Chanting other mantras on beads - @Nityananda@ @Gauranga@

Haribol,

Pranam and dandavat. I would like to know if some Vaisnavas of the past chanted (on beads) other mantras than the HKMM.
There is one sannyasi (who comes from ISKCON/GM) who gives initiation into the Nityananda and Gauranga @Mantrarajas@ and he uses various quotes to back-up this practice http://nityananda-gauranga.gaurangapada.com/
Is this chanting an invention or was it done before?
Are there any Vaisnava group that are quasi-exclusively attracted to Lord Nityananda and Lord Chaitanya?
Thanks for any help!

Radhe! Radhe! Nitai-Gaur Haribol!

I know who you mean...At a friend's suggestion, I agreed to receive a phone call from him. He called me on the phone and talked me into hearing him give me the mantra, and then spoke this mantra and gave me a name. I never knew what to make of it, wondering why he was so quick to "initiate" me when I thought he was just going to call to tell me about this "Gauranga Dharma".

I even tried chanting Nityananda Gauranga forawhile, as he suggested. A friend of mine was even chanting so much of this, He was deamed the US equivelant of this sanyasi. (and since declared my friend as having nothing to do with him anymore) I always wondered why if this was so beneficial and supported by scripture, why it wasn't propagated before, and eventually gave it up.

It is funny that you should post your question today, Sadhupriya, because yesterday I rec'd an email from him telling me that I was fired, since I have not kept in contact, he was releasing me to seek re-initiation from someone else. That was fine with me. I am curious to hear what others here at Gudiya Discussions feel about Gauranga Dharma.

Haribol,

I am a former chela of this sannyasi and left him for ethical and sastric reasons. However, I do miss the chanting of Nityananda and Gauranga on beads..

We are a common friend! I am sad that our friend got @kicked-out@ as he is one of the best devotee I know. Do you have more details abotu what hapenned?
Thanks!

Srijivaji,

In fact...it is our friend who gave the names to @my@ Deities :-)
I hope to chat with you soon via Yahoo!

Certainly all are free to chant whatever they please. However, we should know that this practice was not promoted by any of the acharyas in the past. The evidence he gives is fishy at best, and given that neither Bhaktivinoda, whom he mainly quotes, nor his gurus have engaged in this practice, he is in a rather doubtful position with this conclusion.

Ironically, he also teaches that one should not chant the pancha-tattva-mantra on beads, basing this on a single, isolated statement from Bhaktivedanta Swami. It may be of interest for you to know that many Gaudiyas, including us, chant the pancha-tattva-mantra on beads before engaging in hare-krishna-nama-japa. We chant four rounds of Sri Gauranga Nityananda Sri Advaita-chandra - Gadadhara Srivasadi Gaura-bhakta-vrinda before Hare Krishna japa.

Looking at the bright side of things, it is nice that they are enthusiastically engaged in nama-kirtan and so forth. Whatever odd conclusions they may have, they will certainly be eventually blessed by the name due to their sincere endeavors.

By all means... He is certainly endevouring.... there is nothing I can really say that is bad about him. It just wasn't for me.



this is very interesting... I heard something to this affect and have always chanted the pancha tattva mantra at the beginning of each round, but I chant it like it is taught in ISKCON... Sri Krsna Caitanya Prabhu Nityananda Sri Advaita Gadhadhara Srivasadi Gaura Bhakta Vrnda... I like the one you gave, Madhava ... so you chant four rounds before Hare Krishna... hmmm...

Yes, this is a very common way to chant it. The way they chant it in ISKCON comes, I believe, from Bhaktivinoda and the Baghna Pada Goswamis, though I've never followed up on this.

The one we have rhymes, makes kirtan a dozen times easier when you don't need to squeeze the second line in.

The Pancha-tattva-nama-japa preceding Hare-Krishna-nama-japa follows the same logic we embrace in lila-smarana -- we first contemplate on the daily pastimes of Sri Gaurachandra, and let its waves bring us to the corresponding Vraja-pastimes.

I read Madhava's post on this today just before going out on a long walk in the winter sunshine, and gave it a go before doing some mental mahamantra japa. It struck me as a very helpful practice in setting the right mood.

Also, the wording of the panca tattva mantra itself which Madhava provided seemed much more balanced, without having to squeeze all the words in the second line. I like it a lot.

I was wondering, though, is there any difference between chanting "Sri Krsna Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda" and "Sri Gauranga Nityananda". Any thoughts on that?

I think this was the premise of the Gauranga dharma Sanyasi, that by chanting 32 rounds of Nityananda Gauranga would put one in the right mood for Hare Krishna nama japa. I think I definately feel more at ease with the pancha tattva mantra, as it is what is taught by the Acaryas. Whenever I tried chanting Nityananda Gauranga, I was always preoccupied with concern over the whole premise...(over receiving it...the "initiation" into it, etc...) Very distracting, when it is hard enough trying to chant attentively. I think it may have been simpler if a devotee I cared for and trusted came to me and said, "Hey, prabhu, try chanting "Nityanada Gauranga" ... it is very nice... " instead of a whole big to-do.

Sri krsna caitanya prabhu nityananda/
sri advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura bhakta vrnda//

The last line has more feet than the line can bear. Which is probably nothing more than a mistake.

srI gaurAnga nityAnanda srI advaita candra/
gadAdhara srIvAsAdi gaura bhakta vrnda//

is corret and,

jaya gaura nityAnanda jayAdvaita candra/
gadAdhara srIvAsAdi gaura bhakta vrnda//

this is correct with alternative first line.

Perhaps the first line got mixed up with couplet;

sri krsna caitanya prabhu nityAnanda/
hare krsna hare rAma srI rAdhe govinda//

but that's another topic.

Sorry I first thought when I saw this topic that it might include other mantras apart from those about Gaura Nitai or Panca Tattva.

Just FYI chanting mantras on beads is just a way of counting the mantra. Any mantra that you do japam of can be chanted on beads. And also according to sastra and traditions the beads can be made of diferent materials. Tulasi, Rudraksa, Padma bija, pearl, chandan, neem, Sphatika, etc.

That is the idea.


Well, the names are a bit different. If you mean whether there is some sort of subtle rasika-distinction there, then yes, someone might argue that Krishna Chaitanya refers more to the Nilachal-years of Mahaprabhu, and therefore is less suitable for those seeking for the suddha-madhuryata of Navadvipa-dhama, and another might say that it is more suitable for those who seek the Radha-bhava-laden rapture of Gauranga. I would not, however, worry about that, as names such as these are fairly liberally switched between to fit the meter and so forth. In Nitya-Navadvipa-lila, Gaura is a kishor, not a renunciate, so perhaps for such upasana the name Gauranga is indeed more suitable.