Does chanting Rama Krishna Hari give liberation as does chanting the Hare Krishna mantra?
Transcription By: Ramanand Borse P
Edited By: Shyam P
Question: Does chanting Rama Krishna Hari give liberation as does chanting the Hare Krishna mantra?
Answer: Yes, definitely, the seeds are same, and anybody can become purified by chanting any name of God. They will get elevated. These are directly the names of Krishna, they are primary names Ram Krishna Hari and certainly people can become purified and get liberated by chanting these names.
We should not think that liberation is the monopoly of our Sampradaya or the mantra that only we are chanting. No, anybody who practices the process of Bhakti Yoga properly and develops pure emotions can go back to Godhead. So we chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra because Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared as Yugavatar and he has given us the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. We want to follow the Yugadharma and that’s why we chant Hare Krishna.
Some religions have conception that their’s is the only way to go back to god and if you don’t follow their way then you are not going back to God. You are going to hell in fact. That is certainly not the Vedic conception. The criteria is not chanting a specific mantra, criteria is developing love for God.
Even with us also, it is not just by chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra we will go back to Godhead. By chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra we become purified and when we become purified, when love for Krishna awakens in our heart then we can go back to Godhead. So in a sense the various traditions that are there, they are basically like different hospitals. If they are offering a proper treatment then people can get cured and they can become spiritually healthy. So the criteria Srimad Bhagvatam gives in 1.2.6 of what is the supreme religion is not sectarian
sa vai pumsāḿ paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhokshaje
ahaituky apratihatā
yayātmā suprasīdati
That is a supreme religion which teaches unmotivated and uninterrupted devotion to the Lord and by which the soul becomes truly happy. There are many devotees who do chant Ram Krishna Hari and they become purified in their own way. If they develop unmotivated and uninterrupted love for Krishna by chanting Ram Krishna Hari, surely they will go back to godhead.
At the same time there are many people who are Bhaktas but are not Sadhakas. The difference between Bhakta and Sadhaka is – anybody who has some level of Bhakti is called as Bhakta but Sadhaka is a person who is practicing a systematic process of inner transformation. So there can be many Bhaktas in the sense that there are many people who are born in a traditional culture and since childhood they have seen their parents or grandparents worship Krishna. They also may have some level of genuine devotion and where devotion is there we appreciate it. But to go back to Godhead requires total transformation of one’s being and that happens through sustained practice.
In ISKCON what Srila Prabhupada wanted us is to become Sadhakas and by becoming Sadhakas we will eventually become Shuddha Bhaktas – Pure Devotees. Then we can go back to Godhead. So those who chant Ram Krishna Hari, will they go back to the Godhead? – If they become serious Sadhakas and can transform their hearts then they will surely go.
There are many people who chant Ram Krishna Hari but they are also, unfortunately, addicted to some bad habits. Their chanting of Ram Krishna Hari is good but that is not leading to transformation of their hearts. Just chanting of Ram Krishna Hari is not enough. Its like, when we chant the names of the God we are taking the medicine. The medicine is meant to heal and healing also involves some proscription – giving up certain things, and doing certain things – prescription.
So chanting is the central part of the whole spiritual healing process and Srila Prabhupada through Krishna Consciousness movement has given us this healing process in the form of Sadhana that we have. Those who practice Sadhana properly and transform their hearts they will definitely go back to Godhead whether they chant Hare Krishna Mahamantra or Ram Krishna Hari mantra.
Now if we have someone chanting Ram Krishna Hari Mantra and if they are not practicing Sadhana we can encourage them to practice Sadhana whether within ISKCON or within their own tradition. But the point is we should appreciate whoever is chanting the names of the God and we should also recognize that for proper elevation there has to be inner transformation. That is possible for us in Sadhana that Krishna and Prabhupada has given us.
Thank You