Please Accept My Most Humble Obeisances.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada, Srila Gurudeva, and Sri Gaurangachandra.
Hare Krishna
I have been worshipping Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadradevi in picture form.
When chanting the Maha-Mantra, I tend to look at who I am praying to.
For example:
At the point when it sais 'Hare', I look towards Subhadra Devi.
When the mantra sais 'Krishna', I look towards Lord Jagannatha.
And when the mantra sais 'Rama', I look at Lord Baladeva.
Is this correct? Because Subhadra Devi is not Srimati Radhika. This is where my doubt came from.
Please forgive me if I have made offense in asking this question. I just do not want to practice my Krishna Consciousness in a manner not favorable to Spiritual Advancement.
Gaurangachandra Hari Bol!
Your Fallen Servant,
Bhakta David
Replies
As far as I know, Lord Gadhadhara was an incarnation of the effulgence of Radharani's divine form.
Hare Krishna,prabhu!!! One of the devotees said, we must take the meaning of the mantra as it is and never make any idea of our own. Here, I have got a beautiful article for you--
What does the Mahâmantra mean?
Nâmâchârya Thâkur Sri Haridâs has given a most wonderful explanation of the
Mahâmantra. The devotees of Lord Goursundar will surely relish it.
“ekdin haridâs nirjone boshiyâ,
mahâmantra jope harshe premâbishto hoiyâ.
hâshe kânde nâche gay gorje huhunkâr,
âchârjya gosâi âsi kore namaskâr.
sankoch pâiyâ hoilo bhâlo sambaran,
achârje pranami tiho arpilo âsan.
boshiyâ âchârjya gosâi kore nibedan,
ek boro samshay mone koroho chhedan.
kalijuge abatâr srikrishna-chaitanya,
chaitanya bhajaye jei sei boro dhonno.
tumi hao chaitanyer pârshad pradhân,
sri-krishna-chaitanya chhadi keno gâo ân?
athabâ ki marma jâni premânande bhâsho?
sarba jeebe harinâm koile upadesho.
nibedoy haridâs kori karajode,
sarba-tatta-betta tumi keno puchho more?
ki ba chhol âcharoho pâmor shodhite,
nibedan kori shuno jâhâ loy chitte.
kalijuge sri-krishna-chaitanya gudho abatâr,
koti samudra gambhir nâm tâm leelâ jânr.
guru-bhâbe korây tinho âponâ jojone,
harinâm mahâmantra dilo sarbajane.
sri-krishna-chaitanya kalijug abatâr,
harinâm mahâmantra juga-dharma sâr.
mahâmantre sri-krishna-chaitanya bhinno kobhu noy,
nâm nâmi bhed nâhi sarba shâstre koy.”
Meaning - "One day Haridâs Thâkur was sitting in a secluded place, absorbed in
chanting the Mahâmantra. He was chanting joyously with love. He was laughing,
crying, singing and roaring with a deafening noise. Just then Adwaita Âchârya
entered and paid obeisance. An embarrassed Thâkur Haridâs immediately controlled
himself. He returned the obeisance and offered the Âchârya a seat. Adwaita Prabhu
sat down and requested Haridâs Thâkur to solve his doubt. He said – ‘Sri Krishna
Chaitanya is the Lord God in Kaliyug, so naturally whosoever worships Him is
blessed. You are the foremost of all the associates of the Lord. Then why do you
forsake the Holy Name of Sri Krishna Chaitanya and sing some other name? And
what is your realization that makes you float in
blissful prem? When the Holy Name of Sri Krishna
Chaitanya Mahâprabhu is the topmost, then why
did you instruct all living beings to chant
Mahâmantra?’
Thâkur Srila Haridâs humbly folded his palms and
replied – ‘You are the -Knower of Truth; then why
do You ask me? You are only pretending not to
know anything, simply to teach the fallen souls.
Anyway, I shall do as You like. It is true that Sri
Krishna Chaitanya is the secret avatâr in the
Kaliyug and His divine pastimes are as deep as
innumerable oceans. He takes on the role of the
Spiritual Master and makes us worship Him. That is
why he has given everybody Harinâm-
Mahâmantra.
Sri Krishna Chaitanya is the Lord God in Kaliyug
and He has given us Harinâm-Mahâmantra that is the essence of this age. The
Mahâmantra is in no way different from Sri Krishna Chaitanya, since all the
scriptures declare that nâm is non-different from nâmi.”
Then Thâkur Srila Haridâs illuminated every word of the Mahâmantra for our relish –
“Hare – She Who is the daughter of Vrishabhânu and is the crest-jewel of all the
beloveds of Sri Krishna, has now descended as Sri Chaitanya, hence He is ‘Hare’.
Krishna – Srimad-Bhâgavatam glorifies Him as the ‘Son of Nanda’ – that ‘Krishna’
has now appeared as this Chaitanya Gosâi.
Hare – He stole everything12 from Vraja and descended in Nadia; hence the ‘hare’
for Sri Krishna Chaitanya is most apt.
Krishna – He attracted the hearts of all living beings and sowed the seed of
bhakti, hence the ‘Krishna’ indeed belongs to Him.
Krishna – He is ‘Krishna’ within and without, and His entire being is absorbed in
the sound vibration of ‘Krishna’ – therefore we decide He is ‘Krishna’.
Krishna – He assumed the garb of a sannyâsi and attracted the atheists – thus He
is definitely ‘Krishna’.
Hare – He steals the hearts and souls of the devotees with His extraordinary
sweetness – this is the significance of His name ‘Hare’.
Hare - He steals the hearts of His devotees so that He can steal their hearts in
return – for this reason Sri Chaitanya is named ‘Hare’.
Hare – Lord Krishna stole His Own sweetheart and ascended on earth – so Sri
Krishna Chaitanya, Who is the essence of Kaliyug is ‘Hare’.
Râm – The Divine Couple unite with each other and thus wander in Nabadweep in
supreme pleasure, therefore Sri Chaitanya is ‘Râm’ in this Kaliyug.
Hare – Sri Chaitanya steals all the inauspicious qualities from the living beings, as a
result, His name ‘hare’ is most propitious.
Râm – He love-sports in the hearts of His devotees, hence He has the name ‘Râm’.
Râm – He is passionately aroused to relish Himself, therefore Sri Chaitanya has the
name ‘Râm’.
Râm – Lord Chaitanya manifested His form of Sri Râm Who is the Son of queen
Kaushalya and had appeared in the Tretâ yug – consequently He is ‘Râm’.
Hare – He stole Haridâs Thâkur’s heart with His sweetness; hence He got the
name ‘Hare’.
Hare – He stole His own heart with His own sweet bhâv and became like a tortoise.
As a result He became famous in the world as ‘Hare’.
I have revealed the most confidential meaning of Harinâm, something that none of
the scriptures can even dream about.”
Srimat Jiva Goswâmipâd explains the Mahâmantra
sarva-cheto harah krishnasttasya chittam haratyasou,
vaidagdhi sâravistârairato râdhâ harâ matâ.1.
12 He emptied the Vrajavâsis’ hearts and stole the most precious jewel of Vraja, that is, Sri
Râdhâ-bhâv and Srimati Râdhârâni’s splendor.
“Sri Krishna steals everyone’s heart, while Srimati Râdhârâni steals His heart with
Her intense vaidagdhi – hence She is called ‘Harâ’ and addressed as ‘Hare’.”
karshati sweeya lâvanya-murali-kala-nihswanaih,
sri-râdhâm mohana-gunâlankritah krishna irshyate.2.
“He drags Srimati Râdhârâni with His lâvanya and sweet vibrations of the flute –
hence That mesmerizing One is called ‘Krishna’.”
shruyate neeyate râse harinâ harinekshanâ,
ekâkini rahahkunje hareyam tena kathyate.3.
“We have heard that during the Râs-leelâ, Sri Hari steals Srimati Râdhârâni when
She is alone and takes Her in a secluded kunja – because She is ‘the stolen one’ –
She is ‘Harâ’.”
angashyâmalimastomaih shyâmalikritakânchanah,
ramate râdhayâ sârdhamatah krishno nigadyate.4.
“He turns the color of gold into dark green with His blue splendor; this means He
makes the golden-complexioned Sri Râdhâ look dark green when He makes love to
Her – so He is ‘Krishna’.”
kritvâranye sarah shreshtham kântayânumatastayâ,
âkrishya sarvateerthâni tajgyânât krishna irshyate.5.
“With the permission of His beloved Srimati Râdhârâni, He attracted all the holy
places in Vrindâvan and created a great lake (Shyâmkund) – so He is ‘Krishna’.”
krishneti râdhayâ premnâ yamunâtatakânanam,
leelayâ lalitashchâpi dheeraih krishna udâhritah.6.
“Sri Krishna is attracted by Srimati Râdhârâni’s love and laments in the gardens on
the banks of the Yamunâ in dheer-lalita bhâv – therefore the wise call Him ‘Krishna’.”
hatavân gokule tishthannarishtam dushtapungavam,
sriharistam rasâduchchairgâyatiti harâ matâ.7.
“Sri Hari kills the evil Arishtâsur in Vraja and She extols Him loudly as ‘Hari’ in a
mood full of ras – so She is ‘Harâ’.”
hasphutam râyati preetibharena haricheshtitam,
gâyatiti matâ dheererharâ rasa-vichakshanaih.8.
“She glorifies Sri Hari’s activities openly with love, so the wise connoisseurs of ras
call Her ‘Harâ’.
Srila Raghunâth dâs Goswâmi’s relish of the
Mahâmantra
Srila Raghunâth dâs Goswâmi has revealed a
supremely enjoyable meaning of the Mahâmantra
and Srila Shibânanda Sen’s son Sri Chaitanya dâs
has rendered it in the form of a poem in simple
Bengali. Since Srila Dâs Goswaami is in
Manjari-bhaav, he has revealed Srimati
Raadhaaraani’s rendering of the
Mahaamantra !!! We present the English
translation here.
O Hare13 - You reveal Your bewitching form
and steal my eyes and heart with Your sweetness,
O Krishna - You are the abode of joy and You are
most attractive, I can see none but You.
O Hare - You shatter my self-control, fear of
the elders and family-honor,
O Krishna - You drag me with the notes of Your
flute and make me forget my
body and everything related to it.
O Krishna - You shock me by tugging at my bodice and pulling me close,
O Krishna - You touch my breasts under so many pretexts and are always
restless because of Your anuraag for me.
O Hare - You steal me and take me to the flower-grove where You beg to make
love,
O Hare - then the very next moment You steal my secret clothes and express Your
deepest longing.
O Hare - You take pleasure in stealing my clothes and steal all the barriers in my
heart,
O Râm - You look so pleasurable, and moreover You express so much vaidagdhi and
ultimately fulfill Your desire.
O Hare - No one is more eager or expert then You in stealing the hairline on the
midriff, and all my aversion,
O Râm - then you reveal so many arts of love-making and make me float in ras.
O Râm - Your pleasure-sports are most pleasurable and I lose myself in Your joy,
O Râm - Whenever I think of You making love to me, Your handsome ras-form
reveals in my mind’s eye.
O Hare - There is no limit to Your stealing, how you steal my very consciousness
and make me forget everything!
O Hare - You steal my bosom like a lion and I have none but You.
You are my soul and I do not know anyone else other than You. In Your viraha even
one moment appears like hundreds of kalpas. And You, on the other hand, go far
from me like one so unfeeling – tell me what do I do?
13 Hari = One Who steals. When we address ‘Hari’, the word changes into Hare.
O Nava-Ghana-Shyâm14- You are a repository of pure ras, my heart bleeds without
You - how do I stay alive?
Poet Chaitanya dâs says – “Do not worry the one who has so much anurâg will surely
get Her Beloved very soon.” - (Padakalpataru)
14 One Who resembles a fresh cloud
I was under the impression that Lord Gadadhara was Hare, because He is Srimati Radharani.
I didn't really think of Lord Gaura as Hare, but this explanation makes sense.
Thank you Prabhuji.
Jaya Sripad Haridas Thakur
Excellent answer Prabhu Ji.
Hari Bol!