

i am still learning.

 

useful link: SanskritPron

Link with diagram: Pronounce

 

Ps. also if you say Ramaa- that is another name of

Sri Laksmi, so it should be said just rAma.

Confuced? you should be!

[KrishnaBhakta]

I said that the second a is not pronounced because of the following:

 

Hare refers to Srimati Radharani.

Krishna refers to Lord Krishna.

RAma refers to Lord RAma from the Ramayana.

 

I am pretty sure that the above is accurate enough. Forgive me if anything i stated is wrong.

 

When people say the name of Lord RAma, they do not pronounce the second a like the first.

 

another question by me: When we say Hare Krishna, the Hare is referring to Radharani. Is the Shree the same in Shree Krishna? I think that I read this somewhere. I ask this because the word Shree is used when referring to so many different deities.

[Priitaa]

Has anyone actually read that Prabhupada said "Rama" means Ramacandra? Because I read Balarama is what he said. I always wondered if Ramachandra was also included though. Any quotes?

 

[theist]

Either or, according to the bhakta's attachment.

 

I'll look it up in my memory bank(vedabase).

[theist]

The Lord is advaita, without differentiation. There is no difference between the forms of Krsna, Räma, Näräyana and Vishnu. All of them are one. Sometimes foolish people ask whether when we chant “Räma” in the Hare Krsna mantra we refer to Lord Rämacandra or Lord Balaräma. If a devotee says that the name Räma in the Hare Kårsn mahä-mantra refers to Balaräma, a foolish person may become angry because to him the name Räma refers to Lord Rämacandra. Actually there is no difference between Balaräma and Lord Räma. It does not matter whether one refers to Balaräma or to Lord Rämacandra when chanting Hare Räma, for there is no difference between Them. However, it is offensive to think that Balaräma is superior to Lord Rämacandra or vice versa. Neophyte devotees do not understand this sästric conclusion, and consequently they unnecessarily create an offensive situation. In text 154 Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu clarified this in a very lucid way: éçvaratve bheda mänile haya aparädha. “It is offensive for one to differentiate between the forms of the Lord.” On the other hand, one should not think that the forms of the Lord are the same as the forms of the demigods. This is certainly offensive, as confirmed by the Vaisnava-tantra:...

 

[Priitaa]

Thanks Thiest,

 

Actually, I dont know if its about my devotional attachment or just what it sounds like to me. For me, it has always sounded like Ramachandra. However, I read and heard a comment where Prabhuapda said it meant Balarama. So of course I go by what Prabhupada instructs, which is why I wanted a quote. Now it will probably mean both for me, but I am happy I can view this as Ramachandra cuz that's how I always felt. If that makes any sense. /images/graemlins/smile.gif Clear as mud, right? LOL

[Guest guest]

i don't mean to start an argument, but, have you ever seen the maha-mantra in sanskrit text? i do not mean the roman transliteration. i mean the original sanskrit text?

if it helps, look at the RAma in the mantra:

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

The second "a" is only silent in Hindi, not in sanskrit. In sanskrit all syllables are pronounced.

 

North Indians generally mispronounce these sanskrit words and names due to their familiarity with Hindi. Thus they have a tendency to say "raam" instead of "raama".

 

[Guest guest]

so to say, would there not be a vertical line after the 'm' sound? i got the image from a post i found at http://www.hindu-religion.net/showflat/cat/sanskrit/52406/2/collapsed/5/o/1 by searching on google. the post says that the text is in sanskrit. i thought that i wasn't confused about this before, but now i am. please help and Jay Shree Radha Krishna.

[livingentity]

I had actually been taught that it was a choice whether or not to pronunce the final A. But then, I have also been taught that each syllable is pronounced in sanskrit. So I too am confused on this.

 

[stonehearted]

guest: so to say, would there not be a vertical line after the 'm' sound?

 

Yeah, your image is in devanagari, but if you don't know how the devanagari alphabet works, it will be something of a mystery. There would only be a vertical line if the last letter were long--rAmA. The "a" sound is inherent in the sanskrit consonants. In other words, the name of the letters are "ra" and "ma," not "r" and "m." That vertical line changes the sound from "a" to "rA." Similarly, other marks change the sound from "ra" to "re," or to "ri," or "rI," or "rau," etc.

[yasodanandana]

my three euros?

 

1)if one pronunces RAMA.. the sound RAM is included

2)prabhupada said specifically that the RAMA (or RAM) in mahamantra is to be intended as the name of balarama or ramachandra.. no difference

3)sri balarama is an expansion of balarama who is the direct source of all the avataras... included sri ramachandra

 

happy chanting

[KrishnaBhakta]

i do not want to start an argument or something, but, yes, i do understand this alpbhabet, although not a lot. yes, i know what difference the vertical line would make. what i started to state was: the ma in RAma is like, say, the m sound in merlin. what i was saying is that: since every letter is pronounced as it is written, the 'vertical line' not being after the 'm' means that the word is not pronounced as if there were a vertical line. read the original post. i say that the second a in RAma is not pronounced. to support this, i can say that there isn't a vertical line after the 'm' to make it like the a sound in RA; yes, there is definitely a vertical line after the 'R'.

 

i'm not trying to argue, and if you are mad at me, i am sorry for making this post in the first place.

 

Jay Shree Krishna

[stonehearted]

The short, terminal "a" is pronounced in proper Sanskrit, as jndas pointed out, but not in Hindi, or perhaps any of the vernacular languages. Many carry that elision of the terminal "a" into their Sanskrit pronunciation as well.

 

What's there to be mad about?

[gHari]

We sometimes hear "Ramo".

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

"Ramo" is due to bengali pronunciation, just as "Ram" is due to Hindi pronunciation. In Orissa they chant "Hare Krushna". Thus its not just a matter of George Harrison pronouncing it in a particular way. Hundreds of millions of Indians "mispronounce" the mahamantra as well, but the Lord isn't looking for their perfect pronunciation. The Lord is looking only for their devotion.

 

Since the original mantra is in sanskrit, we should try our best to chant the mantra as it is meant to be pronounced, but imperfect pronunciation is no fault in the chanting of the Lord's name.

 

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

 

i say that the second a in RAma is not pronounced. to support this, i can say that there isn't a vertical line after the 'm' to make it like the a sound in RA; yes, there is definitely a vertical line after the 'R'.

 

 

When you use words like "silent" and "not pronounced" it means no sound is made. This isn't the case with "raama". The "ma" is clearly pronounced, though not as "maa".

 

Both Hindi and Sanskrit are written in devanagari script, but Hindi is not read the same as Sanskrit. So though the word may be written the same, it is read as "Raam" in Hindi and as "Raama" in sanskrit. Since the name is actually sanskrit, the correct pronunciation is the second. The same is the case for nearly all sanskrit words imported into Hindi.

[Guest guest]

"Hundreds of millions of Indians "mispronounce" the mahamantra as well, but the Lord isn't looking for their perfect pronunciation. The Lord is looking only for their devotion.

 

Since the original mantra is in sanskrit, we should try our best to chant the mantra as it is meant to be pronounced, but imperfect pronunciation is no fault in the chanting of the Lord's name."

 

Amen!

[KrishnaBhakta]

I agree with you completely. what i was saying is that, the ma is not pronounced as 'maa'. it is not like the 'ma' in 'matru-devo'; it is like the 'ma' in 'mantra'. i did not mean that the a is not pronounced at all, but it just does not have the same pronounciation as does the a after the 'r' in RAma.

 

that is all. i said that there are people pronounce it wrong; i said that i think that there are many people that put the same emphasis on both A's while saying the name RAma. i was just stating how it is to be pronounced. not telling anyone to change how they pronounce it or telling them that they are wrong.

 

I would like to end this post now, because i don't need anymonre arguments on how to pronounce it, and for someone to think that i am offending them by saying that i am right and they are wrong. i understand that as long as you are referring to the same Lord, it doesn't matter if there is a little different pronounciation than the original.

 

Please forgive me, for even i am one that has made mistakes, which is why i have been put into this material realm.

 

Jay Shree Krishna