Q. In the Sanga “Rama and Raganuga Bhakti,” the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra in reverse order (Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare) was discussed. On the advice of a guru I chanted the mantra in “reverse” order, and after doing so for several rounds I had the unsettling revelation that I was deprecating the name of Krishna for the sake of the name of Rama, and because of this the bhakti flavor of the maha-mantra was significantly lessened for me. Can you comment on this?
A.[Tripurari Swami] My comment is that while chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra it would be best to think of the name Rama as a reference to Balarama, Krishna’s older brother, or as a reference to Sri Krishna himself, who is also known as Ramana. This is so because Rama-lila (Dasarathi Rama) and Krishna-lila are different in nature, and for the most part there is no sadhana aimed at participating eternally in both of them. Choose one or the other. Furthermore, if one’s sadhana is not specific in its focus it will not yield results as quickly as that sadhana that is focused on a particular spiritual ideal. If while chanting the maha-mantra we conceive of Dasarathi Rama and Vrajendranandana Krishna as two forms of God with no specific interest in entering the lila of either of them—no preference for either—our attainment will be Vaikuntha where Narayana is worshipped in awe and reverence. Considering the names Hari, Rama, and Krishna as general names of God with no preference for one over the other will result in Vaisnava liberation, but when conceived of as the followers of Sri Caitanya do, the maha-mantra offers the potential for something much greater than Vaisnava liberation. Mahaprabhu called this ideal the fifth goal of life—pancama purusartha, prema pumartho mahan—Krishna prema.
Of course for beginners it may be best to discourage discriminating between the names of Rama and Krishna so that neophyte devotees do not fall prey to thinking materially about one form of God being “better” than another. In tattva, all forms of God are God, but when we analyze them in consideration of rasa (sacred aesthetic rapture), as we should with regard to advanced spiritual practice in one’s personal bhajana, then we can say that one is better than another.
