12 Before chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra, one should chant the Panca tattva maha mantra
To chant the Hare Krsna maha mantra, one should first take shelter of the Pancatattva maha mantra:
If one chants the exalted holy name of the Lord again and again and yet his love for the Supreme Lord does not develop and tears do not appear in his eyes, it is evident that because of his offenses in chanting, the seed of the holy name of Krsna does not sprout. But if one only chants, with some slight faith, the holy names of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, very quickly he is cleansed of all offenses. Thus as soon as he chants tbe Hare Krsna maha mantra, he feels the ecstasy of love for God.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati thakura remarks in this connection that if one takes shelter of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda, follows Their instructions to become more tolerant than the tree and humbler than the grass, and in this way chants the holy name of the Lord, very soon he achieves the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and tears appear in his eyes. There are offenses to be considered in chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra, but there are no such considerations in chanting the names of Gaura−Nityananda. Therefore, if one chants the Hare Krsna maha mantra but his life is still full of sinful activities, it will be very difficult for him to achieve the platform of loving service to the Lord. But if in spite of being an offender one chants the holy names of Gaura−Nityananda, he is very quickly freed from the interactions of his offenses. Therefore, one should first approach Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, or worship Guru−Gauranga, and then come to the stage of worshiping Radha−Krsna.
It should be noted in this connection that the holy names of Lord Krsna and Gaurasundara are both identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not consider one name to be more potent than the other. Considering the position of the people of this age, however, the chanting of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s name is more essential than the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha mantra because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the most magnanimous incarnation and His mercy is very easily achieved. Therefore one must first take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting
sri−krsna−caitanya prabhu nityananda
sri−advaita gadadhara srivasadi−gaura−bhakta−vrnda.
– Sri Caitanya caritamrta Adi lila 8.29−31
By chanting the Pancatattva maha mantra one becomes free of offenses in chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra:
Whether he is offensive or inoffensive, anyone who even now chants sri−krsna−caitanya prabhu nityananda is immediately overwhelmed with ecstasy, and tears fill his eyes.
It is very beneficial to chant the names sri−krsna−caitanya prabhu nityananda before chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra because by chanting these two holy names sri−krsna−caitanya prabhu nityananda one immediately becomes ecstatic, and if he then chants the Hare Krsna maha mantra he becomes free of offenses.
– Sri Caitanya caritamrta Adi lila 8.22, 24
By chanting the Pancatattva maha mantra, one is blessed with the competency to chant the Hare Krsna maha mantra without offense:
When chanting the names of the Pancatattva, one should fully offer his obeisances:
sri−krsna−caitanya prabhu nityananda
sri−advaita gadadhara srivasadi−gaura−bhakta−vrnda.
By such chanting one is blessed with the competency to chant the Hare Krsna maha mantra without offense. When chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra, one should also chant it fully:
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
– Sri Caitanya caritamrta Adi lila 7.168
To derive the full benefit of chanting the maha mantra, one should first chant the Pancatattva maha mantra:
As preachers of the Krsna consciousness movement, we first offer our obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting this Pancatattva mantra; then we say,
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
There are ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha mantra, but these are not considered in the chanting of the Pancatattva mantra, namely sri−krsna−caitanya prabhu nityananda sri−advaita gadadhara srivasadi−gaura−bhakta−vrnda. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is known as maha−vadanyavatara, the most magnanimous incarnation, for He does not consider the offenses of the fallen souls. Thus to derive the full benefit of the chanting of the maha mantra, we must first take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, learn the Pancatattva maha mantra, and then chant the Hare Krsna maha mantra. That will be very effective.
– Sri Caitanya caritamrta Adi lila 7.4
Before chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra, one should first offer respects to the Pancatattva by chanting the Pancatattva maha mantra:
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Srivasa thakura and all other devotees of the Lord. I fall down to offer them respect. I worship their lotus feet. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami teaches us first to offer respect to the Pancatattva−Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu, Gadadhara Prabhu and Srivasa and other devotees. We must strictly follow the principle of offering our respects to the Pancatattva, as summarized in the mantra−sri−krsna−caitanya prabhu nityananda sri−advaita gadadhara srivasadi−gaura−bhakta−vrnda. At the beginning of every function in preaching, especially before chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
we must chant the Pancatattva’s names and offer our respects to them.
– Sri Caitanya caritamrta Adi lila 8.4
