7.83
krsna-nama-maha-mantrera ei ta’ svabhava
yei jape, tara krsne upajaye bhava
SYNONYMS
krsna-nama—the holy name of Krsna; maha-mantrera—of the supreme hymn; ei ta’-this is its; svabhava—nature; yei—anyone; jape—chants; tara—his; krsne—unto Krsna; upajaye—develops; bhava—ecstasy.
It is the nature of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra that anyone who chants it immediately develops his loving ecstasy for Krsna.
PURPORT
In this verse it is explained that one who chants the Hare Krsna mantra develops bhava, ecstasy, which is the point at which revelation begins.
It is the preliminary stage in developing one’s original love for God.
Lord Krsna mentions this bhava stage in the Bhagavad-gita (10.8):
aham sarvasya prabhavo
mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam
budha bhava-samanvitah “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds.
Everything emanates from Me.
The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.” A neophyte disciple begins by hearing and chanting, associating with devotees and practicing the regulative principles, and thus he vanquishes all of his unwanted bad habits.
In this way he develops attachment for Krsna and cannot forget Krsna even for a moment.
Bhava is almost the successful stage of spiritual life.
A sincere student aurally receives the holy name from the spiritual master, and after being initiated he follows the regulative principles given by the spiritual master.
When the holy name is properly served in this way, automatically the spiritual nature of the holy name spreads; in other words, the devotee becomes qualified in offenselessly chanting the holy name.
When one is completely fit to chant the holy name in this way, he is eligible to make disciples all over the world, and he actually becomes jagad-guru.
Then the entire world, under his influence, begins to chant the holy names of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
Thus all the disciples of such a spiritual master increase in attachment for Krsna, and therefore he sometimes cries, sometimes laughs, sometimes dances and sometimes chants.
These symptoms are very prominently manifest in the body of a pure devotee.
Sometimes when our students of the Krsna consciousness movement chant and dance, even in India people are astonished to see how these foreigners have learned to chant and dance in this ecstatic fashion.
As explained by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, actually this is not due to practice, for without extra endeavor these symptoms become manifest in anyone who sincerely chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
Many fools, not knowing the transcendental nature of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, sometimes impede our loudly chanting this mantra, yet one who is actually advanced in the fulfillment of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra induces others to chant also.
Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains, krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana; unless one receives special power of attorney from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he cannot preach the glories of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
As devotees propagate the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, the general population of the entire world gets the opportunity to understand the glories of the holy name.
While chanting and dancing or hearing the holy name of the Lord, one automatically remembers the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because there is no difference between the holy name and Krsna, the chanter is immediately linked with Krsna.
Thus connected, a devotee develops his original attitude of service to the Lord.
In this attitude of constantly serving Krsna, which is called bhava, he always thinks of Krsna in many different ways.
One who has attained this bhava stage is no longer under the clutches of the illusory energy.
When other spiritual ingredients, such as trembling, perspiration and tears, are added to this bhava stage, the devotee gradually attains love of Krsna.
The holy name of Krsna is called the maha-mantra.
Other mantras mentioned in the Narada-pancaratra are known simply as mantras, but the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is called the maha-mantra.